Chapter Seven: Shoot To Win

(Truth Or Dare, Part 3)

***

When Nora and Sarah arrived at the fire pit, the couple could see that Kaitlyn was there, staring at the island as she took a photo of it.

"Hey, Kaitlyn!" Sarah greeted.

The short-haired girl jolted, whirling to them.

"Holy crap, you scared me!" she exclaimed, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry," Sarah apologised, wincing.

Kaitlyn accepted the apology, before she now observed what Nora and Sarah were holding.

"Whoa! Where did you guys get that?" she demanded, eyes locked onto the axe and the bow and quiver full of arrows.

"At the camp shed—we got the bow and arrows for Allison and I took the axe for myself in case any of the local wildlife want to show up," Nora explained, slinging off the quiver and resting the axe against one of the log-like seats as Sarah did the same with the bow. 

"Or, you know, this whole situation turns into a horror movie and a slasher comes charging out of the woods," Sarah tacked on, grinning.

"Oh. That was probably a good call. For the wildlife, though. I doubt there's an axe-wielding maniac in the woods," Kaitlyn replied, exasperated at the idea of it.

Sarah shrugged. "Still. The weapons are there."

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes again as Dylan and Ryan walked in, a grin on Dylan's face as he announced, "Hey Kaitlyn, Nora, Sarah, guess what. Mr. H is a voyeuristic creep."

Nora blinked repeatedly, trying to process the bizarre words Dylan had just spoken about Chris Hackett. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're kidding, Dylan," Sarah said, obviously thinking it was some sort of fucked-up joke.

"Nope, not kidding. He has hidden cameras everywhere, and a secret room," Dylan revealed.

Shock poured over Nora like ice water as Sarah went rigid beside her.

"No, that's not—" Ryan countered, an exasperated look on his face contrasting Dylan's grin, until Kaitlyn interrupted with a shocked, "Uh—whoah now. Back up, what?"

"Give us some more context here, Dylan," Nora pressed, pushing through her shock because there had to be a logical explanation as Sarah still remained frozen beside her. Chris Hackett couldn't be that type of person.

Right?

"His eyes are everywhere. He's always watching us," Dylan said, speaking like some cliche horror movie character.

"Knock it off, man," Ryan told him before explaining to Kaitlyn, Nora and Sarah, "He's just got trail cameras set up. Y'know, forest surveillance. That kind of thing."

"Oh," Kaitlyn said as Nora and Sarah relaxed at Ryan's explanation.

"That's a relief to hear," Sarah muttered.

"You guys don't think that's weird?" Dylan questioned, noticing their reactions.

"Well, he's got a perimeter to check. Kids to protect. Yeah, just probably to keep track of the wildlife," Kaitlyn reasoned.

Sarah nodded. "Kaitlyn's right. Parents probably wouldn't let him keep watch over their kids if he didn't have at least some way to ensure they wouldn't be accidentally hurt or killed by any of the wildlife. Trail cameras probably help to ensure those kids—and us counsellors—safety while also making sure the wildlife isn't hurt if it can be avoided."

At hearing their logical explanations, Dylan rolled his eyes and muttered, "You guys have no imagination."

Nora scoffed at the comment as Dylan and Ryan finally noticed the weapons they brought.

"Whoa, where did those come from?" Ryan asked.

"We got them from the shed. The axe is for Nora while the bow and arrows are for Allison. We thought we could use them to protect ourselves and scare off any local wildlife attracted to the bonfire," Sarah explained with a shrug. "Or, y'know, if there's an axe-murderer in the woods."

"Axe-murderer, huh?" Dylan said, looking at Ryan with a knowing look as Ryan rolled his eyes. Nora frowned, catching the interaction.

"I mean, it's probably not gonna happen, but at least we have something to defend ourselves instead of being sitting ducks, just in case," Sarah defended, waving a hand.

A few seconds of silence passed before Ryan turned to Kaitlyn and asked, "So, uh, what's going on here? Everything ready?"

"Yeah, but I did see a weird light in the treehouse across the lake," Kaitlyn answered, showing the four of them the photo of the treehouse—and the light glinting inside it. "Yeah, that's pretty spooky. Maybe it's your girlfriend, Ryan."

