Liam was silent for a moment, looking out over the garden again. He sighed and turned back to Cameron.
"So, what exactly happened between the two of you?" he asked, not ungently. "And please don't try to deny that something happened because it's written all over your face. And I know that look. Heck, I've worn that look!" he ended with a laugh.
Cameron didn't grin, nor did he laugh. Instead, he lightly winced at Liam's tough tone.
"Nothing happened."
"Liar. You can tell me, Cameron. It'll help you and my sister out," Liam told him.
Cameron simpered at 'lair'. He hated being called a liar.
He hesitated before fessing up to what happened, feeling distinctly awkward as he told Lilah's brother of their cuddly, fluffy times.
Liam didn't do much as blush at the description of their cuddle times. He simply nodded in understanding before thinking for a moment.
"I think you mostly just took her by surprise. She probably wasn't expecting you to say it, so when you did she hesitated to say it back. She gets that way sometimes. You just have to be patient with her, and gentle," he explained. "Maybe try talking to her again. I'm sure she's beating herself up over what happened."
Cameron hugged the pup. "I guess I did. But it made me rethink, you know, with my family." He sighed, shaking his head. "But I'll talk to her, soon."
"I hope that 'soon' will be today, not next week," Liam said softly as he stood. He gave Cameron a sympathetic smile. "Go talk to her. She needs you."
Cameron sighed and stood up too. If he wasn't going to get it done then, he never would.
He hummed. "Thanks, Liam."
"My pleasure. I'll see you around," Liam said as he started to walk away, Lilac on his heels.
Lily wiggled and jumped down from Cameron's arms, tailing Lilac happily.
Cameron sighed then turned, going back up to the palace and to Lilah's room. He hesitated for a few minutes, told himself he needed to grow a pair, then knocked on the door.
By now, Lilah had put on her favorite casual dress – light pink, sparkly bust, poofy skirt – as well as straightened her hair and put a light amount of makeup on. She didn't look like she had been crying at all. In fact, she looked perfectly fine and very determined.
When she heard a knock at the door, she was a little confused but went to open it anyway. She gaped at Cameron for a moment, having had expected to have to go find him herself.
"Cam…" she breathed finally, giving him a pretty small smile. "You're here still."
Cameron felt his voice die in his throat when he saw her. She was so pretty (i'm lame)!
He found his voice after a few moments and tried to return the smile. "Yeah, I am. Could I come in?" He was fully prepared for her to throw a middle finger in his face and slam the door shut.
"Please do, yeah," Lilah said as she opened the door wider and stepped aside to let him in.
Cameron walked past her with his head bowed slightly. He moved to the middle of the room and glanced idly up at the wall, trying to mentally and emotionally collect himself.
Lilah shut the door gently and made her way over to her bed, where she sat down. She patted the space to her left with a small smile.
"Sit with me?" she asked, her eyes the only part of her showing how desperately she wanted him to.
When she walked into his vision he started following her with his gaze.
"Oh, yea, sure!" He smiled a little and sat down next to her.
Lilah smiled at him for a moment before turning her gaze to her room. She sighed as she looked around, then looked down at her hands.
"I'm sorry," she said, looking back up at Cameron. Once again, her eyes betrayed her emotions, this time begging his forgiveness.
His eyes flitted around the room too. He was tempted to break the silence but decided against it. When she looked up at him, he went to her and caught her gaze with a catch of his breath.
"It's alright." He cleared his throat. "That's alright." He smiled a little at his mistake, acting like it wasn't the dumbest thing on the planet.
"It wasn't, though," Lilah sighed, shaking her head as she looked back down. "Because… Um…"
Cameron's gaze followed her action with a slight furrow of his brow. "Because…?"
Lilah blushed deeply, grinning as she lifted her head to meet Cameron's gaze.
"Because…" she started again, taking a deep breath. "I love you, too."
Cameron's look of slight concern was replaced with a little, dorky grin.
"Well- that's um… great!" He blushed a little then said softly, "Sorry. I don't know how to respond…"
Lilah quietly laughed a bit. "That's okay. I'm sure I surprised you after earlier."
Cameron gave a soft laugh. "Yeah. But… I guess I caught you off-guard. It was… wrong of me to do."
"No, no! It was perfect! I'm just terrible with my emotions sometimes," Lilah explained, shaking her head.
Cameron shook his head a little but grinned anyway. "I understand that. It's okay."
Lilah smiled back at him.
"So… What now?" she wondered. "I believe I told you that we could do whatever you want…"
Cameron rubbed his chin. "Well, that was if I told you what my weakness was."
"Which you said you didn't know," Lilah reminded him.
Cameron puckered his lips. "Yeah, and?"