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Jenny crept through the dark tunnels and pathways, lightly humming along with the Mission Impossible Theme that was playing at the moment. She wondered again why she had agreed to go to this place. It was like an electronic gun version of capture the flag, only it was called Q-Zar. She could remember having one back in her hometown, but she’d never gone and never thought to find out what it was. She couldn’t say she totally hated the game; it was interesting and exciting. However, it also left her feeling very alone and stalked, and it gave her goose bumps all over. Not to mention that every time she was hit, her heart raced faster than she thought was humanly possible.
“Ok… gotta find the safety area… C’mon, c’mon!” Jenny pressed herself, praying that she could make it to her team’s check up station, which was also the no firing zone, so she couldn’t hit anyone else and she couldn’t be hit. Too bad she was only allowed to be in it for a maximum of five minutes. She wasn’t going to worry about what happened after she reached the station though, as long as she just got there without anyone else finding her…
“Gotcha!”
***********************
“Nick, why don’t you go around to the other side of their flag? That way we will be coming in from more than one side. Plus, if we are split up it will be harder for someone to aim at us both,” Kevin explained, hoping that they could win this game before their time was up. It was already their third game that night, and he was determined to win it, just like the other two. The only reason they had continued playing was that the six guys on the other team had insisted that they keep playing until they had a chance to win. Kevin was starting to get tired of this, and he wanted to win it and go to Nick’s house. Their party was supposed to start in a few hours anyway.
Nick listened to Kevin’s instructions and nodded his head, ready to get the game over with so they could go back to his place. He wasn’t sick of playing by any means, but he was starting to wonder how much longer Jenny and the other guys would want to continue on with it. As soon as Kevin placed his attention solely upon the flag, Nick quietly made his way over to the other side of it. That’s when the blood-curdling scream reached his ears. The scream of a female. He knew who it had to be. There were only guys on the other team, and despite the teasing, Howie wasn’t a woman.
Without a second thought, Nick took off at a run in the direction of the scream. After a few seconds, he sensed Kevin following him. It didn’t matter, though, he just had to reach Jenny. Lord knew what had happened to freak her out, and he did not want to relive the whole bus scene again. He just had to reach her before anything happened.
The scream repeated, causing Nick’s legs to pump faster and faster. He rounded another corner, sure that he had to be getting close. Skidding to a stop as to keep from running into a new figure, Nick heard a short, sharp shriek coming from just behind the other man.
“Jenny?!”
Silence. Nick wouldn’t dare move, unsure of how Jenny would respond to him. He kept his eyes locked on the dark corner behind the stranger standing in front of him, though, hoping for a glance at movement. There was no time to acknowledge the man standing only a few feet away from him at the moment. Jenny came first.
“Nick…?” Hearing his name, Nick shoved past the unknown man and knelt down at Jenny’s side. Her face revealed such relief; Nick almost fell backward upon that realization. Since when was Jenny relieved to see him? There was only one possibility that would explain her turning to him for safety. Nick’s blue eyes darkened and flared as his gaze turned into a glare toward the stranger behind him. The man’s expression transformed from one of worry to a challenge as soon as he saw the threat in Nick’s face. Before either of them gave another thought, Nick sprung from his crouch on the floor to his feet and quickly knocked his opponent onto the ground with a slam to the jaw.
The man reached up to his mouth and wiped the blood off of his split lip, icy eyes radiating defiance. He finally spoke up when he had balanced himself back on his feet. “What the hell was that for?”
“Well, lemme ask ya this: what da hell did you do ta her? Whatever it was, THAT’S what that was for!” Nick returned. A faint blush marked the stranger’s cheeks, not only proving his stupidity in not realizing the reason for Nick’s outburst, but also proving, in Nick’s mind, that he had indeed done something to Jenny. Without waiting another second, Nick lunged for the second time at the fool, this time to be held back. Until that moment, Kevin had been forgotten.
“Jesus, Nick! Back off of him! What has gotten into you?” Kevin gasped, trying to hold in his rising frustration.
“Why don’t you ask him! Or maybe Jen!” Nick spat, eyes never leaving the source of his hatred. Kevin had only gotten there in time to see Nick jump to the unknown man, and had no clue what had caused it. Now he looked up at the man, his face demanding answers. And then the man was trapped. There was no scowl like one from Kevin.
