Chapter 30

I stared into the darkness of the room, Adrian’s footsteps going further and further away from me. I heard other footsteps making their way into the room and I heard a ‘pew, pew, pew’ sound. I let out a bark of laughter. Did it just say ‘pew, pew, pew?’ I wasn’t the only one who found this funny.

“Did the gun just say ‘pew, pew, pew?’” Adrian asked for confirmation. I’m pretty sure he was the one that got shot.

“Yeah.” I replied, starting to walk. I felt something move beside me so I squealed and held the trigger of the fake gun, shooting it like a machine gun. ‘Pews’ sounded throughout the room. I hit my target because a sound of confirmation came from my vest.

“Come on.” Adrian herded me away from that room. We had to leave before their gun’s ‘reloaded’ which is actually the time when they can shoot us back.

When we entered the next room, I heard heavy footsteps. “King Kong is in the building.” I whispered to Adrian, who snorted and placed a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing.

I started shooting anywhere with the laser gun. A confirmation sound came from my vest again and I smirked triumphantly. I seemed to be doing all the work for the team. “Give me a chance to do something.” Adrian huffed.

“Don’t bother trying; you’ll just break a nail.” I whispered, moving around the room. We exited through a small door. The heavy footsteps starting coming closer, moving faster towards us. I’m guessing his gun reloaded.

“Run!” Adrian hissed, pushing me by the small of my back. I’m lucky that it’s dark; my face is the color of a tomato. I started speeding up and suddenly, we came across a room that was like a bouncy house. As soon as I stepped into it, I fell. I managed to roll away so when Adrian walks in, he wouldn’t fall on top of me. That would be awkward.

“Where’d you g-.” He started to say but was cut off by the bouncy material hitting his face from his fall. The big guy’s breath could be heard from a mile away and Adrian obviously wasn’t moving.

“The guy is coming Adrian, he’s going to fall on top of you!” I hissed to him as I slowly attempted to get up. Adrian managed to stand up and walk over to where I was. We watched as a large figure made his way through the door. I jumped in front of Adrian and started shooting in his direction, managing to hit him.

The guy cursed while Adrian muttered about how I was a ‘shot hog.’ I just dragged him along beside me. I heard Trent’s voice so I pushed Adrian against a wall. I stood beside him with a finger over my lips. “Shut up.”

“If she likes him, why doesn’t she say anything?” I heard Trent hiss.

“She doesn’t want to be rejected, I’m guessing. At least, that’s how I’d feel.” Jessie’s voice whispered back.

“Why would he reject her? She could-.” I cut him off by crying out a warrior cry and shooting crazily in their direction.

I heard Trent curse, something I had never thought I would hear him say, and Jessie let out a girlish scream. Adrian on the other hand, was laughing louder than I’d ever heard him laugh. I hope he can’t put two and two together and figure out that they were talking about me liking him.

I grabbed Adrian’s arm and dragged him away from Trent and Jessie. His laughing died down and I ducked behind a makeshift shield. It’s like the forts you make after a snowstorm hits and you’re having a snowball fight with your friends. I yanked Adrian down beside me.

“I wonder who they were talk-.” I cut Adrian off skillfully.

“How’s Emilia?” I questioned. He shrugged.

“I’m guessing she’s good. Trent hasn’t said anything bad about her, except for how she takes 2 hours in the bathroom.” He replied.

“All girls do, right?” I shrugged and he copied my actions.

“You don’t.” He stated. I looked in his direction, my eyebrows furrowed. “Not that I count.” He awkward said. I wish the lights were on so I could see him blush… that’s if he was blushing.

“I hear someone, c’mon Jane!” A strong southern accent screeched. Adrian ducked and I stood up, letting out another warrior cry and shooting the two girls. I lifted Adrian up and ran to another room.

“I don’t know how you keep hitting them.” Adrian muttered as we slowed to a cautious walk.

“Ever see Scarface?” I asked him and he shook his head, ‘no.’

“Yeah, me either.” I replied and he snorted.

“Then why bring it up?” He asked.

“Shut up!” I hissed, ducking to the ground.

“I wasn’t even talking!” He cried out as I punched the back of his knee. He collapsed to the floor in a heap.  “Why’d you do that?” He whispered. I elbowed him the arm. We watched as a group of people entered the room from the three doors. About 6 people were in the room aside from us.

