Cameron popped another piece of gum in his mouth as he paced back and forth in the lounge. His black jacket lay lifelessly over the back of the couch as he strolled around clutching Kith's corsage. It was some blue flower he couldn't remember the name of. The point was, it matched her dress. If she was going to get pissed at him sometime during the night, it wouldn't be because her corsage was the wrong color.
His mom drove an hour to act as Kith's personal stylist. Upon arriving, she promptly kicked him out of their room. He hadn't even been dressed. And he could only imagine what they were upstairs doing. For the past hour and a half, he'd been relatively alone on the first floor of the house. After getting dressed in the downstairs bathroom, he retired to the lounge.
The sound of plastic crinkling attracted his attention. Looking down, he noted the dent his thumb had made. Glancing around, he made sure no one was around to see. Deciding it was safer for the corsage if it was out of his hands, he set it on one of the end tables. Exhaling a breath of minty freshness, he swiped a hand over his newly cut hair. It was nice and dark outside. Prom started at eight-thirty and ended at eleven-thirty. Humming to himself, he checked the collar of his white shirt.

"Oh shit!" Nate whistled. Cameron whirled around to see half the house in their pajamas, gawking and wolf-whistling at him.

"Shut up, Nate," rolling his eyes, Cameron glowered at the ground.

"Look at you in your little blue vest," one of them stalked over and ran a hand over it. "What color would you say this is?"

"The hell if I know," Cameron shrugged and shoved his hand off. "It matches Kith's dress. I don't know if it has a name."

"You don't even get this dressed up for our formals," someone commented.

"Did you cut your hair?" another guy questioned.

"It's Prom," Cameron reasoned. "And she's my girlfriend. She wanted me to look nice, so..."

"Whipped!" everyone chanted.

"Shut the hell up!" hissing, he flapped his hands for them to be quiet. "My mom is here!" the guys snorted and continued making fun of his appearance. "And you all went to Prom! We all dress the same, excluding the vest and the shirt. And maybe the tux itself if you're feeling creative..."

"You know what everyone does Prom night, right?"

Cameron's eyes darted back and forth. "Uh... gets drunk?" That's what he'd done.

"And?"

"Um... I don't know," Cameron ran his hands self-consciously over his vest again. He didn't plan on admitting it them, but he liked it. It wasn't the best blue, but he could've been sporting a worse color, like purple. Just the thought made him grimace.

"They get laid," biting his bottom lip, one of the seniors raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Well," Cameron grabbed his jacket and shoved his arms into the sleeves. They had to leave soon. Unlike Kith's classmates, she lived an hour away from their city, not to mention the hotel, which was located somewhere near the beach. They needed hit the road soon. He hadn't planned on spending his Saturday night at Prom ever again. "I am not getting drunk or laid tonight, fellas."

"You're not?" Ty sounded skeptical. "You're the slut of the house, Cameron."

"First of all, I take offense to that. I'm not a slut; I'm a classy whore at best. And she's eight months pregnant, almost nine," Cameron pointed out, tracing his eyes over the assembled group. He stood in silent jealously of their pajama pants and t-shirts.

"Not even a handie?" one of the guys inquired, leaning in the doorway.

"What-no," Cameron made a face and glanced over their heads to make sure Kith wasn't somewhere posted in the background. Or his mom. That would be a terribly awkward conversation. A handjob did sound nice though; his hands were getting boring. "Maybe. We'll see how the night goes."

"That's our Cameron!" He received several high-fives.

"Cameron."

"Mom!" straightening up, he glanced around nervously, hoping she hadn't heard any of that. Following his lead, all the other guys, cleared their throats and put on their innocent masks.

"Hi, Cameron's mom."

"Hi, Mrs. Blake."

"Hi, boys," she said slowly, eyes roaming over them, no doubt scrutinizing their appearance. "Cameron."

"Yes?"

"Kith's ready, should be down soon," she smiled. Stalking over, she adjusted her purse on her shoulder and then began violently straightening Cameron's collar.

