I am soooooooo sorry about how long it has been. I'm going to try to get my fics updated this week. Thank you for being patient with me. School has been draining me and I also started to watch the Blacklist. Great show and totally shipping Liz and Ressler lol.

Guest- I'm impressed you read it all in one day! Wow! =D And thank you for your comments and insight. HUGE thank you to all the new and continued support.

This chapter is more of a "fun" one with an ending I hope you like 3

I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd meet again someday
If you leave- OMD

And here I thought I waited a long time last week.

I was pretty sure Bash had no plans because planning that far ahead didn't seem like his thing. Not that I was feeling anxious that day.

He sent a text at around noon, telling me that he would be coming to get me at around 2. Thankfully, I had already washed my hair so all that I had to do was straighten it. I had no idea what to wear. Bash hadn't said anything about where we were going.

Proving my point that he didn't always plan ahead.

I decided on jeans and a nice top. It was still very hot outside, but I knew it would get cooler as the day went on and that everywhere we went would overdo it on the air conditioner. The shoes, on the other hand, took me longer to decide on than my outfit did.

When Bash came by at 2:04, he and Mum talked in the hall for a little bit before I came down.

Bash took one look at me. "You might want to change."

I looked at what I was wearing. "Why?"

"Wear something you can get dirty."

"I don't have anything that I want to get dirty," I looked at what he was wearing. He was dressed as if he was about to go hunting, in a black shirt and camouflage pants. I had no idea what was going on, but I went back to my room. I kept on the same jeans but changed my shirt to a plain red one. It was the best I could do.

"Where are we going?" I asked him one we were in the car.

"I've asked some of my friends to join us. Francis and Olivia will be there too, if that's all right with you," Bash gave me a side glance.

"I thought they were still on their honeymoon."

"It's been almost two weeks since the wedding. They got back two days ago from their trip."

"Oh."

"Are you all right with that?"

Honestly, I was perfectly fine with that. I didn't care. "As long as they don't share the intimate details of their honeymoon," I replied.

Bash chuckled. "I wouldn't have invited them if they would."

"Who else will be there?"

"Just a few friends that Francis and I both know."

Leith happened to be one of those friends. He was there with Julian (who I said hi to but we never mentioned Lola) and two other girls.

"Did you already pay?" Bash asked his brother. It was so strange to see Francis wearing a wedding ring.

"Yes, we have an hour," Francis replied.

"An hour? For what?" I spoke up.

Bash and Francis looked at each other. "You can tell her," Francis said. Bash was putting on a helmet.

"Why are you?-" I started to ask, but Leith pointed out a sign. I gulped. Francis and Bash had both told me how often they would do this with friends.

"Absolutely not."

"Mary, you're going to be very easy to spot in that shirt. I think you're the only one wearing red here," Leith smirked.

"Nobody told me we would be doing this," I protested. "Bash should have told me to wear a dark shirt."

Bash shrugged. "I told you to dress to get dirty, but you said you didn't have anything. How about Francis or I be on your team? Two guys and two girls on each. Olivia, I assume you'll want to be with Francis?"

"Who's the better one at this?" She asked.

Now, normally if Francis says "Bash", one would expect Bash to say "Francis" at the same time. That, however, was not the case. Francis said "Bash" as Bash said "me."

"Bash could have been a warrior in another life," Francis told his wife proudly. "If you go on his team, I will not be offended."

Olivia kissed her husband on the cheek. "I promise not to shoot you too often."

"I can take pictures. Trust me, you won't want me on your team," I told Francis and Bash.

Bash had on his helmet and didn't respond. "You can be on mine," Francis said to me. "he has Olivia, so I'll take his date for my team."

Date?

Leith gave me quick instructions, gave me a headshield and some gloves, introduced me to Margaret (a cousin of Bash and Francis's) and Yvette, then we split off. On one team were Bash, Olivia, Julian, and Margaret. Francis, Leith, Yvette, and I were on the other.

Bash thought he was real funny, letting me play (in a red shirt) without a clue as to what was going on. The helmet I was wearing made it more difficult to see around me, so Leith offered to cover for me.

He managed to hit Olivia.

Unfortunately I lost him for a little bit.

And was ambushed.

"What the hell?!" I turned around to see someone behind me. Their face was hidden but I could tell exactly who it was. "Bash!" I was out so I couldn't hit him back.

He was already running away. Francis was right. In another time period, Bash would have been a great soldier. I raised the gun over my head, yelled "I'm hit!" then left the area to go into what Leith had called the "Dead Zone" or something to that effect. Yvette was the one protecting our flag. Margaret and Leith joined me in the zone several minutes later.

"How long is this game meant to last?" I asked Leith.

"For now, a maximum of half an hour. At this rate, it will only last 20 minutes."

"Who got you?"

Leith gave me a Look. "Bash," we said at the same time.

"Francis took me out," Margaret told us. "I'm interested to see which brother is going to win this round."

We heard someone yelling in another language. A moment later, Olivia sat down, covered in paint and furious. "I am going to kill him!" This game seemed to make people very angry.

"Francis?" Leith asked calmly.

"Next time, he is going to DIE!" At this point, I wasn't sure if she was talking about in the game or in real life.

"I promise not to die so quickly next time," I told Leith. "Thought it would help if you wouldn't leave me so quickly."

"My bad," Leith said, nonchalantly.

When Yvette and Julien joined us, I knew it was a battle of two brothers. Bash ended up winning. On the next round, Bash picked me for his team. "So you can say you won," he gave me a wink.

