FicWad

Chapter 11
Should’ve Picked A Photograph; It Lasted Longer Than You
Elli’s POV
I was insanely depressed. I had been for a month. I didn’t give a damn about Lily; I just wanted my brother back. When I had yelled at him that day, I had meant every word I said. But now, living in that house by myself seemed an impossible task, especially since she was probably still with him. Seth had moved out the weekend after our fight, and the house seemed empty. Many times I would wander down the hallway and sit in his room, sometimes bringing a blanket and falling asleep in there. I would listen to music on my computer, turning up the volume so I could hear it in his room. I didn’t know where he was. I longed for the brother I used to have, the one who agreed with me about everything, the one who put band-aids on my scrapes I accumulated in all my fights with the neighborhood boys, the one who drove me home when I got so drunk I couldn’t stand. I was mentally exhausted from wishing I hadn’t said anything to him, but I knew I was too proud to apologize.
The day I met him, my heart was heavier than the rain that pelted down on the windows.
I was sleeping in class when I felt a gentle hand shaking my shoulder. I woke slowly. “Wha?” I said sleepily, and looked up at the person responsible.
It was a boy. “Hi,” he said.
I shook his hand off. “Wha’ you wan’?” I mumbled.
“Um, I was wondering if you could show me where the cafeteria is. You know, after class.” He looked slightly hopeful.
I eyed him up and down. He was new; I couldn’t remember seeing him before. I rolled my eyes, sighing. “Fine, I guess.” I rolled over and went back to sleep. He sat down next to me.
He woke me again when the bell rang. He was quiet, not trying to make small talk as we began the trek to the cafeteria. Not like Lily, I thought to myself. I could maybe get along with this kid.
We reached the lunchroom. The kid followed I through the lunch line.
I sighed. “You might as well sit with me, since you probably don’t know anybody. Just as long as you don’t try to talk my ear off,” I told him. He looked slightly relieved.
“Thanks,” he said quietly.
We ate silently for the first couple of minutes. I took my time looking at him. He was obviously an emo kid, just like my brother. He wore skinny jeans, eyeliner, and a band tee. I glanced down at his hands. What- they were purple!
Wait, no. Just his nails.
I silently willed my shocked expression away. “What’s your name?”
“Cameron,” he replied.
“My name’s Elli.” I sipped my Monster.
“I’m from England,” he said.
“Cool,” I said apathetically. “Do you smoke?”
He looked at me funny. “Yeah. Everyone in my old school smoked fags.”
For the third time in this story, I choked on my Monster.
“Are you okay?” he asked me.
“What do you mean, people ‘smoke fags’?”
He smiled, looking sheepish. “People in England call cigarettes faggots,” he told me.
I scoffed. “Are you serious?”
“…Yeah.” He looked shyly down at his lunch.
I sighed and stood, picking up my tray. “Come on.” We dumped our trays and headed outside.
I walked toward the parking lot. “Do you have a car?”
“Yeah.” He pulled out his keys, walking toward a black car. We got in and he drove away from the school.

“She bought him a fish,” I complained. “Nobody ever gave me a pet. Not even that stalker I had last year. He only sent me flowers. And weird sex tapes.” I laughed.
Cameron had driven us to the outdoor mall, where we had bought ice creams. We were walking around aimlessly, talking about Seth and his new ‘obsession,’ as I called it. Cameron was listening politely as I recounted the events of the past few months.
“If someone was to give you a pet, what would you want?” he asked.
“Probably a cat. It’s hard to take care of a dog in the dorm. My job takes up most of my free time.”
“Why would you want anyone to give you a pet, though?” Cameron wondered aloud. “You said yourself that you don’t like relationships. And giving someone a pet seems pretty mushy-gushy to me.”
“Yeah, but I… sometimes I just say that, cause there was once this guy.” I looked away, suddenly uncomfortable.
Cameron didn’t pry, or even look questioningly at me. He just looked ahead, eating his ice cream. He knew that I either would open up about it, or wouldn’t want to talk. He let me go at my own pace.
Eventually, I opened up.
“It was at summer camp, right? I was thirteen. I kissed him behind the mess hall one night, and he told me he loved me. He never spoke to me again, and I still haven’t gotten over that, I guess.” I laughed, one of those short, forced laughs I seemed to favor so much. “How pathetic is that?”
“Not pathetic at all, really,” he replied, looking straight at me.
“Why not?” I questioned.
He sighed. “Because I used to not like being in relationships. It’s not that there was some whore girlfriend I had, it’s just that I was afraid. Afraid, and I hadn’t even been dumped or rejected in my life. Now that’s pathetic.” He laughed. I smiled slightly.
“What changed?”
“Well, I guess you could say my attitude towards life changed. So now I’m open to dating, but I still haven’t had any real ‘experiences’.” He scuffed the bottom of his shoe on the grass.
It was silent for a while. Cameron looked up, over his shoulder, then told me to wait there with my eyes closed.
I laughed. “What?” I asked, but he just smiled at me.
“Please? It’s a surprise. Just count to 5,000.”
I gave in and covered my face with my hands. I quickly counted to 5,000, skipping great big bunches of numbers and wondering what on earth he was up to.
Finally, somewhere around 4,529, I heard Cameron’s footsteps from behind me. I turned, but didn’t uncover my face.
“What is it?” I asked.
He was right in front of me now. “Okay, open,” he commanded.
I opened my eyes and gasped. In his outstretched hands was a tiny kitten. I took it gently and cradled it to my chest. It was a shorthair white cat with brown and black smudges all over it, and by the looks of it, it was a girl.
“You doofus,” I laughed. “Where did you get this?”
He turned and pointed to a man sitting next to a box, conveniently labeled ‘Free Kittens’. “You said you wanted one, and I granted your wish.” He smiled.
“Well, what are we going to call her, then?” I asked.
“Um…Lauren,” he said, picking the name out of thin air.
I smiled softly, petting the sleeping kitten with one finger. “That’s a good name,” I whispered. I leaned my head down and kissed the kitten’s fur.