Caught (Camren)

•8•

Warning: Sexual Content

I woke up in my own bed the morning after our little adventure. I wasn't entirely sure how I'd gotten there, or when for that matter, but I was there. The memories of the night before came flooding back to me and I laid there, smiling like an idiot with the sheets pulled to my chest. I pushed myself out of bed and threw on a pair of clean clothes, skipping down the stairs and finding my parents in the kitchen. I took a seat at the table, resting my head in the palm of my hand and biting my lip to try and fight a smile.

"What's got you so happy this morning?" my dad asked.

"It's nothing."

"Obviously it's something," my mom said. "Where were you last night? I didn't hear you come in until around five."

"I was with Andrew," I told them.

At least I wasn't lying; I was just avoiding the truth.

"What did you two do?" she questioned.

"Oh, you know...watched a movie and stuff," I shrugged. "Nothing special."

"Oh...okay," she nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. "I was just curious because there was a story on the news this morning about a group of kids that robbed a convenience store and...it was so strange. One of the girls that they described sounded exactly like you."

I sat up straight in my chair, glancing back and forth between both of my parents nervously. Did they know, or were they just giving me a hard time? I couldn't get caught. That would mean I would more than likely be grounded for life and forced to refrain from contact with any of my friends, including Lauren.

"Kids these days," my dad sighed. "It's a good thing you're so well behaved."

I rolled my eyes and stood up from the table, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a gallon of milk to pour myself a glass.

"You don't have to be an ass, dad, I know I'm not perfect," I told him.

"No one expects you to be perfect, honey," my mom assured me. "We just expect you to behave."

"Hey, at least I'm not out robbing convenience stores," I shrugged, picking up my glass and carrying it into the living room.

I sat down on the couch and flipped on the TV, scrolling through channels and deciding on Cartoon Network when I couldn't find anything else to watch. I got through an entire hour and a half of Adventure Time before the doorbell rang and I shot off the couch to answer it. I expected it to be a delivery or even just Andrew, but I pulled the door open to reveal Lauren instead.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Good morning," she reciprocated.

She stepped inside and I shut the door, standing in the entryway awkwardly as she looked around. There I was, more nervous than ever before as usual. We'd barely spoken three words to each other and I already felt myself stumbling over my own thoughts.

"Uh...what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to work on the project," she told me.

"On a Saturday?" I groaned. "Really?"

"We only have a week left of school," she argued. "I would have invited you to my place but I figured we could work on it here...in your room...alone."

I backed away and mouthed, "Oh," as she nodded. I cleared my throat and led her through the house, finding our way into the kitchen where my parents were staring curiously.

"This is Lauren," I introduced. "She's my...partner for a project at school."

"It's nice to meet you both," she smiled.