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1.
It was a chilly November evening, and although Cameron was indoors dressed in a sweatshirt and long pants, he was still shivering.
He sat curled up on the Buellers’s living room couch, book in hand. Ferris was upstairs taking a shower, and Cameron could hear Sloane humming in the kitchen. Mr. and Mrs. Bueller were at a dinner party or something of the sort, and Jeanie was over at a friend’s, so Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane had the place to themselves.
As Cameron continued to pull his knees up to his chest in an attempt to warm up, he heard a pair of feet softly making their way towards the living room.
He turned to see Sloane walking from the kitchen, smiling softly with two mugs in hand. When she reached the back of the couch, she held out one of the mugs to Cameron.
“Thought we could use some hot chocolate,” she said.
He set his book down to accept the drink, scooching over a bit to make room for Sloane to sit. She set her mug down on the side table as she sat, and reached over to grab a blanket resting on a nearby chair. She draped the blanket over the two of them and reached for her mug, taking a small sip. Cameron did the same, the sweet drink aiding to warm him almost immediately.
He leaned his head over slightly, resting it on Sloane’s shoulder.
“Thank you,” he said, smiling up at her.
Sloane smiled back. “Of course,” she responded, planting a soft kiss on the top of Cameron’s head.
Suddenly, Cameron wasn’t sure if the warmth he was feeling was coming from the drink, the blanket, or the blush he could feel creeping on his face.
He took a long sip from his mug, trying to regain his composure.
That was just like a friend kiss, right? Friends can kiss each other on the heads, right? Even if they have a boyfriend? Yeah, definitely, it was just a friendly ‘you’re welcome’ kiss. 100%. This is fine this is fi-
“Cam?” Sloane’s voice interrupted his swirling thoughts. “Are you alright?”
Cameron looked up at her again, perhaps a bit too quickly. She had a curious look on her face, with a touch of what could almost be amusement.
“Yep,” Cameron replied. “All good.”
He was, in fact, not alright.
2.
Ferris, Jeanie, and Cameron sat in the dining room of the Bueller house. Cameron had come over earlier in an attempt to avoid his parents before school, and Ferris had invited him to eat breakfast with them.
Jeanie was skimming a magazine while she ate her breakfast, meanwhile he and Ferris were in the middle of discussing their schoolwork.
“I don’t understand how or why we’re expected to write two 5-page essays in a week! Don’t our teachers know we have more than one class?” Ferris said in between bites of toast.
Cameron rolled his eyes at him but smiled. “It is a bit much, but it might help if you paid attention in class instead of doing, well, anything else you do in class,” he teased.
Ferris frowned. “I do pay attention!”
Jeanie scoffed, not looking up from her magazine but smirking nonetheless.
Ferris turned his gaze from Cameron to look at her. He gasped dramatically, placing his hand on his chest in mock offense.
“Jeanie!” he exclaimed, dramatic as always. “Are you telling me that you don’t believe I take my academics seriously?”
Jeanie looked up at him, eyebrow raised. “No, I really don’t,” she said, before looking back down again.
“I thought, as my sister, you were supposed to love and support me, but apparently not.”
Jeanie just ignored him, while Cameron watched the exchange smiling and trying not to laugh.
Ferris turned back to look at Cameron, mouth hanging agape. “Can you believe this betrayal I’m having to endure today?”
Cameron laughed lightly. “I think it’s less of betrayal and more of stating facts,” he said smugly.
Scoffing, Ferris turned his head away from him. “Well, that’s rude.”
Cameron just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You love me.”
Ferris turned back towards him, smile on the verge of a smirk. But his eyes were soft and fond. “Of course I do,” he said, reaching his hand over to rest it on Cameron’s cheek.
He then lightly tugged Cameron’s face closer to his, and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. He took his hand away and stood up, still looking at Cameron.
“If I didn’t, who would help me with my essays?”
He then pats Cameron on the shoulder and walks away, as if nothing had happened.
Cameron sat there frozen, taking a second to regain his senses. When he did, he turned to look at Jeanie, as if to say, ‘What the hell was that!?’ She just shrugged, looking almost as baffled as Cameron felt, leaving Cameron with his own thoughts and the rising heat on his neck.
Those thoughts mostly being what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-
3.
