different shade of mean

camillabeaumont:

Camilla was not oblivious to the words that had slipped from Carter’s mouth. It was a very conscious decision to ignore them. On a friend level, she loved Carter. The same way that she loved Mason and Lily, despite still not having patched things up completely with the latter. But in terms of romance, this side of Carter was one she had only known a few months. And the idea of being in love, the way Carter described it, terrified her. She couldn’t allow herself to be so dependent on a person that she felt weak without them there.

carter--young:

Mason practically grinned at the news that fell to his ears. “Finally,” was all he said in response. Camilla and Carter were inevitable, they had just yet to see it themselves. Well, they had, until now. Until whenever they finally decided that they had enough of their own games. He didn’t tease her, didn’t ask any further, because he knew that she would have scoffed and pushed the matter away. Camilla wasn’t one who talked about her emotions often and that was fine by him. “I’m happy for the both of you,” was all he told her instead. Someone was starting their year off right and that was more than he could say for himself.

It was strange to find herself discussing her current relationship with Mason. At one point the two had been friends with benefits, nothing else. Personal topics were never part of their discussions when they were laying in bed together or out drinking but the dynamic had changed once the sex had stopped. Camilla found it easy to talk to him about some personal matters, maybe because they didn’t involve him directly.

In Carter’s eyes, nothing about Camilla had changed. She was still the same beautiful, bitchy brunette she had always been but he liked that about her. Bitch was a strong word but it was one he often heard in tandem with her name and had even used it a few times himself. However, he didn’t see the term like others did - and he certainly didn’t use it now. Cami was blunt with people no matter how well she knew them or not and that wasn’t a bad thing. She was never afraid to speak her mind and he loved that about her. Unlike Carter, no one else got to see her sweet side and it was one he had gotten a glimpse of years ago. As much as he loved her brazenness, he also loved her vulnerability. Moments like the one they were sharing were reserved solely for him and the selfishness in him liked that more than anything.

“Is that suppose to deter me?” Mason asked, a grin plastered to his face as he looked out at his old friend, his arms open as he accepted her hug. He laughed at her comment. “Yeah, I missed you too,” he answered, words he’d probably never utter to Camilla in the past. Then again, he never thought he’d have to. It wasn’t that they were two peas in a pod – no, but he was closets to his three friends, the same of whom he hadn’t seen all summer long. Lots had changed in that summer, ideas and concepts falling too seriously on Mason’s shoulders, and he had yet to shake them off. 

Camilla had the mastered the art of leaving her face vacant of any emotion other than annoyance but there was a look of surprise when Mason mentioned that he had spent the majority of his summer with his dad. She could imagine this sort of announcement would cause anyone who knew him to press for more details as to why he chose to spend the summer with someone who was a complete tool but she was never one to press for details if they weren’t offered. Perhaps there had been some sort of reconcile between him and his parents, which if that was the case then good for him. However she was not about going another few months without seeing her friend.

The feeling of her tanned figure pressing against his sweaty one was a welcomed feeling. The mesh that barely covered her curves provided little barrier against his thin muscle tank but he didn’t mind. “Hell yeah, babe. I missed you a fucking ton,” he answered enthusiastically, still in shock that she was with him in person. Carter had tried to persuade Cami to come back to campus early but she had refused over and over again, citing family as the reason to stay in Barcelona. He hadn’t expected her to surprise him and part of him began to wonder if that had been her plan all along.

Camilla knew the answer to the question that she asked but she still liked hearing his exclamation that he had missed her. She had missed him as well but she was less vocal about it and preferred to show him like she was doing in that moment. She welcomed every kiss that came her way, happy to be back in his arms after the weeks apart and was surprised when he pulled away so quickly. Camilla frowned a little but then nodded her head at his question. “Everything’s fine, I was just ready to come back. Skype wasn’t doing it for me anymore.”

There was something odd about stepping back onto campus after a summer of business suits and paperwork. His father warned him that might happen. He described it like old clothes, too tight to be worn again, but good for one last use. His description didn’t complement what Mason felt, however. No, this was different. This was like waking up after a nap, disorientated with the faintest memories of the strangest dreams lingering. In this dream, Mason had spent his summer working for his father upon his insistence. His parents had somehow remembered his existence, his significance. It was terrible and welcomed at the same time. Only, this wasn’t a dream. That was what he’d done during the summer, but this was like waking up either way. 

Camilla’s decision to return to campus one week early had solely been driven by her desire to see Carter. They had spent the majority of the summer together in Spain but he had left early to join his family in the Hamptons, a trip that she was not willing to make. The pastels and polos made her want to vomit. Ibiza had a much better ring to it and so she ended her summer dancing and drinking the night away as the world’s biggest DJs played. Despite all of the amazing times, she had missed her boyfriend, a word she was still getting used to saying without gagging, and she found herself on the almost deserted campus. The athletes all started early and so she had spent time with Carter’s teammates who attempted to high five her after every sarcastic joke.

Hot. Exhausted. Grumpy. If Carter had to describe himself in three words in that moment, those would be the ones he used. It was unseasonably warm in Connecticut for it being nearly the end of August but that didn’t prevent Coach from adding extra laps and sprints wherever he could. Most of them were given to Carter. He had a theory that Coach was still pissed that he missed last season after his accident toward the end of sophomore year that kept him on the sidelines. Soccer was no baseball in his mind but he had to admit that he was damn good at the sport which was evident by the way the team struggled without their best defenseman last year. What had him in a mood was the way Coach and the guys had been treating him for the last three days. At first their picking on him was funny; A way to welcome him back to the rigor of the team. Now it was just annoying, especially since he was a senior and being treated worse than the fresh meat on the team.

Cami could feel her heart beating rapidly against her chest and that caught her off guard. She was always happy to see Carter but this was more then that, she was anxious and nervous and excited all at the same time. Her stomach was in knots as the door opened and the seconds passed until he realized she was there. Despite everything going on internally, she was as cool as ever as she spoke her one word hello, lips curling into a smirk as Carter wasted no time in closing the distance that had been tormenting them since he left Spain.