4.

??Um??can you stop pushing me??? I asked, glancing at Hailey uneasily.

??What? Me??? she replied, innocently, ??I am just sitting.??

I heard Cam suck in a sharp breath beside me.

??Why don??t you ask her to stop it??? I turned to him.

No reply.

??Hello? She is your friend. Ask her.?? I prodded.

Silence.

??Fine. Don??t get mad at me if I am on your lap by the time she is done.?? I said.

His head whipped in my direction so fast, that, I think I got a whiplash.

Yes, that was good. At least he would say something, now.

??So, Cam, open your mouth and speak,?? Hailey instructed, ??maybe I will listen.??

Cam took a deep breath, composing himself. It looked like he wanted to say a lot of things, and give us an earful. But, ugh, he killed his words in his throat.

Damn it!

Why was it so hard for him to speak?

Hailey sighed, ??Okay, then. You are asking for it, Cam.??

And, Hailey began her work of pushing me again. I gave her a deadpan look. Why were these two involving me in between?

I was just a stranger, sharing a cab with them, for God??s sake!

Suddenly, Hailey shoved me so hard, that, I lost whatever balance I had, and slammed into Cam??s chest, with a yelp.

Uh oh.

I quickly sat up straight, trying to get my skyrocketing heart under control.

He was going to kill me now, wasn??t he? And, to think that I had yet to meet Tom Holland??

He removed the tendrils of my hair that had fallen onto his face, and I waited with bated breath for him to snap, yell or choke my throat??

But, this was Cam. From what I gathered about him until now, he had a tendency to react indirectly, rather than directly.

And, boy did he react this time!

He, not so discreetly, shoved me towards Hailey, pushing and pushing and pushing until the upper half of my body was leaning on her completely. Hailey, in turn, was shoved in Cherry??s direction, and, Cherry??well, her entire face was sticking to the window now.

Blake turned around and watched the whole thing, then, sighed, shaking his head, ??Newton was right, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.??

??I am surprised you even know that, dumbass,?? Hailey grunted, trying to shove me back.

But, man, Cam was smart. He had now spread his legs comfortably, taking most of the seat and had sat himself firmly, so that no amount of pressure was going to faze him.

God, how did I end up here again?

Blake asked the driver to stop the car, when he spotted a small restaurant. All of us took that as a cue, to get out of the suffocation of the car.

??All of you fatasses almost squashed me in there!?? Cherry glared at us as soon as we got out of the car, ??I am not sitting in that seat again!??

As soon as she said that, all of our eyes fell on Blake??s empty front seat??Blake who was currently ordering snacks for himself inside the restaurant.

We eyed the seat, then, eyed each other. The message was loud and clear: everybody wanted that golden seat.

All four of us made a run for it, but surprise, surprise, Cam crossed over to it in two long strides and by the time we reached to his level, his hand was already on the door handle.

But, did I ever mention that my little sister was a cheater? And, that she always won every game, by hook or by crook?

Well, she was. After Cam opened the door and raised his foot to get inside, Cherry extended her leg forward, so that Cam tripped over it. And guess what my gummy ass did?

It decided to save him. I placed my hands on his shoulder to stabilize him and ha! I ended up taking the fall in the process.

Oh joy!

??Damn, you really are clumsy, girl, aren??t you??? Hailey exclaimed, offering me a hand.

I groaned and got up to my feet, ??You have no idea,?? then, I turned to Cam, waiting for him to thank me or say anything at all.

His face remained impassive as he stared at me with a blank expression.

??You are welcome, Cam.?? I muttered, rolling my eyes.

??You know, Cam,?? Hailey shook her head, ??you owe her a thank you. What the heck is wrong with you???

??What the heck is wrong with her??? Cam retorted, ??I didn??t ask for her help.?? With that he turned around, staring into the distance and completely ignoring us.

Hm??okay.

Hailey sighed, coming to stand beside me, ??I am sorry- wait, what??s your name???

??Juliet,?? I told her, with a smile.

??Wow, dude,?? she beamed, ??that??s such a unique and pretty name. I don??t think I know any Juliet other than Romeo??s Juliet.??

I winced, ??Yeah, but, ugh, I am only her namesake, okay? I nothing like her.??

Hailey laughed, ??Of course, Juliet, relax. Hahaha, I think you get it a lot; hence, it??s a touchy topic for you. But, don??t worry, I bet you are prettier than her,?? she winked.

I felt my cheeks heating, ??No, no. me? Pretty? Have you seen yourself and your friends???

Hailey shook her head, ??You are from somewhere in Europe, aren??t you???

I nodded, sighing, ??The accent gave it away, didn??t it? I am from a small country, by the way. It??s called Czech Republic.??

Hailey joined her hands, ??Oh wow! I have always wanted to visit that place!??

I was genuinely taken by surprise. I hadn??t expected anyone to know about Czech Republic. It was a small country, after all. Most people I had met outside my country when I was on vacations were usually in dark about it.

Hailey must have seen the surprise on my face because she continued, ??We learnt all about Czech and its capital Prague, in school. And, to be honest, I find small countries more intriguing than the larger, famous ones.??

??Wow, that??s a new,?? I told her genuinely, ??but, I am sure, you are going to like it in Prague. It??s peaceful and beautiful.??

??Of course and by the way, just so you know,?? she said with a straight face, ??I am so jealous of your blue eyes, girl. Like, damn!??

I laughed, ??Yeah, I have been getting that since I arrived here. I guess I took it for granted back in Prague.??

??Yeah, I mean, look at the shade,?? she said, peering into my eyes, ??yours are so different than what I normally see here.??

??It??s a mix of turquoise and crayola blue.??

