Maddison
All 3 of us fall to a hush as we're startled by a knock on our door.
"Who the hell is that?" Roxy whispers harshly.
"The mail man!" Alexa jokes. Roxy shoots her a glance, sending Alexa tumbling back on her bed in giggles. Suddenly she sits up with a gasp. "Did they hear our conversation?" Alexa covers her mouth nervously. I chuckle.
"Alexa, the entire world heard your voice in our conversation with your screams," I tell her. She laughs with me.
"Eep!" She nearly falls off her bed when there's another knock. I scramble across the room to reach the door. Upon opening it, I come face to face with the boys. My eyes widen.
"Hey, guys," I smile uncertainly. "How long have you been out here?"
"Since we knocked the first time. How long have you been in there? It took you forever to get to the door?" Ryan states.
"My most sincere apologies," I sweep my hand out and bow down, making fun of Ryan's authoritative voice. He laughs as he walks past me into the room, followed closely by Julian and then Aiden, who gives me an unreadable glance before passing me and falling over onto my bed.
"What's up?" Alexa squawks. Her voice cracks worriedly.
She earns a questionable glance from all 3 of the boys and a shot of warning from Roxy.
Don't let it slip, Alexa.
"We were bored," Ryan shrugs. "We want to play a game."
"What kind of game?" I inquire, taking a seat next to Aiden on my bed. He doesn't move over, so I end up squished between him and the frame.
"Tag," Julian proposes. Roxy and Alexa light up, but I frown.
"Like the children's game?" I ask. How is that getting everyone so excited? Each of them get up and start collecting coats. I supposed we're headed outside.
"Of sorts. But we put our own variations on it," Aiden tells me with amusement tinting his voice.
"What kind of variations," I question, scared of what the answer might be based on everyone's hyped expressions.
"Well, were allowed anywhere in the gates and the wall," Ryan starts.
"And when he says anywhere, he means anywhere," Julian clarifies.
"And it's practically normal tag," Alexa tells me.
"Except we play it more interesting," Roxy says mischievously. I look to Aiden who's face is centimetres from mine as he shoves my coat in my arms.
"We use guns."
_____
"One for you, one for you, and for the lady, and for the other lady, and for the final lady," Ryan shoves a gun in my hand.
"Does it hurt?" I ask. Since Aiden's final claim of using guns, I've been scared of the pain.
"We use practice bullets, Maddison. Its just like paintball, except out bullets shock you instead of splatter paint. Oh! And they simulate the pain of a shot for 20 seconds. But then you're fine," he smiles, loading his gun.
"20 seconds?!" I squeak. I can feel the hairs on my neck standing on end. Needless to say, I'm terrified.
"It's longer than it seems," Ryan jokingly reassures me.
"That's what I was afraid of," I groan.
"Awe, come on. If Alexa can handle it, so can you," Julian says, gesturing to Alexa's thin frame. She scoffs be doesn't deny it.
"7 minute grace period. Once you're shot, you're down for good, no second lives. No refills on your gun. Okay?" Aiden checks. Everyone agrees. I only nod, gulping.
"Go!" Ryan screams like a maniac. All of us bolt for the exit, shoving past each other to get further away as fast as possible.
Out in the hall, everyone goes left. I swerve around the staircase and explode out the front doors. Panting heavily already, I desperately take in my surroundings. My will to not feel the pain of a shot is strong, so I push past the pain still surgery my through my body from Alton a few days ago and run. I reach the garage after about 5 minutes. That means I have 2 more minutes before I can get hit.
Inside the garage, there are 2 limos, and a few vans with tinted windows. I race past all of them and go to the back corner, where I find a storage room with gardening supplies.
"Shit," I whisper. It's a dead end. I can't hide in here.
I retreat from the garage and look around frantically. I can feel it now, the ripples of ache pounding in my heart from a shot.
