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STANDFORD was a 2 day journey from Howard. 2 days. A fact that worried Cameron as well as Miguel. 2 days. And for some of Cameron's safety schools, it would be longer than 2 days, or simply farther. But another worry, was the weak suspension that took place during their junior year and how it would look on her record, or if it impacted her college chances. Hell, if it would impact all of theirs. So she was working overtime whenever she was the art room, making sure the paintings and drawings she created linked to psychology, mainly art therapy.

She needed to maintain her focus, but whenever Cameron was studying with Miguel it was just soo hard.

"I thought you wanted help with biology?" Cameron stifled a giggle when Miguel gripped her waist.

He grinned, caressing her exposed skin, "anatomy is a part of that right?"

She smacked his chest and pulled away, but his amusement didn't fade. This continued to happen when they sparred or finished homework.

"Mig," she whined, moving away from him on her bed. She pulled off her glasses, groaning at the smudge he creating with his thumb, "can you be serious?" She cleaned the lens, facing away form him and his chuckling. "Is this because i'm not giving you any attention?"

"We've hardly spoken since we got to your room," he huffed, catching the pen he used that was about to roll off of her bed. "And you're smashing English lit, you have been since the second semester of Junior year." She put her glasses back on and went back to their homework making him sigh. "C'mon, did everything go well at therapy?"

Cameron tensed at the mention of it since he was the topic of the entire session just like the previous one.

Miguel frowned about the change in her demanour but she cut him off before he could say anything, "Baby, just focus on your homework and then you can finish your application. Okay?" he pouted at her response, "and then we can make out afterwards."

That seemed to do the trick because he had  begun writing like he was running out of time. But too bad when he returned home and decided to read out his personal essay to his family, the sewage pipe burst.

"He'll live with us right mom?" Cameron suggested when Miguel, Rosa, Carmen, Johnny and Robby arrived at their bungalow.

Alexis went to agree but Carmen shook her head, "it's too much to ask for Lexi."

"No, it's not. After everything we've all been through, the kids are in their final year of high school and Carmen, you're pregnant," Alexis listed, giving the women drinks, whilst the kids snacked on chips that Cameron provided. "It's the least we can do. There's a spare room for the boys to stay."

"Boys?" Robby spoke up, believing he misheard. He looked between him and Miguel and then his dad who was typing away at his phone trying to pressure the super to fix the mess. "I don't have to stay Mrs James."

"Nonsence," Alexis reassured him, "you and Miguel can take Drew's old room."

"Ignore the arrogant smell," Cameron joked.

"Are you sure? I can just stay –"

"-- we're down to two bedrooms robby, stay with Alexis," Johnny encouraged him, after pocketing his phone. He shot the woman a greatful look. "Carmen and Rosa will stay with me until the problem's fixed."

Rosa happily clasped her hands together, "suena como un plan (sounds like a plan)"

"Thank you Alexis," Miguel was grateful, although he would miss his room for the time being. Cameron came forward and took his hand in hers.

"Really, thank you," Robby smiled at the woman, who patted fondly his shoulder.

Alexis announced, "But there will be rules,"

"Of course," Carmen nodded in agreement.

"No sneaking in out of rooms."

"We weren't thinking of that," Cameron flushed, despite planning to do exactly that.

Robby had an idea, "Or Miguel can always stay with Cameron and I get the spare room to myself."

"Absolutely not," Alexis shut it down, ignoring the couple's arguments.

Miguel murmured, "I wouldn't mind that."

"We would!" Carmen and Alexis said in unison.

Johnny laughed.

"And you wouldn't want to stresss out a pregnant woman would you?" Alexis added, sending pointed looks to the kids.

"You got your work cut out for you with these three, Alexis," Johnny remarked, making the woman roll her eyes.

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"MY mom is definetly watching us like a hawk." Cameron muttered, looking through the many brochures she picked up between each table. The college fair was in full effect and she and Miguel were sure to take advantage of it. "Are you happy that you're staying with us?"

He smiled at her, "I'm more than happy I get to live with you. Even if it's only temporary."

