You Jump, I Jump, Jack:
I jogged up the driveway from my car, struggling to put my heel on one handed. I squealed when I missed the step and quickly stood back up and hobbled over to the door. I rang the doorbell hesitantly and I waited for the maid to answer the door. I smiled at the timid girl as she moved back to reveal my grandmother Emily.
"Oh, I'm late." I said apologetically.
"I know." She said in an even voice and I shrunk back a little. She turned and headed towards the parlour and I followed after her. She stopped walking and turned to me when I started explaining why I was late.
"Blame the insane people driving in front of me. They had a "honk if you love to scuba dive" bumper sticker on the back of their car, so I honked." I explained to her.
"You don't scuba dive."
"Yes, but I've been testing people who have "honk" bumper stickers lately to see if they really want people to honk. Guess what? They don't. I lay on my horn, and this alleged scuba diver slows to a crawl in front of me just out of revenge, and I'm screwed."
"You need a hobby."
"Yes, actually."
"Come on, your mother and Rory are waiting." Emily said as she turned back around and made her way into the living room where mom and Rory were waiting for me.
"Hey, what happened?" Rory asked with a frown.
"She honked." Emily told them as she sat down on an armchair and I sat down next to mom on the couch.
"Oh, another bumper sticker test." Rory said knowingly and I nodded at her with a smile.
"I just thought up a great idea for a reality show. You pull people over who have those "honk if you love whatever" bumper stickers, you kidnap them, and you make them do whatever the bumper sticker says they like to do, whether they do it or not. And then you make them eat bugs." Mom suggested to us and we nodded to her while Emily shook her head in exasperation.
"So I hear you have a new boyfriend." Emily said to Lorelai, interrupting what I was about to say to mom in response.
"How did you - ?" mom gasped as she turned to her mother and then to Rory accusingly.
"Not from me." Rory protested, outraged by the suggestion. "Why didn't you jump on Christa?"
"Because Christa wouldn't risk me telling my mom about whom she's seeing." Mom said pointedly and caught Emily's attention. My eyes widened and I turned to her in disbelief.
"Who's Christa seeing?" Emily asked us, her attention peaking at the thought of maybe marrying off one of her granddaughters. Rory, mom and I shared a terrified look before we all turned back to Emily with society polite smiles.
"I'm not seeing anyone important, Grandma. Just stupid college dating." I assured her and she smiled slightly and nodded before turning back to Lorelai.
"You have a new boyfriend?" she asked again.
"How, Mom?" mom asked her again.
"Kirk told me." she said simply as if she talked to him every day.
"Kirk?" I asked in disbelief.
"Kirk who?" mom asked.
"How many Kirks do you know?" Emily asked her arrogantly.
"My Kirk? Stars Hollow Kirk? Kirk who hasn't started shaving yet, Kirk? How did you find out from him?"
"I called the Inn looking for you, and Michel answered, but he was in the middle of some argument with the horse veterinarian. Then there was a cracking sound and the phone went dead. Then there was another man's voice saying "hello"."
"Kirk?"
"Bob."
"The gardener?"
"More twists than Oh Henry." Rory exclaimed as we listened intently to Emily's story.
"He told me something in a heavy Spanish accent, all while Michel was yelling at the vet in French –"Emily continued.
"I leave and the UN erupts." Mom joked.
"Then Kirk came on. He was there delivering something. And when I told him I was looking for you, he said you were probably at your boyfriend Luke Danes' house. Now why were you hiding it from me?"
"I wasn't hiding it." Mom insisted.
"You jumped on Rory when you thought she told me. You were hiding it."
"I wasn't hiding it. The only reason I reacted to Kirk the way that I did is that he's not in this world, he's in my other world. It's as if I, out of the blue, told you I was having tea with Mrs Van Uppity."
"Who?"
"Hortence Van Uppity, tight bun, lace collar, tiny poodle... fictional friend?" I explained to her for mom.
"You keep so much from me with these separate worlds of yours. It's not right." Emily told her daughter.
