The bad boy, the best friend, and the nerd.

Chapter Thirty Two

Amy's P.O.V

"Brandon!" I yell at the same time Ben says, "Jennings?"

I definitely did not see that one coming. I look over at him and see him laying on the ground rubbing the back of his head.

What the hell is thinking?

We each got a whistle at the beginning of the game, all of us besides Ben because he gave all his gear to me. We all got the whistle just in case we needed to call a time-out, and I suppose now would be a fabulous time to use it. But for some reason I just stare at Brandon and wonder how he feels now laying on the ground. I wonder if he feels even half as much pain as I felt when I found out he was cheating. Like I got shot.

Suddenly I'm being tugged out of staring at Brandon and back into reality. Literally tugged. I look up, shocked to see Ben's face coming closer to mine. My heart speeds up ten fold when I lock eyes with him.

He's going to kiss me.

And this time I think I'm going to let him. I don't know if it's because Brandon is probably watching us from a few feet away, or just because I want him to kiss me. But either way I was going to let him.

But then I noticed him pull my whistle up to his mouth and blow.

Of course he wasn't going to kiss you, I thought. He just needed the whistle.

"The hell are you calling a time-out for?" Alex shouts at us as she stands up and pulls her mask off.

"One of these things doesn't belong," Jake says also standing up and pointing over at Brandon. "And I think you just shot it."

Brandon rolls over and groans.

"I thought that was Ben," Alex says covering her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide in shock.

"You thought I'd be stupid enough to run into the middle of the battlefield like that?" Ben asks clearly repulsed, before he seems to realize something and points an accusing finger at Alex. "That was a head shot! What were you trying to do? Kill me?"

"I thought you could take it," she shrugs.

"Whatever," Ben rolls his eyes. Brandon groans again. "Christ, is he okay?"

I walk over towards Brandon and lean down beside him. He offers me a very strained childlike smile.

"Brandon you idiot," I whisper gripping his arm and helping him sit up.

When he's finally sitting all the way up I crawl behind him to assess the damage. Most of the back of his head is slathered in orange paintball slime, and since Alex shot him from such a short distance it looks like it broke the skin. There isn't a lot of blood, but you can clearly see red mixed in with the orange.