SECRETS LIE.

                    the warm crackle of fire should have eased him.                     made him feel comforted. but as jesse sat with                     his legs in front of him on vienna’s grandparents’                     fancy rug, he felt anything but comforted. he blew                     out a frustrated breath as he glared at where vienna’s                     present and the wrapping paper sat.                                                                            mocking him.

a small grunt sounded to his left. “shut up, moose.” glancing towards the dog in question, he found the husky spread out on the couch he had been too scared to touch. but there moose was, so relaxed that his tongue lolled out of his mouth. jesse could almost feel the dog laughing at him.

                    readying himself for round two, jesse was armed                     with scissors and sellotape. as he tackled the present                     with such force, jesse was surprised he didn’t end up                     wrapping himself. just when he was beginning to believe                     he was close, a finger slipped and punched a hole in the                     paper. jesse sighed deeply. why did he leave everything                     to the last minute? things would have been so much                     easier if—

                                                                                          footsteps.

frantically, jesse covered the present with his body. panic gripped his gut as he tried to reassemble himself so he wasn’t pressing on her present. jesse feigned nonchalance as he laid on the rug, feeling the corners of the box pressing into his back. he desperately hoped the person on the other side of that door was one of mr ronan’s cleaning staff, and not her.

      lately, vienna was like a beacon for christmas cheer and holiday        spirit. not that it was a surprise, of course. she'd always been that        way, since before she could talk. it was just such a warm time of        year, despite the irony that the weather was always at its chilliest.        still, vienna's insides always felt fuzzy and it'd been a long time        since she had even seen snow in person, let alone had a white        christmas. it was one of her many dreams, but she was perfectly        content to be here anyway, spending christmas staying at her        grandparent's house with jesse. it was christmas eve, and her        parents and some other family members were due in the morning.

 it was a cheerful afternoon as usual, and vienna was standing with her  back to the door from of the kitchen, waiting patiently for the timer of  the oven to go off and signal that the cookies were finished baking.  eventually though, she got restless, choosing to abandon the room  and come back to check on them later. she bounded down the hall,  but not before she grabbed the bowl of extra flour from the counter,  smirking to herself as she headed for the living room. if this went as  planned, her grandparent's maid was not going to be pleased. but  of course vienna would try and help her clean up anyway, despite the  objections she would get from her grandfather, since apparently  'that's what they had a maid for.'

                reaching the living room, vienna nonchalantly stepped inside.                 taking in the tree and smiling crookedly at jesse, as his                 obviously awkward posture inclined her to look at him funny.                 i mean, could you blame her? setting the bowl down on the                 table next to the couch, she gathered some flour on to her                 fingertips and walked over to him, flicking it at him before                 innocently starting back towards the couch as if nothing                 happened. if that didn't get him to move, she didn't know                 what would. clearly there was some wrapping going on in                 here, but vienna could totally play dumb for the sake of                  amusement.

    so, she plopped onto the couch belly up, grabbing a pillow and     hugging it to her chest mindlessly. she gave him an upside down     smile, gazing at him from her position. 

               the heart that beat in his chest was pounding furiously,                each thump out of time with the slow thoughts his mind                was processing. what was happening? it was a question                that plagued him as his vision was filled with nothing but                vienna. jesse couldn’t help but absorb every detail about                her. how come he’d never noticed how her lips curved so                perfectly? or how those thick lashes that framed her eyes                fluttered so delicately against her cheeks? it would only                take a second, just one moment, to discover how those                full lips felt against his own, or those eyelashes brushing                against his skin. he tugged his lower lip into his mouth as                he regarded her, his rationality becoming clouded as her                floral scent shrouded him. so delicious.. .

his eyes darkened as her soft fingers touched his cheek, and unimaginable possibilities bombarded him with a force strong enough to sweep him off of his feet. he gulped. with vienna lying on top of him, she was all he could feel. the warmth of her figure ignited an entirely different type of warmth for jesse, sending hot shock waves straight to his center. but she soon left him cold and wanting.