"Don't get shot, don't get shot, don't get shot," I tell myself. I know I have about one minute before grace period ends, so I make do with what I've got and scramble onto the roof of the garage, just like I did getting on the roof of the hallways above Aiden to listen to his call through the skylights.
Does Aiden still think I'm a waste of time? Useless? Weak?
I shake my head to clear my thoughts away and set up my post. I angle the barrel of my gun over the ledge of the building and aim it at the ground, keeping my eyes open for the others.
I see Roxy around the corner of the garden, but she's out of range on my gun. After a few minutes into the game, I spot the tip of a gun poking out of one of the windows in the building, but I don't have the right angle to hit the shooter. I see Alexa crouched by the gate after another few minutes. And there goes Ryan dashing across the field on the other side of the school.
Four out of five, I think. It's probably Julian in the window. I honk Aiden would rather have a closer vantage point that looks the same as whoever he's following. And it seems like Julian to hid in a window.
So where is Aiden?
I see her before Alexa does, and my eyes widen at the spectacle. Roxy appears out of nowhere, and suddenly there's a bullet flying at Alexa.
The bullet bounces right off of her, but Alexa bursts into a scream and clutches her arm.
"Damnit, Roxy!" She screams. Her gun was dropped on the ground in front of her. Roxy hops forward and scoops it off the ground. They exchange a few words, probably an apology, before Alexa finally calms down - after about 20 seconds - and Roxy bolts off with two guns.
I wait patiently, aware that we have to be at dinner in half an hour, but not willing to tell any of the others in fear of them shooting me anyways.
I see Ryan go down. Death by Julian. He hits him in the foot from his vantage point in the window on his second shot. The first one had hit the grass, right in front of Ryan, making him jump back, straight into Julian's second shot.
Roxy is quick to move. She, once again, appears from one of the corners of the building and shoots at the window Julian's shot came from. I can tell it's a hit by the wails from the window, accompanying Ryan's on the ground.
I aim closely at Roxy. She's in my range, but she's at the very extent of it. It's a risk. If I miss, I could expose my spot to her and wherever Aiden is. If I hit, Aiden can still find out where I am.
Then I feel it. The presence of someone else.
It was just like when I found out Aiden was stalking me. Gaining and losing that freedom feeling over and over. It's lost.
Someone is right behind me.
Without hesitation, I flip my gun over my shoulder and twist my head. I completely follow my instinct to aim, not having time to use my own eyes for fear of them shooting me first.
Then I fire.
Aiden falls to his knees, holding his stomach. His gun clatters to the ground beside him as he drops to his knees.
"Sharp shot, Maddison," he grunts, laying down.
"20 seconds," I wink. "Are you okay?" I lean over him, a little worried.
"Are you kidding? I feel great! Getting shot is one of my favourite things!" He coughs sarcastically. I smile. He smiles too, although it looks pained. He corners of his eyes crinkle.
"Sorry," I say.
"Nah, don't apologize. If you've ever got to shoot a bad guy, don't be feeling bad afterwards," he wheezes.
"By you're not a bad guy," I say, bending over. I push a piece of his dark hair out of his eye.
"You'd be surprised," he chuckles as his voice returns to normal. He sits up with a sigh and takes a deep breath.
I look him in the eye. What does he mean? You'd be surprised?
"Left shoulder 2 feet up 2 o'clock!" He yells. I don't hesitate to follow the command, not even looking before I pull the trigger. Roxy collapses on the ledge of the roof, shaking in pain.
"Sorry!" I squeak. She convulses for the next 20 seconds. Once she finally catches her breath, she huffs at Aiden.
"Next time I'll shoot you anyways."
"I'd like to see you try," he laughs, extending a hand to help her up.
"Are we allowed to help each other?" Roxy whines.
"I never said we couldn't. Besides, if that was a rule, technically Alexa helped you when you took her gun," Aiden reasons.
"Shut up you twerp," Roxy grunts in defeat. "Lets get to lunch. I'm starving."
