I liked to think that I was a master at ignoring my siblings when they fought, but some days it gave me a serious headache. And the thing that bugged me the most was the fact that they fought over nothing. I honestly believed that these kids just liked fighting.

My point was highlighted by the war of words taking place before me. "You're insufferable!" Caitlyn yelled across the kitchen to her brother.

I gulped down the last of my OJ and tiptoed my way around her to dump the glass in the sink. I so did not want to be caught in the middle of their argument. It seemed like they had one every morning before school and then picked up right where they left off when they got home. It was tiring for someone who had spent the first sixteen years of her life being an only child and it was beyond annoying having to play the referee before we all got grounded.

"And you're being a brat. What else is new?"

"Camille, tell him—"

I shook my head and grabbed my backpack from the kitchen counter. "I'm living in a drama free bubble today. Respect my bubble!" With that, I was out the door.

Since the change in my relationship status, I no longer hitched a ride to school with my siblings. I upgraded to the boyfriend package that luckily came with a brand new ride and I was loving it.

"Boyfriend," I said as I got into Aiden's car. It was my new way of greeting him and the fact that after two weeks, he still laughed and kissed my hand whenever I said it, made me beyond happy.

"You're especially radiant this morning."

I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and laughed. "Oh, that's just the oil that lives on my face. It's saying good morning."

He smiled, and I didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on me as he backed out of the driveway. I held out my hand and he took it in his free one and that's where it stayed until we pulled into the school's parking lot.

The great thing about a new relationship, or in my case, the very first relationship, was that I could make new traditions. I could show as much affection as I wanted without fear or apprehension because I didn't have another one to compare it to. I didn't have any scars to pick at and ruin the present by living in the past and I was thankful.

"See you in History," Aiden said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before we parted ways. Me to English and him to Math.

"Settle down everyone," Ms. Lancaster ordered, trying to quell the chatter that seemed incessant this morning. "I know that we're all excited about the winter formal, but I have something even more exciting for you guys!"

I glanced at Caitlyn and made a face when she flashed me a thumbs up. I had completely forgotten about the winter formal, having already made up my mind when I was in middle school that I was never going to attend a school dance unless it was under duress. Her and Casey had already bought their dresses, so that meant that even if I were to go, I'd have to go shopping with Sophie and Madison and that was even worse than going to the actual dance.

"Take one and pass the rest behind you," Ms. Lancaster said, handing Daisy L a stack of papers.

When she groaned, the rest of the class joined her. That was the universal sign of frustration and meant that we were having a quiz.

When I received mine, I took one look and sighed heavily. I was definitely failing this one. I hadn't read any of the poems that we had been given the week before and was going to have to bullshit my way through it and hope for the best. Ah well.

Caitlyn was having just as stressful a time as I was and I smiled. Misery loves company and I was no exception. "How'd it go?" I asked her after class as we walked to our next one.

"Probably pulled a C. It'll be fine."

I high-fived her and stepped into my History class. It was the only class that I shared with Aiden, but even his presence wasn't enough to make the period less insufferable.

I barely had time to offer him a smile as I got into my seat before Mr. Archer started barking orders. Apparently it just wasn't my day as he was also giving us a quiz. What was with these teachers?

After the hell that was History, I met Sophie and Madison in the hallway. "I'm ready to go home now," I said as I leaned my head on Sophie's arm.

She patted my head. "It'll be over soon. Let's get some food in you, I heard that you've got a sub for math and you'll want to deal with that on a full stomach."

I groaned. "This is unreal. It's the day from hell."

"And it's only getting started," Madison said, being very unhelpful.

"Read the room," Sophie chided her. "We're trying to cheer her up, not bring her down."

I took my seat at our usual table and put my head down. I wanted to take a nap for a thousand years and wake up to a new life.

I hadn't gotten anywhere with Jason and April's situation and them constantly bugging me about the other, was beginning to affect my sleep schedule. I shouldn't entirely blame my mood on my best friends, because it wasn't like they forced me not to read my poems for English, or not to study for my other classes, but I really didn't want to blame myself, so.

"What's with you?" I raised my head and made a face at Casey who was taking her seat beside me. "Are you sick? Because if you are, I don't want to catch it."

"I'm tired and emotional." Especially tired and the emotions weren't even mine entirely.

"Why emotional? Trouble in paradise already?"

It took too much energy to roll my eyes, so I didn't, but I wanted to. "I'm also tired, let's not forget that."

She laughed. "So, you had a million quizzes today, suck it up, buttercup."