“Shit!” Cameron hissed, yanking his left hand away from the cutting board.
All of a sudden, Sloane was barreling into the Petersons’s kitchen, a startled and slightly panicked look in her eyes.
“Cam, what happened, are you okay?”
Cameron looked at her, holding his hand currently in pain with the other. “I’m fine. I just cut my hand while slicing the onion,” he said, gesturing to the cutting board with his hands.
Sloane rushed over to him. “Let me see it,” she said, holding out her hands.
Cameron let her take his injured hand in her own. She gently looked it over before saying, “Run it under some cool water, I’ll be just a second.”
She then started to quickly walk towards a different room. Cameron did what he was told, even though the water stung a bit.
A couple minutes later, Sloane returned with what looked to be a first aid kit.
“Come sit,” she told Cameron, putting the kit down on the table. Cameron turned off the water and sat down to face Sloane, who pulled a chair up closer to him.
She opened a cabinet and pulled out a washcloth, which she soaked in water and then placed on top of the wound. Cameron winced slightly, which made Sloane lessen the pressure she was putting on the cloth.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It’s alright,” Cameron replied.
They sat in silence for a bit longer. Cameron watched as Sloane continued to apply pressure to the cloth, and then proceed to wrap the wound with a bandage.
Once she was finished, she pressed a small kiss to the palm of his hand, which sent a little jolt through Cameron’s heart.
“There,” she said, smiling up at him softly. “All better.”
Cameron smiled back. “Thanks.” Then he frowned. “Sorry I couldn’t finish making lunch,” he said.
Sloane just tilted her head and smiled at him more. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I can finish.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Alright. Thank you, again,” Cameron said.
“It’s no problem. I couldn’t have my personal chef losing his hand,” she said playfully.
Cameron laughed. “Oh no, of course not.”
They laughed a bit more, until Sloane got up to continue his work. Cameron sat and watched her, a smile spreading on his face.
4.
Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane were walking through their school parking lot, heading towards Cameron’s car. Sloane had an arm wrapped around Cameron’s waist, and Ferris was talking animatedly about something, Cameron wasn’t really sure what, as he wasn’t listening as much as he was watching.
Cameron was vaguely aware of the smile on his face, much more focused on the man on his right. In the middle of his spiel, Ferris paused, looking at Cameron. Cameron looked back at him, a bit confused at what Ferris was looking at that made him stop talking. Was there something on his face?
A moment later, Ferris’s arm came up around Cameron’s shoulders. Cameron didn’t think anything of it at first, but suddenly Ferris was squeezing his arm and pressing a forceful but still gentle kiss to Cameron’s temple. He then relaxed his arm, but still left it hanging around Cameron’s shoulders. It was a move Cameron had seen Ferris do dozens of times with Sloane.
What the fuck was that?? Why did he do that? His girlfriend was right there, sure she’s on the other side of me but why did he kiss me and not her what the fuck? Also school is right there does he not care-
It took a light squeeze around his waist from Sloane to get him back to reality. He glanced over at her to see a soft but amused smile on her face. He blinked at her, still feeling like his brain had short circuited. She squeezed him again and then faced back ahead. Cameron did the same, realizing that they were still walking and that Ferris had gone back to talking about whatever it was he was rambling on about before.
It didn’t take long for him to sink back into watching Ferris, and when he looked back at Sloane, he found her doing the same. She schooled the same soft expression that he assumed he also had.
Shit, he loved these two.
…
Shit.
5.
“Ferris, no.”
Cameron stared pointedly at Ferris, who was sitting on the floor in front of the TV stand in the Buellers’s living room. He had multiple tapes laying around him, with one in his hand. He had a genuinely excited smile on his face, but there was still that slight hint of mischief. Cameron sat on the couch, with Sloane leaning slightly against him.
The trio had been trying to agree on a movie for about 20 minutes, and they had still not found one. Ferris had been pulling them out, one by one, and Cameron and Sloane gave their input. Really, Cameron didn’t care what they watched, he just wanted them to pick something soon.
As long as it wasn’t It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
“But why not?” Ferris said, sounding only the tiniest bit deflated. “It’s the most perfect movie ever.”
Cameron scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Ferris, we are not watching that. First of all, it’s not even close to Halloween. We are not watching a Halloween movie in March.”