               jesse was left in a daze as she ripped herself away from                him. his senses were in his grasp, but he couldn’t assemble                them and put himself back together. whatwas that? this                was vienna, vi, and these thoughts…

                                           no. it couldn’t happen.

fighting back every instinct telling jesse to melt their bodies back together, he stood and brushed himself off. he angled himself in a way to hide the unmistakable bulge in his pants, a blatant visual of how these stolen moments really affected him. ❛ yes, good idea… ❜ he agreed. god, he was being such an idiot. but how could he think coherently in light of all that has happened? he glanced at her briefly, an attempt that may rid himself of the tension that burdened his shoulders. it didn’t do anything. he stepped closer, the crunch of his shoes in the dirt telling him to just leave. but he couldn’t. ❛ you’ve got something— ❜ he started, reaching to pull a leaf out of her curls. jesse nodded to himself as he pulled it out. with a smile resembling a grimace, he somehow assembled the courage to meet her eyes. and it wasn’t so bad. ❛ last one out of here’s a rotten egg. ❜ with that, he laughed, albeit shakily, and shouldered his way out of the brush, trying to leave the moment behind him.  

               it was ridiculous.

                  how easily her thoughts had gone awry and stolen away                   every grip she had on her ability to tell a good idea from a                   bad one. in that moment, everything felt like a good idea.                   except for the way she abruptly pulled away. still, she                   managed to convince herself of how stupid she was being.                   succumbing to a whim like that on her impulsive emotions                   would've been silly of her. yes, jesse was handsome. she                   knew that -- she even complimented him on it. but it wasn't                   something she meant anything by other than to be a good                   friend him. it was no reason to imagine kissing him. going                   to each other for support, her leaning her head on his                   shoulder, or shoving him, or wrestling with him, that was                   the boundaries of their amazing friendship and it was where                   everything should stay.

                                right? right.

            the fact that she found herself fighting every fiber of her being             not to awkwardly shy away from his approach was all the proof             she needed that she had to leave this whole thing way behind             her. it was nothing. just hiding from the enemy -- nothing more,             nothing less. she grinned at him, and it almost felt natural,             which was how she knew everything would be fine. her and             jesse? it almost made her want to laugh at loud. besides, he             always seemed to look at her like she was one of the guys. why             would he ever see her as anything else?

         purposely shoving him as she shimmied out of the bush, she          made sure she had a hold on her gun as she checked out her          surroundings. charlie was still frozen. it hadn't even been five          minutes yet? it felt like they were in there for a lifetime. gesturing          to a route that lead around him, vienna made her way towards          it, spotting something yellow in the distance. ❛ i see it, ❜ the          words were thrown over her shoulder at jesse at she eyed the          area. ❛ careful, they're probably everywh -- ❜ just before she          could even get the words out, someone was yelling and charging          at them, fumbling to pull the trigger on their paint gun.

   amateur.

               he narrowed his eyes slightly, ripping his gaze                away from where their foreheads collided. ❛ if                you’re sure. ❜ jesse still wasn’t satisfied with her                answer, as it was a pretty hard hit. he’d just have                to settle for now, even though something weird                tugged at the bottom of his gut. was it guilt? his                eyebrows knitted together as he pondered the                strange feeling, before he willed it to dissipate.                they assaulted each other, intentionally and                unintentionally, on a daily basis. why was he                feeling guilty? after all, she was the one that hit                him.  at her joke, he felt the bizarre feeling take                a backseat as his grin echoed hers. ❛ well, sorry. ❜                he said with mock sarcasm.  

jesse soon felt his own laughter threatening as he finally took in the absurdity of the situation. the sliver of light cutting through the branches highlighted the amusement in vienna’s eyes, and jesse’s smile widened further. but it fell slightly as the tangible sound of leaves crunching met his ears. he glanced quickly to vienna for instructions. he was out of his depth here, and judging by earlier, vienna seemed to be clued in on what she was doing. 

