Tame

by India Marshall

  "Says you." I rolled my eyes.

  "Will you just give me a chance?" Cameron pleaded. "Trust me here."

  "Why should I?"

  "You seem to trust Jason."

  "I...yeah, I do. I don't know why. It's just, I feel like I can trust him. He feels like a good friend already." I admitted.

  "But not me?" Cameron asked, looking hurt. What was with all the hurt looks recently?

  "Not really. I'm being honest, not intentionally mean." I sighed.

  "Thanks." Cameron snapped. He began to walk away, and I groaned loudly before following him.

  "I live down the road from you, we need to go the same way. Besides, I need your help to get home. I don't know the way." I panted, after catching up to him. He walked fast.

  "Looks like you need me then, little Farrah Chambers." Cameron smirked. "I did say you'd come around."

  "Okay if you're gonna be a jackass, I'll find my own way home." I snapped.

  Cameron raised his eyebrows.

  "Or I'll get the bus." I added, turning and stomping away.

  "Wait." Cameron caught my arm, making my skin spark. What was that? Electric shock.

  "What?" I whined, desperate to just go home. Tanner could come out of Jason's house any time and see me and Cameron almost holding hands. I snapped out of my thoughts to see Cameron's green eyes holding my huge blue ones. He stared into my eyes so intently, I had to look away. The next place I could look, was his hand. Which was reaching behind him, into his jeans pocket. Not what I wanted to look at.

  "If we're gonna be friends, you gotta learn to trust me." He told me.

  "You put loads of crap and out-of-context photos of me on Facebook." I narrowed my eyes at him.

  "I'll delete them." Cameron said, completely shocking me. He added after I gave him a suspicious look, "Most of them."

  "I don't think you will." I replied truthfully. My phone bing-binged in my pocket, and vibrated against my leg, tickling me. I pulled it out and looked at it. A Facebook notification- how coincidental.

  CAMERON CARTER WOULD LIKE TO ADD YOU AS A FRIEND.

  "Well add me as a friend and find out?" Cameron suggested. I looked down at my phone and shook my head, laughing.

  "All right." I pressed the 'accept' button, and Cameron grinned at me.

  "Come on then, let's get back. What are you waiting for?"

  ***

  "Cameron!" Mom smiled. "How lovely to see you again. Were you with Farrah and Jason too?"

  "Yes ma'am." Cameron nodded.

  "Ma'am?" Both me and my Mom spluttered. We giggled like idiots and Cameron laughed too, shakily and goofily. He didn't understand why we were laughing.

  "Sorry, Cameron." Mom recovered herself. "No one calls me 'ma'am'. It's just strange to me. Foreign, I think the saying is."

  "It is, Mom." I smiled, trying not to laugh again. Mom was doing such a good job at frightening Cameron. He seemed very uneasy.

  "Anyway, call me Lucia. No 'Mrs' or 'Ma'am'." Mom told Cameron. "Are you coming in?"

  "No, he just walked me home, Mom." I explained.

  "Oh Farrah!" Mom sighed, exasperated. "Don't be so impolite!"

  I was impolite?

  I looked at Cameron, who was smirking.

  "Come in, Cameron. Would you like a drink? Water? Soda? Juice?" Mom ushered us both in.

  "I'm good, thanks." Cameron laughed.

  "Stop pestering him, Mother." I rolled my eyes.

  "Touchy touchy." Mom tutted. She mouthed at me, "Do you like him?"

  "No!" I cried. "Leave now!"

  "Don't be rude, Farrah." Mom chuckled. She obdiently scurried off to the kitchen though. How was I rude? Ugh, I blamed...

  "Cameron?" A new voice cut in.

  "Oh, hey Troy." My friend nodded to my brother.

  "Hey. Farrah, I didn't know you invited Cameron over." Troy raised his eyebrow.

  "I didn't. Mom did." I groaned. "C'mon Cameron, I may as well show you my room. I bet you've been everywhere in this house but there."

  Troy suddenly looked very unnerved.

  "You took him into my room?" I cried. "Unbelievable."

  "No it's not that..."

  "What is it?" I demanded, facing Cameron.

  "I don't know." Cameron shrugged. I turned back to Troy, who dragged me off. By about four paces.

  "He can probably still hear." I scoffed.

  "Not if I lower my voice." Troy said quietly. I looked back at Cameron, but he was happy sat in the armchair, on his phone.

