As we walked away from Tina, I had this uncanny feeling of premonition- an odd feeling that something was going to go very wrong. I glanced back and saw Tina waving at us from the window. I know that, as a spy, you should never ignore your gut feeling. But tonight I didn't want to be a spy. As impossible as it sounds, I just wanted to forget about it and be normal for once, or as normal as a group of spies can be. To have fun on a normal date; to just chalk it up to the stress of the previous events and stop checking my tail every 2 minutes. So I shrugged it off and focused my attention on enjoying the date. Well, what was left of it.
It was now 9:27 P.M., which was pretty late. But it was still enough time for us to finish up our date.
So that's what we did. After a few minutes of worried-yet-relieved silence Grant started joking around again. And before we knew it, all previous events were promptly set aside. We were almost like normal teenagers again. Care-free, and happy. Almost.
Until we got to the bowling alley and realized that we still had to meet the real "normal" teenagers. Ugh. There goes my sliver of happiness. Preston led us through the doors, and I was instantly met with noise and dim lights. I drank it all in, the people, the surroundings, all of it. As I did this I was unable to stop myself from making mental notes about every detail. The exact location of all the people in the room, the set-up, the people, and of course the nearest exits, where the pavement artist in me would be content to swiftly disappear through. I could see the others doing the same things and chuckled quietly. Zach heard me and cocked his head, permitting a small smile to stretch across his face. We spotted Deedee and the rest of her friends at the far lane. So we walked to the counter to get our rental shoes (Macey complaining the entire time about the smell ,color and size) and proceeded to lane 15.
"Hey Cammie!" Deedee said when she saw us approaching. She smiled timidly at us, almost silently begging us to forgive her, even though she had done nothing wrong.
"We haven't started yet. I wanted to wait for you guys. And I wasn't sure whether to do teams or no teams." She paused. "Listen guys I'm really sorry about-"
"It's fine Deedee." Zach quietly interjected. He seemed very subdued, quite unlike his normal cocky personality. I knew something was bothering him; he definitely seemed on edge.
"It wasn't your fault at all. Let's not let it ruin the night."
Everyone nodded their assent, but Zach and Preston still looked uncomfortable.
"I think teams would be good if we have one lane." I suggested, effectively steering the topic away from that unpleasant occurrence. "What do you all think?"
"I think we should split up. Grant and I will be one team. And…Macey and Preston?" Bex chimed in, catching on to my plan.
"I'll pair up with Jonas. But…I'm not very good." Liz shyly added. Jonas just smiled at her and nodded yes.
"Well Josh isn't here. So I'll pair up with…Brian! Okay?" said Deedee, her smile visibly dimming, and then going right back up. Brain just mumbled "Uh okay".
"I'd loooove to be partnered up with the hot blonde." One of the boys whispered to his friend, staring at me. Zach visibly tensed. I should've been annoyed at his possessiveness, but I was too annoyed the boy's comment. Did he really think we couldn't hear him? Obviously I had a boyfriend and I was in no way interested. Besides, I wasn't even that pretty, which seemed to be the only reason he wanted to be my partner.
"I'm with Cam." Zach quickly said before the kid could speak up. His shoulders sagged in defeat and I couldn't help but grin.
"Awwww man!" Grant exclaimed. "I'm so stupid! Zach is like, the best at bowling. He totally pulverized me last time! And can you imagine him paired up with Camster? They're gonna be unstoppable!"
Grant's whining was hilarious and I couldn't help but giggle. Zach smirked at me. Then he leaned over and faintly whispered into my war "Did you just giggle?"
"Yes I did." I retorted hotly
He just chuckled, and then lightly kissed me. All my petty anger just dissipated. It was hard to hold a grudge against Zach.
"That kid cannot whisper for his life" he said leaning down to my ear.
I faintly smiled at his unwillingness to admit his jealousy. " It's okay if your jealous. Just know that he didn't even stand a chance.