"The Hag of Hackett's Quarry," Ryan said in a teasing tone.

"Ugh, I told you never to say 'Hag of Hackett's Quarry' again," Kaitlyn sniped.

"What's wrong with saying 'Hag of Hackett's Quarry'?" Ryan asked.

"Especially since you brought it up first, Kaitlyn," Nora pointed out.

"And, like Nora said, it's not as if saying her name isn't gonna summon her," Sarah reminded.

Looking between them, Kaitlyn asked flatly, "Are you done?"

"Yeah, we're done," Nora confirmed.

After receiving that answer, Kaitlyn had a look of epiphany on her face as she said to all of them, "You know, I just realised we may never see each other again after tonight."

"You can't have just realised that," Dylan replied.

"Just trying to set the mood."

"What mood?" Ryan asked dryly.

"The mood. The vibe. Y'know," Kaitlyn explained.

"Well, me and Nora will see each other after tonight, and I'll see Emma as well since we're friends. But everyone else... I hadn't considered everyone else," Sarah interjected, looking down as the words processed for her and Nora, because they were true. Sure, they all had each other's contact numbers, but what were the odds they'd all see each again, especially those who lived far away like Hayden and Nick?

It didn't seem in the cards that would happen. And that if it was their last night... then Nora was determined to make it as memorable as possible, so she could keep tonight as part of her fond memories of all these people she'd gotten to know this past summer.

"Speaking of setting the mood, I have work to do," Dylan interjected, making Nora look at him as he sat down, phone out and obviously charged to a decent amount. "Okay? Because playlists don't make themselves. I mean, I guess they do, but..."

"We'll leave you to it," Nora said as she and Sarah moved slightly away as Dylan focused on making a killer playlist for the bonfire party tonight.

Turning to Ryan, Kaitlyn said, "Alright Ry guy, time to get wood."

Nora blinked, taken aback by the wording as Sarah smirked and Ryan commented, "Yikes. Wording."

"Oh, I know what I said," Kaitlyn replied, a smirk on her face.

This time, Nora smirked with her girlfriend.

It was then that the group that went to collect firewood came back, Kaitlyn noticing as she called out, "Abi! Allison! Nick! Hayden! Just in time."

Nora, Sarah, Ryan and Dylan turned to see Hayden, Nick, Allison and Abi walk up to the fire pit, Abi grinning and holding up her collection of sticks as she declared enthusiastically, "We got wood!"

At that, Dylan let out a snort as Nora and Sarah smirked and Hayden just rolled her eyes at the unintentional  wording.

"We've already done that joke," Kaitlyn told Abi as she stood in front of the quartet.

"It's mostly just kindling," Nick said unsurely.

"Lots of kindling," Allison agreed.

"Oh, that's all we need. There's already a big pile of logs here," Kaitlyn assured. "Plus, if we need the logs split, Nora can just use her axe."

"What axe?" Hayden questioned.

"This one," Nora said, gesturing to it. "Me and Sarah brought it from the camp shed. We also brought you a bow and arrows, Allison. Just in case of wildlife."

Allison, who'd been eyeing the bow and arrows, smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Don't mention it."

"It would have been pretty useful earlier, considering Nick was nearly mauled to death by a boar earlier," Allison revealed.

Nora's eyes widened in shock as Sarah's mouth dropped and Hayden and Abi whirled to Nick, terror on Hayden's face at the idea her brother had almost been killed.

"Holy shit, Nick! Are you okay? You and Allison aren't hurt or anything?" Hayden asked in a flurry of questions, looking like she was about to drop her bundle of firewood and inspect her brother for any injuries at any second.

"We're okay, Hay. We got out of it okay," Nick assured.

Hayden didn't look convinced as Kaitlyn, who also looked concerned, asked, "Uh, are you sure you guys are okay? Nobody got gored?"

"We're okay," Allison assured.

"It wasn't a bullfight or anything," Nick replied, trying to play it off.

Hayden stared at her brother in disbelief as Sarah said, "Pretty sure that's pretty close to a bullfight."

Nick didn't deign to respond to that as Allison added in a teasing tone, "Though, I think Nick got a new girlfriend out of it, so..."

