Floating Away Chapter Five: Facing Facts
When Cameron Wright was in the third grade, his father had forced him to go to a basketball camp. Cameron had expressed no interest in going, but his father though it would be good for him. It wasn't. It was a one-week sleep away camp. Once he had arrived, Cameron took a seat in the large cafeteria. There, he saw a freckly boy from across the room. He instantly had a crush on him. However, he didn't think of it that way, he just knew he wanted to befriend this freckly boy. Luckily, Cameron got paired off to be on his team. Cameron soon befriended the boy, and couldn't stop talking to him. He wanted to be around the boy as much as possible.
Things were going well, and on the third day of the camp, Cameron overheard a few of the boys talking. They were talking about how bad one of the players on the team was and laughing about it. The freckly boy was doing most of the talking. About halfway through the conversation, Cameron realized that the person they were mocking was him. Cameron immediately went back to his room and pretended to be sick. The camps doctor could find nothing wrong with him, but they let him call his parents. His mother came and picked him up soon after and took him home.
When Monday came, Cameron Wright did something similar. He stayed home, "sick". He didn't want to think about Matt. He didn't want to think about James. But mostly, he just wanted to feel sorry for himself. He didn't deny that that was what he was doing either. He knew he was being immature and that he should continue living his life and that someone would eventually come a long and all that crap, but for now he just felt like moping. He came back from his visit with Matt on Sunday night and he was extremely tired. He didn't want to go to school and face his future, because he knew his future was bleak.
The past year had been such a roller coaster for Cameron. In fact, a year ago Cameron hadn't even had his first kiss yet. And now, he was alone again. Matt's promiscuity had been a lot harder on him than he had expected. It wasn't that Cameron cared about Matt sleeping with other people- Matt didn't do anything wrong. They were broken up completely, and Matt was free to do whatever he wanted. It was just that Matt had been completely in love with Cameron. They had spent the entire summer together at Matt's summerhouse and it had been great. Cameron just hadn't felt as strongly towards Matt as Matt felt towards him.
So needless to say, on Tuesday morning, Cameron was reluctant to wake up. He had slept in for twenty minutes before his mother Laura came in and shook him awake.
"Cameron, you're going to be late," she said as she sat down on the bed. Cameron grunted.
"Don't try and play the `I'm sick' routine again," Laura rolled her eyes.
"I am sick, though" Cameron muttered.
"Okay, I let you get away with it yesterday, but not today," She stood up and through the covers off of Cameron. He groaned in return.
"Fine," Cameron sat up and started his morning routine.
"That was easier than I thought," She smiled, pleased with herself.
Cameron arrived at school right as the bell rang. He didn't have much time, only enough to stop at his locker briefly. He ran down the hallway to make it to his class on time. However, on his way to class he passed Alex in the hallway. They were running passed each other.
"Hey!" Alex said, pausing briefly.
"Hey!" Cameron said. He continued running but turned around as he spoke. "Let's hang out after school. Call me!"
"Okay!" Alexis yelled from down the hallway.
...
In between third and fourth period, James met Devon in the hallway. They tried to do this every day- it was a nice break. They would meet on the stairwell in between the second and third floors on the east side of the building. People often took the other stairs so these were usually empty for those five minutes.
"Hey sexy," Devon smiled as he approached James, who was sitting on the bottom step.
"Hey," James smiled back. Devon took a seat right next to him. "How were your first three classes?"
"Mind-blowing and interesting," Devon sarcastically remarked. "How about you?"
"Slow and boring," James sighed.
"Well, how about later tonight we...get together, and make things a little more exciting," Devon winked.
"Well it'll certainly give me something to think about during class..." James smirked.
"Try not to get a hard-on," Devon laughed.
The bell rang. They were going to be late for their classes.
"Oh, wait, can we go to your house tonight?" Devon asked. "Sorry, I just don't want my Dad getting suspicious...I mean you've been coming over a lot lately..."
"Yeah that's fine," James smiled. "I'll pick you up from practice.
