Floating Away Chapter 3: Old Habits Die Hard
Cameron Wright slipped on his shirt and shut his locker door. He had just finished up his final practice of try outs on Friday afternoon. Everyone was waiting for Coach Z to post the final list. Devon sat down next to him nonchalantly. He wasn't nervous at all. Cameron on the other hand was fidgeting incessantly.
"How long does this usually take?" Cameron asked as he wiped water off of his ear. Devon looked over smirking.
"You made the team," Devon laughed.
"What?" Cameron asked. "How do you know that?"
"Because they only make four cuts, and your better than most of the kids here," Devon smiled. "Trust me."'
"We'll see," Cameron sighed hesitantly.
After what seemed like an hour (but in realty was only five minutes), Coach Z came out of his office and tacked the list onto the bulletin board. Everyone jumped up and rushed over. Cameron tried to get a look, but kept being pushed out of the way. Finally, he made his way to the front. He scanned the list for his name but didn't see it until he got to the bottom. The last name on there. Cameron wiped his forehead.
"Told you," Devon smirked and then left the locker room. "See you Monday."
Cameron's heart was about to explode. He had been in a rut the last couple days- completely depressed. It's really hard to get through life when you have nothing to look forward to. He had been drifting through school, barely listening to people talking to him. Each day dragged on. He reminded himself not to think of James, but it was hard. Every time he passed James in the hallway, his heart would jump. Just that little interaction made Cameron's day. But he constantly blocked James out of his mind, he couldn't think of him that way. James had a boyfriend- Devon. Cameron had his chance.
He had done his best to distract himself from everything. That's where joining the swim team helped a lot. He rarely let himself just think- he always found little distractions. Like that night, he made plans to get dinner with Travis and Marissa.
His thoughts also drifted towards Matt. He missed him. Well not necessarily Matt, but someone who honestly cared about him. And Matt did. Matt was a great boyfriend and had always been there for Cameron. But Matt was on the other side of the country at UCLA now. So for now, Cameron took the little bits of happiness he could get, and in that moment it was making the swim team.
Pushing open the locker room door, he had a smile on his face. He walked over to his car. Parked next to his car were a bunch of girls sitting on a pink punch buggy. As he walked closer, they came into sight. It was Darcy Granger, Meghan O'Halloran and...Alex.
His relationship with Alex had been nonexistent the past week. She had changed so much. He couldn't believe the people she was hanging out with now. Last year, they would make fun of those girls together. Now...things had changed.
As Cameron got to his car, the girls turned around and looked at him. He made eye contact with Alex but she turned away. He opened the door and sat down. Alex thought to herself for a few moments then hopped off the hood of the buggy and walked over to Cameron's car. She knocked on the window and he rolled it down.
"Yeah?" Cameron rudely asked.
"Hey," Alex smiled. "Okay look, I know I've been really weird this week..."
"Yeah," Cameron nodded.
"Well, I'm sorry, and I missed you a lot this summer," She put her hand on his shoulder. "Can we please hang out this weekend?"
"I guess," Cameron was hesitant.
"What are you doing tonight?" Alexis asked. "Ricky Buchanan is having this party and I think..."
"Oh because I'm friends with all those people..." Cameron sarcastically said.
"James is going..." Alexis offered. Even his name made Cameron's heart grow heavy.
"No, really, it's fine." Cameron smiled. "I have dinner plans with Travis and Marissa anyway. But soon though, we really should get together."
"Yeah," Alexis forced a smile. "Well give me a call..."
"Okay," Cameron nodded then rolled up the window.
...
James patiently waited outside the high school in his car. It was weird being in a relationship with Devon, especially because he was younger. James had to take on the more masculine dominant role- driving him places, etc. But he kind of liked taking care of someone. And Devon was very appreciative of everything James did. Things were going well with them.
Devon swung open the door to the passenger's seat and jumped in. His hair was still dripping wet from the shower.
