The weather is hot and humid just like yesterday and I wipe the sweat from my forehead with my arm, adjusting the cap on my head.
"Damn but it's fu-" Martin is cut off with a frightening glare from Christina. "Don't say it again."
"-dging nice out here. That's what I was gonna say." Martin corrects himself.
I laugh at his failed attempt to cover up his lie. For the past ten minutes, Martin has probably said "it's so fucking hot" at least a million times which has annoyed Christina to no ends. "Sure that was it." Nina rolls her eyes.
"Shit but it's hot out here." Alex says as he sits down beside me.
Christina groans and I laugh lightly at the situation.
"See! I'm not the only one who thinks it's hot!"
Christina suddenly springs up and grabs her sunglasses off her towel.
"I'm going for a walk." She says curtly, annoyance clear in her voice. As she walks away we all laugh. "Did I miss something?"
Alex asks, looking at each of us.
I giggle and shake my head, "Nothing much." He glances in my direction and smiles brightly.
"What time does the fest start again?" Alex asks Cole.
"Two. So we have an hour to go. They're already setting up."Cole gestures to a bunch of people laying out baskets filled with different coloured powders.
Alex nods in response, running a hand through his damp hair from swimming. "Are we going to go back into the water?" Nina asks.
Alex nods, "Yeah, let me just go pee. I'll catch up with you guys." He stands up again, dusting his shorts off before walking off in the direction of the beach's bathrooms. The rest of us stand up to go back to the water and I pull my cap off, exposing my salty hair. Martin, Cole and Nina start walking off while I wait for Rachel to pull her shirt off of her bikini. Once she's done, I smile. "Ready?"
"Yep." She says popping the 'p' as we follow after the others.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" I ask her.
She nods her head vigorously,
"How could I not?"
I laugh and nod my head, "Thats a very valid point." I throw my arm over her shoulder and pull her into my side, "I missed you so much while you were gone." I say softly.
"I missed you too." She smiles back.
Before I can say another word, I hear my name being called from behind me and Rachel and I stop so I can turn to see who it's coming from. Dylan in all his shirtless glory is standing behind us, his hands in his pockets as he stares at me. I drop my arm from Rachel's shoulders back to my side and raise an eyebrow, "Yes?"
He looks at Rachel for a second before looking back at me, "Can I speak to you for a minute?"
I frown slightly before nodding curtly, "Uh.. yeah, sure. I'll catch up Rachel."
She turns around so that only I can see her face, "You sure?" She whispers quietly so that he doesn't hear. I nod "Yeah, I think so."
She nods and walks away hesitantly and I watch her figure meet the others as Cole grabs her hand and pulls her to him. I turn back to Dylan who is still staring at me and I sigh, putting my hands on my hips tiredly. I really don't have the energy to talk to this douche of a guy. I mean, he did basically call me a good-for-nothing person from the sounds of it.
"What is it, Dylan?" I ask, getting straight to the point. I'm here to enjoy my holiday away from all the drama at school and he is definitely not going to ruin that.
"You know about it, don't you?" He asks me, his face still emotionless.
I laugh although there is no humor in it. "You insulting me? Making me sound like a worthless person? Yeah, I do." I cross my arms over my chest. He nods, biting his lower lip. "You know what I don't get about you Dylan? It's that you never took the time to get to know me yet you still go and talk all this shit about me! I have never purposely hurt you Dylan and I thought you would believe that." I exclaim, my arms flying around in frustration.
He looks over his shoulder subtly and then back at me before walking towards me but not saying anything.
"I was just telling him what I thought." He shrugs once he's closer to me. I gape at him.
"You don't know me!"
He laughs menacingly, "I know that you're an Elite... which is enough of a reason for me to feel this way about you."
"Was an Elite," I correct him in anger, "And is that all you care about? For Petes sake! I'm not who people label me as!"
He smirks, "Once an Elite, always an Elite." I narrow my eyes at him, my anger reaching a new boiling point.
"And once a dick, always a dick, right?" I spit back, seething with anger. I shake my head at him, "I don't know why you wanted to talk to me but do me a favor Dylan and leave me the fuck alone."
