Slightly Less Badass

~Chapter Nineteen~

"Don't you people ever get tired of seeing each other?" Eliza asks for the fourth time in the past hour. Once again the five of us were hanging out. We decided to invite Eliza too, despite Jacob's protests.
"Eh not really," Rina replies.
"I mean sometimes but it's rare," I say. Eliza looks very skeptical of our responses. She glances around at the five of us, all squashed into Jay's apartment once again.
"It's creepy how well y'all get along. I mean, you just got back from a two week vacation and you've seen each other every day since. You're like siblings that hardly bicker," she says. This makes Jacob and David laugh.
"We argue all the time and annoyed with each other all the time. But we're just so used to doing things together that we get over it quickly," Jacob tells her.
She just shakes her head and whispers, "It's like a cult."
This makes Rina and I burst out laughing. I guess we were the only two to hear it, though, because the boys just look at us like we're crazy. We stop laughing and then there's a few seconds of awkward silence.
"So.. what should we do tonight?"
"I don't care, what do you want to do?"
"Well I don't wanna sit here," says Jacob. "We did that last night."
"And the night before," grumbles Eliza. She rolls her eyes and stares at the wall. I don't think she enjoys hanging out with us very much. It's hard to tell though because sometimes she acts like she's having fun and then other times she acts like she'd rather be anywhere else. She's kind of a moody person. She's definitely related to Jacob.
"Let's go somewhere. Ooh let's go laser tagging," Rina suggests excitedly.
"Ooh yes. Let's do that."
"Ooh let's not. We all have work tomorrow and it's almost 9," Jacob says, his sarcasm slightly ruining my mood.
"Darn. Being an adult is boring. Let's go get ice cream then."
"Nah," David says. There's a long pause where we all just watch the tv.
"You guys are party poppers. Hey wait! I have an idea," Rina exclaims. She leans close to me with her evil smirk.
"Any chance you still have Nerf guns?" she whispers. I nod my head. I stole them from Cameron a few years ago when him and his annoying friends tried to 'surprise' attack me. In the end, all of their guns were in a box in my closet. Somehow they made their way to the apartment and are now stored in the hallway closet.
"Do you have enough guns and bullets?"
"I have plenty of bullets and I'm pretty sure I have enough guns."
"Fantastic. Follow my lead."
Abruptly she gets up and runs towards my bedroom. Everyone watches her scurry away. Then we watch as she trips over her own feet, gets back up with her face a dark red, and leave the room.
"Subtle. Super subtle," I mutter. I reluctantly stand up and follow her out of the room. She was standing in the hallway waiting for me, her face still a bright pink.
"Do you think anyone noticed we left?" she asks.
"Nope. You were really sneaky," I reply sarcastically.
"Oh shut up and get the guns."
It takes a few minutes of looking but eventually we find the big cardboard box. There were about one hundred of the foam bullets in there and seven guns- three big ones, one medium, two small ones, and another medium one that didn't work.
"How do we decide who gets the other big one?" I question.
"We could just let them fight over it," she suggests. I shrug.
"Sure. That'll be amusing to watch."
"Ok load up so we're ready."
I reach out and grab a giant handful of the foam Nerf bullets and start to load my giant gun with them. Rina does the same but after only putting a few in she stops.
"Wait, quick question. Is there anything expensive in your apartment that I might break?" she asks.
"I don't think there is. We should be good."
"Alright just checking."
After our guns are loaded and we have extra bullets shoved into our pockets, we grab the box and sneak back down the hallway. We peek around the corner and see that no one has moved. I set the box of Nerf stuff down and look for the easiest target. I have horrible aim so I need to see whose the closest to me.
"They've been gone awhile. Should we check to see what they're doing?" Eliza says.
"No. I don't wanna know what they're up to," replies Jacob.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good," says David.
"You're right," Rina says loudly and stands up.
"It's not good," I say. I shoot at Jay and miss. Instead it hits Jacob in the back. Rina also misses her target, hitting the pillow next to David instead of actually hitting her husband. Both of us try again and this time hit Jay and David. They have a very delayed reaction. They turn slowly in their seats and look around until they see us kneeling on the ground.
"Why.. Just why?" Jacob asks, exasperated. He turns back around shaking his head. I shoot at him again.
"Gun war!" Rina screeches. We get up and run across the room to hide behind a chair. Eliza is the first to reach and eagerly jumps up and runs towards the box of stuff. Jay, since he's closer, beats her to it and grabs the third big gun. She pouts but takes the medium sized one. Both of them each take a large handful of bullets and run to take cover. Even though he moves more slowly, David is only a few paces behind them and grabs his small gun. Jacob is the only one who doesn't get out of his seat.
