Chapter Fourteen - Run
- Madeline's POV -
"What's that smell?" Haley asked whilst sitting down on her bad, a package in hand.
"What?" I asked, slowly realizing what it was. Martin's cologne. Shit. I had almost forgotten how strong it was and how it was bound to leave a trail of the scent. I honestly had know idea what to tell her because all I could think about was Martin and what he said.
"It smells, strong and musky," she looked up from the box, a curiosity in her brown eyes. I shrugged my shoulders as if I had no idea what it was. To push past the subject, I decided to ask her about the package.
"What's that?" I motioned my head down towards the white box. It looked like it came from the Post Office.
"Oh, it's mail, from my parents," she smiled slightly. She grabbed some scissors to slice open the tape that was keeping it together.
"People can send you mail here?" I asked, sitting down on my bed. Just to think that Martin had me on my back on this thing just a few hours ago, made my face heat up.
"Yup," she said opening the box, all to quickly. She picked up a piece of paper. Must have a been a letter or something. I watched her smile as her eyes scanned over the paper, making me think about something. Why would my parents not send something? Especially for how they are. Always wanting to know what and how I am doing. It was odd to me...
"Did you not get anything?" She asked, putting the package to her side.
"I guess not," I shook my head lightly. It just does not seem like them to do that.
"Oh," she said as if she was expecting me to say 'yes'. "They will soon," she nodded her head lazily.
"Not like I wanted to hear from them anyways," I half muttered, seeing a look of confusion spread across her face. Part of that was true. I came here to get away from them, not to be reminded of my hell life back home.
"I'm gonna go take a shower," she said abruptly, grabbing a towel and some other shower essentials. She left the room, not bothering to shut the door. I was to exhausted to get up and close it, so I just stayed on my bed thinking about Martin.
The fact that he wants to do this stuff, freaks me out. Although it does excite me that he does want to, it still scares me. What if he does end up taking advantage of me? Then Karlie would have been right no matter what. I have come to conclusion I have no idea what to do. I can either do it and possibly have a little fun with a boy, or I can pretend the list never existed and just stick to wearing shorts. It was almost as if Martin was the devil and he was drawing me towards him. My thoughts were interrupted by three knocks on the door.
Speaking of the devil...
"What are you doing here? Are you crazy?" My eyes widened as I stood up from my bed. Martin started to laugh, making me agitated.
"Calm down Mads, it's okay," he put his hands up defensively. "So what's up?"
I crossed my arms over my chest, rolling my eyes in the process. "Really Martin?" I asked stupidly, going over to the door, shutting and locking it quickly.
"So you are up for my idea I see..." I turned around slowly to find him smirking at him. I suddenly felt nervous but something inside of me was buzzing in excitement.
"I don't know what I want to do yet," I exhaled, looking anywhere but him. I felt his presence stepping towards me. Instinctively, I stepped back, only to be trapped against the door.
"Am I really going to have to persuade you into doing this?" His voice was low, his eyes shining brightly. I looked up at him, my throat feeling like it was clogging up.
"Martin," I said, putting my hands on his chest, trying to push him away. It only lead his face closer to mine. In one movement, his hands grabbed mine, and forced them above my head. He intertwined our fingers, not breaking his stare at me.
"I could get use to you saying that," he licked his lips, an amusement tone in his voice. My heartbeat sped up and my eyes widened even more. Oh, my, God. He started to laugh, letting go of my hands, the warmth going away faster than I wanted.
"I'm just playing with you," he took one step back. I could now start to smell his cologne. I was stunned at just his simple actions. I cannot be the only girl who gets shaken when stuff like that happens? Can I?
"One question," I looked down and back up to him. He nodded his head as he we meant to be saying 'go'.
"Would you respect me?" I asked him, recalling one of my best friends from back home. Her name was Taylor. We had been friends since age five and I still remember what her first boyfriend did to her. He not only took her virginity, but her dignity and respect for herself. He did not respect her wishes and it tore her apart. I refuse to end up like that.
"You mean, if we did that stuff?" One of his eyebrows raised. He seemed confused to say the least. I chewed on my bottom lip, nodding to him. "Of course. I'm not that much of an asshole," he started to laugh at himself, while I smiled in relief.
"It's still an if," I reminded him once again. He bowed his head, seeming to understand.
"Just remember, do what's going to make you happy," I could not take my eyes off of his. They were so green and grey, yet so blue. They intrigued me.
"Thanks," I said finally breaking our gaze at each other. He opened his mouth to say something but he was stopped by a bang at the door. "Shit," I muttered backing away from the door.
"Mads? Open the door," Haley voice was loud and clear.
"J-just a second," I said turning to Martin, a petrified look to my face. "What are you going to do?" I whispered, starting to inwardly panic.
"I, am going to walk out of that door and not give two fucks about what she will say," he gave me a sarcastic smile but I knew he was being serious.
"Martin," I grabbed his arm, stopping him from going to the door. "She will kill me," I explained slowly.
