Secrets

Minor Injury

Liz's P.O.V.

I yawned and slowly sat up in the morning. My internal clock reset itself during the night so I knew it was nearly eight o'clock. I nearly screamed when I noticed my hand intertwined with Josh's. I looked back and forth between him and our hands with my mouth gaping open before slipping my hand from his. It was impossible to imagine what would happen if he found out. I jumped out of the bed and leaned against wall breathing hard. I jumped again when beside me Josh yawned and sat up causing me to latch onto his nightstand for support.

"G'morning...what happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost,"he said. My eyes darted to his hands and back up to his face.

"N-nothing"I lied.

"Mmm-hmm,"he said sceptically but didn't push further. Then he jumped out of bed too.

"I've got to tell the guys. It's two to one! I got you to sleep in my bed,"he sprinted across the room and out the door. It was like a slap to the face when his words sunk in.

"Hey",I yelled running after him," You tricked me!" I heard his answering laugh from the dining room.

Josh's P.O.V.

I ran down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Hey, you tricked me!"Liz yelled. I heard her come pounding down the stairs to find me. All the guys were sitting at the table. Mattew plopped down his newspaper.

"Well you seem happy,"he said. Liz picked that opportune moment to burst in. She grasped a chair for support while she got her breath back.

"Of course I'm happy. What kind of guy isn't when he's got two points over a girl?"I said.

"Oh how did that happen?" Zach asked.

"You tricked me,"Liz repeated but that was all she could say. She still hadn't caught her breath.

"Well first of all I learned that Liz is very ticklish,"

"That's interesting,"John said.

"Second of all I got Liz to sleep in my bed,"I said satisfactorily.

"Really? Without knocking her out?"Andrew asked.

"Yep,"I answered. Liz stood up and grabbed my shirt pulling my face right up to hers.

"You cheated. You said if I didn't you'd tell the guys I was scared of you,"she spat. I laughed and pushed her away.

"Calm down fiesty pants," I said. Her hands balled up into fists.

" Why I otta..."she trailed off angerily.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Andrew intoned. She glared at him before spinning back on me.

"You better watch out Josh,"she threatened."I'm not someone you want to mess with." Liz turned and stormed from the room.

"Well then. That was quite show,"Matthew exclaimed. I sat down, poured myself some coffee, and grabbed my own copy of the paper.Liz walked back in ten minutes later with a big smile humming to herself.

"You seem better,"John said clearly amused at this sudden mood swing.

"Oh yes. In fact I'm so much better that I'd like to make breakfast.Pancakes,"Liz said. Her mood swing did seem a little odd but I was only glad that she was willing to cook.

"Count us in,"Zach said. Liz winked at him giggling and literally skipped into the kitchen.

"How'd it go last night?"Andrew asked.

"She was freaking out. She actually asked if she could sleep in the basement instead. So I used her competitive side against her but she was shaking so bad when she got in the bed she nearly fell off. So then I offered her the covers and I slept on top,"I said.John spit his coffee across the table.

"You did what?!?"he exclaimed."Are you going soft?"

"Of course not!!Anyways the best part is that I guess sometime while we were sleeping she grabbed my hand. I was pretending to sleep when she woke up. When she saw our hands she practically started hyperventilating. She jumped out of the bed with her mouth hanging open. It was so hilarious!"I laughed. There was a loud crash from the kitchen and a small scream. I leapt out of my chair and ran into the kitchen with the guys right behind me. Liz was bent over a pile of glass trying to quickly clean up the mess. Her right fist was cleched in a tight fist. A drop of blood squeezed itself through and down the side of her arm.

"What the heck happened?"Zach yelled.

"Liz stand up,"I commanded. She shook her head and and continued to clean the mess.

"Liz...Liz get up and come here now. You're bleeding,"I said. She just kept shaking her head no. I stomped over to her and and picked her up from behind. She struggled the whole way to the dining room and I dropped her into a chair. She looked up at me tears streaming down her face and all the fight seemed to leave her. She unclenched her bloody hand and I saw a large gash across her palm.

"Come on let's go to the bathroom and get that cleaned up,"I said gently. She took my hand and slowly stood up but then she crumpled to the ground clutching her stomach. I looked at the other guys to find they were just as confused as me when suddenly it donned on me.

"Guys remember. We beat her last night but she was acting alright so we didn't bother to clean her up,"I said." Andrew and Mattew go get the supplies from the bathroom. John and Zach help me carry her to the couch." They nodded and helped me pick Liz up. We gently laid her down on the couch but a few seconds later she threw her arm around the side squeezing tight and let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain. I slowly started to lift up her shirt but she grabbed my wrist and started frantically shaking her head no again. She was squeezing so hard I thought my wrist was going to break. She looked at me with pleading eyes but I had to see what was wrong so I flipped up her shirt before she could stop me. I stumbled back dumbfounded. There was nothing there. No bruises or cuts. Then I realized that the hand that had been holding my arm was the one that had been cut but there was no blood on me and no traces were left to show that there ever was a cut. Liz looked at me in terror before bursting into tears and running out the back door. I sat there for a moment too stunned to move before running after her.

Liz's P.O.V.

I ran out the door and sat on the cement steps tears pouring down my face. They were gonna realize that I was a freak and dump me out on the streets. I should be happy to get a chance to run away but I wasn't and I didn't know why. I heard Josh come up behind me but I didn't say anything.

"Hey," Josh said comfortingly," You don't have to tell us what's wrong until you're ready. You don't ever have to tell me." I wiped my eyes and looked up at him gratefully but shook my head no.

"Thanks but no. I may not be able to talk about it now but someday I want to tell you." Josh smiled down at me and offered me a hand.

"Let's go inside and we can act like nothing happened. If you want I'll help finish with breakfast." This reminded me of my devious plan and brought a smile to my face.

"Oh no. I have a...special surprise," I said. He raised eyebrows at me but I wasn't going to give anything away.

"I do have to ask what made you drop that plate in the first place?" he asked as we walked through the hall.

"Oh that. I um...overheard you guys talking," I answered.

"What were we talking about?" he questioned but I just pulled away and went back to work in the kitchen. I had just finished cleaning up the glass when I heard Josh from the hall.

"How could I be so stupid? My stupid gloating caused Liz to get hurt," he mumbled face-palming. I giggled and started the rest of the pancakes.