Chapter 12
"I have a bad feeling about this. And I think I'm gonna hurl." Blake told me from the back seat of the car we were in. His face had a greenish tinge in it that made him look somewhat like the Hulk. I started imagining him growing bigger and turning greener, and his clothes ripping, leaving only his pants, and started giggling to myself.
"What a nice daydream." Blake's voice cut me back into reality, and I shook my head. Did I just say that out? Blake answered for me. "Yes, you did." Oops, I said that out loud again, didn't I? Thankfully, I didn't say my thoughts out.
"Scuse'? Boyfriend about to puke here?" Blake rapped lightly on my forehead with his knuckles, and my eyes refocused on him.
"Sorry.." I mumbled, and he started laughing, only to choke and turn even greener. Now, because of the lack of air and the car-sickness, his face color was like a badly colored christmas tree.
"That driver sucks!" He managed to choke out before grabbing a barf bag that was conveniently under the driver's seat and vomiting into the bag with perfect aiming. I noticed the driver rolling his eyes and muttering something that sounded scarily like 'big baby' under his breath, and that sold me.
I laughed till my sides ached, and I was sure to get my jaw dislocated, and the driver gave me a weird look. He probably thought I was crazy, laughing in this 'dire' situation.
Finally, we reached our destination, and I was done with my laughing fit. I opened the car door, and stepped out as a rush of fresh air hit me. Keyword: Fresh. I wasn't referring to the type of air you get from the air-conditioner at the mall- That was artificial. I'm talking about the one that comes from trees and the breeze mixing together.
I took a deep breath, sighing to myself contentedly. I hadn't breathed such magnificent air for almost two years already, and it felt good. After I was done admiring the air around me, I took notice of where I was. I was surrounded by hundreds of trees, and there was a camping circle in the middle. Five tents were pitched up, and there was a big bonfire in the middle of the tents. Three tents were currently in use.
Wait.. When did the Games have this section? I had never seen this before in the footage! I turned back slightly to see Mikaela striking a pose like a model in front of her car and shot her a questioning glance. She smiled evilly and opened her over-glossed lips. "I decided to make it more fun this year!" She said 'enthusiastically'.
Fun? She thought this was fun? Mikaela's words replayed in my head like a broken recorder, and I started feeling a little lightheaded. I turned to face the car I had just exited from to see Blake staggering out, looking like a drunkard. He stumbled to a stop in front of me. "What game are you talking about?" He croaked, rubbing his throat. It must've hurt like hell.
Mikaela shot me her you're-so-dead smirk and told him, "Em was about to explain." What a bitch she was!
I glared at Mikaela for god knows how long. It could've been hours or just mere seconds, but I didn't care. I wanted her to feel my wrath and hopefully shrivel and die. She flinched delicately at my intense face, and I patted myself on the back mentally. Suddenly, a loud cough brought me back to reality. "So..?" Blake prodded for answers, and I sighed inwardly. What a persistent guy.
"Umm.. I was chosen to participate in the games and make you fall in love..." I drifted off as I saw his face. His eyes were narrowed in slits that it was impossible to see his blue orbs, and his arms were stiffly akimbo. "
You never liked me at all" He stated, his voice cracking slightly and he walked stiffly towards the tent. I faced Mikaela, who had obviously been enjoying the show too much.
She placed her hands on her mouth and said "Oops!" Then, she strutted towards the camping area in her heels at a record speed, leaving me behind.
***
We were ordered to gather at the bonfire at night, and by eight, we were all there standing around and making small talk. The last couple to arrive- Massie and Darren were also there, and Darren had pretended to be furious with Massie's lying about the games, probably so I could win.
"Couples! Gather around with your partner and sit down!" Mikaela commanded us, and I stood there feeling left out while everyone except Massie, Darren, Blake and me sat down with our partners. "I said, sit down with your partners." Mikaela repeated, this time ruder and with her teeth gritted.
I slowly edged towards Blake and sat down, him following me. Darren and Massie did the same. The difference between us two and the three other couples were that they actually loved each other, and we didn't. They were all hugging, some even kissing, but Blake and I were sitting there, a few inches away. Blake was leaning away from me like I stank or something. I was sure I didn't have B.O, but I took a quick whiff of my pits to make sure.
"Okay, uglies. Here's what we're doing for the next four days. Tomorrow is bonding day which means you can run around and get lost in the forest. The next day is a competition, and one couple will be dropped from it. The third day is another competition, and the fourth is when we bring you back to school." Mikaela told us with a ring of authority in her tone. Everyone nodded and smiled at their loved ones, while I felt my arm hair rise. Would Blake want to bond with me? Would he leave me to 'die'? I sneaked a glance at him- He was stoning away, staring into nothing.
"And now, let the camp food be served!" Mikaela raised both her hands up, and men walked in from who-knows-where with assorted dishes. Where did they even come from? Nevermind, it smelled good. As one of the men passed me with a corn cob, I quickly snatched it, earning a glare from him.