               the hands that collided against his shoulders                had him falling to the ground with a quiet thump,                and the unexpectedness of the movement had                him blinking momentarily as he tried to recollect                himself. as he went down, his hands automatically                went to vienna’s hips to steady her. the smile that                once painted his lips was long gone. he nodded                mutely as she signaled for him to be quiet. he didn’t                have any other choice, as if he wanted to speak, he                didn’t think he’d be able to. jesse could feel every curve                and dip of her body as she lay so tightly pressed above                him. it was a firm reminder that vienna was a girl.the                sound of footsteps fading away allowed jesse to hear                just how loud his heart was beating. no, this was vi.                his thumb rubbed the fabric from where his hands                clenched her hips subconsciously, and he jolted as the                movement shifted her shirt and the heat of her skin                touched his. jesse’s eyes darkened as he began to                whisper almost inaudibly. ❛ … vi? ❜

             they had only been lying like this for a few seconds, but                she still found herself panicking over how much time had                passed with her body pressed over top of his like it'd been                hours. if this was anyone else, this would be the point                where someone kissed someone, but the mere thought                felt almost sinful. jesse malone wasn't someone to look                at like that, he was someone to laugh with and blame                pointless things on just because it was fun.

     but his hands on her hips and the dramatic pull of the      warmth of his skin was consuming her -- making it       downright impossible to move, to let this feeling      slip from her fingertips. and those thoughts about him?      they were terrifying -- terrifying because they were off      limits. because they would never be returned. feelings?      there were no feelings. and what was even more terrifying      was that by one touch, one glance, her thoughts had      gone this far. that touch, she wanted an excuse to keep      his hands right there. she wanted those team members      to come back so that they had an excuse to stay like this.      subtly, her hand was inching closer, and closer, until it      looked like it was an accident that it just happened to      brush against his face.

              upon hearing his voice, it was like she was ripped out               of a dark hole that she was slowly seeping further               into, close to the point of no return. but not quite.               obviously not, since she was jumping up, fumbling               with her shirt and her hair, clearing her throat and               looking anywhere but him. 

                        ❛ y-yeah? you can get up now, princess.                         it's -- it's all clear. we should get moving. ❜

          she prayed calling him princess would reverse           every thought she just had;                                                            it didn't.

                 shrouded within the shadows of the forest, jesse                  gave a huff of annoyance. his jaw tensed with his                  concentration as he struggled to work the seemingly                  complex machine. it seemed as if each crevice of                  the gun had its own purpose, and jesse couldn’t                  figure out how to open the compartment to slot the                  paintballs in. quiet curses echoed around him as his                  frustration began to increase. he may as well forego                  the gun and throw the paintballs himself. jesse jerked                  his head up, expecting vienna to be hot on his trails.                  but his eyes were only met with desolation. where had                  everyone gone? he wouldn’t panic, because he was                  capable of handling himself. at least, he liked to think                  so. his shoulders twisted around quickly as his head                  swiveled, taking in his surroundings and the possibilities                  to where his team had disappeared to.  

the sound of his name caught his attention, and despite his belief in his capability, jesse expelled a breath of relief. he pocketed the paintballs quickly. it was strange, he hadn’t even heard vienna approach. his forehead creased as he wondered how she’d managed to evade his vision. he shook himself from his thoughts as her reprimand met his ears. ❛ uh, i was hiding from you. ❜ he said, scratching his head. ❛ but i’m not surprised. you were all there one minute and the next… poof. ❜ his voice mirrored her lowered tone. but her attention over his shoulder caught his eye, and jesse was almost blinded by the light that shone in his face.

