I sigh, and start trying to come up with a cool impressive story, not that I’ve ever done anything cool or impressive outside of a videogame… “Okay, so…” Why am I even trying to seem cool? I need people to like me, I guess… but why? I like me. I didn’t before, but I do now.

  “Soooooo…” Tyler says, elongating the word.

  I sigh again, and decide on a story. “So, I was at this boutique, trying on a dress and heels for the first time.” Braedon sighs, but Josh gives him a gre. “I cannot walk in heels. At all. I’m certain I looked like a newborn deer with a broken leg trying to dance.”

  That earns a soft chuckle from Max. “I can totally see it.”

  “Yeah,” I say. “So I’m walking in front of this really cute sales girl, who is probably too old for me, but still really hot.” Braedon gives me a look, and Tyler smiles at me. “So I take a few steps towards her, and completely wipe out. Straight down to the floor.”

  “Oof.” Tyler says. “I’m sorry.”

  “It gets worse.” I say. “On my way down, I reach out for anything and everything, and end up taking the girl's mom with me.” I ugh. “So there I am, sexy bck dress high heels, in pain on the ground with an old woman, pretty much staring up the dress of a hot girl who up until that moment, might have found me cool.”

  Caleb lets out a slightly too forced ugh, but the others pick it up, and Tyler’s sounds genuine. We continue chatting as we finish eating. The chocote shake is good, but the apple cinnamon bar is absolutely delicious.

  Once we’re done, and all of the trash is wrapped up and securely in our packs, Caleb stands. “Alright, objective games. We doing detonation, or capture the fg?”

  “Why not let Emmy choose.” Josh says.

  “I don’t know either of them.” I say.

  “For detonation, there’s two spots in the field, marked with fgs. One team has to defend them, the other has to take pce this timer,” He says, holding up a small pstic stopwatch, “In the zone, and guard it. Attackers win if the timer goes off. Defenders win if they pause the watch.”

  “And capture the fg?” I ask.

  “Two fgs, one in each spawn.” He says. “The first team to get both fgs in their spawn wins. There’s lives in this one too. You get three lives, sixty second respawns.”

  “Let’s do capture the fg.” I say.

  “Cool.” Caleb says. “Let’s change captains. Max and Josh.” He says.

  “Okay.” Josh says with a smile. “I pick Emmy.”

  “Cool.” Caleb says, and hands him a radio. “Max?”

  “You.” Max responds.

  “Braedon.” Josh says.

  “So we get Tyler.” Caleb says, and gives me an apologetic look. “You take opposite spawn.”

  I follow Josh as we hike across the field to the other side. There is no fg in pce, and I look around curiously, as Josh picks one up off the ground from beneath a set of trees, and pnts it in the dirt.

  The fg is made of a long branch, with what looks like a scrap of red shirt tied to it. We stand in spawn, and Josh pulls out the radio.

  “We’re in position, fg raised.”

  “Same. One minute to pn.” Caleb responds.

  “Okay.” Braedon says. “One of us should defend, the other two attack.”

  “I can stay.” I say sheepishly.

  “Nah, I will.” Josh says. “You go get in the action.”

  I nod, and wait. After a few moments the radio crackles again. “Ready?”

  “Ready.” Josh replies.

  “Okay, go!”

  I immediately flip my SMG onto auto, and dash around the corner. I decide to stay on the edge, and py cover. Bushes rustle to my right, and I raise my weapon, and fire a short burst into the bush.

  “Hit!” Caleb yells out, and I see his hand raise.

  I stay low, and keep moving. I walk as quietly as I can, picking my steps carefully as I move through the trees. I hear a twang, and then the sound of a bolt cycling. Sniper. I stay low, and try to isote the sound.

  Another twang, and Braedon yells out, “Hit!”

  I see the movement of him racking his bolt this time, and walk up on Max’s side. “Bang.” I say, holding my barrel for his chest.

  He grimaces, and stands up, “We don’t use that rule here.” Before lifting his rifle and shooting me in the chest.

