One Day At A Time

Chapter 10

Landon's POV

I didn't understand what was taking this game so long. Usually, my friends and I would be finished by now, but today's seemed to be dragging out. Not that I minded, I just felt the possibility of us guys losing, and that was not an option. I ducked behind a prop in the dark, seeing a flash of blue coming my way. I hadn't seen any of my teammates for a couple minutes. I saw one of the red lines on my vest blink out, signalling one of the guys had been shot down. Oh great, that left me and Patrick. How many of the girls were left anyway? The blue blob was only feet away from me now. I cocked my laser, ready to fire. They didn't see me, so I pulled the trigger. Her vest lit up, allowing me to see her face. April. She shrieked as she blinked out.

“Shoot, Landon! Have fun finding Alicia!”

And with that she ran around a corner and was gone. So Alicia was my last victim. This should be easy and pleasurable, might I add. I slipped out of hiding and ran through the darkened course quietly. My eyes were constantly flickering for anything blue, but I didn't see anything. At one point, I thought I saw a flash of her and I quickly jumped behind an obstacle, crouching down to try and hide the colour from my vest. I took a breath of air just as I heard a voice behind me,

“Ah, look what the cat dragged in?” I turned at the mocking tone to face Alicia, though I couldn't see her very well due to the blackness.

“I could shoot you right now,” I warned.

She laughed quietly. “So could I.”

I slumped against the opposite wall of her, trying to see her eyes. There was no way I was going to lose to a girl. I knew if I did, Alicia would never let me hear the end of it, and how much of a man would I look like then? I had to think, and I had to do it quick.

“So,” I purred, “I would have never dreamed you'd be the last girl standing.”

I heard her snort. “Nor would I be thinking that I'd be stuck in the same enclosed space with you as the last guy standing. I was sure you'd be out first.”

I smirked at her words, knowing she had just given the perfect opening to my plan. “Oh really?”

“Yes, really.” I inched over to her, but paused when I heard her lift the laser. Reaching out slowly, I brushed the top of her hand with my fingers. I felt her shudder slightly.

“No need to do that just yet,” my voice came out low. When she didn't respond, I kept going until I was kneeling between her legs. “I can't say I really want to shoot you. That means we'd be out of this situation.” I could feel her stiffen and smiled. I brought my face closer to hers. “Surely you wouldn't want to either. Hmm?” I brushed under her chin. I was surprised she hadn't said anything, her breathing had remained the same, though her body was still. “What's going through that pretty head of yours?” I asked smoothly, bringing my face so it was mere centimetres away from hers. Our noses touched ever so slightly when I thought I felt her cheeks move into a smile.

“This” she whispered, and I heard the trigger click as my vest blinked out.

Before I could think twice, I was laying on the ground and the lights had come back on. I saw Alicia's back walking away from me. She turned once, and grinned wickedly before jogging out of the room. Cursing, I pushed myself up from the floor to go find the rest of them. When I got into the lobby, everyone was removing their vests, talking excitedly and laughing. The girls were giggling and patting Alicia on the back. I groaned again. I was so sure I could have worked my magic, but she was a tough shell to crack. I still hadn't decided if I wanted to crack her either. The guys all gave me disappointed looks while slapping me on the back.

“Oh c'mon dude! What happened back there?” I just shook my head.

“I haven't the slightest. It's always worked before.”

My friend, Mark, grinned. “She's not like all the rest,” he said lowly, so only I could hear. I shot him a scowl before nodding vigorously.

“Obviously not,” I realized.