Queen Luana: Okay, okay… I've uploaded a Whose Square chapter so now all I have to do is right one more for this one and then I get back to my packing. Streess! Aaaaaah! Oh well. And thank you for the lovely reviews. (stands up) Hello, my name is Luana, and I'm a review-addict.
Audience: Hello, Luana.
Red and blue
"Go do something that'll pump up your adrenaline."
"Phew, this is hot!" Selphie puffed as she forced her left arm into the sleeve of the thick messy jumpsuit.
"If you rather go prancing about in your skirt, by all means," Zell smiled and put on his goggles.
Selphie smiled.
Zell had made quite an entrance that morning. He'd borrowed one the paintball guns and had stormed into Selphie's bedroom, aiming it at her and screaming loudly. "Heads up!" She had ducked but he had also missed intentionally, a blue ball of paint hitting the green paper against the wall.
When he'd heard Rinoa say 'adrenaline' he immediately thought 'paintball'. And when Selphie had mentioned it as well, he'd made his decision and had scheduled the entire afternoon for them. This was the fifth day. After this only two more to go. But if they kept making progress like this, it wouldn't be that much of a problem. Although when he'd went to pick her up this morning, she didn't look half as bright and peppy as he had expected her to be.
Selphie zipped up and took her gun. "But don't you go easy on me because I'm a girl!" she warned him and tested her aiming on a nearby wall. She smiled proudly and put on her goggles as well. She looked a bit like a mechanic in that outfit.
"Okay," Zell said as they left the changing rooms after having put all their stuff in the appropriate lockers. "You'll start off here and I'll start off at the other end of the area. Once you've run out of paintballs, let me know."
"Oh, no fair!" she said and pouted. "I already fired once."
Zell sighed and fired one of his red paintballs at the ground. "Now we're even then."
She smiled. "Well, off you go then! We'll start the game in five minutes!"
They said goodbye and Zell made his way around the endless amount of walls and piles of sand. It was a true obstacle course and on his way to the other side he spotted several clever hiding places he'd have to watch out for. Also he planned a few escape routes in case he should encounter Selphie and make a run for it. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was noon and the sun was at his highest point. In other words it was boiling hot out there.
He encountered another wall and sat down in the shade, out of sight. He checked his watch. Three minutes had passed since they had split ways. Two more to go. He'd really need a shower afterwards, he could already tell. That suit he was wearing seemed to attract the heat.
"Ready or not, here I come!"
He smiled when he heard Selphie cry. So the element of surprise was up to him.
He sneaked away from the wall and behind another one, there he sat and listened. She'd have to make some sound, footsteps or anything. All he'd have to do was be patient and wait.
But he sat there for minutes without hearing anything and his hiding place was in the blaring sun. He decided to move before he got sunstroke and crept along a shabby wall. He had to lean over a little because else his peaky blonde hair would go over the top. It'd be an embarrassing give-away.
He screamed when he felt a searing pain go through his back.
"Need to watch your back, Dincht!" he heard the girl shout and when he turned he just saw one brown boot disappearing behind a fake rock. He sprinted after her, but she'd already zigzagged her way through the obstacles and had disappeared.
He grunted and moved more cautiously. Okay, so he had underestimated her. He'd gone out paintballing a few times and had thought he had somewhat of a lead on her. But it didn't matter. She'd had her one shot, but he wouldn't give her another.
Zell beamed when he found her crouching against a few wooden boards placed together. She was fumbling with her goggles and was completely unaware of his presence.
He licked his lips, took a firm hold of his gun and aimed.
He fired but missed. A blue ball hit one of the wooden boards and Selphie jumped up, raising her gun and looking around fearfully. When Zell levelled his gun a second time she seemed to realise that she was a sitting duck and broke into a run, away from Zell. He cursed and jumped into the clear, aiming again and firing.
Selphie shrieked when a paintball hit her in the bum. She kept running but he could hear her cry: "Awie, awie, awie!"
"Your ass is mine, Tilmitt!" he laughed and ran off in the other direction.
A few minutes later Zell had found him another hiding place, covered between two walls. Even if Selphie did spot him, he'd still be able to hide behind either of them. Plus he had a bit of shade, which was necessary. He could already feel his cheeks burning. Cold shower and after sun. How he longed for it.
"Goose chase!" Selphie suddenly appeared from behind a pile of bricks and rubble and aimed at him.
Zell squealed and jumped up, but already a paintball hit him in his leg. He limped and ran but taking from Selphie's cheering, she was following him. Another hit him in his shoulder and right before he dived away behind a wall, a third one got his elbow.
