If You Loved Me, Why'd You Leave Me?

Chapter 5

I wasn't even out of bed by the time Phil knocked at the door, and when my mum let him in I was viciously pulling off my boxers and rummaging for a clean pair. The door opened and I threw my shoulder against it, yelling that I wasn't ready and to wait a few seconds. I eventually found a clean pair of smiliar black boxers and black shorts, with a dark grey shirt to finish with. Instead of sneakers I pulled on sandals in case it was another beach day and ran a brush through my curling hair. I hated my hobbit hair!

"Dan, Phil's waiting, hurry up!" Mum called to me and I responded by throwing my door open and taking Phil by the arm, leading him out of the house. "Don't you want to take some breakfast with you?" Mum asked as I hurried out of the door.

"No thanks!" I replied, slamming the door shut and spinning to face Phil who was trying his hardest not to laugh. I narrowed my eyes at him before slowly walking out of the drive. "So where to today?" I asked, suddenly remembering what I had to do. My heart almost stopped.

"I was thinking Lazer Quest?" Phil suggested, pulling a bunch of vouchers out from his pocket. I hadn't been Lazer Quest since I was about fourteen years old, and every time I went I had loved it. Why I had stopped going, I had no idea.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed, turning in a circle. "It's a bit of a walk away, we'll have to get the bus." I started down the street, Phil in tow. We waited for about five minutes for the bus, and ten minutes later we were queing up for a game. "Same team, or enemies?" I asked giddily.

"I don't wanna be on my own with a bunch of strangers." Phil giggled and handed the guy the vouchers. "What position do you want to be?"

"I'll stay at the base." I said quietly, and Phil immediately knew that I had no choice. With my condition I couldn't run around shooting people; I'd never make it. "Come on, green or orange team?"

"Whatever." But Phil immediately walked over to the green, and I followed, not caring what colour we were. Inside, there were lots of teenage boys sorting out their jackets and holding their guns as if they were in the army, and to the corner were a group of about fourteen year old girls all huddled together, looking a little scared of all the older boys. I understood how they felt. "Dan, can you help me, please?" Phil called over just as I had finished adjusting my jacket.

"Sure." I stood behind him and tightened the straps at the side, unaware of how skinny he was. "Done. What position are you being?"

"I'll be defense, so I'm closer to you." Phil smiled and I smiled back. He was so thoughtful - it was unbelievable. We sat down as we waited for something to happen, and soon the door was opening and a the rules were being explained by a teenage boy with curly hair and bored eyes. We were let in and showed to our base which was all the way at the back, walking through a maze of walls and lights and patterns. Our vests glowed in the dark, and when we charged our guns they made a loud sound that echoed throughout the dark room.

"Good luck." I told Phil with a wink and took my place at the base with another two boys who huddled close together, chuckling and something one of them had said. I saw Phil walk away, behind a wall, and disappear, and suddenly there was a voice counting down from three. A buzzer sounded and silence fell.

Shouts.

Laughs.

The familiar noise of being shot in the vest or gun.

No one came to the base, giving me time to check if I had any missed calls from mum. Satisfied that there were none, I shoved my phone into my pocket and leant against the wall, my eyes searching the room for Phil but I couldn't see him, only little flashes of green and orange. More shouting, and suddenly an orange vest appeared and someone started shooting. I immediately shot back, hitting the person and disabling their weapon so they were forced to retreat, but soon two more were surrounding us and more filed in. I hid behind a wall, leaving the other two boys exposed and unable to shoot. I shot a few people and crouched down so no one could see my head.