I had always had fun watching these games back in our home theater. But actually being there, being able to simply lean over that balcony and look down at all the athletes getting ready for their turn? That was so much better than sitting alone at home. I could see everything, could watch the events right in front of me and hear the wild noise of the crowd as the excitement swept over everyone when a competitor did something exciting or daring. I was part of that excitement, part of the audience who roared with appreciation or gasped with nervous fear. Throughout the rest of the afternoon events, I let myself get swept away by all that. I wasn't thinking about Paintball, or the Ministry, or any of those myriad other bad things that had occupied my thoughts for so long.
Well, okay, I did have one other thing in my mind beyond watching the competition. Namely, participating in it. I had been down there. I had been right in front of this same audience that I was now a part of. I had actually performed for these same people. It hadn't really sunk in at the time. And, to be honest, it probably still hadn't fully. It all just felt like an amazing dream or something, like it had happened to someone else. That couldn't be me. I couldn’t have been the one performing in front of all those people. It didn't feel real. Had I imagined it? Was I just making up those memories?
No, I wasn't. It was real. And yes, I knew how silly it was for me to be so shocked about simply performing some wild stunts in front of an audience. I was Paintball. I was a Star-Touched, and had been for months. This was just a silly athletic competition and exhibition. It wasn't important, not like saving people was. And yet, this still felt like a huge thing. It was a huge thing. I had grown up watching these games and being excited by them. Now I was actually here. I was part of both the audience and the competition, and that was a very big deal, no matter how much I tried to tell myself to calm down.
Honestly, having Dani there with us only helped build my excitement even more. She was clearly just as much of a fan as I was. The two of us kept going off on long, detailed discussions, some enthusiastic agreements and some good-natured arguments about various competitors and past events. She knew just as much as I did, though some of her opinions about those things were obviously complete nonsense. Seriously, how could she or any other person who had actually watched the thing even think that Meyers Bahl could have had the slightest chance in hell of beating Tombstayed in the blade-throwing competition last year? Sure, Bahl had definitely been a totally solid number two, but Tombstayed had utterly blown him away in the final event.
Yeah, we had a lot of discussions like that. All while doing our best to occasionally explain just enough context to Izzy so she wouldn't be completely left in the dark about all of it. Which, obviously, prompted its own rather spirited discussions. From the outside, it probably would have looked like we were just arguing, and we sort of were. But it was a fun argument. Dani being as into the events as I was, even with some of her silly, nonsensical opinions about that stuff, was still really cool. It was great to be able to sit there and talk about all these things with someone like that. Especially when we were having these discussions while sitting right there in the arena where the latest one was happening. That was just… I was still giddy about that. There was so much else that I needed to worry about, so many things that still needed to be dealt with. But for now I could set those aside and just enjoy all this.
Finally, the games were done for the day. Normally the events would go on through the evening, with just a break for dinner, but this was just the exhibition and they were going to give all the competitors the full evening to take a break and come back fresh for the real competitions.
Well, mostly a break. They--We still needed to come back for pictures and some sort of social gathering thing. Which meant I’d also need to split up from my family around nine, but that probably wouldn’t be a problem. I’d already heard our parents going on about possibly going to watch some lounge performer that Mom remembered having a big thing for when she was a teenager. Which--yup, I really didn’t want to think about any of that, thanks. Anything that had to do with either of my parents having a crush on anyone other than each other could just stay in the void where it belonged. Hell, I didn’t even really want to think too much about them feeling that way about each other, let alone other people. Which I knew was weird, getting ooky feelings about my parents’ romantic lives or emotions when there were much bigger things to worry about when it came to them. But I couldn’t help it. They were my mom and dad.
Either way, it probably wasn't going to be hard for me to slip out for a little bit. I really couldn't see Simon sticking around the hotel suite for very long. Not when he was old enough to gamble around here, and get into several of the clubs. Sure he wasn’t quite twenty-one yet, but there was still plenty he could do. And honestly, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he had a fake ID that would pass absolutely every possible inspection, including literally checking the official files.
All of that was stuff to focus on later though. It would be about five hours before I needed to sneak out to be Paintball for a little bit. For the moment, it was dinner time. Mom and Dad insisted that Dani come with us, as soon as she mentioned just stopping at some fast food place or ordering room service. Which was how we all ended up eating together at this delicious steakhouse Dad knew about thanks to some previous visit. Honestly, it felt like they could have charged for the scents alone. Walking inside made my mouth immediately start drooling, even as my stomach made its excitement audibly known. And I wasn’t the only one. Dani made a noise deep in her throat, looking around like she couldn’t believe a place could actually smell that good. It would’ve been funny if I hadn’t had just as much of a reaction. We were both famished.
“Okay, uh, thanks for showing me this place,” Dani was saying, voice polite as she started to step away. “I don’t want to butt into your family dinner, so I’ll just get a single table over there a--”
Mom didn’t let her get any further, speaking up firmly. “Nonsense. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if we just abandoned you here. Come, Dani, you can eat with the rest of us. We’ll take care of it.” Her tone, though polite, made it clear she wasn’t going to accept excuses to leave.
