Counting Stars

CHAPTER TEN - THE HIDEOUT

Hello! My baby cousin just came home from the hospital today (after being born), so I thought I'd finally update.

Anyway, here's another chapter. Vote, comment, fan, and all that shiz.

Mel

"Are we there yet?"

The journey was anything but silent.

We had ventured out of the city and into more deserted areas, sticking to dirt roads while trees blurred past on both sides. I had been keeping an eye out for landmarks, but wasn't having much luck so far.

I had briefly pondered getting the keys off Mr Cocky Pants and unlocking the door, but quickly abandoned that notion. Bringing down the wrath of Mr Robber Guy didn't really appeal to me, and besides, even I wasn't dumb enough to jump out of a moving car...dressed in shorts and a tank top. So I decided to sit tight until we got to wherever we were going, and plan my escape when we got there.

However, this was extremely boring.

I, for one, wouldn't shut up. I knew it annoyed Mr Robber Guy, which was the main reason why I persistently threatened and joked with everyone in the car until he flexed his jaw and abruptly threatened to gag me if I didn't shut up.

Me being me, the daredevil that I am, retorted that if he robbed me of my freedom of speech, I would cut his balls off.

...but I quietened down anyway, just in case he was really serious about his threat.

Until I looked in the mirror and saw Labrador lift the sack of stolen goods from the floor to his lap.

"So...what are you gonna do with my stuff?"

Labrador sighed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

"Well, it's not really any of your business, is it?" Mr Robber Guy answered curtly.

I scowled at him.

"It's my stuff. I have a right to know what you're going to do with it. Of course it's my damn business!"

"Was," Mr Cocky Pants cut in.

I swung my head round to stare at him.

"What?"

He looked uncomfortable under my glare and swallowed nervously, taking his time before he decided to answer.

"It was your stuff. It isn't any more."

It will always be a part of me. Whether I like it or not.

I almost reached out and choked him, but realised at the last moment that hitting him would most certainly land me in more trouble than I already was.

I decided to drop the subject before things got out of hand.

"So...are we there yet?"

I saw Puck raise an eyebrow at me in amusement from the back.

"If you ask that one more time, I'm going to stuff a green chilli into your mouth." He told me, smirking.

I smirked back at him just as coyly.

"And where on earth would you get said chilli from?" I taunted, grinning.

He responded back with a grin that almost split his face in two, digging in his pockets and triumphantly raising a handful of small green chillies up into the air so I could see them properly.

The smirk fell of my face as I gaped at him in astonishment.

"I never go anywhere without a bunch of mouth-wateringly hot chillies on me."

"What..."

He grinned at my stupefied expression.

"Girls use pepper spray. I use chillies," He said as a way of explanation.

Mr Cocky Pants snorted. "Right. Like you would be able to ward off a serial rapist by stuffing his mouth with chillies when he wasn't looking."

"Hey!" Puck said indignantly.

"My chillies are extremely useful! There was that time when I served them to the guy we were trying to-"

"Ambrose," Mr Robber Guy cut him off with a meaningful look towards me.

"That's enough. We've arrived, anyway."

I glanced out the window and did a double take.

Whoa.

We had passed two towering twin trees leaning towards each other with vines hanging in between to form a sort of leafy curtain, entering a grove surrounded by trees where everything seemed hushed and peaceful.

It was like a miniature paradise, with tall, lush trees cocooning us, cutting us off from the outside world. The grass was a vibrant shade of crisp green, with clusters of wildflowers growing around the base of each tree.

But that wasn't what caught my attention as I climbed out of the car with Puck and Mr Cocky Pants on either side of me.

In the middle of the clearing, rising up, tall and proud, stood a massive oak tree, its branches spread wide, casting a cooling shade over half of the grove.

And about halfway up, settled among the thick, sturdy branches as if it had grown out of the tree itself, was a huge, breathtaking treehouse.

I must have stopped walking to marvel at it in awe, as Mr Cocky Pants stepped in front of me and promptly bowed with a flourish.

"Feisty," I raised my eyebrow at the nickname, realising I had not yet told them my name.

"May I present to you, a work of art put together through our own sweat and blood...the Hideout."