Chapter thirty two
"Ugh. I told you I could beat you. Oh god, I'm going to puke." Anika groaned and pulled away from Ryleigh's chest.
After they ate all the cotton candy machine's supply of fluffy pink and blue sugary product, Anika was deemed the winner by eating more than Ryleigh. With a lot of groaning and effort, they retreated back to the beach to find it abandoned again. Together they collapsed on the sand and Anika had unknowingly curled herself into him.
"Well, don't get sick on me." Ryleigh groaned and held his stomach as he lay on his side, facing Anika as she mirrored his position.
"I don't think I'll be able to even look at cotton candy ever again in my life." Anika grumbled out. Ryleigh made a sound of agreement in the back of his throat before it turned into a groan.
"Why did I agree to eat that much?" he asked himself.
"You're pride couldn't stand to lose to a girl." Anika managed to smirk at him around the pain displayed on her face.
"Shut up..." Ryleigh groaned loudly.
"Er... This is a tad bit awkward." Anika groaned in response to the new voice and couldn't make herself sit up to face Ivy and the rest of her friends in fear of having her stomach reject the cotton candy she'd consumed.
"Awe, we heard groans and thought...." Skinner trailed off in mock disappointment.
"Oh gross, Skinner." Mel hit the blond upside his head just as the other two girls slapped each shoulder.
"If I could move, I'd slap you too." Anika managed to choke out before groaning again.
"Man I hate you." Ryleigh grumbled at Anika. "Why cotton candy?"
"Huh?" Ivy thought allowed.
"You didn't see them by the cotton candy machine earlier?" Mel asked the pink haired girl who looked at her and then back to the pair on the sand moaning in pain.
"They had a cotton candy eating contest. To be honest, I'm surprised they lasted this long. They cleaned the cotton candy machine out." Keira chuckled.
"Ooh, how did that feel? Cotton candy not a fan of you?" Skinner snickered.
"That's it." Anika growled and forced herself to stand.
"Whoa... sugar does not look good on you."
"I'll kill him." Anika lunged at Skinner but was held back by an arm around her waist.
"If you move that quick again, I'm going to throw up." Ryleigh warned her.
"Anyway..." Ivy wearily eyed Ryleigh and Anika as they struggled not to sway on their feet when another wave of nausea crashed over them. The three other friends took a step back for safe measures.
"We just wanted to see where you guys were..." Mel started off and let Keira finish her sentence.
"And to make sure you don't have any more sudden ideas of killing each other again."
"And to bring this guy to his cabin." Ivy let out a small groan as Skinner suddenly transferred all of his weight to the arm wrapped around her shoulders.
"What the hell's wrong with him?" Anika asked wearily as she took in Skinner's pale face and drawn eyes.
"Someone spiked the lemonade." Keira frowned and helped Ivy secure Skinner's other arm around Mel's shoulders so the two could support him.
"He's drunk?" Ryleigh asked in disbelief at the disheveled blond kid in front of him.
"Out of his mind, too." Ivy grunted out. "We're going to take him back to his cabin... or maybe the infirmary. I wouldn't want his cabin mate to wake up to a surprise on the floor." she frowned.
"Alright, I'm just going to go curl up somewhere... Um, over there." Anika pointed her finger in a random direction without looking.
"I'm not letting you go in the water." Ryleigh possessively tightened his arm around Anika's stomach, making the black haired girl groan as her stomach churned dangerously.
"Sorry." he apologized sheepishly.
"It's fine. I meant I'm just going to crash here for a little while and wait for the sugar to leave my stomach and enter my blood. I have a feeling this night won't end once we're high on sugar." Anika rubbed her temples.
"That's a sight I want to see. We're dancing again once you get over this food coma." Keira winked at Anika before she followed Ivy and Mel back to the path as they half dragged Skinner to the infirmary.
"You can rest on me." Ryleigh said softly as he lowered himself back down to lie on the sand in the middle of the beach.
"I thought you hated me?" Anika said as she dropped down to the sand again and snuggled into his side, resting her head on his chest.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm not a jerk though. Just save me a dance later, will ya'?" he closed his eyes and waited for her to nod her head against his bare chest.
"Umm." Anika hummed, feeling her stomach settle down as she slipped into her short-lived nap.
"Well that was nice. Wasn't that nice? How do you feel? Do you still feel sick? 'cause I don't feel sick. I feel great. In fact, let's dance!" Anika jumped up and down excitedly. She reached out to grab Ryleigh's hands and started to dance despite him just standing still.
"We just woke up and you're off the wall." he smiled in amusement. Sand was still caked to his back from their rest on the beach, which they still stood in the middle of.
"Can't say I didn't warn you." Anika sang and dropped his hands so she could twirl around by herself, laughing.