Zach smirked playfully at me "I refuse to admit I was jealous, because I wasn't. But it's nice to know that just the same. Even though I totally knew that he didn't stand a chance against all this anyway." He gestured to himself. I just rolled my eyes and lightly smacked his chest.
Suddenly we were aware we had an audience, Zach cleared his throat. He turend to address the group.
"So. Now that it's settled," He said, grinning widely, " Get ready to get totally pummeled. Let the games begin!"
30 minutes later you could feel the tension between teams. Well, it was mostly the gang. Everyone else didn't really seem to care. Zach and I were neck and neck with Bex and Grant. Surprisingly, Macey and Preston followed closely in third and Liz and Jonas trailed not far behind them. Deedee and Brain came next, but the gap between the two wasn't even close. They didn't seem to care though, and you could tell that Deedee's mood had considerably brightened. Part of me was glad she was having fun. It sounds odd, but she's just such a good person that I couldn't help but want her to have fun.
While one part of me was excited and happy, not unlike Deedee, the other part of me, the spy part of me was on edge. I felt yet again the nagging of unsettling dread tugging at the corners of my mind. Something was off about tonight. The sinking feeling was slowly seeping into my heart like a dense fog; clouding my mind with worry and uncanny trepidation. I silently racked my brain for anything wrong with any previous situations but I came up blank. Still, the feeling wouldn't go away.
I was pulled back into reality by Zach's voice calling my name.
"Cam? We're up. You okay? I saw you zoning out there. Something wrong?"
"Aww she's just worried cause she knows I'm gonna beat your sorry arses." Grant smirked mischievously.
I pushed all lingering worry aside and flashing a bright smile at Zach I turned and smirked right back at Grant.
"In what universe would you ever beat us. When pigs learn to fly, then we'll talk." I shot back at him glad to get my mind off my silly feelings. Just enjoy tonight Cam. I thought to myself. Relax. You're FINE.
"I'll remember that Cam. I'm training one right now, so be prepared." Grant fired back. The glint in his eyes showed he was enjoying this banter immensely.
"You'd better be too. I promise I won't laugh when you go home crying because your best friend and his GIRLfriend beat you."
"Ohhh it's on like Donkey Kong!" Grant shouted.
"Really Grant?" Zach said incredulously.
"HECK YEAH! Show me what you got Morgan!"
Picking up a ball I brushed by Zach who grinned at me evilly. "You got this Morgan. Make him cry. "
"Oh you bet I will" I grinned cockily, getting myself into position. "He's not even going to know what hit him!"
Number of times I bowled a strike: 42/50
Number of times Zach bowled a strike: 46/50
Number of times Liz or Jonas congratulated us for our "perfect strategic angle": 23
Number of times Macey said "Nice" and then promptly went back to making out with Preston: 15
Number of times Grant randomly screamed that we were obviously somehow cheating: 88
Number of times Bex rolled her eyes at her idiot boyfriend and looked like she wanted murder him: 88
Number of times Grant screamed GO WONDER PETS right before he bowled: 70
Number of times Zach and I rolled our eyes at him (because only Grant would type in Team Wonder Pets as his team name): 69
Number of times Grant told me I shouldn't be talking because my team name was stupid too: 69
Number of times I wished my team name was not "Sexy is Goode": 69
Number of times Josh's friends looked at us like we were crazy: approximately every single one of them.
It was the last round and Grant was trying (but failing) to psyche Zach out. It was no longer a group game to him; just Zach and I verses he and Bex. He didn't even realize that Macey and Preston were slowly making their way up the ranks and were also now tied for first. Macey was actually really good and seemed to have a knack for curving the ball just right. With help from Preston after 20 turns they started speeding up the ranks. Even with her unexpected success Macey still complained about everything, and watched the game progress with an almost cool indifference. Regardless, she and Preston had effectively beaten Grant and Bex. He didn't even notice. Bex did, but didn't tell him and evil grin on her face as she had whispered in my ear "I want to see the look on his face when he realizes it!"
