abracadabra

"Ruthie?" Cameron thought he saw her in the hallway, but it wasn't the girl from the lunchroom. He was beginning to wonder if she was just a figment of his imagination as he wondered around the school searching for her. "I mean, Kaylee?" He called.

"Cameron, what are you doing?" Bianca was behind him. "You don't look well."

"Thanks to you." He turned and looked at her then looked away. "I'm not talking to you." He hugged himself.

"We have to talk." She tugged at his shirt. He thought he might passout right now if she got too close.

"No, we aren't friends." He swelled a frown.

"Cameron, I need you." She begged.

"For what?"

"Could you just, you know, act like-" She made eye contact now and he could hardly stand it. "act like my boyfriend."

Cameron thought he might crumble. How could she do this to him?

"He can't," a female voice said and she took his arm. "He doesn't have to act, because he is my boyfriend."

Cameron stood there starring into space. He then looked down to see it was Kaylee, all smiles as if they'd been seeing each other for a long time.

"Is she for real?" Bianca wanted to know.

Cameron looked at Kaylee.

"Of course, she's real." He nodded. But he had to keep staring at Kaylee to make sure she didn't disappear from his sight.

until tomorrow

Kat had a new lease on life. She could have ridden all the way to Canada on the back of Patrick's bike. But instead they went to the boardwalk and stayed on the Farris wheel way into the night.

It was dreamy. It was practically mystical. She couldn't stop laughing with him. It was as if she'd met her soul-mate. She didn't know why she didn't know. Perhaps it was because he wasn't anything like she thought he was.

He was an orphan, sort of. He lived with an old uncle that he took care of. And really his whole life was in that backpack. There were memories of his mother and father. His sister too. Long gone. He never said where, but she imagined the worst. Like a car crash or a sinking ship. She really didn't want to know.

But he talked about them when they lived in Indiana and everything was so much calmer than here.

"I don't think I could stand it now if I went back." He told her. They kissed on the Farris wheel. They played pitching games on the fare-way, and then walked down the beach until they found a spot to spend the night. They'd made a campfire, and stared into the golden light until she fell asleep in his arms.

When she awoke the next morning she was alone in his sleeping bag. He'd left her note that she'd better go back to school.