  "What is it?" I hissed.

  "I don't want you and him alone in your room." Troy growled. "He's a flirt and you're an idiot."

  "Am not!" I protested.

  "Yes, you are. Just stay down here." Troy begged.

  "No. I'm not stupid, Troy. I can handle Cameron and his ridiculous flirting attempts." I rolled my eyes. "As if he'd ever flirt with me anyway."

  "Don't." My brother warned.

  "Come on Cameron, upstairs." I said, as if talking to a dog. I must have said it in the right voice, because Rolo came bounding over. "Hey!"

  I was 'hey' ing for two reasons. One, Rolo had nearly knocked me over, again. Two, Cameron had pulled out my earphones from their hiding place.

  "So that's where you hide them." Troy winked.

  "Ugh!" I groaned. "Come on Cameron! Leave now!"

  "Rude." Cameron tutted.

  "Oh, you wanna go there?" I narrowed my eyes at him, starting up the stairs.

  "I'll go there if you want me to." Cameron teased.

  "As if."

  "You know I heard the whole conversation between you and Troy, right?"

  ***

  "So..." Cameron said, closing my bedroom door.

  "No..." I retorted.

  He laughed. "This is your room?"

  "Yeah, small, isn't it?" I replied awkwardly.

  "Well at least you have your own bathroom. That must be great- especially when Troy has a hangover." Cameron joked.

  "Ugh, yes. I hate it when he's hungover. He acts like I'm his servant." I rolled my eyes. Cameron was suddenly at my side, sitting next to me on my bed. "Um..."

  "I know you want me Farrah."

  "What?" I asked, confused. My heart was racing, I was petrified. What was he doing?

  "You want me. Tanner's just a distraction. No girl tells guys who she really likes." Cameron wiggled his eyebrows.

  "Don't be creepy." I told him, moving away.

  He ignored me and just continued. "And not to mention how you wanted to come up here, alone, just me and you."

  "I think you have a problem." I swallowed, panicking. Why was he so close? Why did I feel so afraid? It was just Cameron.

  Cameron Carter.

  The Cameron Carter.

  Holy shit on toast.

  I was sat on a bed, my bed, with Cameron Carter. Why fate? Why?

  "A problem with you. I know you want me, you just can't admit it." Cameron said huskily.

  "You are joking right? This is one of those weird TV shows, there's cameras in here somewhere." I got up and started looking around my room. I walked over to my dresser and inspected my phone. "Is there a recorder in here?"

  I felt something bump into my back. On purpose. A pair of arms slid around my waist and I only just managed to stay standing.

  "It's just us." Cameron whispered. I turned around in his arms, folding my own arms as best I could.

  "Look here, Mister, I do not want you. I don't like you in that way. I just wanna be friends!" I cried, resisting the urge to slap his hands away. They felt kinda good. But it'd be better if they were Tanner's arms. Oh yes...

  "You don't want me to leave, do you?" Cameron cooed, cocking his head at me.

  "I do. I really do." I nodded eagerly. I didn't like this at all.

  "Really?"

  "Yes."

  "Really really?" He teased.

  "Really really really, really freakin' really!" I cried, now getting annoyed. "Get off of me!"

  "I don't-"


  "RAPE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I'M BEING RAPED!"

  Cameron sprung away from me, his face suddenly breaking out into laughter.

  "J-J-Jesus Farrah!" He cackled. "Y-you're so weird! I love your reactions!"

  "My...reactions?" I faltered. "So this was all fake? You wanted to get a reaction?"

  "Yes!" Cameron laughed, collapsing to his knees, laughing his socks, shoes, and toenails off.

  "Y-you..." I felt the anger rise inside of me.

  "You were hilarious! You believed me!" Cameron shrieked.

  "Cameron!" I roared. I started hitting him repeatedly. "I was so scared! I thought you would-"

  "Rape you?" He asked, before bursting into more laughter.

  "Grrr!" I screamed, lunging at him. I pushed him over, so we fell to the floor. I slapped his arms, face, and chest (not feeling him up!) and he still chuckled and chortled.

  "Roo! Roo! Rooo!" Rolo barked, bouncing into my room. Wasn't the door shut?

  "Rolo no!" I squealed as he leapt on us.