"Sounds good to me!" I say, swinging my legs off the roof, then dropping down soundlessly. Aiden and Roxy follow, making soft noises as their feet hit the ground. We find Julian, Ryan, and Alexa in the foyer waiting for us.
"Who won? We didn't stay out to see," Julian asks.
"Maddison," Roxy sighs.
"With the help of Aiden!" He justifies himself.
"Come on, food!" I say, jumping up and down. "Where is food?"
The 5 of them lead me to the mess hall, which is down a bunch of twisting corridors.
The smell of food hits me as the two grand doors are swung open.
"Oh my God, heaven in the air," I say as I inhale. The others laugh and pass me to find a table in the hall. The 6 of us dump our coats from outside on one of the tables' benches before grabbing trays and heading to the buffet line. I take a small portion of food. I may be hungry, but even so I don't eat much.
"Jeez Maddison. Actually eat something please," Aiden scolds. I wrinkle my nose in his direction and pluck an extra fry from the tray, dramatically dropping it on my plate.
"Better?" I ask.
"Oh no, you've out done yourself now, Winters. You're going to be fat from a single fry!" He gasps, picking up his now full plate. I gather mine and follow him back to our table.
"Okay," I start once everyone is seated. "Who is who? I don't know everyone yet."
"You know us 6, and that's Parker Lane. You know him too," Julian points across the room. I hear Aiden scoff beside me. What is his problem?
"You know Wyatt, that's Sean, Kyla, Jessica, oh, and Bethany Rue. Bethany was Aiden's dancing partner last year," Roxy grins. Aiden shoots her a look.
"Why are you making that face about it?" I ask. "You look so sour," I state. The others giggle.
"I very much dislike Bethany." Aiden explains. "She is quite," he pauses, at a loss for words. "Direct," he finally decides.
"How so?" I take a bite of food. Aiden sighs.
"She is practically in love with Aiden," Alexa squeals.
"Awe Alexa, you would do so well holding information if you were in a torture chamber," Aiden teases, making fun of her inability to keep the secret. Alexa's face falls pale at the idea. I gulp with her, just thinking about how possible it is now.
"Oh shut up," she waves her hand dismissively, her voice light.
"In all seriousness, she's probably only avoiding Aiden now so she can wait for the right time to pounce. Last year, since the five of us were friends, she got super jealous of Roxy and I," Alexa says quietly, leaning across the table and pushing her thick framed glasses up onto her nose.
"Yep. She came onto him during dance lessons. It was gross," Julian says.
"Although she is hot," Ryan says, staring at her from across the room. Roxy punches his shoulder hard. Aiden rolls his eyes.
"She is not in love with me. She just happens to take a liking to me. A very strong liking," he turns to me and looks me straight in the eye. "That I absolutely do not return."
"I see," I say, looking at Bethany from across the hall. She is pretty, with light blonde hair and tanned skin. She's sitting at a table with two other girls, Parker, and another boy.
"Those are her friends. Oliver and Olivia Dawson, the twins. See, the other boy and the girl with the bleached hair," Alexa points out. "The other girl is Regan Links. She just came here last year, but she's in the tenth grade, a year younger than us. That's why you didn't see her at the dinner in the city. That was only for grade 11's," Alexa finishes. I nod, taking in the information.
"So why are they here?" I ask.
"Bethany is amazing at deception and distraction," Roxy begins and Aiden snorts, earning himself a glare from the others.
"The twins work together. Hacking is one of their strong suits, although they're not the best. That doesn't mean they're not good though," Alexa says, glancing at them across the hall.
"And Regan is smart. But not as smart as Alexa," Julian winks at her.
"Or Julian. They're not as smart as Julian either," Alexa adds.
"Everyone here has a strength," Aiden explains to me. "Some have more than one, some are just generally well rounded," he says.
"But everyone was picked for a reason. Don't underestimate anyone," Ryan warns.
"Okay then," I nod. "Thanks."
So why the hell am I here?