This morning they all ate breakfast together and just talked. It was lovely. He could tell Robby did feel awkward about living in someone else's home but he was settling in just fine.

Cameron realised, "Lily was right. "

"About what?"

She told him, "She said that me and my mom won't be alone for too long. Freaky right?"

"Very freaky." he nodded.

"Seniors are invited to the student center for a lunchtime college fair. Representatives from four-year colleges..." The principal said on the PA.

"So..." Miguel cleared his throat, noticing the names of some of the brochures in her hand, "you thinking about more schools or are just gonna take all of them home?"

She let out fake laugh, "Very funny, don't worry. I was thinking of applying to LA Pacific University. Only 6 hours from Stanford in a car."

Miguel lightly scoffed, "Oh, come on. I haven't even gotten in. Please."

"Yet," she said lovingly before they found Demetri and Eli.

The former greeted, "Hey!"

"What's up?" Eli said, smiling at the couple.

"All of our trials and tribulations of nerdom have finally come to this." Demetri gesticulated, "We're the belles of the ball."

Miguel pulled a face, "Is that what we are?"

"Oh yes, my friend. They are fumbling around our dresses trying to cop a feel of our tantalising brains."

"And this when I leave you guys to whater that was," Cameron couldn't deal with Demetri's analogy.

"I'm sorry," Miguel quietly apologised as he leaned in and pecked her lips.

"Good luck," she laughed.

He grumbled, "Thank you."

At last she found Lily and Sam who chatted away about their options.

"Thank god, just escaped Demetri talking about MIT," Cameron expressed.

Lily rolled her eyes as he put away her brochures, "Don't get me started, he won't talk about anything else."

Sam's brows furrowed, "Isn't he going with Eli as well?"

"That's what Eli is saying but I told him to also put down some safety schools. It's not because I doubt my man, but there are plenty of great schools for all of us to go to and –" she wacked both of them with her brochures earning gasps and confused faces. "Really, a triple date and no one reported back to me?"

Cameron sighed, "Ouch."

"Seconded," Sam said, rubbing her arm.

Lily scoffed, "Oh please it was a stack of paper on a bat. You guys need to give me a rundown of that entire thing."

"Later," Cameron promised.

"Back to the subject of college. You know I heard Stanford offers a great psychology department," Sam mentioned.

"I know but my sights are set on Howard," Cameron didn't want to apply just because Miguel was going.

They did not need to be at the same college.

Lily nodded, "As are mine. They offer a full scholarship and I wanna study marine biology."

"Is that why nemo is your laptop screensaver?" Sam asked, humour in her tone.

"Perhaps," Lily lightly laughed, "anyways it's 7 hours, driving or train to MIT if Eli wants to still go there."

"Why wouldn't he wanna go there?" Cameron narrowed her eyes, "wait has he said anything to you?"

"Just... he worries you know?" Was all Lily said. She knew about his doubts and didn't want to get stuck at a college for 4 years and hate it. Cameron still looked sceptical. "But now we're here. We might as well talk about you and Tory."

Sam stammered, "Uh... we're fine."

"Same," Cameron hummed.

"...right." Lily then proposed, "Gossip over shakes?"

Sam looked between them, "Sure you don't want to go to a college party?"

"Every time we go to a party there's a fight or a brawl. I just want to avoid that for one day," Cameron stated.

Lily dreaded the thought, despite loving drama. "And hopefully the boys can too,"

"Wishful thinking," Sam huffed out a laugh.

"So..." Lily was hoping they would agree to her proposal.

Exchanging a look, Sam and Cameron agreed, "we're in."

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"IT'S awkward," Cameron expressed after taking a sip of the spiked shake.

Lily poured away too much vodka into the banana milkshake pitcher and it was showing its effects. She watched with hazy eyes whilst Cameron and Sam droned on opposite her.

Sam burped, before she added, "So awkward."

"Not awkward like me and you were but a different type," Cameron murmured, leaning on her hand.

"And the silences are long."

"Way too long. Like what happened on the date," Cameron pointed out, making Sam snap her fingers in realisation.