"I will try harder to merge the worlds. I promise."
"Well, start now. I want to meet this Luke Danes."
"You've met him."
"Not in this capacity. I need to re-meet him."
"Well, I'm sure that day will come."
"Next week."
"What?"
"You have a gentleman friend of significance."
"Rhett is my gentleman friend, yes." Mom mocked in a fake southern accent, making me and Rory both giggle and glare at her.
"So it's only proper that you introduce him to your mother. Unless he's insignificant; I don't want to meet a passing ship. That's a waste of my time. Is Luke a passing ship? Is he insignificant?"
"No, he's not"
"I'll get my book and we will pick a date next week."
"Mom –"
"Next week."
"I –"
"Next week." Emily insisted again sternly before standing up and leaving the room. The three of us all looked at each other with wide eyes.
"Honk if Emily Gilmore views your mind as her personal playground." Rory said to us.
"Honk, honk." Mom and I said in unison.
Colin and I were walking through the courtyard together in comfortable silence as we made our way to Finn's SUV to go on our LDB camping trip. He had his arm flung over my shoulder and me arm was around his waist. Anyone who didn't know us would assume that we were a couple and I smiled to myself a little.
"So, you excited to finally let Rory in on the big secret?" Colin asked me, lowering his voice to a whisper when he said 'big secret'.
"Yes, I am." I said with a laugh. "I really hate lying to her."
"I know. It makes me really glad that I'm an only child." He joked as we got closer to the black. I opened the door and jumped in next to Logan. Finn was in the driver's seat, shielding his eyes from the sun and Stephanie was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. Colin climbed into the very back so that there was room for Rory next to me and Logan.
"Hello everyone." I said in greeting and Finn just grumbled at me in response.
"Hey, Christa." Steph said brightly and I kissed her cheek as I climbed pass her into the far side of the SUV. Finn groaned at me from the front seat.
"Quiet!" he demanded and I slapped him on the back of the head, making him wince and he others laugh. Once everyone was in the car, Finn sped off towards Rory and my dorm room where she was supposed to be waiting, blindfolded in the dorms vestibule. Finn pulled the car into park suddenly and we all jerked forward. I leaped to slap him again but Logan pulled me back, chuckling silently. Once I calmed down, he climbed out of the car to go and get Rory.
Rory POV:
I was standing blindfolded in the Branford college vestibule as other students walked by. I was starting to get a little nervous that this was just a prank when I felt someone standing behind me. I immediately tensed and tried to ignore the fluttery feeling in my stomach.
"Hey, Ace, you ready?" Logan asked me, his voice right near my ear.
"Well –"I started to reply but before I could get out more than one word he had hold of my arm and was pulling me along. I stumbled as he pulled me along by my elbow and was thankful that I wasn't wearing the high heels that Christa preferred. I heard the sound of a car door opening and then Logan was pushing me into a car. I stepped blindly into a SUV, probably the same one that I saw the other day. I was in the middle seat and I could feel someone on my left and Logan sliding on the right.
"Hit it!" Logan called as he slammed the door.
"Ah! Not so loud!" someone with an Australian accent, Finn said from the driver's seat.
"You're very auditory sensitive today." A familiar, yet unfamiliar female voice said from the passenger seat.
"Oh, and your voice helps." Finn snapped at her.
"Is the blindfold secure?" another male voice, Colin said from behind me. I smiled a little at the sound of my sister's whatever.
"Secure and in place." Logan assured them.
"Our anonymity's crucial, Logan. Crucial." Colin insisted sternly and I heard a familiar female laugh to my left.
"That's not what you were saying that time we broke into the zoo." Christa reminded him with a chuckle. "I believe you were the one posing for the camera."
"Like the police can identify me by my ass." Colin replied, making Christa and Logan both laugh at him.
"Christa?" I asked, trying to bring the attention back to me. "You're in the Life and Death Brigade?"
"Of course I am, sweetie. It's a secret society. How does that not have me written all over it?" she asked rhetorically and I could practically see the smirk on her lips. Before I could say anything, Finn groaned from the front seat.
