Chapter 12

i won’t say this is my favorite chapter but we get to meet Elizabeth olsen! she’ll be a constant for the next few parts (which is probably each gonna be only two chapters long) because i really want to get to reputation and above. hope you enjoy though! (and hope you enjoy reading about lizzie! i always wanna write a fanfic about her but never got the time)

~ kathy

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Graduation came and passed, then Cameron found herself third wheeling Taylor and Stephen for the rest of the summer. At least she had finally moved on from her best friend. Well… moved on was a strong word, but she had accepted the fact that nothing will ever happen between them. Which Abigail called bullshit on.

None of them saw the break up coming, and Cameron found herself holding a crying girl to her chest for the rest of the week, before Taylor went away to a summer tour for the Jonas Brothers, where she came home with another boyfriend like, huh? Abigail scolded Taylor for getting a rebound too quickly and Cameron found herself defending her best friend’s decision even if she doesn’t necessarily agree with it.

Joe was nice at least, and Taylor seemed over the moon about meeting Selena Gomez while on a double date, and Cameron got to meet said actress later on so she wasn’t complaining either. She was a huge fan of Wizard of the Waverly Place, and if she embarrassed her best friend upon their first meeting, that was not her fault.

Then it was the beginning of college and before Cameron knew it, she found herself standing in her front door with a tearful mother and a bunch of luggage by her side. Her mom pressed endless kisses to her face. “I can’t believe my girl is all grown up.”

“Well, I can’t believe it either,” Cameron laughed, before letting out a gasp as Taylor jumped on her from behind.

“I can’t believe my best friend is leaving me,” Taylor pressed her chin to Cameron’s shoulder. “You’re going to New York before I ever make it there.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, I’m not leaving you, you can visit anytime you go there,” Cameron rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t keep the affection out of her voice. “I will miss you a lot.”

“Me too, don’t forget me in the big city,” Taylor wrapped her arms tighter around Cameron.

“Who can forget you when your name is probably going to be on a billboard one day.”

Taylor blushed and pushed away the compliment. “You’re just saying that cause you’re my best friend.”

“I will say that even if you aren’t my best friend, I’ve heard your album,” Cameron turned around so she could wrap her arms around Taylor too. “I’ll see you at Christmas?”

“I guess now I know how you felt when I went away on tour last year,” Taylor wiped her eyes, and Cameron laid her head on Taylor’s shoulder.

“Yeah, which is why you should no longer go away because I want to be selfish and stay with you forever.”

Taylor laughed before letting go. “Bye, you better text me.”

“You know the phone works both ways!” Cameron winked before she started dragging her stuff to the poor uber driver who had to watch the tearful goodbye. She got in the car and waved, finding herself missing a part of herself as her home disappeared from view.

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Cameron had all settled into the dorm when the door opened and a blonde girl walked in, followed by what seemed like the whole-ass family. Cameron felt bad for the girl, who looked around the clearly moved dorm and flashed Cameron a really awkward smile as she tried to push her parents and sisters out of the room. If Cameron didn’t know better, she would’ve thought the three sisters were twins. All sporting identical wavy blonde hair and light green eyes.

“Hey! You must be the roommate,” the dad seemed way too over excited for his youngest daughter as he offered his hands for Cameron to shake. Cameron looked over to the girl to find her looking like she wanted to ground to swallow her up whole. To be fair, Cameron would want the same thing if she was in the girl’s shoes.

“Cameron,” Cameron took pity on the girl and shook her dad’s hands.

“My daughter is an amazing roommate, you’ll have an amazing time,” the dad grinned. and now Cameron herself wants the ground to swallow her whole. “Isn’t that right, Mary Kate? Ashley?”

The twins looked up, and Cameron almost did a double take. Okay, definitely twins. They grinned at their younger sister teasingly.

“She’s an absolute nightmare to live with.”

“She will steal all of your clothes,” the other twins added, and Cameron glanced at her roommate, who shrugged.

“It’s not my fault that we’re all the same size,” she shrugged, and then moved to try to push her family out of the door. “Now, I’m thankful for your help but I can really settle in by myself. Please and thank you. I’ll see you at Thanksgiving!”

The blonde shut the door behind her before her family could protest and she slid down against the door, letting out a huge breath. Cameron laughed from her bed, and her roommate looked up at her with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, they’re… a lot. I mean I’m the youngest one so they really want to help me settle in and everything. And my sisters are just proud that I followed in their footsteps and went to NYU and well- I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“Just a little bit, but I think it’s cute,” Cameron winked teasingly, and watched the blush colored her roommate’s cheek.

