The following morning, we all lined up for drill practice. Croy was unusually quiet the entire morning. After drills ended, he brushed past me without a word and made his way back to his cabin. "What bit him in the ass?" I muttered as Myra made her way over to me.
"Didn't you guys have a fight or something yesterday?" she asked as she helped me put away some of the equipment. I nodded.
"Well has either one of you apologized?" I shook my head. A loud exasperated sigh escaped her lips.
"You guys are like little kids. Just apologize and get it over with!" she scolded.
"Why do I have to apologize? I didn't do anything wrong! He's the one that got butt hurt!" I shot back.
"Maybe you should ask him why he got offended before making any assumptions." I sighed wearily.
"Fine..." I muttered before tossing the last jump rope into the storage shed.
"By the way..." I began after I closed the door. "What happened last night? Why was Jason so angry?" I asked curiously as she glanced at her boots.
"There was this guy in a superman costume that tried to get fresh with me. He walked up to me and asked me if I wanted to dance and I said no. He tried to force himself on me and kissed me against my will. He was being overly aggressive, to the point where he tore my costume. Luckily, when I screamed, Jason heard and pulled him off me. That's pretty much what happened..." she trailed off.
"After that, things got scary when the superman took out a gun and started shooting into the air. When everyone heard the shots, they freaked out and rushed outside. That's where you came in." she said as she looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry you had to go through such an experience." I placed my hand on her shoulder gently. She shook her head.
"Jason was so brave standing up for me like that. It made me think that I'm really important to him." I chuckled as a soft blush dusted her cheeks.
After a few seconds of silence, she poked my stomach. "What about you? You were gone a long time. What were you doing?" she asked.
"I sort of met this guy and we danced for a while. Then we made our way outside and we sort of..." I trailed off, my face red.
"Sort of what, tell me!" Myra demanded eagerly.
"We sort of kissed." I admitted timidly.
"Wooooo!" Myra exclaimed, tossing her hands in the air. "Was that your first kiss?" She asked curiously. I nodded. "How adorable!" She clapped her hands enthusiastically. "So how was it? How did it feel?" She pried.
"It was amazing." I sighed dreamily. "His breath was so sweet, and his voice was so gentle, it all seemed like a dream..." I trailed off.
"So, who was the lucky guy?" She asked as she leaned in to hear the secret. I shook my head sadly.
"I don't know..." I said as I looked at the floor.
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"I never saw his face, but he was handsome and intelligent. He was courteous and considerate, honest and he was wearing the most amazing Prince costume. It suited him perfectly..." I trailed off with a smile.
"Prince Costume?" She asked, her eyes widening.
"Was it navy?" She asked.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Myra's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Hazel, that Prince was actuallyÂâ!"
(Ring)
The bell for free period interrupted her sentence.
"I got to go Mai; I have to wash my uniforms. Do you know if Ms. Saunders wants the costumes back?" I asked before taking off.
"I was thinking we could give them back to her regardless, we don't have room to store them." I nodded.
"Okay, I'll stop by later today and give it back to her. Thanks for the advice Mai!" I said before leaving a bewildered Myra standing alone on the field.
After I had finished scrubbing my uniforms, I trudged back to my cabin wearily. Memories of the previous night still circled my head. As I walked down the path through the woods, a soft giggle made me turn around. My heart cringed when I laid eyes on a couple, slightly obscured by trees. My heart thumped painfully in my chest when I realized who it was. Croy was wearing a green hoodie and had his back turned to me. Allison placed her arms around his neck as she kissed him, then entangled her fingers in his shaggy hair.
I hid behind the nearest tree so they wouldn't see me. My heart raced and tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I tried to slip away quietly, but I stepped on a twig and snapped it.
"Who's there?" He asked, his voice unfamiliar. Probably from sucking on her face for so long. After a few seconds of silence, I clutched onto my clean uniforms and ran back to the camp. When I arrived at my cabin, I face planted into my cot, tears spilling from my eyes. I was so stupid. How could I let myself believe I had a chance? Allison was so much prettier than me and she had known Croy way longer. After laying down for nearly 15-minutes, a familiar voice made my stomach churn.