"Oh? Do tell," Kaitlyn replied, looking directly at Nick. And while it was obviously teasing about the boar, Nora couldn't help but notice the quick glance Nick and Allison shared before they looked quickly away—as did Hayden, who had a small smile at seeing it.

However, before anything else could be said, a loud, booming noise cracked the air.

They all flinched at the noise, before Nora's eyes widened as she saw Emma and Jacob walk in, Jacob wheeling a wheelbarrow full of party supplies such as snacks and beer and Emma had a... gun.

Holy shit. Where the fuck did she find a gun?!

"Special delivery!" Emma declared.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Where the hell did that gun come from?" Kaitlyn demanded.

"My question exactly, Kaitlyn," Nora said, eyeing the gun.

"Uh, dude, relax! Okay, it's not even real," Jacob tried to assure.

"Uh, that gunshot sounded pretty real, Jacob," Nora said, now eyeing him as Kaitlyn also gave him a sharp look.

"Well, I mean it's a real gun but it's just for shooting bears," Jacob reasoned.

"We found it in the storage room," Emma explained.

"Why the hell does Mr. Hackett have a gun in his storage room?" Allison muttered.

"Maybe so kids can't steal it?" Sarah reasoned. 

Hayden, meanwhile, just stared at the gun like it was a deadly snake.

At the look Kaitlyn gave Jacob, he sighed and said, "Okay fine, fine. We'll put it down."

"Thank you. Guns are no joke, dipshit," Kaitlyn replied, tone serious.

"I'll say," Hayden muttered as she now moved to sit beside Dylan. Nora and Sarah also chose to sit on another seat.

"And, and, we bring you a hand-picked selection of only the finest that Hackett's Quarry has to offer," Jacob continued, voice dramatic as Nora eyed the beers and watermelons while Nick picked up a bag of snack food from the wheelbarrow.

"No freaking way!" he said.

"Yes freaking way!" Jacob replied excitedly.

Then, in unison, the two boys sang, "'Pop pop, Peanut Butter Pops! Pop, pop, pop 'em in your mouth!'"

"'Pop'!" Jacob finished off.

"I didn't even know you could still find these anywhere," Nick said as now Nora, Sarah, Allison and Dylan looked at the bag curiously while Hayden looked even more uncomfortable at the sight of them than at the gun earlier or when she watched a horror movie with Nora and looked distinctly uncomfortable with the sex scene in it.

"Hey, hey, hey! Cool your jets, cowboy, alright? These are spoken for," Jacob interjected, swiping the Peanut Butter Pops.

"Dude, you can't just shove those in my face and not expect me to want to pop-pop pop 'em in my mouth, c'mon!" Nick countered.

"Emma, please hand me the shotgun," Jacob said. At the words, Nora tensed as Hayden and Allison also stiffened, Allison eyeing the bow and arrows again.

"What, you're going to shoot me over them?" Nick demanded as Emma gave Jacob the gun.

"No, dumbass! Okay, we are going to shoot for them," Jacob revealed.

At that, the tension was replaced with exasperation as Nora muttered, "That has to be the dumbest idea I've ever heard."

Apparently Nick was in agreement with her as he said, "Nah, dude. Absolutely not. No."

Jacob looked at Nick, as if to further challenge him, but before either of them could speak, Kaitlyn interjected.

"Okay, there is no way I'm leaving you dilweeds alone with a gun," she told them sternly.

"Oh come on! Look, the shooting range is like right over there, okay? It'll be fun!" Jacob argued, gesturing to said shooting range, before turning to Nick again. "Okay, look. You and me. Old fashioned shootout. First prize, Peanut Butter Butterpops, all to yourself. Or even share them with Hayden! Peanut Butter Butterpops for you both!"

"Dude..."

"I guess you don't really want them then, huh?" Jacob goaded.

Nick was silent, before he caved in and said, "Fine. You're on."

"Yeah, boy!" Jacob exclaimed enthusiastically and jostling the gun, causing Hayden to shriek, "Careful with that before you blow someone's head off, you bloody idiot!"

