Tame

by India Marshall

"Yes, I know where he is." She chuckled.

  "Where?" I cried, shaking her.

  "Farrah! What are you doing to that poor girl?" Mom burst through the doors, followed by Dad, looking horrified.

  "She knows where Troy is!" I told them. Mom pushed me out of the way, grabbing the girl by the shoulder and shaking her, just as I did.

  "Where is my son?" She demanded. The girl pried Mom's fingers off of her, tugging at her top to put it back in place.

  "He's fine. He's at my house, I'm just picking up some food for him now." She told us.

  "Oh Jesus Christ, thank you!" Mom started sobbing, gaining more curious stares from people.

  "That's okay. Lemme just get some food and I'll take you there." She told us.

  We waited quite impatiently for the girl to finish ordering. She smiled at us, depsite our performance a second ago. I realised as she came over to us, we had no idea what her name was. She lead us out of the shop, stopping by a faded blue truck. It was a bit like Bella Swan's, from Twilight.

  "Just follow me." She instructed.

  "Wait, excuse me?" I tapped her on the shoulder.

  "Hm?"

  "What's your name?" I asked her.

  She chuckled, obviously realising she hadn't introduced herself. "I'm Rayne."

  "Rayne." I repeated. "Nice to meet you."

  She smiled at me, climbing into her truck. I got back in my Dad's car, and we set off to see Troy.

  ***

  "I'm back!" Rayne called as we stepped into her apartment. It was very clean, though it wouldn't be if Troy had been here for a day. Rayne kicked off her boots and turned a corner, into what I supposed was the living room. I took off my shoes and followed her. A wide living room, filled with all kinds of furniture, cramped but cosy, met me. Troy was sat on one of the big, white couches, delving into a McDonalds bag.

  "Troy!" I squealed. I ran over to him, hugging him.

  "Rarrah!" He cheered through his burger. He hugged me, but groaned when he saw our parents. "Rhy rid rou bring dem?"

  "You need to talk things over." Rayne told him, plopping her keys into a metal basket, making a loud clink. Our parents sat down next to him, and I shuffled onto the floor- they were all squashing me.

  "Farrah, could you go elsewhere for the minute? Is that okay Rayne?" Mom asked politely. "I would like to talk to Troy, alone."

  Obviously she meant Dad could stay, but I felt awkward. Where was I going to go while they talked. Luckily for me, Rayne beckoned me to her.

  "You can come sit in my room. We can get to know each other." She grinned. I nodded, following her, looking over my shoulder at Troy. He gave me a weak thumbs up.

  Rayne's room was wonderful. It was pale blue, and had a huge window, which let in lots of light, showing the walls off perfectly. Her furniture was all wooden, it looked like it had been hand carved. Even the massive double bed was incredible. The sheets matched the walls, blue. But there were lots of different patterns on it, and I noticed some clothes strewn across it. Some were obviously Rayne's, some others seemed to be Troy's. Then it clicked. Why had Troy come to live with a pretty girl, instead of one of his guy friends? Why had he been going out a lot lately? Why had he been acting strange?

  Rayne was his girlfriend.

  "Wow, Troy was right about you speaking your thoughts out loud." Rayne laughed. I blushed instantly, and she smiled fondly at me. "And you're right too. I am your brother's girlfriend."

  "How long have you two been going out?" I asked.

  "About a month." Rayne smiled. She was a very smiley person, and she seemed very nice. What struck me as odd was why everything seemed to be happening a month ago. Life was odd.

  "He never told me, douchebag." I shook my head.

  Rayne chuckled.

  "So...how did you meet?" I asked now interested a lot more.

  "I'm a hairdresser." She explained. "I cut his hair for him and we clicked."

  I looked at Rayne's short, spiky, blonde hair and grinned. She fit into being a hairdresser well.

  "That's sweet." I told her.

  "Hm." She replied thoughtfully. "You have lovely long hair."

  "I've never had it cut." I said.

  "Really?" Rayne gasped.

  "Really. Well, stupidly, when I was younger I cut it with Troy's scissors..." I trailed off, Rayne was laughing again.

  "He told me about that!" She exclaimed. "He talks about you a lot."

  "He does?" I wondered aloud.

  "Yep." Rayne nodded. "You two seem pretty close."