"Hey..." I buried my face deeper in my pillow.
"Go away Croy." I hissed, the knot in my throat tightening.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he took a few steps into the cabin.
"None of your business!" I snapped angrily before glancing up at him. I noticed he had taken off his hoodie.
"Why are you crying?" He sat at the foot of my cot when he caught sight of my puffy face.
"Because you're a fucking liar..." I muttered bitterly.
"Me!? What the heck did I do!?" he asked defensively.
"Don't play coy! I saw you two earlier okay!? I saw you making out in the woods!" He furrowed his brows.
"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, genuinely confused.
"I saw you with Allison, all snuggled up against a tree. You could've told me! Do you realize how many arguments I could've avoided if I knew you two were an item? No wonder she was always getting jealous. She was probably thinking I was some hooker trying to steal her man!" Croy lifted his hand as if to say stop.
"First of all, don't call yourself a hooker, that's a dirty word. Secondly, I still have no clue what the hell you're talking about!" I groaned exasperatedly before rolling off my cot.
"Look Croy, there's no point in keeping up your stupid little act. You spent the entire night dancing with her yesterday, and you were basically eating her face this afternoon. Just admit that you two are dating and get this over with!" I snapped.
"Now I know you're going crazy..." he said as he stood up and made his way towards the door.
"I thought we were friends! Is this what you like to do with your friends? Lie to them!?" I asked, jealousy controlling me.
"I've never lied to you!" he turned around and snapped.
"You're so full of it!" I hissed as I stormed past him. He pulled me back by my wrist.
"Where are you going?" he asked sternly.
"Anywhere! As long as I'm away from you!" I growled.
"Will you calm down for just a second!? I came here to apologize!" He scolded.
"Apologize for what? For lying to me this entire time!? For saying that you didn't like Allison when you two are clearly together? For making me look like a treacherous snake in front of my friends!?" I shouted.
"I came to apologize for my outburst in the hallway the other day! I was wrong to act that way, that's why I'm here..." he trailed off breathlessly. I glanced down at my boots.
"I'll forgive you if you tell me the truth." I muttered.
"I am telling you the truth, there's nothing going on between me and Allison, I don't like her!"
I placed my hands on my hips angrily.
"Then why were you two making out in the woods? Why were you two dancing so happily together last night?" I questioned.
"That wasn't me." I rolled my eyes.
"Really? That's the best excuse you could come up with?" I asked incredulously. He shrugged.
"It's true. You said she was kissing someone in the woods. That wasn't me. Yesterday she asked me to dance, but I turned her down! So no, it wasn't me." He repeated.
"I've always admired you because I thought you were different." I began, anger controlling me. "I thought you weren't one of those guys who liked superficial girls. I thought appearance didn't matter to you." I accused.
"It doesn't." He replied the tension between us growing thick.
"I think it's you who cares about appearances more than I do." He muttered before looking away.
"What are you talking about?" I asked warily.
"I saw the way you looked at that pretty boy Kyle yesterday. You were practically drooling." He snapped.
"What!? You're insane!" I said before walking away only to have him pull me back again.
"So, you like accusing people, but when someone calls you on your shit you get all butt-hurt!?" he asked angrily.
"I'm not getting butt-hurt. I don't even know that guy, how can you say I'm into him if we literally just met?" He shrugged.
"That doesn't stop half the girls at this school..." he muttered.
"So, you think I'm just like any other girl? That's great!" I hissed as I tried to leave again.
"Stop running away from me!" he scolded while pulling me back once more.
"I'll stop when you admit you like Allison." I retorted.
"I don't like Allison!" he snapped back.
"Just admit it already!" I shouted, losing control.
"I don't like her!" he screamed again.
"ADMIT IT!" My heart raced when Croy pulled me in firmly.
"I don't like Allison, I like yâ" he stopped just before he could finish his sentence. I glared at him as he took in a deep breath. "I like...someone else." he muttered sadly before letting go of my hand. I didn't say anything, instead I pushed past him and made my way out into the field.