For some reason the Wattpad App on my phone isn't loading any of my stories so the laptop it is!
Okay, just a small list of everyone that is in the paintball game:
Girls: Boys:
Charlotte Drew
Tessa Sebastian
Olivia Jesse
Alyssa Isaac
Kendall Harry
Sophie Cole
Courtney Benji
Quinn Mateo
Fuck that's a lot of characters...lol wish me luck!
|| Chapter 18 ||
"No, guys come on. I said I didn't want to do this, please don't make me!" Alyssa shouts from the parking lot as Kendall and I drag her into the paintball arena lobby.
"Alyssa stop being a baby, don't show them that you're weak," Courtney scolds her from behind us.
Olivia shuffles faster to walk next to us, "Unless that's your plan then go right ahead."
Alyssa pouts, "Last time Drew shot me in the stomach, do you know how long I had that bruise for?" she asks rhetorically.
Drew ruffles his hair nervously, giving her a sheepish grin, "I did warn you not to run."
We walk into the lobby and head to the check in desk to sign-in. I had already booked the arena for us late last night so we were all set.
"Dude, what are you wearing?" Isaac asks, looking me up and down with a confused look on his face. He looks back at the closest guy to him, which happens to be Cole, "Were we supposed to dress like this?" He asks gesturing to my combat boots, black and gray camouflage pants, black long sleeve shirt with a black bandana tied around my neck so I can lift it over my nose and mouth when the game starts. I've pulled as many strands of my shoulder length-hair as I can into a ponytail to keep the hair out of my face.
Cole looks over at me and grins, "Nah, this is just Tessa being dramatic." He moves forward to pat my head. I grab his arm before he can touch my hair and hold his hand in what looks like a sweet gesture but the wide eyes he's giving me tells a different story as I add the slightest bit of pressure.
"You wouldn't want to be shot in the stomach again Cole, now would you?" I ask innocently, reminding him of the time I caught him and Sophie making out near the boys' team flag.
Cole grins sheepishly, not fazed by me squeezing his fingers, "Totally worth it."
The unexpected laugh that leaves my lips, surprises us both as I let go of him, "Yeah, and how is that going?"
His dazed smile is answer enough for me but I stick around for the verbal response anyway, "Good... really good. It's nice to be obsessed with someone but not have to hang on them every few seconds to solidify that, ya know?"
"No, I don't," I answer honestly with a shrug and move away from them towards the receptionist desk, making Isaac crack a laugh.
"Hi, can I have your name, please?" The receptionist asks, smiling brightly at me. I give her my name and she types something into the computer. "Okay, we just need the card you used to book it with." She looks up at me with another business smile.
I nod my head, pulling the card out of my back pocket and handing it over.
"Perfect, and this is altogether?" she asks and I nod my head silently.
Everyone starts chorusing a round of thank yous and I just keep my head straight. "Wow Tessy, that's really cool of yo-is that my debit card?" Sebastian asks as the lady hands the card back over to me.
I turn to face him with a smile, "Thanks big bro for paying, you're the best. Everybody thank Bass." My friends eyes are wide but my siblings and their friends chorus a loud thank you with a few chuckles in between.
Sebastian's jaw is dropped as he snatches the card out of my hand. "What the hell?"
I shrug, "I didn't have enough money."
His arms are spread wide and the look of disbelief on his face is comical, "So you stole my debit card? Why not Harry's since, you know, he actually has a job?"
Harry raises an eyebrow as he walks over to stand with us.
"Harry can be scary sometimes," I answer. Harry looks at Sebastian with a 'what can you do' look on his face.
"What about me?" Sebastian exclaims.
I can't fight the smirk on my face, "You I can take."
His jaw drops again. Olivia snorts loudly. She leans forward, her mouth is open but no sound is coming out of it and she's visibly shaking from laughter.
"How did you even know my pin?" He asks, shoving his wallet back in his pants pocket.
"You whisper it to yourself every time you're about to type it in, honestly I'm surprised no one has stolen it from you before." I walk past him, intentionally bumping into his shoulder as I go and move to stand next to my friends.
Drew has his arms folded across his chest and a look of disapproval on his face. "If you didn't have enough money then why didn't you just ask me?"