  "Yeah, we are." I grinned. "I like your hair, did you cut that yourself?"

  "Oh yes I did!" Rayne reached up to her head. "I'd love to cut yours for you, it's so long!"

  "I know. It can be awkward sometimes." I shrugged.

  "You should style it so it seems shorter." Rayne told me.

  "I think I might just cut it. It's all ready at my butt." I laughed.

  "Oh, if you did, could I do it?" She begged. I'd barely known the girl five minutes, and already loved her. She could be a psycho murderer, yet I was willing to let her near my neck with scissors.

  "Yes, yes of course you can." I beamed. "Could I have it maybe...shoulder length?"

  "Of course." Rayne nodded. "But don't rush into it. Go home and think about it, then come back if you're sure."

  It made sense, so I agreed. We went back into the living room, where my parents and Troy seemed to have just finished their chat.

  "You okay?" I asked my brother, who looked shell-shocked.

  "Hm, yes." He nodded, smiling down at me. He opened his arms for a hug, so I squeezed him around the torso, and he tickled me in repsonse.

  "Nooo!" I cried, slapping him away. He chuckled and then turned to me, serious.

  "I'm not moving back in, Farrah." He informed me.

  "Oh." I drooped. I'd really thought he'd come back. Why, I had no idea.

  "I'm staying with Rayne. I assume you know..."

  "That you have a girlfriend?" I raised one eyebrow. "Yes, I know. You little secretive jerk!"

  "I'm taller than you." He pointed out. I slapped his arm playfully.

  "At the moment."

  "The only way you'll be taller than me is to cut off my legs in my sleep." Troy joked. "Which you can't do now! Haha!"

  I frowned and hit him again.

  We stayed not very long- we wanted to give the new (ish) couple some space.

  "Everyone has someone to date now." I sighed. Dad was not in the room, but in the car, so I was safe. "I want someone!"

  "You never know, a certain boy with green eyes might get you." Mom teased.

  "Mom, no." I shook my head. "Besides, Jason and Cameron both have green eyes."

  "Who said I was talking about either of them?" Mom giggled.

  "Get in the car." I pointed at the door. She laughed and walked away, leaving me with Troy and Rayne in the doorway.

  "Bye." I said quietly, giving Troy one last hug. "It was nice meeting you, Rayne. I'll let you know about my hair."

  "Okay. Bye Farrah!" She waved goodbye, and I ran down to the car, hopping in and waving wildly at my brother and his girlfriend.

  I felt slightly better, but something was nagging at my mind. When I got home, I pulled out my phone and texted Cameron.

  THINKING OF HAVING MY HAIR CUT. THOUGHTS???

  He replied almost instantly.

  U WILL LOOK NICE WHATEVER YOU DO :)

  I bluhsed madly replied and with:

  THANKS X

  Whether or not he had meant to say it- my thoughts were confirmed. Cameron had some kind of effect on me, something I couldn't describe.

  Chapter 26

  "It must be love, love, love..."

  I frowned at Hayley, who just giggled and continued to eat her salad.

  "It's not love, stupid." I prodded her, which she returned- but with her fork. "Ow!"

  "Well don't prod me then." She rolled her eyes. "So basically, you think you like Cameron, but you're not sure?"

&nb
sp; "No! When did I ever say that? No, I do not like Cameron." I shook my head.

  "Well everyone thinks you do." Hayley told me in a sing-song voice, shoving more rabbit food in her mouth.

  "Do they?" I asked Riley, who was sat with us, keeping quiet.

  "Well...yeah." He admitted honestly.

  "Garrr!" I groaned. "I don't like him!"

  "So what's this 'effect' he has on you?" Riley inquired, an edge to his voice.

  "I..." I trailed off, seeing hurt in Riley's eyes. Hayley looked between us, her head nodding like a bobble head. "Hey you guys should go on a date!"

  Hayley looked at me like I was crazy, and Riley choked on his lunch. He hammered at his chest, coughing.

  "W-what?" He stammered.

  "You should go on a date." I repeated, smiling. I had gotten them off of the subject!

  "No! You...look, we're talking about you!" Riley cried. Damn.

  I scowled at him, taking a deep breath. "OkaysoCameronhasthiseffectonmetomakemeblushuncontrollably. HemakesmesmileandsometimesIfeelweirdaroundhim." I gabbled. I took another short breath and said, "Now back to you."