"Ladies and gentlemen!" An authoritative voice booms across the hall. I look up to see Headmistress Stalling standing at the doors. The rest of the kids all look up to her as well, every conversation falling to a hush. "After you're finished your meal, every class is to report to their homerooms. Please be brisk! Thank you!" With that she spins away and marches off.
"Why?" I ask, turning back in my seat to face everyone.
"No idea. This isn't normal routine," Aiden grunts, frowning. He looks pained that he doesn't know. I guess when you're always so all-knowing it's weird to see things from the other side.
"Roll-call?" Ryan suggests, leaning his elbows on the table.
"But what for?" Alexa asks. Everyone shrugs and continues to eat their lunch a little bit quicker than normal.
After we've finished, the 6 of us gather our coats and place our dirty dishes on the rack. We make our way to the same room that held the meeting when we all first arrived.
Mr T already sits at the head of the table, his feet propped up on the edge as he leans back in his seat. Aiden sits at the other end of the desk and the rest of us sit around him, me on his right, then Alexa and Julian, with Roxy on Aiden's left followed by Ryan. Over the next few minutes, the whole class, all 22 of us, are gathered around in the room.
"You're all probably wondering what this is about," Mr T starts with a sigh. Murmurs of confirmation run across the room.
"Spill the beans, Mr T," Parker urges. A few kids chuckle.
"I can't tell you everything, but here's what you need to know. This is not a drill. We think there are-" he pauses, as if realizing he can't say what he was planning. "-enemies nearby, and we need everyone safe," he finishes.
What kind of enemies?
I glance to the others, but they look just as lost as I am. In fact, the whole class looks confused.
With the exception of Aiden.
He sends Mr T a serious glance. I follow his gaze to see Mr T nodding curtly.
Why does Aiden know? And why doesn't anyone else seem to have even a clue?
"So, because of this safety precaution, classes for the rest of the day have been canceled, and you can go. However you must stay in the building, and you must check back in here every half hour," he tells us. Everyone nods gravely, understanding how serious this must be.
We're a secret school full of genius spy kids.
We've got a lot to hide.
"Alright, party in my room!" Parker shouts, waving his hands around. I tilt my head at him and we make eye contact. Parker blows me a kiss and shoots me a wink before leaving the room. I notice Aiden scoff once again, but I ignore it and join the group of kids out the door.
In the hall, we decide to head to the guys room. Not Parkers party room.
"Don't mind the mess," Ryan waves his hand dismissively as we approach their door. Ryan dramatically pulls the handle to reveal the room.
"Oh my god," Alexa's hand flies up to her face.
"What the fuck is that smell?!" Roxy screeches. All three boys laugh and enter their room, dragging us with them.
"First of all, it looks like you got struck with a tornado and a hurricane, hit by a flash flood, scorched by a fire and hit by a major windstorm," Alexa describes.
"And then after that, a goblin got eaten by a troll, which got eaten by a giant, which died from the Black Plague, which then puked up the corpses within it," I say. Everyone stares at me.
"What?" Aiden shakes his head, confused.
"Something died an awful death in here," I explain. "And then they puked up carcasses. Because in my head a dead thing can puke."
"I love it," Roxy points her finger approvingly at me. "She's spot on."
Everyone bursts into laughter as we settle in the room, the three of us girls still cringing at the scent.
"We have half an hour to spare in here," Julian says. "What do we do?"
We're once again interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Who is it?!" Ryan screams. We all wince at the sudden explosion of sound.
"Wyatt," we hear faintly from the other side of the door. Ryan gets up to let him in.
"Run! Run while you still can! Save your innocent nostrils! They have too much left to live for!" Roxy calls out dramatically.
"Save yourself! And run from the smell of mythical creature vomit!" Alexa adds, sending me a smile.
"To be fair, I said it was only the giant that puked up the troll and the goblin," I say.
"I think it should be troll vomit. That sounds horrible. Oh, or the goblin can barf up the troll!" Alexa reasons. I nod.
