Fierce.

I got that red lip classic thing that you like.

[keatonsandcrs]

This entire time it seemed like Bianca had been paying attention to something else on the side. He had been trying to ignore it but couldn’t help but to follow her eyes, a frown immediately ensuing at the sight. It looked like Bianca’s friend Chastity had been making fun of her because she’d been talking to him. Cameron knew he wasn’t popular and he didn’t want to be either but he could see the upset look on Bianca’s face and didn’t want to ruin her chances. “Your friend looks a little upset,” he pointed out, nodding in her direction. He wiped the sad look on his face and replaced it with his best attempt at a smile. “I try to be,” he chuckled, this time smiling genuinely as she moved closer to him. He was a little happy that she wasn’t ashamed of being seen around him—that her friends really did have little power over her. He wished Michael or Patrick were here to see the progress he made all on his own, how he was just being himself and the divine blonde had seen something in that. “Yeah, totally. There’s a lot of people I wouldn’t trust around here—even if they seem nice.” He was referring to Joey and his true intentions. Not only was he a self-absorbed asshole but he also just wanted sex. Cameron could offer her much better, but it might cost a smidge of her popularity. “I really didn’t expect to make that,” he laughed as he grabbed another ball not exactly sure whether he’d make it in this time. He squinted his eyes as he tossed the ball in the cup, opening his eyes only as he realized it’d made it in for the second time. “Okay, that was pure luck!”

[biancacozzi]

Bianca sighed. “They don’t know you, and were trying to set me up with Joey. He’s lovely, he’s nice, but I don’t like him like that, I don’t know much about him aside from his favorite FIFA players.” she shrugged, a laugh easily slipping past her lips. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, but we don’t click, I guess.” she babbled on again. She found it easy to talk to Cameron. He came off as someone who was trustworthy and amicable. The girl was conflicted. She wanted to stay with Cameron for the night, but her friends were already being harsh. A pout crossed her soft features. “I bet if she met you, she’d want you to hang out with us.” Bianca looked away, feeling a bit shy. “I’d like for you to hang out with us.” her hands trailed to her skirt, tugging on the end of it. “It’s good, I think this school needs more people like that.” although, she was a little bit hypocritical. Bianca played into the school’s dynamics of popularity, going out of her way to get the approval of her peers. Making the cheer team would be the way to get Chastity’s actual approval. “Yeah.  I think they’re all good people underneath, maybe they’re just...scared of not being accepted, you know? Sometimes I think everyone tries too hard to be their stereotype because it’s all they know and have, but I think it’s silly. This isn’t High School Musical.” a sad laugh left her. “Fire! Cam’s on fire, if he gets it in next time, that’s two cups.” she told the other team, before grinning up at him. “You’re a champ!” the girl held her hand up for a high-five. Bianca frowned as one of the balls from the other team made it in, taking the drink this time. As the other one missed, she cheered and threw the ball, frowning as she missed. "Think you can save the day?" 

[keatonsandcrs]

Cam wondered what was so special about the popular kids. Sure they were usually the ones with most friends and money, but they were usually airheads. Bianca had been trying so hard to be one of them and she wasn’t. Sure, she had all it took to make it to the top but why work so hard? In a few years they’d be graduating and no one will remember that the blond was the school’s queen bee. The brunette refused to question this, though. He should’ve already been grateful that she was with him and not with Joey. He chuckled, noticing how he’d gotten her to blush. “Not one bit annoying, I promise.” He offered a reassuring smile, figuring she had probably dismissed his horrible attempt to flirt. He had been trying to stay as sober as possible tonight, but he was pretty sure he’d taken a bite of a marijuana laced brownie not too long ago causing him to be a little giddy and overly hungry. “We’re the life of the party,” his eyes widened for effect. “He’s quite the mystery, I’ll say.” Cam knew that if anyone found out about the bet he made with Patrick it’d all be over. Part of him felt extremely guilty for daring to play games with a stranger, but it was completely harmless as long as she didn’t find out. The boy raised a brow, partially curious as to the ending of her sentence. He figured it wasn’t that important though seeing as she changed the subject quickly. “Oh, uh—yeah. You can definitely trust me.” He bit his lower lip nervously before cracking a foolish smile. He was confused whether or not this girl was flirting with him or not, but it sure as hell had an effect on his breathing pattern and he was okay with every second of the feeling. He watched carefully as she aimed for the cup and made the shot. “So just toss it in right?” He grabbed the ball, trying to relax as he felt Bianca’s arm wrapped around him. He should’ve been freaking out about how close they were, but he was more worried about making a fool of himself in front of her friends. Tossing the ball inside, he threw his arms up when it looped around the cup and made it in.