"Whieeeeh!" Selphie sang and he could hear her bounding off.
"I'll kill her," he muttered and rubbed his leg. Cold shower, after sun and an undertaker. Yeah…
Selphie laughed when she saw Zell appear hiding behind a pallet. "I see you!"
"I know," he said and placed the barrel between two pieces of rotting wood.
Selphie now got his idea, tried to shoot him nevertheless but hit the boards anyway. "Oops."
A blue mark was shot on Selphie's thigh just a mere second later and she bounded away. Zell exclaimed a loud yes and trotted away.
"Hey Zell! New plan!" Selphie stepped into sight with her arms raised but jumped when she was hit in the leg nonetheless.
"Oops, sorry Selphie!" Zell smirked and lowered his gun.
Selphie rubbed her leg while glaring at him. Then she straightened. "How about a draw?"
At first he thought she meant to call it even, but then he realised she was talking about the ten steps thing. Zell got to his feet. "Sure why not."
The stood in the middle of an open space, sweaty backs pressed together. "And go," Selphie said and they stepped forward.
One, two, three, four, five, six-
Zell shrieked when one of Selphie's paintballs hit him in the back. "Aw! How fast do you count!?"
Selphie blinked in confusion. "How slow do you count?"
Zell rubbed his back painfully. "I was at six!"
"Six?" she said then scratched her head. "Oh riiight, you have to count till ten… Oh, easy!"
But Zell had already raised his gun again and hit her in the side.
"Aw! Okay, now we're even!" she said and observed her gun. "I think I'm out of bullets."
Zell checked his own gun. "I still have a few left."
"Yeah, I took a few more practice shots." She smiled innocently.
Zell tucked away his gun with a sigh. "Okay, let's count then. Turn around." She did so. "Four times."
She twirled her finger and he turned around too. "Five times!" She beamed. "I win!"
Zell stared at something in the far distance. "Hey, what's that?" As Selphie turned to see what had drawn his attention he took a few steps back and fired two more blue balls at her bum.
"Hey! Cheater!" she screamed and grabbed her bum. "I thought you were going to spoil me?"
"I was going to make you feel better," Zell said. "Not my fault if you lost all your bullets at practice shots."
She put out her tongue at him.
He smiled and flung an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go back, grab a shower and I'll buy you some ice cream."
"I bruised my bum!"
Zell blinked at Selphie. She had put on her robe and her hair was dripping. He too had just gotten out of the shower. "Wha-?"
She turned around and lifted her robe a little. She was wearing black panties, but Zell could still clearly see a large bruise peeping out from underneath it. "Ouch." Yeah, his leg wasn't looking too pretty either, but those two final shots had really messed up her bum.
"It hurts," she cried.
Zell blushed. "Well, uh, I'll go get you some ice…" He darted off before he got any redder.
Zell looked away while Selphie forced the bag of ice underneath her panties. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff…" She pulled her robe back over it. "Okay."
Zell turned to her and giggled. She was lying flat on her belly in bed and the bag of ice made her bum look huge. When he told her so she chuckled. "Well it will be huge, with those bruises. I'll have bumps on my humps."
Zell sat down next to her and pressed the huge ice-cold bum with his index finger. "Sorry. Maybe I was a little too rough today."
"Nah," she smiled. "It was fun. And I've learned that sometimes the physical pain is more bearable than the emotional one."
Zell looked at the green poster. It still contained nothing but his five lines. "So, what do you think Selphie? Back on your feet yet?"
"No, flat on my belly."
"I mean, have I won yet?"
Selphie glanced at him then closed her eyes. "I'll let you now Sunday night, right?"
"At the party?" he asked hopefully.
She opened one eye to look at him. "Maybe."
Zell smiled. Of course she'd go. She wouldn't miss it. Besides, the bash was the crème de la crème of his flawless plan. Selphie loved parties. He'd seen her go at it at the Garden Festival. She hadn't been drunk, no Selphie wouldn't dare, but she was having one hell of a good time. He'd been looking for her that night, to ask her about her results. But she'd been hurrying from one place to another and every time he got the chance to say hi, they would've just exchanged a few words before she saw one of her friends and skipped away again.
She sighed with fatigue and the one eye went close again. "Yeah. I guess I'll go."
Queen Luana: Why do I have the feeling my chapters are getting crappier instead of better? Oh well, at least I can promise you that the last one will be a whole lot better than THIS. Until then, just keep on reviewing ;) And I'll see you in three days! And I should've been in bed like an hour ago. I have to get up in six hours. Poopie.