Just as I'm about to walk away, he grabs my wrist and pulls me towards him so that I hit his chest.
My eyes widen a fraction. He leans his face in quickly, aiming straight for my lips and I push him away with as much strength as I can muster as he leans in for a kiss. He stumbles backwards and I frown. Did he really just try to kiss me!? He literally just insulted me and now he wants to kiss me? This guy is all sorts of fucked up. He looks at me, surprised that I dodged his kiss so accurately.
"What the hell?" I hiss at him. "Who do you think you are trying to kiss me?"
Dylan rolls his eyes. "C'mon, Sophie. All I want is to have a little fun."
"Go have some fun with another girl who you don't claim to hate!"
He tsks. "If you could do it for Alex, why can't you do it for me?"
I grit my teeth and clench my hands before scowling at him.
"Fuck you, Dylan." I hiss coldly before walking towards the others who are joking around in the water. I look over my shoulder as I walk through the water and see Dylan angrily kick the sand before running a hand through his hair. He then starts walking off to who knows where.
When I reach the others, they frown at me, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, why?" I lie, still breathless from my anger. Martin looks at me strangely, "You look a little flustered."
I force a laugh, "Nah, it's all good." I respond. They all narrow their eyes before dropping the topic. I sigh in relief as we swim further into the ocean. Why would Dylan insult me and then try and get with me? Why does he even bother? Why can't he just leave me alone and ignore me? Because that sure would be a lot better than this. The only thing I can think of is that he wanted to make Alex jealous, or mad. Although I don't see how that would work if we're not even together. Alex doesn't even like me! Never mind that, Alex isn't even here.
I look back to the shore to see Dylan's retreating figure before it disappears off the beach and my anger returns once again. I sure as hell hope that he isn't going to be here for the colour fest.
****
"It's gonna start in thirty minutes." Martin informs all of us as we walk out of the water. Luckily, Dylan hasn't come back so my anger has subsided a little although I'm not too sure if it's just anger, but also hurt and frustration too. Probably all of them.
When Alex had come back, he kept glancing at me but he seemed kind of distracted so we haven't spoken much. I wanted to ask him what's wrong because he had a scowl on his face and his happy mood had suddenly dissipated but I let him be.
"How about we go get a smoothie?" Christina suggests.
We all murmur in agreement and begin walking towards the colourful smoothie shack with the thirty minutes we have to spare.
The water from my hair trickles down my back and I twist it so that the water can run out before running my hand through my hair while everyone walks ahead.
Alex waits for me and I jogg up to him and smile, "Hey."
"Hey, you okay?" He asks me as we walk in the direction of the shack.
I frown, "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
Although thats not completely true because I'm pissed at Dylan, I'm not going to make things any worse for Dylan and Alex; Alex also wants to enjoy his vacation.
Plus, I'm still trying to figure out why on Earth Dylan would try to suddenly kiss me.
"Just asking." He shakes his head with a small smile. I look at him, his smile strained.
"Are you okay?"
He snaps his head in my direction. "Yep, just a little tired."
I nod in understanding as we approach the smoothie shack that has customers sitting outside at the small tables and chairs. I walk up the stairs, not being able to reach the platform completely due to the long cue of people in front of us.
"Guys, why don't you go and grab a table while I order the drinks?" I suggest.
"Thats a good idea." Rachel grins. After they all tell me what they want they push pass everyone to grab a table although Alex stays behind with me in case I forget any orders.
"Martin wanted a kiwi smoothie, right?" I ask Alex,
He chuckles- making my heart flip- and smiles at me, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what I heard."
I smile too, "Okay, good."
After finally reaching the counter I give the boy behind the countertop a smile.
"Hi there, what would you like to drink gorgeous?" The boy, who has a name tag reading 'Ky' on it, asks. Ky gives me a wide grin, revealing his straight pearly white teeth which are a stark contrast to his dark skin.
I chuckle awkwardly at his nickname for me before Alex cuts him off. "We'll have two kiwi smoothies, one strawberry, three mangos and two passion fruit." Alex grinds out. I look up at him and frown at his hostility.
