Sunnyside Up with Red Ketchup

by Andrews, Ashley

  She didn't notice her heavy breathing, or that she was on the verge of a panic attack. She sunk to the ground, not caring that she was still on the steps of the dorm. People began to come out of their rooms, poking their heads around the corners of their doors and whispering to each other.

  She pressed her hands to her ears, scrunching her eyes closed. Flashes and images poured into her head, like a broken film skipping parts and playing only little bits that made no sense.

  This was the same thing that had happened at the party.

  She vaguely recognized that she was being lifted from the ground by two people and moved into a room. Some part of her mind recognized that it wasn't Seth's. She was shaking all over.

  Then suddenly, it stopped. Everything stopped. Her eyes opened and She was breathing normally again, feeling fine. She rubbed her eyes and sat up quickly, almost butting heads with someone leaning over her.

  "Red?"

  She turned to look at the owner of the voice. It was Casper. He stood beside Seth looking very, very scared. She scratched her cheek and looked around. She was in a room she hadn't been in before – probably Casper's. She swallowed and looked at the two of them, then let out a nervous laugh. "That was weird."

  They sagged in relief, smiles spreading across their faces. However their eyes were still filled with concern.

  "What happened?" Seth asked, sitting at the end of the sofa closest to Red.

  She grimaced, dropping her head. “I… I’m not sure. I left earlier to see if Leader was still at the meeting, but she’d left already. Then Tiffany came up to me and…" She frowned, not liking what she had to say next. "And she kind of threatened me again. She pushed on the bump on my forehead, put her hand on my shoulder." She raised her head to look at the two of them. “I…I flipped her over my shoulder and then stomped on her nose."

  They stared at her with eyes wide.

  "Then I came back here, met Seth in the hall, and all of a sudden it was like I was seeing things and feeling things I don’t remember. There were light flashes and images appearing in front of my eyes. It was really strange." She frowned, rubbing the back of her neck.

  It was silent in the room for a moment and then Casper went rigid.

  She and Seth looked at him questioningly.

  He was staring at Seth's face. "You too? Your lip…" Casper looked back at her, then back to Seth. "Did you two get into a fight?"

  She shook her head, leaning forward in protest. "N—no! It's just… coincidence." She hoped lied well. She’d never really done much of that before.

  Seth looked back at her, his eyes filled with a strange emotion. He stood up. "Think you can stand?" he asked her.

  She nodded and swung her legs off of the sofa, slowly getting to her feet. She wasn’t the faintest bit uneasy, like she had been before.

  Seth took one step closer towards her. "I’m going to try something. You mustn't feel sorry if anything happens."

  She looked at him strangely, and then nodded.

  He reached out and pressed a hand to her arm.

  Her vision went blank, temporarily, and when it returned, she found she was holding Seth's arm tightly behind his back.

  He shuffled uncomfortably on his feet, his face scrunched up in pain.

  She released him and stepped back, cupping her mouth in horror.

  Casper stared at her with eyes wide.

  "Wow."

  Seth straightened and rotated the arm she’d forced behind his back. He worked on easing the muscles she’d just pulled. He sent her a reassuring smile.

  "Looks like you've got some type of phobia, your fight or flight response is geared to fight and you lash out when you are touched without warning."

  Casper frowned and looked from Seth to her. "You don't want your own boyfriend to touch you?"

  An uncomfortable silence filled the room as she looked down at the carpet, as did Seth, avoiding Casper's gaze.

  It's not that she didn't want any body contact with anyone. She didn't mind having someone randomly hug her, or lay a hand on her shoulder. But right now it seemed that her body did.

  A knock at the door broke the uncomfortable tension. Casper shuffled over to answer it, frowning. He obviously wasn't happy about not knowing what was going on.

  Her mind wandered as he went to answer the door. Tiffany had probably seen the nurse by now and had her injuries seen to. Everything had happened so fast, but after looking at her watch, she realized it had only been about fifteen minutes since she had hurt the mean girl.

  When she heard the door open, she turned to see who it was.

  Zane was standing there, his arms folded across his stomach. He was wearing a black t-shirt that looked like it was made out of an expensive fabric, and the neck collar sagged down like a scarf. It fit tight to Zane's body, which was lean and skinny.

  He looked down at Casper with a straight face. He peeked around the edge of the door, one eyebrow raised in speculation.

  "What is this? A private meeting?"

  She grinned at the new guest and ran towards the door, pulling the door open fully.

  "Zane! Weren't you going to go tell your uncle what happened?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side.

  He bit the side of his cheek and stared at the doorframe. “I decided it would be best to keep this little incident to myself. No harm in preventing the press from getting the story." He strode into the room without invitation from Casper.

  If she had looked at Casper, she would have noticed the suspicious look he was giving her and Zane.

  The blonde followed Zane, crossing his arms and watching his every move.

  Seth looked at his friend blankly. "Red just collapsed in the hall. We don't know what happened, but now she’s developed a fear of physical contact," Seth explained calmly to Zane, his velvety voice seeming to calm down the room.

  Zane's eyes were wide and he stared at her. "What?"