Coughing, I nudged Dani and softly murmured, “I think you better just go with it. She’s an Italian-heritage mom with her eyes on you now. You’re not going anywhere until she’s satisfied that your stomach won’t even be able to take another single pea in it without just exploding.”
Giving me a bright, overly-cheerful smile while shifting that backpack she carried around everywhere, Dani replied, “Gross. But hey, I guess I shouldn’t complain too much.” She looked to my mother to add, “Thanks, Mrs. Evans. It really does smell great. I’ll tell my aunt about this place. She’s been talking about wanting to come here to see if it’s as much fun as Las Vegas.”
With that, we followed the maître d' through the restaurant to a private dining room in the back. Which meant walking past table after table full of food that was still making my mouth water. Some part of me wondered just how intentional that was. The private room, where only the most wealthy people went, was located in an area that made them walk past all the other food so they would be as hungry as possible and probably order even more than they would have. Sure, it was also because it just made sense to have the private room in the back, but that helped too.
In any case, before long we were all seated around the table. We ordered appetizers and drinks, which arrived within a couple minutes. Mom cautioned us not to gorge ourselves too much. Then she and Dad turned to their own murmured conversation, and Simon became completely focused on his phone. Which left Dani and I to talk with Izzy about the competition some more. She had some questions about how some of the events worked, and we lost ourselves in all that until the actual meals came. Which--yeah, they smelled even better on a plate right in front of us than they had when we were passing by the other tables. And that was really quite the feat.
Needless to say, we dug in. In the background, I could see Simon slipping a bit of food into a bag, probably so he could give it to Bailey when we got back to the hotel. It made me smile a little. It was amusing and honestly sweet to think of my brother caring that much about a small animal. Even if it was completely at odds with the way I’d heard him act that first night when I Touched, a thought that made my stomach twist itself around a bit.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
About halfway through the meal, Dani excused herself to visit the restroom. She was gone for a couple minutes before I felt the call as well and did the same. Izzy was still valiantly attempting to finish the giant mound of mashed potatoes and gravy they’d brought her, and murmured a distracted acknowledgement while I stood up and made my way out of the room. Mom and Dad were talking about some sort of tax rules thing or whatever. Maybe they were speaking in code. It honestly could’ve been complete gibberish and I wouldn’t have known the difference. As I was stepping out, my mother glanced up just long enough to remind me to wash my hands properly.
Lost in my own thoughts, I headed through the restaurant. But about halfway to the restroom, I caught a glimpse of Dani out of the corner of my eye. She was on the other side of the restaurant, near the kitchens. What was she--uh, she was giving money to one of the waiters. Was she just trying to pay for her own meal after all or something? I couldn’t tell what that was--
Then things got a little more confusing. The guy handed her what looked like a couple ziplock baggies. One was filled with scraps of meat, while the other had a bunch of fruits and vegetables in it. Was--ohhh she had rats, didn’t she? I was pretty sure I remembered something about Dani having pet rats. Maybe they were back in her hotel room and she was--okay, yeah, confusion over. She’d probably brought her pet rats with her and now she had just paid the waiter to take some of the kitchen scraps back with her so they could have a treat too. Just like Simon putting some of his own food away for Bailey, only she was showing even more initiative about it.
Dani turned then, and our eyes met. I felt weirdly embarrassed, like I had been caught spying. But I pushed that aside and simply walked that way with a shrug. There was no sense in hiding it. “Hey, I guess your rats need to be fed too, huh? I didn’t even think about the fact that you must’ve brought them, but you said your aunt doesn’t really spend much time at home anyway.”
The other girl blinked once before flushing slightly with a quick nod. “Yeah, I wouldn’t trust any of her neighbors to actually come by to feed them. They aren’t exactly the types to enjoy interacting with rats. And--well, your parents have been so cool about this already. Please don’t say anything to them about this. I kind of want to take care of my little guys myself, and I’m afraid your mom will insist on paying for all this too.” She held up the baggies full of food and shook them a bit.
Promising her that it would stay just between us, I asked the other girl a bit about those rats of hers while the two of us actually headed for the restroom together. She had three, apparently, named Demon, Angel, and Marvin. I wasn't sure how that last one fit the theme, but maybe that was the joke.
Either way, they sounded really cool, and she promised to let me visit them soon. Apparently Amber had already seen them and thought Marvin was the smartest of the trio.
We were just finishing up in the restroom when I got a text on my Touched-business phone from the event coordinators. I'd sent a message to that Devon guy earlier letting him know they could find me at this number. The text was basically just a confirmation that I needed to be back there for photographs as near to nine as I could manage, but they understood if delays had to happen. It was just one of those things you had to deal with when it came to dealing with people who had secret identities. They gave me a room number and directions of how to get there in the arena.
Dani, standing by the door, raised an eyebrow. “You have a secret boyfriend you don't want your family to know about? Or a girlfriend? I'm hardly one to judge.” When I blinked at her uncertainly, she nodded to the phone. “That's not the same one you were using earlier. I mean, it looks similar but, but it's definitely a different model. Yours is an actual contract phone, and that's the kind you'd buy in a shop and just add minutes to.”
