muse - a jax x reader fanfic

10 - prey

I brought the damn stick with me.

We bickered for the rest of the walk before arriving at our destination. Everyone was there already, probably waiting for us.

"I'd rather be practicing right now."

"Shut up, muse—" he coughed, "—mouse."

Again with that word, muse.

"Muse?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"You didn't hear anything." Jax avoided my gaze.

I sighed. What are they hiding from me? What's so important that even Jax has to keep it a secret?

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Caine's loud and annoying voice shouted at full blast. "Today, we have a new adventure!"

His booming voice made me wince and cover my ears. Immediately, Jax's hand went to the base of my ears and rested there. It was a simple move, yet it made me feel so much better.

Nice of him to act like he doesn't care, I thought.

"Our adventure will be..." Caine paused for his (unwanted) dramatic effect. "Hide and seek!"

I frowned. It couldn't be that simple, right?

"You will each have five minutes to hide. After your time runs out, your favorite Bubble buddy will come to find you! The last one to be found," Caine wiggled his fingers (un)-enticingly, "will receive a reward!" Caine clapped his hands, trying to be enthusiastic. "Any questions?"

Ragatha raised her hand. "May I ask what the reward will be?"

"A-a-ah! That will be disclosed after the game ends. Anything else?" Caine looked around. "Great! Your time starts... now!"

~•~•~

Zooble could have participated at least once. How long have they been here? Way longer than me, and they still have to be like "no!"

They literally just sat down on the floor, not moving an inch, while the rest of us bolted off.

I panted as I began running. Maybe taking the flute with me was a bad idea after all.

I reached a spot where a wall of bricks lay in a square formation, closing something off. There weren't any entrances other than a tiny gap in between two walls, which I quickly slid through.

Once I got through, it closed on me.

Fuck.

My eyes widened as I realized I was trapped. Quickly, I began to survey my surroundings, trying to see a way out of this: a ladder, stairs, anything.

Instead, I saw I was in a marrow corridor with two paths: one going straight, the other going right.

What is this?

I began to walk down the right path, but once I did, the wall closed behind me again. After looking behind at the sealed tunnel, I looked ahead again and found two more corridors, this time diverging left or right.

Don't tell me...

I was stuck in a maze.

Well, this is great.

I looked up, seeing the colorful ceiling of the tall tent. This was a trap. Bubble could just come, peek inside, and see my pathetic ass trying to make it through a potentially unsolvable maze.

I began wandering aimlessly, trying to take as many right turns as I could as well as keeping my hand on the right wall.

I swear, if this is one of those mazes that can't be solved with the hand-on-the-wall trick, then I'm fucked.