"And if she says anything, tell her to fuck off. Simple. As. That," I let go of his arm and followed behind of him. He unlocked the door and opened it to find Haley standing with towel around her. A look of shock came across her face as she looked up to see Martin. I could not see his face from where I was standing, but I had a feeling it was his famous smirk.
"See you Mads. We can work on our project more tomorrow," he glanced back at me, giving me a wink. Haley stepped out of the way so he could leave with ease. Her eyes followed him and then quickly, they looked at me with confusion.
"What the hell?" She said bluntly, stepping in the room.
"We have this project for our marketing class," I explained as if I was not into him at all. Although, that was probably the biggest lie I was telling, even to myself.
"Oh, is it the one about marketing yourself?" She said as if she did not have a problem that Martin was just in here. I nodded, feeling something suspicious about her attitude. "I had to do that my first year too. Sucked ass," she pulled out a Victoria Secret button up, slipping it on with ease.
"Can I ask you something?" I fumbled with my hands.
"If it's about him, I'm not answering," she chuckled to herself.
"No, it's not," I smiled to myself. "Have you ever had sex?" She stopped drying her hair with the towel immediately when I asked the question.
"Um, yeah," a look of guilt came across her face. That's weird. "It's not all glamorous, especially your first time," she threw the wet towel down on her bed, thinking about how my mother hated that. "It's better after a couple times," she once again laughed at herself. I gave her a fake laugh to play along. "Why?"
"I don't know, just I'm curious because of my parents and such," I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling quite nasty with myself. I had not realized how much sweating and work all of this walking does around here.
"I see," she narrowed her eyes at me for a split second.
"Well, I'm gonna go shower now," I said grabbing my own bathroom stuff, trying my best break that sudden awkwardness in the room.
"And I'm going to be in bed," she said, collapsing on her front, making me genuinely laugh this time. I honestly could not wait to be in bed either, no matter how much of Martin's cologne I could smell from it.
*
"How do you like it here so far?" I looked over at Matthew who was picking and playing with the grass.
"It's cool, different from what I'm used to," I stretched out my back, supporting my weight on my arms. The sun was shining brighter than ever and the temperature was out the roof today. I took this moment to take in his features. Matthew had his baby blue eyes and strong jawline. When he stood up, his height was also huge.
"Tell me about you," I could feel his stare on me. I debated if I should say anything or just make up something quick.
"Well, I'm a preachers daughter, though everyone knows that by now," I rolled my eyes at the thought. "I love running, reading.. There's not much exciting about me," I said honestly. For almost being eighteen, I really have had no experience in my life. Back home my life was literally, church, school, youth group, church, and so on.
"I don't believe that," he smiled at me.
"Well, believe it," I pulled down my shorts, still feeling slightly uncomfortable with them. If they were any shorter you could see my 'area'.
"I got an idea," he said abruptly standing up, leaving me on the grass alone. I looked up, blocking the sun with my arm.
"What?" I asked, standing up as well.
"Let's go on a run. And on that run you can tell me more about you," he raised his eyebrows at his preposition.
"And what do I get?" I cocked my head to the left and saw him chuckle.
"You may get a few things return," he licked his lips. Was he flirting with me? I am still quite new to this boy stuff, so I am trying to figure all of it out.
"Okay, when?" I agreed to his idea. I also partly wanted to do it because I had not had a run in a few days.
"Today. On our break," he said, backing away from me. My face dropped.
"Today?" I asked, tempted to walk towards him. He nodded turning around and walking away from me. "Where should we meet?" I called out.
"Here!" He called back, not bothering to turn around. Hm, okay then.
*
"What are you doing?" Haley asked me as I laced up my black Nike's. I was almost annoyed with the fact that she always questioned me. About everything.
"Matthew and I are going for a run," I said simply, throwing my hair up in a ponytail. I rolled up my running shorts so they looked better and straightened out my thin hoodie. She muttered a goodbye, as I left the dorm with nothing else to say.
Once I finally made my outside, I quickly made my way over to where Matthew said to meet. And of course, he was already there, waiting on me. He glanced over at me, a grin forming on his slightly bearded face. I should give him the nickname Scruffy.
"Hey," I said, stretching my arms a bit.
"You ready?" His gym shorts and tight shirt, made he seem extra attractive.
"Race you to the woods over there," I pointed, smirking at him. Not waiting for an answer, I took off, practically sprinting.
"Hey!" I heard him yell from behind, making me laugh loudly. I kept up my fast pace, knowing I would reach the area first. As I predicted, I stopped right before the woods, trying to catch my breath. I looked up to find Matthew almost here.
"Your slow!" I yelled, grinning slightly.
"No... your.. just.. unfair," he paused between his words, trying to catch his own breath. "Damn, you run fast," he commented.
"Thanks," I smiled to myself. I steadied myself on a tree, thinking back to the day Martin and I snuck out of class to come here. I started to light up from the memory.
"So," he plopped down on the ground, laying on his back. "You ready to tell me more about yourself?" He looked up at me. As adventurous as I was feeling, I decided to lay down beside of him.
"What do you want to know?" I think I was finally beginning to regain my normal breathing pattern.
"Anything," he said bluntly.