"If you keep making comments as obnoxious as that, then I want to go on the other team just so I can shoot you," I told him.

"Do you really think you would be able to get me?" he asked, smiling.

My shoulders slumped. "No."

Bash and I paired with Olivia (who was determined to get Francis) and Yvette. Francis always had to be on the other team because he was the other best player. Though Leith wasn't too shabby. He got me after a few minutes.
Bash avenged me pretty quickly though.

I was amazed that Olivia managed to get to Francis. She took him out and I knew our team had the upper hand that round.

We played one other round, with Francis and Bash deciding they didn't want to be separated anymore. I joined Leith, Julien, and Yvette but it might as well have been Francis and Bash against everyone else.

"You improved," Bash told me after it was over.

"Thank you, though that didn't do me much good. Why did you two have to pair yourselves up in that last game?"

Bash and I said good-bye to everyone.

I stared at him.

"What?" he asked me when he noticed.

"You didn't get anything on you. How is that possible?"

"I never got out."

"Have you ever lost?"

"Two years ago, I lost to Henry. After that day, I vowed never to lose again. Francis has only beaten me twice and one time Rowan did. That's only three times out of the thousand times I've played."

"So I guess I should always be on your team," I joked.

There was a gleam in the corner of his eyes. "Are you saying you had fun?" I didn't reply. "Are you hungry?"

"I hope you're not expecting me to walk around town like this."

"No, I'm not expecting you to, but I would enjoy it if you did."

He parked in our driveway and walked me to my door. I took a deep breath and waited for Mum's reaction at my appearance.

"What happened?" Mum's jaw dropped. "Why are you so messy?"

"He took me to play paintball with his brother and some friends," I told her. Bash was smiling proudly beside me. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to slap that smile off his face or smile with him.

"She actually played?" Mum rose an eyebrow at Bash.

"Not willingly at first but I think she started to like it after a few rounds."

"As if!" I told them. Maybe I had enjoyed it a little. Bash said good-bye and I walked him to his car, only to see Mum smiling at me when I came back inside.

"You're glowing," she said to me.

"If there's any color on my face, it is most certainly not from happiness," I argued, going up the stairs to take a bath and change.

That didn't mean that was the end of our discussion. Over the phone, Mum kept giving me small smiles as I ate. I pretended to think that she was doing it because I was enjoying the food, but I knew the real reason.

"What is it?" I finally asked her, wanting her to say it herself.

"Do you like him?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not, Bash and I are not like that." Even I knew I was blushing.

"Very well, if you say so," Mum left the subject drop. At least for a second before saying, "I don't believe you though, I know my daughter too well."

There was still plenty of light left after we finished eating. I told her I wanted to go buy a new shirt so I took my car and parked it in a parking lot in the town, choosing to walk around and clear my head. The streets were busy with people and activity.

Mum thought she knew my situation better than I did. She didn't.

What could she know anyway? It wasn't like that with Bash at all. I could still remember the day that I first met him. Dirty and scruffy clothes with an equally scruffy face, loud music, eyes with a color I couldn't distinguish, and messy hair that made him look like he had just rolled out of bed. He even smelled like it too. I mean, I don't understand some boys these days. Is rolling out of bed and wearing clothes that look you wore them during a sandstorm supposed to make us swoon? Oh, and then he acted like he was best friends with the cashier, when he couldn't have looked anymore out of place than he already did.

Okay, so I did become friends with him later on. Even after he nearly locked me out of the office I was working in earlier. On his birthday. It was the same day where Catherine talked about him as if he were a nuisance. She never said his name, but the look on his face gave me the answer.

Oh, and then there was the fact that he ate ribs with his hands and acted like he was raised on a farm. I mean, that's what it looked like to me. It was so disgusting to me at the time.

But not as disgusting as the pants I'm looking at through the window of one of the street stores. Seriously, who would wear that?

I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to be critical.

Speaking of bad pants, there was Bash's taste in clothing. I knew he wasn't living off of Henry's money but there are days when I wish he wouldn't look like he grew up on the streets as Aladdin's best friend. Aladdin is one of my favorite movies, but there is a time and place for everything.

Not having a care in the world was one of Bash's quirks, and it took me a long time to admit that I enjoyed it.

I wouldn't admit it to his face, but deep down I knew it was one of the many things I liked about him. Along with rolling around in the mud (I still haven't decided whether I liked him kissing me on the cheek right after, mud lips and all), the bed hair, his way he ate his ribs, or even the way he looked when he was sick. The day he had called me was the day he had a hangover. I went to his house and found him pale, cold, droopy-eyed, and his hair even messier than it was the day I met him. I'm sure he learned his lesson after that.

Oh, and then he had the nerve to criticize some of my favorite movies. He made fun of Phantom of the Opera, he made fun of 13 going on 30, and then he watched movies that I didn't care for. And I hated the way he danced. He pretended to be bad for my sake, but when he was with other people he was really good.

Bash was really the epitome of "opposite". He was exactly what I had not looked for in a guy. Yes, he was sweet (minus a few occasions) and caring to his friends, and maybe he was even good-looking...

Oh hell.

I had to clear my head. There was no way I could ever possibly be-

Yes, you are, a voice inside my head told me.

Oh, good. Now I'm hearing voices in my head. I started to walk home, but my head was repeating the same thing over and over again.

You're in love with Sebastian Lucas Poitiers.

I hope I got all the paintball rules right. It's been a while since I last played it. XD