"Ow, Mom!" jerking forward, he glimpsed his frat brothers pressing fists to their mouths to block laughter. Glaring at them, he returned his attention to his assault. "Mom, stop. It's fine."

"Yeah, because I fixed it," stepping back, she eyed her handiwork. Tsking, she shook her head, but kept her hands to herself. "It's nice to see you in something other than jeans and t-shirts, too."

"Thanks, Mom," he ran his hands over the front of his jacket and reached for the corsage.

"You be good tonight," she warned. "Better than you were for your own Prom."

"I was fine, Mom," he rolled his eyes. They were still behaving like children, pointing and laughing at him. Cameron could only imagine the he'll he'd endure over the next few days, maybe even weeks. She made her I-know-better-than-that face. "Mom..."

"Alright, alright," holding up her hands, she gave up. "I'll see you soon."

As she turned, the guys shot up as if they'd had metal rods inserted into their backs.

"Bye, Mom," Cameron ushered her off.

"Have a nice night, boys," she waved.

"Bye, Mrs. B!"

"Bye, Cameron's mom!"

Shooting him one last smile, she disappeared out the front door and down the steps. Ty shut the door behind her.

"What is taking her so long?" Cameron dug his phone from his pocket.

"You know we're gonna make fun of you for weeks for this, right?" Nate questioned, draping his arm around Cameron's shoulders.

"Yeah," Cameron mumbled. A creak at the top of the steps sent his neck shooting in that direction. He almost gave himself whiplash.

Kith slowly proceeded down the stairs, causing all the guys to fall silent. All the jokes, the comments, the snide remarks disappeared as she descended. Cameron's eyes rose from the bottom of her light blue mermaid dress to her stomach, then her shoulders, and then her hair. It looked like a regular bun, except the bun part was made of interwoven curls. He blinked just so his eyes wouldn't dry out, and then continued to shamelessly stare. As her foot cleared the last stair, Kith took a deep breath, and smiled.

"Well?" she spread her arms, modeling the dress further.

"Oh shit," Nate muttered, dropping his arm from Cameron's shoulders.

"What?" Kith looked alarmed.

"Goddamn!" Nate answered.

"Nate!" Cameron shoved his elbow into his ribs.

"Is that... good?" Kith searched the crowd for some sort of elaboration.

"You look amazing, Kith," Ty spoke up. "If Lucy was here, she'd say you look cute." Kith beamed.

"I... corsage," Cameron shook the box dumbly.

"Oh, wow," Kith stared down at it. Grinning, she thrust her arm out. "You don't have one though."

"The ones for guys are stupid anyway," Cameron regained his ability to form complete sentences. Opening the box, he tossed the plastic coffin to one of the guys, and slid it onto her wrist.

"Pictures!" Felix shouted from the back.

"We don't need-"

"We have to document this beautiful moment!" Felix argued, glaring wickedly at Cameron.

"We're already late!" Cameron shot him a look that told him to shut up. "We'll take pictures there and bring them back if you guys are that interested."

"That's not the same as Prom pictures in the A.C.E house," Ty nodded in agreement with Michael. "When will we ever have this same opportunity?"

"I sincerely doubt that anyone would want their Prom pictures taken here," Cameron countered. A frat house was not prime locale for a Prom shoot. "Come on, Kith."

"But your friends really want to take pictures," she stopped him just by standing in place. "Maybe we should."

"Yeah, maybe you should," Felix nodded, smiling. Setting his jaw, Cameron released his grip on the door.

"Fine. Make it quick," rolling his eyes, he stood next to Kith and placed his hands on her waist. Nate broke out his phone.

"Smile!" he said enthusiastically.

"I hate all of you," Cameron said through his smile.

"We'll have these printed and hung up in no time," Nate answered, taking three more. Each time, Cameron was nearly blinded by the flash.

"Cameron, that's great!" Kith buzzed. "Now we don't have to buy any."

"Yeah, Cameron. It's great," Nate snapped another shot.

"Screw you, Nate!" Cameron hissed through a smile. His face was starting to hurt.

"Cameron!" Kith snapped.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"I think I have enough," Nate nodded, handing his phone to Ty, who masked a laugh with a cough. He promptly passed the phone over his shoulder so everyone else could get a good look. "You kids have a nice, safe night."

