Free Kendall

Chapter 12

Chapter 12
I love my friends

Ari's POV

I roll the bowling ball down the lane for the tenth frame.

On my team, Jonas is winning with 121 points, and I am following with 105 points.
On the other team, Ian is winning with 115 points, and Rayssa is following after with 100 points.

We all hear a loud crashing noise as my ball knocks down nine pins.

"Woo-hoo!" Kendall calls.
"Nice job!" Jonas says.
They both are eating fries from the basket that Tate ordered awhile ago.

Rayssa rolls her ball down the lane, it knocks down eight pins, and we all cheer.
"Woooo!" Quinn yells. 

We all smile, and check the final scores.
Jonas won, with Ian in second place, I got third and Rayssa got fourth.

"Okay, what's next?" Nik asks.
Tate giggles, and she pulls out the tickets. 
"Laser tag!"

All our mouths drop to make the :0 face, and it makes Tate giggle more.

I gesture for everyone to change their shoes back, and we clean up our mess.
I catch Kendall watching me, and he immediately turns away, his face seeming flushed.

We both don't look at each other until we're forced to, past the other public bowling lanes, the game centre, and finally, the laser tag!
There isn't a theme for this time of year, so it's the classic Space Time theme.

I smirk, my competitive ego showing a bit.

"How many in your party?" The person manning the front desk asks.
"Ten," Ian replies.
The person nods, discussing payment options with Tate, and another employee walks by.

"My name is Charlie Spring, and I'll be the leader today of your groups laser tag."
They smile, running a hand through their black curly hair.
"I am aware your group aren't the little kids, so I don't need to pretend that you guys are going through a magical adventure in space, but just no running or roughhousing, and you'll be alright."

We all nod.

"Follow me," Charlie says.
They lead us into a room with two sides.
One glows red, the other blue.

"Five on five," They instruct. "Everyone put on a vest and grab a gun."

I side with Tate, Jonas, Rayssa and Diana.
The other team is Quinn,  Hazel, Ian, Kendall and Nik.

We grab blue vests and I hold up the gun.
"Nice," I say, smiling.

"Everyone ready?" Charlie asks after a few minutes.
We all nod.
"Go!"

The door opens, and we all rush out.
I follow Tate and Jonas in, hiding behind an outcove.

I hear Nikolai chuckling nearby, and I raise my gun, holding the holster near my eye. 
He runs by and I blast him, hitting precisely in his chest before I run the opposite way, up a ramp and onto the second floor.
I see my friends down below, and I smirk, shooting at Hazel, Ian and Quinn.

The three of them look up and I duck down immediately, crawling towards a hiding spot.
Their footsteps rush by and I smile.

I stand, and run down the opposite side.
I feel the vest get hit on my chest, and I swear.

Nik's obnoxious giggle from down below reverberates around the room and run down the ramp looking for him.
This game sure brings out my competitiveness.

I don't see Nik, but I do see a tall figure near the corner where I was hiding at the beginning of the game, and an idea begins to blossom in my head.
I crouch into a sneak around stance and quietly go to where Kendall is hiding. At the angle I'm at, he will be cornered.

I chuckle softly.

Kendall notices me, and I lower my gun.
His eyes search frantically for an escape route.
I smile.

"I promise, I'm just here to talk. We're a little bit alone rn, with some privacy."
He nods.
"What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, first," I say, laying the sweetness on a bit thickly. "I wanted to thank you for this amazing party. It means a lot to me."
He chuckles.
"This was really all Tate's idea. She's the party planner of the group. I just helped with balloons."
I laugh.
"Well, thank you for the balloons? But I am glad that you came."

"What's the second thing?" Kendall asks, being way too intuitive. 
I curse in my mind, and gulp slightly.

"Second..." I start, stuttering on my words. "I was wondering if I could try something."
"Try what?"

I walk closer to him, and cautiously rest two hands on the sides of his face.
His eyes widen and I tilt my head slightly, and I look at him, silently asking permission.

His lips brush mine, and I kiss him.