“I’m going to go for it.” I whispered when a war broke out. Before Adrian could protest, I jumped out and starting aiming the gun anywhere and even hearing the cries of loss erupt from their mouth. I let out a warrior cry again, something I seem to be known for while the people gasped. I smirked as the victory noises started pouring in.

The lights turned on and I stood there with a crazed look on my face, breathing heavily as a few people stood there, staring at me with their guns raised. I would have been shot approximately 48.54 times they wouldn’t have turned on the lights.

“Return to the lobby to see who the winner is.” The intercom repeated twice. I watched as a green team smirked victoriously. It was the two Southern girls. I pulled Adrian up and he glared at me.

“You technically abused me.” He muttered when he started walking. We met up with Trent and Jessie who were laughing about something.

“Was that you that did the warrior cry?” Jessie asked me and I nodded. “I knew it sounded familiar, didn’t you do the same one when you did hockey?”

“Yeah.” I replied and a purple team member stood there glaring at me. It was the larger boy who was glaring and a boy with shaggy black hair was just staring. The one with the black hair was pretty cute, aside from the fact that he was staring creepily at me. He had hazel eyes and he was tall. I stuck my tongue out at him and he furrowed his eyebrows.

I let out another warrior cry and Adrian rolled his eyes but laughed again. I don’t know if it was because of the sound or the way I was standing. I had my head towards the ceiling and my hands on my gun. My legs were spread apart in a hockey stance.

When we went to the lobby, we stood in groups. The lady cheerfully clicked a button on her computer and numbers started appearing on our vests. The green team, one girl had 4 and the other had 8. They smirked victoriously. The purple team had 6 and then 3. Trent and Jessie both had 0 and I had 17 while Adrian had 0. I let out a victory cry and pointed at Trent and Jessie and let out a bark of laughter.

“You were too busy gossiping!” I replied and their faces went red.

“I don’t gossip.” Trent replied, crossing his arms. We turned in our vests and I beat the record held by a girl at the laser tag place, so I got a 40 dollar gift card to go back. I smiled while we exited.

“I won, I won, I won!” I attempted to dance around but Adrian grabbed my shoulders and shook his head. I pointed at his face, causing him to yank his head back. “You lost, you’re a loser! I’m surrounded by losers! Somebody save me!” I cried out.

“I’ll save you.” The black haired boy said from a few feet behind us. I couldn’t help but catch his Irish accent. Just his accent was enough to make me smile goofily.

“Huh?” I stupidly replied. This caused him to laugh.

“I’m Isaac; I just wanted to say congratulations on your win.” He replied, smiling as he held out his hand.

“Fiona.” I replied, preparing to shake his hand.  Adrian placed his hands in Isaacs and smiled, I could tell that it was fake. He introduced himself before turned Isaac around and nearly shoving him towards his team member who was waiting impatiently.

I shoved Adrian aside and Isaac turned back around. “Sorry about him, he’s… bothered by the fact that I led our team to victory, aren’t you, Adrian?” I hissed, turning to look at Adrian who was pouting with is arms over his chest.

“Yeah, whatever.” He muttered, rolling his eyes as he leaned against his car. Jessie’s car was in the spot beside Adrian’s. They were standing there, watching with amused expressions.

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something, I mean, is he your boyfriend?” Isaac said.

“Goodbye Isaac!” Adrian called, his face tinted pink. Was he embarrassed?

“Give me a call sometime, ye, Fiona?” He asked me, scribbling his number onto a sheet of paper before he left.

“Yeah.” I whispered when he walked away. I let out a sigh before turning towards my friends.

“I’ll call you later, Fi-Fi.” Jessie called, getting into her car. Trent got into the other side. What happened to Jessie and me going in her car? “Since you and Adrian live next door to each other, I was thinking that I could save some gas.” She shouted out the window as she drove off. I groaned, getting into the car.

“I’m sure Isaac can give you a lift if you don’t want to get one from me.” Adrian muttered as he held open the passengers door. He slammed it once I was safely in. I glared at him as he started walking in front of the car. I leaned over and honked the horn. He jumped before glaring at me.

“What’s your problem?” I snapped at him once he got into the car.

“Ask Isaac what my problem is.” He replied in a mocking tone. I glared at him. Why is he being so childish?

“What time is it?” I asked once we were driving. I’m hungry.

