Amour Beach discussion

Winifred, having made it to the Pizzeria before Cameron did, sat in her car for a moment, simply smiling to herself. It was a smile that she really couldn't control. Yes, Winnie had heard his little remark as she has gotten into her car leaving the beach, faintly but still there. I'm glad I met you... With those simple words, she was put into a happy state of shock, almost a little giddy. All of her little doubts vanished in the blink of an eye. She forgot their existence completely and all she could think about was his words. "I'm glad I met you, too, camera man." She whispered to herself, although no one could hear her. It was better if no one did. But maybe, just maybe Cameron wasn't like other guys. Maybe they could have something sweet and not artificial...And then the words that formerly plagued her mind came flooding back. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Composing herself, Winnie climbed out of her yellow Wrangler and headed inside the Pizzeria. She took a seat at one of the window tables, as she liked to be able to watch the people pass by. Fascinating creatures, humans were, each one as fragile as her, yet not wanting to admit such faults. When the waitress came by and asked what she would like to drink, she ordered a sweet tea and told the lady that there would be someone else joining her, and to come back in a minute. Then, Winnie tried to resist the urge to look outside for Cameron, for she didn't want to look as eager as she truly was.

How did she beat him there? He wondered this as he pulled into the parking lot and could now see her car neatly parked. Did she know a shortcut or something? He hadn't been trying to beat her there. No of course not. Even so, he had run a red light and gone over the speed limit to get here and she still was faster! She must be a crazy driver. Amused, he thought this as he locked the car and headed into the Pizzeria. Winnie the speed racer. It didn't really flow, he concluded, pushing open the door and heading inside.

The smell of well, pizza, hit his nose immediately. And let me tell you, it smelled good. His eyes scanned the room and fell onto Winnie at the window. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he approached her slowly, as if treading on ice. "Hey Pooh." He let a silly grin slip onto his face as he let himself fall in the seat across from her. Pooh? Did you really just call her Pooh? He tried not to groan. It was a cute nickname and it fitted her, but Cameron? Being flirty? What was happening to this world.

When Winnie glanced up and saw the Cameron had made it and was approaching the table, she felt her heart lurch again. That was unacceptable, but Winifred had not idea how to stop it. That feeling had grown a little too familiar, even though she had only known Cameron for about an hour. It was pleasant, but sometimes it came like a kick in the stomach, momentarily knocking the wind out of her. After all, that's how conflicting her feelings were towards him right now. Just friends...that's all. You hardly know him, anyway! This isn't a movie Winnie! Get a hold of yourself! "Cute," Winne said, blushing slightly and looking down with a tiny smile. She wasn't the type that blushed easily, especially around guys. That, too, was unacceptable.

The waitress for this section, having noticed Cameron's arrival, strolled back over to their table with a smile that showed extremely white teeth. Her skin, however, was tanned and her hair was light blonde. She reminded Winnie a bit of a barbie doll; Plastic. The waitress continued to smile as she sat the glass of iced tea down in front of Winnie. "There you go." And then, the girl practically ignored Winifred as she spoke, looking instead at Cameron. It seemed to Winnie that she was the type who liked guys who weren't available... Not saying Cameron wasn't available, though! Unless he had some other girlfriend, because it certainly wasn't Winnie... "I'm Naomi and I'll be your server today. What can I get you to drink, cutie?" Winnie knew a lot of girls like this, unfortunately. They wouldn't date a guy if they didn't get the title mistress.

Feeling a tad uncomfortable, Winnie bit her lip and focused on the window, pretending to watch the people outside. The look in her eyes, though, said she was a little annoyed.

Cameron couldn't help but feel a bit successful when the blush hit her cheeks. Maybe it was bad to feel that way, but how often did he actually get a girl to blush? That was Carter's job. Not today. Making himself a bit more comfortable, he rested his hands against his thighs and relaxed into the the chair. It was strange, he had to admit, that the day had turned to this. Macey would freak out when he told her. He could perfectly imagine her expression and the words she would say. Maybe she wouldn't be upset about him ditching her to go take photos.