  "Blush uncontrollably?" Riley demanded. "Feel weird? Smile?"

  "Yes, I already said that. Now we're talking about you two so..."

  "Farrah!" Hayley snapped. "Bathroom- now!"

  "Aw man, I don't need to pee though!" I whined. "I want some food actua-"

  "Farrah!" She grabbed my wrist and pulled me up, dragging me through the building to the girls bathroom.

  "Now Riley is alone." I sighed.

  "Stop trying to set us up!" She wailed.

  "Why? You clearly like him." I puzzled.

  "Farrah. He doesn't like me." Hayley's voice cracked.

  "Oh shut up!" I waved her off. "He so does! He's a guy, he's not going to let on."

  "Oh, so that means Cameron likes you, then." Hayley grinned, raising her eyebrows.

  My cheeks flushed and I silently begged that Hayley hadn't seen them. "He does not!"

  "We could always ask Jason, he'll know..." Hayley teased.

  "Stop it! We are talking about you! You and Riley!" I shook her and her head lolled forwards.

  "Well actually, we were talking about you and Cameron. You said yourself he has an effect on you!" Hayley argued.

  "Garrr!" I growled, waving my arms in the air. She was right.

  "See?" Hayley nodded to herself. "So, you like Cameron, don't you?"

  "I don't even know." I sighed. The minute I said it, I slapped a hand to my mouth. I hadn't meant to say that.

  "You so do!" Hayley squealed. "Aww!"

  She hugged me, gushing about how her, 'little Farrah' was growing up. I swore that was my Mom's job.

  "I don't...he's not...no..." I moaned. An annoying voice in the back of my head was laughing at me.

  Shut up brain.

  "I'm not brain, I'm Hayley." Hayley laughed at me. "But...what is it your brain is saying?"

  "It's laughing at me." I grumbled. "Now come on, 'fess up. Do you like Riley?"

  "You already know." She mumbled. Ha! Now it was her turn to blush.

  "I wanna hear you say it." I grinned mischeviously.

  "Only if you say you like Cameron." Hayley retorted.

  "What? You can't...no!"

  "Then I believe Riley is waiting for us." Hayley smiled, sauntering off.

  "Hayley!" I called after her. She cackled like a witch and skipped out of the bathrooms.

  "Hayley!" I hissed, running after her.

  "Say it." She sang.

  "You say it!" I cried. She actually liked Riley. I didn't like Cameron.

  Oh really?

  What? Shut up brain.

  "We could always both admit it..." Hayley mocked me by mouthing the words, 'I like-'.

  "Holy shit on toast." I muttered.

  "What was that?" Hayley teased.

  "Fine. One, two three!" I chanted.

  "I like Riley!" Hayley squealed.

  "Ha!" I cheered. She actually fell for it.

  "Farrah!" Admit it, you like him!" Hayley whined, shaking me.

  "I. Do. Not. Like. Cameron. Carter." I growled, emphasising each word. Hayley's mouth fell open, she looked very shocked. I frowned, what did she expect? Me to just admit something that wasn't true...

  "And I thought we were friends." A male voice said from behind me. I gasped and spun around. Cameron was strutting off towards the exit of the building. I felt like yelling after him, but stopped myself. Why was he taking it like that? Why didn't he stay and hear me out? Why did I even care? I face-palmed instead, turning back to Hayley.

  "Okay." I croaked, realising why I cared. "I do like Cameron."

  Hayley just grinned.

  I sat, silent, through the rest of lunch. Hayley was already filling Riley in on the fact that I liked Cameron- which didn't help in the slightest. I couldn't even get over it myself.

  Me?

  Like Cameron Carter?

  Like the Cameron Carter?

  It was crazy.

  He'd never like me anyway. We were completely different. He was a bad boy, though when I came to think about it, since I had known him, he hadn't really done anything bad-ass. It was strange. But I was the good girl, the nerd. He'd only go for popular girls, girls that actually knew what was supposed to happen on dates, in relationships. I was like a toddler when it came to that stuff. But...

  1) He hadn't seen a girl in a month- which was how long he'd known me.

  2) He hadn't done anything bad-ass since I'd known him properly.