“Ask Isaac what time it is.” He replied and I groaned.

“You’re so immature! I didn’t even do anything!” I hissed in frustration. I turned on my phone, looking at the time. An incoming call flashed across the screen, Jessie and my picture popped up.

“What’s up?” I asked into the phone, smiling.

“Ask Isaac what’s up.” Adrian muttered as he turned onto the highway.

“I don’t know what your problem is and I don’t know if you’re going to tell me, but I didn’t do anything wrong.” I snapped in Adrian’s direction.

“He’s still angry?”

“Yes, Jessie, he keeps saying ‘Ask Isaac’ whenever I ask a question.” I snapped, glaring at Adrian before looking out the window.

“Maybe he’s jealous.” Jessie asked, her voice quieter. I snorted.

“In a million years.”

“Anyway, Isaacs adorable.”

“Don’t I know it?”

“Ask Isaac whether you know it or not.” Adrian snapped. I glared at him.

“Maybe I will later on when I text him.” I hissed. Adrian glared at me. What’s his problem? Did he have a problem with Isaac’s accent?

“Hopefully he can speak English right, ye?” He imitated Isaac. 

“His accents adorable.” I replied angrily. Jessie was on the other end of the phone laughing loudly. “You’re not helping.” I hung up on her.

The car was silent for about 10 minutes. I was staring out of the window. I looked down at my lap to see Isaac’s number sitting there.

Adrian stopped the car at a gas station and got out of the car to go pay at the counter for gas and whatever else he wanted. I entered Isaac’s number onto my phone. I wasn’t planning on using it but Adrian got me so angry that I felt the need to call him tonight, even if I wasn’t planning on dating the guy.

Adrian came out of the store with a bottle of Coca Cola and Sprite in his hands. He tossed the cola directly onto my lap, the sweating bottle soaking the sheet of paper Isaac’s number was written on. “Oops.”

I glared at him. Was he really being this petty? “It’s okay; I already put his number into my phone.” I smiled.

Adrian put his drink onto his seat while I put my in the cup holder. He pumped the gas before getting into the car, ready for the forty minute journey back.

“Are you ready to tell me what’s got your knickers in a twist?” I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t strike me as the competitive type.” He told me and I shrugged.

“You don’t strike me as the type to get angry over absolutely nothing and take it out on the person who did nothing to you but we all have some surprising traits.” I replied.

“You don’t strike me as the type to flirt with random guys.” He retorted and I snorted.

“I wasn’t flirting with him; I just simply took his number.” I snapped.

“Oh Isaac, sure I’ll marry you.” He mocked me in a falsetto voice. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What is your problem?” I responded harshly. Was it something I did? Was he mad that I didn’t let him shoot anybody?

“I don’t have a problem.” Adrian replied through gritted teeth. I just scowled before looking out of the window.

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Adrian and I haven’t talked since yesterday, after he got angry at me for God knows what. I didn’t call Isaac either, and it’s not because of Adrian. I just didn’t feel like calling him, okay?

“Can I get you anything else?” The lady asked me. I sighed, shaking my head and thanking her. I exited the diner and got into my car, driving towards my viola lesson. When I walked into the building, my instructor was standing there with his watch out. He was obviously waiting for me.

“You’re actually on time, Ms. Harper.” My instructor sassily stated.

Instead of replying, I just followed him to the classroom. I sat down and he watched as I picked up my viola and bow and started playing Beethoven Symphony 5 without the music. He smiled in satisfaction when I finished.

“I see you’ve practiced.” He told me and I nodded my head. “Are you confident in that song?” He asked me.

“Somewhat.” I replied, shrugging.

“Are you confident in that song, it’s a yes or no question, Ms. Harper?” He asked again and I sighed, nodding my head.

“Perfect, that’s one song for the recital.” He smiled and I furrowed my eyebrows.

“One song? You mean I’m doing more?” I asked him and he nodded his head.

“Yes, you’re going to do 3 songs.” He instructed me and I nearly choked.

“What songs?” I asked him and he smiled.

“You can choose.”

“Do they have to be classical?” Either way, I’d be able to play modern or classical.

“As long as you play Beethoven, then you can play any other songs. They have to be appropriate.” He told me, shuffling papers on his desk. I nodded, noticing a plaque with his name on it; Mr. Crayon.

