A/N: Sorry this took so long. Since it wasn't a part of the original story I had to think about it a lot more and it was hard to find the free time. BUT I didn't want to let Laet-lyre down. Although the more I was writing, the more I was thinking it should be it's own chapter. But that would have messed up the entire flow and I woulda had to go back and change the last chapter. SO! I hope it isn't too wordy for an epilogue. I left it kind of open, but that's what the imagination is for! Thanks again. Until next time!
Epilogue – The Aftermath
"Hey." I feel something nudge me but I don't acknowledge it. "Get up."
I groan as I roll over on my back to stretch out. My body feels more stiff than usual and I am a little disappointed that Kai isn't where I thought he'd be, which should have been a lot closer.
I reach out in the direction that I think his voice came from to see if I can find him without opening my eyes, not quite ready to commit to waking up yet.
I hear a shuffle and then feel pressure across my hips before he catches my flailing arm and lowers it to his waist. The pressure on my hips lightens slightly but I feel his whole upper body drape over me and then the softness of his lips as they brush over mine briefly.
"Come on, Sleeping Beauty," he whispers fervently. "Please?" I open one eye to his impatient glare and smile sheepishly.
"Did you really just say please?" He nods. "This is totally a dream." I close my eyes again and he sighs.
"Don't blame me if you get left behind." He moves to get up but I reach out and wrap my arms around his neck to use him to pull myself up.
"As long as you're left with me." I catch his lips for a much more intimate kiss before I open my eyes and meet his. His face has softened a bit but he still has that heir of urgency in his eyes. "Okay…but can I just ask you one thing?" He lowers my arms again to release himself from my hold and stand up.
"What's that?" He tosses me my shirt.
"Why am I on the floor?" I ask, searching my brain for anything that might illuminate me towards the answer. "I wasn't here all night, was I?" I remember a lot of…things…but deciding to sleep on the floor hadn't been one of them. Which, to me, seemed like something a person should remember. I will admit that things got a little fuzzy here and there, but it wasn't enough to convince me that this was a conscious choice. Especially with much better options available. Like, in an actual bed.
"As I recall, you got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night but didn't quite make it back all the way," he explains, not hiding his amusement. "I think you had a fight with a shoe. You did say the floor felt nice though," he adds as if it would make me feel better about it.
I pull my shirt on.
I was already wearing the rest of my clothes…sort of. These totally might be Kai's pants. He doesn't seem to mind but they feel a little too tight on me to be mine. There had been quite a lot of stumbling around in the dark and I vaguely remember not being able to find my shirt anywhere but wanting to at least put my pants back on to cover myself after taking a cold shower. I remember bits and pieces of things but everything seemed to go by so fast it was hard to grasp any one moment clearly.
"Soooo, you just left me here?" I ask half curious, half annoyed. He shrugs.
"You sounded like you wanted to be there." He shows no real concern which just leans me more towards irritation.
"Tell that to my back…" I reply bitterly, wincing as a pain shoots up my right side when I go to stand. He puts his arms out to catch me, then helps me up the rest of the way, making sure to steady me. I am beginning to wonder if this is what it feels like to be hung-over. Waking up with missing pieces of memory, in weird places and with weird, random pains after stumbling around all night. The similarities are confounding! Maybe Kai is some kind of drug…
"Sorry…" He lifts my shirt to inspect my back. "That was my fault," he whispers apologetically. "You don't remember?" His breath on my neck and the unexpected touch of his hand brushing lightly across my back makes me blush a little. "And I thought you were done with being shy?" He puts a little pressure on the sore spot and I wince again, batting him away and pulling down my shirt as if it will protect me.
"I'm not being shy…" I grumble without much conviction. I move away from him to grab my shoes from the floor, his attention on me suddenly feeling awkward.
"Uh-huh…"
I sit down on one of the beds to pull them on.
"How's your tongue?" I try to shake his composure even if it's just a little bit. Anything to make myself feel less self-conscious. He raises an eyebrow.
"I'll live." Man, he's too good at this.
He walks over to the door and waits for me to finish with my shoes.
"Sorry for biting you…" I trail off, thinking about all the other things I may have done to him. There had been quite a few times when I had let myself get a bit too carried away, but seriously…it's Kai. Who wouldn't?