  “Ow! Dude!” I shout, my voice faltering in surprise. No… I turn, and run, ignoring the intense pain in my chest.

  I run straight into spawn, and fall to my knees. Why… Why did my stupid voice have to do that right then?! Why did… Why… I feel a soft hand on my shoulder, and Josh’s voice sounds behind me.

  “You alright?” I just shake my head.

  Josh takes a breath, and pulls out his radio. “Hey, time out, somethings wrong. Regroup at our spawn.”

  I sit there in silence, staring at the ground. Footsteps approach, and I hear Tyler call out. “What happened?”

  No one says anything for a moment, before Max speaks up, his voice low. “It’s my fault.”

  “What did you do?” Caleb growls.

  “She snuck up on me, and said bang. I told her we didn’t use that rule, and shot her in the chest.”

  “With your pistol, right?” Caleb asks. Max doesn’t respond, and I assume he shook his head. “Dude, what the actual fuck is wrong with you.”

  “I’m sorry…” He says sadly.

  “Can I talk to Max, alone?” I say softly.

  “Sure.” Caleb says. “Come on, we’ll be around the corner.”

  After a few long moments, I feel Max move up next to me. “I’m sorry…” He says again.

  “I’m angry you shot me when I was just trying to avoid hurting you…” I say softly. “But that’s not why I’m upset.”

  “Your voice?” He asks, and I nod. “Does anyone know…?”

  “Caleb.” I say. “I’ll tell Tyler eventually, maybe… but I didn’t want anyone else to know.”

  “I won’t say anything.” He promises.

  “Thanks…” I say softly.

  “I know it’s not what this is about, but do you want to shoot me back?”

  I smile weakly at him. “You don’t need to do that…”

  “I want to.” He responds. “I want to make things right…”

  “Not for me though, right?” I ask.

  “That obvious, huh?” He asks.

  “Yeah…” I say. “Not gonna lie, hurting his little sister isn’t a good look…” I sigh deeply. “For the record though, I think he likes you too.”

  “Really?” He asks, clearly excited.

  “Yeah.” I say with a soft smile.

  He holds his hand out to me, and I take it and let him pull me up. “Thanks.” He says.

  “We’re good!” I shout to our friends, still holding Max’s hand.

  After a few moments, I watch the rest of the group walk back into spawn. Caleb gives me a look, and I smile at him. “We’re all squared away then?” He asks.

  “Almost.” I say, before drawing my pistol and shooting Max in the chest.

  He stumbles back, and lets go of my hand before falling into the dirt. “Emmy!” Caleb shouts.

  “He said I could!” I defend.

  “I did.” He says, as I help him up. “We’re cool now?”

  “We’re cool.” I say, and give him a hug. “Thanks.”

  “Ready to get back into the game?” Caleb asks.

  “One question.” I say. “If we’re point bnk, and you’re not looking at me, would you rather I say ‘bang’ or,” I let out a short burst of rounds into the dirt.

  “Bang, definitely.” Tyler says with a smile.

  “Yeah, same here.” Max says.

  “Okay, cool.” I say with a smile. “But if I see your eyes you’re getting shot.”

  Max lets out a loud happy ugh, and we continue pying. The next few hours go by in a blink, from all the fun I’m having. After a while, Caleb calls out over the field. “Time to wrap it up!”

  I start to head back to the spot we ate at, following Caleb closely. He walks along a log, and hops down into the ditch. I smile at the assembled group and jump down after him. My foot slips as I hit the ground.

  “Owww!” I shout, as I fall to the dirt, my ankle throbbing.

  “You okay?” Caleb asks, looking at me worriedly.

  “I just twisted my ankle.” I say, and try to stand.

  I put a little weight on my right foot, and nearly fall back to the ground as pain nces up my leg. “I gotcha.” Caleb says, and pulls my arm over his shoulder.

  We hobble to a fallen log, and he helps me take a seat. “Sorry…” I say softly.

  “You’re good.” He says. “We were about to head out anyways.”