"Will do."

It really put a damper on my mood, that after two weeks I still hadn't made any headway with the lucky couple. What more could I do short of just staying out of it? And I know, staying out of it was the obvious choice, but how could I? I couldn't sit back and let them throw away their relationship just because they had way too much stupid pride. I wanted to. I wanted to let them be and to just focus on myself without interruptions. But, I couldn't because they'd never work it out without some guidance and I knew that they'd forever regret it.

"You guys don't have plans tomorrow night, right?"

"Um." I offered a small smile to Sophie because I actually did have plans and would be bailing on hers for the fourth time in two weeks. It wasn't my fault that she suddenly decided to have a popping social life the minute that I got a boyfriend.

"So, Camille's out, but what about you, Case?"

Casey cleared her throat, wearing a guilty expression. "Sorry, I'm out too."

We all stared at her. "Come again?" Madison asked. "Since when? Do you like have other friends or something?"

The question was meant to be a joke, because she actually did have a lot of other friends, but she also looked like she was hiding something. That "something" was her romance with Logan, but it wasn't my place to say anything, so I kept my mouth shut.

She laughed and took a sip of her apple juice. She made a face at the juice carton and put it to the side. "What, uh... what have you got going on, Soph?"

Sophie, ever the eager one to have the spotlight, didn't even notice that Casey had basically dodged the question. "I've managed to score us invites to a college party." She was beaming. "I'm so proud of me, actually."

The only one always interested in partying with Sophie, was Madison and even then she mostly only went so that she could keep tabs on her friend and made sure that she never got plastered and went home with a stranger.

"That sounds like a vomit fest," I said, mimicking someone gaging.

"Not to mention the amount of used condoms you'll have to waddle through just to get to the kitchen," Casey added. "It's a bad idea."

"Maddi?" Sophie asked, turning to her last hope for company.

Madison looked conflicted. "Actually, I'm babysitting my stepbrothers. I don't remember exactly how I got roped into doing it, but I'm stuck." She touched Sophie's arm. "Maybe you should skip this one and come hang with me and the toddlers."

"The last time that you tricked me into doing that, I got vomited on."

"You'll probably be vomited on at your party, anyway."

Sophie narrowed her eyes at Madison. "I won't."

"College guys only want one thing from high school girls and it isn't conversation," Casey said in a warning tone. "I think Maddi's idea sounds better than being groped at all night."

"I disagree."

I didn't know what I was missing, but I knew that it was huge. Sophie drank like there was no tomorrow and I doubted that she did that for the hell of it.

They argued about the party for the remainder of our lunch and by the time it was over, it was clear that Sophie was going to that party with or without us and all that arguing was pointless.

Casey linked our arms together as we walked down the hallway to our next class, all the while berating Sophie about her terrible party habits. Sophie wasn't listening though and cut her off mid rant to go to her class. Madison left next, an annoyed look on her face.

"You're coming over this afternoon, right?" Casey asked, pausing outside my math class.

I almost said no, but the thought of being one of those girls that got all wrapped up in their boyfriends and unintentionally left their friends behind, was way worse than missing a few hours with Aiden. "Of course. You have to come get me though because the kids have been at each other's throats all week and I don't want to ask either of them."

She raised her brows, seemingly surprised by my statement. "They're still fighting? Why?"

I shrugged and poked her on the arm as a goodbye when the bell rang.

Krista Collins smiled happily at me as I made my way towards my usual desk. She blocked my path and placed both her hands on her hips. It was never a good thing to be accosted by the head of the gossip committee, and I braced myself for the inquisition. "Word on the block is that you're dating our track star. That true?"

I smiled back at her. "Don't you ever get tired of listening to all that noise?"

She shrugged, not losing her sickeningly sweet smile. "Come on, we're all friends here. Are you two an item or not?"

Krista was nosy but harmless, so I simply mimicked her smile and walked around her. While I wasn't keeping my relationship a secret, I strongly believed that it wasn't anyone's business, especially not Krista Collin's.

Our sub walked in a minute later and surprisingly the class lost some of its restlessness. As was the trend for the day, math sucked as well and by the end of the period, I was ready to go home.

Getting through the rest of my classes was no picnic either, so I decided to just put an end to my misery and intervene one last time in April's and Jason's non-relationship. I hoped that with their stress out of the way, maybe I'd be more focused on school and make up for some of the slack of the past week.