Now though it was up to Zach to bowl a strike, if he didn't, we would lose. Everyone was now watching the final move in our game. Aware that all eyes were on him, Zach didn't even twitch a muscle, emotionless, focused on the ball and the pins. He wound the ball up, released it and… bowled a perfect strike! In eager anticipation everyone raised their eyes to the screen where the results flashed up. The winner was…wait a minute! Zach and I exchanged a quick bewildered glance. "The winner of the ultimate bowling tournament is…" Bex read dramatically off the screen, "Macey and Preston and Zach and Cammie! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a tie!"
Macey looked up at the screen and then to Preston and grinned "Huh. I guess wearing these awful shoes was totally worth it."
We all congratulated and high-fived each other. Grant had frozen on the spot. His face was absolutely priceless! He face was a mix of anger, disbelief, and shock. He looked like his favorite dog had just been run over by a pink bicycle. (Don't ask. My references are really weird). I cracked up at his deer-in-the-headlights look. The flash of Bex's camera broke him out of his stupor, and he instantly started mumbling and pouting about his "unfair loss" and how he "couldn't believe it" and he "totally deserved to win" and had been beaten by "two freaking girls". We just laughed and ignored his comments and eventually he let it go and started joking with the rest of us.
I looked around the room at my laughing friends and sighed in contentment. Even though it had its ups and downs, to say the least, the date had been really fun! It was nice to be able to just have fun with my friends and boyfriend. As if he could read my thoughts, I felt two string arms envelop me from behind and felt the vibrations of his deep chuckle.
"Well Gallagher Girl. What a night huh?"
"Yeah no kidding" I said as I relaxed into his arms. "It was a lot of fun though."
"The food fight was particularly epic."
"Definitely. But that's not my favorite part?"
"No Gallagher Girl? I bet I can guess."
"It was the cake."
"I thought you were going to say me. I'm really hurt."
"Ehh you were a close second. But I love cake more than you." I smirked as he turned me around to face him. I wasn't exactly short, but he was so tall that I had to lift my head to look into his gorgeous emerald eyes glinting with laughter.
"Oh really Gallagher Girl?" he smirked back at me leaning down so our foreheads were touching. "I'll see what I can do about that.
And then we were kissing. Not fast and rough, but soft and sweet, the kind of kiss you share with someone you really love. I melted into him and in that moment I forgot my nagging feelings of anxiousness. All seemed right with the world. So of course, that was the moment when all hell decided to break loose.
Hello guys…I'm baaaaaaaack! (Tell me if any of you got that reference) ;-) And of course, I leave you on a cliffhanger.
It's been a LONG 40 days! But here I am once again, back from the dead, with a new chapter! I tried to make it long to make up for my prolonged absence from Fanfiction ( I think it's one of my longest ones yet). As many of you might know, I gave up Fanfiction for Lent, one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm sorry that you guys had to wait so long. But hey, I'm back now! Of course this doesn't mean that I'll update more regularly. I have a lot to do especially now that Easter break is coming to a close. But I'll still try my best. I just don't want to rush the story. I'd rather take a long time to write (hopefully) better stories, than write badly in a short amount of time.
Moving on, I wanted to try something regarding feedback. I've seen some other authors do this, and I'd like to give it a try. I'm going to be posting a review outline for you guys. These are just some suggested things for you to include. Of course, anything you have to say is appreciated and great! But it's easier for me to organize.
1. What I liked/did not like about this chapter and why.
2. What I would add to the story to make it better (and why)
3. What should happen next? (kind of like #2)
4. Any other constructive criticism about my writing, or the story.
And of course like I said you can add anything else to your reviews. I will also sometimes be asking you a question of the day, like the following:
What did you guys give up for Lent? (If you gave up anything)
Again, any review is so greatly appreciated. I'm really glad to be back!
-Courtney