Holding the door open for Kith, Cameron mouthed 'I hate you' at his best friend.

"Cameron, I don't need help!" Kith protested as Cameron jogged around to assist her from the passenger seat of his truck.

"Kith," ignoring her, he grabbed her hands and helped her anyways. "Pride is a sin."

"Says the guy who takes off his shirt every chance he gets," she countered, snatching her bag from the dash.

"It's a crime to keep these hidden!" he shoved his keys into his pocket. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pressed his nose into her hair, and walked her down the sidewalk. "Like now? I'm pretty sure I'm violating a few laws."

"They're not that great," she countered, pushing him away some.

"Excuse me?" Cameron stopped walking.

A few feet ahead, Kith turned around. Sighing, she folded her arms and tapped her foot. "Seriously, Cameron?"

"My abs aren't that great?" he repeated, wrinkling his forehead in confusion. "I don't... I don't understand why you would say something like that."

"Cameron, come on." As other couples walked past, she motioned for him to rejoin her.

"No," he refused. She'd wasted time taking Prom pictures that they guys would later use to mock him. A few more minutes wouldn't kill her. "I'm trying to wrap my head around why you would say something so hurtful." He pretended to tear up.

"Cameron!" she hissed, flapping her arm.

"Do you know how hard I've worked to get these?" he pointed at his abdomen.

Kith smiled at another couple walking past. Cameron scanned his eyes over them, noted how ugly the girl's purple dress was, and returned to his situation. Pressing her lips together, Kith tucked her tiny bag beneath her arm, and stalked back over to him. "I've seen better abs on a Hollister model," she said smartly, planting one hand on her lower back. Her eyes sparkled more than normal because of her make-up.

"You take that back," Cameron said slowly.

"You-"she struck him with her tiny, blue bag-"get your ass into Prom right now!" Kith had never sworn at him before.

"You apologize," cocking his head to the side, he folded his arms and held his ground. "That was uncalled for."

"I'm not apologizing," she hit him again.

"Then I guess I'm not going to Prom," he determined, whistling with his hands in his pockets. "Which is such a shame, because I look really fucking good tonight."

"Cameron."

"Say you're sorry," he worked to conceal a smirk.

Scoffing, Kith rolled her eyes. Setting her jaw, she lowered her sparkling eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Say my abs are the best you've ever seen," he negotiated.

"Your abs are the best I've ever seen," she said unenthusiastically. Her voice reminded him of a robot; Cameron just wanted to hear her say it, because messing with her was fun. "Come on." She grabbed his hand. He still didn't budge.

"Say that you'd lick a variety of ice cream toppings off them."

"Ew," wrinkling her nose, she dropped his hand. "I'm not gonna say that."

"Fine," he allowed her to drag him down the sidewalk. He'd known before saying it that that one was hit-or-miss. "I could've worked at Hollister, you know. They turned me down because they said my abs might intimidate some of the customers, affect sales and whatnot."

"You just made that up," she pulled him into the slow-moving line.

"Maybe," wrapping his arms around her so she could rest her back against his chest, he inhaled her perfume. "While we're on the topic of amazing things, I haven't told you how great you look tonight."

"Thank you."

"You look great all the time, but tonight especially," he complimented, swaying a little back and forth. Cameron enjoyed the weight of Kith against him; in some way it made him feel important. The line moved up a few inches. He could see inside the bright lobby of the hotel. Rolling his gum around his mouth, he looked over some kids' heads at the table where they were checking invitations and id cards.

When it was their turn, Kith handed over the identification and the invitation. The woman manning it gave them both a strange look before handing them back. Cameron smiled widely and steered Kith towards the ballroom mentioned on the white, embossed invite. As they approached, Cameron felt the music wash over his body. Like a gentleman, he held the door open for her, and then followed her inside.