I texted the unlucky couple separately while I waited for Aiden and arranged for a Skype call in an hour. They needed to get their shit together so that I could get mine in order. I hated the fact that they didn't speak to each other. It didn't bother me half as much before, but now that I'd gotten actively involved, it sucked ass.

It took another ten minutes for Aiden to find me. His entire face lit up when he saw me and I almost ran to him. I couldn't help but be happy in his presence and I kept my fingers crossed that it never faded.

"Hey, babe." I leaned in for his kiss on my cheek and smiled at him. "We're still on for tonight?"

I made a face. "I promised Casey I'd spend the night at her house. But we're still on for tomorrow. 'Kay?"

I could tell that he was bummed but I appreciated that he didn't dwell on it. He took my hand in his and I swung them gently as we walked to his car. "About the dance next week, are we going to that?"

"I wasn't planning on it. Do you want to?"

He unlocked the car and let go of my hand to open the door for me and I silently cheered. "Not really." We suspended the conversation until he was in his seat. He took my hand once again and I smiled to myself at his consistency. The whole hand holding stuff would probably fade in another week or two, but for now, I was loving every second. "I've been to every dance since middle school. It won't kill me to sit this one out."

"Will your friends be mad?"

"They'll get over it. What's a dance compared to spending the evening with just the two of us?"

He had a point. Even if I was into school functions and wanted to go to the dance, I knew that I'd choose spending the night with him over being uncomfortably dressed up and standing in a corner all night like I'd done so many times before until I'd decided that no more dances was the order of the day.

He pulled up alongside Carter's car in the driveway and turned the engine off. "There's something that I need to tell you, but I don't want you to get upset."

I eyed him suspiciously. "I might get upset, I'm not gonna lie."

He rolled his eyes and gently squeezed my hand. "My dad wants me to spend Christmas with him."

My heart dropped for a second, but I wasn't upset. "Is your sister coming here then?"

"No. Apparently, he's dating someone and it's getting serious, so he wants us both there to meet her." He sighed and it was my turn to squeeze his hand in support. "I don't really care that he's moved on cause him and my mom were the most toxic combination ever, but even so, I don't think that I'm ready to actually see him with someone else. Does that make any sense?"

I nodded. I couldn't exactly relate because my dad had rarely dated, so I'd never met any of the women in his life and since I hadn't known of Tori's existence until his death, I never had to deal that drama on her end either. But, I still got where he was coming from. I think. "It's okay to feel that way, but you need to be supportive and try not to make him feel shitty for moving on with his life."

"Yeah, I know but still I feel angry for some reason."

"Maybe because as toxic as your parents were to each other, you miss having both of them being there for you while under the same roof?"

He thought about it for a second and shook his head. "I was probably the happiest person when they announced their split, so I doubt that that's the reason."

"Maybe deep down you blame him for the split?" At this point I was just saying stuff. I had no experience with any of that and my advice was not solid.

"No, that's not it."

"Well, could it be that you just don't want to see him with anyone other than your mom?"

"Oh, fuck no. They sucked at being together."

I gave up. "Well perhaps it's just normal teenaged crap. Maybe you're mad at him for whatever reason and this is the straw that'll break the camel's back."

He smiled at me. "You're cute when you're frustrated."

I rolled my eyes. "Frustrated isn't the word."

"No?"

"You're looking for stressed. I'm so stressed that my stress has stress."

He creased his brow in worry. "What's going on?"

Sighing, I delved into the saga that was April and Jason's predicament. I also told him about my idea on how to get them to work it out but it hinged on them spending time with each other and not throw hurtful words at the other just because they were angry. It involved getting them both to come visit me, but I had no idea how to convince Jason to give it a chance. April was already on board ages ago because she wanted to get away from her mother's drama, and Tori had no problem with them spending the winter break with us, but Jason was a tough nut to crack.

"How about telling him the truth?"

I looked at my boyfriend like he was crazy. "That's a terrible suggestion. Try again."

"It's bound to backfire if you get him here based on a lie and it'll change the dynamic of your friendship. Respect him enough to let him make the decision that he finds fitting."

"His decision making skills are not the best. Also, they both are hot headed and I can't help them from five thousand miles away."

"Still, you owe it to him to be a good friend. Tell him the truth and hope that he sees it your way. Okay, pretty lady?"

I sighed and smiled sadly at him. "I'm going to miss you."

"I know, but I'll miss you more."

"Maybe."

He laughed and leaned over to kiss me and I let myself get lost in him. The best part about being with Aiden was the fact that I hadn't lost his friendship amidst the budding romance. Actually, I think we became better friends.