"Hey Blake! You want a bite?" I offered him my cob playfully, momentarily forgetting that he was angry at me. He didn't reply, which crushed me badly, but I didn't show it. "Fine, your choice," I rolled my eyes at him.
I looked around and saw other couples feeding each other, even Darren and Massie. How he forgave her, I didn't know. Why couldn't Blake be like that?
*
After dinner, bad news hit us. We had to share tents with our boyfriend or girlfriend. Shit, Blake most probably didn't want to sleep next to me. Hell! He didn't even want to talk to me! I sighed deeply as I thought of ideas. "Hey Blake, so.." I stopped talking as soon as I realised he had gone into his tent. Without me. And, he zipped it up to the top which I was sure meant 'don't bother trying to come in'.
What could I do? Now that I thought of it, the logs we just sat on looked comfy. I lay down on one with much difficulty with balance. After three seconds, I rolled off. I tried it about five more times before I gave up on trying to balance, and lay on the hard, clay-ey soil. 'At least it's warm,' I thought. Unfortunately, as soon as I thought that, someone put out the fire and I was left there in the dark. Out cold. Without shelter and a blanket.
After much tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep at the crack of dawn....
***
"Wake up! Or else!" That familiar voice threatened, and I gave a loud groan. Then, I felt something land on me.
"Shit!" I screamed, sitting up straight and staring into Blake's ice-blue eyes. Didn't this seem extremely familiar? I shifted through my memories, and stopped at that one time Blake and I went on that movie date and he did the same thing to me.
Speaking of Blake.. Why did he do that? Wasn't he ignoring me? "What? Now, you choose to annoy me?" I grumbled and he smiled faintly.
"I'm still mad. But I'll forgive you if you kiss me!" He told me cheekily and my breath caught.
"Reaaally?" I exaggerated on the word and he nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, sure" I agreed and leaned in towards him. He did the same... Before I pulled my head back and stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes at me.
"You don't want the king of awesomeness's forgiveness?" He taunted, and I blew a raspberry. "I want to forgive you, you know?" He said, and I gulped. He wanted to kiss me? Or was I getting the meaning wrong?
"Anything" I squeaked, my voice going higher than I expected it to.
He leaned in slowly and planted his lips on mine, making me moan. His lips were so soft, so perfect! Then, his lips were gone as fast as they were on mine.
I couldn't keep in a small whimper at the touch of his lips gone. "Don't worry, I just don't wanna rush you" He explained, and I smiled. Maybe Blake, the Sex God was actually going slow for once!
"Thanks" I told him quietly, and he smiled. "Soo, let's go do what you like to do in a forest! Pray to a tree or something?" He asked, widening his eyes, and I let out a loud laugh. It was bonding day, so we were allowed to roam around.
"What about we go do what you like to do in a forest! Place a mirror in a tree and look at your muscles?" I teased back, and he gave me a light punch in my arm.
"Forget what I said. Let's go swimming in a lake or something!" He offered, and I looked at him with confusion.
"We don't have clothes, remember?" I reminded him, and he smiled.
Ten minutes later, Mikaela's men arrived with all the swimming gear we needed. Her men handed me my bikini and a giant floating raft, and Blake got his swimming trunks and a noodle. We each took turns to go inside our tent to change. When I put my costume on, I gave a small scream. What I was wearing was slutty, according to my definition. It was a mini strapless bikini top and a tiny ruffled skirt as my pants. I quickly put on a giant tie-dyed shirt over it and ran out into Blake's awaiting arms.
We found a giant lake after fifteen minutes of searching. No one was there, so the place was all to ourselves.
"Em, let's go in!" Blake yelled, pulling off his shirt and dive-bombing into the lake. When he resurfaced, he gave me the thumbs-up sign, shouting "It's warm!" to me. I smiled at that boy- He was such a child at heart. Then, I quickly dived in to join him. As Blake had said, the water was warm. I slowly doggy-paddled to him, before I got an idea.
"Hey Blakey! Let's do an underwater kiss like in the movies!" I told him shrilly, my voice full of excitement. I was a sappy hopeless romantic at heart. He rolled his eyes, and nodded.
Kissing underwater wasn't easy at all. It was like the opposite. Blake and I tried it about ten times before we collapsed onto the plastic raft in exhaustion from lack of air. The first time we tried, I nearly died because I couldn't hold my breath. The second time, we bumped our heads quite hard. Finally, on our tenth time, we somewhat managed to do it- Somewhat meaning Blake having a bleeding lip and me having a bruised nose.
"Swear to me that we'll never do that again," Blake said to me seriously, and I nodded.
"God, I feel like I just died four times." I told him, and he snickered at my dismeanor.
***
"Hey hey you you I don't like your girlfriend..." My ringtone blasted Avril Lavigne's song 'Girlfriend', and I blushed profusely.
Blake gave me an amused look, before asking me, "Did you put that cus' you luuuurve me?" I shook my head, and laughed at his rejected face. After that, I gave him the "Shh" sign and answered it.
"Hello Em? It's Randy here."
Oh no.
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What's gonna happen?!