"Holy shit," he bumped into Kith, who was standing with her arms crossed in front of her stomach, gazing around the room. Cameron's comment extended to accidentally running into her and to the scene before them. They'd wandered right into the White Queen's court. Couples were already dancing in the circular-shaped dance floor surrounded by a short, white fence that was about waist-high. The shimmering, white tiles reminded him of sunlight bouncing off a fresh snowfall. Behind the dance floor, a sort of castle had been erected, and the DJ stood in the center, mixing songs. Keeping with the theme, his entire ensemble was also colorless. Situated around the dance floor were fake white trees with thin branches and bright, white lights wrapped around them. They gave the room a creepy, yet inviting, glow.

Cameron's brown eyes drifted from the icy scene to the tables dotting the room. Draped with white tablecloths, most were already occupied by either people or articles of clothing. Spotting a vacant one, he steered Kith towards it.

"It's so pretty!" she grabbed his hand.

"Yeah," he nodded, keeping his exhilaration in check. "It's cool, I guess."

"I'm sorry," she turned around. "What was your Prom theme?"

"Alright. It's really nice," rolling his eyes, he held her bag while she eased down into a chair. "Don't lord it over me, but I'm actually impressed."

Raising an eyebrow, she propped her chin in her hand and watched more of her classmates come in, smiling. Twisting around in his chair, Cameron copied her. Now he could see the artificial arch, probably made from the same material as the castle, spanning the doorway. He hadn't noticed it while walking in, and there wasn't one on the other side. The DJ started playing a loud, upbeat dance song. More people abandoned their tables in favor of the dance floor. Discretely, Cameron checked his phone; it was only nine. There were still two and a half hours left.

"I'm hungry. Is there food?" he searched.

"Cameron," losing the smile, she stared at him.

"What? They're supposed to have food at these things," he pointed out. His stomach grumbled at that exact moment. "At the least, there's supposed to be an ice sculpture."

"There's one of the Cheshire cat over there," she pointed across the room. Angling his head around a group, he saw it. Its famous grin stared back at him.

"There's probably food there," setting her bag on the table, he straightened his jacket. "You want anything?"

"No," she shook her head. "I doubt there's anything here pregnancy appropriate."

"Good point," he agreed. "I'll be right back." She waved him off. Stalking across the room, Cameron gazed over the paper plates situated on some of the tables. He wanted some idea of the food items before actually getting over there. Cookie halves, strawberries tops, and shrimp tails occupied half of them. That wasn't bad. He enjoyed cookies and strawberries, and he'd been known to destroy cocktail shrimp, especially if it was free.
He noticed more tiny bags thrown haphazardly across tables and chair backings around the room in different colors. Cameron also noticed, after nearly tripping on a pair, all the high heels scattered across the floor and underneath tables. Shaking his head, he refocused on his goal. What was the point of putting on shoes that were gonna come off within the hour? "Girls..."

Reaching the ice sculpture, his eyes widened at the sight. The Cheshire cat was sitting in a pool of shrimp. "Hell yes," he murmured, grabbing a plate. Bobbing his head to whatever song coming from the castle, he piled his plate high. Pausing, he looked at his seafood mountain. Tapping his foot, he briefly considered how it would look to other people. It's free shrimp though, he reasoned. Still in limbo, he imagined Kith's face; she'd probably make fun of me, he thought next. Nonchalantly, he sliced the mountain in half. The shrimp fell back onto the ice with soft plops.

"Hi."

"Shit!" Cameron jumped and nearly lost the other half of his shrimp. Doing his utmost to look innocent, he glanced over to his right.

"Relax," the blonde girl laughed. "I won't tell."

Relaxing as requested, Cameron ran his eyes over the girl. Her blonde hair was swept over one shoulder and curled at the end, and Cameron couldn't help but notice her eyes. Eyes that reminded him of one girl he'd rather forget. Smiling broadly, she showed off her dazzlingly white teeth. Lowering his eyes, Cameron examined her dress, which was no longer than the average bath towel. It was some orange color that reminded him of leaves in Fall. Dropping his eyes lower, he also noted her lack of footwear. Without heels, she could almost look him in the eye. It was probably a good thing that she was barefoot. "Um," he fought for something to say. "Do I...?"