"Goblin vomit, it is," I claim as we giggle. Wyatt walks past us into the room, taking a seat beside me on the trash covered floor. He gives us a weird look as we talk about mythical barf.
"Welcome the the land of 'we're trying to kill you with smells'," I sweep my arms open. Wyatt laughs.
"Am I interrupting something? I just didn't have anywhere else to go," he says shyly.
"No, nothing at all. Welcome to the dumpster," Roxy says. The boys scowl but don't deny it. Heck, they can't deny it.
I can already tell that the horrors of the boys room are a long time joke between the other five.
"Cool. So what's up?" Wyatt inquires to the group. Everyone shrugs, glancing around wordlessly at each other.
"Nothing much," Julian finally gives him a straight answer. "How are you liking spy school?"
"I mean, not too much has happened, but I love it so far," he says indifferently. I nod in agreement. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Alexa gasps.
Wyatt and I have our hands up half defensively, half offensively immediately. Aiden has his hands in fists. Roxy, Julian and Ryan all stand up straight and stand ready.
"Relax!" Alexa squeaks. "I only had an idea!"
"What the fuck, Alexa!" Julian yells, falling back onto his bed.
"You can't gasp like that in a room full of highly trained spies!" Roxy scolds. Alexa rolls her eyes.
"Whatever. I have an idea, since everyone seems bored out of their mind," she says.
"Let's hear it," Wyatt drops his arms to his sides as he leans forward to listen to Alexa.
"I vote truth or dare."
_____
It was a 3 to 4 vote. Myself, Aiden and Wyatt all voted against it, but we lost the the others.
In my past experiences, truth or dare is a game for the cool kids to play pretty much when they have intentions of kissing someone one way or another. It's like a less subtle game of spin the bottle.
But I wouldn't know. I never played with the cool kids, except for one time, Alton had me join in. I remember.
It was only a few weeks after we'd started dating. He hadn't cheated on me yet, and all was good. We were sitting in the cafeteria around the table with all his friends. One of the girls had suggested truth or dare.
The game had ended once everyone had been dared to kiss their other. We stopped playing once every couple was practically making out around the table.
Come to think of it, I remember thinking it was gross. I didn't mind kissing Alton, in fact, now I miss it, although it was nothing like my kiss with Aiden. But having him suck my face off in front of every other student in the cafeteria was a little bit too much for my taste.
It hits me now, how much I miss him.
Twice, Maddison. He cheated on you twice. And he left you helpless and bloody in your own damn home.
So why do I miss him so much?
I thought it was because he was really my only anchor in my social life. I didn't have friends, I didn't have any ex's. But now I do. I have the girls and the guys, and the rest of my classmates who actually know my name. I have people who seem to care about me a lot.
So why can't I get over one boy who never actually truly cared about me?
"Maddison! Truth or dare!" Roxy screams at me. I blink before shaking my head clear of my thoughts and looking to her.
"Uh, truth?" I say uncertainly.
"Ugh, scaredy cat," she mocks.
"Fine, dare," I decide.
"Ooh," everyone mutters.
"Roxy always comes up with the best dares. Good luck, Winters," Aiden reaches off his bed and leans down to playfully punch my shoulder. I can feel the metal of his ring slightly on my back. It hurts.
He hits a bruise from Alton, where he hurt me a few days ago. I wince, not only from the pain but from Alton's memory too.
Alton, Alton, Alton.
No. No. No.
I shrug it off and look to Roxy.
"Okay, shoot," I straighten my back and inhale deeply, preparing myself.
"I dare you to kiss the hottest guy in this room."
••••••[§]••••••
AUTHORS NOTE
Yay! I'm home from vacation! I can UPDATE!
So what do you all think? TELL ME SO I CAN IMPROVE!
Ps, if you find any typos or grammar errors, please let me know so so can fix it!
Anyways, until next time!
I hope you enjoy!
~Syddo
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