  Her grin slipped away and she smiled weakly at him. “I don't know how it happened."

  Casper walked over to her and stood in front of Zane. The cheeky blonde boy was glaring at him. “I'll show you." Casper suddenly swung around and grabbed her shoulders with both of his hands.

  It was like she simply shut her eyes for a nap and then woken up few minutes later. When she opened her eyes, she found she had latched on to Casper's arms and was pulling them both backwards, a foot pressed hard into his back. She released him quickly and stepped away.

  Every time this happened, it made her feel so bad. How was she supposed to stop it?

  Casper rolled over on the ground, a surprised smile spreading over his face. "Wow. That gets funnier every time it happens."

  She frowned and pouted at him. "It's not funny."

  Seth smiled too and tilted his head to the side. "It's very impressive, though. It must have taken years of training for you to react that quickly."

  She sniffed and rubbed her forehead. She was getting a headache.

  "What training?"

  She looked down at Casper, who was sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chin and his arms wrapped around his legs.

  Zane was looking at her questioningly, too.

  Crap.

  “She’s trained in martial arts and self-defense since she was little," Seth said it so smoothly and so quickly, it shocked her. He'd actually told them the truth—in some sense—and had said it calmly, without making it sound like a lie.

  She would have messed it up.

  Casper scrambled to his feet and sent a cheeky grin to Zane. It seemed like a cheeky grin to her, but in fact behind that smile was an evil motive. He leaned forward suddenly and grabbed Zane's folded arm.

  Zane glared at him. "What are you—"

  Casper placed his hand on her shoulder. She sucked in a breath and waited for her involuntary reaction. And waited.

  Nothing happened. She didn't black out and Zane wasn't being pressed to the ground in a painful position. The only reaction that had happened w
as her heartbeat had strangely increased. She hit her chest with her hand to stop it from thumping so loud and looked at everyone in confusion. “I didn't do anything."

  She didn't know why, but everyone else seemed to have clammed up, like they were having a silent conversation that she wasn't part of. They knew something. “So, do you think that was because I knew Casper was pushing it?”

  No one answered.

  She had a phobia of unwanted physical contact, even when touched by her closest friends. So why, when Zane had rested a hand on her, didn’t she react?

  * * * * *

  Seth rolled over on the mattress on the floor and stared up at the sleeping girl on the bed. Her black hair framed her face, her lips pouted slightly in her sleep, and she had a light crease in her brow. She was probably having a bad dream.

  He pushed back the blanket and sat up on his knees, bringing his face close to her sleeping one. Slowly, with a trembling hand, he lifted his arm and brushed back the tendrils of her hair, revealing her pale cheekbone and cut eyebrow.

  She looked so innocent, even when she slept. Lightly, he touched her forehead, hoping to ease away the stress that was etched into it. It slowly faded and she moved a little, hugging the corner of the quilt closer to her chin.

  He ran a finger over her cut eyebrow.

  She was an agent. An undercover agent. How was it, that such an naive, childlike girl could be an agent? Agents were supposed to tough, deceitful, to kill and harm.

  She'd fended off full-grown men with ease, coming out relatively unscathed. She'd hesitated to shoot the person she was supposed to kill. But she’d done so well. After learned so much about her, the entire truth, he felt like exploding. He'd only felt such overwhelming emotions once before.

  When his mother had died after his father deserted her.

  He brushed back more of her hair and leaned forward slowly, placing a small kiss on her cut eyebrow. He struggled hard to hide his feelings. So hard.

  Because he knew the reason she wouldn't hurt Zane. He knew the reason she brightened up when the other boy was around. He knew the reason she was so determined to make this mission a success.

  But Seth wasn't ready to accept that. And with everything he had, he would try as hard as he could to make her his… for real.

  Chapter 19: Turquoise

  The first day of Sports week…was a run. It was actually a pretty good day for it. The sun was behind the clouds and it was pleasant out. She was feeling pumped and motivated.

  It was a cross-country run around the entire camp. Not too difficult. That's what you’re supposed to tell yourself before you start. She was dressed in a tight tank top and large shorts. She tied her short, cropped hair into two separate bunches on either side of her head. They stuck out like paintbrushes and for some reason this seemed to attract a lot more attention than if she’d left it down.

  She didn't notice the interest following her every step. She made her way down to the starting line with Seth, who was a lot quieter, and more detached than usual. She noticed his eyes flicker in her direction occasionally, but took no notice. She had learned to leave him alone when he didn't feel like speaking.

  As they neared the starting line, she heard the whispers.

  The people were watching her and Seth—pulling at each other's sleeves and pointing at them as they walked by.

  She felt Seth lean in, being careful not to make contact with her, and then whisper in her ear. "This is expected. Just go with it."

  She nodded and took one step away from him. She hated that she had to keep some physical distance from her friend, but it was for his safety. She approached the starting line, taking her place next to Casper. Seth was at her other side.

  Casper turned his head to grin at her and she smiled at him too before looking back to the front. She didn't notice him do a double take, just as the whistle blew.

  He stumbled and hurried to catch up to her side. She didn't know. How could she?

