Forty-Seven Uses for a Paperclip (Completed)

Bonus: Kitchen Counters

I wrote this when I had barely written ten chapters of Paperclip.  I guess this was originally gonna be Cassidy and Colton's first kiss, but it seemed cliche and unlike them. So it never made it into the story. Since Paperclip has reached fourteen thousand reads (crazy! and ten thousand of those were in the span of two months!) I decided to upload this.

Kitchen Counters

“Come on, OML! Show us some attitude! Punch Colton in the nose! He deserves it!” Danielle shouts, bouncing up and down in her seat on the sofa.

I glance uncertainly at Colton. He smiles at me.  Hesitantly, I move my fist back and make a motion as if to hit him on the nose. On the TV, my avatar punches Colton’s avatar in the face.

Danielle woops loudly and waves her hands around in the air. “That’s it! Show him who’s on top in this relationship!”

I can feel my face flush.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Danny!” Colton yells at her, avoiding all eye contact with me.

Danielle rolls her eyes and flips around so she’s upside down on the couch, the tips of her brown hair brushing against the carpet below.

Colton takes a swipe at me and both my avatar and I dodge it. I lunge at him and, according to the screen, manage to hit him in the face again.

Danielle, still upside-down, begins a cheer of sorts that involves complicated arm movements. “Go OML you’re good and ready! Get Colton so scared he’ll drive away in a Chevy! Gooooooo OML!”

“This is why you aren’t a cheerleader.” Colton mumbles under his breath. A pillow comes flying and hits him on the side of his face.

“I heard that!”

Colton shakes his head like a dog and then turns to me, face flushed and hair rumpled. He looks adorable.

“Go OML you got him beat! Get him begging at your feet!”

“Danielle,” Colton growls before moving to punch me. I quickly duck and hit him in the stomach. On the TV, his avatar falls to the ground.

I smile. When Danielle first suggested we play video games involving virtual fighting and sports, I was hesitant. But you don’t actually hit the other person in real life (Colton and I are, in fact, a foot or so away from each other) and it’s really sort of fun.

“Her flaming red hair has you sighing out loud, but wrapped around her finger she’s got the crowd! And you.” Danielle adds as an afterthought, looking pensively at her older brother.

“That last part sorta ruined the cheer.” I tell Danielle, trying and failing to avoid Colton hitting me on the shoulder. “Because it didn’t rhyme.”

“I know.” Danielle says unhappily. “I need to work on it.”