Devon headed off down the stairs, and James headed up the stairs. James walked slowly to his class. The class was right off the stairwell. He almost didn't see Cameron walking down the stairs.
"Cameron!" James shouted. Cameron flipped around, disoriented.
"Hey," Cameron looked flustered. "Sorry, I've had kind of a busy morning."
"Yeah," James smiled. "Looks like it..."
"Yeah..." Cameron didn't know what to say.
"How was visiting Matt?" James asked.
"What?" Cameron blushed.
"Devon told me you were visiting Matt last weekend...how was it?" James explained.
"Oh, right," Cameron looked embarrassed. "It was...it was okay."
"Cool," James said.
They stood there for a few moments not saying anything. It was extremely awkward.
"All right," James laughed. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah," Cameron hurried off.
....
Marissa Tampa sat across from her mother at the kitchen table. This would be the last time they'd see each other in...well, neither of them were sure how long. Marissa was moving to California in a few hours to live with her Dad. Her mother wasn't exactly happy with that, but there was nothing she could do about it.
She and her mother had gotten along very well when Marissa had been at the top of her popularity. However, after she met Travis, she had begun to realize that her mother was a social climbing bitch. Ironically, her mother still thought Travis was an intelligent determined man.
They didn't say anything to each other for a while. There was nothing to say. Marissa's bags were packed. She had shipped all the heavy stuff and had a large bag with the rest of her clothes.
"What time is Travis coming to get you?" Her mother broke the silence.
"He should be here any minute now..." Marissa flashed a fake smile, a trick she had learned from her mother.
"Good, good..." She looked at her watch.
"Yeah," Marissa nodded.
"Well, if things don't work out with your father, you can always come back here..." She offered.
"Yeah, thanks," Marissa had no intention on taking her up on that.
Thankfully, Travis honked outside at that very moment.
"Oh, all right," Marissa got up and hugged her mom. And that was it. It was weird, spending her whole life living in fear of the woman, and now she didn't have to see her at all.
Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she swung open the front door. She was greeted by Travis' smile. She kissed him on the lips.
"It's so good to see you," Marissa pulled back.
"Well, take it all you can get, because you won't see me until winter break," Travis smirked.
Marissa awkwardly smiled.
"Let's go," Marissa walked passed him and opened the trunk, throwing her bag of clothes into it.
...
Cameron arrived at the swim team locker room after school before everyone else did. He felt bad about skipping practice the day before, and he didn't want to coach to regret putting him on the team. He got undressed and slipped into his practicing shorts. He sat there waiting for the other team members to get there.
Devon came soon after talking to another guy on the team. They parted ways after a few minutes, and then Devon saw Cameron.
"Hey!" Devon exclaimed. "Where were you yesterday?"
"Oh, I was sick," Cameron lied.
"Right...." Devon looked at him skeptically. "How was your weekend?"
"It was good," Cameron lied, yet again.
"That's fun," Devon shrugged. "Nothing really went on here. It was really boring. I think actually this weekend, this kid in my grade is having a big party. You want to come?"
"Um, yeah maybe," Cameron said. Before they could talk any more about it, the coach told them all to go and get in their designated lanes.
For the first part of practice, they were constantly doing laps without any break time. It actually helped Cameron to swim because he didn't get to think about James or Matt, he just thought about how tired he was. However, the second part of practice, Cameron and Devon were allowed some rest time, just wading at the deep end of the pool in their lane.
"Do you date anyone?" Devon asked after a while.
"What?" Cameron blushed.
"I'm not flirting with you or anything, you can relax" Devon laughed. "I was just curious. James told me that he had a thing for you last year or whatever, and that you were dating some guy. Is that who you went to visit?"
"Um, yeah..." Cameron still felt uncomfortable talking about this so openly, but the kids in the lane over were taking laps. "We broke up though. We're just friends now."
"Oh, that's cool," Devon shrugged. "So you're single?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess I am," Cameron said.
"Hm," Devon thought for a moment. "Do your parents know about you?"
