Ronnie Anne POV

Lincoln and I didn't talk much for a while after the, um… *ahem* incident that must not be spoken of. I think we both needed a little space. A few days have passed and I still honestly don't know what possessed me to do it. I mean, I was really happy when he agreed to be my partner for the canoe trip because, well, I was excited to be alone with him. I really did want a chance to hang out as friends and catch up, but I swear I NEVER planned to go that far. I felt like such an idiot and I knew that Lincoln couldn't have been having it much easier. I didn't mind making him keep it a secret from most everybody else, but I did feel bad about making him keep it from Renee. I didn't know if he had told her anyway or not, but I was pretty sure he didn't wanna get in trouble with her any more than I did.

I was used to sitting alone in the mess hall. I was in the middle of a toasted scrambled egg sandwich when I saw Lincoln, Clyde and Renee chatting it up at the next table across from me. From the way they were all smiling at each other, it was safe to assume that he hadn't told either of them what happened.

Just then, our two dork counselors burst through the doors, wobbling, grunting and waving their hands around like zombies. They also had these weird gloves on their hands to try and sell the effect. "Good morning, campers!" Jackson announced (I didn't feel like calling him Action). "Have we got a fun surprise for you! Today, we're gonna be playing….. PAINTBALL!"

Sweet! I love paintball!

"We're gonna divide you into two teams," said Erica. "Humans… and ZOMBIES! You're each gonna draw a label from this hat to decide which team you'll be on. Humans get these awesome paintball shooters and zombies get these cool paint-covered gloves."

"Your objective is to find the other team's flag and bring it back to the flag pole before they get yours. But if you get painted, you're done. And no shooting or grabbing each other in the face or the crotch! Everybody got it?"

"Yes," everybody said.

"Good. Now everybody come line up. Once you have your team name, go outside and get your gear."

Everybody lined up to draw a team from the hat. I ended up being a human, which was great because it meant I got to nail chumps with paintballs from a distance. Lincoln and Clyde were both humans, too, so I went over to join them. "Hey guys. You ready to kick some zombie butt?" I said.

"You know it," Clyde responded.

"How about you, White Top?"

"Oh, yeah, uh… t-totally, uh… Oh hey! Renee!"

That was weird. It was like he couldn't wait to get away from me.

"So what team are you on?" he asked Renee.

"Looks like I'm a zombie," she said. "Hope I don't get shot up too bad out there."

"Don't worry. If you get any paint on you, I'll help you rub it off."

'Really dude? In public?' He was getting as bad as my aunt and uncle.

"Okay, easy there, Fido," Renee said. "Save it for after the game. As of this moment, you and me are officially on opposite sides of the war."

"In that case, get ready to eat it, zombie scum."

"The only thing I'm gonna eat is your juicy little brain."

God, I could actually smell how corny those guys were. I went outside to grab my vest, goggles and rifle before I lost my breakfast.

Clyde, Lincoln and I trudged through the woods, keeping an eye out for any targets nearby. They'd given the zombies a head start, which meant they could be anywhere. I wasn't worried, though. I was a beast at these kinds of games. I even started whistling Pumped Up Kicks out loud to try and psyche out any poor chumps who might be in the area.

Suddenly, I could hear rustling coming from behind the bushes on all sides.

"Looks like they're trying to ambush us," I said. "Here's what we're gonna do, guys. When they pop out, go for the one closest to you and give 'em everything you got. Understand?"

"Yeah," Clyde said.

"Lincoln?" I turned around, but instead of being right next to us, Lincoln was like eight steps behind. "Lincoln, what are you doing?! Get over here!"

"No thanks. I'm perfectly fine right here."

"What? Come on, man!" Clyde shouted. "We need you over here!"

And that's when all hell broke loose. Chandler, Trent and Lance charged out of the bushes and came at us all at once. I landed a few good hits on Trent so he was out. I saw Clyde firing randomly at Lance, failing to hit him several times. He was about to get tagged before he jumped out of the way at the last minute and shot Lance in the shoulder.

Chandler was headed straight for Lincoln. "You're dead, Loud." I went ahead and shot him out instead of waiting for Lincoln to get on the ball.

"What the hell, Lincoln?! Why didn't you cover us back there?" I said.

"I… well I… just…" apparently all he could do was stutter.

Then out of nowhere, someone jumped out and grabbed me and Clyde's arms. It was Jordan. "Gotcha!" she declared. We looked down and, sure enough, our arms were covered in green paint.

"What the? Where the heck did you come from?" I asked.

"I was hiding behind that tree waiting for those guys to blow it."

That does it. This whole thing has gone on long enough. I grabbed Lincoln's arm and pulled him away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Clyde asked.

"I need to have a little chat with Flaker here," I said. I dragged Lincoln into a hollowed out tree and made him look me straight in the eye.

