If I had known that the way to get a teen girl to do what you wanted was to make a surprise romantic overture, I’d have likely never thought about doing that. It left me feeling skeezy and like I was betraying her trust, but I also burned with an unfamiliar desire to win by any means necessary… and that makes you do questionable things sometimes.

I saw Dominiqu take her spot in the firing line, and could see a slightly rosy pallor on her chocolate cheeks. Her eyes took on a fierce look, but her smile never faded. Each drone brought over three arrows for their contestant, and BAHAMUT explained the rules. Arrow to the center of the target, the person who had the three closest arrows would be the winner. Simple rules, easy to understand.

A majority of the girls didn’t have much practice, and so most didn’t hit their targets at all. The one other team of guys hit the target, but not very well. Their representative looked uncomfortable from start to finish.

Richard fired his arrows into the target, nailing one dead center and two more just one ring out. He turned, high fived the other jocks, and stood back to watch. Dominiqu inhaled, nocked her arrow, slowly exhaled and let her fingers go. The arrow slammed into the center, quivered, and then went still. I saw her close her eyes, inhale deeply again, and nock the next arrow. She let her breath out in a slow and controlled breath, and let her second arrow fly. It slammed the target a mere centimetre from the first arrow. As long s her next shot hit the target, we would be considered the winner.

“Damn it, I meant to split that one…” I heard her mutter, a look of displeasure crossing her face.

She took a final breath in, nocked her last arrow, and time stood still for a moment. She exhaled, so slow it was almost imperceptible, and loosed her final shot. The arrow scraped right between the two others, carving wood from both as it found its home in the target. The final thudding noise as the head sunk into the material was glorious. BAHAMUT announced the winners and dismissed us.

I ran over and hugged Dominiqu, who spun me around and gave me the most intense bear hug I’ve ever had. I wasn’t even going to ask how she had managed to lift me off the ground, I was just glad she was on my side. She set me down and let me go, her smile flattening a little as she looked over my head.

I turned and saw the jocks approaching. Michael looked livid, Richard looked like he had been slapped in the face, Travis looked like he was still stewing on his loss, and whoever the other two were didn’t matter to me.

“You cheated. You rigged the competition. Admit it!” Michael said, grabbing the front of my shirt.

I just looked at him, keeping my face blank and saying nothing. Either he would get violent, or he would get bored. If I didn’t give him anything to work with, I hoped it would go away.

“ADMIT IT!” Michael shouted shoving his face as close to mine as he could.

I blinked one, grinned, and whispered just loud enough for him to hear, “I didn’t have to. Unlike you losers.”

It was a mistake to bait him, but I didn’t care anymore. “Unlike your team, my girls are all naturally amazing. My girls didn’t have to harm others to come in SECOND. My girls didn’t need the handicap of no one else having experience to come in SECOND. And if you harm my girls again, I’ll make you regret ever meeting me.”

I shoved him out of my personal space, the act making him let go of my shirt. I turned and began to walk away, figuring the bully would be in shock long enough to buy me time to escape, but the next thing I knew there was a blinding pain and a dull thud as I hit the ground. I saw feet moving, but I couldn’t make out any details as my vision began to tunnel and go black.

I jolted awake some time later in the infirmary. Or at least I assumed I was in the infirmary. The lights were dimmed, there were drawn curtains, and I felt a super soft pillow under my head… which felt like a jackhammer was working on it from the back.

“Jace?” came a voice, quiet but full of surprise.

I started to turn my head and felt immediate vertigo. I stopped, let my head find the most comfortable position I could get to, and let out the breath I had been holding so I wouldn’t puke.

“Jace, can you hear me?” the quiet voice spoke up again.

I blinked a few times, “Ow.”

Seconds later Kim’s face hovered above my own. She looked like she had been crying, which was really weird. Maybe Tanya had been hurt more than I thought? That makes sense, Kim crying because Tanya got hurt… or did it? My thoughts were super scattered, the jackhammer making concentration all but impossible.

“You had me so worried. I thought with Tanya hurt, that would be that, and the video cut off when BAHAMUT dismissed everyone… Next thing I knew Dominiqu ran into the mess screaming thunder and vengeance against that asshat who keeps bullying you. Brittany stayed with the other girls, make sure nobody acted on their anger. I should have been there… I should have done something…” kimsaid, her words eventually leading off into tears.

“OTTO does not know what the camper could have done. Camper Dominiqu and OTTO were both there and could do nothing to prevent the assault.” Came a voice floating off to the side. “OTTO has remained by Councillor Jace’s side during the time he has spent here. No one will attack OTTO’s friends while they are already down.”

My eyes drifted over toward the corner I had heard Otto speak from. “Thanks buddy, appreciate the support. What exactly happened?”