“I-I was just… trying to sh..shoot at her!” he stuttered. Nick’s sudden jerk as an attempt to escape Kevin’s hold told them all what he thought of that answer. By then, Howie, Brian, AJ, and the other five from the other team had shown up, each of them wondering what the Hell had happened. The stranger’s friends went to his side, rather to appear more dangerous of a group than to actually find out if he was all right or not. Sensing Nick’s tension slowly leaving his arms, whether it was because he was foolish or because he realized he couldn’t attack six people on his own, Kevin released his hold from Nick. Nick immediately went to Jenny’s side and gave his assistance for her to get up.
“Are you OK? Were ya hurt?” Nick whispered to make sure no one else would hear their conversation. Jenny gave a slight nod and finally looked straight into Nick’s gaze. That’s when Nick saw the embarrassment and the shame in her eyes. Not fear. The faint blush on her cheeks wasn’t lost on him either. Realizing that the stranger had probably just surprised her and not actually harmed her, Nick felt his own embarrassment creeping up on him. There was no way in Hell that he was going to apologize, though. With no other ideas on what to do, Nick just led Jenny by her shoulders through the crowd and headed toward what he thought was the exit. Neither of them even noticed the four men following them out the door.
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Jenny slammed her door and winced as she heard how loud it was. What an idiot! She’d let her fear take over her again in front of strangers! Not to mention there was supposed to be a party at Nick’s house in a few hours. How was she ever going to face all off them again? She was so ashamed of her behavior, and she could only imagine how THEY felt about her behavior. It was amazing that none of them had demanded answers from her so far. She knew it couldn’t last forever, though. She even had to admit that she owed them any answers that they wanted.
A knock came on the door. An ironic smirk appeared on Jenny’s face. Figures, she thought. Just when I’m thinking about it… it happens. “Come in.”
Nick’s face came from around the door, uncertainty all over it. “Is this a bad time?”
“No… I guess not,” Jenny replied, feeling even more low that he didn't blame her. Nick rounded the door and closed it quietly. Without even thinking, he sat down on her bed next to her. Jenny couldn’t help but inch away from him to give her distance. They both winced when they realized her reaction. Turning slightly toward Nick to give him her full attention, Jenny just sat there, waiting for him to say something. Anything to relieve the tension.
“How do ya feel?”
“All right, I guess. A little stupid,” she said truthfully. At that moment, she just couldn’t think about lying anymore.
“What happened?” Nick wondered, hoping she’d be more comfortable with him being straightforward rather than going around the question.
“He cornered me so he could get an easy shot at my vest. He just wanted to shoot me.” Nick thought this over, imagining the whole scene in his mind. He could easily see how it could have happened and why Jenny would have screamed. Nick could even imagine the way the guy would have reacted to her scream, and how Jenny would have screamed again. It had turned into the bus scene again. Only it was someone else making her scream. And someone else making her lose her fear again. Coming to this new thought, Nick smiled inwardly. “Are you angry?”
Nick’s thought process was interrupted when Jenny spoke again. “No. I’m not mad. Da other fellas aren’t, either. Don’t worry, Jen,” he answered, hoping to prevent any more fears she might have of them. So it probably wouldn’t work. He could try, right? Jenny’s shoulders drooped with a sigh of relief. Maybe they will be angry with me in the future, but at least I don’t have to worry about that right now. And I don’t have to explain anything else to them, Jenny added to herself as she saw Nick give a weak smile and stand up to leave the room. She admitted to herself that if he had demanded reasons for her behavior, she would have given them. Guess I’m lucky that he didn’t feel curious enough.
Nick was just happy about her expression when he’d told her not to worry as he left. Relief. He’d seen relief. Was there trust in it, too? He wasn’t really sure, but maybe. Right before he was going to shut the door, Nick stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Jenny again. “The party is going to be in a couple of hours. If you have anything really nice, but not too dressy, you should probably wear that. The rest of the guys, our band, some of the management,” Jenny had to grin at the shudder in Nick’s voice when he said “management,” “and many of our friends are going to be coming over. You’ll be able to meet Kevin and Brian’s wives, too! I bet you’ll love Kris and Leigh. Especially Kristen. She’s so great. Well, I’ll see ya soon!” Nick said, and then he was gone.
Sitting in the empty room, Jenny looked about her, wondering what she could possibly do to make herself look better. She didn’t have a dress at all, she knew that. Maybe she had brought a skirt or some slacks. No matter what she wore, though, she could only hope that the night would go well. Actually, she could do more than hope. She could pray; pray for someone to watch over her and help her with the night to come and the summer ahead. With that, Jenny was down on her knees. Praying.
Broken Promises