                  before jesse had time to react, he was being hauled                   away. he felt a small flicker of surprise as her hands                   wrapped around his bicep. she was pretty strong. the                   sharp edges of the branches caught his bare arms as                   he tumbled into the thicket, but he withheld his grumble                   of pain. jesse settled for a scowl instead as he rubbed                   his arm. he watched vienna’s face light up with                   concentration, and jesse’s interest piqued. he rose to his                   knees, and his jaw dropped open as a splatter of paint                   hit the other captain’s chest. his awed eyes flicked                   towards vienna, disbelief coating his features.  

she was merciless, and his fascination ceased to falter as she hit another person from their team. if he wasn’t so shocked, he might have laughed at the blatant confusion on their faces. ❛ where the hell did you— ❜ his whisper was cut short as a sudden pain smacked across his forehead. dazed momentarily, he blinked as he tried to see through the haze of stars dancing along his vision. soon enough, he found the source of the assault. jesse found himself suppressing his own laughter as he watched her struggle to hide hers. he knew that if she started, he wouldn’t be able to stop. maniacal giggling would not work in their favour at the present moment.

                 ❛ let me take a look at that. ❜ he said lowly as ,                amusement trickled into his voice. jesse raised                  a hand to peel hers away from her forehead.                  the dim lighting was proving useless as he tried                  to assess the damage, and the wind that rustled                  the leaves above them only served to make his                  task more difficult as the shadows leaped across                  her features. jesse’s fingers cupped her jaw as he                  tilted her head back slightly, trying to get a better                  glimpse. ❛ you got a really hard head, you know that                  right? ❜ jesse teased her as he met her gaze. the smile                  on his face began to slip slightly.  ❛ is it hurting? ❜

             really, she felt fine. like jesse said, she had a hard head. it                was really more amusing to her than anything else. but she                was still grateful that it seemed to have distracted him, that                at least granting her the opportunity to opt out of an                explanation. because she definitely did not want to explain;                didn't want to explain that she spent most of her life growing                up with the hobby of learning not just that, but any other                weaponry and defense strategies she could. -- at least not                yet. what if he treated her differently? even though she was                pretty positive that he never would.

   the warmth of his fingers on her jaw was welcoming, so she let    him examine her without putting up a fight. ❛ no, ❜ she said    simply, flashing him a bright smile. 

                         ❛ i'm fine, really. your head just got                           in my way. ❜

            she let the lighthearted joke hang in the air, sticking her tongue             at as if on cue as she covered her mouth to muffle any laughter             that may escape her chest. caught up in their conversation, it             almost caused her to miss the sound of footsteps getting             closer, examining the big tree they were hiding behind. if they             didn't get lower to the ground, they'd have to run for it. and             right now, that situation would call for leaving her paintball gun             behind. at least if they wanted to get away quickly enough.             of course she could have just used jesse's, but the thought             didn't occur to her in time while she was thinking on her feet.

     so, vienna did the only logical thing and shoved against jesse's      broad shoulders, pressing him silently to the ground and lying      flat against him, ducking her head down and bringing a finger       up to her lips in the universal sign to be quiet. her hearing was      trained on the footsteps, her eyes nowhere to look but directly      in front of her at jesse's face. her first instinct was to pull a      funny face at him, but for some reason she couldn't. it was like      a trance, like she couldn't take her eyes off of him. and suddenly,      all she could think about was how close he was. he was so       close, and he smelled amazing. how come she never noticed      how amazing he smells? and oh my god, the coast couldn't be      clear soon enough so that she could move away as quickly as      possibly because these thoughts were not invited, and they had      to go now. she was totally having her own little person moment      right now, and that was not okay because this was jesse. nope.

                  he steadied the gun in his hands, and jesse hoped                    like hell that he wouldn’t be called out on his lack of                    knowledge. sports, he could do. this? it wasn’t in his                    forte, at least not yet. his inexperience was merely                    an obstacle he was going to get over. so when he                    found vienna smirking at him, jesse’s nose crinkled                    as he fought sticking his tongue out at her. ❛ keep                    calling me princess, ronan, and i will even. ❜ still, a                    laugh escaped him as she batted his hand away. unlike                    with anyone else, his friendship with vienna was… easy.                    with alan, there have been times where jesse has found                    himself being tested. but with vi, he didn’t need to worry                    about any unnecessary drama or trivial issues. he simply                    enjoyed her company, and that was all that mattered. 