"Okay, Jacob, hand me the gun now," Kaitlyn demanded, holding her hand out as Jacob reluctantly handed it over to her. "Nobody's handling any firearms if you're gonna act like a dick about it."

"Okay, then you can be the ref. We need an objective third party," Jacob offered.

"Okay. We're trying to get a party started here, Jacob," Kaitlyn argued.

"Okay, well, the main party's not gonna die just cause you're off on a little side quest," Jacob reasoned, again gesturing to the shooting range. "Come on! Please."

And just like Nick, Kaitlyn gave in as she said, "Alright, guess we're gonna have ourselves an old fashioned shootout."

"Yah!"

"There's a clearing we can use as a shooting range back there," Kaitlyn informed. "But, if I see either of you dicking around, I am turning this car around."

At that, Jacob elbowed Nick in the gut as he promised, "We'll be good."

Kaitlyn just rolled her eyes and muttered, "Oh God..." as she walked to the clearing. When she was gone, Jacob turned to Hayden and exclaimed, "Hey, Hayden! Wanna try shooting for Peanut Butter Butterpops and beat me and Nick?"

"Dude," Nick said, a warning look on his face as Hayden shook her head and denied, "Sorry, but I can't."

"Why?"

"Well, one, I don't agree with guns and two, even if I did, I can't accept anyway because I can't have those," Hayden informed.

"Again, why?" Jacob asked even as the pieces clicked together in Nora's head.

Hayden gave him a deadpan look and said flatly, "I'm allergic to peanuts, dumbass."

"Oh.... oh!" Jacob said as the realisation hit and he looked at Hayden apologetically. '"Shit, sorry. I didn't know."

"It's cool. I don't exactly broadcast it unless I have to," Hayden said, shrugging casually even as Jacob still looked apologetic. 

"Dude, how come you didn't know or realise sooner? Hayden didn't tell me and I've known since she visibly flinched when I had a peanut butter sandwich too close to her," Dylan questioned, sounding genuinely curious as Nora internally smacked herself in the head remembering how in the kitchen, Nick always used a different knife with the peanut butter and never for anything else. She always assumed it was because of the kids, but Hayden also being allergic and, since she was a counsellor, having the same food as the campers did make a lot of sense.

"I didn't, okay?" Jacob said  before confusion came over his face and he looked at Nick. "Wait, how come she's allergic and you're not? Aren't you guys twins?"

"Just because... we're twins.. doesn't mean... we have the same allergies," Nick answered through pained grunts, still slightly hunched over.

"Oh," Jacob said, before he looked at Hayden. "Uh, sorry, again. I..."

And then he was walking away to the clearing, Nick following as he straightened up. When the boys left, Allison got up and slung the quiver of arrows on her back.

"Where are you going, Allison?" Abi questioned.

"To the shooting range," Allison answered. 

"You competing in the contest?" Sarah inquired.

"Nah. Just gonna show those boys who's better at shooting," Allison explained, a wicked grin on her face as she picked up her bow and followed after Nick, Jacob and Kaitlyn.

Once she was gone, Nora turned to Hayden and said, "So, peanut allergy, huh? Must be pretty inconvenient."

Hayden laughed. "Definitely, especially since I consider all nuts to be my number one enemy, not just peanuts. Makes it pretty hard to go vegan. Or to have Reese's Pieces and Snickers."

"How did you find out you were allergic?" Ryan questioned.

"A few years ago now. Me and Nick were nine and our mum was having some peanuts. I had one, thinking it looked pretty tasty," Hayden explained. "Next thing I know, I can't breathe, my throat and my tongue are tingling like crazy, my skin is itchy, and my eyes are watering and my mum is calling an ambulance and my dad is holding me flat across his chest and Nick and Danny are panicking nearly as hard as our parents. Paramedics slammed an EpiPen into my leg, got me to the hospital, and I had to wear an oxygen mask and had to have an IV drip in my arm. I stayed in the hospital for a few hours before I was allowed to leave with a couple more adrenaline shots and my parents were given EpiPens and they plus my brothers were told about what to do if it ever happened again. It hasn't, but I always ask if I have something out if there's nuts and steer clear if I think it does, and my folks and my brothers—especially Nick—always have an EpiPen and ask as well, and Nick is super vigilant about making sure I don't accidentally eat anything that may be contaminated with nuts or peanuts, but yeah. That's the story."