"Hey!" Devon smiled then made sure no one was looking before giving James a kiss. "Thank God it's Friday. I couldn't handle another day of practice."
"It was bad today?" James asked as he started driving.
"It was okay today, but just I'm so out of shape because I didn't swim that much this summer," Devon explained. "You're partially to blame for that."
"What? How am I to blame?" James laughed.
"I spent all my time with you," Devon pushed him. "Although if I do remember correctly, we did spend some time in your pool, but not doing that much swimming..."
"Shut up," James laughed. "You made the team though, right?"
"No, I didn't." Devon joked.
"I hate you," James smiled. "Did...uh...did most people make the team?"
"Yeah, everyone pretty much did except for four kids, but they sucked," Devon said casually. "One of them I don't think had ever swam before, he almost drowned the other day at practice."
"That's good," James smiled. "Anyone...I know get cut?" Devon looked skeptical for a moment.
"Are you..." Devon started. "Are you trying to ask me if Cameron made the team?"
"What?" James acted startled by the accusation. "No..."
"Then why did you ask if anyone you knew got cut..." Devon asked. "You don't know like anyone else on the team."
"Forget it," James sighed. "I was just trying to be polite and ask you about your day."
"Okay..." Devon was unconvinced. "You know, you don't have to like pretend that you don't even know Cameron..."
"What are you talking about?" James asked in a tone that made it sound like Devon was insane.
"I'm just saying that like whenever we talk about Cameron or something to do with Cameron you get all touchy about it and act all weird," He explained. "I know you had a thing for him last year for a while, but that's all over now. You don't have to get all weird about him, I won't get jealous."
"I'm not getting weird about him!" James yelled. "God! You're getting weird about him if anything..."
"Uh...what are you talking about..." Devon knew that James wasn't making any sense whatsoever.
"Just...drop it, okay," James stated.
"Okay..." Devon said. They drove a long for a few minutes. "You know it's our anniversary."
"Yeah," James said.
They didn't say anything for the rest of the car ride.
...
Marissa Tampa waited at her house for Travis to pick her up. They were going to a little Mexican restaurant a town over with Cameron. She was excited to get out of the house.
Marissa had been trying to spend as little time in her house as possible. Her father had already moved into a hotel, and was coming back next week to get the rest of his stuff. He was leaving for California then. And then it would be over. She'd be stuck with her mother.
The past two days Marissa had been contemplating what she should do. It was the beginning of the year, and although she would be leaving for college in a years time, was it really worth living with her mother for that time? But on the other hand, if she moved with her dad she wouldn't see Travis. But when she went to college then they wouldn't see each other anyway. It was a catch-22.
A horn beeped outside and Marissa grabbed her bag, walked past her mother (who was drunk, like she had been the past two days), and out the door. She got in the front seat and kissed Travis hello.
"Hey baby," Travis lit up. "Where's your dad?"
"What?" Marissa's face turned red.
"Your dad, where is he?" Travis repeated. "His car isn't there."
"Oh," Marissa let out a breath. "He had a business thing."
"Sweet," Travis said as he pulled out and drove over to the restaurant.
When they arrived, Cameron was already sitting down, browsing the menu. A stereotypical Hispanic band played in the corner with huge sombreros and maracas. Even though none of the other staff was Hispanic, it still was a fun place to eat.
"Hey guys," Cameron stood up and gave Travis a high five and Marissa a hug.
"Sorry, were you here long?" Marissa asked. "Travis took twenty minutes...you know him, Mr. High Maintenance."
"Oh, shut the fuck up," Travis rolled his eyes as Marissa and Cameron laughed.
"No, I got here like five seconds before you guys did," Cameron explained.
"Anything good on the menu?" Marissa asked. "Any fish?"
"Fish?" Travis repeated questionably.
"Yeah..." Marissa repeated.
"Marissa, this isn't a sushi bar, it's a Mexican restaurant..." Travis laughed and looked to Cameron for support.