"Nope," Cameron shook his head. "Do yours?"
"God no!" Devon laughed at the idea. "They'd disown me if they did."
"Really?" Cameron was surprised. Although he didn't want to tell his parents, he knew that when he did, that they would be somewhat accepting.
"Yeah," Devon said. "My mom isn't with us anymore, and my dad and brother...no, way. I don't think I'll ever tell them."
"Wow," Cameron felt bad for Devon.
"Oh, well anyone, I know this guy that lives a few towns over that's pretty cute...I should set you two up," Devon smiled just thinking about it. "You'd make a hot couple."
"Um, okay, maybe..." Cameron liked the possibility of a new guy.
...
Travis waited for Marissa as she spoke to the flight coordinator. He watched her beautiful long flowing dirty blonde hair, and couldn't believe that in a few moments he wouldn't be able to see it every day. This was going to be incredibly difficult for him, but the thought of seeing her in a few months made it better. It seemed like years ago that he had run into crying in the hallway, when in actuality it had been only a couple months.
Finally, Marissa walked towards Travis, no longer lugging her large bag with her- she had checked it.
"All right," Marissa said. "Want to walk me to the security line?"
"No thanks," Travis shook his head. Marissa frowned. "I'm kidding, let's go."
They walked over to the gate. Surprisingly there wasn't any line. Well, Tuesday was not a popular day to fly, and it was the middle of October. They stopped before the gate.
"Well, this is it..." Travis faked a smile.
"Travis, before..." Marissa began to tear up. "Look, this is really really difficult for me to say."
"Baby, I'll see you in two months, we'll be okay," Travis reassured her.
"No, it's not that..." Tears started to come down Marissa's cheeks. "I want the best for us. I really do. I love you...I love you so much. But, just for a little while...I want to take a break."
"What?" Travis snapped.
"Don't get angry," Marissa wiped her eyes. "I need time to adjust to everything, and meet people...I don't want you to be everything I live for. I need to take this year to find out what I want."
"Year? I thought you said a couple months," Travis couldn't believe this. It was coming out of nowhere.
"No, I just...Look, you are the world to me," Marissa said. "I love you so fucking much. But I just...I don't want to be that girl at my new school who doesn't talk to anyone and only talks to her boyfriend. I know I'll be that way if I'm still with you. It's just a break."
"I honestly can't fucking believe you're doing this," Travis started to back away. "You play so many fucking games, Marissa. I was there for you, even when you told me that you wanted to move to the other side of the fucking country. I still wanted to be with you. But this is too much, Marissa. You can't do this."
"I'm sorry," Marissa didn't know what else to say.
"Fuck off," Travis didn't hug her goodbye as he left to go to his car.
...
Alex opened her front door , happy to see Cameron.
"It's about fucking time," Alex turned away and jumped on the couch. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago."
"Sorry," Cameron said shutting the door behind him, and placing his backpack on the ground. "Practice ran late."
"Oh yeah, I forgot you're doing that," Alexis turned down the volume on the T.V. "Pretty lame of you."
"Shut up," Cameron threw a pillow at her as he sat down. "It's good, it keeps me busy."
"Yeah," Alexis said. "Wait, so...why?"
"Why what?" Cameron asked.
"I don't know, why do you need to be kept so busy?" Alexis asked. "I mean, well, last I heard was you were picking between Matt and James...and you picked Matt... and you spent the summer together...and now you're broken up? And you need to keep yourself busy? I don't get it."
"It's complicated..." Cameron sighed.
"Tell me," Alexis said.
"Okay, well, basically, when me and Matt went away this summer, things were great, they really were. His family was really great. His two older sisters came for a couple weeks two, and they all knew about me and Matt and...I don't know. It was just really nice to be so open about everything," Cameron started.
"Okay...so how did you get from there to breaking up...." Alexis was confused.
"Well, I don't know. I think...I realized halfway through the summer that I...I made the wrong choice." Cameron admitted. "It's not that I don't care about Matt, I really do. But...I think I love James."
