Fear Is Just for Losers

"Have any 8's?" I asked, peering out from over my hand of cards.
"Nope." Punk pointed to the deck on the table.
I gave him a look. "You're such a liar, Punk. You just asked me two hands ago if I had any."
He shrugged, a grin appearing on his face. "No way. I asked for a 10."
I swung my hand out and around to grab his cards away, but he was quicker. He tucked them safely underneath his armpit.
My jaw dropped. "Punk!"
Then, I hopped off my seat and maneuvered my way around the table towards him. I pulled at his arms, trying to loosen his grip on them. He laughed loudly and grabbed onto my wrists, pinning me where I was. There was no use in struggling, he was just too strong.
"Gimmie my 8, you..." I pressed my lips into a hard line, trying to come up with the right term.
He gave me a look. "You...?"
"you... punk!" I spat.
He burst into laughter.
I stuck my tongue out playfully at him."This is going to be one long flight to Ireland."
He looked at me, pretending to be hurt by my comment. "Now Alexa, you're hurting my feelings. When have I ever lied to you?"
"I guess we're done playing, then."
He cocked his head to the side, grinning. "I was still playing until you so rudely accused me of cheating."
I laughed and tried to wiggle my wrists free of his grasp. A second later, he released my right hand and grabbed his cards from under his armpit. My free hand jolted out, ready to snatch away the pile, but he moved in his seat, placing the cards under him. He laughed louder this time.
"Argg!!" I growled. "Punk!" Then I stopped and gazed at him. "If you weren't cheating, then why are you giving me a hard time about checking myself?"
He grinned wider. "Then you'll know the rest of my cards and win."
I clenched my jaw. Outsmarted me again.
After hopping into the seat next to him, I leaned against his arm trying to knock him over just enough to grab the cards, but Punk was really strong. He was almost impossible for me to budge. Now he was laughing so hard, he grasped at his stomach.
Then someone spoke from behind me. I turned around, scanning for the culprit.
"Hey Alex."
It was Jeff. My heart pounded awkwardly in my chest and the smile faded from my lips. The last time I had spoken to him was the night of the kiss... My cheeks flushed.
"Hey, what's up?" My pulse quickened, taking in the skin tight white shirt he was wearing. A spiky belt held up a pair of blue baggy jeans and his hair was pulled up into a small ponytail, revealing some of his shaved head.
He looked at Punk and then smiled wide at me. "I just wanted to say thanks- and that you were right."
I raised an eyebrow at him, my heart racing faster. He was too cute.
"Tracy and I worked things out."
My heart prickled. Should have seen that coming.
I faked a smile. "That's great, Jeff."
"Yeah, I owe you big time."
"Don't worry about it. You'd do it for me." Maybe.
He nodded, looking back to Punk. "Well, I'm gonna get back to Matt- he gets motion sickness real easy."
"Okay. Hope he feels better."
"Thanks." Then he waved to Punk and went back the way he'd come.
I swallowed.
He was back with Tracy.
My stomach did a 360.
"So, what are you gonna have him do?" Punk asked, leaning back into his chair, resting his head on his hands.
I gave him a look. "Huh?"
"He said he owes you."
I shook my head. There was nothing he could do for me.
Even though I had only spoken to Jeff for a few moments, a sudden sadness overcame me and wouldn't go away, no matter how I tried to distract myself. Soon, I decided that it was time for a small nap- maybe it would help put me back into a good mood. Not only that, but it might make the trip seem quicker. So, I leaned my head back on the seat and closed my eyes, exhaling heavily.
"You getting sick?" Punk asked.
I opened my eyes again. "Nah. I'm just gonna take a nap."
"Oh. Okay."
He left me alone after that and pulled out his mp3 player.
The words kept spinning around my head. He's back together with her. The kiss meant nothing then.
I fell asleep quickly.
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It seemed like I'd just closed my eyes when I woke up to gentle shaking. I stretched my arms and opened my eyes. What was going on?
Punk stared down at me. "Hey Alexa, we're pretty much there."
Oh cool. "Thanks. How much longer?"
He made a face. "Eliza said fifteen minutes."
"Okay."
I sat up and flexed my fingers, judging how awake I was. When I felt that I could stand without falling over, I went for a quick run to the bathroom. I made my way down the aisle until I reached the small door. I pushed it open, did my business and washed my hands. On my way back to check and make sure my luggage was where it was supposed to be, Leeanna caught me by the arm.
"Alexa!" She squealed.
I rubbed my eyes again. "What's up Leeanna?"
"A shopping spree, that's what's up!"
Should have guessed. I nodded.
"You wanna come with me?!"
I shrugged. "I don't know..."
"Pleeease!"
I glanced down at my tan kicks. "I could probably use a new pair of sneakers."
"Most definitely." She nodded. "I'll call you when we get settled."
"Okay fine.."
"See you later!"
I waved and continued down the aisle to find my seat.
Punk was playing with the zipper of his bag when I got back.
"Feeling better?" He asked, a grin appearing on his lips.
I shook my head. "Not sure yet."
He was back with Tracy. My head suddenly spit a image of Jeff grabbing onto my arm and pulling me closer.
My heart felt as if it had been dragged through a thornbush.