It was strange, he was beginning to notice the little things about her. How she always seemed to tug her hair behind her ears, or how her eyes would light up when she talked about something that excited her. She was adorable. And pretty. And intelligent. And everything else. He stopped those thoughts, unsure of exactly where they were headed. It wasn't like they were on a date, just two friends, if they even were friends, getting food. That was all. That was probably all she wanted too, with his luck. He wondered exactly what she thought of him. She seemed to enjoy the time with him. But he wasn't going to get his hopes up. This would probably be the last time he see's her anyway.

At first he didn't notice the waitress. Only when her voice spoke, did he even note her existence. Reluctantly, he turned to head her better, oblivious to her piercing eyes or small body. Cutie? Did he hear her right? Wrinkling his nose, he glanced uncomfortably down at the menu. "I think I'll just have a water." He finally answered, sending a curt nod the way of the Waitress. Who, did not look too happy for some reason. As she stomped off, Cameron returned his attention to Winnie.

Why was she annoyed? He too looked out the window, only to see if she was looking at anything important. Many people rushed past, but nothing extra enticing seemed to be going on. "Are you okay?" He asked curiously, raising an eyebrow as he spoke.

Feeling a little relieved when the waitress left, Winnie turned her gaze back to Cameron. Although she wouldn't admit it to herself, Winnie thought it was kind of great that he didn't take any interest in the waitress, as a lot of guys would have at least glanced at the girl like their date wasn't watching. Not like this was a date, though. Is it? Winifred really didn't have much of a clue what Cameron expected out of this little outing. "Peachy." She answered after a moment, running a hand through her hair to keep it out of her eyes.

"I think she had eyes for you." Winnie said passively, shrugging as if it didn't matter to her either way. Winnie had always been the jealous type, seeing as she was raised with older brothers. She was always competing with them for mom and dad's attention. As Winnie grew older, she expressed the trait with past boyfriends. She was quite territorial about her loved ones. Cameron wasn't included in that though, right? They were hardly even friends. Just two strangers getting to know each other a little better. "She's pretty." Winnie added about the waitress, as if she were a supportive friend encouraging a hook up. That was obviously not the case, though. But there was no reason Winnie shouldn't be cool about the scenario! Although, Winnie really didn't think Naomi was that great.

Maybe that was it! That could justify Winnie's conflicting emotions! She was obviously starting to consider Cameron as a friend, and friends don't let friends get with girls who were totally wrong for them! But wait, how would Winnie know who was right for him? All she knew was what music he liked!

Winnie put a smile on her face, the moment before only a split second of irritation in her eyes. It was entirely behind her, it seemed. Taking a sip out of her sweet tea, Winnie tried to find something they could talk about. So, she finally settled in a very broad, getting to know you conversation. "So, tell me about yourself, Cameron. I mean, I know you're a photographer and you like Green Day..." And you're smart and funny and cute and - Shut up and save yourself the embarrassment and trouble!

While the waitress was retrieving his drink, Cameron pulled the menu out and scanned it in a relaxed fashion. Winnie's response wasn't much comfort.Peachy was not very optimistic, in his opinion. Peachy also didn't help his nervousness. He gulped quietly, removing his eyes from her clear complexion to focus on the menu.

While the waitress was retrieving his water, he thought about Winnie's reaction. Had that been, dare he say it, jealousy? No. That was absurb. Someone like Winnie didn't get jealous over someone like Cameron. Things like that just didn't happen. Her voice broke through his thoughts, causing him to glance in her direction. She spoke blankly, which was a bit confusing. He couldn't read her eyes or see what she was really thinking. Letting out a small laugh, he shook his head. "I don't think so. She seemed a bit upset, if you ask me." Cameron noted this, taken aback by her words. He almost choked at the next thing she said.

Was she trying to hook him up the waitress? Cameron had a confused expression on his face as he looked down the isle to where the waitress had disappeared. Was this Winnie hinting that she didn't like Cameron? This was only a friendly date, right? He didn't know how to react to this. Feeling a bit deflated, he shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't notice." He almost spoke quietly, his eyebrows knit together, still confused.