  "Me-ow." A cat meowed. I knew it was Milly, she only seemed to come out to annoy Rolo. Cameron was now squashed on the floor on his back, with me draped across his chest, Rolo on top of me, his butt in Cameron's face, and Milly sat my his feet.

  "Maybe you do have a cat." Cameron said, muffled by my dog's furry butt.

  "Told you so."

  "Could you maybe get it away from me?" He asked.

  "No."

  "Why not?" He whined.

  "Because I can't move!" I cried, banging my hands on the floor.

  "Mow mow!" Cookie meowed cutely, bursting out from under my bed.

  "Is this some traditional family pet heap or something? Do you do this on a regular basis?" Cameron demanded.

  "No!" I snorted. "This is just pure luck. And karma. This is what you get for all the bad stuff you've done to me."

  "So why is it happening to you too?" Cameron tried getting up, but me, Rolo and now Cookie (who was sat on a very unlucky place on Cameron!) held him down.

  "I don't know." I grumbled.

  "For hitting me maybe?" Cameron said sarcastically. "Can you please push your dog off of me?"

  "No!" I cried. "That could hurt him!"

  "He's hurting me!"

  "I don't care about you." I rolled my eyes.

  "You so do. You love me, Farrah Chambers."

  Rolo shifted, waggling his legs so he could roll over. Unluckily for me, he rolled onto me instead of Cameron. I was now eating his brown fur. Just, lovely.

  "I do not love you, Cameron." I sighed.

  "That's why you wanted to be all alone with me?"

  "My pets don't understand the word alone." I smirked, depsite the situation.

  "Please. You made no attempt to get out of my arms."

  I opened my mouth to reply, but a different voice beat me to it.

  "What the hell is going on here?"

  Chapter 14

  "Uh..." Was all I managed to say. I was lying on top of Cameron on my bedroom floor, my pets sprawled over various places on our bodies. Oh, and my shirt was rising up my stomach.

  "Hello." Cameron gave a small wave of his hand and I grimaced. He could have just stayed lying on the floor, maybe pretended to be knocked out, or dead.

  "Um...hi?" It came out more of a question. Hayley looked between us, before reaching down to help me up. I scrambled upwards, only to trip over my own feet and land with a thump on Cameron. My best girl friend pulled me up by my arms, the strain on her face as she clenched her teeth, showing her silver and pink braces.

  "God Farrah, how much do you weigh?" Hayley panted, before pulling me to my feet.

  "Not that much." I huffed. "Rolo was...holding onto my ankle."

  "What a lie. Tut tut, Farrah Chambers." Cameron grinned, pushing Rolo off of him and standing up.

  "Farrah he hurt Rolo!" Hayley frowned.

  "Um..." I dithered between telling Cameron off or telling Hayley to just shut up.

  I decided to tell Cameron off.

  "Don't you dare hurt him!" I cried at Cameron, swatting him.

  "I didn't." Cameron puzzled. "He's fine, see?"

  Rolo was rolling on the floor like a mad dog on a high. I sighed, trying not to laugh at him.

  "He could be having a fit!" Hayley declared. She pointed a finger at Cameron. "And it's his fault."

  "He's not having a fit." Cameron scoffed at her. He looked at Rolo, who was now on his tummy, looking at his nose, cross-eyed. I remembered back to the first day I met Cameron. I was bathing Rolo, and he was pulling the exact same face. I had a bad feeling- I begged silently to anyone and anything in the sky, to not let anything unfortunate happen to me that day.

  "He could have. Tell him, Farrah." Hayley prodded me. I swallowed. I didn't want to upset either friend. And Cameron had been a better friend to me recently than Hayley had. I noticed she couldn't look Cameron in the eye and looked at the floor instead.

  "Uh..." I stammered. "Yeah. You should maybe, um, go now Cameron. Girl time."

  "Oh." Cameron pouted. "Okay."

  "Bye." I said rudely. He smirked, but wouldn't look me straight in the eye.

  "Goodbye Farrah Chambers." Cameron saluted me before he sloped out from my room, my house, my street. Oops.

  "Thank God he's gone." Hayley beamed, flicking her short brown hair over her shoulder. "We haven't hung out in ages!"

  "A few days." I muttered.

  "I barely see you anymore." Hayley continued as if she hadn't heard me.

  "Um, you were glaring at me and telling me how I was turning into Cameron last time we hung out." I reminded her.

