I think I'm going to add songs at the top of each chapter just bc I love music and I think (I hope) I have somewhat good music taste.
"And now I'm running and I can't stop anywhere I go. I think about it everyday and night I can't let go."
Rollercoaster - Bleachers
---
One week later.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how much would you hate me if I threw this at you right now?"
"Most likely 10."
Okay, let me paint a picture for you: The boys, Shay, Mason, and I are on the football field not even playing football.
We're having a water balloon fight.
And I'll give you one guess on who started it. In case you got stuck it was Niall. And at this very moment he was standing about an arms length away from me holding a water balloon that was way too full for its own good.
It was a pain in the ass to fill them all up, let me tell you. But the fight itself has been totally worth it, minus the bruises I'll most likely have of course. We probably filled over 100 of them and carried them over to the field to have a full on water balloon war. We decided to go teams rather than every man for themselves because let's be honest, winning as a team is much more celebratory than winning alone.
It was Louis, Shay, Liam, and I on one team and Harry, Zayn, Mason, and Niall on the other. I found it funny that even though the opposing team was full of boys, we were still winning with two girls. Especially since Shay and I were better with kicking a ball than throwing one (even if these were balloons).
It was practically like laser tag all over again except this time we could actually see each other and a laser wasn't the thing that got us points. Instead, it was a hard, wet balloon that people had no problem whipping at each other.
I'm pretty sure I had a few good bruises on my arms and back.
Currently, though, I was being cornered into the football net by Niall as he threatened to throw that balloon at me. And don't let him fool you, that boy can hit a target. Hard.
"It's the name of the game, love. I think I have to throw it at you," he smirked, obviously enjoying the fact that I had no way out.
"Not at this distance! Niall if you throw that at me with the speed and force you've been throwing the others I don't think I'll survive," I stood still, afraid that any slight movement would make him let go of the deathly weapon in his hand.
"I'm not sure whether or not that's a complement," Niall raised an eyebrow at me.
"Take it as you will, just let me have a 'get out of jail free' card." Now normally I wouldn't be as much of a wuss as I'm being right now but considering the wilt I already have forming on my thigh from one of his previous throws, I'd say I have a good reason.
And he threw that from at least half a field away from me, not a foot.
He just continued to stand there, a wicked glare slowly creeping onto his features. He began to raise his arm into a throwing position, threatening me even more. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side, making sure he didn't do damage to that part of my body. I winced when I heard the sound of a balloon making contact with skin but was confused when I didn't feel any water.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, peaking through one before opening the other to find Niall newly soaked with a water balloon.
And Louis right behind him.
"Don't mess with my teammate, mate," Louis let out one of those fake evil laughs before turning around and running away.
"Looks like this balloon belongs to be broken on someone more important," Niall winked at me and I scoffed.
"Who says I'm not important."
"This balloon," he said quickly and turned to run after Louis but not failing to kiss me quickly before doing so. It probably lasted only 1.1 seconds but it didn't fail to leave me flustered.
It's been a week since we first kissed and since then there's been...others. It still surprises me that I haven't gotten used to them and it leaves butterflies in my stomach thinking that that might never change.
I let out a breath before shaking my head to clear the thoughts that were beginning to surface.
Good lord, Carter. Get it together.
I made my way over to the bucket that held all the balloons and grabbed a few for ammo. Harry wasn't too far away from where I was standing so I decided to take him as my next victim.
Unlike Niall, Harry literally had the worst aim humanly possible. I don't know what it was about the boy but he just was not good at sports. I forgive him because his voice completely makes up for it, I'll admit that.
"Styles, heads up!" I shouted as I threw the water balloon right towards his left shoulder blade.
"Wha-ouch!" Bullseye. He hadn't turned fast enough to make the balloon hit him anywhere than where I had aimed. "Fuck you, Anderson, that hurt," he groaned, holding his right hand on the area where the balloon had exploded on him.
"I have no regrets," I smiled innocently as I passed him ready for my next attack.
"Regret this," I heard him say behind me. For a moment I was confused before I saw a blue balloon wiz past me on my right, completely missing me in the process. I stopped running and looked at the unbroken water balloon in the grass next to me. Turning around, I gently picked the balloon off of the ground and held it in my hand and made eye contact with the man who had thrown it at me.