"Are you serious? Okay, hold on..." Marissa waved over a waiter.
"Yes, senorita," The clearly asian waiter said in a Hispanic accent.
"Do you have fish on the menu?" Marissa asked confidently.
"Yes, you can have the choice of shrimp in your Chimichangas and fish in the Encheladas," He said.
"Thank you," Marissa smiled and the waiter walked away. "See told you!"
"Psh," Travis rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, Cameron," Marissa laughed. "I just have had a craving for fish lately, I don't know why."
"You should check out the aquarium on Coney Island," Cameron offered.
"I was telling Travis about that the other day!" Marissa exclaimed. "I went there when I was little, but I haven't been back since, and I really want to go." She looked at Travis when she said this, and Travis laughed and rolled his eyes.
...
By the time Alexis Lucas arrived at Ricky Buchanan's party, it was already in full swing. Music was blasting; people were talking, doing keg stands, and some were even doing both at the same time. It was what Alex had come to expect from a high school party.
However, she did not expect the reaction to her entrance. Everyone stopped and looked at her almost. It was like that scene in all those cheesy high school movies where the music stops and everyone looks at the person. Kind of like that. But after a few moments things went back to normal. Some guy stopped her and gave her a shot to take. She did.
She made her way over to Darcy and Meghan who were sitting on the couch laughing at something. They both stopped laughing as soon as Alex came over.
"Hey girls," Alex smiled.
"Oh, hi," Darcy forcedly smirked.
"What's wrong?" Alex said as she sat down on the couch next to them. The two girls looked at each other.
"Nothing," Meghan spoke first. "Forget it, let's just take some shots! Woo!!"
"Okay then," Alex laughed and poured herself a shot.
About six shots and ten minutes went by, and Alexis found herself wasted. Her friends too were completely drunk, and had lost any social tact whatsoever.
"We know about you and Ricky!" Darcy exclaimed.
"What?" Alexis' face turned red.
"We know it's true, Ricky told us everything," Meghan nodded. "We can't believe you'd lie to us. After we brought you into our group of friends..."
Alexis mind began to race rapidly. She stood up and headed over to the bathroom. She was going to throw up, and she knew it. The only question now was; would she make it to the bathroom in time?
The answer was no. She vomited in a plant right next to the bathroom. Everyone turned and looked at her in disgust. James Winters approached her and put a hand on her back.
"Alex, are you okay?" James said but Alex couldn't understand what he was saying. She nodded and pushed passed him. She had to find Kevin.
Luckily for her, Kevin found her first. Or actually unluckily for her, because Kevin was pissed. He saw her tripping through the hallways and dragged her into a bedroom.
It took her a few moments to process what was going on.
"Kevin!" She exclaimed. "Kevin! I'm so sorry about..."
"Don't start with me, Lexi," Kevin rolled his eyes. "I'm sick of hearing your shit. You lied to me. And you had sex with one of my best friends."
"No, it's not like that...I..." Alex started but she realized it was exactly like that. Granted Ricky was clearly a mistake but Kevin was right. She did both of those things.
"Really? What is it like then?" Kevin aggressively asked.
"It's...complicat...complic...complicated." Alexis couldn't even talk.
"Yeah, well let me make it easier for you," Kevin said. "I don't want to speak to you ever again."
With that Kevin left, and Alex began crying on the bed all alone for a few moments. She then went to find her cell phone.
...
"Okay first of all, I never said that!" Travis defended himself.
"Oh shut up!" Marissa laughed. "You totally did! Don't even deny it, baby"
"Okay, I never asked you `Can monkey's talk?' I'm not an idiot!" Travis couldn't help but laugh.
"I can see you saying that," Cameron smiled.
"No, okay, I was temporarily confused as to what..." Travis began to explain himself when Cameron's phone rang.
Cameron reached into his pocket and saw that Alexis was calling. He excused himself then walked to the front of the restaurant to get a clear signal. He flipped it open when he had full service.
"Hello?" Cameron answered.