"I should go," I said while pulling away from him. "I have a Skype call to make and an overnight bag to pack."

He kissed me one last time before we said our goodbyes. I waved as he backed out of the driveway and then raced into the house.

"Not so fast young lady," Caitlyn said when I walked through the door.

I groaned. "What?"

"We have a family meeting in ten minutes. I bet we're all in trouble this time."

I scoffed. "Speak for yourself. You and Carter are the ones who won't quit yelling at each other. I'm just the referee."

"Whatever. Living room, ten minutes. Don't be late."

"Aye, aye." I took the stairs two at a time to get to my room. I packed an overnight bag and texted my stressors to let them know that we'd have to postpone our call.

I deposited the bag at the base of the couch and took a seat next to Caitlyn. The last time that we'd had a family meeting, the two of us were forcibly bonded. Good times.

"Going somewhere?" Carter asked, eyeing the tote bag.

"Maybe. What's it to you?"

"Nothing. Except the fact that I'm pretty sure we're all about to be grounded."

"Again. Speak for yourselves. You fools are the ones in trouble if there is any."

"Alright, gang," Blaine said, his voice booming. "Mom and I feel that it's about time we had a little sit down with you guys."

Tori who was beside him, nodded with a bright smile on her face. A frown would have been better because now I was concerned. "And this time it's just to chat. No one's in any trouble." She glanced at the bag at my feet. "Are you going somewhere?"

I nodded. "Casey's, if that's okay with you guys? I texted you earlier."

"I left my phone at the office," she said with an exasperated sigh. "It's okay. You may go."

She didn't have to tell me twice. With a supportive smile directed at my siblings, I grabbed my bag and left.

Casey was already parked out front and I waved to her as I made my way to her car. "Hey, sorry about the wait. Family stuff," I said while I strapped myself in. I knew that she didn't mind waiting, but I still owed her an apology.

"Cait texted me, she's pissed that you got a pass."

"Well, maybe she should try being nice and good things will happen to her, too."

Casey laughed. "Well, there's that. Hey, Logan's gonna come over for a bit, is that cool?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, it's cool if your boyfriend tags along."

"Shut up."

"When are you going to tell the others?"

She grimaced and her hands tightened on the wheel. "Ugh. We have been fighting all week about that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He wants to, but I don't. I want things to be just like this, just the two of us and well, I guess you. Right now it's perfect, there's no one interfering or giving their unwanted opinions about our relationship and he wants to tell everyone and ruin our peace."

I nodded, knowing exactly how she was feeling. I wasn't ready to let everybody in on my relationship either. But, it was different when it came to our friends, we weren't keeping it a secret from them, only the outsiders who didn't really have a right to know. "I uh, I don't think that telling the people closest to you will ruin your peace."

"I know. Fine, truth is I'm scared to tell them."

"Why? You've got the best group of friends ever."

She smiled. "Yeah, but still. I don't know, I'm just not ready to be a public couple."

"Is this about Blake?"

She nibbled at her bottom lip and sighed. "Maybe."

"Oh."

"No, no. It's not like that. I don't like want him back or anything."

"Then what?"

"I don't want to have people thinking that I moved on too fast from him. Or put stupid doubts in Logan's head about how much I care for him."

She pulled into a driveway and turned the engine off. I looked around at my surroundings and glanced at the bungalow we were meant to go in. "Finally someone with a normal house." I said it to lighten the mood, but also, finally someone with a normal house!

She laughed. "Yeah, we moved when my dad split. It was just so much easier not having to worry about a hefty mortgage on a one income household, you know?"

I nodded. I did know. My dad and I never wanted a huge house. It was just us and it made no sense going broke while trying to live above our means.

"Come on. Let's go in, it's just us."

We got out of her car. "Where's everyone else?"

"Mom hasn't been home in like a week or so and my brothers are in college, so I'll probably see them this weekend."

I followed her up the driveway and into the house. "And they're okay with leaving you by yourself?"

She laughed. "Girl, I've been on my own since I was ten years old. It's not a big deal."

As we walked through the house, I had to keep my facial expressions in check. There were wine bottles and beer cans littering the floor, but surprisingly, it wasn't dirty except for the blatant display of alcoholism.

"Yeah, my mom is uh," she exhaled and gestured to the clutter. "She's one of a kind." She touched my arm. "Hey, it's okay. Trust me, you'll get used to it."