“Is your name Mr. Crayon?” I asked him, my eyebrows pulled together.

“Mr. Crayn.” He replied, giving me an odd look. I nodded, looking down.

“So what songs are you going to play?” He asked me, holding up a notebook.

“Just Give Me a Reason by Pink and Payphone by Maroon 5.” I replied, biting my lip. He raised his eyebrows.

“You can learn these songs in a week?” He asked me, eyebrows pulled together in disbelief. I gritted my teeth. He underestimates me, don’t you think?

“I already know these songs.” I informed him and he told me to play them. I started out with Just Give Me a Reason by Pink and he was nodding along with it. I then played Payphone by Maroon 5, memories of me playing this song for Adrian flashed in my mind and I couldn’t help but smile during my small performance.

“Okay, perfect. Let me enter these in online so nobody else can play the songs.” He told me, preoccupied by the clacking of his keyboard. I nodded, watching as he smiled in satisfaction.

“I underestimated you, Ms. Harper. I thought you were only doing this to make your parents proud but it seems that you aren’t.” He told me with a smile.

“How?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.

“You learned those songs by yourself; instructors here aren’t allowed to teach that. This is a Classical Music program.” He informed me and I nodded.

“I was bored.” I lied and he smiled, shaking his head.

“You remind me of myself when I was your age.” He told me. I raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t very popular, I had little friends. My parents were rarely home and when they were home, they were constantly drilling me about my studies and my instrument. I played bass and they forced me into having 2 hour classes every day.” I nearly gasped in horror.

“You may have guessed, I was sick of bass. I wanted to have time for myself instead of being forced to play a stupid instrument. Instead of a hobby, it became a chore. I begged my parents to let me drop three days of classes, giving them the excuse that it was getting in the way of my studies and they let me. I eventually starting picking up my viola and playing different pieces, some that I composed and some from a book I bought with modern bass music.” He told me.

I was listening as he continued speaking. “One of my friends had a viola and we played together, swapping instruments sometimes and we eventually formed a band. We had more people of course. Soon enough, we tried out for an orchestra, and we got in, surprisingly. We were getting paid to do what we loved, and as two 19 year old kids, we thought things couldn’t get better. I saved up enough money to go to school for music, and I was flying high in the sky.” He told me.

“What I’m trying to say is that it may not seem like fun now, but in the end it pays off. Whether you want to be a lawyer, a doctor, a babysitter, or whatever else you may want to be when you’re older, playing this instrument can help you. You can always join an orchestra and make money doing what you love, it’s always there as a fallback.” He ended and I nodded.  

“Well, Ms. Harper. It’s your time to go home and practice. Have a nice day; I’ll see you next week.” Mr. Crayn told me, clapping his hands together. I nodded, walking out of the classroom with my instrument in hand.

__

When I’d gotten home, a surprise was waiting for me in the living room. My Aunt was standing there with a large smile on her face. “Fiona!” She nearly cried. I put my viola down and hugged her.

“I missed you.” I told her. “Weren’t you supposed to be coming tomorrow?”

“I’ve missed you, too. It was supposed to be a surprise.” She smiled. I felt a grin tug across my face.

I looked down at her feet and saw a cage like thing on the floor beside her. “What’s that?”

“It’s your second surprise!” She squealed, reaching for the medium sized cage. I heard a bark from it and I instantly took a step back. I don’t like dogs, she knew that.

“What is that?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.

“It’s a mini Pomeranian!” She said, opening the cage and jamming her arm into it, searching around. Her hand came out with a pure white colored small, and I mean small, dog.

“Why is it so small? Why is it here? When is it leaving?” I hastily asked her.

“It’s a mini Pomeranian silly; I paid a lot of money for it. I’m gifting it to you, I have my own. And it’s never leaving!” She cackled creepily at the end. She held out the small dog to me. Its tongue was hanging out of his mouth and his eyes looked crossed.

“What’s its name?” I asked, taking the small dog in my hands cautiously. He liked my palm and I smiled a small smile, holding him closer to my chest.

“His name isn’t decided yet. What do you want his name to be?” She smiled as I sat down with the small dog.

“Blake.” I automatically decided. She nodded. I had a new boy in my life, he was a white mini Pomeranian named Blake and I already decided that I love him. 

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Cover to the side is by vampirechick99; she's made a few of them for me but I loved this one the best! :D