My (Not So) Charmed Life

Paintball Isn't Just For Fun

I should have known that my night at the dance with Ryan would have been the calm before the storm. When I showed up to school the next day, I opened up my locker and out popped a splash of bright green. I was covered head to toe in lime green paint, and for a few moments, I stood there just blinking through the goop on my face. Around me, everyone in the hallway was pointing and laughing at the girl drenched in paint, and I shut my eyes and wished that the ground would swallow me up.

The paint felt gross on my body, and my clothes clung to my skin, and all I could think to myself was how much I wished that I could use a spell and magic all of the paint off. But no, I was stuck in a crowd of people with no way to get rid of this without arousing suspicion. Tears welled up in my eyes, and the mortification of what had just happened began to set in. What the hell was I supposed to do?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lacey leaning on the lockers several yards away, smirking at me. My heart sank as I realized that by dismissing her, Ryan had only inflamed Lacey's hatred of me. As I glared at Lacey through my hair, which clung heavily to my face, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around to see Ryan looking at me with a very concerned expression.

"What happened to you?"

"I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that Lacey stuck a paint bomb in my locker," I said angrily. Ryan's concerned look turned livid, and he looked as though he was about to lunge at her.

"She isn't worth it. Leave her alone and maybe she'll leave me alone," I said, hoping to calm him down. I suppressed the thrill that ran through me at the sight of him so upset on my behalf. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, and I looked down at myself. My clothes were ruined, and I wasn't one of those girls who carried a change of outfits with them to school. I couldn't go through the rest of the day in paint-saturated clothing.

"Liza, maybe you should see the nurse? Doesn't the nurse's office have the lost and found? You can probably get a change of clothes from there and clean up a little," Ryan suggested. It was a pretty good idea, one that I should have thought of before him, considering that he was the new kid. He walked with me to the other side of school where the nurse had her office, and he reached over to grab my backpack, that thankfully had been untouched by paint because it was on my back and out of the line of fire.

When we got to the nurse, she took one look at me with wide eyes and gestured to the bathroom. "I'll get you something to put on, so open the door when I knock," she said kindly. I nodded and headed into the bathroom, stripping off my dripping tee shirt and jeans, and peeling off my bra to clean it off before putting it back on.

A knock came at the bathroom door and I peeked out of it, making sure to cover my mostly naked body behind the door. The nurse held out a bundle of clothes and I took them and closed the door, giving her a grateful look first. She had given me a plain black tee shirt, a pair of black leggings and a regulation sports bra from the Athletics office.

I rinsed my hair off in the sink as best I could and tied it up into a bun on the top of my head before putting on the bra, leggings and tee, then splashed some water on my face and when I was satisfied that I was mostly paint free, I emerged from the bathroom, holding my dirty stuff in the plastic bag that the nurse had left me. I was jolted with surprise when I saw Ryan sitting on a chair by the door, as I'd all but forgotten that he was around. I had figured that after he'd deposited me at the nurse, he would have gone back to class, resuming to business as usual, but there he was, sitting coolly as he waited for me to finish up. I thanked the nurse profusely and turned to Ryan.

"Hey, thanks for waiting around for me. I hope you don't get in trouble for missing class," I said quietly. He looked up at me and grinned.

"Well, you cleaned up pretty well. And don't worry about it; I'm still new enough to play the 'I couldn't find my way around' card." I chuckled, feigning surprise that he was still milking his new status for all he was worth.

"And Liza?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"We'll get her back."

~~~****~~~

I made my way home after school that day, thankful that my earbuds hadn't fallen victim to Lacey's stupid prank. I pulled up "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus and let my footfalls on the pavement match the beat of the song as I walked. As much as I couldn't stand the new Miley, I had to admit that her songs were sort of catchy. I was lost in my music when suddenly I saw something moving in my peripheral vision. I looked around but still didn't see anyone or anything, so I kept going, assuming that it was a squirrel or a pigeon or something, since hey, this was Brooklyn.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched or possibly followed. I wasn't one of those people that was afraid to walk around past dark in Brooklyn, but I wasn't too comfortable with the idea that someone was about to attack me. It was only five in the afternoon, but since it was early November, it was already pretty dark out.

Suddenly, something moved in front of me, and something pulled me back by my shoulder. I let out a loud scream, but it was muffled by a rough hand on my mouth, muffling my screams. Oh my god, I was going to be raped and killed, like one of those freaky stories on the news. Even with how scared I was, I remembered that ditty that came on at the end of the news each night: "It's 10 pm, do you know where your children are?" My parents would never hear from me again!

"Liza? Liza, are you okay?"

Wait.

I knew that voice.

"Ryan?!"

"Yeah Liza, it's me. Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you, I swear," he said, sounding freaked out.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just go around grabbing people and covering their mouths!

Get away from me!" I yelled.

"Liza, please please lower your voice. I know you're pissed but I swear I can explain," Ryan said, his voice now tinged with urgency. I took a deep breath and tried to relax as he slowly let go of me.

"You have exactly 60 seconds to explain what the hell that was or I will kick you in your soft spot and run," I said, my voice still shaky but firm, and lower than when I'd screamed.

"Okay, I'll explain. But we can't do it here."

"What's wrong with right here? I'm not going anywhere with you until I have answers."

"You don't understand, but you need to trust me. Do you trust me?" He looked into my eyes, the usually cocky and arrogant guy suddenly vulnerable and a little scared looking. I wanted to trust him, and to be fair, this was the first time he had ever done something like this. Although, it only had to happen once.

I looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I want to," and for a second, what looked like hurt flashed in his eyes, but was quickly replaced by grim determination.

"That's good enough. Let's go. Follow me and try to make as little noise as possible." He started walking towards our homes and I remembered my dad's words. Dangerous. Was I about to make a huge mistake?

Author's Note:
Hi guys! Still sick :( I really hope that you guys like this chapter, and if you liked it, I would love it if you could leave me a vote. Share the story with friends and comment on your favorite parts! Still shocked at the fact that I've gotten over 400 reads on My (Not So) Charmed Life, and I want you to know that this is just the beginning. There is so much more to come! Love you all and I'll see you very soon with the next chapter!