Otto drifted over, hovering a few feet above the bed, angling so the blue and red lights could take in my face. “Councillor Michael, the camp councillor AI DIANNA is assigned to, took the bow from camper Richard’s hands and struck councillor Jace with great force and violence. The bow in question shattered on impact, and camper Dominiqu began beating councillor Michael with her own bow. It took six campers to restrain her and remove the weapon from her hands. Otto offered to shoot the campers restraining her, but AI BAHAMUT intervened. Councillor Michael is under solitary confinement for the next 24 hours. His cabin will not be allowed to participate during tomorrow’s events.”

Kim moved herself back into the center of my vision. “You need to rest. Between you and Tanya, I can’t tell who is the bigger idiot.”

“Oh, definitely him. I didn’t provoke a bully who was already mad, I just outraced someone who thought they were Adonis.” Came Tanya’s voice from the other side of the curtain next to us.

“You did an amazing job today though, and I can’t tell you how proud I am.” I said, making an effort to acknowledge the struggle she had been fighting.

She laughed, “I heard you kissed Dominiqu just before the last event, gave her a little bit of a bribe to win. I have to know, who was better?”

I felt my face heat up at the memory. Kim looked disappointed, and I would have sworn I saw a little jealousy cross her eyes. Otto just hovered around, acting like he was on patrol.

“You’ll have to find out for yourself, I can’t remember anything. Too many hits to the head.”

I heard a soft snore start, and since Kim was still holding herself over my face, I had to assume it was Tanya.

Kim leaned in and placed a kiss on my nose. “You know, you can kiss me whenever you like. I’m not going to say no.”

I blinked at how sincere she sounded saying that. I didn’t know how to respond, and I almost swore there was the hint of something more in her words than just being friendly.

“You know,” Kim said, smiling mischievously, “I could help you cut lose. You wouldn’t even have to move.”

I felt her hand slowly creeping down my chest, across my stomach, and along the length of my inner thigh. I felt my face flushing anew at this situation.

“N-no. I’m okay. I would hate to inconvenience you like that anyway.” I said, trying to play things off and adjusted myself in the bed.

Adjusting was a bad decision, and my head split again when I tried.

“No, no. You sit still.” Kim said, pushing me back down into the mattress. “I can handle things. Just let it happen.”

Otto swooped in just then, “Camper, you must return to your cabin. The sun is setting, and unless a camper is injured, the infirmary is closing.”

Kim looked up and sighed. I could swear I heard her mutter the word “clam-jammer” but didn’t have any reference for what that meant. I just knew that Otto had stopped me from doing something I would regret.

Otto escorted Kim out the door, and as I didn’t hear him whirring back in, I assume he took her all the way to the cabin.

“You know, I’m beginning to think she might actually have a burning for you.” I heard Tanya say quietly.

I shifted a little, “I thought you were asleep.”

The soft snoring started up again, and I readjusted again to the most comfortable spot. I felt myself drift off again, and I let the darkness take me.

Sometime in the night, I heard a door swing open gently on the hinges. The wood under the floor creaked, but as the lights had gone down I couldn’t make out anything in my surroundings.

There was the creak of a chair and I felt a weight settle on my chest. I could feel the silent sobbing of whoever it was, the warmth of the tears crashing on my chest burned my soul. Every instinct in my body said to reach out and touch the person, but I couldn’t bring my arm to move. Something was keeping it down, and I couldn’t tell you what it might have been.

“I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t left… If I hadn’t walked away with Tanya… Maybe I could have done something, anything…” the whispered crying told me it was Brittany, and I knew she was upset because if this got back to-

“It’s just like back in elementary. I couldn’t stand up for you. Had to go get some girl who was stronger than me to help. Now look at us… you’re silently keeping in your love for some girl who happened to be there when you needed her, and here I am… pining after the boy too afraid to fight back, knowing he’s interested in someone else.”

I didn’t know what to say to this. I didn’t even know if this was really happening or if this was some insane dream because I was concussed.

“If that wasn’t sad enough, you have some girl who isn’t afraid to take what she wants aiming to make you hers… like I didn’t have enough of a hurdle to surmount… and she leads the others in defending you like some sort of queen or something. How can I compete with someone like that? How can I make you notice me? What’s wrong with me…”

I was almost certain that I was having a hallucination, but I wanted to revel in the feeling that I was desired by someone… even if it was just an illusion.

“Then you go and kiss that skank in front of the jocks, and I help her get away, and then you kiss the other one. I can barely get you to hold me in your arms, but you’ll kiss whoever and whatever like there’s no problem… Am I not worth your attention? Am I… am I just not good enough? I can’t even say any of this to your face when you’re awake… how pathetic is that?”

She cried over me for another few minutes… or so I assumed… and it felt like an eternity. And then she got up, snuck back out, and closed the door as quietly as possible.

“Did that just happen?” I whispered, more to myself than to the room.

“If it wasn’t, then they have us on some impressive painkillers.” Tanya replied in a hushed tone.