The Right Kind Of Wrong

Chapter 8

I still have yet to apologize to the red head.

As I looked up at the attractive baseball player, I actually couldn't see that little boy anymore. He was tall, like really tall, 6'4 to be exact, 230 pounds, tanned bronze skin, brown undercut hair, and muscles everywhere. Though he still had the same big innocent blue eyes. And in a way he still was that little boy. But he could stand up for himself now. Not that he needed too. He was too popular and cute to be picked on.

"And don't forget if it hadn't been for that day we wouldn't have become such close friends," I said smiling. I wrapped my arms around his torso as he hugged my shoulders with one arm.

He stuck his free hand into his pocket as we walked back to the Center. "Yeah. And it was really entertaining to watch her kick and scream while you tore at her hair."

I started to laugh. "I actually did take a few strands with me when Mr. Palmero pulled me off." He began to laugh along with me. We walked and reminisced about when we were little for about two more minutes. We still were when the Center came into view. Once we stepped out of the thick foliage, I had forgotten why I left in the first place.

We headed right for the food table and grabbed a box of pizza, two bags of chips, a container of beer, and two bags of assorted candies. We headed over to a tent that was set up near the back of the gazebos and set the snacks out on a blanket. We sat and talked and laughed as girls continued to run into the Center, or base. By the time the alarm went off and people - boys and girls - began to trickle out of the woods, we had still been talking. Julian sat back on his hands and I was lying in his lap, nursing my third bottle of beer. I was used to this stuff. Plain beer I could handle. I could down five or six before I actually got drunk. Three and I was just a bit tipsy.

Hudson and Claire came through the foliage in one of the last groups. She was throw over his shoulder kicking, screaming, and laughing. He finally put her down and she hit him and he just laughed and pulled her in for a kiss. When they stopped she was blushing severely. She turned away from him and immediately spot me and Julian. She ran over, Hudson right behind her.

"Hey, Haireson," I called them by the ship name I had picked up on the day before at school, and the blush that had started to disappear from her face rushed back with a vengeance. I smiled. "What happened?"

She looked up wide eyed. "What? What do you mean? Nothing happened." I raised a brow and smirked, looking to Julian who had the same expression. "We were just playing the game, right Hudson?" She looked at him but didn't wait for his answer. "Right." She looked back to me looking as innocent as possible and I fought to hide my smile.

"Claire, I meant with the game." Her face fell and she looked embarrassed. I burst into laughter and so did Julian. She turned beet red and dropped her head to her palm.

"Of course that's what you meant." Hudson laughed too and sat down behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso.

"So who won then?" Julian asked again, reiterating.

"The Girls won." Hudson answered after kissing the side of Claire's head. She leaned back into him smiling. "They were hiding in trees and bushes and even in plain sight. If you ask me that's cheating." I smirked at his mention of hiding in bushes. Though that didn't work out too well for me.

"No what's cheating is what you guys tried last year." I said pointing the neck of my beer at him.

Hudson rolled his eyes and Claire laughed. "That is true. You guys basically attacked us."

"We were just using our numbers. There were more of us than you so we used it to our advantage."

"But that was assault," Claire said matter-of-factly.