Mystery Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Gallagher Girls. Ally Carter does.

It was by chance that I saw her that night.

I had been twirling listlessly around the magnificent ballroom, listening to the annoying young girl in my arms drone on and on about her life, her favorite color, and what a jerk her ex-boyfriend was. It took a while, but finally, I was able to tune her out, until her voice was just a low hum in my ears.

I smiled charmingly at her. She couldn't see past my façade, and that was all I needed. A lock of hair had fallen in my eyes, and I could see her hand reaching up to push it aside. Quickly, I turned my head to flip it out of my eyes. Just as I was about to look back down, my eyes and ears caught something.

I saw a beautiful young woman in the arms of my best friend. The breath was knocked out of my chest, and the young girl, Tina, I think it was, shook me roughly.

"Zach, Zach!" she shook me roughly. My teeth clacked together, and I pushed her away from me, just as the song ended.

"I'm sorry Tina, I had a great time," I said, hoping to catch the mystery girl before one of my brothers did.

I could see that the mystery girl had many admirers from the way the many men in the room paused when she tossed her hair, or when she laughed. I pushed my way through the crowd, intent on making my way to her, but just before I got to her, a boy from the grade above me, Cory McMillan approached her, where she was drinking punch and talking with her friends.

He had a few inches on her, so he bent down to talk to her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

She spun around, startled, and I could see her hand already coming up to knock him out, but when she realized that he was just asking her to dance, she used that hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'd love to," she said, flashing a smile at him. She curtsied to him and smiled again. He smiled and took her hand, leading her out to the dance floor. He took her into his arms, and I quickly grabbed the girl closest to me, so I could follow them.

"Hello again Zach!"

I looked down at the red haired girl in my arms. Ugh. It was Tina. I smiled at her before letting my gaze return to the Mystery Girl and Cory dancing across the dance floor from me.

As we spun around, Tina and I ended up right next Cory and the Mystery Girl. Cory leant down to talk to the Mystery Girl.

"So.... I never got your name," he said, looking into her eyes. She smiled up at him, licked her lips and briefly touched his arm.

"Well Cory, I've.... learned in my time in the business.... that.... names are best left.... unsaid," she whispered, looking him in the eyes.

I smirked as I heard those words. She was smooth. She had gotten Cory to reveal his name, and protect her own identity all within the first minutes of the song.

I could see Cory return to his own height, and smirk. He thought he could outsmart the Mystery Girl in revealing her identity. Lower, I could see the girl look down and smirk slightly. She knew she was good.

Suddenly she looked up, and our eyes met for a moment. She seemed flustered for a moment, and I figured she also felt the connection between us. Tina chose that moment interrupt us.

"Zach-y!" she whined, placing her hand on my arm, and squeezing. It was time for another twirl, but just before the Mystery Girl and I spun in our different directions, I saw her mouth one word.

Zachy?

I shook my head and smirked. This was one girl I would enjoy getting to know better.

I never did get to ask the Mystery Girl to dance that night, but I did learn more about her. She was a true lady, never rejecting a dance from anyone, even if it was a nerd, like one of my closest friends, Jonas, or a complete idiot, like Nick, another close friend. She was also very smart, and had every boy in her grasps.

That night, as I lay in bed, I turned to Grant, my best friend, and asked him about the Mystery Girl.

"Which girl Zach? I must've danced with at least 50 girls tonight." Grant answered my question about the girl he had been dancing with.

"The really beautiful one man," I said. "She was wearing an ivory gown, medium blonde hair, bright blue eyes...." I prompted him.

"Ohhhh!" Grant exclaimed. "That's Cammie! We met once at a summer camp; probably back in 3rd grade, we before coming to Blackthorne. We were best friends, and it turned out our parents were pretty good friends too. But when Cam's dad died, we kinda stopped contact. Gosh Zach, it was really great to be able to see her again. She's grown up to be so pretty. I remember, she used to be a pretty plain girl. Why do you ask Zach?" Grant said.

"No reason," I smirked, folding my arms under my head. "No reason at all."

Inside my head, one thought echoes in my mind.

I will meet this girl. My Cammie. My Mystery girl. .