“That doesn’t matter!” Ferris exclaimed.
“It does. Also, we have been friends for 8 years. I have watched this movie with you probably over 30 times. I do not need to see it again.”
Ferris frowned, almost pouting. “We have not watched it 30 times. And even if we have, it’s such a great movie that it’s still good every time.”
“No, no it is not,” Cameron deadpanned.
“Sloane, c'mon, back me up here,” Ferris pleaded, turning towards his girlfriend.
Sloane, who had been watching the interaction and seemed to find it very entertaining, looked surprised that she was being brought into it.
She smiled apologetically, and said, “I mean, it’s not a bad movie… It’s just gotten a little… less interesting the more we watch it.”
“Ugh!” Ferris threw his arms up in the air, and then started walking over to stand behind the couch.
Still holding the tape, he draped himself dramatically against the back of the couch, closed his eyes and sighed.
“I can’t believe the two people that I chose to care about most in this world have no taste.”
Cameron and Sloane both somewhat affectionately rolled their eyes at him. Ferris grinned at that, and moved to lean over Cameron’s head so he could dangle the movie in his face.
“C’moon, you know you wanna,” he said with a cheeky grin.
Cameron just flipped him off.
Ferris decided to respond to that by planting an exaggerated kiss on Cameron’s forehead.
Ferris grinned at Cameron again, and once again began waving the movie around.
“Pleeeaase can we watch it,” he all but whined, and rested his chin on top of Cameron’s head, playing with a strand of hair.
Asshole, Cameron thought. He knows exactly what he’s doing, doesn’t he, that cheeky bitch.
It seemed Ferris did, in fact, know what he was doing, because 10 minutes later Cameron was listening to the damn Peanuts music.
1
Cameron sat on the couch, his arm resting on the back. Sloane sat next to him, leaning slightly on his arm as she skimmed through the channels on the tv.
Cameron looked up as he heard Ferris making his way over from the front door. He sifted through the small stack of mail in his hands as he walked. Ferris looked uninterested, until all of a sudden he stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened slightly as he stared down at the envelope he was holding.
Cameron looked over at him curiously. “You okay?” He questioned.
At first he didn’t think Ferris heard him, until he looked back up from the envelope with a wide grin on his face.
Sloane looked towards him as well. “Fer?”
In a flash, Ferris was rushing towards Sloane, scooping her up into a hug, spinning her around. Sloane squealed in surprise, with a bewildered smile.
Ferris put her down, but still held onto her. He gave her a quick but sweet kiss, before reaching over to Cameron. He gripped Cameron’s arms, bringing their bodies so close together they were almost completely pressed up against each other. He looked up at Cameron with wide eyes and the grin still in place. He looked elated. Cameron loved that look on him.
“Ferris, what’s going on?” Cameron asked, amused and exasperated.
Ferris grinned even wider. “I got the scholarship!” he exclaimed.
A few months ago, Ferris had applied for a scholarship at the University of Chicago. Although many people didn’t think Ferris took school seriously, Sloane and Cameron knew how much he had been stressing over it.
But before either Cameron or Sloane were given a chance to congratulate him, Ferris was kissing him.
Ferris’s lips were on Cameron’s. Ferris was kissing him. Ferris Bueller, his best friend and one of the loves of his life, Ferris Bueller, whose girlfriend was right there was kissing him.
Cameron wasn’t even able to kiss back, for he was frozen in pure shock.
After Ferris pulled back, he seemed to notice this, because his face dropped into a look of confusion. He looked over at Sloane, who looked shocked as well, but also not mad? In fact, she looked almost delighted. Why would she be happy when her boyfriend just kissed his best friend right in front of her!?
Between looking at Sloane and looking back at Cameron, Ferris seemed to realize what he had done. Cameron felt and saw his body tense up, worry and guilt taking over his features.
“Shit,” he said. He squeezed Cameron’s arms lightly, looking up at him. “Cameron? Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you, I just got too excited and I wasn’t thinking. Cam? C’mon, say something.”
Cameron’s thoughts finally started to come back to him, his eyes focusing on Ferris. His eyes were slightly panicked, searching Cameron’s face for something.
