Ditched

An Alliance Gone Wrong

"On your mark. Get set. GO!" The instructor screams. I immediately dive and roll behind a bale of hay. My back against the rough straw, I peek my head around and see Casey fire a shot at Jack, who jumps in the air, narrowly missing getting hit in the leg. He lands behind a tube and disappears from sight.

Casey swivels around in open space, his gun pointed forward. "COME AT ME!" He shouts, his eyes playfully furious.

I move my arm and click my trigger finger in one swift motion. My bullet hits the wall about a foot to the right of Casey. He twirls around and fires, but I'm too quick. I jump in top of the hay and shoot a bullet at him, hitting him in the chest.

He staggers back and falls over a tube, landing with a thud. I let out a nervous laugh, sliding into position behind the straw square.

"I'm coming for you, Piper!" I hear Casey shout. His voice is muffled behind the tube.

I focus in on Jack creeping up to Casey's green tube, but Casey's too quick and he reaches his arm up and hits Jack in the arm.

"Dammit." Jack says in frustration, tumbling behind a dummy.

I throw my gun over my shoulder and crawl forward on my hands and knees, until I'm shielded by a target. A paint ball splatters on the target and I duck, ready for the next shot. I stand against the target, my butt the only thing visible.

Jack raises his eyebrows at me and smirks, hitting my butt with a paint ball. It stings for a second, and my hand instinctively goes to my backside.

"Hey!" I shout. My black basketball shorts are splattered with blue paint now and I'm ready to win.

I squat down and fire under the target, but my shot disappears. "We all have two hits left!" I call out. "Let's do this."

"You're going down, loser." Casey yells, from somewhere close to me on my right.

I whirl around and sticky gun out, in ready position. My trigger finger shakes, my hand trembling with anticipation. I catch a glimpse of Jack's hair behind a bright orange tube.

"Figures." I mutter as he crawls in, his feet to me. I quickly let one fly and surprisingly, it hits him on his calf.

I hear the thud as it finds a home in
his leg. "Yes, nice shot Piper!" Casey says.

"Oh, don't congratulate me quite yet. You're next." I threaten.

He snorts. "I don't think so."

Casey tries a shot at me, but misses, sending me sprawling in attempt to avoid it. He takes advantage and leaps, landing next to my body. He turns and points his gun at me, ready to shoot. But I swing my legs around and sweep kick him. His legs fly out from under him and he lands on his butt, his gun sliding across the floor. I kick it away and shoot him in the back, forcing him to army crawl away from me. He snatches his gun, scrambles to his feet, and sprints off, into a safety tube.

"That's how we do it!" I shout. "Casey and Jack, you guys have one hit left. I have two. Let's go."

I catch sight of Jack sliding on his knees into position behind the tube Casey's in, but I don't get a shot off.
"Crap." I say, avoiding his shot by side stepping behind a dummy.

When I swivel around, Jack and Casey are whispering to each other. They shake hands and turn toward me. Jack winks.

"Hey, no alliances!" I protest.

"Too late." Casey says, standing up. Pulling Jack along, he shuffles behind a stack of cardboard boxes. I hear them whispering but I can't make out any words.

"Go!" Casey shouts. He hops over the boxes, scaling them all.

Jack darts around the side coming straight at me. But at the last second, he spins around and fires at Casey, hitting him square in the jaw.

Casey groans, wiping paint off his goggles. "Not cool, bro!" He shouts, running off the field. Now it's just me and Jack.

"I'm gonna kill you." I say, firing a shot as I jump over a bale of hay. I miss by an inch or two, and I get smacked in the face by a paint ball. Searing pains hoots through my ear, but I don't stop running until I'm safe behind another target.

Jack fires, but misses. "Man, I keep missing!" He complains.

"I have to reload. Don't shoot." I whine.

He laughs. "Yea okay." He fires at me but I click my bullet into place and shoot, missing him again.

I grin. "You're too small, I can't hit you."

He glares at me. "Oh now you've gone too far." He says. Suddenly he leaps at me and tackles me to the ground. He lands on top of me, his gun against my forehead. "Hm, where do I wanna shoot you?" He says, his knees pressed against my elbows. Playfully, I reach up and kiss his cheek.

"Don't shoot me, Jack." I say dreamily.

He laughs and clicks a bullet into place. I slip my arm free as he fires, hitting my shoulder. But I shoot too, and my bullet splatters against his chest, spraying in his mouth and his hair.

"UGHH!" He shouts, spitting paint out of his mouth. "Yck!"

I laugh and wipe my sweatshirt off, my face stinging from Jack's last hit. "We tied." I say, flicking his chest.

He stays on top of me, his body pressed to mine. "I'm pretty sure I won." He whispers, his breath tickling my neck. I shiver and look into his eyes.

"You're full of it."

He laughs, pushes himself off me and pulls me to my feet. "Good game."

We look over at Casey, who's smiling like an idiot. "This means I don't lose!" He yells through the glass.

Jack points a finger at him. "Uh uh. You lost fair and square. Piper and I tied for first."

Casey frowns, grabs my hand and drags me off field. "How'd you like it?"

I look at two of my best friends. Casey and Jack smile widely at me, waiting for my answer. I can't believe how everything has worked out perfectly. Well, almost everything. But as I look at my friends, my grin widens.

"Yes, Casey. I loved it." But I wasn't really talking about paint balling, I was talking about meeting the boys.