this time, he couldn’t help the appearance his tongue made. when it came to vienna’s friendly insults, it seemed to have a mind of it’s own. he shrugged it off for the time being, deciding to call their group the a team inside his head. ❛ fine. have it your way. ❜ he said, grinning despite  the seriousness he tried to inject in his tone. his voice fizzled out as vienna laid out their plan, and the widening of his eyes were inevitable. well, that was interesting. ❛ shoot them? ❜ jesse questioned, aiming the gun so it pointed towards her toes. ❛ like this? ❜ his laughter erupted the moment he pulled the trigger, and as paint splashed sloppily from the barrel. ❛ okay, i think i got it. ❜ 

                    with dusk coming to an close, jesse took off towards                     the protection of the trees. he was walking rather                     quickly, what with the underlying threat of facing                     vienna’s wrath hanging above his head. but what                     the nights events would bring would be fun, without                     a doubt. as he reached the cover of the leaves, he                    propped himself against a trunk, inserting a paint ball                    into the guns cartridge.  

              laughing lightheartedly, all vienna responded to jesse with                  was a quick shove. sometimes she was convinced they                  both turned into little obnoxious kids again when they were                  together. their friendship reminded her of what it was like                  when she was seven instead of seventeen and she would                  run around and play with the kids that lived on her street.                  along with the added opportunity to have heart to hearts                  and be able to talk to him about anything. if she had to                  break it down for someone, jesse was definitely the one                  person she would pick to be stuck on a deserted island                  with.

  quick stepping to dodge jesse's test shot, she rolled her eyes.   ❛ you aim at the ground like that, you aren't going to humilate   anyone but yourself, malone. -- remember, they're on   penalty and frozen for five minutes if you hit them above the   waist. ❜ raising her eyebrows, she addressed the rest of the   group too. ❛ bring your A game and we can freeze enough of   them for this to be a piece of cake. ❜

                 as the last bit of sunlight disappeared behind the trees,                  vienna grabbed her black leather jacket that was wrapped                  around her waist, setting her gun on the ground to throw it                  over her shoulders. she ditched the bow in her hair next,                  shoving it in her pocket and replacing it by pushing her                  hair back out of her face. quickly, she headed for cover,                  tilting the barrel of her gun towards the sky as she fell into a                  steady jog with the rest of the group behind her. turning to                   address them about sneaking down the side where she                  figured their defenses would be, she squinted and then her                  eyes darted around in confusion. ❛ where's jesse? ❜ they all                  shrugged, clueless and dumbfounded expressions on their                  faces. she sighed and shook her head. ❛ great. you guys,                  head up this tree line. ❜ vienna pointed almost directly ahead                  to give them a visual. ❛ stay to the right and try your best to                  make it a sneak attack. we'll catch up to you when i find the                  lone ranger. ❜

   with that, she made her way farther to the left, light on her feet    as she scanned the forest's edge. pressing her back against a    tree, she peeked over the side, eyes searching until they landed    on him, fiddling with his extra paintballs. ❛ jesse, ❜ she hissed out    in a whisper, approaching from behind him. ❛ what are you doing?    we went the other way. ❜ vienna pursed her lips together, trying to    keep from giggling -- which was extremely tempting. it was all    fun and games until she spotted the gleam of a flashlight coming    in their direction. ❛ crap, ❜ she mumbled out, darting towards    jesse and dragging him with her to a fallen trunk with branches,    shoving him down next to her. ❛ stay down and stay quiet. ❜ looking    up from her space, she aimed her gun in the direction, narrowing    her eyes and waiting until the figure was close enough. then she    spotted the curly hair and grinned. this was going to be perfect.    once they were directly ahead a few paces, vienna fired, hitting    their not smug anymore team captain directly in the chest. vienna    immediately reloaded with expert hands, ready to fire again a     second later while they were still standing around trying to figure    out where the shot even came from. she couldn't hear their     conversation, but they were clearly being directed to go on     without him. penalty. rules were rules. she could have nailed all    of them, but having too many of the other team frozen in the    same place would just make it harder for them to get by    undetected in the end.