"No," she smiled again. This time, Cameron noticed the dimple that formed in her left cheek. "I've seen you around." Cameron smiled back kindly. He had no idea who the girl was. "You don't go here though, right?"

"No," balancing his plate, he shook his head. "I'm a sophomore in college."

"Nice," nodding her head, she kept grinning. "College boy." Biting her bottom lip, she planted a hand on her hip and surveyed him. "You look like you're in a frat, too."

"I am," laughing a bit, Cameron agreed. "Alpha Chi Epsilon."

"Nice," she repeated just as passionately. Inhaling deeply, Cameron instantly remembered that he was supposed to be 'right back'. And he was only supposed to be at the ice sculpture getting food, not talking to a hot girl. Swallowing, he seized another plate and scooped some strawberries on it. Fresh fruit might appease Kith. "We should dance."

"Oh, uh," clearing his throat, he straightened up and glanced around. "I'm here, with my girlfriend, so... I can't really dance... with you." Hopefully she got it.

"Kith?" she guessed.

"Yeah," he made a face. "How-"

"That's how I've seen you around," she said smartly, studying him.

"Oh," Cameron said beneath her gaze. Clicking his tongue, he looked at the floor, hunting for an escape. Lifting his head back up, he smiled at her. "Yeah, well. I'm here with her."

"Understood," she held up her French-manicured hands. "But you're really hot though, so I can't promise to keep my eyes off you tonight."

"Okay," locking his fingers on the plates, he started walking away. "Nice meeting you." Weaving his way through abandoned shoes and tables, he returned to Kith. "Look what I found! Strawberries for my girlfriend!"

Avoiding her eyes, he sat down and dug into the shrimp.

"Arianna looks pretty tonight, don't you think?" Kith questioned, wiping her fingers with a linen napkin.

"Who?" Cameron tossed a shrimp tail aside and looked at her.

"The girl you were talking to," Kith said evenly, smiling a bit at the end. Unable to determine if she was setting up some kind of trap, Cameron remained calm. Biting into another strawberry, she gazed at him for some sort of recognition. When that didn't come, she pointed in the direction of the ice sculpture. "Over there."

"What?" Cameron said incredulously. "Over-over there?" He gestured to the grinning cat. "I don't even-who? Arianna, you said? I've never heard that name before."

"Tall girl? Nice legs, orange dress?" Kith described.

"Oh," Cameron nodded as it fake dawned on him. "Her? She was asking for, uh, directions?" It came out more question-like than he intended.

"Directions?" Kith echoed. "To?"

"The bathroom," Cameron lobbed back. "She really needed to go."

"As much as I'm enjoying watching you weave this web, you can stop lying," Kith sunk her teeth into another strawberry. "You think she's pretty, don't you?"

"No," Cameron said immediately. "No."

"I think she's pretty," Kith admitted easily, wiping her hands off again. Opening her tiny, blue bag, she removed a mirror and checked her mouth and teeth. "Arianna's one of the prettiest girls in school. And, personally, if you didn't think she was hot, you wouldn't have gone to such trouble lying about how she needed 'directions to the bathroom'." Propping her head in her hands with a certain finality, Kith waited for him to speak. Cameron dove back into his shrimp, tearing off the tails of at least five, while thinking of a comeback.

"Okay, fine," he relented, dropping the shrimp in his hand. "She's hot, alright? But I'll have it known that she came over and started hitting on me."

"She hit on you?"

"I-no," Cameron recanted, making a face. Kith's glare forced him to recant his recant. "She just asked me to dance. Obviously I told her no."

"Her and half her friends want to sleep with you," Kith sighed.

"I'm not responsible for my sex appeal," Cameron replied, biting into another shrimp. "If I could control it, Kith... I still probably wouldn't do anything about it." Kith smiled at him.

"Stop eating all those shrimp!" she chided after watching him go through ten more. "You're gonna have fish-breath."

"You're still gonna kiss me," he answered confidently, downing two more.

"You're gonna have to pee really badly later," she tried another angle. "They're mostly water."

"Ah," widening his eyes, he continued eating. "I'll be like you then."