"Please. Can we please have those smoothies." I add to what Alex said. Ky looks at Alex strangely before casting another flirtatious smile my way, "Coming right up."
As he turns away to get on with our orders, I elbow Alex in the ribs causing him to wince. "What was that?" I whisper at him.
He shrugs, annoyance clear on his face. "He shouldn't be flirting with his customers." He responds as he rubs the spot.
I roll my eyes, "And what's it to you?"
He scoffs, "We could have being dating for all he knows."
I raise an eyebrow, "But we aren't..." I trail off. Just like that, an unknown emotion fills the atmosphere and I feel like I've received a punch to the stomach except it was a punch of words- my words. We aren't dating. But I sure as hell wish we were.
He sighs, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Get his number while you're at it." I recoil at his bitterness and frown. Talk about a man period.
"Alex-"
"Here you go!" Ky says cheerfully, interrupting me. I manage a strained smile and Alex grabs them along with me.
"That will be six dollars and your number, please." Jy winks charmingly. Alex sighs with groan and I smile awkwardly at Ky once again, "Uh... sorry, but I'm not interested. Here's the money, though."
His smile falters but he takes the ten dollar bill nonetheless and hands me the change. "Thanks."
Alex and I make our way to the table and I hand everyone their smoothie while grabbing my strawberry one. I lean back in my chair as I take a sip and prop one leg onto the chair. "I didn't order a kiwi smoothie." Martin groans.
I glare at Alex who shrugs. "Sorry bro." Alex says.
"Sorry bro." Martin mimics him and I roll my eyes.
"So who's enjoying a week off of school?" Martin asks. We all groan and he frowns, "What?"
"Why does school always have to be the centre topic?" Cole asks incredulously.
Martin smiles innocently, "Well some of us enjoy school." We all stop sipping on our smoothies and give him a dumbfound look.
"And you're one of those people?" Nina asks blandly.
He scoffs, "Of course not. I fucking hate that place."
We all laugh at the irony and continue on with our drinks. However, Alex is quieter than usual and I keep casting glances at him which he seems to ignore. I shake my head at myself and pay attention to Martin talking in an attempt to forget about everything that has happened so far today. Once we're done with our smoothies, we head to the beach where families from around the area are gathered and waiting patiently for the fest to begin.
There are much more people now then there were earlier- families with children, couples, slightly older people. The baskets that are held further down are set out in a neat long row while the organizers of the fest stand around it.
At 1:55 one of the workers hold up a megaphone, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Afternoon everyone!" He drawls out, too over enthusiastically for my liking. "Thank you for joining us in the colour fest today. Before we start, we have a few to things to go over." He starts.
Beside me Christina snickers, "Sounds like we're at school again." I snort at her comment and a few people turn around to glance at me.
"Firstly, we advise that you leave all your possessions in your car or in a locker up top. The reason for this is that although we will be further down the beach, the colorful dust can still reach your valuables. Secondly, there are cups in each basket so all you have to do is grab one, fill it up with powder and throw it around. Lastly, have fun!" The crowd lets out a cheer and I giggle.
"You have a few minutes to pack all your stuff away, please do so now." At that, the crowd gathers their things and takes it to safety while we do the same, heading for the lockers since we didn't come in the car today.
After each of us get one and pay two dollars- ridiculous, I know- we head back down to the beach with many other people.
"We begin in two minutes!" The same man announces with the megaphone, loud enough for everyone to hear. As people begin running to make sure they're on time, we all wait in excitement for the fun to begin. Just as the man lifts up the megaphone, Alex leans down to my ear and whispers, "Watch out, Princess." I blush at the nickname but feel relieved that he isn't mad at me. I elbow him, making him let out an 'umph' sound, and I smile smugly.