  “Here, let me take a look.” Tyler says, and kneels before me.

  “Sure.” I say, and look down at him.

  He carefully undoes my ces and then pulls my boot off extremely gently. His soft fingers probe at what is probably the most disgusting sock they’ve ever touched, well he is a guy so maybe not, and I grit my teeth through the pain.

  “There’s already some swelling.” He says. “Wiggle your toes for me?”

  I blush, but try it anyway. My big toe curls very slightly, but the rest do not. “Is that bad?” I ask.

  “Probably not.” He says, and then blocks my view with a hand. “Can you feel this?”

  Something touches the top and bottom of my pinky toe. “Yes.” I say.

  He repeats this test with the other four toes. “Yup, nothings broken. Stay off it for a bit, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Thank you.” I say softly. “Caleb, can you help me limp back?”

  “Sure.” He says easily.

  “No.” Tyler says immediately. “It’s already getting dark, and you’ll move a lot slower that way. Caleb, do you think you can carry her?”

  Caleb gives me a nearly imperceptible smile. “Nah, I think I tweaked my back earlier. Can you?”

  “Sure,” Tyler says. “If you’re okay with that, Emmy.”

  “Yeah…” I say softly. “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” He says with a grin. “We probably shouldn’t try to put that boot back on, it’ll just cause you pain.”

  “Okay.” I say with a nod.

  He ties my boot to the handle of his backpack, and then ties his rifle to the top. “Lemme see your backpack.” I take it off and pass it to him. He puts it on over his own, and then smiles at me. “You ready?” I nod, and he picks me up off the log in a princess carry. “Scoop!”

  I giggle, and rest my head against his shoulder. “Thank you, Tyler.”

  “You’re welcome, Emmy.” He murmurs into my hair.

  We follow Caleb as he leads us back to the trail using his compass. Tyler holds me tight to his chest, and I keep getting whiffs of his sweat mixed with wild flowers. I look up ahead at Caleb as he chats quietly with Max. I hope I was able to help, at least a little bit...

  “So, Emmy,” Tyler says softly. “Tell me about yourself.”

  “Well…” I say, while thinking about what to tell him. “I’m a musician.”

  “No way!” He says excitedly. “Me too. What type of music do you py?”

  “Hyperpop.” I say. “Although I wrote a pop punk song recently.”

  “Oh, you write original songs?” He asks. “Maybe you can py for me one day.”

  “I’d like that.” I say with a smile. “What type do you py?”

  “Metal, rock, punk.” He says as we walk.”Ya’know, whatever’s popur.”

  “Have you written anything?” I ask, and let myself get even more comfortable in his arms.

  “Nah,” He says with a smile. “I just do covers.”

  “That’s still really cool.” I murmur into his chest. “Tell me about your job.”

  “What about it?” He asks with a chuckle.

  I think for a moment before asking mely. “Do you like it?” Smooth, Emmy. Real smooth.

  Tyler chuckles rumbles through his chest and into my ears. “It’s alright. Not what I’d choose to be doing with my summer, but money is money. Do you have a job?”

  “No.” I respond. “I’m only fifteen.”

  “Huh.” He says thoughtfully. “When’s your birthday?”

  “End of October.” I respond. “When’s yours?”

  “March.” He responds simply.

  I don’t really know what to say, so we pse into silence. My attention turns to Caleb and Max. The two are walking a little bit ahead of us, and are talking animatedly. My brother pyfully shoves Max away, who then pushes back into him. They would be cute together. We walk off the trail and onto the gravelly turn off that we used as a parking lot.

  “Crap…” I murmur.

  “What’s wrong?” Tyler asks.

  “I was supposed to call my mom to come get me when I got in cell range.” I say.

  “I can drive you.” Tyler says. “I’m already driving Caleb.”

  “I don’t want to impose…” I say softly.

  “I’m not leaving you here injured, and I know Caleb isn’t either.” Tyler says matter-of-factly. “So we can either all wait here, or I can drive you.”