I seriously doubted that. My father wasn't a big fan of drinking in my presence and I would've probably been uncomfortable with it if he was always inebriated. "Sorry, I just don't get how any of this is okay. How is it normal for you to have been on your own at such a tender age and why is it okay for your mom to—"

"Really, Camille, it's fine," she cut me off. She then began to gather up the bottles. "Look, my mom sort of lost it after my dad left. We all took it hard and are dealing with it in our own way. She chose her poison and it sucks that this is the reality, but I've made my peace with it. It really is okay."

I took one of the garbage bags from her and helped her clean up. "It's not okay, though."

"Yes, it is. She's not a terrible mother. I mean, yeah she's pretty bad, but I could've fared worse. Sure, she's drunk half the time that she's here, but I have my brothers and we look out for each other. She doesn't hit us or even yell. She just can't lay off the booze. We've tried a million times to get her to quit but when she's not drinking, she just lays in bed and cries all damn day."

"Hmm."

"She's a functional alcoholic. She gets shit done better when she's had a little liquor in her and I have chosen not to hold that against her."

"Aren't you worried about how her actions will affect you when you're older and know better, though?" I didn't even know why I was pushing the issue when Casey was clearly fine with her situation, but I just couldn't let it go.

She shrugged and knotted the now full bag and took mine from me. "I do know better. If anything, I've learned that I do not want to end up like her. I keep my drinking to one beer minimum on the rare occasion that I do drink and I don't keep all of my anguish in. My mom can't function without alcohol because she doesn't talk about her grief. She prefers to drown her sorrow with sex and alcohol, but that's her choice. I have two more years of dealing with it and then I'm off to college and I get to start my own life and just live for me and that's just fine."

It wasn't, but it wasn't my life so I finally dropped it. "Sounds like a plan."

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you pity me. When I tell you that it's okay, I mean it. If I wasn't okay, I'd tell you that too and you know it."

I sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

She hoisted the bags to her and told me that she'd be back. I sat on the couch and tapped my legs. I honestly wouldn't have guessed in a million years that this was her life. Sure, she'd spent her fair share of nights over at our house instead of her own and she rarely had anything good to say about her mother, but still, this was harsh.

Casey came back and sat beside me. She tapped my forehead and mimicked snorting the wrinkles out. "I can see that you're still fretting about it so maybe talking about it will help ease your mind."

I managed a small smile. "I mean, if you insist."

"Yeah, me," she said with an eye roll. "Okay, my dad left when I was about ten. There was no warning or anything, like he just packed his shit and was gone. Of course, being so young, I kept pestering everyone about his absence, until one day my older brother snapped and finally told me that he was never coming back and that I needed to lay off. I'll never forget that day because it was the beginning of the end, so to speak." She played with her phone while she spoke, almost as though she needed a distraction. "When my mom started drinking, my brothers stepped up and filled in for her, especially on the days that she was so plastered she couldn't even help me get ready for school. That was asking a lot of kids that were barely old enough to take care of themselves, let alone a ten year old. They shouldn't have had to play that role, but they did and I thank God everyday that they were there for me and still are."

She pointed to my wrinkled forehead and I instantly relaxed my face. "When I started my period, my brothers guided me through it when they didn't even understand it themselves. That was a huge responsibility and they handled it like pros. Everything that I am and will be, I owe to them. They made sure that I always had enough to eat and that I had clean clothing and that I myself was clean." She chuckled then. "Can you imagine a teenaged boy who didn't even like bathing himself, having to convince his kid sister that it was necessary? It's crazy, but it was our world and it's been our world for years. My brothers are gone now, so it's my turn to take care of myself and I think that I'm doing a pretty good job."

"You are, but where's your mom when all of this growing up is happening?"

"Eh, she's around. Drunk off her ass, but she's there for the main stuff like when it comes to giving us money. When she sold the house and bought this one she still had a ton of cash left over and that's helped. Also, my grandparents are always depositing money into our accounts, so that was one less thing that we had to worry about." She frowned. "I'll admit though that sometimes the drinking gets to me and I'd be angry for days about the fact that she loves us so little that she's willing to throw her life away over a man who didn't even love her enough to stick around. Where's the logic in that? It's just straight up dumb."

"I'm sorry that you have to be dealing with all of this."

She shrugged and got up. "It's okay. Logan said he was five minutes away, ten minutes ago so he should be arriving any second now."

I was about to comment on the change in subject when the doorbell rang.

"It's open!" Casey yelled.

Logan strolled in a second later, smile in place. "Sorry, traffic and whatnot."

"Mhmm. Traffic," Casey repeated, tilting her head expectantly for a kiss.