"And.... Go!" The man announces. We all sprint towards the baskets as we grab the colors we want. There's a variety of colors to choose from including pink, green, purple, blue, yellow, orange and red. I head to the basket filled with blue first and grab the first plastic cup I can find, filling it up with as much powder as it can possibly have. People are already throwing it at one another and you can hear yells of excitement and frustration from those being hit with the powder. Random people throw powder at me as do I and I run up and down, grabbing more powder as I do so. I run towards Nina and toss a cup of purple powder at her as she tries to throw some at Martin.
She gasps in surprise and I laugh, running to grab some more. I throw at Rachel, Martin, Cole, Nina and Christina, trying to dodge their cups of colour yet failing miserably.
And then I notice that I haven't seen Alex or thrown any at him.
I scan the crowd, coughing slightly due to the powder in the air until I lay eyes on him throwing some at Martin who found him.
He laughs and his eyes crinkle around the edges. He looks so carefree and happy. It's nice. As if sensing me staring, his eyes find me and his smile turns into a smirk. I look down to his hand, people running back and forth in front of me, and notice his cup of yellow powder.
When my eyes meet his, they glint with mischievousness and my own eyes widen before I turn around and take off running.
I dodge people, trying to get away from Alex who is chasing after me, laughing loudly as he does so. My legs burn with the effort since it's even more difficult to run on beach sand, and my chest rises and falls heavily. As I turn to check how far he is, I see yellow flying at me before it hits me square in the face.
I choke a little due to some going into my mouth, leaving a bitter taste. Since my eyes close on instinct as I see the powder flying, I fall to the ground. I let out a loud 'umph' as my back makes contact with the sand and I rub at my eyes trying to wipe some of the powder on my face off.
The cup that I had of pink powder is lying next to me and I stare at the blue sky before Alex comes into my vision and looks down at me. He too is covered in different colours, his hair wet and sticky because of it.
He grins down at me, "Seems like you're falling for me."
I roll my eyes at him and laugh nervously because in all honesty, I think that's true.
He chuckles and extends his hand to me, which I take hesitantly and he lifts me to my feet in one swift gesture as if I weigh nothing.
I rub the powder off my face with the back of my arm and he watches with a smirk. "Yellow looks good on you. You remind me of a minion." He teases me.
I laugh at his comment and eye the cup of pink on the ground subtly before grinning at him.
"You know what you look good in?"
He smirks, "What? Nothing?"
I smile up at him, "No. Pink."
I dash for the cup and as soon as I grab hold of it, I launch it at his face, pink landing all over him. He coughs at the sudden action and I smile victoriously.
"You remind me of Strawberry Shortcake."
He wipes his face, and smirks, "Alright, that was fair." I bow smugly. "But I don't play fair." And once again he comes after me and I squeal in surprise, running off again. He chases me for a while after that until we see all the others- excluding Dylan, thankfully- standing smugly next to one another with two cups of different coloured powders in their hands. I stop a few feet away from them, not liking the naughty smiles on their faces and Alex comes to a halt next to me.
Nina smirks at Christina and my eyes widen, "Wait, guys-" but they don't listen and they all start throwing powder at Alex and I.
Talk about ganging up on someone.
I try to block the powder with my hands but it hardly helps as I'm laughing so much. Alex grabs my hand and we run, the others still chasing after us.
"C'mon!" Alex shouts.
I run as fast as I possibly can, still feeling the powder they throw at us hit my back and legs while a few strangers throw the odd cup our way. I bump into a few people as we try run away from the others but I don't get a chance to apologize as they run off too. Eventually we reach the baskets again and Alex and I pick up two cups and fill them with powder. As the Rebels approach, we throw powder at them and soon it's a war between Alex and I and the others.
As I throw the powder, run around and laugh, I come to one conclusion which makes me smile and become all giddy: these are my people.
These are my friends.
Hello everyone!
How are you all doing?
I have some amazing news to share with you!
Game Changer has officially being ranked in the Teen Fiction genre taking the place of #833! How flippen ridiculous is that? It's incredible! Thank you all for reading, voting and sharing my book! Please continue to do so, so that Game Changer can grow :) You guys are simply the best and I love you all!
(Also, we're nearly at 2K :D)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter so let me know what you think.
Quick Q: Have you ever being to a Colour fest? If so, how was it?