"Oh Lordy..." Ryleigh heard Keira's chuckle.
"How long have you been there?" he asked the golden blond.
"Since I came back from the infirmary to find you guys passed out here." she replied with a smirk, not taking her eyes away from Anika who still had absolutely no clue she was there as she continued to twirl around and then try to run in a straight line.
"Where's the other two?" Ryleigh glanced at Keira and then back to Anika to make sure she didn't accidentally fall into the lake and drown.
"Ivy is staying at the office for the rest of the night and Mel is off beating some kid up for touching her or something." Keira rolled her emerald green eyes. "If it were up to me, I'd say that she tries to scare off the guys just to see if one she really likes will try to break her of her violent ways."
"You okay?" Ryleigh raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well, I may have had a few cups of lemonade." Keira frowned. "Which is so weird, because I don't hate you as much now... and my finger tips are slightly tingly." she held her hands up inches away from her face.
"Keira!" Ryleigh turned to see Anika barreling towards her friend. Just when he thought that she was going to tackle her to the ground while she was still staring at hands, Anika stopped a foot away from Keira.
"Peek-a-boo!"
"What?" Keira asked, unfazed by Anika's loud volume.
Anika lifted her hands in front of her face and pulled them apart so she saw Keira again.
"Peek-a-boo!"
"Did she have any lemonade?" Keira peered around Anika to ask Ryleigh.
"Not a drop. She had a water while she was with me." Ryleigh answered. "But she did have twenty something sticks of cotton candy."
"Oh." amusement filled Keira's eyes as her worry diminished. "Sugar high?"
"Just a little." Ryleigh lifted his hand up and pinched the air.
"Right." Keira straightened and turned her attention hack to Anika who was trying to catch a firefly along the tree line on the beach.
"Anika! Ready to dance?" Keira shouted.
"Yay! Dance with us Rye!" Anika ran as fast as she could back over to Ryleigh, considering she was running in sand. She grabbed one of his hands and towed him behind her as she ran back to the field down one of the many paths.
"So, how come you're not hyper?" Keira asked over the loud boom of the music once they joined the large group on the dance floor.
"Sugar doesn't have that effect on me." he shrugged, flicking his eyes to Keira before he looked back down at Anika who danced with her back against Ryleigh.
"That's horrible. How were you even a kid if you couldn't go off on a craze after you ate like, a bazillion candies." Keira shook her head sadly.
"I guess I missed my shot at childhood." he shrugged and stared thoughtfully at Anika who continued to dance, oblivious to everyone around her. He didn't have much of a childhood but that was in the past, and if Anika could block it out for the night so could he.
"That sucks." Keira ended the conversation clearly acknowledging the suppressed sadness in his voice.
"Looks like you've stolen my dance partner." Keira gave him a hesitant smile. Anika had turned around to face Ryleigh now, and was still dancing like her life depended on it.
"See you around. I'm going to make sure Mel hasn't killed anyone yet. Take good care of her." Keira dropped her gaze to Anika before she was swallowed into the sea of dancing bodies.
"You okay?" Ryleigh looked down to see Anika peering up at him as she slowed her dancing.
"Yeah." he gave her a half smirk. "I think I might be growing on Keira."
"She already likes you. She just doesn't want to admit it just yet."
"I see..." his grin widened after her musical laugh reached his ears over the music.
"You going to dance? Or are you going to stand there all night like a statue?" Anika raised a brow in a challenge.
"So now you want a dance off?" Ryleigh raised his brow in return.
"Nah. I think I'm done with competitions. After this high wears off, I'm going to have the biggest headache ever." Anika stopped her dancing as the next song began to play.
"Um..." Ryleigh looked around him unsurely as Keane's 'Somewhere only we know' leaked from the DJ's speakers. Most people had found partners in the opposite sex and started to dance together in a slow song fashion, only sped up a little.
"We can, uh, get a drink if you want." Anika looked to the glowing dance floor so he wouldn't see the slight hope that died in her eyes.
Ryleigh studied the black haired girl in front of him with a blank expression before he took in the dancing couples around them. Some were laughing and chatting under the music while others had their heads buried in each other necks.
With a soft sigh, Ryleigh slowly placed one hand high on her waist and gently pulled her into him for the countless time that night. His other hand gripped her's in a light manner as he bent their elbows so their hands were in between their shoulders.
"You don't have to dance with me." Anika still couldn't meet his eyes.
"I wanted a dance, didn't I?"
"Yeah but-"
"I want this dance. Please." Ryleigh felt Anika shiver in his arms as his lips brushed against her ear.
Anika pulled her head back a little so she could look into Ryleigh's dark blue eyes. "Okay."