"What's wrong with Finn?" I asked no one in particular.
"Great job with the blindfold, Logan." Colin said sarcastically from the back seat.
"I recognized your voices, Colin."
"Could everyone keep it down, please?" Finn moaned from the front.
"Can we remove the blindfold now?" I pleaded with either Logan or Christa.
"We're also hiding our destination." Christa told me gleefully.
"We had to leave at this ungodly hour." The Australian complained.
"It's four in the afternoon." I exclaimed.
"He's got a thing about the sun." Logan explained to me.
"It's too bright." Finn supplied.
"So how come you're not wearing your gorilla masks?" I asked them, my journalism instincts kicking in.
"She can see." Colin exclaimed manically and then I heard him grunt as someone thumped him.
"I can tell because your voices aren't muffled." I told him calmly.
"She's sharp." The female in the passenger seat spoke up.
"Who's the girl?" I asked.
"I've been told we've met. I've no memory of it."
"Oh, Gorilla Girl."
"Oh, well, isn't that a pretty nickname." Christa said cheerfully.
"Oh, by the way, this thing's overnight." Logan told me happily.
"Overnight?" I asked warily because I had plans with Dean that night. I internally debated with myself for a second before coming to a decision. With this story I could make a name for myself at the Yale paper.
"Didn't I mention that before?" Logan asked innocently.
"Oh, must have slipped your mind."
"That doesn't screw up anything for you, does it?"
"No." I lied through my teeth. "Christa's to my left, right?" I asked Logan.
"Yeah, why?" he replied, confused.
"No reason." I told him innocently. I felt on my left side and felt a skinny leg resting just next to mine. Using all my strength a punched her thigh and smiled smugly when she cried out in pain.
"Ow!" she cried loudly. "What the hell was that for?!"
"You know what that was for." I told her calmly, rubbing my hand as it throbbed from hitting her to hard. She had known that I had plans with Dean this weekend and had already known that this expedition was an overnight one. She could have stopped me from making plans with Dean. It wasn't any secret that she didn't like him so I suppose I would have ignored her anyway.
"So, no plans?" Logan asked me, ignoring the sisterly exchange. "Hmm. Loose schedule. Good."
"We like our schedules loose, like our women." Finn said from the front and then I heard him groaning in pain as Logan leaned over me and grabbed Christa, who I could feel leaning forward in her seat.
"Clever." Colin told Finn sarcastically from the back seat. "Saying something like that in front of, Teek."
"Not like it isn't true." The other girl joked from the passenger seat.
"Hey!" Christa said indignantly.
"My God, it's early." Finn complained.
Christa POV:
We pulled to a stop in the heavily wooded forest and we all climbed out of the car. Rory was still blindfolded so Logan had to guide her, which I'm sure was pissing her off. Something we had in common was that we were both very independent and didn't like to have to ask for help. It was a trait that both our mother and father had as well. Nearby there was a table with old-fashioned lanterns on it and I smiled to myself in excitement. The six of us stood together for a moment before Finn sprung up with glee.
"This mountain air has revivified me." he declared and ran off laughing manically.
"Make sure he doesn't run off a cliff." Logan ordered whoevers turn it was to look after Finn. I smiled in sympathy at Steph, whose turn it was.
"Stephanie, it's your turn." Colin reminded the pretty blonde. Steph grimaced at me and I pulled her into a quick hug before she left.
"Finn! You slow down!" she called out as she grabbed a lantern from the nearby table and followed him to the campsite. I wanted to stay with Rory and Logan to make sure that she settled in so I turned to Colin with a smile.
"I'm going to go with Logan and Rory. I'll meet up with you later?" I asked him and he just put an arm around my shoulders and turned to Logan.
"Lead on, Huntzberger." He ordered the other boy.
"You okay?" I asked my twin in mock concern. "I know that you used to be afraid of the dark and all."
"I smell trees." Rory stated, ignoring my jab about the dark.