[biancacozzi]

Bianca looked over her shoulder, frowning as she noticed Chastity saying something to the other girls and pointed at Bianca. A less than pleased look crossed the other's face and she frowned. She turned back to Cameron, letting a small smile lace across her lips. A sick feeling settled in her somach. All she wanted was to be respected and equal with the other girls to make school somewhat fun. It was nice to feel wanted and liked at school, since at home she felt eclipsed by Kat's shadow. Her sister was smarter than her, and in her opinion prettier. Wanting a little attention was in her mind. "You're a very nice guy, Cam." the small blonde told him, keeping her small grin on her face. She looked up at him, meaning her words. She moved closer to him, mostly to show the girls she was done with their antics for the night. It was bold to do so, knowing Chastity would be upset she did not hang around Joey as she told her to, but for once Bianca thought she could find a genuine friend in Cam. She chuckled. "Sure we are." She smoothed out her outfit before twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Good. It'd be nice to have someone to trust around here. It would be a lovely change of pace." She nodded her head and watched, her grin widening as soon the ball made it in the cup. "Perfect!" she grinned, hugging him loosely. Bianca giggled as they got the balls back, throwing hers, frowning as she missed. Bianca pouted. "It's all you, partner." she chuckled.

[keatonsandcrs]

Cam chuckled, clapping for her in a jokingly way. “You take the cake for persuasive little sisters.” He didn’t want to mention all the shit people happened to talk about Katerina. He understood very little about the blonde’s older sister but he felt that in some odd way Patrick would be able to somehow tame her, as difficult as that sounded. He shook his head quickly. “No, I like listening to the sound of your voice, even when you’re babbling just a little.” He smiled reassuringly, hoping she would catch on to the fact that he was carelessly flirting at this point.  It was refreshing in a sense to know someone like Bianca. She seemed to have broken the boundaries of high school social hierarchy, though everyone seemed to have been pressuring the girl to set high standards for herself. It was the main reason why she was so set apart from the rest—he just wished everyone would see that. “He scared me a little at first too, but there’s definitely some kind of soul deep down. He’s just into different things than us, just like Kat.” He shrugged. “I’m sure you can, she’s just playing the role of mother figure or something. I don’t but it’s kind of a blessing more than a curse.” Cam had always cringed at the idea of having a sibling, mostly because it meant he’d either have someone to care for or someone who would be way too overprotective of him. However, there were parts of him that could’ve used a sibling. Like when he was going through puberty and had no idea what was going on. “Oh, uh—okay.” The male didn’t want to give up an opportunity to be by Bianca’s side during this party so he simply played along and tried to act cool. “So sort of like beer pong right? Should be easy, I’m a champ,” he joked, a subtle chuckle emitting past his lips as he attempted to down the horrible tasting beer.

[biancacozzi]

Bianca giggled, feigning a curtsey. “Well, thank you for noticing.” the blonde laughed softly still, grinning up at Cam. Somehow, he managed to capture Bianca’s short attention span. Seemingly, by just being kind and genuine, she was attracted to him. There was Joey, who complicated things, because the girl was convinced he meant well and did not want to upset him, or the popular girls. But, she still found herself trying to sneak off with Cam at the party. The girl looked down, blushing. “Well, thank you, most find it annoying.” she looked at him through her hair, unsure of he was flirting with her, or just being nice. Bianca suspected the latter, assuming that of any guys that made advances at her. She brought her cup back to her lips, finishing it. It was her second beer, and not being much of a drinker, Bianca found herself feeling tipsy. Another giggle left her lips. “You’re right. They must like boring things, I think we liked the fun ones.” she bumped her hip into his again. “I really don’t know much about him, but Kat’s been talking to him for a while.” she shrugged, not reading too much into it. She was glad her sister was at least talking to someone at the party instead of rudely ignoring everyone.  She was just curious as to how Patrick Tuscan got into the mix, but that was something she decided was for later. She nodded, biting down on her lip. “I know, but sometimes I feel suffocated, and she’s trying to repla-” Bianca cut herself off, not wanting to sadden the moment by bringing up her mother,  or rather lack o.f. “Never mind, never mind. I’m just thrilled to be off her radar, and you seem to be nice enough to trust for the night.” she bit her lip, hoping he wouldn’t mind she was flirting with him. Bianca was very interested in the new student. “Exactly. You know, if you blow on them, it makes them lucky.” she laughed out loud, swaying her hips to the music before tossing the ball, cheering as she got it into the other cup. “Look! I did it!” she squealed, pleased with herself. She wrapped an arm around Cameron’s waist. “Come on, if you get this in, we get the balls back, it’s house rules!”