"The hell was that? Was that meant to hit me, Styles? Because if it was I think you need some glasses or something," I smirked at him. He walked up next to me and looked at the ammo in my hand. "Totally meant to miss you," he nodded in approval.
"Sure," I dragged the word out and grabbed his wrist, bringing his hand leveled to mine. I passed the balloon from my hand and into his and closed his hand over it. "Keep that safe. It looks like you might be holding onto it for a while." And with that I turned and ran.
By the time we were done playing, each and every one of us were soaked from head to toe. Some had bruises as others just had red marks from where a balloon had made contact. My team had ended up winning with more hits, but I also think we won in the category of how beat up everyone looked.
Niall had obviously made it to Louis and revenge was not so sweet for him. He had a huge red mark on his forearm, probably from trying to block a shot to his face, and a few more on his chest. Shay had gotten beat up on her stomach pretty badly, red and blue marks covered her. Liam wasn't that bad but I, on the other hand, was probably the worst looking on our team. We had all played in our bathing suits to purposely make the contact of the balloon more painful (*rolls eyes* teenagers) and it certainly showed. Like Shay, my stomach was more red than my actual skin color. I could feel my back wasn't in much better condition and both my arms and legs had a few good marks as well.
The other team defiantly didn't look as bad which was surprising considering they lost. I guess the shots they did make were harder than any of ours.
"We literally look like we came out of a war zone," Liam said as he looked us all over, obviously noticing what I had. We all nodded in agreement.
"I can't imagine what people will say if they see us like this," Harry shook his head. "I look like I fell asleep in the sun." He was right. He had gotten the worst of it compared to the others on his team. I'm guessing it's because he was such an easy target.
"I'm surprised you couldn't run away fast enough, all those pictures of you running and I'm starting to think it was all a sham," I joked. Niall snorted and the rest of the boys laughed.
"How old were those photos?" Liam chuckled and Harry hit his chest. "Kidding...kinda," he said as he rubbed the spot where he had been hit.
"Piss off! I was in a state of panic and half the time you came from behind!" Harry tried to defend himself with anything he could grasp but it wasn't working.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever Styles," I waved him off before continuing, "anyone up for celebratory ice cream?"
"Hell yeah," Niall answered right away. I sucked air in threw my teeth and gave him a disappointed look, "sorry, kiddo, but you weren't on the winning team."
"Wait, what? I can't get ice cream?"
"Hell no," I mocked his previous excited statement and turned towards me teammates, "ice cream anyone?"
"I could use some," Shay replied and the other two nodded. I turned back to the losers and shrugged before turning towards the house.
"Looks like all you'll be getting is ice packs," Louis said to the other team laughing and I couldn't help but burst into laughter and give him a high five. I turned over my shoulder and gave them a quick wave, making sure to send a mock wink to Niall. I caught him sticking his tongue out at me as I turned back around.
Three hours later, all eight of us were sat around the telly fighting over what movie to watch. "I will personally murder you if you put that movie into that DVD player," I threatened Louis. He had convinced everyone that watching The Exorcist would be a "fun and exciting experience".
"Stop being a baby and watch the damn movie, Anderson," he sassed back.
"Aw hell naw." I was about to walk out of the room before someone grabbed onto my wrist. I jumped because, me being me, I was already petrified of the movie we would possibly be watching.
"Come on, Carter. You don't have to watch it. You can just sit here and have your head hidden in my chest the whole time," Niall smiled hopefully at me from his seat on the couch. I groaned at the thought of sitting and listening to the horror.
"Niall-"
"Carter, sit. You're staying here and watch-hiding from this movie. Sit with me, please." He gave me those terrible puppy dog eyes that made his blue eyes look like the ocean was literally coming out of them.
Wait, what. Carter what the heck?
This boy was literally already making me go insane. "Fine. Screw you for making me do this," I grunted and sat down next to the now happy blonde kid.
"Yay." Like I said, kid. He's a literal kid.
"I hope you're happy that I'll be staying up all night for the next three weeks," I looked up at him, getting comfortable in the position I would be hiding from the telly in.
"Then I guess it's just an excuse to stay with you for the next twenty-one nights."
He said it so casually that I couldn't help but lose my breath momentarily.
What the hell are you doing to me, Horan?