"Oh, nothing gets past you." Colin told her as Logan chuckled and grabbed a lantern. Colin grabbed a lantern also and we followed Logan and Rory into the woods.
"If you go into the woods today, you're in for big surprise." I sang under my breath and Colin laughed at me, pulling me into his side tighter.
"So the firing squad is just up ahead?" Rory asked.
"Yup, and there's a line. Damn." Logan joked before stopping.
"Seriously, Logan, is the blindfold coming off, or am I Patty Hearst-ing it the whole trip?"
"It's coming off. It's coming off right now." He told her as he pulled off the blindfold. I watched as her eyes widened. As she looked around campsite full of white tents, candles, lanterns and turn of the century furniture I grinned widely. I was proud of myself for helping plan the event.
"Oh, my." Rory said in awe and the three of us LDB members looked around happily. Colin and I started leading Rory and Logan through the tents. I linked my arm with Colin's and looked over my shoulder at my twin sister with a grin.
"Is this what you expected?" I asked her knowingly.
"No, not at all what I expected." Rory said, confirming my suspicions.
"Let me guess what you were thinking: sleeping bag, flashlights, keg, three boxes of stale Triscuits, half eaten bag of Oreos, some Doritos and a bong." Logan guessed with a laugh.
"Um, who has Oreos and not eating them immediately?" I asked rhetorically and all three of them laughed at me.
"That may be exactly what I pictured." Rory joked. At least I think she was joking.
"You can apologize later. This is yours." I told her as we got closer to her tent. I opened it for her with a smile and she walked to the opening and looked in.
"Mine?" Rory asked sceptically.
"Not much closet space, but the view's decent." Colin joked as Rory went inside the tent.
"It's cosy." She said as she looked around the tent.
"Festivities start in half an hour." Logan told her as he turned around to leave. On the way out he kissed my cheek and left with Colin following after him. Rory sat on the bed and pulled out her phone, shooting me a glare as she did so.
"Dean, hi. It's me. I got your call. I would love to have dinner with you tonight, but something unbelievably unexpected came up, and it's going to keep me busy for a couple of days. I'd give you more info, but it's all a little Dali-esque and hard to explain. I'll fill you in when I get home. If I get home. Just kidding. I hope. Bye." She hung up and turned to me with a frown. "You're in a secret society."
"Yep." I admitted as I threw myself down on the bed next to her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's a secret society, darling." I reminded her with a laugh. She pulled a face at me and we both laughed. "I'm sorry, Rory." I told her sincerely as I squeezed her.
"It's fine. I get why you didn't tell me. It is after all a secret society, darling." She mocked me and I playfully slapped her arm.
After getting changed into my turn of the century outfit, I made me way out of my tent and went to join in the festivities. People greeted me happily as I walked past them and I returned their greeting. Logan came and joined me in the line to get food and I smiled at him.
"Hey, Huntz." I greeted him with a half-hug.
"Evening, Teek." He said with a smile as he picked up different food and put them on his plate. "Where'd Ace run off to?" he asked and looked around as if Rory would magically appear out of thin air. I looked at him careful with a smirk.
"You like her." I stated with a knowing smile. He turned to me with a frown.
"What are you talking about?"
"You like Rory."
"No." He said as he shook his head in denial. I gave him knowing smile and left the subject alone. In all the time that I had known Logan, he had never admitted to liking a girl, least of all had a girlfriend. Ignoring me, Logan picked up his plate. Robert came up next to me and looked around for Rory, since I hadn't seen her since I left in her tent a couple of hours ago.
"Robert have you seen Rory?" I asked him and he looked at me confused as to who the hell I was talking about. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "The reporter chick?"
"Oh! Yeah, she wandered off into woods." He told me with a shrug. I frowned at that and turned to look down the trail. Logan followed my gaze and nodded his head for me to follow him. Logan and I walked down one of the trails that lead into the woods and I saw Rory is sitting under a tree in view of the camp. Logan and I walked toward her with a lantern and a plate each.
"How goes it, pariah?" Logan called out as we got closer.