"What?!" Alex was quite surprised.
"Yeah..." Cameron blushed.
"So...are you dating?" Alexis asked.
"No, he's seeing someone else." Cameron explained. "Which is fine. I honestly need to learn to handle my life by myself."
"Bull shit," Alexis said. "I bet if James knew how you felt he'd leave that lame kid and hook up with you!"
"The kid is actually really nice..."Cameron laughed. "It's honestly fine. I'll be okay."
"Wow," Alexis was still processing everything. "You live a crazy life."
"Yeah," Cameron laughed. "What about you? Things didn't work out with...Kevin Trainer...?"
"Fuck you," Alexis laughed. "And no, they didn't. All of those guys are dumb anyway."
"Apparently, if they rejected you," Cameron smiled.
"Oh, I wish you were straight..."Alexis smiled back. They both laughed.
...
James Winters sat in his kitchen with his mother and father eating dinner. They were laughing about some gossip involving an old friend of theirs. James didn't know the friend, nor did he care. He was just excited that Devon would be coming over any minute.
"Oh, Mom and Dad," James had already had a lie planned. "That boy that I'm tutoring is coming over here, he has a quiz tomorrow." He had told his parents that he was tutoring Devon through a school program.
"Okay honey," Mrs. Winters smiled.
"I don't get how you can be tutoring someone," Mr. Winters mumbled. "You were almost failing English last year."
"It's a school program, ask them," James blushed. "It counts for college credit."
"I think it's great," Mrs. Winters smiled.
"Oh, James, I want you to start practicing for lacrosse this weekend," Mr. Winters instructed. "Maybe you can invite Kevin over for a catch."
Things with Kevin had been really strange this year. They hadn't been nearly as close as they once were. It probably had something to do with the fact that James had punched him at prom. Kevin was hanging out with Ricky Buchanan and some other lacrosse kids that James didn't like to much. He didn't really care, either. He had Devon. James was friendly to Kevin at parties but beyond that, they had no friendship.
"Yeah, maybe..." James smiled.
Suddenly the doorbell rang, James hopped up and ran to the door. He opened it to see Devon.
"Thank God," James smiled.
"Is that a pen in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" Devon joked.
"Let's go," James closed the door.
They walked passed the dining room table.
"Mom, Dad, you remember Devon right?" James smiled.
"Yes! Hi, Devon!" Mrs. Winters waved. "So great to see you!"
"Yeah, it's really..." Devon started to respond, but James pulled him upstairs.
"Oh, do you want any food or chips or anything?" Mrs. Winters called.
"No thanks!" James yelled and slammed his door.
James turned around and faced Devon once they were safely in his room. They both smiled at each other.
"They are so annoying," James rolled his eyes. He didn't need to say anything more. He grabbed the sides of Devon's face and pulled him in for a kiss. They kept their tongues locked as they slowly moved back towards the bed.
Devon hit the mattress first, and James hovered above him. He bent down and slowly removed Devon's shirt, then kneeled up and removed his own. He came down and began to kiss Devon's collarbone. Devon laughed a little bit because it tickled him.
"You're pretty horny today..." Devon laughed as James reached down and began to unbuckle his belt.
"Oh yeah..." James joked and began to rub Devon's erect dick through his boxers.
However, at that moment, the laughter suddenly stopped as Mrs. Winters opened the door carrying a plate of chips and dips. She dropped it immediately and screamed.
Devon quickly zipped his pants and grabbed his shirt. He nearly sprinted to the door.
"Devon...wait!" James yelled. Devon turned around once he was behind Mrs. Winters. He looked at James as if to say Sorry and Good Luck at the same time. James felt completely betrayed. That was until his eyes met his Moms, which were completely terrified.
...
Sorry for the delay, it's been an extremely busy year, but I'll be sure to write more soon. Thanks so much for reading! Please e-mail me your thoughts, comments, and suggestions at ryanwest25@yahoo.com Thanks!