I fake gagged when he kissed her. "Can you two save it for when I'm not around?" I still hadn't gotten used to seeing them together, mainly because I never got to see them together.

"'Sup, Cupcake?"

"Just sitting here." This was awkward. It's like I don't know how to talk to them as a couple. "You brought food?" I asked, gesturing to the bag that was casually slinging from his fingers.

"Chinese." He seemed awfully proud of himself. "I'm just gonna put it in the kitchen and be on my way. Case, come with?"

When about five minutes had gone by and they weren't back yet, I called April to give myself something to do.

"I've tried talking to him at school and he completely ignores me," she said as soon as she picked up.

"Sometimes I call just to say hello and not to serve as your diary, you know." I was only half-joking.

"I know that, but right now he's all that I can think about. I'm sorry that I get lost in my problems, but I seriously need you to help me fix this before it's too late."

"And then we can talk about the shiny shoes that I just bought?"

"I'm just gonna assume that you're being sarcastic, but sure."

"Yay! Now, have you tried leaving him alone for a minute?"

"What?"

"You know, giving him a chance to miss you and all that."

She sighed. "Camille, it's been a while since we've even said two words to each other, he's had plenty of time to miss me."

"Well there's that. So, I've been toying with the idea of inviting you both here for the holidays, but I don't know if he's gonna want to."

"That would've been amazing, but Jase has his family stuff. They literally have plans for every holiday, remember? Also, I think that this year they were going to visit his relatives in Florida."

"And how do you know this?"

"They were planning it all year. If it hasn't changed, then we're out of luck."

I groaned. This was not how I envisioned my plan going. "I'll call him and get back to you. I'm not promising you anything because your problems are yours to fix. Okay?"

"Okay. Just let me know how it goes."

"I'll think about it."

I hung up and waited for a few minutes to see if Casey and Logan would return. After another two minutes had gone by, I called Jason.

"Hey, I was just thinking about calling you!"

"Really? What for? You're not dying, are you?" He sounded almost happy. What was up with that?

He laughed. "No, I'm not dying. I've actually made up my mind."

"Even better! But, what about?"

"April. I'm headed to her house right now to give it one last shot."

Say what now? "Are you being for real? Because if you're just pulling my leg, I'm going to be really upset."

"I'd never do that." He sounded a little hurt. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've come to the conclusion that we can't keep using you as a shield and that we need to just talk about what's broken between us. And that has to be done face to face."

"Wow. That's... wow." I didn't know what to say. While he was always the more levelheaded of the three of us, with all the anger and hateful things that were being thrown around, I didn't think that he'd be the one to come to his senses first.

"I know. I even surprised myself. I just feel really stupid that we've been hiding behind you this entire breakup like a bunch of cowards."

"Well, to be fair, you guys did try to talk about it, you just let your anger get the better of you."

"And that never should have happened. I was really upset because I was still hurt and wanted to hold onto that hurt while also not wanting to lose her and I guess I did both anyway."

I couldn't help my smile. "Yeah, you did."

"Thank you for calling though."

"Anytime. But hey, when did you decide this? Because April said that she tried talking to you today and you blew her off."

He sighed. "I didn't mean to. I was still in my head, trying to convince myself to let all that shit go and she kind of interrupted that. I wasn't ready then, but I am now."

"Glad to hear it."

"Thanks, Cam. For everything."

"No problem, just can someone let me know what happens after you have your big talk?"

"Will do."

"Also, what are you doing for Christmas this year?"

"Uh, going to Florida with the fam. Why?"

"No reason. Go get your girl."

I held the phone to my chest and smiled. I was still a bit apprehensive about being happy, just in case I jinxed it, but dammit, I could not help the smile.

"Hey, Cam?"

I craned my neck in the direction of Casey's voice and nodded as she got closer.

"We've finally finished fighting about it and—"

"You guys were fighting this whole time?"

"Not the point," Logan said with an exasperated sigh. "We're ready to tell the group and we'd like you to act surprised."

"It's about time and, duh. You think that I'd risk Cait's anger if she finds out that I knew before her? She'd never forgive any of us and I didn't even do anything wrong."

Casey sat on the arm of the chair and gave me an awkward hug. "Thank you for keeping our secret."

"Hey, I only kept it to save my behind."

Logan ruffled my hair and laughed when I flipped him off. "Thanks anyway."

"Anytime." When it hit me that I was basically saying that I'd happily keep secrets, I retracted my statement. "Actually, never again. But, you're welcome all the same."