"Having fun yet?" I asked her as we approached her.
"Logan? Christa?" Rory asked as we sat down next to her on the log.
"Word was a bear dragged you off." I joked with her and gave her a nudge.
"No bear, I just wanted a quiet place to collect my thoughts." She explained to us as she put down her notepad.
"You found it." Logan told her. Rory looked at the plate Logan was holding and shook her head.
"Thanks, I've eaten." She told him and Logan and me both gave her weird look.
"Good. This is for me. Sorry you're not getting much from the group. Took a little arm-twisting to get them to agree to let you come in the first place." Logan apologised to her.
"And a bunch of blackmail." I added with chuckle and Logan shook his head in amusement.
"I don't need their cooperation. I've already filled two notebooks without their cooperation. Half of one without using the letter 'e', but I could use yours." Rory said to us.
"Way too much salt on this." Logan complained to me. I took a bite off his fork and nearly gagged.
"I mean, this is pretty incredible, but it's just a preamble to the big stunt tomorrow, right?" Rory asked, ignoring our private conversation.
"It's Finn, he's Australian. They like salt." I explained to Logan with a shrug.
"How do you pay for this? Are there dues, or do you chip in, is there alumni sponsoring it? How is it organized? And what is happening tomorrow? Is it just as big, or bigger? And do people know that you're here? Park Rangers or the landowner? Where are we? Are we still in Connecticut? And your answer cannot include the word salt." Rory asked us, slightly exasperated with our lack of focus.
"Okay. I think it's time to fill you in on the conditions of you being here." Logan told her and put down his plate.
"Okay." Rory said, sitting up straighter.
"First, no pictures." I told her as I picked up her camera and slipped it behind me.
"Hey!"
"Aw, you'll get it back at the end of the trip." I told her with a smile.
"Second, no names." Logan interrupted whatever Rory was about to say.
"I'm not exactly being introduced to anyone as it is." Rory protested with a wave of her hand.
"Third, no physical descriptions of any of us. There are authority figures up and down Connecticut trying to nab us for things we may have done in the past. Naughty things." Logan told her and I giggled in fond memory of some of the things that we had done with the LDB.
"Keep you anonymous." Rory agreed with a nod.
"What number am I on?" Logan asked me with a frown.
"Just at third." I reminded him as I looked through the photos on Rory's camera.
"Fourth, no identification of our location."
"I don't know where we are." Rory said to him.
"Fifth." Logan started to say.
"You're going to run out of -ifths." Rory interrupted.
"Most important condition of all. You must agree not to interfere with the integrity of the event." I finished as I put the camera away and looked at her seriously.
"What is the event, and how could I interfere?" Rory asked us eagerly and we both chuckled at her.
"So you agree?" I asked her.
"Yes, I agree." She said reluctantly and then we heard the camp break out in song up the end of the trail. "It's pretty."
"It's drunk." Logan said through a mouthful of salty food.
"Well it sounds pretty. I like it."
"I didn't say I didn't like it."
"Logan?" a girl's voice called from just outside the camp ground. I thought her name was Kerry but I didn't really keep track of Logan's flings.
"Yeah?" Logan called back to her, keeping his eyes locked on Rory while I just watched in amusement.
"You coming?"
"I'll be right there." He called out and I frowned at him and narrowed my eyes. "I'll leave the light for you, Ace. I won't need it." He said to her as he stood up, taking his plate, and made his way up to Kerry.
"Hurry up, darling."
"Here I am." I heard him say faintly, and I turned in my seat and saw him walking up to her. I turned back to Rory and saw her frowning at Logan's retreating figure as well and I chuckled silently. I stood up as well and Rory's attention turned back to me.
"Well, I'm going to get hammered and find a guy to make out with." I announced as I stretched.
"Tell Colin I said 'hi'." She teased me and I glared at her. Hours later after the sun had set long before and the moonlight was shining through the tree tops, I was half way through my second bottle of tequila and was talking to Steph happily when I heard someone call out to me behind me.