"Well," Cameron cleared his throat, his eyes lighting up a bit at the next sentence he spoke. "I am a triplet. The other two are named Carter and Macey." He cut off there, as the waitress reappeared with his water. He took her and thanked her before turning back to Winnie. "I want to hear about you. Who is this Winnie girl?" He smiled warmly, a bit of a scoff in his voice.

With an incredulous look in her eyes, Winnie watched as the waitress left once more, seemingly miffed. Boys are so clueless... But oddly enough, Winnie kind of liked that Cameron seemed genuinely clueless, as if he didn't even know when a girl was flirting with him. "And why do you think she was so upset?" Winnie muttered, more to herself than to him. She shook her head in disbelief, a small smile appearing on her lips. Strangely, all feelings of discomfort washed away from her when she realized he was paying no attention to the waitress. Which made absolutely no sense.

Why did this clueless boy she barely knew change Winnie's whole demeanor suddenly? Why did her heart warm when he smiled? Why was it so easy to lose herself in a conversation and forget about all of her worries? Stupid, stupid, stupid. That was the reason. Winnie was only being stupid and naive, right? That could be the only answer. But, either way, Winnie couldn't deny that she liked the way she felt around him. She just had to make sure to not get too caught up in the feeling that she forgot the rules she had made for herself.

Winnie's eyes widen when he spoke. "Triplets?!" She demanded. It wasn't every day you heard that. "No way!" She said it in a way that meant she believed him, but the very fact was unbelievable. "That's crazy..."

"Well, this Winnie girl has three older brothers - all half." She said with a small smile. Winnie loved her brothers dearly. "My mom is my best friend, I want to be a dancer, and I like to help my Papaw rebuild old cars." That was really all Winnie could think about, aside from the divorce. She didn't really want to talk about that. Winnie's life wasn't really all that interesting. Back in Indiana, she had had lots of stories to chat with friends about at parties. None of those seemed very relevant anymore, as if that girl back in Indiana were a different individual entirely. She pretty much was.

"That's pretty much it. Your turn again." She stated with a sugar coated smile. Her smile, as always, was mostly in her eyes. When she was alone, her composure went away and there was more sadness there. Winnie had always been bittersweet, but it was a much more evident trait now. Most people, however, never noticed that Winnie was a little sad most of the time. Most people only cared about their own problems, and Winnie cared about their problems instead of her own. That left no one to worry about Winnie. That was fine with her, though, for she was confident that she could handle her own baggage.

Cameron laughed a bit at her reaction, a reaction that was quite common. He never really understood while people were so surprised when he mentioned be a triplet. It might be cool if you were a quintuplet or a septuplet. Now, that would be something to get excited about. Personally, Cameron wished he was not a triplet. His parents had always compared the three of them, which bothered Cameron, because none of them were alike at all. How can you compare two completely different things? Of course there were perks to it all. He always had two friends every where he went and well, his life never got boring. "We are all a bit of a handful when together." He grinned, the ends of his mouth perking up.

Cameron received an idea and then silently slipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. He pulled out a picture and placed it on the table. Sliding it towards her, he began to explain it. "This was actually taken a few weeks ago." He looked down at the photo admiringly, actually liking a photo they had taken together for once. Figuring she could probably decide who was who, he didn't point out the other two. In the picture all three of them were holding surf boards under their arms. Carter was farthest to the left with a goofy grin on his face. Macey was next, standing many inches shorter than both of her brothers. She had on a light blue swimsuit with her hair flowing over her shoulders. Cameron was last in line, wearing plaid swim trunks. Both him and Macey were looking at each other as if laughing.

A bit self consciously, he took a small sip of his water. He liked the way her eyes got a bit bigger as she talked about her family. "Three brothers? It must be a bit crazy at your house too." He concluded this, shaking his head as if to say wow. "You are a dancer?" Cameron wondered aloud, not exactly surprised. But the next part did surprise him. "You can rebuild old cars too?" He didn't hide how impressed he was. Not many girls could actually rebuild cars. Actually, not many boys could either. Cameron definitely could not do that.