We decide to be nice and give everyone a few seconds to load their guns and decide their loyalties. Jay crawls over to us with a smirk.
"Mind if I join your team?" he asks.
"You don't wanna help your best friend?"
"Nah I know that this is the winning team."
Since Jacob still hasn't moved, of course all of us aim for him. It soon becomes a game to see how many times we can shoot him before he gives up and joins us. It takes exactly eighteen shots. He makes a sound that's a mixture of a sigh and a groan and gets off of the couch.
"You guys are obnoxious sometimes," he mutters.
"Thanks."
Before I have a chance to reload my gun, bullets bounce off of my face. I look up and see Jacob smirking at me. He shoots me again then hits Rina. He only is a few centimeters away from hitting her in the eye.
"Hey watch the face!" she squeals obnoxiously loud.
"Shh. I don't feel like being sassed by Mrs. Kim again. That old lady has ears like a bat," I tell Rina. She rolls her eyes but shuts her mouth.
"Okay is it the usual rules?" Jay asks.
"Yup."
"Wait what's the usual rules?" Eliza asks, slight panic in her voice. A bullet zooms past me, almost hitting me.
"Okay pause so I can explain! You get three lives. After you're shot three times you're out and you have to sit down and put your gun on the table. No lying or cheating or you'll be disqualified. Alright begin!"
----
"How bad does it look?"
"Eh..."
"Super," Jay groans. He winces as I hold the bad of ice up to his cheek. It didn't look horrible but it was definitely bruised. Now that I know that he's okay, I can't help but laugh. One moment we had all been watching as Jay and Jacob battled then the next Jay was on the ground and holding his face.
"What?" he snaps.
"How did you even manage to do that? I mean, you literally looked like you jumped over the couch to get away from Jacob."
He mumbles something I can't understand. His face turns a bright red color.
"Pardon?"
"I did jump over couch to get away from him," he says louder. I poke him on the shoulder and shake my head.
"Well nice job you dummy."
"Oh shut up," he grumbles. I roll my eyes and sit down next to him.
"Wait so who won?" I ask. The rest of us had gotten out of the Nerf war after only ten minutes. Then only Jay and Jacob were left. They ran from room to room ducking and shooting until Jacob aimed at Jay and Jay jumped to dodge the bullet. At the same time he jumped, both boys shot at each other.
"I totally won," they say at the same time. "No I did!"
"I think it should just end in a tie. It's important to know who was shot first," Rina says.
"Not fair," grumbles Jacob.
"My face hurts. I should be the winner because of my dedication," Jay says.
"Will a cookie make you feel better?" Eliza asks. She holds out a plastic bag and pulls out a cookie. Jay's pathetic injured look turned into a sly smile sand he looks up at me.
"No but a kiss would," he says.
"Aw does your boo boo hurt? Dork," I scoff. Then I lean forward and give him a quick peck on the cheek.
I realize what Eliza said and turn to look at her. I'm trying to hide my disgust as she shoves a cookie into her mouth.
"Where did you get those?" Rina asks, obviously thinking the same thing as me.
"Cameron gave me the extras that we made after work," Eliza replies. She starts nibbling on another cookie.
"How are you not sick of cookies yet?"
"I know right? I mean we've spent the past three days doing nothing but make cookies. I need a hiatus from them for at least another couple of days," Rina says. Eliza shrugs and keeps eating. Rina and I share a look as she holds the bag out again. Rina grumbles something under her breath and grabs one. She breaks it in half and hands me part of it.
"Wait why are you sick of cookies?" David asks, looking at Rina. She stops mid-bite and looks up at him.
"Because she was making them for the past few days, duh. Weren't you listening?"
The words leave my mouth before I realize what was going on. Rina looks at me with wide eyes and shakes her head slightly. My eyes go wide too.
"Sorry. I thought you told him by now," I whisper to her.
"Obviously I haven't told him yet," she whispers back furiously.
"You mean you haven't told him you quit your job?" asks Jay. Rina glares at me.
"You told Jay?"
"Ya I didn't think it was a secret."
"You really should've told him," Jay says.
"Would you three stop whispering," David says loudly. "What's going on?"
"Nothing!" Rina answers quickly.
"You need to tell him," I tell her, not bothering to whisper anymore.
"I don't want to and you can't make me."
"Haven't you learned by now that secrets are never good?"
"I don't need you sass!"
"Rina what is-" David starts.
"I think we better go home," Rina says abruptly and stands up. She glances at David then looks down at me.
"Text me," she says.
"I will. Good luck. Bye."
With that she grabs her purse and leaves. David looks very confused and slightly angry but follows her. As soon as the front door shuts, Jacob chuckles. We all look over at him.
"I was just trying to picture David angry. I've never seen that guy truly mad," he says.
"Ah she's in trouble."