“I’m Elizabeth Olsen, by the way, but feel free to call me Lizzie, with an i-e,” the blonde introduced herself, and Cameron laughed when the former tried to hide her face in her hands after the introduction. “Sorry, that’s awkward.”

“Hey, it’s okay, I totally understand. I stutter my way around pretty girls all the time,” Cameron flipped her hair back teasingly, and Lizzie hid her face in her hands again. “I’m Cameorn Elsher, in case your father’s embarrassment drowns out my amazing voice.”

Lizzie let out a small smile, and Cameron walked over to offer the blushing girl a hand. “Who says you’re pretty?”

“Ouch, that hits right here, Elizabeth,” Cameron feigns gasps and recoils backwards, mimicking explosions. Lizzie laughed this time, and Cameron let out a small smile.

“Are you at NYU for acting or…?”

“Nope, creative writing, and you?” Cameron helped Lizzie with her luggage after pulling the girl up from the floor.

“I’m going into acting,” Lizzie blushed, looking into her luggage like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Cameron nudged her with a smile. “So when did you get here?”

“A few hours before you, I got nothing to do so I unpacked,” Cameron shrugged. “But I’m excited to check out the city! I haven’t really been to a huge city before, I came from the outskirts of Nashville.”

“Me neither, I came from California, didn’t have much skyscraper where I grew up though,” Lizzie grinned before throwing down her suitcase and looking up at Cameron with a serious look. “What do you say about sightseeing, roomie?”

Cameron grinned. “Let me get out of my pajamas, then I’ll be with you.”

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“Have you ever been to the Empire State Building?”

Lizzie looped her arms around Cameron’s, looking up in awe at the huge building that loomed over her. Cameron shook her head, trying to remember the last time she had walked for so much in her life. Lizzie seems unfazed, and Cameron was too embarrassed to ask the other girl to walk slower so she found herself power-walking through New York on her first day there.

“We should go up there, I heard that it’s a must-see tourist attraction,” Lizzie glanced longingly at it, and Cameron thought that she could take a few pictures and show it to Taylor later, so they both dug out some money from their purse and found themselves on the elevator going up towards the top floor.

“Would this be a good time to mention that I hate heights?” Cameron looked up at the elevator ceiling, opening her mouth to pop the uncomfortable feeling in her ears just before the elevator came to a stop.

“Don’t worry, there’s precautions against falling, and I’ll protect you,” Lizzie winked, and Cameron found herself blushing for the first time since… well Drew (and Taylor, but straight crushes don’t deserve a mention).

“With what? Your magic? Let me guess, you can fly?”

Lizzie took one of Cameron’s hands on her own. “Who knows, you’ll figure it out soon enough. But don’t actually fall, okay? Because I don’t think I can handle losing a roomie on my first day. What do you think my dad will say?”

Cameron giggled as Lizzie excitedly led the two of them out of the elevator and into the indoor part of the observation deck. “He’ll agree with your two sisters that you are a horrible roommate. You lost your new roomie in less than a day.”

The rest of Cameron’s sentence was drown out as the tourist’s voices overlapped on top of the others, and Lizzie held herself a little closer to Cameron in response to the loud noise. Cameron has a feeling that crowd might not be the other girl’s thing, so she wrapped an arm around Lizzie’s shoulder in hope that it makes the blonde more comfortable. Judging by the way Lizzie’s shoulder seems to drop, Cameron thought she did a pretty good job.

“Well, what’s New York without all these amazing night views?” Lizzie let go of Cameron’s hands to run excitedly to the railing. Cameron approached it cautiously, not entirely trusting that the fence would hold if she leaned on it. Lizzie turned back to find Cameron and pointed to central park. “Want to go there tomorrow?”

“We do have three days to explore the city…”

“That’s the spirit!” Lizzie grinned widely, and Cameron started to move further away and gesture to her digital camera.

“Want a free souvenir? Because I think I just turned broke trying to get up here.”

Lizzie laughed and turned around, posing as Cameron held the camera in front of her, snapping a few pictures for her new friend. Cameron asked a friendly lady to take a picture of them later, and she took a few more scenery pictures to show to Taylor, who has always talked about visiting New York City but never getting the chance to.

Later as both Cameron and Lizzie were walking back to campus hand in hand, Cameron acknowledged for the first time that she was no longer the little kid running around her backyard with her best friends. They were both grown-ups now with their own ambitions and dreams, walking towards different paths in life.

No story was guaranteed a happy ending, but Cameron would damn well try to work towards one. And if there is one thing she hopes to never change, it is Taylor’s presence in her life.

END OF PART II