"Teek!" I heard someone call out to me. I turned around and saw a half-drunk Colin stumbling over to me. I laughed at him as he caught up to me and grabbed his arm as he stumbled into me.
"Hello there, Colin. Found the alcohol then?" I asked him rhetorically and he nodded his head enthusiastically. I laughed at him and wrapped an arm around his waist to help him over to the closest log seat. I sat him down and sat next to him.
"You are so pretty." He told me in a whisper and I turned to look at him in confusion. He looked at me sincerely and moved a strand of hair behind my ear.
"You really are drunk, aren't you?"
"Yes." He said honestly with a nod. "But that does make it any less true."
"Oh, so drunk." I laughed at him. "You are going to be so hung over tomorrow."
"That's also true." He agreed as he grabbed my hand and played with my fingers. We sat silently for a moment and I just let him play with my fingers and enjoyed the sensation of his skin against mine. "You are so pretty." He told me again and I laughed at him again as I leaned against his shoulder. I grabbed his hand and pulled him up with me.
"Let's get you to bed." I told him as I led him towards his tent.
"Bed! Good idea!" he said enthusiastically and jogged in front of me, pulling me along behind him. I laughed as I jogged to keep up with him, stumbling a little in my drunken haze and my heels. People looked at us as we passed but we ignored them. As we reached his tent, he held open the tent flap to let me in first and I giggled.
"Such a gentleman."
"At your service, milady." He replied and I giggled again as I walked past the open flap. He came in behind me and grabbed waist, turning me around to face him. My breath caught as I realised how close we were. The tequila I had been drinking all night must have been playing keep away with my intelligence because the next thing I did was stupid. I neared up on my toes and pressed my lips against his desperately. He kissed me back just as passionately and my hands wrapped around his neck, pulling us closer together and even that wasn't close enough. Taking his lips off of mine, Colin trailed kissed down neck to my collarbone and moaned in pleasure. Not touching enough of him, I pulled away and started tugging at the bottom of his shirt. Taking my lead he pulled his shirt off and slipped mine over my head and threw it somewhere in the room. Our lips found each other again hungrily and we stumbled over to the bed. We fell onto the bed and tugged at our pants until they were off. The rest of the night of a blur of kisses, panting and laughter.
I woke up the next morning with a killer headache and an arm wrapped around my waist. In my haze, my instincts kicked in and I sat up and tried to remove the arm without waking up the owner. I heard the guy groan and then he rolled over and moved his arm off of me. I sighed in relief and slipped out of the bed. I was naked so I looked around the room for my pants and shirt, frowning in confusion. I found my panties and slipped them on as I continued to look for my other articles of clothing.
"Christa?" a familiar voice asked from the bed and I turned back around in confusion. Colin was lying on his stomach, leaning on his elbows.
"Hey." I said a little hesitantly. It wasn't the first time that we had slept together but it had been a while so I was a little nervous.
"What are you doing?" he asked, confused. I went back over and lay back down next to him.
"Instinct took over. Had to get the hell out of here." I explained with a laugh and he joined me, knowing what I was talking about. He kissed my stomach and I giggled when it tickled. That kiss on the stomach lead to another round of sex and as we both laid there I sighed and reluctantly untangled myself from him.
"I better go get here for the event." I told him with a small smile. He nodded in understanding and let me go. I stood up and looked around for my stuff. I slipped on the pair on panties that I found lying on the floor and the jeans that we had thrown away the night before. "How you seen my bra?" I asked him as I looked for it.
"No. Do you really need it though?" Colin asked me with a smirk and I chuckled and smirked back at him. I found my shirt and put it on. Arms encircled my waist and pulled me against a hard chest and I smiled up at Colin as I felt all of him press against me. He kissed the nape of my neck and moved my hair out of the way so that he had better access. I moaned in pleasure and tilted my head to the side as he kissed down my shoulder.
"I have to go." I told him softly. He made a noise of agreement but didn't stop nibbling my neck. I turned around in his arms and kissed him passionately. As I pulled away from him we smiled at each other. "I have to go."
