Courage in the Game (Completed)

Starting to Change

L.Joe (Teen Top)

I stood behind a large rock so I could hide and watched the scene in front of me play out. Niel was actually talking to a girl, something he hadn't done since that little monster of a woman shattered his heart. But was she the one he had made cry earlier? I stood there and listened as he apologized and saw when they met gazes. Would Niel run? I thought he would run from fear, but he stayed put. It shocked me. Lately every time a girl was around, Niel was nowhere to be seen, but he was almost comfortably talking with this one. Then I heard her ask him why he was so sad. No, don't do that, don't bring the past back. I wanted to run over and take Niel away, but I couldn't move, my body felt frozen. I could only watch as Niel turned his gaze to the ocean and began to recount what had happened.

And the girl just sat there and listened. Did Niel feel it was safe to tell her what had happened? I saw her face changed when Niel got to the part about the arcade. She looked really sad and it didn't look fake. It was then that I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Kris and Aaron coming up. I stopped them before they got any farther. They were mad when they saw Niel and the girl in front of us like they were.

"Leave them alone," I said.

"Why? He made her cry," Kris spat.

"Niel apologized for that. It looked like she forgave him. They're talking now and I don't want anyone to disturb them. Niel hasn't talked to a girl in months. He has been running from them, but that's changed with her," I explained.

"So?" Aaron put in.

"Just leave them alone hyungs," a new voice commented.

A new guy walked up and pulled Kris and Aaron back. I was glad to have him on my side. Well, sort of on my side. His words said one thing but his eyes said something totally different. He didn't want Niel around her any more than the other two, but he let them be.

"No Tao. He shouldn't be near her," Kris stated.

Tao looked at him. "Don't make me pick you up and carry you back to the camp area."

Carry? Who was this guy? That seemed to work because the three turned to leave. Tao stayed behind Kris and Aaron to make sure that they actually made it back to camp. I turned back to Niel and the girl when I had a scream. I quickly saw why one had screamed and it was Niel. He was standing there, now wet. I knew it was thanks to the girl who now stood knee-deep in the ocean, a friendly yet challenging smile played on her face. Niel laughed and ran to join her. I was shocked, Niel hadn't laughed in weeks. None of us could make him do so, but this girl was able to do that in a matter of minutes. I watched as they played in the water. Just them being little kids and having fun. It felt great to see Niel smiling and having fun. I glanced behind me when I yet again heard footsteps. It was the rest of Teen Top.

"Have you seen Niel?" CAP loudly asked.

"Quiet down!" I softly exclaimed. "Look."

They looked where I pointed and saw the same thing I had been watching. They were all just as shocked as I was. All of us watched as they left the water and flopped down on the beach.

"We came cuz it's almost time for the bonfire," Changjo whispered in my ear.

"Who is gonna go and tell them?" Ricky asked.

They all suddenly turned to me. Guess it was an obvious choice. I took a deep breath and headed towards them.

"Niel," I called out.

He sat up and looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Bonfire time," I told him. Then I looked at the girl who was now watching me. "I'm L.Joe."

"L.Joe? I've heard a lot about you from Niel. I'm Rayne," she said with a smile. She turned to Niel. "Let's go get changed and head to the bonfire."

Niel nodded and they got up. I watched them walk off together. Was this girl going to change Niel? I didn't doubt she would. After they were gone, I went back to where the others were hiding.

"That was Rayne. I've heard of her," CAP stated. "But why was Niel with her?"

"He was apologizing for his actions earlier and I think he made a new friend," I answered.

Niel (Teen Top)

I felt better as I changed into dry, clean clothes. Rayne was the best. I had apologized to her and she almost instantly forgave me. Then I had told her about Nikki and everything that had happened with her. It shocked me when Rayne didn't run; instead, she started a water fight. It wasn't long before I laughed. I was still pretty shocked that I had laugh since I hadn't laughed since, well, that day, but Rayne helped me with that. She had a magical touch to her, it made me regret what I said about the panda toy. I smiled and hurriedly threw on a top before rushing out to meet up with Rayne. We were going to head to the bonfire together. I went to the place we said we'd meet and waited.

Then I felt hands cover my eyes. "Guess who," a voice softly said, trying to hide a giggle. 

"Hmm. CAP hyung?"

"Nope. Guess again."

"Ricky?"

"One more guess."

"Then how about you Rayne," I said as I turned and started to tickle her.

She was soon uncontrollably laughing and begging for mercy. I let her go and we headed for the bonfire. Seeing how many people were there made me kind of nervous. These last few months, I hadn't been around people that much. I edged closer to Rayne and she gave me a smile. I was a bit thrown off by it but gave her a smile back. I could tell she understood why I was acting this way. She took my hand and pulled me to a clear spot. I would probably be very thankful to her by the time the bonfire ended.

"Okay, guys. Settle down," I heard maganger hyung call out.

Almost instantly, the crowd around the bonfire pile settled down. We all looked at our managers, wondering what they were going to say. We sat down and got comfortable just before they started speaking.

"We want to see how you guys are sitting, so we will call one group at a time. When you hear your group name, stand up. You will sit again when we tell you to," Exo's manager informed us.

Oh great. Not what I wanted. What if they made us sit with our groups?

For the next fifteen minutes, almost half an hour, we stood up and sat down. We all saw then how mixed up our groups had become. Everyone else really wasn't sitting with their own groups. Even the managers were shocked at this fact but clearly loved it.

"So how are you guys liking it so far?" Midnight's manager asked.

"It's freaking awesome," Changjo called out. Typical maknae.

Others fell into an agreement with him.

"We should do this again sometime, just with these groups here now," I heard someone say.

"I agree with Daesung hyung. It's fun here to be with everyone," another said.

All the managers smiled. "We are beyond glad that you all are having a great time. Tomorrow we will have a water day. It will be a competition out in the ocean, not too far out though. Be prepared there may be some extra challenges," manager hyung stated.

"And with that, let's light the bonfire," BigBang's manager excitedly said.

He lit a match and threw it on the giant pile. We all watched as the whole thing slowly took the flame. After that was done, we were told there was food and we could just relax and have a good time. I looked at Rayne, only to see her thoughtfully staring at the fire.

Edited :D

L.Joe at the top