"Cammmmmmm!" Alex cried. "Please, come help me!"
"What's wrong?" Cameron asked. Alex didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Hello? Alex, talk to me!"
"I'm...I'm at Ricky's. Come pick me up, pleaseeeee" Alex slurred.
"Okay, what street does he live on," Cameron asked. No response. "Alex!"
"Mull...Mullberry street," She spit out. "Come, please!"
Cameron hung up the phone and walked back to Travis and Marissa.
"What was that?" Travis asked.
"Sorry guys, I gotta go." Cameron said as he reached into his wallet and threw a twenty dollar bill on the table. "It's a long story. Call me tomorrow."
And with that Cameron was gone, which left Marissa and Travis alone.
"That was weird," Travis shrugged.
"Yeah," Marissa smiled. She thought that this might just be a blessing in disguise. This could be a perfect opportunity to talk to Travis about the whole moving thing. "So...um..."
"What?" Travis asked after Marissa didn't say anything after a few seconds.
"Okay, this is going to freak you out, but just hear me out," Marissa prefaced her statement. "So, my parents are getting a divorce."
"What?" Travis was surprised, but not shocked. "I'm so sorry, baby."
"Eh, I'm not that torn up about it," Marissa admitted. "But...my dad is moving and if I stayed I'd have to live with my mom..."
"Okay," Travis took it all in. "So what are you going to do?"
"I'm honestly leaning towards...living with my dad," Marissa couldn't look at Travis.
"Okay..." Travis began to get nervous. "Well...well, where is he moving to...?"
"California..." Marissa had to look down, she couldn't look at his reaction.
"What?!" Travis yelled, making everyone in the restaurant look at them, and even made the band mess up.
"Okay, calm down..." Marissa started.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Travis was panicking. "What am I supposed to do? You're just gonna...gonna move half way around the world and..."
"Seriously Travis just calm..." Marissa tried to calm him.
"Stop telling me to calm down, Marissa!" Travis snapped. "Just...just let me..."
"What?" Marissa was waiting for him to say something.
"Let me drive you home," Travis said in a hostile tone.
...
James poured himself another beer from the keg and slowly sipped it. He was here with Devon, but ever since the car ride things had been extremely awkward. James knew that he was supposed to apologize and all that, but he couldn't. He was mad that Devon had accused him of still having feelings for Cameron.
The whole summer, James had trouble getting over Cameron. It really hurt him when Cameron had chosen to leave and go to Matt's summer house. It broke his heart. And he spent the majority of the summer feeling down about it. But he had finally gotten over it. And when Devon said that, it just brought up all this anger.
Honestly, the anger was towards Cameron, but he was taking it out on Devon. And he knew he was wrong. And he knew it was time to apologize. So James grabbed an empty cup and poured another beer.
James handed the beer to Devon, and then grabbed his other hand and pulled him into Ricky's bedroom and locked the door behind him.
"What are you doing?" Devon smiled.
"Look, we need to talk," James said as he sat down on the bed.
"Yeah," Devon agreed and sat down next to him. He placed his beer on the nightstand.
"Okay, I'm sorry for how I acted today," James started. "I was immature and stupid, and I know I kind of ruined our anniversary. But, it just...it's just hard to see Cameron after...after everything you know? And when you said that I..."
"James. Don't worry about it, honestly." Devon interrupted. "What happened last year happened, and it's okay. I'm not a jealous person. And whatever happened...it's over. You don't have any feelings for Cameron, right?"
James thought for a second before answering. He knew he was going to tell Devon that he didn't no matter what, but he wasn't sure if he truly was over Cameron or not.
"Right," James smiled.
"Okay," Devon nodded. "So that's in the past now. I'm a fresh start for you, James. And, no, James you didn't ruin our anniversary."
"Yeah, I kind of did," James laughed.
"Well..." Devon glanced at his watch. "You still have time..."
