When Summer Ends (38 page)

I looked up to see he had a large orange paint splatter on
his shoulder.
Oh my God, did I do that?
I looked at it shocked.

“You should have put on the safety!” The instructor shouted
angrily, glaring at me.

What? Put on the safety, where the heck is that?
“No
one told me to put the safety on! I just squeezed it!” I gasped, still in shock
that I’d shot Will in the arm. I could hear everyone laughing quietly around me
but obviously trying to hold it in. I looked at Will apologetically. Miss
Teller was fussing over him with apparent concern, but he was looking at me
with a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “I’m sorry, it just
went off. I didn’t know I had to put the safety on,” I apologised, blushing
like crazy.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about it,
Miss Henderson, accidents happen.”

I turned back to the guy at the front who was finally done
glaring at me like I was some sort of serial killer. He was giving us
instructions on what to do once we grabbed the other team’s flag and what to do
once we were shot. We had three yellow bands on our arm, and when you were shot
you took one off before resuming play.

Apparently we had already been split into two teams upon
arrival which was why some of us had on black jumpsuits and some had green. I
looked around to see who was on my team; lucky for me, I had Amy and Nick with
me. I noticed that Will and Miss Teller were on the black team. I pouted.
Why
couldn’t the stupid guy have split them up?

Once we were finally done, Nick and Amy went over to get
their triggers tightened slightly, so I picked up my helmet, twirling it around
in my hands as I walked off towards the starting position. As I was walking
something hit me in the ass, hard. I yelped at the sudden pain and span around
see what had hit me. I rubbed the spot, wincing. Wet slime slid through my
fingers. I frowned and looked down at my behind to see that I had sky blue
paint all over my butt and hand.

Soft chuckling caught my attention so I looked up to see
Will smirking at me. “Sorry, it just went off.” He laughed, shrugging.

Oh my freaking goodness, did he just shoot me on purpose?
“You’re such a freaking child!” I cried, laughing.

He walked closer to me and grinned that boyish grin that I
loved to death. Everyone had already run off, hiding or getting to the starting
positions already, so we were on our own. “Payback’s a bitch huh?” he breathed
in my ear making me shiver lightly.

“You are
so
in for it after that! I did mine by
accident,” I replied breathlessly. I could smell his aftershave and his
shampoo.
My goodness he smells amazing today.
I’d forgotten how
intoxicating he was when he was this close. My heart was crashing in my chest;
it was beating so loud I was surprised he couldn’t hear it.

“Oh you bring it, Cutie,” he challenged, laughing as he
pulled back and ran off into the woods leaving me on my own.

What the hell was that? He’s with someone else, yet chooses
today to call me Cutie again? He hasn’t called me that for over a month and
suddenly comes out with it like that? Damn, that boy’s confusing! 

I walked to the starting position finding half of my team
there huddling and planning. “Where were you?” Nick asked. His eyes flicked
down to my butt. “You got shot already? We haven’t even started!” He laughed,
shaking his head.

“I know, I know. I’m a dead weight on the team, so don’t
count on me for any help or anything,” I said, rolling my eyes.

I listened to their plan. We were to split up into pairs and
try to get as close to the flag as possible. If we got close enough, one of the
two would draw fire and cover the other person, allowing them to run and
capture the flag. It seemed remarkably easy while the boys were talking about
it, but in reality, I knew it wouldn’t be like that.

“Okay, Chloe, you’re with me.” Nick grinned.

Oh no! That means he’s going to be making me run and play
properly and get all into it and stuff! Why can’t I be paired with another girl
who doesn’t really want to try that hard?
“Why can’t I be paired with Amy?”
I whined as he gripped my jumpsuit and pulled me closer to him.

He grinned and nodded his head in Amy’s direction. She was
talking to Ryan, flirting her ass off, and by the looks of it, she was doing
well too. He was definitely interested. “Because Amy’s paired with Ryan, as per
her request,” Nick explained, waggling his eyebrows at me. “Is it that bad
being paired with me?” He pouted teasingly.