Nora stared at Hayden in shock, everyone silent with it, before Abi whispered, "That sounds terrifying."

"It was," Hayden admitted. "But it's all good now. Haven't had an attack since, and I'm always careful. And if I do, if I don't have an EpiPen ready and waiting, I can always be sure Nick has two and ready to dial triple zero, or I guess 911 here, in a heartbeat."

Silence reigned again as they processed what Hayden said as Nora looked at her in a new light. This girl, so confident and loud and kind, had experienced something absolutely terrifying that could have ended her life. Nora couldn't know if she'd have that same strength if she'd been through an allergic attack like that, and it had her admire the taller girl in a new light. And when she looked at Dylan, she could see he was thinking the same, though his jaw was also set protectively—that, just like Nick, he wanted to make sure he could prevent it if she did have another attack. Like he was already considering getting himself an EpiPen for Hayden, just in case.

Hayden, who noticed it as well, smiled in appreciation as she turned to them and said, "Anyway... who wanna bets that Allison is gonna beat the guys?"

"What, you don't think Nick is gonna beat Jacob?" Dylan asked, a sly grin curling up his mouth.

"I love my brother, but I have more faith in Allison," Hayden replied as she looked at them. "Come on, everyone. Place your bets."

As they did, Nora looked at the woods as Sarah moved closer to her, head on her shoulder, where the sound of gunshots would ring out from. She wondered if Allison could beat Jacob and Nick with just a bow and arrows.

She bet she would.

***

Allison managed to join up with Jacob, Nick and Kaitlyn just before they were about to start shooting.

Tramping through the woods, she heard Jacob bragging, "So, just so you know, I was an Expert Marksman, third class, three years in a row. Ranked highest in camp each year."

Rolling her eyes at the blatant lies, Allison decided to make her presence known as she called out, "In what universe is that true, Jacob?"

The trio turned to her, staring at her with a mixture of emotions—amusement from Kaitlyn; shock and confusion from Jacob; and surprise from Nick.

"Allison," Nick breathed, before he noticed her weapons and grinned. "Come to leave us in the dust, huh?"

"You know it, Nick," Allison replied with a grin.

"What are you doing here, Allison?" Jacob asked, still sounding confused.

"To shoot," Allison explained flatly. "And not with that gun—gonna stick with my arrows. Unless that's against the rules?"

She looked at Kaitlyn, who shrugged as an amused smile played across her lips as she said, "It isn't in my book."

Allison grinned as she stood beside Nick, noting Jacob's frown but he didn't say anything against her using arrows instead of bullets since technically, it wasn't against the rules—it was just another form of shooting.

Turning back to Nick, Jacob grinned as he offered, " I'm just letting you know that your goose is cooked, Nick. But if you back down now, I might let you just have one little Peanut Butter Butterpop if you're lucky."

"No way. You've never even seen me shoot," Nick rebuffed, declining the offer.

"Yeah, that's 'cos you've never shot before," Jacob said.

"Yeah, not that you know of," Nick rebutted, sharing a secret glance with Allison—remembering, just like her, their afternoons where she taught him archery. Because while it was a gun and not a bow and arrows, it was still shooting to hit a target.

There was just a lot more power and more devastation with a gun than an arrow.

Jacob chuckled, obviously not believing Nick. "Oh, okay I think I would know if you'd actually—"

"Okay, boys, I'm gonna have to stop you right there," Kaitlyn interrupted, raising her hand and giving them both steely-eyed, stern looks. "As much as I'm enjoying your charming machismo, the moment we step foot on the shooting range, we're playing by my rules, okay? And what I say goes. Got it?"

Nick nodded and Jacob saluted while Allison remained silent—she and Kaitlyn both knew when it came to shooting, Allison did not mess around.

"Okay, good. Now I'm gonna go set up some targets and get more shells. Do not move a muscle or touch this gun until I'm back," Kaitlyn instructed, before she looked at Allison. "Allison, you're in charge."

"How come Allison is in charge?" Jacob asked after Allison nodded in affirmation with Kaitlyn's assessment.

