What The Heart Wants (Stereo Kicks/ James Graham)

Chapter 44

"You ready?" I asked as Caden opened the door to his room. "Yup. Remind me, where are we going again?" He asked as he grabbed his jacket from the bedside table and joined me outside. "Not sure. Some kind of arcade place. The boys said it's fun." I smiled as we made our way to the cab that I rode here. "So who's all going?" Caden asked after we sat in the backseat of the cab and pulled off toward the house. "All the boys, and a few girls I've never met. It should be fun." I clapped excitedly. I was just happy to get out of the house. "So how did rehearsals go?" Caden looked over at me. "Good. It's really coming along. I love our song choice." I told him. "That's good. I can't wait to see you perform, I've only ever heard you sing in the shower." He looked at me disapprovingly. I smiled sheepishly at him. A couple minutes later, we pulled up to the house and we got out of the car to go join the guys who were waiting for us in the kitchen. "Finally! You guys ready to go?" Charlie asked as soon as we walked in the door. "We're ready when you are." I said. "Well we've been ready, so lets get this show on the road!" Charlie exclaimed and headed towards the door. The rest of guys followed and then we were outside again. We all gathered into one of The X Factor shuttle vans and took off excitedly toward the arcade. We arrived about twenty minutes later and there was barely anybody here. Although, considering it's a Tuesday afternoon I didn't expect them to be packed. We walked inside, paid for our bracelets, and then went to go pick out our skates. "You didn't tell me it was a roller skating rink too." I said to the guys. "Oh. Well it's a roller skating rink too." Jake smirked. I rolled my eyes and followed them to the counter where we handed the worker our shoes in exchange for a pair of either roller skates, or roller blades. I chose roller blades because I like them better. After we all had our skates on we stood around and waited for the girls to show up. The first one to show was Tom's girlfriend. "Hey babe." He said as he pulled her in for a quick kiss. "Guys, this is Kirsten. Kirsten, this is Charlie, Reece, James, Chris, Casey, Barclay, Aria, Jake, and Caden." He introduced us. She smiled politely and shook all of our hands before her and Tom went to go get her skates. While they were in line another girl showed up. Chris's already big smile got even bigger when he seen her. He gave her a quick hug and then introduced us. "Guys, this is Brittany. Brittany, the boys." He smiled. "Hi. Nice to meet you. Again." She laughed. The boys and I all said our 'hello's' and 'nice to meet you's' just as Reece's guest joined us. "Hi." He blushed when she was close enough to hear him. "Hi." She replied, and they awkwardly hugged each other. Finally, Tom and Kirsten joined us and all thirteen of us made our way onto the rink. I was terrible at roller blading. Caden was skating circles around me and he kept making fun of me every time he passed me. "Well, I found one thing you suck at." I looked over and seen James skating slowly next to me. I let out an exasperated sigh and said, "I'll admit I'm not very good, but just wait until we get to the arcade games. I'm gonna kick your ass. I promise." I smiled confidently. "Oh is that right?" He raised his eyebrows and grinned down at me. "It is." I confirmed. "We'll just have to see about that." He stuck his tongue out at me and I laughed. "Wanna race?" He looked at me like he already knew what I was gonna say. "Are you kidding? Have you ever known me to turn down a challenge?" I asked in mock surprise. "Hmm ok. But let's make it interesting, shall we?" He suggested. "What did you have in mind?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the space in front of me so I didn't crash. "How about...loser has to do whatever the winner says. But the winner only gets one 'dare.'" He said, putting air quotes around the word dare. I thought for a second. I already know he's going to win. "Fine, but when you win, be nice." I said. "No promises. GO!" He said then took off around the rink. I was so take off guard by the sudden movement that by the time I started after him, he was a good ten feet in front of me. "JAMES YOU CHEATED!" I yelled as I did my best to catch up. "WE NEVER AGREED ON ANY RULES!" He yelled back. No rules huh? Fine. I stopped moving forward and cut across the middle of the rink so I was now in front of him. "HEY!" He yelled. I could hear him trying to catch up, so I moved my legs faster. I was determined to win. Suddenly, James grabbed my waist from behind, causing me to lose my balance and we both went tumbling to the floor. When I looked up, I was laying on my back and James was on top of me, his face just two inches away from mine. "You cheated." He whispered, and I could feel his warm breath against my lips. "You cheated first." I whispered back. We were so close, it would take almost no effort to close the distance between us. I wanted nothing more right now than to just lean forward and kiss him. I could feel myself slowly leaning in. James noticed and he too began closing the distance between us. Just an inch apart now. "GET A ROOM!" Tom yelled as him and Kirsten passed us. James jumped back in surprise and I could see the blush on his cheeks. He looked at me and smiled before standing up and helping me to my feet. "So who won?" I asked trying to start the conversation. "Well normally I'd say neither one of us but considering I caused the crash, I'll give it to you." He shrugged. "So what's my dare?" He asked. "I don't know yet. I'll let you know when I think of it." I grinned. "How about we go to the arcade now?" He suggested. I nodded my head and we exited the rink. We played a few miscellaneous games before Caden rolled up next to me. "ARIA THEY HAVE LASER TAG!" He yelled in my ear.  I was prepared to yell before I comprehended what he said. "What? Where?" I asked and turned to look around the building. "There!" He pointed to a door in the far back. "Oh my god yes! Lets go!" I grabbed James' hand and all three of us went to the edge of the rink and motioned for the rest of our group to follow us. Once we were in the back room with our skates off and vests on, Reece asked, "what is this?" He pointed to the dark room with the glowing obstacles. "Laser tag. It's so much fun." I said just before the worker came in and informed us of the rules and how to play. Since there were thirteen of us, our teams were split up into groups of seven and six. I ended up being on a team with James, Chris, Brittany, Barclay, and Jake. After we all understood how to play, we walked in the room and got in our positions. "Do your best to stay out of sight. Once you see that light start glowing, shoot at it. And if you see any of the other players, aim for their headset." I told James. Him and I were at the back of the room, while the rest of our team was closer to the front. A few seconds later and we heard the countdown. "Three, two, one, game on!" The electronic voice rang through the room and we all started playing. We were playing for a few minutes before I had to go to the back and charge my weapon. I was met at the charging station by James. "You're good at this." He whispered so we couldn't be heard. I nodded my head and moved so he could charge his gun. "Caden and I used to play all the time." I whispered back even though there was music playing and the other players were yelling so nobody would have heard me anyway. Before I could think, James pushed me against the wall and pressed his lips against mine. I automatically dropped my gun and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer. He must have dropped his gun too because his hands were now holding my waist possessively. Our lips moved together in perfect sync and my arms erupted with goose bumps. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears and I didn't want it to stop. I felt him gently lick my bottom lip and I gladly opened my mouth. With just a quick flick of his tongue, my legs were suddenly like Jell-O. This time, both of our tongues collided and I accidentally let out a small moan. I felt him smile against my lips and I couldn't help but smile too. All too soon, he pulled away and released my waist.  He rested his forehead against mine and looked down at me. "I've wanted to do that for so long." He panted. I smiled and pulled him in for another kiss. His hands cupped my face and held it there as he kissed me gently. This time when he pulled away, he bent down and picked up both our guns, and handed mine to me. We smiled at each other and joined the game again.