"Do you want to inspect me for wounds?" he coos in a teasing manner. I catch his smirk and let out a small laugh, realizing just how ridiculous I am acting. The awkwardness I had built up, slips away as I relax again.
"No, that's okay…" I pause. "Well, yes. I kinda do…" I smile but catch sight of my watch as I straighten myself. "Shoot." I jump up and rush towards the door. "We still have to pack!" He opens the door and lets me walk out first. I didn't know why but I was a bit anxious about what would happen when we got home. How we would tell the guys. IF we would tell the guys. If there was anything TO tell the guys. It had been the perfect way to end the summer but there were still quite a few things that we needed to discuss.
"You can inspect me all you want when we get back," he says, walking out close behind me and locking the door. I push him away, trying to hide my embarrassment from him. I guess for now, it was just amazing that we could be together like this. The guys didn't need to know anything. Maybe I didn't want to share.
But since I was already thinking about it…
"What should we do about…?" I start to ask, but stop when I can't think of a proper way to ask such a loaded question. On one hand it could seem like I was ashamed and wanted to hide again. On the other it could seem like I was too concerned about the situation in general. Both of which could be mistaken for regret or me regressing, which it wasn't.
"You really think I would tell anyone anything?" he looks at me skeptically.
"Hmm, I suppose not." Why did I ever worry about things when he was involved? He already had the answers I wanted to hear.
He leans towards me and lowers his voice.
"But if you're really that concerned, you can borrow a scarf," he says playfully, before leaving me and walking off alone.
"Hey wait! What?" But it's too late. A scarf? Just what does that mean? Oh no…
I rush to the bathroom, temporarily forgetting that I still have to pack and that everyone else is probably already waiting. I approach the mirror and lift my chin to get a better look at my neck. Okay I can deal with that, it's tiny…
I move my hair. Oh gosh. I cover the bruise with my hand and wonder how in the world I would ever explain THAT if anyone asked. I guess I wasn't the only one who got too carried away.
I release my hair and gather it in a way that it covers as much as possible. Deep breaths, this is okay… What's the worst that could happen anyway? We would have to tell them eventually. And we can't really be kicked out of camp at this point. It'll be fine.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I jump and run my hands through my hair quickly to make sure it's really covering everything. "We only have 20 minutes before the bus leaves." Max walks over to me.
"I was just on my way to get my things…" I rush past him, hiding my face and the blush that has found its way there.
"I'll help! Tyson is waiting at the front and I passed Kai on the way to find you so he should be there too. Did you guys have fun last night?" It's an innocent enough question but it makes my blush slightly more prominent and I am sure to keep my back to him as we walk.
"Yeah, we just…talked…" …and touched…and kissed…a lot. But the talking was nice too.
"That's good. Tyson was worried. Glad you worked it out!" He pats me on the back and I flinch. I nod before I enter the cabin and start collecting my things while he hovers in the doorway as if to monitor that I have grabbed everything okay.
"Yeah, everything is…worked out." I smile at him as if to convince him it's no longer a subject that should be discussed. In reality it wasn't far from the truth. Besides a few mishaps, like me being pushed a little too hard into the doorknob and a few other minor incidents, it was worth all the trouble we went through to get there. We would be long gone before anyone noticed the mess we left back in the cabin and we really did get a lot of the emotions we had built up between us out in the open and out of the way.
"Is that it?" Max looks around the otherwise empty cabin.
"Yeah, I think so. I didn't really unpack a lot. Let's go!" I grab my bag and we make our way back to the group by the bus.
"Ray! You're not dead!" Tyson tackles me and I find myself flinching again. I never noticed how much these two like to attack people as greetings before.
"Why would I be?" I laugh it off and slip away from him.
"We were so worried! When I woke up and you still weren't back I was sure Kai had killed you and buried the body somewhere. Did you tell him Max?" he nudges Max and Max just laughs.
"Ah, not exactly…"
"Hey!" a newly familiar voice approaches us. We all turn to Sarah and her group as they stop next to us. "You may not have won overall, but you did win the game so…we made you this…as a reward." She nods to her right and Nicole holds out a small charm locket.