Cameron had a million questions. Was the kiss just an effect from adrenaline? Or were there feelings involved? If the latter was true, then what about Sloane? Did Ferris not actually love her? Either way, why wasn’t she mad?
But all that came out of his mouth was: “What the hell just happened?”
He looked between Ferris and Sloane, who both seemed a little calmer, relieved that Cameron finally said something.
Ferris looked back at him. “Well, you see, in my state of excitement, I may have forgotten that we are not dating, and so I kissed you. But obviously you weren’t expecting that and now you’re probably freaked out.” Ferris sounded apologetic and even a bit, dare Cameron say, embarrassed.
“So,” Cameron slowly started. “You… dating?” He was so confused. “What about Sloane?”
Ferris and Sloane looked at each other, and they seemed to be having one of their silent conversations.
After a moment, they both turned back to Cameron.
“Let’s sit,” Sloane said.
Cameron sat as Sloane softly tugged for him to join her on the couch. She kept a hand on his as they settled. Ferris sat down on the coffee table in front of them, positioning himself so that all three of their legs were tangled together.
Cameron glanced between the two, wondering what was going on.
Sloane and Ferris shared one last look, before Ferris sighed.
“Well, we might as well get straight to it,” he said. He looked into Cameron’s eyes, and spoke.
“Cameron, we’re in love with you.”
…
What.
Cameron’s brain short-circuited. “We’re in love with you.” In love? We?
“We?” he said dumbly.
“Sloane and I. We’re in love with you,” Ferris said, pointing between Sloane and himself.
“But… what about you two?” Cameron asked.
Ferris scrunched his face, confused. Sloane frowned as well, but looked at Cameron softly.
“What about us?” she questioned.
“Well, do you guys still… love each other?”
Sloane smiled at that. “Of course we do. We’ve just come to realize, in the past couple months, that we both feel the same way about you,” she answered softly.
Ferris chuckled. “Thank goodness Sloane realized how she felt before me and talked to me about it, otherwise I don’t think I’d ever have realized.” His smile softened, and he looked at Cameron with a wondersome expression. “Although, I think I sort of always knew. For a while now.”
Cameron was silent while he processed all of this. Sloane and Ferris were in love with him and each other. And they weren’t new feelings.
“How long..?” he started to ask.
“Probably since I first met you, Cam,” Sloane said.
Cameron gaped at her. Since they met?
He glanced over at Ferris. He had said ‘for a while’. What did that mean?
“I’m honestly not sure,” Ferris said. “Before Sloane and I started dating, but I think there’s always been love mixed in there somewhere.”
Cameron thought about this. If he was being honest with himself, he felt the same. In his friendships with both of them, love, whether it was platonic or romantic, was always there.
As Cameron contemplated this, he suddenly realized he had never really responded to them with how he felt.
This startled him out of his partially dazed state. “I’m in love with you, too. Both of you,” he said, rushed.
He looked between the two. Their eyes were wide, probably shocked at his sudden burst.
Sloane relaxed first, her expression becoming fond. Cameron felt a squeeze at his hand. He looked down to find that Sloane had threaded their fingers together.
He smiled and lightly squeezed her hand back.
He turned to Ferris, and reached for his hand. Ferris looked at their hands and then at Cameron, smiling.
Even though Ferris had already instigated the kiss, Cameron could feel they were both being more wary with each other than he and Sloane. They knew it was a bit different with them. Cameron had long since accepted that he was attracted to both girls and boys, but he wasn’t sure how Ferris was feeling. And, of course they both knew the stigma that came with things like this.
Cameron decided to voice his curiosities. “So,” he asked Ferris. “You’re like me?”
“As in I like girls and guys? Yep, seems so,” Ferris replied. He turned to Sloane to smile fondly at her. “Sloane helped me figure some of it out.”
Cameron turned suddenly to look at Sloane. “I- you too?” he questioned, a bit baffled.
Sloane nodded with a smile.
“Hm. Wow,” Cameron said.
Sloane and Ferris chuckled. The three of them sat in silence for a few more moments, just holding each other’s hands and taking in everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes.
Ferris was the first to speak up. “So, what are we gonna do about this?”
Cameron and Sloane looked at him. “About what?” Cameron asked.