"Because Allison doesn't fuck around with this and I trust her to make sure you two don't," Kaitlyn answered, looking specifically at Jacob before she walked away.

When she did,  Jacob turned to Nick and muttered, "Alright, so is it just me or is it kinda hot when she gets all bossy like that?"

"Not just you, Jacob," Allison said—while she did like Nick, she could admit Kaitlyn was hot when she was bossy. 

"I'm always hot, pencil dick," Kaitlyn threw back over her shoulder.

"Yeah, okay, thank you, bye! Bye!" Jacob hollered as Kaitlyn got to work on setting up targets and getting shotgun shells.

As she did, Jacob turned to Allison and Nick and asked, "So um... how was your little get-together in the woods?"

Allison froze, heart stuttering as she looked at Nick, who's eyes darted toward her before he answered, "It was... it was okay."

Allison nodded, wrangling her heart into a normal rhythm. "Yeah. Pretty okay."

"What happened?' Jacob pressed, looking between them with a sly grin.

"Nothing. Nothing really happened," Allison replied, even as her mind trailed to that moment before the boar, how close she and Nick. Could she... could they have...

Allison shook the thought away as beside her, Nick nodded and confirmed, "We talked a little, got close, but... yeah. Nothing more than that."

"Yep. Just talking," Allison confirmed, as she and Nick looked at each other, both thinking the same thing without knowing the other was.

But maybe it could have been something more, if I'd been brave enough to finish it.

Shaking the thought away, Allison doubled down and reaffirmed, "But other than that, nothing happened. Just two friends, talking and collecting firewood and surviving boar attacks."

"Friends, huh?" Jacob said, eyebrows raised as he looked between them. Allison tried to pretend she didn't understand why, not looking at Nick. Did he think they were just friends? Was what nearly happened just something her heart had been hoping for? That she found someone who was a friend, yes, but also someone who understood her and liked her for all she was, guarded walls and all? Someone she didn't have to wonder why he liked her and just know he just did, like how she liked Nick just because she just did. Or was that all wishful thinking on her part?

She was too afraid to know, so she didn't look.

But what she didn't know was that Nick was doing the same, fearing the exact same thing.

Jacob, noticing, scoffed. "Yeah, just friends. Sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick demanded.

"Nothing. Just that someone, a real man, might swoop in before..." Jacob said, looking right at Nick with a smirk.

"You're saying a real man might date Nick?" Allison asked, eyes comically wide as she smirked.

"No, that's not..." Jacob said, before giving up.

It was that moment Kaitlyn walked back in, Jacob taking the opportunity to say, "Speaking of, let me show you how a real man shoots his gun."

Allison rolled her eyes as Kaitlyn questioned sarcastically while picking up the gun, "Are you guys seriously still thumping your chests at each other?"

"Yes, they are," Allison answered flatly.

"Nah, I think he's got brain damage," Nick quipped.

As Kaitlyn loaded the gun, Jacob demanded, "Okay, please, just gimme the gun."

"Ah-ah, you'll have it when I say you'll have it," Kaitlyn shot down, having now loaded the gun. "Alright, huddle up boys, Allison, this is how we're gonna do this."

Nick, Allison and Jacob listened, standing next to Kaitlyn as she explained, "You're shooting the one on the left. Nick first, then Jacob's turn, then Allison last. Nick, Jacob, keep your fingers off the trigger 'til you're ready to shoot. You got it?"

"Aye aye," Jacob said, saluting Kaitlyn.

"Alright," the dark-haired girl said before she handed the gun to Nick. "Two things. Remember the spread, remember the recoil. This is a shotgun, we're not sharpshooting here. The flashlight shows you where you're aiming. Obvs."

With that last instruction given, Kaitlyn stepped back to where Jacob and Allison were, standing a couple steps away from Nick as he aimed the gun at the bottle on the left.

"You got this, Nick," Allison murmured, sending him a supportive smile even though he couldn't see it.

He must have felt it still as he pulled the trigger and fired.

The blast was like a concentrated boom of thunder as the bullet knocked the bottle off the log, sending wood chips flying.

Allison grinned widely as Kaitlyn congratulated, "Alright Nick! One point!"