  3) He got annoyed when I called him a man-whore.

  4) He got annoyed when I talked about Tanner.

  5) He wasn't supposed to know about my kiss with Tanner...

  No. He couldn't like me? Could he?

  No way.

  I was brooding over my current situation when Riley cut into my thoughts.

  "So you like Cameron, Farrah?" He asked me.

  "Uh...I think so." I swallowed, trying to regain my focus back onto my friends.

  "You think so?" Riley demanded, his voice sounding strange, his eyes dull.

  "Um, yes?" It came out as a question because I had no idea how to answer. I hadn't even registered it myself yet! Thanks a bunch, Hayley.

  "Right." Riley muttered, looking away. Ugh! Could he not just get over me? I wasn't that special!

  "Will you please just love Hayley?" I groaned.

  "What?" Hayley and Riley quizzed, at the same time.

  "I can't just-"

  "Yes you can!" I groaned. "She likes you, and has done for a while- I see that now. But you liked me. Well, like I said a while back, we're never gonna be more than friends. You guys are perfect for each other! I command you to love Hayley."

  "Command me?" Riley blinked.

  "Love me?" Hayley gaped at me.

  "Yes, yes, yes. Fall in love, buy a castle and a horse, ride off into the sunset..." I gestured widly, my eyes scanning the cafeteria for Jason. When I spotted his shaggy black head bobbing to music, in the queue for food, a smile lit up my face. "Now while you two work out the details of buying a castle, I need to just...go."

  "Jason!" I yelled, waving like mad. He didn't hear me, his stupid headphones must have been at full blast. I ran over to him, hitting his shoulder.

  "Ow! A simple, 'hello' would've sufficed." Jason grumbled, pausing his music on his iPod.

  "Can I come to yours tonight?" I begged.

  "Yeah, sure. Why...?" He looked at me weirdly.

  "Because I need to talk to you and I'm not in any of your lessons today- and I need to do something right now." I added when he opened his mouth. He closed it again, breathing in and looking anywhere but me.

  "Okay, well I'm just gonna buy a burger." Jason informed me, plugging his headphones back in, unpausing his music. He rolled his eyes as if I was nuts.

  "I'm not crazy!" I shouted at him. He just looked at me- if his music was that loud, he must have been deaf. He just ignored me, smirking to himself as he d
id. I shook my head at him, walking off to find Cameron. I needed to explain that I did like him, he just heard it wrong.

  Actually, maybe that wouldn't be the wisest idea...

  I went back over to Jason, and stood in line with him. Someone behind him started yelling at me.

  "You can't cut line! Get lost!" He barked.

  I raised one eyebrow at him. He was a scruffy looking kid, his beanie pulled down so his hair stuck out at odd directions. I pointed to myself, then to Jason. "I'm with him."

  "Then you can both stand at the back of the line." He snarled.

  "No! I was standing here just a second ago, you didn't say anything then." I frowned.

  "I didn't notice you. Now can you and your little, well, big, boyfriend please just piss off." The boy said rudely.

  "Excuse me?" I snapped. "We have every right to stand here. Jason, this kid is being stupid. Jason. Jason? JASON!"

  "That's right, get him to deal with me. Baby." The kid rolled his eyes.

  "Jason!" I hit his shoulder, but he just pointed at his headphones, moving forwards in the line. I scowled, and continuously poked him. He didn't reply. I dived into my school bag, pulling out my pencilcase. I found a pair of scissors, and snipped at his headphone wires, letting them fall to the floor. Jason looked startled, and stared at the broken wires. Then he looked at me and the scissors.

  "Why the hell did you do that?!" He cried. "You owe me new headphones!"

  "You weren't listening to me. This person thinks we need to leave the line, he's bugging me." I explained.

  "You just cut my headphones!" Jason gaped at me. "You're insane!"

  "I think so too." The boy behind us interrupted.

  "Did we ask your opinion?" Jason scoffed. He picked up his wires, moving forward in the line again. He picked up a burger, getting his money out.

  "They cut line!" The twit pointed at us dramatically. "Stupid popular couples thinking they can do whatever they want."

  "Couple?" I backed away. "No way!"

  "I'm not that bad." Jason stuck his tongue out. "And if you wanna keep that pretty face, I expect you to shut the hell up." He told the boy.