"Oh I have enough money but he owes me for things I can't mention to you," I grin, thinking of all the times I've had to lend him money over the years. "Besides, he would have paid for it anyway, he's just being dramatic."
"Tessa!" I turn around and look over at my brother who has his hands in his pockets. "Give it back."
I reach into my own pocket and pull out his wallet which I swiped when I bumped into him, "That took you a whole three minutes to notice."
He storms over to me and snatches the wallet out of my hands, "You," he points at my chest, "belong in juvie." He moves away and pouts to Cole. Cole pats him on the head and glares at me from across the room. I chuckle in response.
"Come on Tess," Drew sighs, putting his hand on his forehead.
"How did you do that?" Isaac asks, staring at me more intrigued that anything.
"Alright team up!" The safety instructors voice shouts over the general chatter around the room. "now, here are the rules-."
"You don't have to finish that sentence, we're already familiar with them," Olivia holds her hand up, waving off the safety instructor.
"Yeah, just let us in, we'll take it from there," Sebastian explains with a relaxed grin on his face. He catches my eye and mouth 'it is so on' and I simply smile in response.
"Uh, I would like to hear the safety rules," Jesse holds his arm up in the air, "Several times. And please thoroughly go over the part where we're not allowed to shoot anyone in the face... in specific detail." He takes his time making eye contact with each Hayes sibling.
|| ✨ ||
"I swear to God if I trip over another leaf-." Courtney rattles on behind me as we hike up the small hill in the arena to our starting point.
A few girls chuckles but I try to tune them out, "You're the one that decided to wear those shoes." Quinn points out.
"They tie the outfit together Quinn, what was I supposed to do, wear sneakers?" Courtney retorts, the outrage of her suggestion clear in her tone.
"Yes idiot," Olivia tells her straight.
"Beauty is pain Liv, not that you would know anything about that," Courtney's snide remark earns her the finger from Olivia who smiles widely.
Suddenly a two minutes until the start of the game sounds off and I hiss at everyone to shut up and follow me to the top of the hill.
Once we're at the top I start firing off positions for each person. "Sophie and Quinn, I need you two to go after Cole and Mateo. Cole likes to hide near the flag so I want you two to get the flag. Mateo's an idiot so you'll be fine." I give Sophie a pointed look, "And no stopping to make out with your boyfriend." Everyone giggles at that.
"Alyssa and Kendall, you're going for Benji and Isaac, Benji has a phobia of the dark so try to corner him in a cave or something, it'll make it easier." Kendall nods her head firmly and Alyssa's eyebrows are furrowed. "Isaac doesn't know us well but he may be sympathetic towards you two, so use that to your advantage."
I look over at the Prima Donna, "Courtney, get Jesse, he's a baby when it comes to getting shot so it should be easy." She rolls her eyes but nods her head nonetheless.
I look over at Olivia and Charlotte, "You two are going after Bass and Harry, no mercy." Olivia pretends to cock her paintball gun while Charlotte pretends to blow smoke off the barrel of hers.
"Piece of cake," Olivia brags, high-fiving Charlotte.
"You're going after Drew?" Alyssa asks.
I nod my head sternly, "I'm the only one that can keep up with him."
The alarm sounds off and shuffle around in excitement. "What about the flag?" Charlotte asks, pointing at the bright pink flag hanging on the pole.
With not enough time to mess around anymore I walk over and rip it off the pole, tying it around my hair-tie. "They never said where we had to hide it," I grin, walking over to the small cliff that leads to the main ground. "Okay, let's go," I pull the bandana over my mouth and jump off the small cliff and into the battle.
"Show off!" Courtney yells.
|| ✨ ||
The rustle of leaves is all that can be heard as I wander through the forested area of the arena. It's been almost ten minutes since the game started and I've heard a handful of pops from peoples paintball guns.
Drew loves hiding in the tire area so that is the first place I am headed to. Being back here helps me think of the first time I ever brought Drew along with my family a few years ago. It had basically come down to the two of us chasing each other through the tire maze and I had only just nicked him in the back when he shot me in the arm, but because I shot him first, I was declared the winner.
Loud stomping interrupts my thoughts and I dive behind a bush, bending as low as I can to the ground.