Hailey and I gasped, on hearing that statement. Because, it??s source was much unexpected: the aloof, broody Cam. He rolled his eyes at our reaction and went towards the restaurant, perhaps to call Blake.

I was surprised that he had even noticed the shade of my eyes color. And, on top of that, he had got it correct??

??Oof,?? Hailey face palmed, ??this reminds me, I was apologizing for Cam??s behavior earlier. Don??t mind him at all,?? she blew out a weary breath, ??he has been through some bad shit.??

Oh??

??Um, it??s none of my business, but, does that give him the right to be like this to others??? I asked her in genuine curiosity.

??I don??t know, Juliet, I don??t know,?? she replied, grimly, ??Cam was never like this. He was the epitome of loving, caring and kind. You wouldn??t believe any of this because you didn??t meet him before this summer.??

??Before this summer??? I reiterated, in confusion.

??Yeah, everything changed after he went to this family trip in their beach house. None of us know what happened there, because Cam wouldn??t tell us. But, all I know is, we lost Cam because if this bloody trip. He was not the same after he returned.??

My mind had started reeling with this new piece of information.

??It??s so hard to imagine him as opposite of what he is now,?? I blurted out my thoughts.

Hailey nodded, ??I know. But, still, please forget about whatever he did. I am sure he never meant to. There??s just something on his mind, eating him-??

Hailey was cut off, when we saw Blake and Cam, making their way towards us.

??Shit!?? Hailey exclaimed, then, cleared her throat; ??I call dibs on the window!?? she shouted for everyone to hear and then, without wasting any time, got inside the car.

I was about to get in after her, but, Blake managed to beat me to it, even when his hands were full with packets of food.

Ugh!

I tugged at my hair in frustration, and glanced at Cam. His face told me that there was no use hoping for anything from him, so I accepted defeat again and got in after Blake. Needless to say, Cam got in after me and the car started again.

It was a two hour ride from the station to the central university. We had already completed an hour of the ride. And, now, everyone was tired after a full day of hectic activities.

I eyed the nachos that Blake was stuffing his mouth with.

??Aren??t you going to share??? I asked, shamelessly. Anything for food.

Blake looked at me as if I just asked him to rip his heart out and hand it over to me.

??Look, Juliet, when the food is in his hands,?? Hailey started, ??you don??t ask for it,?? she leaned forward, ??you simply snatch it,?? she finished, grabbing a handful of nachos.

Blake jumped, gasping, ??Give that back, hellcat!??

??I won??t.??

Blake extended his hand to take those nachos back, but, Hailey was quick to lick the nachos.

She smirked at Blake, ??Still want it???

??Ew,?? Blake made a face and turned away.

I watched their full exchange in amusement, ??So, like, are you two a thing???

This made both of them freeze in their actions, and Hailey even started blushing. That was answer enough??

??Um, what??? Hailey laughed nervously, ??this dumbass and me? Hahaha! He wishes!??

??Correction: she wishes,?? Blake supplied after her.

??I hate you!?? Hailey told him.

??Mhm,?? Blake nodded, munching on his nachos, ??I hate you more.??

They were throwing this ??hate?? word on each other so casually as if it was a routine for them now.

??See, we hate each other??? Hailey said, glancing at me.

??Sure,?? I said at the same time, that Cam did.

Silence. Absolute silence.

I didn??t dare to turn and look at Cam, while Blake and Hailey glanced between us with wide eyes.

??First, she quoted him,?? hailey started, ??now, this,?? she clapped her hands, ??that??s couple goals, peeps.??

??What?!?? I exclaimed at the same time, Cam did.

What the heck? Why was he copying me? How come he was speaking all of a sudden?

??Stop copying me!?? I heard his irritated voice.

I turned to glare at him, ??Well, the same goes for you!??

??Ew,?? Blake suddenly exclaimed, ??now don??t you two start making out here in front of me!??

??Shut up, Blake!?? Cam and I said simultaneously again.

Cam inhaled deeply while I let out a groan.

He turned his face towards the window, away from us, while I shook my head.

What the hell just happened?

I turned to Blake, ??You do realize that I met you all a few hours ago, right???

??So??? he asked casually.

??So, you can??t say such things to me!?? I said exasperatedly.

He held up a hand, ??You know, it took only one punch on Kris?? part and we already predicted that she was going to be a part of us.??

??What??? I asked in bewilderment.

??Kris punched Alex, when she first met him,?? Hailey explained, ??and, I had started making ship names for them as soon as this happened.??

I didn??t know that we were supposed to ship people who started off on wrong foot??especially, with a punch??

I kept quiet after that, because I had a vague idea that they were going to say something embarrassing about me and Cam if I prodded them further.

Everyone much was pretty much silent after that. Cherry was busy playing some game on her phone, Cam was looking outside the window and Hailey and Blake were busy eating and arguing.

I yawned, finding it hard to keep my eyes open. My head almost collapsed over Cam??s shoulder. Keyword: almost. I was lucky to have prevented it.

But, the need to sleep beCame too dire after that and I laid my head back and closed my eyes, relishing the ease that it brought to my body.

It was after one hour exactly, that my eyes flew open when the car Came to a halt. I rubbed my eyes, my disoriented brain taking a moment to register my surroundings.

Hailey and Blake, were sleeping with their mouths open, their heads leaning against each other. Cherry??s head was hanging to the side, as she snored lightly.

And, I??I Came to the horrid realization that I was leaning against Cam, completely. I was about to shriek out of fear and surprise, but, it died in my throat when I found his eyes closed too.

Oh, thank God!

Or maybe not??because the next I knew his eyes had fluttered open, and the first thing he noticed was me??with my head lying on his shoulder, staring at him like a creep.

Darn it!