"So you can remember," she smiles as Tyson takes it.
"Thanks! You know, you girls aren't so bad. It wouldn't have been as fun here without you." Sarah smiles at his words and nods so that they all turn to leave.
"You aren't so bad yourselves… Have a safe trip home." She winks and they walk off. That wink sends chills down my spine and I shiver. Glad I won't have to see them again.
"What did she mean? Not winning overall?" I look between the two of them as if I had missed something important. Suddenly, having spent one night away from them felt like a few days had passed.
"Oh, they rallied our scores and one of the other boys actually won overall," Tyson explains. "We had too many deductions for misconduct…or something. I didn't quite get it. We still got our names on the wall!"
"Yeah! They won't forget us!" Max cheers with him.
They are elated as they share their happiness and pass the charm between themselves a few times trying to figure out what it is.
"Don't gloat so easily," Kai warns, probably sensing the same atmosphere from those girls that I did.
"Don't be so negative, Kai! Even mean girls have some decency in them! This is a sure sign that we have won them over!" Tyson objects. "I wonder what's inside. Maybe it's a picture!" I exchange a 'why even bother' look with Kai before he leads everyone in getting on the bus. A hand grabbing my shoulder stops me before I follow them. I turn around.
"Here." Chris hands me my camera.
"Oh!" I had completely forgotten about it by now so I graciously take it from him as he continues.
"I know it wasn't what you guys were expecting but I hope it wasn't too bad."
"Thanks." I smile. "And thanks for not being too hard on us. I know how difficult that must have been." As if he knew he had been mentioned, Tyson starts yelling about somebody taking his seat and adamantly asking them to move, and Chris rolls his eyes.
"Yeah. No offense but I am so happy this summer is over," he laughs in relief.
"Imagine having to live with the guy." He makes an overly thankful gesture then waves good-bye as I move on to join my friends on the bus, taking the seat next to Kai and throwing my bag into the empty seat behind us.
"What was that about?" he asks casually. I hold up the camera and he understands.
"I'm really gonna miss this place." I sigh and settle in. Kai looks at me in disbelief but lets it go without a word. After we are on our way and the excitement of going home quiets down a bit, I start to drift into a nap, feeling totally in place as I slump onto Kai's shoulder.
This calm feeling is short lived as I am awakened abruptly by Tyson's screaming.
"Ahhhh, Max look!" I open my eyes just in time to see Max fall out of the seat in front of us and Tyson throw the 'gift' from the girls towards the floor, kicking it away like a plague. Kai actually pulls me back so I don't end up in the way of their episode. Both boys are covered in little splatters of ink and I watch the trinket slide across the floor, leaving a tiny trail of whatever ink was still left inside it.
"Are you okay?" I ask Max, who looks more hurt by the impact with the floor than surprised at the ink explosion. He rubs the spot that had hit the floor the hardest and smiles weakly.
"Yeah, Tyson just surprised me…" He picks himself up and pushes Tyson in retaliation but the other boy is too busy freaking out to notice. He pushes past Max into the aisle, getting a tired warning glance from the bus driver.
"It's on my face! What is this stuff? It itches!" he whines loudly, jumping from seat to seat, looking in everyone's bags. "Does anybody have any water?"
Kai's grip on my arm tightens and I turn to see what is wrong. In the excitement I had forgotten that he was still holding onto me and I am even more surprised to find him stifling a laugh. I can't stop my smile and start to laugh myself but this just makes Tyson more emphatic.
"It's not funny! It might be poison! More water! It's not coming off… Max! What do I do?"
Max looks at his owned stained skin and then back to Tyson and starts to laugh himself. After watching Tyson pour two entire bottles of water over himself with no luck except to make it spread, he was more than happy to accept the few small spots that had managed to touch him. Tyson grumbles and starts to protest again, looking for another bottle of water but the bus driver shouts out his own discomfort of Tyson's position and the mess he was making and orders him to sit back down.
"We'll be home soon. I'm sure my mom can help us," Max assures him. Tyson doesn't seem to readily accept it but sits down angrily anyway. I move to pick up the locket from where it had been discarded so that I can examine it closer. A few lingering drops fall into my hand from the inside of the now open metal pocket. I lean into the aisle as Max tries to help Tyson dry off.
