"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." –Helen Keller
AUSTIN
When Normani and I made our way out of the prison, in which I managed to clear my entire magazine in the first five minutes, we waited with Ally and Keith. We fell into small talk while we waited for the other groups to finish. I had been so upset with Camila that I ran through the prison, leaving Normani by herself...something you should never do in a situation like that. My mind was so preoccupied with other things that I didn't care. I didn't care about the cameras or the lasers. I just ran and shot at anything that moved.
Once I was at the end, I waited for Normani to catch up. She walked past me with a scowl on her face and shoved her gun against my chest while taking my empty one in her other hand.
"In case anyone asks, I was the one who ran out. Don't put me in this position again," she threatened. She pushed the door open and the sunlight illuminated our faces. I squinted from being accustomed to the dark for some time. I followed her out into the field and walked over to Derek who awaited us. Normani handed the muscular man her gun, never meeting his eyes. He clicked open the magazine and found that it was empty. He raised his head to look at her, but she was already walking over to Keith and Ally. He shook his head and laid the empty gun in a bag by his feet. I handed him my gun and he did the same, opening it to find four bullets instead of none. I started to walk away when he called out for me.
"Austin..." I stopped when I heard my name, but I didn't turn around. I knew that he knew what had happened. When he didn't say anything more, I continued walking until I met up with the others.
About fifteen minutes later, I turned around when I heard the door opening again. It was Camila and Lauren walking side by side, smiling at each other like they just had an intense make-out session in one of the holding cells. I rolled my eyes. It was getting out of hand. I watched silently as they walked over to Derek and handed them their guns. Lauren went first. Derek checked the magazine and smiled.
"Three bullets. Not bad, Lauren." He threw the magazine in a separate bag from the guns. Camila handed hers over, along with something else. "Four bullets and you found the flashlight. That's five minutes taken off of your time," he said. I saw Camila smile from ear to ear at the news. Lauren looked over at her and did the same, gazing at her like she put the sun in the sky every morning. They nodded and made their way over to the group. Upon arriving, she enveloped me in a hug that I surprisingly reciprocated.
"How did you do?" she asked, pulling away slightly. I turned my head and eyed Normani who was standing with her arms folded across her chest.
"I had four bullets left," I lied, returning my gaze to Camila.
"That's good! I'm proud of you." She leaned up to kiss me, but I turned my head at the last second and she kissed my cheek instead. Looking at me with a hurt expression and growing red with embarrassment, she dropped her arms from around my waist and took a step back, thinking she crossed some sort of line.
"How did you do, Normani?" she questioned, trying to act unflustered. I could feel Normani's stare burning holes in the back of my head, but I didn't turn around.
"I ran out," she said. "I got a little too carried away."
I looked to Camila to see her nodding sadly in understanding. Lauren was talking to Keith with exaggerated hand movements about how Camila found the flashlight and the strategy they had used throughout. I found that anytime Lauren was talking about Camila, it was with such a passion that went unmatched by anything else. Like the way Newton talked about gravitational forces, or the way Einstein talked about physics, or even the way Galileo talked about the stars...it was the same way Lauren talked about Camila.
For the next thirty minutes we waited until all of the groups were finished. Max and Zendaya ended up winning, beating out Camila and Lauren's time by only eight seconds. We made our way back to the warehouse and ate lunch. Camila kept her distance from me for the remainder of the day, spending most of her time with Dinah. Even during our knife throwing session later in the day she only came near me to grab another set of knives before returning to her station. Lauren had left immediately after lunch to go to work, and I wasn't upset about that. The further away from her she was, was for the better. That was the promise I made.
I was lying in bed reading a magazine when I heard three quiet knocks on my door. I knew it was Camila. The three knocks had become her sort of code for me to let me know it was her. I dropped the magazine on the floor and walked over to the metal door, sliding it open to find her. She stood in the ill let hallway with a tub of ice cream and two spoons.
"I come bearing gifts," she said shyly, handing the items over to me. I smiled and motioned for her to come inside. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, and she wore an oversized t-shirt and shorts. My t-shirt and shorts.
"When did you get this?" I asked, gesturing to the ice cream.
"Dinah and I went out for dessert earlier, and I brought that back for us." She started playing with her ring.
"You got cookie dough."
"It's your favorite."
"You don't even like ice cream."
"But you do."
That time she met my gaze and smiled a little. My body tingled and grew warm. I was sure the ice cream would melt if she did that again. I walked over and sat the ice cream and spoons down on my bed side table before kneeling in front of her.
"You didn't have to do that, you know." I placed my hands on the back of her calves and caressed them gently.
"Yes, I did. I wanted to apologize for earlier—"
"Please, let me." I interrupted. She looked at me incredulously, but remained silent. "I'm the one that should be apologizing. I didn't trust you around Lauren, and that's my fault. I see how you are with her, and it's easy to see why you like her so much."
"But—"
"Let me finish. Please." She took a deep breath and nodded. "The first day in the room with the alarms, I heard you say her name." She looked at me with wide eyes that were starting to fill with tears. "It doesn't bother me, though. I know it should, but it doesn't anymore. If picturing her helps you overcome them, then that's what I want you to do. Seeing you happy, Camila, means so much more to me than you could possibly fathom." I reached up and grabbed her hands as she tried so hard to hold back her tears. "I've been selfish with you the past couple of weeks, and I'm not going to do that anymore. If being friends with Lauren is what it takes for you to be happy while being with me, then I want you to be friends with her. If I'm ever not enough, she will be." I dropped my gaze from her eyes to the floor.
"Hey." She grabbed my chin with her fingers and forced my head up to look at her. She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. "First of all, don't ever say that. You'll always be enough. Secondly, it's your turn to listen to me." She cupped my face in her soft hands as she spoke. "Yes, I did like Lauren. I'm not going to lie to you. She and I will always have this connection that's unlike any other." I tried to tilt my head down again, but she stopped me. I didn't like where the conversation was headed. "I'm not finished yet," she said. I reluctantly lifted my head again and met her gaze. Her coffee colored eyes oozed with endearment. "Though Lauren and I may always have this weird connection that's kind of hard to explain, you're missing one major key element."
"What's that?" I asked. She dropped her hands from my face and laced her fingers together behind my neck. She took a few seconds to herself to gather her thoughts.
"I'm falling for you, Austin. I'm diving head first, jumping the gun, skydiving, catapulting, or any other cliché phrase or word you want to use. I'm falling for you. Not her. And that makes all the difference in the world." I couldn't help but laugh a little as huge smile swept across my face. Her eyes lit up, and she released all of the tension she had been holding. I brought my hands to her hips. Am I hearing her correctly? "I know it may be a little soon to tell you, and I'm not even sure what it all means entirely, but I want to find out...with you."
I shook my head and leaned up to kiss her. I could feel her smiling against my lips. I broke the kiss and leaned my forehead against hers, bringing my arms around her waist and pulling her close to me.
"It's not too soon," I confessed, leaning back a little to look into her eyes. "I've wanted to tell you that I've already completely fallen for you. I'm head over heels, I'm neck deep...I skydived into this with you." I mocked her playfully, and she hit me on the arm. "And I don't want a parachute." I reached up and wiped away the tears that had fallen from her eyes at my last sentence. She smiled and leaned in to kiss me, and I returned it fervently. She started to lean back on the bed, bringing me with her, not once breaking the kiss. Everything was going exactly how I planned.