[keatonsandcrs]

“Oh yeah, did she put up too big of a fight?” He asked, actually curious to hear all about what he imagined would’ve been a huge tantrum from Katerina’s part. He was barely able to make out a word the blond was saying, so when she asked if they could move to the corner of the room he nodded quickly. He chuckled as she dragged him towards the quietest spot in the room, wondering where Joey might’ve been. He could tell the other boy would be pissed off if he saw Bianca talking to a ‘nobody’ like him, but nevertheless he was happy to be approached by her tonight. He had honestly begun to think that his whole plan was for nothing, but clearly he had been doing something right. His eyes widened in amusement. “Yeah? I’m actually pretty impressed. She seems to be hitting it off with this guy named Patrick.” Cameron wasn’t fully lying when he said the two had somehow been hitting it off. Just a few minutes ago he noticed the two talking and even though Katerina was rolling the hell out of her eyes, the intimidating bad boy deserved a pat on the back for keeping her interested. “Are you sure? I don’t think I’d really fit in with your crowd. I mean you’re nice and all but they…aren’t.” He couldn’t help but to smile and shrug it off, though. She was far too cute to pass up such an offer, so he made his way downstairs with her where there was a few people. “Hey, nice to meet you guys.” He extended his hand awkwardly, then realized that people don’t really shake hands anymore. Instead, he grabbed a paddle and held it up to his chin where he watched the two others play.

[biancacozzi]

Bianca giggled, nodding her head. “Kat was a lot of work, she was so mad, but I kept annoying her, and to get me to shut up, she agreed, I guess.” she looked down, tugging at the end of her skirt before looking back at Cam. “She really means well, though. I know she does, I just kind of want to -- never mind, sorry i don’t mean to talk you ear off.” she offered him a soft smile. Bianca was jaded in the sense she did not really think about the way her high school was organized and how that would relate back to her actions. She knew Chastity would disapprove of Cam, and Joey already made fun of the new kid. But, Bianca saw he was sweet and kind, and she continued to try and get to know him. She saw Joey, and the tall boy seemed to be looking for her, prompting Bianca to go further into the corner before smiling back at Cam. “Oh yeah, I’m hoping he’ll keep her busy, even if he kind of scares me, so I can get off her radar. I love her to bits, but I can take care of myself, you know? Do you have siblings?” Bianca twirled her hair around her finger, she bashfully grinned, breathing out a chuckle. “No, Cam, they’re cool. They can be nice, if you give them a chance, we all have redeeming qualities. Well, maybe not Chastity, but yeah. C’mon, if I at least introduce you they’ll be nice to you in front of me.” she shrugged, a sad grin on her face. She knew the truth about her friends, but she still yearned to be accepted by them, even if they were horrible. Bianca giggled at Cam’s actions, taking the paddle from him. “You have to throw the ball into the cups, if they get it in, you drink.” she finished off her drink and caught the ball as the first person missed. The second one made it in, and she passed it to Cam. “You drink first.” she challenged, laughing once more.

[keatonsandcrs]

Cameron had been mindlessly roaming around the vicinity of the house, and honestly he felt a little lost. On his way to the outside of the house, he spotted Patrick talking to Katerina—who he thought would never be dragged to this party in a million years. Since she was here, however, it meant a certain little blond had to have been around as well. Just when he was about to look for the girl, he noticed her with none other than Joey. So yeah, at that point he was a bit upset and found no point in being here but he managed to lose himself in the house once again, downing a can of beer or two before hitting the dancefloor. Boy was he a bad dancer but the alcohol running through his veins had somehow boosted his confidence to a million and he didn’t care when he busted a 1980’s dance move and people seemed to be staring at him like he was crazy. Yet eventually, he was back to walking around until he heard a familiar voice greet him happily. He turned around quickly to the sound of her voice, ears perking up and eyes widening a little bit. Mostly because she looked really pretty tonight and partially because he hadn’t expected her to even remember his name. “Hey there,” he chuckled nervously, and pursing his lips together. “I’m glad you’re here too. Clearly you were able to somehow convince Kat to come tonight. How?” He smiled because he thought it was going to be mission impossible, and yet it seemed as if things were going just as planned. “Fine—fine, just a little lost. Michael’s trying to hit it off with some girls and I’m just here, I guess.”