Then a voice came over the intercom.
"Good afternoon passengers, please return to your seats and buckle your seat belts, we
will be touching down in Dublin, Ireland in 5 minutes. We hope your flight was enjoyable and thank you for flying with us."
I pulled my seat belt into place and readied myself for the rocky landing. I shut my eyes tight.
"You okay?"
I looked over at him. "Landing upsets my stomach sometimes."
He chuckled. "Me too."
I squeezed my arm rests and felt the plane begin to descend. Soon, there was a heavy bounce and the plane slowed to a stop. When we got the okay, I stood up to grab the backpack I'd brought with me. I pulled the two straps onto my shoulders.
"So, do we ever get to finish that game?" Punk smiled, pulling his own duffel bag onto his right shoulder.
I gave him a look. "If you had just given me the 8, we wouldn't have to reschedule. I would have beat you already."
"You beat me?"
I couldn't hold back the slight smile that appeared on my lips. "Did I stutter?"
He smiled, knowing the same words had escaped his lips before. "You wanna take this outside?" He let his duffel bag fall back to the floor.
I pushed him lightly and threw my hands up. "Let's go, punk!"
His jaw dropped and he scooped his bag up. Then, he came toward me. I balled my hands into fists, ready to tap him in the arm when he got close enough. Instead of stopping far enough to fight me, he kept coming. I tried pushing him and punching him in the chest, but Punk was rock solid. He bent over slightly and suddenly I was lifted into the air. He swung me over his left shoulder and made his way out into the aisle.
"Punk!" I burst out in laughter. "Put me down!" I tried wiggling, but it was obvious that physically, I was no match for him.
He laughed too, ignoring the curious stares from the other passengers and exited the plane. He made it down the stairs in one piece. I gave up struggling- I was only wasting my energy. Luckily, his sweatshirt smelled good.
Soon, I could hear Leeanna calling to the guys near us.
"Hey guys! Come 'ere for a second! Change of plans!"
Her voice grew louder and I knew that Punk was walking toward her.
"Oscar! Hey Paul, come over here!"
Then my ride stopped.
"Okay guys, a little change of plans. I think some of us will be bunking together. The hotels are pretty booked, so if you don't mind rooming with someone, that would be great."
Punk released a hand from my legs. "Yo Kofi! You wanna room up, man?"
"Yeah, yeah." Kofi yelled back.
"Cool." Then his voice lowered. "Who you rooming with Alexa?"
I rolled my eyes. "Punk, I'm sort of upside down against your sweatshirt. I can barely see a thing, never mind being able to formally ask someone if they want to room with me."
He laughed. "Yeah. That's too bad."
I took a fistful of his sweatshirt and tugged at it. "Come on! Let me down!"
"No chance."
I chuckled. "I hate you, Punk."
He spat on the ground. "No way."
The guys around us continued debating on who was rooming with who. Soon, Leeanna's voice was closer than ever.
"What have you got there Phil?" She giggled.
I could feel him shake his head. "A brat."
My jaw dropped. "A brat?!" I called to him.
"Did I stutter?"
My eyes narrowed. Outsmarted me again.
Somehow I maneuvered myself so that I could rest my head on my hand. I hoped that the way my elbow dug into his back would bug him. Then he'd put me down.
Leeanna appeared in my line of vision. "Hey Alexa, what's up?"
I waved with my free hand and faked a grin. "Not me, obviously."
Both Punk and Leeanna laughed.
"Do you want to room with me?"
I nodded, letting my elbow dig deeper into his back. "Sure."
"Good." She reached into her pocket, pulled out a silver key and handed it to me. "I was invited to lunch so you can go and get yourself settled. After that, you still want to go shopping?"
"I guess."
"Okay. Bye Alexa! Bye Phil!"
"Bye." We spoke in unison.
"Jinx, you owe me a Pepsi."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine."
He chuckled.
"Can you put me down now?"
He was silent for a moment. "I suppose."
"Thank goodness."
Then he picked me up off his shoulder and stood me upright, grinning. "You're welcome."
I stuck my tongue out at him.
Soon Kofi walked over, handing Punk the key. "Alright, man. We've got the stuff. Let's go."
Punk waved at me. "See ya 'Lexa."
I waved back. "Bye Punk."
My stomach flipped as I readjusted my bag, watching Punk walk away. He laughed often, his hands always gesturing as he spoke with Kofi.
For a few short seconds, my heart raced, making sure that I had remembered everything from the flight. I had my purse, phone and key... And I'd pick up the rest of my clothes and stuff from the circulation desk. I sighed. Everything seemed to be in order, but my heart still prickled. I must have forgotten something...
Suddenly, I was sprinting. My eyes remained on Punk's back. When I got close enough to touch him, Kofi wheeled around to look at me. But, before I knew what I was doing, I pulled the black and red beanie off Punk's head and stopped short to run back the opposite way. Punk spun around in shock, grabbing at his missing hat, but it was too late. I had it.
As I ran, I pulled it over my head, pleased with myself. I spun around for a quick second, now jogging backwards, looking to see Punk's reaction. He gave me a look, pulling his hair straight and pointed a finger at me. I grinned.
"I hate you, Lexa!" He smiled.
I shook my head. "No way."