Was she being punished? Is that it?

Did some god or another have it out for her?

Or maybe she was paying for some ancestor's sin?

Or was the person narrating her life that cliché?

But the why didn't matter at the moment. What did matter was how the hell was she going to get out of this situation unscathed?

Don't be obvious Camille. Alice obviously doesn't know anything and he obviously didn't say anything. But the ass must have known that she was Alice's sister. Their resemblance was uncanny although their eye and hair colour slightly differed. Camille braced herself for the contact her skin would soon feel.

She let out a shaky breath as she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, um Jace." Camille extended her hand politely.

Jace stared intently at her hand and Camille could see his thoughts as if they were her own. He was remembering all the places on his body her hand had touched. She shivered slightly and could feel the blood rushing to her face.

Really Camille? she thought, get a grip! You're twenty-one years old for crying out loud! Stop asking like you're still a teenager! And then she slapped herself, mentally of course. The situation was bad enough .She didn't need to add that she was loony to whatever list he had of her in his mind.

He took her hand in his and shook it gently. "The pleasure was all mine, believe me." Camille could barely staunch the gasp that nearly escaped her lips. The sleezy bastard! She hoped Alice didn't hear his 'slip' and comprehend its meaning.

"Alright you guys let's order." Camille mentally thanked her sister for the distraction and pulled her hand from his. Her body immediately cried out from the lack of warmth she suddenly experienced as her hand left his. She sat back at her original position in the booth and immediately picked up the menu in order to hide herself.

Well at least her sister knew how to pick 'em? That doesn't make the situation any better, she reminded herself. The fact still remains that he is an ass just like you suspected especially for dating your younger sister. Camille couldn't argue. But she knew she had to at least act pleasant for her sister's sake.

"So how did you guys meet?" She asked while mustering the fakest polite smile on to her lips.

"Well I have been a fan of his band for the longest time and finally a little after a month ago I got the guts to ask him out and he didn't reject me," Alice responded with a genuine smile on her face. Camille flinched at the sound of sincerity in her sister's voice and looked to see what Jace's reaction was. His face held a smile also, but Camille couldn't decipher whether it was real or not. His eyes snapped to hers and his face turned blank and cold as he looked at her.

Camille had to wonder if Jace was bipolar. First he was flirting with her and then he's cold. At least her list was getting longer. Now if she could only tell Alice all the cons of the guy so that she would dump him. But she knew how Alice would take it and it wouldn't be good at all. Still, she had to try.

After nearly an hour of hearing her sister gush about the guy she had slept with, they had all eaten and paid the bill by the time Alice had finished her list. Camille didn't hear what she was truly waiting to hear about however, and as they were all about to go their separate ways she grabbed her younger sister and pulled her further away from the entrance and towards her car, just far enough for him not to hear what they were saying. Then she finally asked her the question that she had been dying to know the answer to.

"So have you guys slept together yet?" A tinge of pink entered her sister's cheeks and she shook her head. Camille immediately felt relieved. Now, maybe the argument that had been brewing in her mind since she first found out who Jace was would go over a little smoother now that their wouldn't be that awkwardness. Camille however, had to admit that a little relief had to come from knowing her sister hadn't touched him in all the ways she had. That would be just torture.

So immersed in her thoughts was she, that Camille almost missed it when Alice said, "But I want to and I think it's going to happen soon."

Alarms went off inside her head as she heard her sister utter those words and knew that she had to try and stop her from doing such a thing. It was now or later for that inevitable argument they were bound to have. Camille picked now.

"Don't you think you should just kind of wait I mean isn't he like twenty-five or something?" Oh boy, here it comes. Camille cringed.

"He is only twenty-three and I love him so don't tell me to wait," she snapped. Yep, there it was. Commence battle number two hundred and five.

"What? You've only known him for what a month? You couldn't possibly love him."

"And what do you know about love. I mean your own ex-boyfriend cheated on you on your anniversary." Camille felt her breath stop at what her sister said to her. This was not the same girl who she had laid her head on and bawled as the pain of what he had done to her was overwhelming her mind. No this was an adolescent girl who was having her first serious crush and would crush anyone in the process who got in her way.

She looked at her younger sister with a cold blank look.

Alice gasped and her eyes widened comically. "Oh damn! I'm sorry Cammy I didn't mean to-"

"It doesn't matter you're right and that's why I was trying to warn you to take things slow because I know what it feels like to have your heart crushed without so much as a 'I'm sorry'." Camille shook her head in disgust and proceeded to walk away, but Alice grabbed her arm.

"I know and that's why I'm-"

"Don't say it. I'll talk to you later." She clenched her fist as she breathed out deeply. "Much later." Pulling her arm from her sister's grasp, Camille walked away as dignified as she could. She pulled out her car keys, swung open the door to her Grey Toyota Camry and after unsuccessfully trying to shove the keys in the ignition, gave up and finally let a few tears fall.

Get a grip Camille! her mind screamed. And after taking a couple of deep breaths, she inserted the key and drove away.

~)~

As soon as she reached her apartment however, the grim reality of the day set in.

Damn karma!

Wait until Nelly got a hold of this.

The sound of her cat meowing, distracted her and she reach down to tickle him behind his ears just the way he liked it.

"Are you hungry Sonic, baby?" she asked affectionately and headed into the kitchen to pour some more cat food and water into his bowls.

She looked down at her grey Tabby cat with black spots and wondered at how his life could be so simple. Eat, sleep, poop, scratch the furniture. That's all. She wished that they could exchange lives for a day, but she had a feeling he wouldn't want to.

But she had work to get to and time was of the essence.

Shedding her clothes quickly, she stepped into the steaming water and allowed the heat to cleanse away all her thoughts and memories. A good twenty minutes into the shower and she heard knocking on her front door. Camille groaned as she thought it was her sister coming to once again apologize. She stepped out of the shower, wrapped the towel around her body and made the trek to the front door.

She opened the door while saying,"Alice I know that you're-"but stopped mid sentence, however as she realized that it was someone else that had grey eyes and black wavy hair.

She looked at him with his I just got out of bed look and his black silky shirt and black slacks. You could see his muscles rippling beneath the shirt and she knew how great they felt. Sensations rushed to her lower region.

Are you kind of bipolar too Camille? First you think he's an ass and now you're lusting after him. Typical…. Camille couldn't help but to raise her eyebrow, puzzled. Wasn't your mind supposed to be on your side?

"How did you find me?" Then she thought and realized that her sister most likely had sold her out even if she didn't mean to. He ignored her question and instead just continued to stare at her or rather at her lips. A side of her, Camille really wished didn't exist, squealed gleefully at just how her lips alone, enraptured him.

She tried a different question. "Why are you here? Haven't you caused enough trouble?" she asked frustrated and unnerved by intense gaze. Suddenly, Camille jumped as something tickled her legs. She glared hotly at her cat for causing her to make a fool of herself however; she soon realized that hands were grasping her waist. She stared at him and upon seeing his cloudy grey eyes, knew he was just as affected by her as she was of him. Soon Camille felt her back against the wall, his hands tugging at her towel and his soft and warm lips pressed against her own.

Everything else was soon forgotten.

A/N:

So 2nd chapter up (a bit modified) ! 48 more to go! Thanks for reading.