"Funny," Kith answered. Pointing his last shrimp at her, he ate it, and then dried his hands. Burping, he leaned back in his chair. "Let's dance."

"I just ate, Kith," he gestured to the heap of semi-transparent shrimp tails on his plate.

"So did I," she pointed at the leafy strawberry tops.

"That's not the same thing," he argued. "All you had was fruit."

"Cameron!" she eased to the edge of her seat and rose to a standing position. "Up. Now."

"Okay," drying his hands once more, he stood up with her and followed her into the mass of students already sweating and gyrating. Cameron felt the heat before even entering the mob; a cloud hung around on all sides, giving entrants a little taste of what was available on the inside. Turning around to face him, Kith laced her fingers through his and started dancing. Cameron moved back and forth in a fashion close to dancing. At the formals, he, like most guys, didn't do much dancing; girls were the ones with the hip action. He wasn't going to ask Kith to do that though. Another fast, club song pumped through the speakers and Kith's face lit up.

Going into auto-pilot, Cameron's eyes swept the crowd, taking in the diverse dress colors, hair styles, and even tuxedos. He spotted several girls in white dresses and some in red, reminding him of the Red Queen. Some girls had several colors in their dress, sort of like rainbows. Moving onto the guys, he analyzed the white tuxes, the black and white ones, and the ones with colored vests to match their date's dress. I've got some competition here, he thought. There were some other guys with blue vests, but Cameron determined he was the winner in that category. Scanning, his eyes stopped, and he frowned.

"Ow!"

"What?" Cameron snapped back to reality.

"Why are you squeezing my hands so hard?" freeing them, she flexed them and stared in his direction.

"No reason. Sorry," he apologized half-heartedly. Kith gave him a weird look and then drifted back into the beat. He'd seen Austin dancing with some girl. And he couldn't help but wonder if he would do the same thing to her that he'd done to Kith. Did Austin have it in him? Lost in thought, Cameron kept dancing. Once a rapist always a rapist? Was that a thing?

"What are you thinking about?" Kith yelled into his ear over the music.

"I'm not thinking," he lied, forcing a smile. She eyed him suspiciously and then allowed him to hold her hands again. Clearing his mind, he smiled broader in hopes of convincing her. When she turned in a circle, Cameron looked for him again. Zoning in on him, Cameron watched Austin dance happily with the redhead. From his face and the sounds coming from that direction, he was with friends. He made a mental note to keep an eye on the girl, make sure she didn't go off alone with him. Tearing his eyes from that direction, and hoping that his face had given nothing away, he mentally returned to the party atmosphere.

Unbuttoning the top button of his shirt, he collapsed into his chair, laughing with Kith. The last hour and a half had been spent in what had basically become a tropical rainforest. Cameron was nice and soaked, and he reasoned that Kith was in the same boat because strands of hair were falling from her previously neat bun. He'd taken his jacket off earlier and everything.

"I can't go back in there," shaking his head, he drank from his cup. "I might die."

"Same here," Kith fanned herself and stole his cup. Gulping down the rest of the water, she tossed it into a nearby trashcan. Her face was flushed red from so much sweating and movement. Cameron could only imagine what his face looked like.

"Do you wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah," she grabbed her bag while Cameron put his jacket back on.

Cold night air bit into their skin as the hotel doors closed behind them. Kith shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Without asking her, Cameron removed his jacket again and draped it around her shoulders.

"Thanks," she slipped her arms into the long sleeves that ended up covering her hands. Cameron wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, clearing the first layer of sweat.

"You know what we should do?" he marveled at his own idea.

"What?" she climbed into the passenger seat with considerable effort.

"Let's go to the beach," closing the door behind her, he marched around to the driver's side. They were already so close to it anyway. Shutting his door, he turned the key in the ignition and carefully backed out of the jam-packed parking lot dotted with white and black limousines. "It'll be like our pregnancy story!"

"Okay," Kith laughed at his excitement and rest her head against the window. Sighing, she reached a hand up and gingerly touched her hair. "How does my hair look?"

"Awesome," he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel at the red light. "As always." When the light turned green, he sped down the road, amped.

