One Week
Chapter One
Mr. and Mrs. James had to drag her kicking and screaming onto the plane, but Camryn did move to Los Angeles, California. Over the years, however, Camryn grew to love California. She made a group of close friends who called her Cammy, as opposed to Cam. Although she never completely forgot her childhood friend, the only memories of Matt that Cammy had were a few old pictures.
Presently the sixteen year old was asleep in her backyard hammock, a book laying open on her stomach. Her calico cat, Tawny, was curled up by her side, purring contently.
Cammy�s mother slid open the glass door on the side of the house, cordless phone in hand. She walked over to her sleeping daughter and woke her up gently. �Camryn, hun, the phone�s for you,� Mrs. James said, handing Cammy the phone.
Cammy took the phone and said, �You know, you�re the only person who calls me Camryn.�
Her mother smiled. �Well, it is your name,� she reminded her daughter, kissing her on the forehead.
Cammy rolled her eyes and said into the receiver, �Hello?�
�Hey, it�s Sammi,� her friend replied on the other end. �How was you walk home with Shawn?�
Cammy blinked, then rolled her eyes. �So short and boring I almost forgot about it,� she admitted. Shawn Peterson had asked her out last month, but it seemed to Cammy that he never had time for her. Cammy told Sammi about how they hardly talked, and halfway to her house one of Shawn�s friends had pulled up and told him that everyone was headed to the skate park. �So he jumped into his car and told me he�d call me later,� Cammy finished up. �Seriously, we hardly see each other. He tells me he loves me, but then he ditches me for his friends. I don�t get it.�
�Aww, I�m sorry. Hey, how about I call the O�Connell�s and see about a mall trip? It�ll cheer you up, I know it will,� Sammi suggested.
�Great!� Cammy replied, grinning. She loved going to the mall, but moreover she loved going with the O�Connell�s. They were Cammy�s best friends in California, and also some of the most popular girls in school.
Riley and Kelly O�Connell were fraternal twins, the only pair in school. Although they were twins, the two sisters were easily told apart. While Riley had dirty blonde hair, like Cammy, Kelly had very light blonde hair. Riley�s snappy light blue eyes contrasted Kelly�s brown ones. Their personalities were also those of two completely different people. Riley was loud and outgoing, while Kelly was more quiet. The two were the first ones to befriend Cammy when she first moved to Los Angeles.
The twins� younger sister, Haylee, was popular by association to her sisters. Riley and Kelly loved having her around, because her sarcasm and humor always brought grins to their faces. Haylee had golden blonde hair and hazel eyes. Although she was two years younger than her sisters, the three were incredibly close and shared many of the same friends.
Cammy hung up with Sammi and ran inside to get her sandals. She sat on her couch, waiting for her friend�s car to arrive.
�Is it just me, or are there a lot of teenage girls here?� Cammy said to her friends as they walked into the mall.
�Cammy, it�s a mall,� Haylee laughed. �What did you expect to see here?�
Cammy rolled her eyes. �I mean, there�s more than usual. Especially on a Monday.� Her friends shrugged, and they headed to their usual stores: Abercrombie & Fitch, The Gap, Bath and Body Works, and at the end, they headed to the food court.
�Come on, I wanna hurry,� Sammi said. �My older brother�s working at the pizza place there, and we can get free pizza if we get there quick enough.� The five girls walked onto the elevator.
�Hey, don�t let that close!� Cammy turned to see five guys running in their direction. They looked like they were in a huge rush.
Riley, upon hearing them, stopped the elevator door from sliding closed. �Rye, we�re in a hurry!� Sammi reminded her. �Come on, Brad�s shift could end at any minute!�
Riley grinned. �What? They�re cute.� Riley was admittedly boy crazy, and they all knew it.
The five boys ran onto the elevator, pushing Cammy and her friends to the back. There were two Italians, two blondes, and one kid with hair spiked straight up. �Thank you so much,� Spiky said to Riley, smiling a million dollar smile at her. �We�re, uh, sorta late for something.�
�If you hadn�t been so busy hitting on that girl, maybe we wouldn�t BE late!� one of the blondes shouted.
�Relax, Jesse,� one of the Italians said. �Since when do you care if we�re late or not anyway?�
Jesse rolled his eyes. �Gee, Frankie, and I thought you were the responsible one.�
�Guys, please. We don�t have time for arguments now,� The other blonde said. He was still facing the elevator buttons. �But Chris, I really do think you shoulda stopped bothering that girl after her boyfriend showed up��
The boy with the spikes blushed as Cammy and her friends giggled. �Well, how was I supposed to know he was her boyfriend?� he defended himself.
Cammy sneezed, and the boy facing the elevator buttons turned and said, �Bless you.� Then he turned back. Cammy stared. They�d had a brief eye contact, and something about the boy�s eyes set an alarm off in Cammy�s head. She�d never seen such blue eyes, and yet they seemed so familiar. The more Cammy looked at him, the more she felt that she knew him.
�Come on!� Jesse yelled as the elevator doors slid open. As the five guys ran out of the elevator, Cammy followed.
�Cammy, where are you going?� Kelly shouted. Cammy ignored her friend, trying to catch up with the blonde. When she caught up, she turned him around by the shoulder.
�What�s your name?� Cammy asked. She stared deep into his blue eyes again. Oh yeah, definitely familiar, she thought to herself.
The boy blinked. �What?� he asked.
�What�s your name?� Cammy repeated, urgency more relevant in her voice this time.
�Ten minutes late!� Jesse shouted at the two.
�Shut it, Blondie,� Cammy shot back. Jesse stared at her, surprised, as Cammy said, �Please, just tell me your name.�
Realizing that there was no sense arguing with the girl, he said, �My name�s Matt Ballinger. Happy?� He began to walk away.
Cammy lost her voice for a moment, then whispered, �Matty?�
Upon hearing his childhood nickname, Matt stopped. He slowly turned to face the girl. �Camaro?� he whispered back. The four other guys stared as Cammy and Matt stared at each other. Then, at the exact same time, the two screamed. And began hugging each other.
�I can�t believe it�s really you!� Matt yelled, swinging Cammy around in his arms.
�I know! It�s been, what, ten years?� Cammy agreed. By this time her friends had arrived on the scene, and were just as confused as the four guys. �What brings you to California anyway? Are you on vacation or something?�
Matt looked slightly uneasy. �Um, yeah I guess you could say,� he told Cammy.
�Uh, I hate to break up this little love fest,� Jesse started, �but we�re ten minutes late. And we can�t afford to be any later!�
Matt reached into his pockets and produced a pen and a piece of paper. �I�m sorry Cam, but he�s right, I gotta go.� He scribbled down an address, and handed it to Cammy. �Come visit me tomorrow, at around five. We�ll hang out.�
�Okay, I�ll do that,� Cammy promised. She smiled at her old friend. �You know, you haven�t changed a bit, Matt.�
Matt laughed. �Oh, I haven�t?� He shook his head. �Cam, trust me, I�ve changed.� He followed his friends, saying, �See ya, Cam!�
Cammy grinned. �Bye Matt!� she called. Once the guys were out of hearing range, Cammy was immediately bombarded with questions. She smiled, and started telling her friends all about Matt Ballinger.