"It's just normal dye. It should only last a few days if you don't irritate it…" I look at Tyson's bleeding blue skin. "…more…" I hand the now harmless charm back to Tyson who huffs, swipes it from my hand vigorously and looks it over himself. "They must have REALLY wanted you to remember them." I try to get him to soften a little bit. Max, being much better at taking things like this than Tyson, laughs and nods.
"At least this one didn't involve anyone getting hurt! I think we all have things we won't forget about this summer!" he sends a wink to Kai before going back to helping Tyson and I turn back around curiously. As far as I knew, Kai hadn't been involved in any trouble with the girls. Besides what he had participated in with us, he had seemed relatively untouched by all the drama between us. I had assumed it was because he was not an easy target and stayed away from us enough not to be considered 'part of the group' but now it seemed like Max knew something that the rest of us didn't.
"Did something happen to you that I don't know about?" I ask, actually hoping that our 'new' relationship would be enough for him to be truthful about it. He crosses his arms and looks out the window.
"You didn't earn it," he replies simply. My curiosity turns into confusion.
"Earn it…?" I try to think of anything that I might not have 'earned'. Oh wait! That's right. I had been so consumed with the RESULTS of our game that I had forgotten why we had started it to begin with. "So…something DID happen." I smirk, suddenly feeling like whatever it was must have been embarrassing enough to hide. Then again, Max knew. And everyone knows that Max isn't the best at keeping secrets.
"Don't give me that look. You didn't even hold up your end of the deal," he scolds me and I pout. It's true that Kai is a tough nut to crack but in this case…he still has left himself a rather large weakness.
"Oh Maaax," I call to get Max's attention. Kai straightens but doesn't show any sign of discomfort or fear. Not that he ever would anyway. Max pops up over the seat.
"Yes?"
"What did the girls do to Kai?" I ask as sweetly as I possibly can. Max starts to say something but catches a look from Kai and hesitates.
"I…don't know what you mean…" He scratches his chin for more effect.
"Hey, that reminds me!" Tyson pops up over the seat next to Max. I am finding it difficult to take Tyson seriously in his condition but he doesn't seem to care as much anymore. My mind is a bit too focused on my persuasion of the other two however. I turn back to Kai.
"Let me try again. We all know that was a close game anyway. Either of us could have won."
"You agreed," Kai persists.
"Hey, I'm talking here!" Tyson waves emphatically.
"Is it really that bad? Max said it wasn't that bad… Come on Max, just tell me. I thought we were friends." I turn back to Max in time to see him retreat back down into his seat. I vaguely hear him mumble something along the lines of 'don't get me involved in this' and I give the seat a disappointed look.
"It's not. But terms are terms." I turn back to Kai again.
"Listen, Ray!" Tyson is still trying to get my attention back but continues to be ignored.
"Fine, then I make NEW terms. I'll even let you pick the game," I give my best persuasive smile as I see his solid exterior starting to consider it. "And whatever you want as a…"
"Is that a cut?"
"…reward…"
"Kai has stitches!"
"…if you win." I look up completely dumbstruck as to what had just happened. Max had reappeared over the seat to make his confession at the same exact moment that Tyson had noticed the marks on my neck.
My feelings were stuck between being uncomfortable and giving my attention to Max for further inquiry. The look on his face seemed just as torn, being caught between looking relieved, looking guilty, and studying me curiously as he was processing what Tyson had said as well. However, Tyson is the first to push us back into motion.
"Stitches? How many? Where? What for? Can I see?" he rushes excitedly. Kai shoots him a glare when he reaches out to start some kind of examination. He withdrawals but isn't satisfied with that being the end of it.
I stay quiet, unsure of how to proceed. I didn't want to pull the attention back to me to get Tyson asking about THAT again instead. As if to make sure, I casually move my hair back around to cover my neck again without anyone noticing.
Focusing back on the situation, I didn't want Max to be put on Kai's hate list any further than the initial confession had, nor did I want to put myself there. Which was entirely possible considering the angry looks he was now freely giving to Tyson as Tyson tried to whine the information out of him. Tyson was likely to be putting himself on the list soon, if he wasn't there already.
