Make the Most of It

6. Near-death Experience

Everyone began arriving around 5:45. I greeted them as they walked in with thanks for their birthday wishes. They placed their gifts on a table in the corner of the room. In the midst of the arriving guests, I saw Jake appear through the front doors. My face immediately lightened up as I bounded towards him. I hugged him and then placed a large kiss on his lips.

"Happy Birthday sweety!" I looked at him, a little confused.

"Wait what did you call me?"

"Sweety. Is that ok?" I could tell that he was beginning to worry.

"Yeah of course. I just thought you said something else." I could've sworn he said 'sweet cheeks.' Maybe I was just imagineing things. I smiled at Jake anyway, pushing the thought of Zayn out of my mind.

Then, Jake jabbed a finger at my stomach.

"You're abs are coming along." I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as he said that.

"I learn from the best." I smirk. He laughs back and we walk to my group of friends together. As we approach, I can sense the curiosity in their eyes.

"Jake, this is Ivy, Scarlet, Levi, Alex, Aria, Carter, and Luke." They all smile at him. Luke even goes to shake Jake's hand.

"And guys this is Jake. My boyfriend." As the words leave my mouth, their faces change from curiosity to pure amazement.

Carter is the first to speak up. He gets up and gets on face-level to Jake. Jake is a few inches taller than Carter, but Jake has much more muscle.

"Listen Jake. Nikki is still one of my closest friends and if you hurt her, I won't hold back my anger," he threatens. I start blushing again, at his defensiveness.

"Don't worry, buddy. She's in good hands," Jake assures him.

"And besides, I can beat him up myself,"I add with a grin. Jake smiles back at me.

Just then, the coordinator of the paintballing grounds speaks into the microphone.

"Hello and welcome to the paintballing grounds. First I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to Miss Nikki who is now 23." At this, many people cheer and the rest clap. I smile at their applaud. "Tonight, we will be having a paintball war in her honor. The rules are simple. You each will get a paintball gun and amunitions. Your goal is to capture the all of other team's flags. There will be two teams. If you are shot with a paintball 3 times, you're out and you may walk out of the woods, with your gun above your head, and walk to the clearing where you will be provided with pizza, snacks and drinks. We will count how many people return into the clearing. Once the whole team is out or if a person brings back the other team's flags, our building will send out a signal alarm for when the game is over. The rest of the players will come back to the clearing. Any questions?" More cheering erupts from the crowd, as the last speaks on. "So will you please line up in one line in front of thr back doors. Our workers will hand you a gun and a mask, color-coded with with team you're on. There's the blue and red team. To make things more exciting, you won't know who is on your team until you find them in the woods. Have fun!" With that, she turned around walked away leaving us with the excitement of the upcoming game. Little did I know that I was expecting some surprises.

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It's been almost five minutes and I've been wandering around the woods trying to find one of my teammates. I was put on the red team, and I've already shot two people, but I've had no luck finding any of my own teammates. It's also getting darker and the sun is almost gone.

Suddenly, I spot a figure walking behind a tree a few yards in front of me. I hold my gun up, prepared to shoot, but as he comes closer I realize who it is. Unfortunately, his mask and gun are blue.