Boy Oh Boys! (Season 1)

Chapter 14-3

"Whew! I'm so thirsty!" Rib collapsed on the floor of the rec center.

"Yeah, they don't call this place Break-a-Sweat for nothing," agreed Charlie, taking a seat on one of the benches. "I'm totally sweaty!"

"Here, let me help you dry off," Apollo darted over with a towel.

"That was a really tough workout," Charlie continued, scooting away from the twin to sit next to Max.

"Yes. Perhaps we should take a break?" wondered Max.

"No way!" Rib sat up. "We still need to practice our formation!"

"Shh," Pace suddenly hushed him. "Not here."

"Huh?" Rib frowned but Pace nodded across the gym.

The Spartans were doing some training of their own on the other side of the court.

"Oh, great," Demeter scowled, stealing the towel from Apollo and dabbing his face.

"Let's go find someplace else to practice," decided Rib, instantly leading the others towards the double-doors.

"Oh, hey, Charlie," Printz brushed past her as she passed the Spartan group. His voice was cold.

"Did I do something?" Charlie paused to look at him in confusion.

Printz shrugged.

"You just should know that as long as you're entering the Olympics, you're officially one of them," he raised his brows at her dormmates out in the hall. "And don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a girl. It's on," he smirked evilly. "Consider this your only warning. I don't mess around with Athenian scum."

"Don't worry!" Charlie was too angry to be surprised by his vicious remarks. "You won't have to see me again until my team is beating yours at the Olympics!" she finished, spinning on her heel and following after her roommates out of the gym.

~~~

"Ugh, why was he being so mean?" Charlie pouted on the sofa that night. "I thought he said he didn't care about the rivalry. I thought he liked me. I guess that jerk has been lying to me all along. First about Rib, and now about this. Well, at least I won't have to see him again. I- Oh no!"

"What is wrong, Charlie?" Max asked as he handed her a protein shake.

"I just remembered the school play!" she frowned. "Looks like I need another extra curricular again..."

"But haven't you already tried them all by now?" Rib teased.

"Pretty much..." Charlie sighed. "But I just can't go back to Drama Club with all those Spartans. I don't know what to do."

However, just as she finished her thought, something fell on the couch beside her. It was her sketchbook. Looking up, she saw Pace standing above her, a half-smile on his lips.

"Really, Pace? I can come back to art? You don't mind?" Charlie was overjoyed.

"We meet tomorrow," he said simply.

"Great!" Charlie beamed. "And then we can all go back to the rec center after that for some more practice!"

"Yeah. Hopefully we can get in a lot of training before Sparta shows up," nodded Demeter.

"Wait!" Rib shouted at once. "I know of a good place where we can train. One where there won't be any Spartans!"

~~~

"An obstacle course?" Charlie looked out across the tire rings, gliders and wooden forts.

"Not just any obstacle course!" grinned Rib excitedly. "A zombie obstacle course!"

"A what?" Charlie gaped but Rib was already starting through the tires.

"RUN!" he shouted as a strange growling sound grew behind them.

Turning to see the cause, Charlie was horrified to see a dozen fully-costumed zombies staggering towards them.

"Go!" Demeter shouted, dragging his brother after him, and agile Max sped off as well.

"Come on!" Pace yelled, grabbing Charlie's hand and pulling her from the oncoming monsters too.

"Hold on!" Pace called when they reached the summit of one of the towers.

Then, as Charlie tightly hugged his waist, he reached for the hang-glider, and they began their rapid decent. However, halfway across the ditch, Charlie slipped- and fell directly into the mud below.

"Oh no!" Charlie panicked as she wallowed in the muck, hearing the zombies continue to quickly approach. "I'm trapped!" she gulped as a figure leaped down in front of her. "Ah!" she screamed, but it was only Pace.

"Shhh," he whispered, freeing her from the mud and carrying her around the base of the tower.

For the longest time, they remained frozen, listening, Charlie still in Pace's arms. Then, when the last of the zombies had finally passed, he looked down at her.

"Thanks," she gulped, now more nervous than when the undead had been chasing them.

"No problem," he shrugged, an actual full smile now appearing on his face. "But I think we need to tell Rib we should just stick to the rec center next time."

"Definitely," Charlie nodded. "But, umm, Pace?" she said at last. "You can put me down now."

For another long moment, Pace remained still. Then, with an amused smirk, he finally placed her back down in the grass- and although the attacking zombies were gone, as Charlie looked at Pace, her heart continued to pound.