  I let out a soft sigh. “Please drive me.”

  He just smiles at me. “Caleb, get the tailgate for me.”

  Caleb jogs over to a small two-door bck pickup truck, and pulls the tailgate down. Tyler carefully sets me down, and I lean my back against the bed covering. Caleb and Tyler pull off their gear, and shove it into the bed. I follow their lead, and pull off my pte carrier and knee pads.

  Max, Braedon, and Josh all put their gear in a rusty brown hatchback, before forming up around us. I smile at them and give a friendly wave.

  “Thanks for including me, you guys.” I say, having genuinely had a good time. “I had a lot of fun today.”

  “Same here.” Josh says, and gives me a fist bump. “Sorry you got hurt.”

  I wave away his apology. “It’s fine. I had fun! I really hope I can come along next time.”

  “Of course.” Braedon says with a smile, and hands me a small bck object. “Here's your battery back.”

  I giggle, “Thanks.”

  He shakes his head. “Thank you for being prepared.”

  I smile at him, but don’t respond. Instead I focus on Caleb as he turns around, and pulls Max off to the side. I can’t quite hear what they’re saying, but Max hugs Caleb before he walks back over.

  “Later, everyone!” Caleb shouts. “Have a good night!”

  “You too!” They chorus.

  “Bye!” I shout.

  Caleb takes our airsoft guns and puts them in the back seat, before climbing in himself. “You take front, Emmy.”

  “Thanks.” I say, and start to get up.

  “Whoa there girl,” Tyler says. “No walking.”

  I give a joking sigh, and wrap my arms around his neck so he can carry me to the passenger seat. After sitting down, I pull out my phone and shoot my mom a text.

  ‘Getting a ride from Tyler. Be home soon.’

  ‘Ooooh!’

  ‘Take your time, kiddo.’

  ‘And tell me everything when you get here.’

  ‘I hurt my ankle.’

  ‘Can you help me get inside when I get home?’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Princess.’

  ‘Of course I can help.’

  I put my phone down and rest my head against the pilr of the truck while we drive. Tyler puts a pylist on the stereo, and a pop punk song I know very well starts pying.

  I happily sing along while we drive, and just enjoy the vibration of the truck on the road. Near the end of the song, I catch Tyler gncing over at me.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Nothing.” He says, and looks straight ahead.

  “Okay.” I say in a goofy voice, which causes him to chuckle.

  We pull up to Caleb’s house, and before I can even take off my seatbelt, Tyler is out the door and sliding his seat forward.

  “Have a good day, Sister.” Caleb says as he climbs out.

  “You too, Brother.” I say softly. “Sorry I got hurt.”

  He waves away my apology. “I had fun. As long as you heal up properly, I’m happy.”

  I smile at him. “Thanks, Caleb.”

  “No problem.” He says. “Later, Emmy.”

  Tyler climbs back in, and pulls out of the driveway. “So,” He says, without looking over at me. “Where to?” I give him my address, and he starts driving. After we’re back on the road, he speaks up again. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” I say simply. “Why?”

  “You just seem off.” He replies.

  I sigh deeply, and look away from him. “You’re just being so nice to me, and I don’t understand why.”

  “Can’t a guy just help a friend?” He asks.

  “I guess so…” I say softly.

  He sighs deeply. “Look, Emmy…” I don’t respond, but just stare at him. “If you’re looking for an ulterior motive, you won’t find one.”

  “Sorry…” I say miserably.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I like you a lot. You're beautiful, funny, smart, and so sweet.” He says, and then continues. “But you’re dating someone, and I’m not about to interfere. I just want to be your friend.”

  “Actually…” I say tentatively. “She dumped me on Sunday.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” He says genuinely. “I still just want to be your friend, though. For now, anyway. Especially now knowing that.”

  “Thank you.” I say softly. “I want to be your friend too.” He smiles at me, and I can’t help but continue speaking. “And who knows… After some time has passed, and I’m ready to date again, maybe you’ll still be avaible, and we can try then.”