My Partner In Crime

Chapter 17

(I am simply fawning over three Bo Burnham bits. One, the song from the perspective of God from his special called "what" on Netflix. Keep in mind, I'm still Christian it's so catchy and almost relatable to me. Two, the part where he makes fun of rap songs by doing two verses of his own rap song, specifically the "have you any wool" and "BAAA" parts from Make Happy, also on Netflix. Three, the part where he makes fun of stadium country music. Thank you for your time😂)

"Take the entire thing, no sipping and no holding it in your mouth." I said, handing Jesse a shot glass of apple cider vinegar.

Jesse took it and looked at me in mock distain. "I know how to take a shot." At that, my dad turned around with a raised brow. "Apple juice. A shot of apple juice." My dad rolled his eyes and turned back to what he was doing. Dodge and I watched intently as Jesse took the shot. His face soured and his nose and ears turned bright red. 

"Okay, round two!" I said, standing up from the table and picking my gun up. "Dodge, you get and extra two bullets."

"Why didn't you dodge it?" My dad asked, turning around with a cheesy grin. Dodge let out a guffaw of laughter. 

"Dad!" I exclaimed.

"Dad." Jesse said, face in his hands.

"You cannot come after me for taking the opportunity." Dad said, shrugging.

"Whatever." Jesse said as he picked his gun back up and stood. "The grace period ends at... 6:00." My brother said after checking his watch. Dodge and I both nodded and the three of us went into our separate bases. Suddenly, while I was waiting for the time to pass, an idea popped into my head. I pulled my phone out—it was 5:58—and shot Dodge a text.

Me: When the time is done, come over to my base
Dodge: Why?
Me: Just do it
Dodge: Aye aye, captain

Within a moment of the grace period ending, the doorknob of the broom closet turned and the door opened to reveal Dodge, who stepped inside and silently shut the door behind him. I let out a breath and grabbed the loose collar of his shirt and pressed him up against the wall. His chest filled with air as soon as his back made impact with the surface behind him. I watched as a look of pleased shock danced across his face. I leaned forward until my face was about a tenth of an inch from his. My head was turned, leaving him to make the final move. Dodge's blue (and partially brown) eyes grew shadowy and he closed the distance between our lips. His hands slid gently up my back, across my neck, and onto the sides of my face, fingers falling into the crevice of my jawline. Every time we renewed the kiss, I would hear the smallest bit of his voice through his short breaths. While we kissed, Dodge moved his hands from my face to my hands. His closed around mine and he flipped us around and pinned my wrists against the wall of the closet. 

"I think Jesse's waiting to ambush you." I breathed in his ear.

"Damn." Dodge said in a sigh. He then gave me one more kiss and left the closet. I listened as his quiet footsteps receded into the kitchen. I inched out of my base and hurriedly skidded into the kitchen. Upon sight of Dodge's white shirt, I fired my gun. He didn't even seem to register the bullet he had been struck by. He did not turn or flinch at all, rather he simply pulled up a wooden kitchen table and sitting down.

"Sugar peas." I heard from behind me. Not again.

"Drop 'em." I said, whipping around, and to no avail, found Jesse. He and I have always quoted this bit from something. (Two of my friends, Sierra and Samantha, [Sam moved] used to quote that and I have absolutely no idea where it came from. It may be from Odd1sOut, but I don't know.)

"Oh-kay!" Jesse said, dropping his gun, but catching it in his other hand. And now we're both just standing there and pointing our guns at eachother. "Do you want to shoot or should I?"

"To be honest, I kind of want to shoot." I said. "The vinegar isn't an option for either of us, and I don't even use all my starting bullets. But I also don't want you to win."

"Understandable." Jesse nodded. "However, I am going to offer you this rebuttal—" I shot him in the chest. A crestfallen look fell over his face. "I wasn't done!"

"I know." I said with a grin, walking over to Dodge, who was still sitting at the table. Jesse took a new shot glass out of the cupboard and placing it down in front of me, which meant that I had to pour it.

"Do you remember all those times I gave you free apple juice?" Dodge asked, staring at the big bottle with wide eyes.

"I do." I said, a smile spreading over my face as I poured a hefty amount of apple cider vinegar into the glass.

"Don't do this to me." Dodge said, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

"I'm so sorry." I grinned, slowly pushing the glass over to him.

"Clem." He pleaded, a smile breaking through.

"Drink it, turd nugget." Jesse said with a roll of his eyes. Dodge looked at him, and with out breaking eye contact, takes the dreaded shot. His lack of facial expression caused Jesse's brows to furrow. "You are a lunatic."