[biancacozzi]

Bianca giggled, “It wasn’t easy, let me tell you.” she practically shouted to have her voice heard over the music. “Here, can we move to the corner of the room? I’d like to be able to hear you without shouting.” she laughed again, tugging on his arm and leading Cam into the corner of the room, away from the speakers, leaving some more room to talk. However, she also did not want Joey, her sister, of Chastity to see her. Joey and Chastity would force her to spend time with Joey, which she had enough of tonight, and Kat would surely just embarrass her, that seemed to be her goal. “I kind of complained and whined until Kat gave in, that’s the only way she would say yes, to be honest. Plus, it is fun to annoy her.” she nodded, sipping from her cup before clapping her other hand to the other side of the cup. “Hang out with me! I can introduce you to people, even some girls.” she nudged him with her hip. “Come on, lets play pong, it’s in the basement. The floor is gross, but it’ll be cool.” Bianca enthused, grabbing his arm again to drag him to the pong table. Downstairs, she called next, grinning as they took the table. “Guys! This is Cameron!” she introduced the other two. “That’s Ryan, and that’s his girlfriend, Claire.” a satisfied grin grew on her face. “You guys won, so you’re first.

[biancacozzi]

Bianca looked at the bottom of her half-filled red solo cup, smiling up at Joey as she spoke to him. She was having fun talking with him, and was flattered he was flirting with her. All of the girls wanted her to date him, but Bianca was still a little bit hesitant. Giggling, she excused herself to find the keg, hoping to get another beer. The waited in the mob of kids, making small, meaningless conversations with her peers. While she was waiting, Bianca couldn’t help but to scan the crowd, looking for the mop of brown hair she knew belonged to Cameron. She hoped he did agree to her invitation, because she was excited to see him again and introduce him to more people. She had hopes everyone in the school could be friends, despite the constant cliques, but of course she couldn’t articulate that to Chastity. After her beer was finally filled, she wandered around the house party, in all honesty trying to avoid a run in with her friends. Finally, she spotted Cameron, and delight panned across her lips. “Hey, Cam!” she said, walking up to him. She brushed her hair out of her face and took a sip from her cup. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she giggled. “How’re you?” she bounced on the balls of her feet, looking up at him.

[disumanohq]

“Not this again.” Kat mumbled, her eyes involuntarily rolling out of annoyance. Averting her eyes away from her little sister, the red head began scribbling down answers for her homework. “You do know it’s okay not to do something just because everyone else is doing it, right?” She was trying to bite her tongue this time, not really in the mood for a brawl. The girl did love her sister, she just didn’t go to parties. It was the lay of the land. She shuffled in bed uncomfortably to the mention of Joey—her only rational response was to cringe at the sound of his name. “Not everything’s about you, Bianca. God, don’t you get tired of being such a princess?” Maybe she was being too harsh about the whole idea. For such a free spirit and feminist the girl was quite narrow-minded when it came to certain subjects. However, there was a justifiable reason for her often cruel and anti-social behavior. After pursuing popularity in her freshman and sophomore years, the girl realized she had no true friends. Sure, Joey had practically ruined her reputation but she had expected her best friends to pick her right back up. Instead, they deemed her a social outcast and pushed her way. Kat had always hidden that truth from Bianca and she was surprised that no one had filled her in on it. Bianca only seemed to be repeating history by going to all of those social events and hanging out with the cheerleaders. “Will you stop annoying the hell out of me if I say yes?” She glanced over at her doorway, chewing on her bottom lip. She was going to regret this—tonight was going to be a disaster.  

[biancacozzi]

Bianca pouted at Katerina’s initial reaction. She did not understand why her sister was so unwilling to help her become well liked by everyone in the school. In all honestly, she just wanted a real friend who was not her sister, and therefor obligated to like her. She wanted to be adored and genuinely liked. She tried hard to be nice to everyone, to dress well everyday, and she was set on making the cheer team. Maybe it was vapid, but Bianca didn’t care. She fed off the energy of other people, and longed to be a positive ray of light for others. Bianca sat down at her sister’s desk and jutted her lower lip out in a frown. Being self-absorbed was one of her flaws, and she didn’t need Kat to point it out. “Don’t you get tired of being so bitter? You’re going to end up with nothing but cats.” she quipped back. Bratty as she may have been, she instantly felt guilty for her outburst and sighed, making a point to not catch Kat’s gaze. She failed to see exactly why Kat was so against the whole typical high school experience and why she loathed parties and everything mainstream. “Kat, come on-” she was cut off as the girl finally agreed, well agreed in her Katerina way. Bianca nodded her head and walked up ot her sister, tightly hugging her. “Yes, yes, I’ll let you do your homework, I’ll go. We just have to convince dad first, then I won’t annoy you until the party starts.” she looked her sister over, “You can’t wear that, by the way, Kat. I love you, but it’s frumpy.”