C11 Fairytales

***POV - Melaena

I see Damion’s mouth move but my heartbeat pounding in my ears causes ferocious drumming inside the helmet, deafening me for a few moments. I take a deep breath and close my eyes to calm my ticker down and when the thumping slowly stops, I can hear his voice.

“You okay?” He asks as soon as the grievous bodily harm to him stops. I nod and then I hear Enrique laughing from behind some logs. Douchbag!

“Enrique, you’re going to be a bloating carcass when I’m finished with you!” Damion shouts, but Enrique just laughs harder. I smell that fresh, citrus, and woody scent I have come to associate with Damion over the years. Dior … he’s the face of Dior … and if I have to take a wild guess, today he’s wearing Sauvage. Mixed with sweat! But somehow it triggers my butterflies. They must be drawn to the musky smell of perspiration. I barely register the pain from the bruised wounds on my torso as it is being drowned out by the heightened, throbbing ache between my legs.

The next moment, Enrique swears loudly, and he runs past us, jolting each time a black ball hits him. Jackson is following close behind, an arsenal of paintballs firing from his gun straight at his twin. And the look on his face tells me that he might just be enjoying it a little too much.

“Fuck off, Jackson!” Enrique swears again, trying to hide behind an old car wreck.

Damion looks at me with a heated glint in his eyes, then he wipes his fingers over my cheek, saying I have some dirt there. I wiggle to get free, scared by the emotions I’m feeling, and notice a green patch on my sleeve. Damn, I’ve been really hit this time and am out of the game.

Damion helps me to my feet and then a loud noise judders me to close my ears with my hands. It’s the siren signaling a win. Somebody grabbed a flag. I quickly look over, and then a big smile spreads across my face. Luke is jumping up and down, wildly waving the green flag through the air. I remove my hands slowly, letting them fall down my sides. We won!

Enrique jumps up from his hiding place and slowly walks over to us.

“Congratulations.” He intentionally hits Damion on his back, knowing it hurts. Then he sees the paint marks covering my front and his eyes turn dark. A cameraman is standing close by, recording our win.

“Who the bloody hell shot you like that?” He seems angry and it’s ironic because just a few moments ago he was the one shooting at me.

“Chloe went all out killer crazy on her,” Kiara explains, walking over to us with a smile. Then she looks at Damion and wrinkles her nose “… but Damion protected her viciously, taking the most hits.” Enrique’s brow lifts and he looks at his friend standing next to me. Damion looks uncomfortable but he doesn’t say a word. Luke comes in running and Damion grabs him and throws him into the air.

“We WON! We WON!” the little guy shouts while laughing. Enrique puts his arm around my shoulder and whispers “I’m going to make that bitch pay! Nobody shoots my sister except for her brothers.” I just shake my head and smile at the contradiction of his words. Is that so?

I push him away and then lift my gun. Before he realizes what’s happening, I shoot him a few times on his chest and legs. He jumps around swearing, trying to get out of the way, but then Damion bursts out laughing and I stop shooting.

“Serves you right, asshole. You messed up my backside for nothing.” Enrique looks at me as if he’s going to murder me, but then he puts his arm around my shoulder again and we walk arm-in-arm to the exit. Luke jumps on his brother’s back and Damion gives a soft growl so Axel grabs the little man and swings him over to his back, knowing his friend must be in pain. We join the other people, a mix of green and black overalls, most of them shattered with blobs of paint and already dispensed from their safety gear.

Ren is talking to Chloe. Her green overall is open at the front, giving him a perfect view of her exposed cleavage covered in only a red lacy bra, and I notice his eyes taking full advantage of the show. Funny, I don’t even feel a pint of jealousy, not in the slightest. Chloe suddenly rushes towards us like a freight train, grabbing Damion. All the guys' eyes move, as if in union, to the exact same spot of red lace, leaving smirks on their faces. Even Luke’s eyes are almost popping from his face. Ug, boys are so predictable ... they seem to be haunted by boobs from birth to death!

I shoot my eyes toward Damion, jealousy NOW suddenly shooting through me, but to my surprise, he’s staring back at me. He smiles when my eyes catch his, questions hiding in them, and he just shrugs his shoulders.

“Undefeated legend, not one shot,” Jackson willows proudly, walking over to us while swinging his gun in his hands. Ilkay appears silently behind him and, without hesitation, shoots him three times on the back. He growls and jumps around to see his brother’s self-satisfied face teasing him.

“And now you’re not!” Enrique smirks next to me, an egotistical expression displayed on his profile. Jackson lifts his gun and shoots Ilkay back, hitting him solidly on his chest. Then Enrique shoots Axel, who also wasn’t hit during the game, and Axel shoots Ilkay.

Sean, Damion’s teammate, walks over with a big smile and upon seeing his clean overall, the boys all turn on him. He turns his body, protecting his face and crotch, and takes most of the hits on his arms and ribs. Then they start a shooting frenzy, and without thinking, I jump behind Damion, not eager to receive another painful shot. As soon as they run out of ammunition, they start laughing and giving each other bro-hugs - as if nothing happened. Yeh, it's not as if they're not even aware that they're bruised and bleeding and probably in pain.