“About us,” Ferris replied. “Sloane and I have talked, and well, I don’t know about you, but I’d sure like to be able to romance you both like you’ve never seen before.”
Sloane rolled her eyes and gave him a teasing slap on the arm, to which he yelped at. She turned back to Cameron, fond but serious.
“But really Cam, we’re open to whatever you want and are okay with,” she told him. Ferris nodded next to her.
Cameron, slightly overwhelmed, looked at his lap. It didn’t take much thought to give his answer.
“I’ll take whatever you’ll give me.”
Sloane removed her hand from his and cupped his cheek with it. Staring into his eyes, she spoke in the sweetest and most fond voice he’d ever heard.
“Cameron, we’d give you anything and everything.”
“Our hearts, the world, if you asked,” Ferris added. “All you have to do is ask.”
Cameron looked at the two. He loved them so much. And they loved him too. He could have them. He did have them.
“I'm asking,” he said.
Sloane and Ferris grinned at him, their happiness and love shining through their features.
“Any special requests for your new lovers?” Ferris joked.
“Hmm,” Cameron tapped his chin. “Could we try that kiss again?” he asked, a little embarrassed.
Ferris smiled wider. “Of course.” He gestured between Sloane and himself. “Who would you like?”
Cameron paused, not really expecting that.
“Well, considering you already kissed me,” he turned to face Sloane. “Sloane?”
She smiled and tilted her head at him. “Yes?”
Cameron blushed, suddenly becoming much more shy. “Would you- could I kiss you?”
Sloane reached up to hold his face with her hands. She stared at him for a few seconds, before responding.
“Of course.”
She leaned in slowly, and oh.
The kiss started out soft, Sloane’s hands resting on his cheeks, and Cameron’s arms moved to her waist. The angle was a bit odd, as they were sitting right next to each other, but that didn’t matter.
Sloane kissed soft and slow, but Cameron could feel the passion. He melted into the touch, tilting his head with hers. He didn’t have much, well, any, experience, but Sloane made it so easy. She was warm and gentle and tender, and it felt familiar, like it was something they had done dozens of times before.
After a few moments, Sloane finally pulled back, moving one of her hands to rest over Cameron’s shoulder. She rested their foreheads together for a moment, before looking up at him, eyes full of affection. She then caught Ferris’s eye, which caused Cameron to look over as well.
Ferris was watching the two of them, and he had the most calm and loving look Cameron had ever seen from him.
Cameron glanced back at Sloane, who just smiled at him. Cameron smiled back and started to move towards Ferris. He pulled on Ferris’s hands, leading him to sit with him on the couch. They sat facing each other, holding each other’s hands. But this was where Cameron started to lose his confidence.
Their first kiss had felt surreal, and was adrenaline fueled, rushed and energetic. Now, though, things were peaceful, which unfortunately meant Cameron’s brain had a chance to think.
Thankfully, before Cameron’s hesitancy could get the best of him, Ferris brought one of Cameron’s hands up to his cheek, keeping his own hand over it.
“Hey,” he said, almost a whisper.
“Hey,” Cameron said back.
“You okay?”
“…Yeah.”
They stared at each other a few seconds longer until Cameron cautiously leaned in, and Ferris met him halfway.
Once their lips met, any and all thoughts were shot out the window.
Just like Sloane’s kiss represented the gentleness Sloane often put into things, this kiss reflected Ferris’s passion. It started slow, but quickly they both deepened it. It felt like a ball of fire had been lit between them, consuming them and causing the kiss to become just on the verge of frenetic.
As the kiss continued, they slowed down and eventually pulled back for a breath of air. They stared into each other's eyes, flicking back and forth across their faces. This felt like years of unknown feelings and love finally being expressed. Cameron knew it sounded cheesy, but it felt something like fate. He could see from Ferris’s expression that he felt about the same.
They simultaneously turned towards Sloane, who had almost an identical look on her face as Ferris did earlier.
Cameron extended his arm to her, which she accepted. She sat next to him, and he turned slightly so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Ferris rested his head on Cameron’s other shoulder. They both linked fingers with Cameron, and he laid his head on top of Sloane’s.
—
As they sat like that for who knows how long, hands linked and smiling faces, all Cameron thought about was how elated he was to be able to have this, and how he could absolutely get used to it.