"Oh come on, Alyssa, stop running!" Isaac's voice shouts from a few feet in front of me as a flash of brown hair shoots past my vision. Alyssa. Her breathing is heavy as she sprints through the brush but she manages to trip over her foot, landing three feet away from me.
Her eyes are wide and the sweat is dripping down her face as she scrambles to get back up. Isaac's footsteps are coming closer as he snaps twigs and crushes leaves in his way.
I don't waste another second as I grab Alyssa's arms, making her squeak in fright as I drag her behind the bush I'm covered by.
"Tes-." I cover her mouth with my hand signaling her to be quiet because of Isaac. I pick up her paintball gun and shove it in her arms, motioning her to run as fast as she can.
"Alyssa I promise not to hurt you too bad, come on!" Isaac's voice is practically whining now.
Hearing him standing directly in front of me, I use this to my advantage and stand up straight, the paintball gun aimed at his chest as I look him right in the face, "And what if I don't keep that promise?"
"Ahh! Don't shoot, don't shoot!" Isaac practically squeals as he tries to position his paintball gun to shoot me.
I slowly tilt the barrel downward while staring at him. "That's literally the point of this entire thing," I say and shoot him in the foot without a second of hesitation. He groans in pain and falls to the floor dramatically. I scan my surroundings for any other voices or noises nearby but come up empty.
"You take this game too seriously," he grumbles, looking at the bright blue paintball splatter on his foot. He shakes his head, brushing the pain off. "Hey, I have a question for you," Isaac declares as he stands up, brushing the dust off his shirt.
I give him a deadpan look, "I am not setting you up with Courtney, that's a battle I can't win for you."
He rolls his eyes, kicking at the dirt, "It's not that, trust me I can handle girls on my own," I snort in response, earning a glare from him. "Anyway, I was going to ask if you wanted to hangout tomorrow, at Hill Street Skate Park?"
"Why?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.
"I just want to skateboard without a million people around me, and you don't become an airhead around me, it's relaxing," he gives me a boyish smile.
Well now he's just lying to my face. My head tilts to the side almost automatically as I try to decipher what he actually wants from me but I can't figure it out and I'm too curious of a person to not agree. I take a moment to glance around me, making sure that the leaves are only rustling because of the breeze and not someone trying to ambush me. "Yeah, sure whatever." He smiles and nods his head, picking up his paintball gun. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have people to shoot," I give him a salute and run into the bushes.
"I ran into your brother earlier, he nearly shot me in the face, your family takes this game way too seriously," Isaac informs me.
"Thanks, this is how we figure out our differences, my mom thinks its a weird form of bonding but it gets the job done." I say over my shoulder and continue into the bushes, straight to the tire area.
"That's not fair, the only fucking rule in this whole fucking game is to not shoot me in the face!" Jesse's voice is distant but the pain and anger in his voice is clear.
As soon as I move further into the clearing towards the first rack of tires a paintball splatters right next to my shoulder. Game on. I duck and move quickly for cover behind a tree sculpture that was created out of pieces of tires and position my back against it. "Hey Drew!"
"That was a warning shot Tess!" His voice carries across the field.
"How generous of you," I say, trying to keep him talking so that I can pinpoint his exact position.
A rustle from beside me causes me to flinch and aim my paintball gun right at the bush the sounds are coming from. A paintball zooms past my head and I curse , ducking once again and moving over to the edge of the tire area next to the forest section.
"Hey Tessy, what's up?" Harry's voice is smug as the rustling stops, telling me that he's now in the clearing.
"Harold, I think it's really sweet that you thought you could hit me but I've got bigger fish to fry," I tell him, glancing over my shoulder to lookout.
He doesn't reply to my comment, indicating that he's either pissed off at my insult or he's moving closer towards me from another direction to throw me off. I take a deep breath and spin around to face the opposite direction he originally came from and smile as I see a piece of his arm sticking out from behind a tire wall. I shoot my paintball gun three times in succession for ultimate guarantee that I've got him.
"Son of a bitch! Motherfucker that hurt!" Harry's answering groans of pain cause a smile to break out on my face.
"Now Harrison, is that the kind of language we use when we're upset?" I ask innocently, placing my back against the tire sculpture to keep my back protected.
"Fuck off, Tess," Harry grumbles, shouldering his paintball gun and shuffling away.