Well fuck. Since when did she get to be so perceptive? Feeling a slight blush cross my face while I was trying to decide how to respond, I had to think quickly. How the hell was I supposed to explain why I had a second phone? Why did I even pull it out right then? What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I feel so comfortable with the other girl being there that I hadn't even thought about it? I barely knew anything about her at all. God, that had been so very stupid.
Fortunately, one bright side, if you could call it that, to having been through all this over the past few months was that I had gotten pretty good at thinking on my feet. And equally good at lying and at the drop of a hat. I had to be, or my parents would have found out the truth a long time ago. I had experience making up excuses very quickly without being too obvious about it.
So, as a million different thoughts went rushing wildly through my head, I kept my face as clear and my voice as even as possible. “Yeah, sorry, I've got a few friends back home who aren't exactly on the approved social list as far as my parents are concerned. Don't get me wrong, they're really cool about everything, but it's just easier if they don't see certain names come up in the phone bill if they happen to glance at it. Mom thinks they might be a bad influence on me.” I gave a snort. “Don't tell her it's the other way around. I'm definitely the worse influence.”
Dani offered me a thumbs up. “Hey, you're keeping my secret about the food, I guess I can keep yours about your extra phone.” Raising a hand, she offered her fist to me for a bump.
With that, the two of us headed back to the private dining room before anyone could send a search party looking for us. I still felt anxious about that whole situation, and silently berated myself through the rest of dinner about how stupid and careless I'd been with the phone.
In the end, having Dani around helped for something else as well. Once dinner was over, I agreed to go back to her hotel for a while to see her rats. Simon would be heading back to ours with Izzy, who promised she'd be completely fine hanging out on her own for a little bit while Simon did his thing and our parents went out for a date night. All I had to do was hang out with Dani and her pets, then I would simply head over to the arena for pictures. That was an easy way to handle it. And, as a bonus, I would get the chance to see those rats to find out if Amber was right about Marvin being the smart one. Not to mention getting to see how they reacted to getting fed stuff from a restaurant as good as the one we had just left.
Her hotel was just down the street from ours, not quite as glamorous or anything, but it definitely wasn't a shady, rundown place either. She took me inside her room, which actually was only a single room, aside from the bathroom in the back. It was much smaller than I was accustomed to dealing with, though probably still about twice the size of the average hotel room that most people used.
The two of us had barely entered before I heard loud squeaking. Sure enough, there was a large cage in the corner of the room where her three rats were all kept. They had a couple exercise wheels, other toys, bowls of food and water, and this whole intricate pipe system allowing them to move from the cage they ran to a couple other, smaller ones spaced out to either side. They definitely weren't suffering, that much was clear.
Dani went to the bathroom for a minute, leaving me with the rats. I introduced myself, playing with them a little bit. Then she came back, took the rats out, and I really got to know them. Amber was definitely right, Marvin was the smart one. Demon was daring and a bit of a pig, and Angel was very shy.
We played with the rats for awhile, and I was just telling myself that this was going to be an easy way to spend the next hour or so when we were interrupted by the sound of glass breaking. We both jerked around, staring in the direction of the bathroom where the sound had come from. Dani froze like that for a second, then bolted to her feet and ran that way.
I was right behind her, coming right into the bathroom doorway just in time to hear her scream. It sounded like someone had ripped her soul out, anguished and terrifying. The window was broken. It looked like someone had smashed it in from the outside. Dani ran to it, stepping into the tub and staring out with another cry. She shouted at someone, something about her backpack. Wait, she had the backpack on when she came into the bathroom, and came out without it. Had she left it in here and then someone smashed the window to take it?
Before I knew what she was doing, Dani started to climb out the window. I quickly ran that way to catch her arm. “Hey, we’ll get your bag back, I--”
She spun, giving me a hard shove that knocked me back against the sink. Her eyes were wild. “Get the fuck away from me! They're not going anywhere! I'm not waiting for the fucking cops!”
My mouth opened, but I couldn't even make a sound before she did something I never could have expected. Reaching into the pocket of her baggy shorts, she took out a small, familiar animal that definitely wasn't a rat. It was a skink.
“Holiday!” she snapped, while the shock rocked my head backwards. “Let's go!”
And just like that, the tiny lizard grew into the reptilian panther form that I was so familiar with and leapt through the window to chase the thief. Dani was already heading after her with a distracted, “Evans, I swear I'll explain later.” Then she disappeared through the hole, leaving me standing there in shock, staring at that broken window.
Dani and Holiday had just made it to the end of the next block and were clearly examining the front of an alley there when I dropped out of the sky to land next to them.
“Wha--” Dani jumped, spinning my way before stopping short. “Paintball?”
“Yeah,” I replied before reaching up to take off the helmet that I had thrown on along with my suit in those few seconds I'd been left alone in that bathroom. I took it off, letting her see my face.
“Turns out, maybe we both need to explain some things. But right now, let's find your lizards.”