"Alright, Lincoln! What the hell is going on? Why have you been avoiding me all day? I get that things have been kind of weird since the boat trip and I was trying to give you some space, but we're supposed to be working together out here, so could you please just grow a pair and talk to me?"

Lincoln sighed in defeat. "Okay, you want the truth?" he said. "I just don't feel comfortable around you anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Right before we set out on that canoe trip, I told Renee that I didn't have anymore feelings for you and I meant it. But then you kissed me and, even though I was surprised and confused, it also made me start seeing you in a way that I hadn't in years. And frankly, seeing you in that swimsuit didn't help either."

"Oh please." I had to roll my eyes at that.

"I'm just saying, you looked really good in that."

"Okay. Thanks, I guess." It was a little weird hearing him say that he liked how I looked in my swimsuit. Did he really mean that he thought I looked hot overall or did he just like how big my tits were? I decided to let myself believe it was the former so he could continue.

"But I have a girlfriend now and I have to stay faithful to her. I don't wanna lose you as a friend, but it's hard for me to even be near you right now. I thought if I spent as much time as possible with Renee and Clyde, it would help take my mind off of how I've been feeling about you, but it didn't work. I hate to admit it, but I just don't trust myself around you anymore."

Neither of us said anything for a little while. Personally, I didn't really know what to say. But then Lincoln broke the silence.

"I'm sorry for being so dumb about all this. I guess I should've just told you how I was feeling from the start, huh?"

"No, I'm sorry," I said. "I mean, yeah, you should've told me all of this sooner, but I'm sorry I made things so complicated for you. Have you told Renee yet?"

"No. You made it very clear that I should keep it to myself."

Speak of the devil. We both saw Renee prowling around alone outside, looking for victims to get her undead, slime-covered hands on. I knew what had to be done. "Then I'll tell her," I said.

"Really? But I'm her boyfriend. Shouldn't she hear it from me?"

"You didn't do anything wrong. I kissed you. If she's gonna be mad at anyone, I'm gonna make sure it's me."

"Are you sure that's the right thing to do?"

"Do you want to lose your girlfriend?"

"… Well what are you waiting for? Go tell her already!"

That's what I thought. I was about to go catch up to her when he stopped me.

"Hold on. Ronnie Anne, before you go, I just need to know one thing. Do you really still have feelings for me after all these years?"

I thought hard about what to say next. I didn't like the answer to that question, even though I figured it was kind of obvious by now, but I figured he deserved to hear it.

"Yes," I answered, almost too embarrassed to look him in the face, but I did anyway. "I try not to think about it since I know you've already moved on, but the thing is, nobody really gets me like you do. I swear I never planned for that kiss to happen. I just wanted to spend some time alone with you, but not so I could steal you away from Renee. I really care about you, Lincoln, and the last I want is to ruin your chance at happiness."

I stood there waiting for him to respond. Then he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. It was warm… and comforting.

"Ronnie Anne, you'll always be my first kiss and you'll always be special to me. Promise me you'll never stop being my friend."

I hugged him back and smiled. "I promise." Once we let go, I left to catch up to Renee so I could tell her what happened. I was fine with her not trusting me anymore, so long as she didn't break it off with Lincoln.

Lincoln POV

I sat there in the tree, waiting for Ronnie Anne to come back. I knew I was gonna be in big trouble as soon as Renee found out. Looking down at the paintball rifle in my hand, I wondered if aiming it at my head would be enough to get me out of this whole mess. Not that I would've actually done it. I wasn't that big of a coward.

Soon, I heard footsteps approaching. I peaked out of the tree and Ronnie Anne was coming back… with Renee by her side. I figured it was time to face the music, so I went outside to meet them.

Looking at Renee's eyes, she didn't seem angry per se, but she didn't look very happy either. "Hi," I uttered weakly.

"Hi," she replied dryly. "Ronnie Anne just told me what happened."

"Yeah. So… do you hate me for not telling you? Because I'm really sorry for that."

"Before I decide that, I need you to tell me something."

"Anything!"

"Did you enjoy it?"

Did I enjoy it? Well, I mean, I didn't really see it coming at the time and I had just been knocked out of… Why was I thinking so hard about this? I knew what I had to say!

"No."

Renee gave me a cheeky grin. "Good answer," she said as she gave me a forgiving hug. I let out a long breath I'd been holding in.

I was extremely fortunate to have such an understanding girlfriend. I just hoped she wouldn't be too hard on Ronnie Anne for this. After all, the great outdoors tend to make people do crazy things.

"I think this means I'm out of the game," I said, realizing I now had paint on my back.

"Don't worry. I'll go win it for both of us."

After we exchanged a quick smooch, I watched my amazing woman hobble out to convert more rifle-wielding humans to her legion of the undead. I was also glad to be able to hang out with Ronnie Anne again.

"You wanna go get some donuts from the mess hall?"

"Totally."

And just like that, we were on our way back to camp.