We spent a few more hours at the arcade before the boys and I had to get back to the house. I got all the girls' phone numbers and we made plans to have a girls night soon. We all said our goodbyes and headed back to the house. Caden hung out with us until 9pm and then called a cab to take him back to his motel. "I had fun today." He said as I walked him to the door so we could wait for his ride. "Me too. It was a great day." I grinned, remembering the kiss. "Anything in particular that made it so great?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "No. Why do you ask?" I lied. "Aria. I know you better than you know yourself. I know you kissed James during laser tag. It was obvious." He accused. "Was it really?" I asked, not even trying to lie anymore. "To me it was. I don't think anyone else noticed. Except maybe Tom. He sees how you guys look at each other too." He said. "Yeah I know. He's been trying to get us to hook up for a few weeks now." I admitted. "Can't say I blame him." Caden sighed. Just then, his cab pulled up out front and he stood up. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Night sis. Love you." He said, pulling me into a hug. "Goodnight. I love you." I said before he pulled away and walked outside. When I went back upstairs, the boys were getting ready for bed so I went to my room and grabbed everything I would need for work tonight. At 10:20pm, I called a cab and went outside to wait. Fifteen minutes later it pulled up and I began my ride to work.

I DIDN'T ACTUALLY PLAN ON UPDATING TODAY, SO YOU'RE WELCOME LOL. I WANTED SOMETHING SHORT AND FUN AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT! ♡ DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT! :D