"You know I love you Harry!" I call back, hoping his feelings aren't too hurt.
He comes to a stop a few feet in front of me. I look over his shoulder for any signs of Drew but it's been silent since Harry showed up. "Olivia and Charlotte tag team shot Sebastian a few minutes ago, it's how I got away. I know I'm supposed to be fighting for the guys but go kick some ass Tessy, Hayes' siblings never lose in paintball," I raise my eyebrow and he rolls his eyes, "unless, it's against each other."
I chuckle quietly and nod my head, watching him leave. I look up at the sky for a few seconds before scanning the area again. "Enjoy the show?" I call out, knowing that Drew is still hanging around.
"Really sentimental," his voice is right above me and I spin around, aiming up at him as he looks at me with a smile.
"How the hell did you get up there?" I demand, cursing myself for not thinking of it before.
"Ninja skills, baby," Drew smiles, dropping to the ground, keeping his paintball gun aimed at my chest.
I scoff in reply, "How do you want this to go?"
"I'm thinking a little foreplay, then we just get right into it," he smirks.
"You're so nasty," I scrunch my face up, not wanting to wait any longer and tighten my grip on the paintball gun. A sudden pop comes from his paintball gun and I dive to the side to get away from it. "I can't believe you shot me, what about the foreplay?"
His laugh is loud as he watches me, "I am over the buildup, takes too long."
I shoot my paintball gun straight at his leg and the excitement of blue paint splatter on his thigh makes me want to jump in circles. "Yeah me too," I say in response to his comment with a shit-eating grin on my face.
"You're killing me Tess," Drew says with a shake of his head.
"I believe the correct term is 'killed', thank you very much," I say. "Where is your flag?"
"Top of the hill, yours?" He asks, dusting off his elbow that is covered in dirt.
I tilt my head, showing off my hair, "Looks good, huh?"
He shakes his head with a smile as the game over siren wails from the loudspeakers. "Guess you girls win."
I smile brightly and start walking with him towards the gates. Once we're back at the waiting room I ru my eyes over everyone else sitting around waiting. Sebastian has multiple paint splatters on his entire body and even a little in his hair as he talks animatedly to Sophie and Cole about something. Cole has his arm around Sophie's shoulders and she is leaning her head against his chest as they laugh at something Sebastian said.
Isaac has his eyes on me but his facial expression is blank as his eyes move back and forth between Drew and I, subtly.
Quinn sees me walk in and struts over to me with the boys' green team flag in the air. I move away from Drew and walk up to her. "How did you get it?"
"They left Benji to guard it, piece of cake," she grins, handing the flag to me and gesturing over to where Benji is sitting with a blue paint splatter on his arm but a smile on his face nonetheless.
"Awesome," I high five her. "I got Drew in the thigh, it was glorious."
She throws her arm over my shoulder and leads me further into the room, "You're one of a kind Tess."
"Hey, can I ask you something?" I say, turning to face her.
She smiles, "Sure, what's up?"
"What ever happened to you and Lily? I mean, Lottie said that you guys broke up but I was just wondering what happened."
Quinn tilts her head to the side, "Well, we went to different colleges and she found someone else, it broke my heart but I couldn't be mad when we were apart for so long, you know?"
"That sucks," I say, not able to find another response to fit the situation.
Her laugh is dainty, "Yes, it does but I'm a lot happier now that I can be who I want to be and Lily helped me figure that out so there will always be a part of me that appreciates her for it."
"Tess, your sister shot me in the ass!" Mateo walks over to me and turns around showing me the paint splatter on his right butt cheek.
"A work of art," I reply giving Sophie a thumbs up. She smiles shyly and burrows her head deeper into Cole's chest.
"Ask me anytime Tess, I'm happy to answer," Quinn smiles hugging me gently before going over to Charlotte and Olivia who are taking stupid pictures together and Courtney who is massaging her feet with a grimace. Huh, I guess beauty is pain.
|| ✨ ||
Tessa is such a badass!
I hope you're all being safe and healthy. Seems like life is slowly starting to pick up again so we'll see what happens.
Congratulations to the Class of 2020, I know we all say that high school sucks but not being able to say one last goodbye is crushing. Good luck to all of you!
Sending you all lots of love!
Sammipott xx