Flight Risk

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"Jess, Ethan, I am going to kill you!"

I smiled cheekily at a rapidly approaching Alex, waving as he stormed towards us sitting on the grass outside. 

"Chances of escape?" I muttered to Ethan through the now forced smile, still waving.

"If we start running now? None."

"Good." I pushed him down, sacrificing him to the footballer running full speed towards us as I started running in the opposite direction. 

This was all his fault, so he deserves to die first for it. I'd forgotten about my half-promise to help him get back at Alex for the itching powder stunt he'd pulled before I arrived here, and this morning while Alex had been in class, he'd come to collect on that promise with a bag full of duct tape.

It had taken us hours, but after barely finishing in time for Alex to get home, we'd managed to escape onto the grass outside his dorm room. We heard his aggravated shout from down here, rolling on the grass as we struggled to find shelter, struggling to control our laughter.

Every single thing in his room had been duct-taped to the roof. Chairs, desk, pillows, clothes, files. Every single thing. Even his lunch for today was up there.

I didn't make it very far before he started catching up to me. Apparently, he wasn't very interested in Ethan playing dead on the grass, he only had eyes for the moving prey. He was much faster than me, which wasn't saying a lot, and before I knew it, he had slung me over his shoulders and was carrying me to the pond in the middle of campus.

"No, wait!" I fake panicked, trying to make the shake in my voice sound believable. "I can't swim!"

He froze, instantly putting me down as he turned to me with a frown. 

"Hah. Gotcha," The whispered words had barely left my lips with a smirk before I took off again, his laughter billowing behind me as I made my way back to our seats on the grass. He plopped himself down next to us on the grass with an annoyed huff. 

"You're very easy to trick," I muttered jokingly, bumping his shoulder with mine. "There's hardly any water in that pond."

"That's what I get," he bumped back, visibly fighting the slowly appearing smile on his face. "That's what I get for trusting too easily."

Ethan peered around the nearest tree to see if it was safe to come out, before throwing himself down next to us. The two of us grinned at Alex, who regarded us with narrowed eyes.

"You," his long index finger pointed at Ethan before he clapped him proudly on the back. "We're even now. That was very well played." 

"But you, Jess..." He chuckled, shaking his head to himself. "You have no idea what you just started. This means war."

"Will this war affect the tour you're supposed to be giving me this afternoon?"

"No," He chuckled, a few strands of his golden hair falling into his eyes as he laid down on his back, eyes focused intently on the clouds above.

"Then it's on. I hope you're ready to lose because losing is not on my agenda." He peeked back at me, rolling over onto his side as he leaned on his elbow. "I never lose."