Panophobia

“Wear this!” Becky said, pulling out a button up black short-sleeve. “And this!” Light wash skinny jeans.
“No, this!” Randi said, shoving a white V-neck into my lap.

“Girls, girls, please don’t make me burn him,” Bones said, holding a chunk of my hair in her right hand, and a flat iron in her left.

I ended up in the white V-neck and the light blue skinny jeans… and my trusty Toms, of course.

The doorbell rang and the three girls squealed, manhandling me and pushing me out the door, almost knocking me into Vic.

“You look nice,” Vic said, as we started walking. The three girls giggled. Of course I blushed.

“Thank you,” I leaned in closer so the girls wouldn’t hear. “So do you.”

He actually straightened his hair and let me tell you – it suits the boy. He had on a black crewneck with a weird looking cat on it, dark skinny jeans, and simple tennis shoes.

We smiled at each other and he linked our elbows, something near electricity zinging through my veins. I turned my head and waved at my bitches.

“Where are we going?” I asked Vic, looking at him, hear catcalls from behind us.

He guided me into the passenger seat, “You’ll see.”

He winked at me and closed the door, leaving me tense and I gulped. I hate surprises.

That’s when I noticed a hand reaching across my body, grabbing my seatbelt, and clicking it in the slot.

“Safety first,” Vic said with a smirk, pulling out of the driveway. “Also, I don’t think wearing white was a good decision.”

“What?! Why?!” I asked, alarmed. Did it not suit me?

“You’ll see.”

I sighed and slumped into the seat, silently cursing Randi for making me wear the white shirt. Vic took a glance at me and chuckled.

“What are you laughing at?”

-

He drove us the next city over, and pulled into a parking lot of a round building with no windows and a neon sign that said ‘Extravaganza!’

“Oh my god,” I said, “I haven’t been here since I finished my sophomore year!”

Vic chuckled at me, “Sometimes, you’re like a little kid,” when I pouted at him he chuckled again and said, “it’s adorable, I swear.”

We got out of the car (and I somehow managed to unbuckle his seatbelt before he could do mine) and we entered the joint. It had a minigolf course outside, a big play area for kids (and drunken young adults), a few bowling alleys, an arcade, and – my personal favorite thing – a laser tag arena.

“So, you pick what we do. My uncle works here, so he can get us in free,” Vic smiled at me, holding my hand. My grip tightened when I realized how many people were here. Maybe one of them could be

kellin not on your date

Oh right.

“Uh, maybe laser tag?” I said with about zero confidence.

“Sure,” he smiled, as he walked up to the counter. He asked for someone named Ivan, and around a minute later a Hispanic man in his late-twenties came out.

“Victor!” he exclaimed, reaching across the counter and hugging Vic. Vic hugged back, but only with one arm, the other still on me. I wanted to laugh, at how Vic rolled his eye at the sound of his full first name.

“Hey, Ivan,” he said, pulling away. “This is Kellin, my date.”

“Ah, hello!” Ivan said, reaching to shake my hand. I had to let go of Vic’s for a second, but it quickly returned. I liked Ivan already, he seems so excited about everything; I like optimistic people.

“We’re going to do laser tag,” Vic said, taking a quick glance at me, and smiling.

“Awesome,” Ivan reached down, and grabbed us two tickets to the arena. When we were walking away, Ivan called me back, and waved Vic off. Vic shrugged, and turned, watching the people who were bowling.

“Here, take this,” Ivan said, grabbing a large black sweater. It would definitely hang past my hands. When I gave him a confused look he said, “White shirts are a dead giveaway in black-light.”

Oh, that’s what Vic was talking about in the car!

“Thank you,” I smiled at him, running back to Vic and grabbing his hand. We started walking to the back where the arena was.

“What’cha’ got there?” he asked, looking at the sweater I was cradling to my chest.

“Nothing,” I said teasingly.

He started tickling me, and I squealed, dropping the sweater. He caught it, and laughed.

“Cheater,” he said, winking at me, and handing it back.

“Hey, how’d you know I was going to pick laser tag?”

“Lucky guess, I was thinking you would because it’s the only team activity here," I wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I gave him a light shove, laughing at him.

“You are one lucky guesser.”

We walked the rest of the way to the arena, and Vic handed the worker our tickets while I slipped the sweater over my head. I was right, it did hang past my hands, and the hem hung just below my crotch. Oh well, it’ll do.