Sam agreed, "It was just dull."

They turned back to Lily and each took a sip of the shake.

Cameron slurred slightly, "And we've tried."

"We have," Sam hiccuped.

"Actually Sam is doing most of the trying."

Sam gave her some credit, "You tried yesterday."

"Thank you."

Lily leaned back, "I shouldn't have put vodka in this."

"Where did you get it from anyway?" Sam cocked her head.

"My grandma," Lily answered, at the same time as Cameron, "her grandma."

"Great woman." Cameron added, smacking the table slightly too hard.

Sam eyes lit up as she pointed at Lily, "I would love to meet her."

For a brief moment they all forget what they were talking about.

Cameron peered between them, "What are we talking about?"

It was like a light bulb went off in Lily's mind, "Tory."

Sam slowly nodded, "Oh right, have you talked to her?"

"At times. It's just odd, but I get it because we stopped being friends and now we're being..." Lily trailed off, rubbing her head.

"Awkward," the karate girls finished her train of thought.

"Exactly." Lily spoke, "Wouldn't it be weird if we were just all friends from the beginning?"

"Super weird," Cameron pulled a face. "But we would've saved so much time. And effort and less injuries."

Sam mentioned, "Psychological and physical." She paused to point at Cameron, "Like your degree, psychology ."

Cameron gasped, "Right."

"I love this shake, so glad we agreed not to go to a party and came here," Lily murmured against the straw as she the others nodded in agreement.

They overheard a few people talking, "Did you hear about the fight at College of the Valley? Some guys were kicking ass."

"Like some karate movie," Someone else said, drawing wide eyes from the girls. "It was unbelievable."

Their friend said, "Yeah at the Theta Omega House."

Cameron punched the bridge of her nose, "That's not..."

"You don't think they're talking about our boys right?" Lily sighed.

Sam grimaced, "Wishful thinking right?"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"WITH Kyler? Him and Brucks. No, no way." Cameron shook her head, staring at Miguel who sat up on the foot of her bed. He had just finished telling her about his eventful day, whilst she stood between his legs, combing a hand through his hair. It was obvious to him that they'd been drinking, "And he gave you advice."

He sheepishly admitted, "Yeah. Pretty great advice too."

"That's good baby, but I don't like him. I still don't. I don't know why you'd listen to him after everything. He's the reason you had to defend yourself. Not to mention what he did to Sam." She rambled, "Also he was an ass to me, Lily and Aisha for years."

Miguel winced, "I know, I know. It was just another perspective."

"One you probably do not need. The guy is a loser," Cameron replied, earning a pointed look from him.

"Roni," he squeezed her waist whilst holding her up.

"He's called us the worse," she shrugged and continued to play with his hair, "but let's forget about him."

Miguel's lips nearly tugged up into a smile when he stared up at her, "How much did you have to drink?"

She looked so dreamy to him, so adorable, so cute whilst combing a hand through his hair. Even as she stumbled into her room with his help and she attempted to take off her make-up and failed. And that's why they ended up at the foot of her bed, rambling about their days.

"A couple of sips and then another pitcher before we got kicked out," Cameron sheepishly admitted.

"Your tolerance is low," he commented, sighing at what he had to say next. "You need to change that before college."

She said, "Howard."

"Yeah, Howard," he exhaled, as a heavy feeling settled on his chest.

She mumbled, "Pretty far."

"Very far."

The silence between them was brief but said a lot. Neither one would mention their worries or state their concerns about the distance and so they allowed it to morph into the elephant in the room. The big fucking elephant that wouldn't go away.

Thankfully there was a knock on Cameron's door. They knew it was Robby since Alexis wouldn't knock or allow the door to be closed. Plus, the James Matriarch was out helping Carmen.

"Robby!" She said with a slight squeal startling him when he stepped into the room.

Robby stared at Miguel for an explanation, "she's drunk," Miguel stated, holding onto her as she swivelled on her heel to stare at his surrogate brother.

Robby laughed, folding his arms, "So I take it the college fair went well."

Miguel murmured, "It was certainly enlightening."

