The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Chapter 18 (Andy's POV)

Cheryl's gonna get it.

No one disrupts my sleep. No one.

A bottle of purple Manic Panic in her shampoo should do the trick.

I sneak in the bathroom, rummaging in Cheryl's stuff until I find her shampoo. I screw off the lid, pouring the purple substance inside. She's always so groggy when she takes a shower in the morning; she won't know what hit her.

I hurry out, making sure she didn't see me. She's still asleep in her bunk.

I crawl back in mine, waiting for this moment. Several minutes go by, when I hear rustling in the bunk across from me. I close my eyes, pretending to be asleep, when Cheryl stumbles into the bathroom to take her shower.

I impatiently wait, although unlike Hailey, she takes short showers.

As soon as I start to drift off to sleep again, I hear a muffled scream. My eyes shoot open, a malicious grin spreading across my face. Her scream woke everyone up, and they're worried something bad happened, looking at me like I'm crazy for grinning like an idiot.

"Just wait and see," I simply say, gaining some confused looks.

Not even a minute later, Cheryl runs out, seething. With bright purple hair.

"WHO PUT PURPLE HAIR DYE IN MY SHAMPOO?" she screams. I burst out laughing.

"Fuck you, Andy!" she yells at me, making me laugh even harder.

"I got ya back, bitch! Fuck yeah!"

She flips me off, huffing and crossing her arms. Hailey hops down from her bunk above me and approaches Cheryl, examining her purple strands.

"I like it, Cher," she says. "It doesn't look bad on you."

"She's right," Pete adds.

Cheryl rolls her eyes, glaring at me one last time, before heading back to the bathroom. When she comes out, her hair is dried, and she has a huge grin on her face.

"I kinda like my hair." She skips past me to the refrigerator, getting out some orange juice. Real orange juice.

"Aw, come on! That was supposed to be a prank!" I whine.

"Well, you failed." She shrugs, gaining a chuckle from Patrick and Pete. I flip them off.

"I'm going back to bed to think about my failures in life," I say dramatically.

"That's gonna take ya a while," Joe quips, coming out of the bunk area.

"Go to hell, Joseph."

"Already been there in the Youngblood Chronicles. Quite nice, I must say."

Why don't I ever win?

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*Patrick's POV*

No. No no no no. NO.

I'm standing in front of the mirror, staring at my blue hair.

I did not sign up to be in this prank war. Anger surges through me. This is why I do not participate in these "wars". I take "wars" to the next level. No one ever comes out alive. The guys know that. That is why they do not prank me. That leaves two people who don't know that fact. Cheryl. Or Hailey.

I practically rip the door open, my nose flaring. Everyone's heads whip in my direction. The look on the guys' faces is pure fear. They know what's up. Cheryl looks shocked. Hailey is holding in her laugh. My heart softens a little when I realize she did it, but the anger quickly extinguishes the soft spot.

"My hair... Is fucking blue. I am not in these prank wars for a reason, Hailey. You are going to regret it," I slowly growl, her face turning intimidated.

"That's no bluff, Hail Storm," Joe tells her.

"Mayyyybe we should have told you two this before the war broke out," Pete admits.

"Yeah, maybe, you bloody twats." Cheryl rolls her eyes, the other guys holding up their hands.

Hailey looks like she's debating on whether or not she should walk towards me. I don't want to stay mad at her. She didn't know. But the outraged part of me wants to rip her apart. Its not like she actually did anything bad. I just have a really bad temper. Anger tends to blind me and take over my body; I can't stop it.

I force my expression to soften and I slowly sink down in a chair, rubbing my temples. Hailey gets up, advancing towards me. She sits on the arm of my chair, looking at me apologetically.

"Im-"

"Don't apologize, Hailey," I interrupt. "You didn't know. I don't know what I'm doing when I'm mad. I'm the one who needs to apologize."

She doesn't say anything. I sigh, about to get up, when I feel her fingers in my hair. My heart starts beating fast.

"I like it, 'Trick. Along with that temper of yours, it makes you look... dangerous."

I raise my eyebrows at her, glancing at Pete. He winks at me.

"Seriously?" I ask, disbelieving. She nods, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. I look back at everyone else, who's wiggling their eyebrows at me. I just roll my eyes.

She walks to the bathroom, and I follow her. She pulls me in front of the mirror, looking at me from my reflection.

"You don't see it, do you?" she asks.

"See what?" I question her, confused.

"Your attractiveness. Your allure. You're completely oblivious to the fact that you have beauty on the inside and out. You're an amazing person, Patrick. And the fact that you don't have the slightest idea about it makes you even more amazing. You've touched so many lives. You have exceptional talent. I know you don't hear that very often, so you're hearing it from me. And everything I've said is completely true, and I could go on and on about how much of an inspiration you are to me. It was always in my wildest dreams that I would even meet you, let alone call you my friend."

She smiles sweetly and genuinely at me, and I can't hold back anymore. I cup her face in my hands, softly connecting our lips. Her arms wrap around my neck, twirling my newly blue hair in her fingers. I've kissed girls before, but its never felt like this. This is different. Special. I don't want it to end.

But, sadly, I finally break our kiss, leaning my forehead on hers, gazing into her blue-gray eyes. She smiles at me.

"What about your boyfriend?"

"Huh?" she asks.

"Will you call me your boyfriend?"

She nods, and a huge smile spreads across my face. I kiss her again, and my own song lyrics play through my mind.

You and I were, fire, fire, fireworks...