The Adventures of Teen Island

A Crush

Emma's POV
"Wait, seriously?!" I said excitedly. Courtney nodded. "Carter!" I yelled. She looked over and I waved for her to come. I still cant be alone since they still haven't caught the arsonist. "What's up tween?" Carter asked. "Courtney, Stephanie, and Oliver agreed!" I said. She raised an eyebrow. "Oliver is my roommate" Courtney explained. "Stephanie agreed?" Carter asked. "She quit her job" Courtney said. Carter nodded to herself. "Ok. Bring them to the lair. First come first serve. Get there early if you want your own room." Carter walked away.

"Emma!" Clay ran to me. "Hi Clay" I said. "Can you come with me real quick? I found something that's confusing me and I'm to scared to ask Carter because she's mean" he said. I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Yeah" I said. I followed him to the hallway and he pointed at the photos on the wall. "So, I'm guessing these are the past bandits. Thing is, I don't understand why we need ten members when this group of bandits is only four" he pointed. I squinted in confusion. "Huh. I'm not sure" I said. "Can you ask Carter? I don't wanna do it" he said. "You're gonna have to talk to her at some point" I said. "Not today" he huffed. I sighed. "Yes. Ill talk to Carter" I said. "Ok, thanks. Gotta go meet my new roomie. Oliver's bunking with me" he walked off.

I knocked on Carters door. "Yeah" she called. "Can I come in?" I asked. "Yeah" she called again. I walked in and closed the door behind me. She's in her bathroom. Only her room has its own bathroom. "Give me a second" she said. "Ok" I said while I looked around. She doesn't have much decoration, but what little stuff she has, really matches her. She walked out of the bathroom in her teen bandit jacket, boxers, and a bra. I felt my face grow hot as she slipped the jacket off her shoulders. She pulled her hair out of the messy bun it was in and let it flow down her shoulders and back. "What do you want tween?" She asked, going about her business. "Uh... why do we need ten members? The photos of the old teams don't all have ten" I said. "That's the annual bandit photo. We have to take it no matter how many members we have" she said. "Carter, I think we've hit our limit. I don't think we'll find anymore people" I said. She huffed. "There's no guarantee on the ones we just got. I'm sure at least three of them will quit" she said. She walked up to me. I tensed. "Did you just get out of the shower?" I asked. She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Do I look like I just got out of the shower?" She asked. She's bone dry. "I... uh... no" I stuttered. She smirked. She leaned down right in front of my face. "Like what you see, tween?" She asked. I'm starting to sweat. "Emma, here's something you need to learn. Be proud of yourself. Say what's on your mind. Stop stuttering. Stop tensing. Just say whatever you want" she said. "I cant breathe" I squeaked out. Her eyebrows went up in shock and she laughed. I got embarrassed and shoved my hands in my pockets. She looked back at me. "Don't be embarrassed tween. I'm just teasing you. Anyway, where are you going with this whole photo thing?" She asked, sitting on her bed. She leaned back comfortably and put her knee up. I bit my lip. "Do you think that we could convince the king to keep us with just eight members?" I asked. She looked down in thought. "Possibly. We only have two days now. He'll be expecting us to come in soon. I guess we are kinda out of time." She said. "So?" I asked. "Worth a shot" she shrugged and looked at her phone. "Ok. Bye" I said quickly. "Emma" she stopped me. I slowly turned to her. "Ask what's on your mind" she ordered. I took a deep breath. "Why are you dressed like that?" I asked. "I was cleaning the bathroom and getting ready for bed" she said. I nodded. "Ok. Goodnight" I said quickly. "Night tween" she said.

I knocked on Tony's door. "Come in" he said. I came in and closed the door behind me. Tony's sitting against the headboard. At least he's dressed. "I need help" I said collapsing face first on his bed. He just stared at me unfazed. "What's this about?" He asked. I looked up at him. "I went to talk to Carter" I said. "Ok?" He asked. "She was cleaning and getting ready for bed" I said. He raised an eyebrow. "In her underwear" I added. He smiled and nodded in realization. "Like what you saw?" He asked. "Thats what she said!" I exclaimed. He laughed. "Well did you?" He asked. I gripped my arm and looked to the side. No! I cant be embarrassed. I took a deep breath. "Yes. I did" I looked at him. "Then make a move. Carters pansexual. At least that what she says. I've only ever seen her date girls... actually, I think she told me about one boy." He said, trying to think. "Tony! I cant just make a move. She's fifteen! I'm thirteen. That's weird" I said. He blinked at me a few times. "Would you think its weird if a twenty two year old dated a twenty four year old?" He asked. "What? No" I said. "Exactly. Its just two years. Plus, you're much more mature then most thirteen year old's. Trust me. Go for it!" He said. "No offense, but I don't know if I should take relationship advice from you" I huffed. "Ignoring your rude comment. Like I said, go for it. You wont be disappointed." he said. I squinted at him. "Why do you want this to happen so badly?" I asked. "Because then Carter will bother you with all her problems instead of me" he smiled. "There it is. Ok, goodnight Tony" I said. "Goodnight Emma" he said.

"Carter!" I bursted into her room. Its morning. "I'm in the shower! Also, learn how to knock!" She yelled. I went to the bathroom door and stood in front of it. I just wanna make sure she'll hear me better. "I have an idea to keep the bandits together!" I said. "You're not gonna go away are you?" She yelled through the door. "Not until you hear my plan!" I said. There was a short silence, in which I'm sure she was cursing me out in her mind. "Fine. Go on" she said. "What if we caught the guy whos stalking me? If we can prove that our new team is capable of finding him faster then the kings guard, he might let us stay" I said. The water turned off. "Our so called team has no training. No skills, no determination, no trust and no friendship. It'll never work" she said. "We only have one day left Carter. Its all we can do" I said. She didn't answer. I heard the blow dryer turn on. She wont hear anything I say over that thing. I sighed. I'm not giving up on this. I will stay here until she agrees. After a minute, the dryer shut off. There was some shuffling, of what I'm hoping was her putting on clothes, and then she opened the door. I was relieved to see she was dressed. "Good thing we have the perfect bait" she smirked.