Bruises in Miniature Form

Stomping my way back to the campsite I found the fire burning itself out and a lone drunk Omar poking it to death with a stick.
He glanced over his shoulder when I got back, his face unreadable through my awkward haze.
I could hear crickets chirping all around us, cracking jokes to each other about the weather.
Omar straightened himself up in his chair and rubbed at his hair, fighting a yawn that exposed his teeth.

“Was waitin’ for you an Maxie to get back” Omar slurred out before snorting wildly and slapping his thigh at a joke, “Maxie pad! Max is a pad!”
“How much more have you had to drink?” I asked him, sure I sounded as bad as he.
“Weee bit!” He cried as he moved his pointer finger and thumb apart an inch.
“Need help putting the fire out?” I hoped he said no for I was sure to burn myself somehow.
“Nahs, I gotta wait for Maxie pad!”

Shrugging sluggishly I unzipped the first tent and crawled inside, closing it back up to encompass myself in the awaiting heat.
Bryan was sprawled out on his back, eyes staring at the ceiling but roaming down to look at me when I was situated safely on my side.
It was silent once more except for the crickets and Omar’s drunken giggles.
Bryan and I stared at one another for a few good minutes before he rolled over to his side and settled down into the sleeping bag.
His bleached hair spread out around him like a halo as his chest moved with each breath.

“Would you tell me who Vanessa is?” I whispered quietly, afraid anyone else would hear.
Bryan remained still for a good solid gut churning minute before rolling towards me, “Get changed and into your sleeping bag first”
I followed his orders quickly, making sure he wasn’t peaking before exchanging my jeans for soft pink pyjama pants and a long sleeved white shirt.
When I had my things jammed back neatly into their case I curled into my bag and revelled in its warmth.
Bryan rolled over when I was finished, gazing at me silently with a contemplative mind.

“There’s really not much to say about her. She was an old friend”
“Max said I was like her”
Nodding Bryan sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, “Yah, I can see that. She was always changing her mind, worried about what people were thinking of her and trying to stay out of trouble. Max really loved her”
“What?” Max really loved her...
Glancing sideways he answered me tonelessly, “She broke his heart though the day after he confessed to her. She took off, and we’ve never heard from her since”
“That’s awful” I mumbled quietly.
“He got over it”

Somehow I just don’t think he did.

It stayed silent between us for the rest of the night, the crickets falling off to sleep and the moon cozying itself in.
Bryan’s breathing became shallow after an hour and my own heavy eyelids closed shortly after.
When I awoke again Bryan was missing from the tent but a new face sat perched on my bed, his blue eyes shining brightly with lips thinned together.
It was unnerving to see him lying their silently beside me, though not enough to make me leap from the tent like I should have.

“Everyone’s gone for a few hours, so it’s just us” He whispered, voice cracking towards the end.
Rubbing at my eyes I rolled away from him, “I don’t want to speak to you”
Max groaned loudly from behind me, his body sinking my mattress as he climbed over top of my form.
I wanted him to vanish, to turn into a mouse and get eaten by a passing eagle.
I wanted him anywhere but where I was right now.
“Then I’ll talk, you listen” He commanded.
“No! I’m tired of you bossing me around!” I cried and rolled onto my back to stare up at his baby face.
“You said you didn’t want to talk” He grinned cheekily before noticing I really had no patience left.

“Okay, okay,” he conceded and rolled to my side, hi body heat warming me up immensely from the cool air, “I was a bit of an asshole to you, but you gotta admit, you deserved some of it”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” I hissed, “I’ve tried making friend with you from the very start! You throw everything back in my face”
“You’re a pushover” He answered me like a petulant child.
“It doesn’t give you the right to treat me like shit! If you acted this way towards Vanessa, it’s no wonder why she left” There goes the word vomit.
Max’s face hardened, his head turning away from me before his tongue untied, “No, I didn’t act like this to her”
“Max, stop using her as an excuse to treat me like shit” I ordered.
“Thought you didn’t want to talk” he mused lightly.
“You’re an idiot,” I grumbled as I got myself up to my hands and feet, “Listen, we have a week and a half together. Lets jut agree to avoid each other and we’ll get through this fine and once we’re back you can win the damn bet, I’ll move in with my dad”
Max glanced up at me and smirked, “I knew you’d lose”

Glaring I did the only thing a girl could possibly do in a situation like this.
I kissed him. Again.
Max fell off the mattress and onto the hard floor when I tackled him, his hands lost to my feeling though I could faintly make out the pads of his thumbs on my cheeks once more.
I don’t know what brought me to kissing Max, but I knew I shouldn’t be doing it.
If a boy is an asshole you don’t reward him with kisses, right?
Pulling away when I felt his tongue at my lip I glared down at his bright blue eyes, his pupils growing double their size as he stared back at me.Daryl would be very disappointed if he knew what was going on right now.