"They got into a fight," Cameron told him, dropping onto Miguel's lap with a groan.

Miguel huffed, "Roni."

"With Kyler," she added with a knowing look, making Robby turn to him with a wide expression.

Miguel quickly explained, "He was on our side."

"Yuck," Cameron gagged.

"Long story man."

"Sounds like it." Robby began rocking on his heels as he looked at the tipsy girl. "So... dinner. Your mom cooked a lot and it's in the fridge."

Miguel stifled a smile when Cameron almost fell off the bed. He held her steady.

Cameron turned to smile at Robby, "Okay."

"You're not hungry?" Robby tentatively asked.

Miguel answered, "I could eat."

"So are we gonna eat around the table?" Robby raised a questioning brow.

Miguel noted how Cameron's sobriety was gradually coming back, they exchanged a teasing look then faced the boy.

Cameron asked, "Do you wanna eat around the table?"

He nodded rather eagerly, "Yes, I would like to."

Robby liked to eat around the table. It was nice. It was domestic. And even though Alexis wasn't at home he wanted to continue to eat around the table. He liked the routine.

Miguel's eyes softened, then decided, "I'll dish out the food, I don't trust Roni not to drop it. She gets clumsy when she's drunk."

Robby chuckled, "More than that I've heard."

"Shut up."

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THE next morning Cameron was dealing with a hangover, ignoring the smell of the crispy bacon, fried eggs, French toast and orange juice. She thought coloring would help as she sat between Miguel and Robby. Alexis scrolled through her itinerary on her phone for the day.

Miguel fondly smiled at his girlfriend, she grumbled whilst she coloured and turned up her face to the smell of the food. He also noted when Robby paused in the middle of eating some toast and reached for one of Cameron's markers and pulled it out of the box.

Cameron dramatically gasped, and smacked his hand away, "Robby used one of my markers mom!"

"Robert!" Alexis scolded not looking up from her phone.

Rubbing his hand, Robby apologised, "Sorry Mrs James."

"It's okay baby."

Cameron gasped again, "Mom!"

"He apologised," Alexis said calmly, ignoring Miguel's snickering.

Cameron groaned, "But he didn't follow the chart."

She gripped the marker in question then consulted with the chart.

Alexis faced the bickering, then her gaze landed on the markers on the table, "Move the chart and markers and eat your breakfast."

"Thanks Mrs James." Robby thanked her again, more smugly this time.

Alexis smiled at him, "I've told you to call me Alexis, Robby."

"Sorry."

She assured him, "Don't apologise."

"He should apologise for using my markers." Cameroon flipped off Robby, then received a deadpan expression.

"Cameron." Alexis warned, averting her eyes before she started to laugh.

"Sorry mom," Cameron apologised before covering her hand and doing it again.

Miguel shook his head, amused, "I told you not to use them."

"They looked cool." Robby murmured, itching to grab another marker.

Cameron glared at him, "Follow the chart next time. Now I have to reorganise them."

"But..."

Miguel spoke up, "Follow the chart."

Alexis rolled her eye, "Eat you three, I have work until 4 and then I'm helping Carmen and Amanda with the baby shower at 5, my group is at 8 but Evan is buying me coffee."

Cameron raised up a brow, "And then?"

Alexis didn't answer immediately, making the boys stare at her, "Felix will be joining us."

"Felix?" Robby wondered aloud.

Cameron informed, "The man she's dating."

"That's nice."

Alexis hastily told Robby, "I'm not dating anyone." it's too soon, she told herself.

"He's good-looking. Evan's rich though," Cameron added, sorting out her markers, and dodging Miguel's attempts to make her eat.

Alexis scoffed, "It's not about the money."

"And Evan looks like Roni's dad with hair," Miguel regrettably stated when he was sent a scolding look.

Robby's eyes briefly widened, "He does?"

"He does," Cameron snorted.

"Eat your food!" Alexis exclaimed.

"Sorry Alexis," The boys apologised at the same time as Cameron, "Sorry Mom."

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a/n:

from chatting shit about sam in season one to chatting shit with her in season six. growth.