James laughed for a second, then looked into Devon's green eyes. He leaned in and pecked him lightly on the lips. He pulled back then moved his hands to Devon's cheeks. He pulled him in for a more passionate kiss. There tongues swirled around in each others mouths. They leaned back onto the bed, James on top of Devon. James pulled out of the kiss.
"Happy Anniversary," James whispered.
James moved off of the bed and knelt down on the floor. Devon sat up, prepared/excited for what was about to come. James unzipped Devon's pants and placed his fingers on Devon's crotch. He could feel his semi-erect shaft through the cloth. He rubbed it slowly. Devon removed his shirt and pulled his pants down lower.
James rubbed Devon's shaft until it was fully hard, then placed his hands on his waistband for his boxers. He tugged down, and Devon's full penis came out. It was nine and a half inches (a little smaller than Cameron had guessed). James grabbed the base and thrust it into his mouth. He couldn't get all of him in his mouth, but he got more and more in each attempt.
Devon rolled his head back in ecstasy. He placed his hand on James' curly hair and pulled it. He thrusted his hips forward slightly.
"I'm about to..." Devon managed to get out, but James didn't care. Devon hips lurched forward dramatically as he came into James' mouth.
...
Cameron arrived at the party twenty minutes after Alex had called her. He opened the front door, and was surprised with the amount of people that were there. He recognized most of them, but hadn't seen any of them outside of school. Cameron didn't go to many parties. This actually was one of his first. James had invited him to one last year, but Travis messed that up.
The music was almost deafeningly loud, and as Cameron pushed past people he tried to call out Alex's name but to no avail. He had no idea how he was going to find Alex.
However, that didn't turn out to be much of a problem because Alex was sprawled out on the middle of the floor passed out. No one was paying attention to her at all. Cameron knelt down and tapped her cheeks.
"Alex!" Cameron said. "Alexis!"
She finally looked at him.
"Take me out of here," Alex managed to say.
"You got it," Cameron smiled. He grabbed her arm and put it around his shoulder. He started to help her out of the party. He passed by Ricky Buchanan.
"Yeah, get that slut out of here!" Ricky yelled. Cameron ignored her and made his way to the door.
Cameron finally got her to his car. He put her in the back seat and lay her down with her head facing up. He started the car, but not before Alex sat up.
"My baaggggg..." Alex mumbled. "I left my...my bag..."
Cameron turned off the car and rolled his eyes. He got out and headed back towards the party. `I'm a great friend' he thought to himself as he opened the door and struggled past the same group of people to find her bag which was next to the same spot where she was laying before.
Cameron grabbed it and headed back towards the door. At this same time, James was coming out of Ricky's bedroom with Devon. Cameron saw this and stopped in his tracks as he made eye contact with James. They both looked at each other, both surprised to see each other, both upset with each other and with themselves. But then they both smiled at each other. James then grabbed Devon and pulled him towards the kitchen. Cameron rushed towards the door.
Before walking to the car, Cameron paused for a moment outside the house. He took a deep breath, then another, then another. It was then that he realized that James was completely over him. And that realization hurt him, but didn't make him cry, it just caused a great emptiness in him.
But he didn't walk back to the car just yet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed and it rang two times before the voice on the other line picked up.
"Hello?" It said.
"Hey," Cameron replied. "How are you?"
"I'm okay...Cameron, what's this about?" The voice was Matt.
"Nothing, I just...I just miss you." Cameron said.
"I...I miss you too." Matt replied. "You should come visit soon..."
"How about next weekend?" Cameron replied.
"Wow, that's...that's soon." Matt laughed.
"I can talk to my parents, I'm sure they'll be okay with it..." Cameron realized that it was strange. Matt had only left a couple weeks ago for college, and they had broken up then.
"Umm..." Matt thought for a moment. "Okay Cameron. I'll see you in a week."
Hey, thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Please e-mail me with your thoughts and comments on this chapter, past chapters, or future chapters at ryanwest25@yahoo.com
Thanks again!