                 at her insinuation, jesse glanced over at who she was talking                  about. captain cheesehead? yeah, he could totally see the                  resemblance. the guys’ head seemed to be coiled with endless                   reels of string cheese. A flicker of recognition washed through                  jesse as he took in the boys lean frame. jesse was sure he had                  seen the boy towering mover vienna from time to time. was it…                   charlie? ❛ we can take him. ❜ he stated, assurance seeping                   vehemently into his voice. hell, as jesse analysed all of the                  other opponents, he was growing fairly certain he could take                  them all. at this, the tangible warmth of adrenaline began to flow                   through his veins and he was more than ready to get this show                  on the road.

snapping out of his brief haze, jesse acknowledged the  camouflaged fool with narrow eyes. ❛ i’m always nice. but that’s lucas. ❜ a sour taste cloaked the roof of jesse’s  mouth just by saying his name. shrugging it off, he focused  all of his attention onto the paintball gun that had been placed  into his open palms by a teammate. now this was going to  interesting. testing its weight, he propped the butt of the gun  onto his shoulder as he eyed the scope. as if his day couldn’t  have gotten any better, he even gets to shoot the little shit that  answers by the name of lucas. but instead of focusing on his mental strategy, he became aware of the new surrounding people. 

                  her words caused a grin to stretch across his cheeks. fighting                   talk— he liked it. ❛ damn right. but for the hundredth time, stop                   calling me princess when there’s other people around. my                    manliness is at stake here. ❜ jesse said it teasingly, lowering                    his voice to a mock whisper. it was no secret that jesse had                   come to grow fond of her jibes. if she wasn’t making light fun of                   him in some way or the other, he’d be concerned. the punch to                    his chest had his grin dropping open, and a deep laugh to                   echoed from his chest. ❛ in your dreams, sunshine. enjoy the                   view of my ass while you’re at it, because you’re definitely                    going to be lagging behind. ❜ with that, he ruffled her silken                    curls.  

adjusting himself, jesse placed the strap of the gun tighter to  his chest. better safe than sorry. the damp grass kissed the  toes of his shoes as he bent to tighten his laces, the colouring  fading as dusk approached quickly.  ❛ we need a team name. ❜  whilst finishing with his laces, he stood and accentuated his  statement to the group. ❛ winners need a catchy name, right?  ❜ jesse said, with eyes crinkling as he shot vienna a smile.

                vaguely, the name lucas spiked some sort of recollection                    in her memory, and now vienna was wondering if this was                    the same lucas she heard about in the halls who had                    apparently ruined jesse's relationship with his girlfriend.                    well, big oops on vienna's part for choosing him. giving                    lucas a curious sideways glance, he seemed to look                    innocent enough. she knew better than to ask jesse about                    it, not wanting to ruin the good mood of the night. they                    had bigger fish to fry. and, besides, from jesse's behavior                    she pretty much confirmed it herself already. big oops                    for sure.

     it was amusing to watch jesse's reaction to his gun. she  didn't      know why, but she couldn't help but smirk at the scene. vienna      wondered if she should ask him if he even knew how to aim one,      but it would probably just be chased by a returned version of      the question, and the answer where she was concerned wasn't      something she was ready to spill the beans about just yet. but      she supposed he would be witnessing it soon enough. maybe      she could just blame it on luck? rolling her eyes, she had the      initial urge to call him princess again, but they needed to get      a move on so she chose to let the banter slide for now. although,      when he laughed and commented again, all prior decisions      flew out the window. ❛ don't be so sure of yourself, princess.      you have no idea what i'm capable of. ❜ the words came out as      a joke, but it was probably true now that she thought about it.      vienna swatted his hand away from her hair, giving him a playful      scowl. ❛ don't even, malone. ❜

ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴇ’ʟʟ ꜱʜɪɴᴇ ᴛɪʟʟ ᴏᴜʀ ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀꜱ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴜᴩ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴋy

ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴇ’ʟʟ ᴅᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴄʀy

ᴡᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʜᴇʀᴏᴇꜱ

     ᴡᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʜᴇʀᴏᴇꜱ

                    ᴡᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʜᴇʀᴏᴇꜱ

                                    ᴛᴏɴɪɢʜᴛ,

Jesse: you know I love you, right?

vienna: that has been the talk of the town lately.

vienna: and i love hearing it.

vienna: i love you too, baby.

                 jesse couldn’t hold back his smirk. she never failed to                  amuse him. vienna was certainly a beacon of light from                  where he  was surrounded in a sea of muscled airheads.                  it was almost a relief  to hear her familiar quips. training                  had brought him out of class that day, so he was exempt                  from hearing her ridiculing jibes— even if she was calling                  him a loser. ❛ ah, there it is. ❜ jesse said with a grin. ❛ it’s                  been thirty minutes and you hadn’t insulted me yet. i was                  getting worried. ❜

his smile soon soured as his eyes were cast over her choice of teammates. or one teammate in particular. lucas. the bane of his existence, and one of the main causes of why things crumbled with him and his ex girlfriend. christ, he bet the rat was all shacked up with her right now. he scowled at him, taking in his attire. looks like lucas thinks this is a game of call of duty, the fucking nerd. 

                 his footsteps echoed vienna’s as the team assembled                  around her. but as she started to speak, jesse’s own                  surprise mirrored the expression on everybody else’s                  faces. he was in awe. damn, it took twice as much time                  to come up with a simple game plan. where was the                  vienna he knew? he cast a glance at her, amazement                  lingering in his features. well damn.

❛ i’m with you. ❜ jesse shouted out before everyone had the chance to assemble themselves into teams. he lowered his voice. ❛ i mean, come on. who wouldn’t want to be after all that? besides, you’ll want someone more experienced to try and win this thing.❜ he said with a pointed look towards lucas.

               as much as she tried to be diverse and fair with choosing,                  the other team captain was cocky and he needed to be                  taken down a few pegs. if it wasn't already obvious to                   everyone the second both of them spoke up, they were                  clearly some personal vendettas at play. but where vienna                  wanted to have fun over everything, he was a sore loser                  that was no doubt taking this way more seriously than                  needed. it was no secret that vienna could be extremely                  competitive when the ball landed in her court, and now,                  it was game on.

      surprisingly, no one had spoken up with concerns about her       layout of the game if they had any. suprising because it was       normal, for people to try and walk all over vienna because       she was seemingly girly and innocent, but she never hesitated       to defend herself when a situation called for it. luckily for most,       vienna was patient and nice enough not to indulge it. or just       mature enough.

                   as everyone split into groups, vienna's face broke into a                    grin at jesse's immediate joining of her group. ❛ i don't                    know, captain cheesehead over there? ❜ she offered                    up, gesturing out towards where the other team had                    already disappeared into the trees. she was already well                    onto her way of laughing about it, chasing the words with a                    careless giggle. it was nice to see jesse outside of class for                    a change, missing him on every available opportunity lately                    between her truck load of extra curriculars and his football;                    though she still never missed a game. and, of course, she                    may or may not have drawn a princess crown on her ' GO                   TEAM ' sign. following jesse's gaze to the last member                    of their team, she made a small clicking sound of protest                    with her tongue. ❛ hey, be nice. what's his name again? ❜