Oblivious to the sugar coated smile, Cameron tried to decide what would be alright to tell her. "Well, I played soccer all through high school. I know a little bit piano. Oh and the three of us moved here this year." He ended there, realizing that if his life were to be made a movie.. well lets just say it would not have been as great as Cheaper by the Dozen had been. "Your up." He didn't really care to talk about himself. He was interested in her.

((I used to watch Cheaper by the Dozen all the time :P ))

"That's sweet." Winnie smiled softly as she examined the photo. She was able to put two and two together and figure out who was who. From the looks of the picture, Cameron and his sister were pretty close. They had similar features, too, and if Winnie had just seen them as random pedestrians walking down the street, she would have pegged them for siblings. The other boy, though, who must've been Carter, looked nothing like Cameron. He reminded her more of a guy like Miles. They all had that sort of look to them, guys like that. Honestly, Winnie thought Cameron looked more handsome in the photograph. "You surf?"

If only Winnie's only family was still that close. All she had with her now was her mom, but Winnie wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. Unfortunately, she didn't keep any pictures on her besides ones on her phone. Winnie hated having her photo taken, so in practically every family picture she is looking away, or has a hand over her face, or just looks really awkward. Sometimes a combination of those. "Yeah, my brothers are insane, but I must be too because I love them anyway. There names are Elijah, Wesley, and Zane. But they all graduated a while back, and they still live in Indiana. Except for Wes. He goes to school in New York." Winnie closed her mouth abruptly, realizing she was rambling a bit. "You should see the way we argue, though..." She added in conclusion. Winnie felt like a mother bragging about her children, which was probably the most accurate description as unusual as it was. He probably doesn't care, Winnie. Shut up!

Letting out a chuckle when he seemed surprised about the car part, Winnie decided she should clarify a bit. "Well, I know some about cars, but I've never done anything by myself. I get stuck holding the flashlight a lot, really." She smiled. Winnie loved her Papaw dearly, as he never really questioned her about anything. He never asked for anything from her, either. They rarely talked, actually. But it was peaceful, and Winnie could always tell that he knew something she didn't.

"Fine, my turn..." Was there anything else even remotely interesting about Winnie? Wow, get a life! A nagging voice in the back of her mind said. She had one, though, but that kind of living wasn't right for her. It never felt real. Winnie did feel kind of real right now, though, which was unusual. She was impressed that Cameron played piano, even a little bit, as that was something none of her former boyfriends had done. They weren't very cultured guys, unfortunately. Winnie pushed her hair out of her eyes before starting again. "Well, I moved here half way through my junior year. I was a cheerleader all throughout school. I know," She held up a hand as if telling him not to interject. "Don't judge." It was apparent that Winnie wasn't too fond of the sport. "And my dream school is NYU....Other than that, I don't really know."

"Only a little bit." Cameron shrugged, letting his mind drift to surfing. It was something he thoroughly enjoyed, even though a lot of the times he ended up making a fool of himself somehow. He was not as good as either Macey or Carter, both of which were almost legends on the waves. It didn't really bother him that he wasn't the best, he just liked the feeling of being on the waves. It was exhilarating and people definitely did not give it enough credit. "Do you surf?" He asked this, guessing she probably did like everyone else here.

Winnie was adorable. In many way, but especially when she talked about her family. Small little creases appeared and she looked as if she was about to go do something exciting. "Your family sounds really great." Genuinely thinking that, he told her. Personally, he could not imagine having three brothers. Carter was hard enough. "Did you ever want a sister?" He questioned, tilting his head to the side as he looked into her eyes.

Cameron grinned, raising an eyebrow at her flashlight part. "Winnie the expert flashlight holder? That's cute." He waggled his eyebrows expertly and leaned back in his seat a little bit. It made more sense that she wasn't actually fixing the cars. Even though he wouldn't put that past her, she seemed smart enough to do something like that.