"Um, I'm an honers student, I love to sing, I hope to move out as soon as possible," I paused, sounding more annoyed than I meant to.
"Why?" He asked, almost in a concerning way.
"I don't know. Just sick of my parents rules," I sometimes felt like screaming just thinking about all of the ridiculous things they had me do. And that damn list my dad sent me? Hell would freeze over before I obeyed one more thing they told me to do.
"As is every teenager," he pointed out. This is what I hate about saying anything about it.
"No. Nobody understands. I have no life whatsoever," I breathed. I watched the other campers in the distance. This really did feel more like a college thing than a summer camp.
"You have something here," I felt his hand on my shoulder. "Make the best of it," I smiled at his words. I looked over to see him staring up through the trees.
"You have a point," I nodded more to myself than him. A sudden someone came across my mind and the temptation to ask about him, was too great. "Can I ask you about someone?" I now sat up, turning my body to face his.
"Sure," his blue eyes moved from the sky to me.
"Do you know anything, about, um... Martin Garrix?" I glanced down, feeling embarrassed that I was asking about him. I noticed Matthew's face changed quickly.
"Well, I know that after last year, I was surprised he came back," he sounded honest and vulnerable.
"What happened last year?" I asked recalling the multiple times people have talked about last year. Haley mentioned it the first day we arrived.
"Between you and me," he paused, sitting up on his elbows. "Last year was a drug and party filled camp," he almost sounded ashamed. The abandoned buildings.
"Isn't that what teenagers do?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Well, yes, but most of the time it doesn't involve death," he squinted his eyes from the sun, yet mine widened as big as quarters.
"Oh my God, what happened?" I said, shocked and confused. I felt like I was being loud, but who cares! Death?
"His name was Austin, went into a heart attack after snorting one two many lines of coke," he sounded like he was familiar with the situation. As if he was recalling it in his head as we spoke.
"What's this gotta do with Martin?" I was now utterly confused. The authorities around here would let the camp stay open after someone had overdosed? This makes no sense...
He licked his lips, now sitting upright with me. "Austin was his best friend," my stomach dropped. A sudden sadness came over me for Martin. Obviously I did not know Austin, but I could not imagine losing a best friend permanently, especially over drugs.
I had to give it to Matthew though. He is the only person who has answered my every question here.
"Why do you want to know about him anyways? He's an asshole," he started to chuckle to himself. I had to admit, it was getting annoying that everyone was calling him an asshole. He is not that big of one. He is actually sweet, in my opinion.
I shrugged my shoulders lazily. "I don't know. He's my partner for our marketing class, so.." I stopped rambling knowing that if I kept going, I would spill about my every moment with him.
"Hm," his blue eyes were still attached to me. "Don't let 'em try anything," he said defensively. I smiled at his 'protectiveness'.
"I won't," I gave him a fake smile, because frankly, Martin drives me crazy. I would not mind to do more than half of the stuff of that list with him. Then why are you not accepting his offer? I had to slap my subconscious. "We should probably go," I stood up, brushing my butt off of any grass or leaves.
"I still haven't found out that much about you," he stood up, his height was ridiculous. A cute smirk came from his lips.
"Well you're going to have to wait another day," I smiled up at him.
"Like, when?" He crossed his toned arms over his chest. Before I could answer, he opened his mouth again. "How about, whoever gets back to the fountain first, can choose when," he licked his lips once again. I opened my mouth to say something, but I decided to skip the talking and start the running. I heard him say a curse word behind me, making me laugh again.
Once again, I made it back first. I smiled to myself feeling accomplished. I looked back to see Matthew right behind me.
"You unfair bitch," he muttered, trying to hold in a laugh. I patted his shoulder a couple of times.
"Or maybe I'm just better," I said honestly.
He let out a loud laugh, causing a few people to look over at us. "Okay Mads," he said sarcastically, pausing to regain his breath. "So, when do we get to do this again?"
I took a moment to think about it. "How about Wednesday?" I suggested.
He nodded quickly, smiling in the process. "Sure. By the way, I take rematches very seriously," he raised one eyebrow at me, walking past me.
"Who said anything about a rematch?" I crossed my arms at his guy behavior. They cannot stand to be beat by a girl.
"Me," he said simply, fully turning around to walk back to wherever he is going. I felt my insides light up. I think I have actually found a genuine friend in Matthew. I turned on my heels only to be bumped into someone.
"Sor -" I looked up to see Martin staring down at me. "Hi," I said, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous than I remember.
"Nice shorts," he stepped back a bit, giving us more space.
"What's up?" I asked looking around to see if anyone in particular. A.K.A. Karlie or Haley.
"Here," in his hand was a small slip of paper. I took it, a confused look on my face. Before I could ask what it was, he walked past me, leaving his scent lingering around me. I looked at the small object for a second before I unfolded it. My heartbeat sped up, faster than expected.
Meet me outside your dorm building. Tonight at 11:30.
______
A/N Hi everyone! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and I hope you all are excited for the new year! Did you guys like this chapter? Hmm, I think something is going to happen between those two ;) Leave me a comment and vote! It keeps me motivated! Also, tell me what you got for Christmas while you're at it :)
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