After parking in the lot of another upscale hotel, he and Kith walked toward the growing sound of waves; the moon spotlighted their stroll, hanging high in the night sky surrounded by glittering stars. Kith hugged his jacket tighter around her shoulders and Cameron crammed his hands into his pockets. Because of the water, it was colder here than at the first hotel. At a railing, Cameron stopped, resting his forearms against the cool, painted metal. "Do you wanna actually go on the beach?"

"I don't wanna get sand in my shoes," she declined.

"Here it is then," he bowed. Sinking down to the cement, they dangled their legs over the side. They were feet above the sand, giving them a perfect view of the ocean. A blinking red light slowly crossing the water indicated a boat or ship passing. Kith straightened her dress around her and placed her hands on the chipping railing. "Tonight was fun."

"Yeah," Kith agreed, tucking unruly strands of hair behind her ear. Cameron closed his eyes to hear the waves better. "Arianna kept looking at you."

"Did she?" Cameron asked absently. He hadn't noticed. He had been a bit preoccupied, what with dancing with Kith and making sure Austin's date left with her friends and not with him.

"Hardcore," Kith snorted. "It was actually kind of funny."

"She told me at the ice sculpture that she wouldn't be able to keep her eyes off me," Cameron confessed.

"She said that?!" Kith said before tipping her head back and laughing. "Oh my God, that's... wow. Kind of sleazy, knowing you had a date."

"It's not nice to call names," Cameron answered sarcastically, looking over at her. Making a face, Kith stared right back while swinging her legs back and forth.

"I'm serious," she pushed. "Arianna has dated at least one guy from all the sports teams we have."

"That's not so bad," Cameron shrugged.

"And she was ready and willing to 'dance' with you," she air-quoted. "Regardless of the fact that you were already there with your pregnant date. Arianna has no low, and I can bet that she wanted to do more than just 'dance' with you. Way more."

"Like I said, Kith," Cameron yawned and rest his head against his hands. "I can't control my sex appeal. What do you want me to do?" Kith's lips turned into a smile as her gaze trailed over the sand. Cameron liked how peaceful she looked; her calm made him calm. It was there between them like a blanket, in spite of the cold. A pair of cars raced down the road behind them, momentarily disrupting their quiet vista. "I'm glad you're pregnant."

Kith kept staring at the incoming waves. Is she ignoring me? Inhaling deeply, she leisurely turned to face him. Slightly disheartened, Cameron wondered if that was a thought better kept to himself. "Why?"

"Because, I've had fun with you and I've learned a lot since being with you," he explained, reaching a hand up to tease over his short, bristly hair.

"You didn't need me for that," she countered, returning her blue eyes to the beach scene.

"You wouldn't be my girlfriend if you weren't," Cameron pressed. "Because you never would've come to live with me. I probably would've failed out of school by now and I'd still be hooking up with Heather, and maybe some other girls." Kith half-smiled, but tried to hide it. "And we're having a kid together, so that's always exciting."

"I am not glad I'm pregnant," she said solemnly, running her fingers over some sand grains. "Changed my whole senior year, not to mention my life."

"You could be alone."

"You're right," she acknowledged that fact. "I could be alone."

"I mean, I'm not much besides a beautiful face, an impressive intellect, and mind-blowing abs, but... you know," he squeezed her shoulder. "Could be worse."

"Are we ever going to tame that ego of yours?" laughing, she wiped beneath her eyes and planted her hands in her lap. "You are shamefully conceited, Cameron."

"Uh, I should be," he defended himself against her assault. "Think about when we go to drop him off at kindergarten in five years. I'll be twenty-four; half the dad's there are probably gonna be on the up-side of thirty, maybe forty. I'm gonna walk into whatever elementary school, like a rockstar, holding my rockstar son's hand, turning heads. All their wives are gonna want me and all those dudes are gonna want to be me. It's inevitable, Kith."