Vic came back to me, and let out an ‘awh.’

I blushed, and rolled the sleeves up.

“No, don’t do that.”

"Why not?"

“Because you look so cute with the sleeves like that.”

I pouted at him, and he just chuckled, and put his arm around my shoulders.

When another couple arrived (a man and a woman who I assumed were a couple), the worker decided that we’d just have teams of two. The woman suggested that she went on my team and because he wanted to play against her boyfriend. Vic laughed, and high fived the guy, and I felt a twang on jealousy in my stomach. I wanted to be on Vic’s team.

Still, I realized that there was nothing I could do to change, and I swallowed and introduced myself to the woman; her name is Carla, that’s a pretty name.

We were handed our laser guns and vest-things, and the attendant did a quick run-through of the rules and opened a little cubby for our phones, keys, and other random thing we would have.
(I hope he doesn’t chew a piece of my gum.)

Each team of two was let in on opposite sides, and Carla and I agreed on a strategy; cover yourself at all times, stay together to ambush the guys, and if we’re attacked, grab the other and run like hell.
She giggled, I decided to roll up my sleeves, and the game began.

“C’mon, Kellin, this way!” she whispered-yelled, and grabbed my wrist and dragged me to another area of the arena. It was odd to be touched, and not feel different.

She giggled again, and shot her laser at a wall. We would never stay hidden if she keeps giggling; it’s so loud that it would definitely blow our cover.

We continued like that for a bit, time to time, shooting at someone or getting shot at. It was fun, but it would have been better if Vic was the one I was teamed with.

“Should we try for an ambush?” I asked, but no one replied. I turned to my right where Carla was supposed to be, but she wasn’t there.

She fucking left me.

I sighed and started walking around the arena, looking for her. It was then that I heard her from across the arena yelling, “Kellin, help!”

“Kellin, help! Help m- don’t touch me! Get off! Kellin!”

I tried to scream, tried to wail, but nothing would – nothing will – come out. My throat was dry, my vocals cracked beyond oblivion. I wanted to help her; goddamnit! I need to help my sister!

‘Kailey’ my mind was throbbing, telling my voice to work. Nothing was going to work.

I sank down to my haunches, throwing my hands over my face, covering my eyes from the horrible scene of my sister and that man in front of me. Some man, some man, some man.
That man is the devil.

Some man, some man, some man.

“You’ll never find her, Kellin,” that man whispered in the dark.

My mouth opened and I let out a blood-curdling shriek, toppling over.

Some man, some man, some man.

“Kellin!” I heard Vic’s voice coming at me, above me, all around me.

“Vic?” I whispered, taking my hands from my eyes, seeing the arena around me.

Vic knelt beside me, taking me to his chest, wiping my hair out of my eyes.

“Sorry she left you alone. I’m so sorry,” Vic said, starting to lift me up. “What do ya’ say we get out of here? Somewhere better?”

I nodded, and clung to him and he pulled us up. I dug my face into his chest, not paying mind to the laser tag equipment. I could feel the tears coming out of my eyes, but they couldn’t stop pouring, and I couldn’t care less.

“Sorry,” Carla and her boyfriend said, giving us fake sympathetic looks. They just seemed scared.

Game over.

We exited the arena, still holding each other, and we grabbed out belongings and dumped our equipment on the ground.

Vic led us out; I felt him give his uncle a slight nod, and I felt the cool night air wash over us. He squeezed me and murmured something about the coffee shop in my ear. Soon enough, I was laying in the backseat row in his car, not caring about safety at all.

He pulled up to the coffee show where we had lunch the first time we hung out. Opening the backseat door, Vic grabbed my hand, and took us into the coffee shop; his touch warmed me to the bone.

The shop was remotely empty, only two other customers, sat in opposite corners of the shop.

Vic had me sit at a small window table as he went up to talk to the cashier, Kamilla, and I dropped my face against the cold, hard table. It reminded me of the last ten months; freezing and rigid.

“Head up, Kellin,” I heard Vic say a few moments later. “You’re taking up all the room on the table.”

I looked up to see Vic holding a small plate with chocolate chip cookies on it. I sent him a quivering smile, feeling more tears behind my eyes.

“Thanks Vic,” I said softly, trying not to cry.

He sat across from me, grabbing a cookie, and playfully pushing it on to my lips.

“It’s no big deal, Kels.”

His feet went atop mine under the table, and we went the next hour playing footsie and eating cookies.