At saying that, Kaitlyn walked forward, gesturing for them to follow as she said, "Okay, we're too far back to do any real damage. Let's scooch forward a little and uh... fuck these guys up."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Allison muttered as they stood only a few metres away from the targets.

"Here, you're good," Kaitlyn told Nick as she walked forward and put the bottle back on and walked back to join Allison and Jacob behind Nick. "Alright Nick! This time for real."

Nick lifted the gun, aiming again. Before he fired, Allison stepped forward and whispered, "You can do this, Nick. Just remember what I told you. Just forget everything else and focus on the target."

Nick smiled. "Thanks, Allison."

Allison smiled back as she moved back to where she'd been standing, watching as Nick aimed,  pulled the trigger and fired.

Another boom of noise, followed by the shattering of glass as the bottle was obliterated.

"Nice shot," Kaitlyn complimented with a grin as Allison smiled at Nick proudly.

Nick returned it before he refocused, aimed and fired again, this time taking out a watermelon, the bullet exploding it into chunks of pink fruit.

"Lucky," Jacob muttered. Allison sent him a sharp glare before whispering to Nick, "Don't listen. Just keep your focus."

Nick nodded to show he got it as he aimed for the other bottle and fired. The bottle shattered, joining the first bottle and watermelon.

"Point to you, Nick," Kaitlyn informed.

Nick grinned, lowering the gun.

"Good job, Nick!" Kaitlyn complimented as she took the gun back.

"You did awesome there, Nick!" Allison congratulated, grinning.

"Thanks. I had a good teacher," Nick replied, the soft, knowing smile on his face making Allison's heart pick up speed.

She looked away, stepping back as Kaitlyn reloaded the gun before handing it to Jacob and said, "Alright! Let's see what you got."

This should be interesting, Allison thought as she put the bow down on the ground so she could fold her arms.

"Alright, you might wanna, ah, avert your eyes, Nick," Jacob said, gun pointed toward the sky before he lowered it and continued, "Don't wanna give you any performance anxiety."

Allison rolled her eyes exasperatedly as Kaitlyn said irritably, "Alright, alright, just shut up and shoot, Jacob."

Jacob did—and missed. Just like Allison expected he would.

At that, Nick turned to him and teased, "Huh. I thought you were an ultra elite pro marksman?"

"Yeah, with like a, rifle, okay, not with this fucking cannon blaster!" Jacob snapped, swinging the gun right at Nick and then at Kaitlyn.

"Whoa dude!" Nick exclaimed, hands raised as he stepped back.

"Holy shit, Jacob! What the fuck are you doing?!" Allison exclaimed, hurrying to Nick's side and grabbing his arm to yank him out of the way in case the gun went off.

"Dude, whoa!" Kaitlyn yelled, lowering the gun and taking it. "That is how you get someone shot! God..."

"Nah, it's okay, he probably would've missed me anyway," Nick said with a shrug.

Allison whirled to him. "Do you have a death wish or something, Nick?"

"Hey!"

"Okay. Disqualified for being a dumbass," Kaitlyn declared.

"What? No!" Jacob protested.

"Jacob, you could have shot Nick, Kaitlyn or me! I think that's very justified," Allison said, glaring at Jacob.

He glared back at her, until Nick leaned over to Jacob, hand to his ear and gloated, "Ooh, what's that, Jakey? Huh? Huh?"

Straightening, he then danced as he sang the slogan, "'Pop! Pop! Peanut Butter Butterpops!'"

Allison rolled her eyes as Jacob said, "Okay, I get it. I get it."

"Oh my God," she muttered as Nick finished his victory dance.

Kaitlyn turned to Allison and said, "Alright, your turn."

Allison nodded, picking up her bow as she informed over her shoulder, "Just so you know, I'm not doing this for the snacks. I'm doing it to kick your asses."

She didn't bother catching a response before she drew an arrow from a quiver, before frowning when she noticed the arrowhead.

"Huh," she said as she looked at the strange, shiny metal. "That's odd."