  "Well, let's just forget it." Hayley shrugged. "I was being over the top because I was worried about Riley. Oh my God! How could I forget? Riley wants to talk to you- we should so go see him."

  "He wants to talk to me? Yay!" I cheered. "I've never gone so long without talking to my best friend!"

  Hayley raised her eyebrows at me. "Best friend?"

  "Best guy friend." I corrected myself.

  "Oh, okay!" She giggled. "I think he's at work. Let's go!"

  "Awesome, lemme just tell Mom." I nodded, racing downstairs to the kitchen. Hayley bounded down behind me, waiting in the living room.

  "Hey Farrah, was it okay I let Hayley upstairs? I knew you guys fell out so..." Mom wondered.

  "It's fine. We're just going down to SAVE-AN-ANIMAL to see Riles." I smiled. "He wants to talk to me again."

  "Aw well that's great, honey." Mom said enthusiastically. "Maybe you could have lots of people over for a slumber party?"

  "I dunno..." I trailed off. "We've only just become friends again, really."

  "Hey, Mrs Chambers." Hayley magically appeared in the kitchen next to me.

  "Hello, Hayley. You want to sleep over tonight?" Mom offered. I loved my Mom, but she always tried to be so friendly with my friends. She always said hi to them, offered them to come to our house, call her by her first name. It was okay sometimes, but in awkward situations like this...

  "Oooh yay! We can have a movie marathon!" Hayley squealed.

  Movie marathon? Ew, cliché.

  "You could invite Riley too." Mom added. Unlike some Mom's, mine was not worried about inviting boys over to stay the night. Probably because I'd done it a million times before and had still not been kissed.

  "Cool!" Hayley cheered.

  "That would be...um, fun." I said uncertainly.

  "And maybe Cameron and Jason could come too? All your friends in one place!" Mom clapped her hands together. "But I might go out if that happens."

  "Oka-" I began to agree with my mom. Something crazy in side of me wanted to see what a party with all my friends, who were all so different, would be like.

  "No fear Mrs Chambers, Cameron and Farrah hate each other. Jason is just her French partner. It would be fun with just me and Riley, I think." Hayley told mom. Mom looked a little shocked, and so did I. How dare she?

  "Oh, um, yes." Mom muttered, conf
used. "Okay, I'll see you when you get back then."

  "Bye." I waved, giving her a 'I-have-no-idea-what-the-heck-she-is-on-about' look. I hoped she understood me.

  I pushed the heavy door to SAVE-AN-ANIMAL open, revealing Linda, chewing gum at the reception. Ugh, she was so cringe-worthy. I didn't know why Aunt Tessie kept her around.

  "Hello sweetie!" My Aunt trilled, beaming at us from the floor. She was crouched on the blue, carpeted floor, with a three legged kitten.

  "Hey." I whispered, in awe of the kitten. "Poor little thing! What happened?"

  "Trouble." Aunt Tessie shook her head sadly. I found this little one this morning. I wanted to call you, but I decided not to. She needed my full attention."

  "Where was she?" I asked.

  "Well." My Aunt frowned to herself, her chubby arms on her hips. She looked a lot like my Mom with her brown hair and hazel eyes, but whereas Mom was skinnier than most living people, Aunt Tessie was more of a farmer's wife-type build. "I saw her just laying on the side of the road. I immedietly stopped and went over to her."

  "Hm." I nodded for her to go on, leaning down myself to see the tiny, flea-bitten thing.

  "And when I picked her up, some crazy lady, like that cat woman from The Simpsons, came running at me, screaming to leave her cat alone." Aunt Tessie told me.

  "Crazy cat lady?" I echoed. Aunt Tessie nodded.

  "I asked her if she was taking care of the little mite, and got a mouth full of abuse." My Aunt huffed. "She tried to take her from me, but when I saw that she had a big, whip/stick thing, I refused to give her the cat. She protested at first, but then just hobbled off back to the little house she came from!"

  My Aunt was the most caring person I knew, except my mother. Aunt Tessie cared for animals much more than herself. SAVE-AN-ANIMAL was her life, especially since my Uncle died. She dedicated herself to every single animal in the small building, and hated it when she found out they were hurt. If any animal were to be hurt, my Aunt Tessie would most likely track down their previous owner, and throttle them. She was nuts, but so sweet.

  "Aw no." Hayley cooed, breaking me and my thoughts apart. "Poor thing. Have you seen Riley?"