"I know." He said as he kissed lightly. I headed for the entrance to his tent and stopped when he grabbed my arm.
"I'll see you later, Teek?" he asked, I swore I thought it was panic in his eyes. I nodded and smiled at him as I left his tent. I smiled wider as I thought about the night before. Something about me and Colin felt right. I knew that it wouldn't amount to anything but being together was the closest thing I had felt to wanting a relationship. On my way to my own tent to get ready for the event I ran into the red faced Stephanie. We practically ran right into each other and looked at each other wide eyed and embarrassed.
"Finn?" I asked her knowingly. She nodded at me, looking slightly happy, slightly mortified.
"Colin?" she asked me in response and I nodded jerkily. We both started giggling uncontrollable at our smuttiness and walked with each other to our tents, since they were next to each other. We didn't talk about what had happened the night before, instead we just made small talk. As we got to my tent I said goodbye to Steph and went in to find a white dress box on my bed. Confused, I walked over to it hesitantly and opened the envelop that was sitting on top of it. I smiled happily as I read the note from Colin. I threw the note on the bed and hurriedly opened the white box. I gasped as I saw the deep purple dress. I picked it up and held it up against my body and looked in the mirror. I already had a dress picked out for the event but the one from Colin was very more beautiful. Smiling, I slipped into the ball gown and smoothed it out. I did my hair and makeup and checked the time. I swore when I saw that I was running later and left the tent. I tried to run but kept slipping in my heels. On my way there I ran into Logan and Rory. Logan was all decked out in a tux and Rory was in a beautiful pale blue ball gown.
"Hey guys!" I said happily as we all ran together towards the open field. The other members of the LDB were standing in a semi-circle near a giant gong.
"We're late." Logan told Rory as he pulled her along by her arm.
"For what? The ritual sacrifice?" Rory asked as she tried to keep up in her heels. Everyone was standing in tuxedos and ball gowns, listening to Harrison talk.
"I do declare here gathered, one hundred and eighth assembly of the honourable Life and Death Brigade." Harrison said loudly so that everyone could hear. Rory, Logan and I snuck in and Finn handed glasses of champagne to Logan and Rory while Colin handed one me, kissing my cheek in the process.
"He's using 'e's." Rory exclaimed about Harrison.
"Please raise your glasses. In Omnia Paratus!" Harrison cried and raised his glass.
"In Omnia Paratus!" I and everyone else except for Rory repeated after him. I turned to Colin and we smiled as we linked arms and feed each other our champagne.
"Now you might want to cover your ears." Logan told Rory and then covered his ears like the rest of us. The large gong in the middle of the felid was covered by a piece of fabric and Harrison uncovered it.
"Why?" Rory asked but no one answered her because Harrison was already banging the gong, making it clang loudly. Everyone cheered and ran into the field. I laughed as Colin grabbed my hand and started to pull me away.
"And to think some groups just go bowling." I called out to Rory who was watching in awe.
A game of polo was being played as I walked past with Rory. The men were carrying carts which held the ladies, who are leaning out the side, hitting a ball with mallets. Rory and I watched from the sidelines. She starts to wander over to another area, where some guys are playing a game of human targets. One jumped off a table sideways onto a landing mat while another shot at him with a paintball gun. I laughed at the sight and pulled Rory closer. Colin had left me earlier to help set up and big event so I had gone to find Rory. When I found her, she was walking around aimlessly so I decided to help her. I saw Logan and Finn playing human targets further down and linked my arm with Rory's as I led her towards them. Logan was holding the paintball gun and Finn was standing next to him looking bored.
"All right, I'm bored. I want to be a target." Finn announced as we got closer.
"You're always a target, Finn." I reminded him with a laugh.
"In Omnia Paratus." He replied as he walked off to be a target. Logan was concentrating on shooting but spoke to us anyway.
"You want to interview Finn, Ace, you should do it quick. Pull!" he shouted the last part and fired the paintball gun, hitting the person jumping.
