𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝟮: 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿

Chapter Eighteen

Serena's P.O.V.

"Oh no, they keep pouring in. They're not happy about this," I said, looking over to Cameron as we took an Uber back to T.J.'s house. Ever since Cameron and I posted pictures of our frozen yogurt on Instagram, people started asking questions if Aidan and I broke up, and some were accusing me of using Aidan for clout even though that wasn't the case at all. "I'm sure the attention will die down in a few days," Cameron said, gently rubbing my back.

I started to think that maybe hanging out with him was a mistake. Maybe I should've just stayed home with T.J and prepared for my concert. "Thanks for taking me back to the house," I said, getting out of the car. But suddenly, Cameron got out too. "Do you mind if I hang out with you in the house for a bit? My parents are out for a few hours running errands, so I don't need to go home quite yet," Cameron asked.

I was reluctant at first. T.J's parents probably wouldn't like the fact that I invited a boy into their house. But at the same time, they had grown to like me within a short period, so I thought they would be cool with it. "Y-yeah, I guess," I sighed. Cam and I walked up the driveway and entered the house. Immediately T.J. stood up from the sofa and walked towards us. "Cameron! I didn't know you were coming!" T.J. smiled, embracing him tightly. Footsteps approached us, and I saw Mr. and Mrs. McGibbon looking at us in confusion.

"Why is Cameron here?" Mr. McGibbon asked. "I was just wondering, Can Cameron hang out here for a few hours?" I asked, silently hoping they would say yes. "Yeah, he's just hanging out, right?" Mrs. McGibbon hesitantly agreed. It was obvious that in her mind, she thought that we were going to hook up. But obviously, we weren't! "Yeah, just hanging out," I assured. I led Cameron upstairs to my room, and I immediately got out my guitar and notebook.

"So, how's the work coming for the concert?" he asked as I tuned my guitar. "It's harder than I thought it was going to be. Ever since Aidan and I split, you would think I would've written a few songs about my pain. But my mind has been completely blocked," I explained. I handed him my notebook so he could see the blank pages for himself, and I saw his eyes grow wide as he flipped to the empty pages. "Wow, but you still wrote some songs, right?" he asked.

"I have a few. But there's one in particular I'm worried about. If I perform it, I think people are going to believe that Aidan and I did break up," I answered, pulling out a keyboard from under the bed. I was very grateful that T.J had a keyboard that I could practice on. The last time I used a piano was before we left for Toronto.

You used to tell me that you loved me once
What happened? What happened?
Where is all of this coming from?
What happened? What happened?
You say I'm crazy and there's nothing wrong
You're lying, and you know I know
Baby, what have we become?
What happened?

We used to never go to bed angry
But it's all we ever do lately
And you're turning away like you hate me
Do you hate me? Do you hate me? Oh

You can take this heart
Heal it or break it all apart
No, this isn't fair
Love me or leave me here
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Love me or leave me here
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Love me or leave me here, love

Love me, baby, please
Cause I could still be the only one you need
The only one close enough to feel you breathe
Yeah, I could still be that place where you run
Instead of the one that you're running from, ooh

You can take this heart
Heal it or break it all apart
No, this isn't fair
Love me or leave me here
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Love me or leave me here
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Love me or leave me here

Cameron started clapping and smiling when I finished, and I couldn't help but blush a light pink. "That was good, Serena!" he complimented. The piece had been so full of emotional things that halfway through it, I started crying, but I still kept going. "Thanks," I sniffled, wiping away the few tears that ran down my cheeks. He grabbed my hand and scooted closer to me, giving me a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey, I know it's hard right now. But you will recover," He whispered. I looked up at him. A smile had spread across his face. His hand had now moved to my cheek, and I was a little surprised at this daring move. "Look, you're a good guy, Cameron. But, I can't right now," I said, scooting away from him. I was worried that I was going to hurt his feelings, but judging from the look on his face, he was not affected by that. It looked like he understood.

"That's okay. I just want to let you know that if you ever need a guy to talk to about this, I'm always here," He assured. I nodded slowly, and I continued playing some of my music for Cameron, hoping that his feedback would be positive, so I was ready for the concert next week.