I smiled and nodded. “Heck yeah, you’re gonna make me run
and stuff and you know what happens when I try to play games. I get hurt!” I
winced and gave him my puppy dog face.

“Okay fine, we won’t go crazy, and you can be the cover fire
if we have to go for the flag, how’s that?” he offered. I smiled gratefully and
opened my mouth to say thanks when a shrill blast of an air horn filled the
air, signalling the start of the game.

Nick grabbed my hand, and we jogged off through the woods,
both slipping on our heavy helmets. It was actually quite fun hiding behind
trees and jumping out trying to shoot people. I wasn’t very good at it though.
I’d used up two of my three lives within an hour. Nick hadn’t even been shot
once.

I winced and rubbed my stomach where the latest bullet had
hit me less than ten minutes ago. Nick stopped suddenly, causing me to walk
into him. “Ow, damn it,” I mumbled as my nose collided with the inside of my
helmet where I walked smack into his back.

“Shh, someone’s coming. Hide,” he hissed. He immediately ran
off into the woods leaving me standing there on my own.

Crud, what the hell?
I crouched down and looked
longingly at the trees as a couple of guys walked past.
Oh man, I should
have run after him instead of crouching. I totally suck at this game!

“I swear I heard something,” one of the two guys said,
lifting his helmet and looking around cautiously.

“You didn’t! Come on, they’re nowhere near here,” the other guy
dismissed. I held my breath as they walked past. I didn’t want to lose my last
life because then I’d have to go back to the hut and wait for the other hour to
be finished. That would be totally boring because I’d probably be the only one
out already.

After a couple of minutes, I tentatively stood up again. Nothing
shot me so I walked off in the direction that Nick ran in to find him and tell
him we were safe. After a couple of minutes of searching, I hadn’t found him.

“Nick!” I whisper yelled, looking around cautiously as I
pulled of my helmet so I could see clearer.

I searched for him for a full ten minutes but didn’t
actually find anyone at all.
Damn it, stupid paintballing! Why couldn’t
people have voted for the other freaking option, either of the other two would
be better than this. Heck, even pulling my nails off with rusty pliers would be
better than this.

I groaned and just decided to give up; I wouldn’t be able to
do anything on my own anyway. Out of nowhere someone grabbed me from behind and
dragged me behind a huge tree. I screamed, but a hand clamped over my mouth.
“Shh, Cutie,” Will hissed in my ear.

My heart started to beat double time as I realised that my
back was pressed against Will’s hard chest, a chest that I had run my hands and
mouth over many times. I heard a couple of voices heading in the other
direction. After a minute of silence, he let me go, and I felt a blush creep up
onto my face.

I turned around to look at him. He’d taken off his helmet
too; it was hanging from his arm carelessly. His hair was a mess, all flattened
and sweaty from wearing the protective headgear. He looked good though, as
always. I immediately wondered what on earth my hair looked like where I’d been
wearing mine. I cocked my head to the side, confused when he didn’t make any
moves to shoot me even though he’d blatantly caught me.

“What are you doing? Did you forget we’re on different
teams?” I asked, looking at him as if he’d gone crazy.

He smiled and shook his head. “No I didn’t forget, but I saw
you’re on your last life. I didn’t think you’d want to be out already.” He
shrugged.

I looked down at myself to see I had only one yellow band
around my arm, signalling my one life. “Oh, well… thanks.” I smiled gratefully.

“No problem. Where’s your partner? Your team keep coming at
us in pairs,” he inquired, scanning the trees cautiously.

“No idea,” I admitted. “Nick ran off about ten minutes ago,
and I can’t find him.” I sat down on a fallen tree, setting my gun and helmet
down onto the floor next to my feet. “So what’s your teams plan? Lure your
opponents into a false sense of security, then shoot them when they least
expect it?” I asked, laughing.

He grinned sheepishly. “Nah, we were paired up too, but I ditched
Caroline.”

Who’s Caroline?
“Who’s that?” I asked, frowning.

“Caroline… oh right yeah, Miss Teller to you,” he clarified,
rolling his eyes.