"Not bad." I said as I stepped closer and took the gun off of him. He made a noise of protest but I gave him a look and he relented. "Thank you."
"So is this your big stunt?" Rory asked us as she looked around. I was focusing on aiming so Logan took over the answering for me.
"Big stunt?" Logan repeated after her. He stood watching the game next to Rory, but I could see him looking at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled to myself.
"According to my research, you guys always do one big thing at your gatherings."
"Pull!" I shouted and fired when I saw the target. I cheered a little when I hit it dead on. I gave the gun back to Logan and took his spot next to Rory.
"Is this it?" Rory asked again.
"Does it look like it?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm guessing no."
"You answered your own question. Pull! You'll know it when you see it." Logan assured her with a charming smile.
"Good." She said as two guys walked by carrying Finn on a stretcher. I frowned at the common sight of Finn injured.
"I missed the mat." Finn called out to us in explanation.
"Again?" I exclaimed and laughed at him.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. In Omnia!" he called out before he swooned and fell back onto the stretcher.
"I got $500 that says he doesn't make it to the big event." I betted with Logan and he shook his head at me and shook my offered hand with a laugh.
"There you are, Teek. I've been looking for you. It's time." Colin told me as he came and grabbed my elbow. I grinned as we made our way over to the scaffold in the middle of the field.
"Yay!" I exclaimed as I took off running towards the scaffold, a laughing Colin following me. I carefully climbed the ladder and grabbed an umbrella. Colin came and stood next to me grabbing the hand that wasn't holding the umbrella. I looked down at the ground and gulped as I realised how far I was from it. I took a step back and closed my eyes to calm myself down. I focused on Colin's hand on mine, drawing little circles on the back of my hand.
"You okay?" he asked me quietly and I sent him a warm reassuring smile.
"It's not my first time doing something stupid. For example, last night I did you." I teased him.
"Mean." He fake-gasped and put his hand over his heart. I turned a little when I heard someone coming up the ladder and frowned when I saw Rory stand up straight. Colin followed my gaze and frowned in confusion as well. Logan came up the ladder behind her and I gave him a questioning look and he just grinning charmingly in response.
"If he gets her hurt, I'm going to kill him." I whispered to Colin menacingly and he smirked at me. Rory looked around nervously and made her way over to me and Colin.
"High. We are very high." She stated as she looked down at the ground and I could see the fear and the adrenaline in her eyes.
"I've been higher." Logan stated with a shrug and Colin and I chuckled at the double meaning behind his words.
"I meant distance from the ground."
"That, too."
"This is totally safe. And it goes with your outfit. Nice." Seth said to Rory as he went over to her and wrapped a band around her waist. She continued to look nervous and Seth came over to me and connected a band to my waist.
"Why do they look so worried?" Rory asked us as she pointed to the crowd at the ground.
"We're low on champagne." Colin told her as Seth connected his band.
"You can back out, you know. No one's forcing you." Logan told Rory, and I looked over at him when I noticed that his voice was void of judgement. Something that was unusual for Logan.
"I know." Rory said confidently after a minute for hesitation. She smiled and grabbed an umbrella. I let go of Colin's hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze as I passed her. Colin followed behind me and gave her a reassuring smile before grabbing my hands and standing next to me. I took a deep breath calm my nerves. The emcees called up something in Latin and crowd the crowded started murmuring below us.
"In Omnia Paratus!" the crowd of LBD members cried loudly, saluting us with their champagne flutes. Colin leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek before we jumped hand in hand off the scaffold. I screamed as the air rushed passed me on the way down. The crowd cheered as we all landed safely on the field. I was laughing wildly as I panted and the adrenalin flooded my veins. Colin was laughing next to me and I leaned into him when my knees threatened to collapse. Grinning from ear to ear I leaned into Colin and kissed him passionately. He responded immediately and pulled me closer to him so that our bodies were pressed together. We pulled back from each other, panting from both the kiss and the jump. Still smiling, we were pulled away from each other as we were crowed by members of the Life and Death Brigade wanting to congratulations to us.