Asking Kai wouldn't get anywhere, and I couldn't exactly say 'oh, I saw them last night' to lessen the damage done by us knowing. I hadn't. Or at least, not that I could remember. Which just made me that much more curious about WHERE they were. Then again, it had been quite dark. If it was only a stitch or two I very well could have just missed them.
"I'm so sorry, I just couldn't take it anymore…" Max offers his best apology before slipping back down in the seat with a heavy sigh. The burden of carrying such a secret was finally gone and he knew not to stay within Kai's glaring range. Not that Kai's glare alone would be dangerous. Although that's debatable.
"Just let me seeeee…" Tyson huffs. Kai rolls his eyes and scowls.
"Let it go, Tys. If it was something he wanted to share he would have," I try to get him to back down before it gets too much worse. Hey, there's nothing wrong with trying to gain a few brownie points.
"Awe, come on! Aren't you curious?" he persists.
"Of course, but it's something personal to Kai. If I had known it was something like that I wouldn't have pushed so hard to know myself."
Tyson pouts.
"You guys are no fun." He drops out of sight, defeated.
Kai looks away, having had his share of socializing for the day.
I smile a little, then sigh, suddenly feeling like I had been boxing in the gym all day. Getting home and taking a nap seemed like the best idea I could think up right about now. For some reason I was extremely tired today. The weight of the summer was finally being relieved and I was ready to relax it off.
And that's exactly what I did.
While Tyson and Max go off to find a remedy for their ink troubles, making plans to call Kenny and Hilary and tell them all about the trip (with exaggeration, I'm sure) as they go, and Kai disappears to cleanse himself of the inner turmoil that being in a close vicinity of Tyson and Max granted him, I choose to collapse onto my designated sleeping spot and pass out. All of our things were strewn about randomly to be taken care of and cleaned up later and I became lost in a pile of 'things' where I was seemingly forgotten. Not that I am complaining. I like the quiet.
"Hey, are you in here somewhere?" It's then that I realize I had made a tent-like barrier around myself with all of our bags without intending to. I stir as Kai finds his way into my 'fort', crawling over me in the little space I had left open.
"Hey…" I sit up to make room for him to sit down, pushing a few of the bags and clothes piles away. "I'm sorry about earlier."
"Here," he orders, taking my hand and putting it on his chest under his shirt. I start to get nervous, wondering what he is doing and knowing that anybody could walk in, but then I feel it. Maybe two or three stitches on the side of his chest, partly under his arm. I lift his shirt to look at them and he doesn't stop me as I gently run my hand over them and the small bruise around them. "They put a snake in the showers," he starts. I drop his shirt back down to look at him in surprise. "In trying to get rid of it, I slipped and got caught on a piece of wood in the doorframe that lodged itself into my skin. I wouldn't have gone to the nurse but Max had tried to help remove it and the wood splintered. I had to get it cut out." I wince at the mere thought of letting Max anywhere near an open wound.
"Did it hurt?" I ask concerned. He shakes his head.
"Not as much as yours." He reaches over to find the bruise on my back as if to remind me that it's there. I quickly catch his wrist before he can put any pressure on it and he smirks.
"So, you like seeing me in pain, huh? I knew there was a reason you came with us to camp. If I didn't know any better I would say you gave those girls some ideas," I accuse jokingly as I let him go.
"Maybe I did," he goes along with it.
"Did you?" I actually start to believe it even though it had been said in fun. He always looks and sounds so serious it's hard to tell when he is joking or not.
"No." I let my breath out in annoyance. "By the way…" I stop being annoyed long enough to get curious again. "I'll be needing these back." He hooks his fingers into the belt loops of my pants and pulls me to him. Before I even have a chance to be embarrassed or resistant, he has me caught up in a smooth kiss. My eyes automatically close as the flutters in my gut turn on full force and my hands grip his arms for support.
"I might never get used to that," I let out nervously when he stops to let me breathe. His fingers tighten around the loops and he nuzzles my face.
"I hope you don't," he whispers, going straight for my ear with his lips. "You're really cute when you're taken off guard."
"What happened to the guys?" I ask even though my mind is far away from wherever they might be or what they are doing.
"Forget the guys. I owe you an inspection."