There was a dark cloud floating over Cameron's head.
The coffee was starting to get cold, and his hand was throbbing from holding it for too long. His legs were tired, and the bones in his shoulder were starting to pulverize from leaning on the wall all this time. It didn't have to. This could've all ended ten minutes ago if he'd just walked away, but he couldn't.
It started when the phone started ringing.
"Hello?"
He smiled when he heard the voice. The kitchen was empty when he came to it, so Cameron wasn't expecting Emery to be home. He opened his mouth to ask Emery why he was calling from inside the house, cordially believing that this was a continuation of the prank the redhead pulled last night.
Long story short, Emery had sneaked a Bluetooth speaker under his bed and in the middle of the night, played a creepy recording he found on YouTube on full blast.
Everyone woke up when they heard a hoarse, bloodcurdling scream, which definitely came from the speaker as far as they were concerned.
So, he opened his mouth, expecting the call to be for him, but then he heard a second voice, and he immediately knew it wasn't.
"Emery? Hey."
"Lucas!" Emery sounded pleased to hear his voice, which Cameron never really got. It's been five weeks and Lucas still irks him. It's not Lucas' fault. Or maybe it is. The thing is, he just doesn't care enough to make sure. "Oh my God, hi. What's up?"
Cameron stood there for the next few minutes trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, he realized that the house that they were standing in was old and the telephones probably worked identically to how they did at his grandma's place.
Suddenly, Cameron was brought back to Christmas vacation when he was eight, when he and Cate would run to the telephone whenever it started ringing so they could hear where their parents hid their Christmas presents. Cate would shush him when he'd start giggling too loudly, and then they'd fight, but then they'd find the presents, and suddenly, all is forgiven. They thought they were being sneaky until they found out their parents planned the whole thing every year, explaining why his dad always sounded like he was trying not to laugh and his mom sounded like she was trying not to hit him with the handset.
The telephones in the house were all connected, just like they were when he was eight at his grandma's.
In short, he could hear everything. But unlike when he was eight, he was not excited to hear the rest of it.
It was a fun trip down memory lane until Cameron was brought back by Lucas' voice.
"Nothing much," Lucas answered, chuckling. Cameron rolled his eyes. "Just thought I should check if the telephone still works so I started dialing random numbers."
Cameron stared at the handset briefly as he fought the urge to scoff at the transmitter and let Lucas know just how much he could smell the BS on his end.
But by the sound of it, Emery knew that too. "Are you lying? You know I hate lying."
"I know. I also knew you were home," Lucas said. "Make of that what you will."
It sounded like something got caught in Emery's throat. "Wha- huh? What- I um, I'm not sure I understand..."
Despite his feelings, Cameron couldn't help but chuckle quietly. He knew that tone and stuttering. Emery was probably curled in his sheets, trying to hide his blushing cheeks from no one and terribly failing.
For a while, that's all he kept his focus on. He managed to forget that Lucas was on the other line, too busy listening to the sound of the bed shifting and Emery's little "hello?" when Lucas became quiet.
Emery didn't need anyone to notice he was cute. He just was.
"You're so cute..." Cameron felt his heart drop, thinking he accidentally said it out loud. When he realized what actually happened, it didn't feel any better.
"Lucas, you're freaking me out," Emery laughed awkwardly. "Are you having a stroke? Should I call someone?"
Air escaped his nose as he laughed, and Cameron had to purse his lips shut when he realized they could've heard that, but the conversation went on, so they probably didn't.
"I'm not having a stroke, Emery."
Emery took a while to respond. "You're saying crazy stuff. I don't know what to believe."
When he wasn't feeling like a creep listening in on an obviously private conversation, Cameron felt like an idiot. Because what was he doing? He could've easily put the phone down and continued eating his breakfast in peace.
It was Lucas' turn to fall silent. Cameron thought it was finally over, but of course, he was wrong. Because after a few moments, the sound of breathing can be heard through the receiver, and Lucas spoke again.
"Emery, I have something to say."
Cameron's grip on the handset grew tighter. Suddenly, he wanted to take the moment away from Lucas. Say something. Anything. Maybe he could run to Emery's room and bang on his door. Lie and say the kitchen was on fire. Yeah, that could work. He could totally do that.
But arson was never really his thing.
He shook his head, laughing at his own desolate attempt at humor before hooking the phone back on the wall.
He knew he had to walk away because God knows what would've happened if he didn't.
He knew what this was.
Cate said it before, but he knew way back that it was already happening. Again. And if Cameron was willing to pour in a little more honesty in his basket, he's freaking mortified.
He's starting to like someone who likes somebody else.
Cameron knew from previous experience how this would end. And he knew he was better off actually committing arson than having the balls to prevent it from happening.
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