Spinning it, Allison decided to ignore the strange arrowhead as she readied her stance and relaxed her grip on the bow, keeping it horizontal as she nocked the arrow, checking that the striped feather, unique amongst the rest of the white fletching, was sticking up. Once she was certain of her arrow's position, she raised it to vertical, fingers sliding into proper position as muscle memory took hold before drawing the string back, back muscles straining with a familiar ache as the string grazed Allison's nose and lip. Looking down the arrow with her right, dominant eye, she zeroed in on a watermelon, breathing in and out steadily as she tensed her core and back muscles, every inch of her straining in anticipation of loosing the arrow.

This wasn't like shooting a gun. Sure, guns held power, but they were loud, and were often too destructive, too clunky. Arrows were sleek and elegant, and delivered a clean, quick shot. It focused her mind, her body, better than any gun ever could, and served not only as an outlet of her stress, but as exercise that left a sweet ache in Allison's muscles after a period of time shooting arrows. And the rush of release...

It was better than anything she'd ever felt in her life.

Letting loose a breath, Allison relaxed her grip on the string and released. 

The arrow whistled through the air, before piercing through the watermelon. But as it struck, Allison was already drawing, repeating the same motions again, and then again for a third time and then a fourth and a fifth, until the watermelon looked like a porcupine, five arrows sticking out as juice ran down in rivulets. 

Lowering her bow, she turned to Jacob, Kaitlyn and Nick, grinning before she bowed.

"And that's how it's done," Allison said, straightening up.

"Nice shooting, Allison," Kaitlyn complimented, grinning.

"Okay, yeah, that was pretty cool," Jacob admitted. 

Allison smiled. "Thanks Jacob."

She turned to Nick, who'd yet to say anything.

Her friend looked at her, before saying, "You were awesome, Allison. That was... incredible. You're incredible."

Allison smiled. "Thanks, Nick."

He returned it before they looked away, the air charged with... something.

"Okay, I'm gonna bring those arrows back in," Allison said, leaving her bow on the ground as she walked up to the watermelon and yanked the arrows out. The arrowheads had globules of watermelon flesh clinging to them and Allison shook most of it off, walking back and using the hem of her shirt to wipe the rest off, wishing she had her cleaning supplies to properly clean the arrows of the fruit gunk.

As she cleaned them, that was when Kaitlyn raised the gun, aimed, and fired at the bottle, shattering.

Kaitlyn looked at them, grinning. "You thought this was over?"

"What the—" Jacob said.

"Whoa," Nick breathed.

Allison just smiled, returning to cleaning her arrows as Kaitlyn pumped the shotgun and fired at the last remaining bottles before lowering the gun and saying smugly, "Pop, pop, peanut butter butterpops."

The boys looked at each other as Allison looked at Kaitlyn and said, "Nice shooting."

Kaitlyn just grinned, basking in her victory of being the winner.

"Come on, let's head back," she said, and they didn't hesitate, walking back as Allison slid the now-clean arrows back into the quiver.

And as they walked, Allison and Nick stayed a little closer together without realising, hands brushing against each other, almost close enough to touch.

Almost.

***

This was fun >:)

While I enjoyed writing the shooting contest the most, I liked writing the first half and all the dynamics a lot as well! And yes, some more information about Hayden: She doesn't like guns much and is allergic to peanuts!! That last part is from me, as I am also allergic to peanuts, and, like Hayden, steer clear of all nuts in general, although my attack wasn't that bad and I was a few years older than she was. Still, aside from the EpiPens, most of that is true with my experience of making sure I don't have another attack again and steering clear of all nut-based and potential foods with nuts or cooked in peanut oil, meaning I can't go vegan or have food like baklava or Reese's Pieces without worrying about having an attack (which sucks because baklava and Reese's Pieces look SO GOOD *sobs*) So... yeah. Not fun, for both me and Hayden, but we live with it and manage quite fine

The shooting contest... I loved writing that IMMENSELY. I loved writing Allison and Nick being supportive of each other when shooting (and Allison moving to Nick to pull him aside in case the gun went off) and then Allison and Kaitlyn kicking the guys' asses when it was their turn to shoot >:) (Also, I don't do archery and while I tried to be as accurate as possible, if I'm not please let me know and I'll fix it!)

But now, truth and dare is next, and I am very excited to write it >:)

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!