  Sometimes, innocence was definitely a negative trait.

  * * * * *

  Zane jogged up next to Casper, noticing that the blonde boy appeared to be constantly distracted. He kept running off course into the weeds and gravel, mumbling to himself. After the fourth time, he jogged past Casper to see if he could figure out what was that so distracting.

  He stumbled and nearly fell. Quickly regaining control of himself, he cleared his throat and shook his head. My God, she probably didn't realize, he thought

  He was used to Red looking a little tomboyish. But today she’d worn the same type of boy short’s but paired them with a top that wasn’t boyish at all. And Red had well, boobs. She’d done something with her hair…but what all the boy’s were stumbling over wasn’t her abbreviated pigtails, it was that top.

  She was wearing a precariously low cut top that looked one size too small. He glanced at one of the other girl’s jogging by. Well, at least she wasn’t just wearing a sports bra, things could be worse. He guessed. But he didn’t like that there were so many boy’s looking at—Red

  Did he dare glance at her again? Did she look that good, that, well exposed?

  He fiddled with his earphones and used this as an excuse to glance over again. He cursed under his breath and slowed his jogging down back to an even pace so he was beside Casper again. He noticed that even Seth was having a hard time focusing on the jogging, and he was probably just as innocent as Red.

  As the members of Royal Haven turned the first corner — splitting off into a different direction than Royal Nature—Zane managed to switch places with Casper, so he could job next to Red. He tugged her arm and pulled her aside, allowing the other joggers to go past them at a faster pace.

  Red looked up at him, a bit surprised at his actions. She looked down at the hand that held her arm, like it was some confusing math's puzzle. Clearly she was still spooked about the fact she didn't retaliate when Zane touched her.

  He didn't show it, but he was just as spooked.

  He shrugged off the light hoodie he was wearing. He hadn't worn it because it was cold, but rather because it matched the shirt, thrusting the sweatshirt out to her.

  She looked at it like it was going to bite her and then lifted her cerulean eyes up to his. "What do I need this for?" she asked, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath.

  Zane tried very hard to keep his eyes on her face, mentally slapping his warm cheeks.

  "You're not suitably dressed for a cross country run," he said, keeping his eyes on the joggers going past them.

  She looked down at chest, then back up to Zane. "You're not supposed to wear black strap tops to a cross country run?" She looked at a girl running by, who was wearing a similar top.

  No, he said to himself. You're not supposed to wear a top that low, with your hair up like that. No one can think when you do that. I can’t think. He glared at her and pushed the hoodie at her again.

  "Please? Why not take advantage of the fact that I’m actually trying to," he breathed in, "… help you."

  Her face lit up and reached for the sweatshirt, taking it from him, and yeah…pulling it around her shoulders, zipping it up the front. . She grinned up at him. "Thanks, Zane!" And with that, she jogged off.

  He watched after her with his arms folded, snorting in derision. She was clueless on her affect on him, and all the other guys.

  * * * * *

  She was ecstatic. Completely, totally ecstatic. Not only had Zane given her his hoodie at the run, but he'd actually knocked on Seth's door—once Seth had left—and asked to see what she planned to wear for the day.

  She thought it might have something to do with going to the cafeteria this morning in a pair of red, REALLY short shorts. Since the one’s Zane had given her were in the wash. She also wore a strange top that didn't have any sleeves, only tied up behind her neck. Vikki had called it a halter.

  She really would have to thank Vikki, if her friend ever came back. The girl had been right; the clothes had worked.
Every time Red wore the clothes her friend had picked out for her, Zane had approached her. And it wasn't to bite her head off! He really was interested in what she was wearing.

  It had been so long since Zane had asked her to leave Royal Haven. She was beginning to think he had accepted her. She glanced over at him. He was standing in Seth's room, looking through the tops and shorts that she had left, a look of disgust and horror across his face.

  She watched him with a grin on her face.

  He dropped the last pair of shorts back into the bag and folded his arms across his chest, looking at her, frowning. "Do you have any idea—" He sighed when he saw her smiling face. Shaking his head, he turned his back on her. "You don’t, you have no idea..."

  She pulled her legs onto Seth's bed and pressed the bottoms of her feet together, putting her arms forward so she could grasp her ankles with her hands. She started to rock backwards and forward, still happily smiling at Zane. "Hey, Zane, are we friends yet?"

  He snorted and turned around. Coming to a complete standstill when he saw what she was doing.

  Amazing, she was sooo flexible. His eyes widened, he could fill sweat trickle down his forehead.

  She stopped rocking and tilted her head to look at him in confusion. He had turned a little white. "Zane?" She released her feet and started to crawl on the bed, toward him. She wanted a closer look at him.

  Without warning, he turned sprinted out the door, slamming it hard behind him. So hard, in fact, the walls shook.

  She stared after him, her brow creased in confusion. What did she do this time?

  Zane slammed the door shut behind him, collapsing against it as soon as it was closed. He tilted his head back and scrunched his eyes shut, resting a hand over his warm face. He slammed his fist against his chest, trying to stop his heart from beating so fast.