All Hell Breaks Loose

Chapter Three

"You aren't mad?" Zach asked. Abby had come in only minutes ago and explained that she believed them. She was staring at them with wide, frightened eyes, but didn't look remotely upset. If she wasn't, then here was another perfectly good reason to kick himself. Abby wouldn't have left him and Cameron back then. It would have spared a lot of agony on his best friends' part. Not on his though; he knew now that he and Abby were not meant to be.

"Why would I be mad? I'll admit, I'm a little freaked out, but I can't be mad at you for something you didn't want to happen. You guys didn't want this to happen, right?" Zach shook his head and she put on a brave face to approach Zach. "This whole thing will work itself out, and I'll still be here for you. I love you, Zach."

Cameron felt torn hearing her say the words. On one hand, his jealousy was threatening to break through his careful old-Cameron-mold. On the other, he had been very, very close to breaking up with her. It was difficult to decide which part of him was strongest.

Zach smiled at her, but it was strained. "I-I love you too Sweetheart," he choked out. This would be harder than he thought. "Hey, Abby, do you mind giving me a minute alone with Cam? We've got a couple of body-boundaries to set."

"Um, sure, I guess. God this is going to be so weird." She headed towards the doorway, but stopped with her fingers resting on the doorknob. With a tentative voice she said, "Hey Cameron?"

"Yeah?" he replied, curious. She seemed nervous to speak to him. It wasn't like her – or at least it wasn't like the future-her.

Abby hesitated for a second, looking sorry for even saying anything. "Never mind," she said, leaving the room before he could say anything else.

"That was weird," Cameron muttered, completely perplexed.

Zach shook his head. "How can you have been with her for this whole time and not know that she was terrified just now?"

Cameron rolled his eyes, annoyed that Zach thought he knew Abby better than he did. "She never got terrified when we were together. What was she so scared of then?"

Zach considered it for a second, trying to remember Abby when she was like this. He could only think of one thing it could be. "Well, it's kind of obvious, isn't it?" When Cameron didn't answer, he went on. "She's scared of you."

Cameron just laughed. That was completely ridiculous to him. "She's not scared of me.  She's never been scared of me. We didn't really get along in this time, sure, but to actually scare her? Yeah, right."

Zach rolled his eyes and sighed. "You obviously don't remember that every time she saw you, you made a degrading remark about her and killed her ego. You're so lucky she puts up with you in the future." Giving up on his relationship advice while Cameron considered his words, Zach brought up the bigger problem at hand. "Why aren't we going back to our time? Michelle doesn't even know I exist yet, and Abby still thinks that I told her I loved her for the first time this afternoon!"

"Wait, today was the day you first said you love her?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah, just a couple minutes before you walked in on us and we got into that big fight that caused all of this," he gestured between them.

"Oh, right," Cameron said, remembering his own version of events from back then; or now. He'd come in, seen him on top of her, and started a fight with her, like usual.

Fighting. That's all he ever seemed to do with Abby. From the day they met until he began to like her, and then again in just the past month – or the future month. He didn't know how to think of it anymore. Was he really supposed to be with her if all they ever did was argue?