I felt the scowl line my forehead.
He got paired with her
too? I bet he asked for that so he could protect her and stop her getting paint
in her perfect hair. Stupid freaking woman.

“What’s with the face?” he asked, looking at me curiously.

Oh crud!
“What face?” I asked, pretending not to know
what he was talking about, even though it was probably blatantly obvious that I
was sending hateful thoughts the drama teacher’s way.

“That face,” he waved his hand in front of my face, “the
annoyed; I’m thinking about something really hard face.”

I shrugged noncommittally. “No face. Why would you want to
ditch her though? Shouldn’t you two be working together?” I asked, trying to
divert his attention away from my jealousy.

“She drives me crazy, flirting with me all the time.” Will
shrugged.

I laughed and shook my head.
He really is weird.
“I
thought that was her place to flirt with you all the time, you never seemed to
mind flirting when we were going out.”

He smirked at me, his beautiful grey eyes boring into mine.
“It was a little different between us, for one thing we were dating, so I
wanted you to flirt with me,” he replied. The way he was looked at me made my
body tingle. The look was tender and intimate, and so much like the way he used
to look at me that it hurt my insides.

“Well why is it different with her then? Shouldn’t you want
her to flirt with you too?” I asked, trying unsuccessfully to look away from
his face.

He shook his head. “I don’t like it because I’m not
interested in her.” His face looked a little pained; his eyes were a little
tight.

He wasn’t interested in her? Wow, he was using her for
sex, nice. So he was back to his player ways, using the pretty blonde teacher.
I’m sure that dating and using a colleague isn’t going to blow up in his face!

“If you’re not interested in her then why are you dating
her?” I asked. Part of me was annoyed that he was using someone, but another
part of me was secretly relieved that he wasn’t into her. I knew he would
settle down with someone eventually, but I secretly hoped he would wait until I
was at college so it wasn’t rubbed in my face.

“Dating her? I’m not dating her,” he stated, looking at me
as if I was stupid.

He’s not dating her? What the heck?
“Seriously? It’s
all round the school. You two are the newest hot couple and object of most of
the gossip at the moment.” I watched as his face turned from confusion to
shock.

“I’m not dating Caroline, I’m not dating anyone,” he insisted,
frowning. “I’m not interested in anyone else,” he added, looking at me
intently, as if trying to tell me something.

“So you’re just sleeping with her then?” I questioned. Each
word felt like it burnt my throat on the way out. I didn’t actually want him to
answer that question but for some reason, I needed him to.

He frowned and looked at me like I had just suggested that
we spend the day clubbing seals or something. “Seriously? Where the hell is
this coming from? I’m not sleeping with her either.”

“You two go home together and come in together every day,” I
muttered, a little confused as to what was going on. For the last month I had
seen and heard all about their little affair, and now he was denying it… Could
Amy be right, and everyone was reading something into something innocent? I
didn’t want to get my hopes up, but against my better judgment, I could already
feel it happening.

“Chloe, Caroline lives down my street. I give her a ride to
and from school because she doesn’t have a car. I’m not interested in her!” He
shook his head, seeming angry about it.

I smiled. Amy was right. I was being jealous and reading
something that just wasn’t there; he wasn’t sleeping with the hot drama teacher
after all. I felt myself relax. There was just another nine months then the
school year would be over. I would go to college and leave him behind at the
school. Hopefully he would stay ‘not interested in anyone’ until then, and I wouldn’t
have to see it at all.

His angry expression faded, and he smiled too. His hand
stretched towards my face. My breath caught in my throat thinking he was going
to touch me; instead he pulled a leaf from my hair, throwing it on the floor.

Suddenly something cracked amongst the trees off to our
right. Will jumped up, grabbing me and spinning me around, one arm wrapped
around me as he pulled me against his body. “Ow, shit,” he hissed as I heard
someone laugh.

“Mr Morris, why did you move her? I had a perfect shot!” someone
whined. Will let me go so I moved back from his hard body, looking around,
confused. Jimmy stood there looking a little disappointed.

“She’s out already, no point in getting shot unnecessarily.
I just took her last life,” Will replied, shrugging.