"You are ridiculous!" resting her head on his shoulder, she kept laughing. "God, I hope Tristan does not turn out like you." Wrapping his arm securely around her shoulder, Cameron laughed along with her. He liked her laugh. Half of his comedy stemmed from his self-obsessed comments. And even though he knew full well that they made him sound like a self-absorbed asshole, he didn't care. They made Kith laugh, so he kept it up. "Thanks for being my date."

"Not a problem," Cameron answered. "Even though there was no alcohol, I still had a nice time."

Kith pressed closer to him as they fell into a serene silence. "What would you do if this happened to Tristan?" she asked quietly.

"If he got a girl pregnant?" Cameron wrinkled his forehead. "I'd kick his ass, like any responsible father would." Hopefully Tristan wouldn't turn out like that.

"No," Kith adjusted her head on his shoulder and paused, tapping her freshly painted nails against the cement. Cameron shivered involuntarily; it had gotten a little cooler. "This. If... what happened to me happened to him."

"If... like... if he was...," Cameron faltered, not wanting to say it out loud. Just thinking about it made him slightly uncomfortable. He knew he couldn't say that it wouldn't happen; Tristan's gender didn't grant him immunity. His smile cracked and turned into a frown. At a loss, he just sat in silence. Why had they gone from jokes about his physique to this?

"You don't have to answer that," Kith sat up, shaking her head. "I don't even know why I said it. It's probably never gonna happen." Biting her lip, she turned to better judge his reaction. "And I can tell you don't want to talk about it. That was stupid."

"I would," Cameron thought hard in an effort to not disappoint her. He couldn't tell why she'd brought it up, but he knew she wanted an answer.

"Cameron," she placed her hand over his.

"No, I-it's not stupid," he shook his head. Her question was kind of weird and kind of random, but important at the same time. What would he do? "I just... hold on. I would... I would pay for him to see a counselor, if that's what he wanted, and I would listen to him and believe him because no one makes that stuff up. There's an element of truth to everything. And I would hold him while he cried-he'd probably cry, right? You cried a lot, so... yeah. And I'd... I'd just tell him that everything would be okay because... we know how much it hurts." Cameron rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't think of anything else right now."

He turned to her and waited; the blue in her eyes was more watery than normal. Oh shit, what did I do? Kith threw her arms around his neck, almost choking him. Rubbing her back, Cameron felt her heart pound lightly against his chest. From her reaction, he deemed his answer acceptable. Letting him go, she wiped beneath her eyes again, and smiled. "Let's go back to the house. It's cold and my butt's falling asleep."

Cameron smiled widely and helped her up. Dusting his pants off, he looped an arm around her shoulders and escorted her down the deserted sidewalk. Kith rest her other hand on her stomach and hummed some song from earlier. He anticipated that other Prom couples would soon be arriving. The beach was a popular location for post-Prom activities. "So, uh... just throwing this out there, the guys all think we're gonna have some crazy sex," he said casually, running his fingers up and down her jacket-covered shoulder.

"They are aware that I'm almost nine months pregnant, right?" she questioned.

"That's what I said," Cameron said innocently. "And then I called them out for being so crude and childish."

"Did you?" Kith raised an eyebrow. "Because that doesn't sound like the Cameron I know."

"Well, I did," suppressing a laugh, he kissed the side of her head. "But that brings me to another thing I would like to respectfully request. And I'm... totally cool if you say no."

"And that is?"

"Can I have a-"

"No," she cut him off.

"I didn't finish," he pointed out.

"It's still no," she repeated.

"Okay," he agreed. Cameron masked his small disappointment. He'd anticipated that answer before even asking. That's why he'd come with a sure-fire back-up. "What if we had a repeat of our dinner with Ty and Lucy?"

"You... want to go to dinner with them?" she asked, confused. "Right now?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm talking about the after-part."

"Oh!" Kith walked around to her side of the truck. Her dress blew in the wind. Leaning against the side, she smiled widely and closed her eyes as loose strands of hair swirled around. Cameron swung his keys around, waiting. Locking eyes with him, Kith maintained her smile. "Only because you were such a great Prom date."

"Yes!" Cameron pumped his fist excitedly. "To the frat house!"

baaaadumdabummm.

TEASER: "Alright. Let me help you get out of that dress."