"No judging here." Cameron held up his hands in surrender, a smirk playing on the end of his lips. "Being a cheerleader is actually hard work." Cameron's eyes widened a bit and he turned serious, nodding his head slightly. "Once when I was seven or so, Macey made me join a cheerleading camp with her because she wanted a friend." Cameron scoffed a bit and rolled his eyes. "We both ended up quitting because we didn't want to use the pompoms." Chuckling a bit at the memory, Cameron returned his attention back to Winnie. "NYU is a great school." It was impressive that she was shooting for that. Cameron still didn't know where he wanted to go next year. He had a few offers, but nothing was particularly alluring.

((Something should happen...Any ideas?))

Winnie almost choked on that thought. "Well, what I do isn't exactly surfing...More like drowning." As graceful as Winnie was on the dance floor, she couldn't master standing up on a board. It was ridiculous that she couldn't balance on one! Something about it just freaked Winifred out and whenever she stood up, her legs were ripped out from under her by water. Something had to be wrong with her...Cameron, however, didn't strike her as the surfer type. She was surprised, to say the least, but pleasantly so.

Having thought about a sister only a couple times before, Winnie didn't know how to answer that question. Yes, it would have been nice to have another girl around to take her side, but Elle Robins, Winnie's mother, was pretty much the equivalent of a sister...as odd as that sounds. She realized that Cameron seemed genuinely interested, which was...nice. Winnie didn't talk about herself, usually, but it was nice to have someone who would listen. "When I was little," She started, sharing a truthful memory. "My brother's told me mom was pregnant once, that she was going to have another kid and I wouldn't be the baby of the family anymore. I was excited at first. I even picked out a name for a little sister as if that was my choice. And then, Eli explained to me that I would get less attention. So, I became so upset that I ran to my mom begging her to 'give the baby back to the stork'." Winnie chuckled.

A soft blush rose to Winnie's cheeks once more. That's cute... Maybe this was a date...It didn't matter either way, though. Winnie was not looking for a relationship. And yet, she seemed to keep forgetting her one rule. Why was it so easy to be herself, her old self, around a guy she hardly knew?

"Aww! That's adorable!" Winnie grinned. "I bet you were a wonderful cheerleader..." Winnie truly did think that was cute. And the fact that he would share something like that was pretty great, too. Most guys wouldn't own up to something like that. "Me and this other girl were co-captains at my old school, and we couldn't stand each other. I loved the sport, but the squad at my old school was a tad...Well, they were all whores except a couple. The only reason I did it was because my mom was a cheerleader. She was so excited about me following in her footsteps." Winnie let out a soft sigh. "But yeah, NYU is great...Kind of scary, though, the thought of moving so far away..."

"Actually, I need to excuse myself for a moment." Winnie suddenly said, pushing her chair back slightly and standing up. "Be right back." With that, Winnie left the main eating area to go to the bathroom towards the back. She only needed to see herself in the mirror for a moment, make sure she still looked presentable enough. Even though she felt flustered, she looked fine. She combed her hand through her hair a couple of times before pulling her foundation out of her bag. It was ridiculous how clumsy she could be, but Winnie dropped the little compact on the floor.

She picked it up in a hurry, banging her head on the underside of the porcelein countertop of the sink on her way back up. An instant pain ran through her and Winnie pressed her hand against the top of her head, wincing. God, how sharp do they make sinks nowadays? When Winnie felt a warm sensation on her hand, she decided it was best to see what it was. Blood came from her head, of course, as the head tended to bleed a lot. Winnie noted that as she grabbed a couple papertowels, folded them, and pressed them against her scalp.

When she made it back to their table, Winnie had a major headache. "I was gone for two minutes and I managed to give myself a concussion." She muttered, mostly to herself. Then, she spoke louder, although even talking quietly caused a sharp pain behind her eyebrow. "Hey, I think I need to get home. I don't feel too good..." Her words slurred together a bit. When did she get so tired anyway? She must have a concussion. So, Winnie knew she couldn't sleep. Was it four hours she had to keep herself up? Winnie didn't remember exactly. She mustv'e banged her head pretty hard...How the heck was she supposed to drive home?! And she couldn't really go home, could she? Winnie didn't want her mom to worry when she saw her...