“Stop treating me like this” I demanded, though I felt breathless.
“I can’t help it” He sighed out, flinching when I moved away once more.
“Well I can’t help this!” my hands flailed about between us.
Max pouted his lips together, “You don’t really want to ignore me, do you?”
“Life would be simpler” I clarified, my head beginning to ache as I thought about my predicament.
“See that’s just like you, you never do anything spontaneous! You’re such a cookie cutter”
“I am not! And it’s none of your business!”
“I think it is”
“Well stop thinking, it doesn’t suit you” I snapped back, wanting to put space between us.

His hands quickly grabbed for my wrists, tugging me back down to his lap when I was up on my feet.
His knee jabbed into my side as I fell into him, the pain poking my side.
“Ouch!” I shouted at him as he briefly apologised before pressing his lips back to mine.
It was becoming a weird situation between us, wasn’t this the third time we’ve kissed?
Do people who hate each other kiss?
Max pushed himself up on his knees, forcing my body to move backwards as our lip remained attached.
It was a simple kiss, just our lips pressing together but somehow my stomach churned and my mind screamed.
This was wrong on so many levels, but I couldn’t bring to stop it, even when his tongue somehow entered my mouth.
It felt awkward the way his fingers dug into my skin and his tongue wound around mine.
My skin prickled with goose bumps as Max forced me to fall off my supporting hands and hit the ground like he had earlier.
My thought patterns stopped the moment his rough hands touched my bare stomach gingerly.
I couldn’t focus on the bruises and scratches I would have in the morning, nor could I focus my mind on hating him.
“Fuck” he grumbled into my mouth suddenly, pulling away as the laughter from his missing friends filled out campsite once more.
My lips were guaranteed swollen from our encounter when I pressed them together, glancing over my shoulder to stare at the closed tent’s mouth.

“I... um” Can’t find any words?
Max snapped his fingers behind my head then to grab my attention, his eyes hard and angry once more when I looked his way.
“What?” I asked him curiously, whispering just in case someone would hear us.
“Max! Nettie!” Ronnie screamed loudly, “Where are you two?”
“Fucking hell!” Max suddenly yelled, “Just go back to your dad already!”
“Are you kidding me?” I shouted back, my anger flaring up when I realised he didn’t want any of his friends to know about our kiss.
“They’re fighting again!!” I heard Omar groan loudly in a childlike voice.
Feet stomped over to the tent then, the zipper coming down and releasing my support.
I fell back quickly, my eyes squinting up to see Robert looking annoyed and upset.
“Both of you out of the tent, alright?”
“I’m already out of the tent” I pointed out, poking his leg to try and make the situation lighter.
“Nettie, be quiet” Ronnie hushed me, before pulling me up to my feet.
Max climbed out of the tent rubbing at his black hair, glaring at me with distaste, “In my defence, before you all bitch at me; I tried being nice”
“Five seconds” I suddenly ordered, ignoring the confused and surprised faces that stared back at me.
“What?” Max asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“Four seconds” I added.
“You’re not serious” He rolled his blue eyes, grinning at his friends.
“I don’t know Max, she sure looks pissed” Ronnie grinned with delight.
“Three”
“Can we all stop being childish?” Robert waved his hand between us, frustration bubbling in his voice.
“Come on, I wanna see this!” Omar cheered.
“Two”

Clenching my fists I prepared myself to run, eyeing Max like I would when my father grounded me.
Max looking alert casted his gaze between his friends, trying to laugh though it came out uneasily.
“One” I finished, taking off into a run just as Max threw himself into a run like a frightened deer.
Bryan and Omar were cheering loudly behind us, while Ronnie laughed himself into ballistic.
I was sure Robert was still stomping his foot and telling everyone to shut up but at that moment I only watched Max run ahead of me, cursing me as long as he could.
What this poor boy did not know was that when present with a challenge, I will always overcome it and right now my challenge is to chase this idiot down and beat sense into him.
How many times have I called him an idiot now?