While she was gone, Cameron sipped his water and thought about why girls always had to be in the bathroom so long. What did they do in there? Build a museum or something? Ever since they were little, Macey always took at least three times as long in the bathroom as it would take Carter or Cameron. It was like they had to recreate themselves in there. Maybe Winnie was kniving way's to avoid Cameron in the bathroom. Maybe Winnie was sneaking out and never actually went to the bathroom. That thought made him a bit sad. Which also made no sense, considering he dind't even know this girl. Why should it bother him that she was trying to sneak ou-

Interrupted by her soft mutter, Cameron glanced up. A look of confusion passed over his face as he tried to get an understanding of the situation. How did this happen? Instantly standing up, he wrapped an arm around underneath her arms to support her. The slurring was not a good sign. "There is no way I'm letting you drive. We can pick up your car later." He declared this, a bit taken aback by his sudden confidence. Maybe a damsel in distress brought it out of him.

Leaving a large amount of money on the table, he rushed her out to his car. Nudging open the door, he helped her sit down before hurrying to the other side. It seemed as if she was in no state to remember her address, the only reasonable place to go was his own. Which was a bit terrifying, considering he never knew what kind of state his house would be in. Hopefully it wasn't a mess. Hopefully Carter was gone. "How did this happen?" He looked straight ahead as he asked, concentrating on driving too.

One minute Winnie was in the bathroom, and the next she was sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Her vision was a little blurry, but Winnie was sensible. She knew that she had to stay awake...but that was so hard. Winnie remembered a time when she was at one of her brother's basketball games and something like this had happened. She was only about six or seven, but she recalled it vividly. She had dropped a Polly Pocket and it fell beneath the bleachers. When her parents were distracted by the game, Winnie went snuck under the bleachers and bumped her head after retrieving the doll. Eli had been the first to see her and he completely freaked out. If it wasn't for the school principal being there and unlocking the nurse's office to get first aid supplies, Winnie's mother would have had a heart attack and insisted on taking her daughter to the ER.

"Um...Sharp sinks?" It sounded more like a question than an explanation. It really wasn't much of an answer and probably made her sound nuts. Winnie considered it kind of an inside joke with herself, though. Wow, that was lame...And wow, was it possible to hear a headache? Winnie kept the papertowel pressed tightly against her head, afraid to look at it. She could feel the warm, sticky fluid leaking through it but tried to ignore that, which wasn't too hard considering her condition.

"Thanks, Cameron." Winnie then mumbled. Her head lolled to the side and she tried to focus on the things outside the window as the car began to move. It calmed her a bit, but not so much that it tired her more. Trying to focus on one thing helped a lot, actually, as her brain was staying active in some way. Besides, she didn't want to seem like a wimp in front of a guy. Having grown up with older brothers, Winnie learned that was a no-no. Though, deep down she wished there were more guys like Cameron. Winnie didn't want to accept those thoughts. And right now, the only thing she could think was pain pain pain.

Cameron had to hold back a laugh by biting his bottom lip. Of course, she must have hit her head reaching for something. Knowing it would probably not end well if he actually did laugh, he coughed to cover it up. She seemed to be loosing it faster and faster, which meant he had to probably drive faster. Stepping on the gas, the car sped across the roads and before long they were nearing his house.

"Don't worry about it." Cameron pulled into his long drive way and parked the car as close to the house as he could. With a hesitant glance in her direction, he did not like what he saw. She looked limper than before and maybe even paler. It worried him, to say the least. Maybe the hospital would of been a better choice, but he figured he could probably help her with his first aid training. Hopefully that wasn't overestimating his skills. Rushing around the hood of the car, he opened her door and decided it would be the fastest to just pick up. With surprisingly strong arms, he scooped her up and rushed into his house.

((Switch to his house?))