Men, men, men! I’ll never understand the workings of those puny brains of theirs. And these idiots are all unfeeling psychopaths!

“Let’s go start the party!” Dean, their agent, shouts, possibly trying to prevent some more attacks in front of the cameras. I can see the reporter's sly smile and just know that he has some excellent footage already and the night is still young. The boys never disappoint, always giving the press something to speculate about.

We get to the parking area and Ilkay pulls his medical bag from the car. He hands out some wipes, drenched in some antiseptic liquid, and everybody starts treating wounds … some their own … some helping others. I look at the birthday boy… he did protect me after all, so I guess I owe him.

Damion pulls his overalls off and ties the sleeves around his middle, exposing his bruised and battered back. It looks bad … it’s blue and red and bloody. I start wiping it as gently as possible, trying not to think too much about the feelings running from my heart through my mind. Then someone tries to grab the cloth from my hand.

“Let me do it,” Chloe snaps. I glare at her but give a step back.

“No!” Damion utters, sounding irritable, “go away, Chloe.” And I wonder if he’s mad at his love for shooting him.

“Darling, I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she stutters, grabbing his arm. He pulls away and my inner bitch cheers joyfully.

“I know … you meant to hurt Mel,” he says coldly.

“No … “ Chloe gasps, now clutching his leg, “the gun eh … it got stuck … “

Yeah right … the bitch is lying, big time. Damion throws her hands from him and walks away, whispering something in Kiara's ear. Bitch C folds her arms and glares at me, her mouth in a pout. And I instantly decide that this girl just turned into my least favorite person on the planet.

Kiara grabs me all of a sudden and forcefully pushes me into a car. The car speeds off before I can get my bearings straight. What the heck? I look to the side … I’m in a truck with Damion and Luke.

I awkwardly put on my safety belt … not sure what’s going on. Why did my BFF – or rather ex-best-friend - push me into this truck?

I glance at him from beneath my lashes. He looks so cool and collected – poised even … Me? I’m a hot mess, feeling so out of my league here. His face is turned to the front – concentration on the road. He has a beautiful profile and my fingers itch to trace that square jaw … the deep dimples. He hasn't shaved, and the sudden thought of running my tongue over his stubble tempts my mind. I'd like to feel how rough it is against my lips.

"So how long have you and that Ren duce been together?" I jolt as he suddenly interrupts my erotic rumination, a warm blush covering my cheeks being caught with those dirty thoughts.

"Since I got back," I manage breathlessly. Was I just thinking about licking his face? What am I … a dog? What is it about this man that drives my hormones through the roof?

“I don’t like him,” Luke comments.

“Nobody likes him,” Damion continues and I drastically think about how I can change the topic. I don’t want to talk about Ren. But making conversation with my frenemy … which I hate but secretly crave, is not an easy accomplishment. It’s not as if we’ve actually been all alone together all that much, my brothers are mostly around. I just realized that I don’t know much about him. I mean, I’ve seen most of his races on television, and know he’s a risk-taker, his favorite color is black; he hates Brussels sprouts, but loves to eat hot dogs from the Bacon Dog Cart. He is very active and tries any sport like surfing, skateboarding, and wall climbing in his spare time. He also loves the outdoors and camping, had an almost perfect GPA score, is a dog person, and sleeps in the nude.

But that doesn’t mean I know anything about him. And I for sure as hell is not a stalker if that’s what you’re thinking. No, it’s just things I’ve picked up over the years.

“How’re your boobs?” he smiles at me and I sigh. Why does he have to be so freaking good-looking? I mean, just look at that face! No wonder girls fall at his feet all the time.

Then the realization of his words sinks in. My boobs? I flush scarlet and quickly look at Luke. The little guy is staring at me … waiting for an answer. I open my mouth but am not sure what to say. I look down at my chest as if it will provide the answer he wants. Damion gives a half-suppressed chuckle.

“Where Chloe shot you ...” he represses.

“Oh, eh … they’re … um it’s fine … “ my brain-to-mouth filter failing again.

“I’m willing to doctor them for you … return the favor since you cleaned my wounds so to speak,” he winks with a naughty gleam in his eyes.

“Ug.” Luke sighs and rolls his eyes, before he starts babbling like a little baboon, still engulfed by the excitement of winning, and I’m glad as it gives me the excuse to stare out the window and gather my thoughts. I don’t want to talk to Damion too much, scared that I might start liking him … or worse, get trapped in a situation where I’ll make the mistake of misinterpreting hate for love again. And playing the game of love with THIS guy can not end well for anyone. I’m already strung out whenever he’s around, and when he touches me it’s as if I have a fever, and I even act crazy. But like I said, love and hate feelings are one and the same, I’ve googled it and Google doesn’t lie.

To me, he is the person where love and hate become indistinguishable, kindred, so much alike that I can never decide, no matter how hard I try. Are the heavy heartbeats, the twisted stomach, the nauseating feelings a reaction of love or hate … or a combination of the two?

I look at my reflection in the window. Somewhere deep inside I know the truth … I’m not stupid … but I choose to stick to the belief that these feelings are the symptoms of hate. I don’t want to acknowledge the opposite … because admitting that I’m in love with him will only end in disaster and break my fragile heart again and again.

“You know, we never really have one-on-one talks like this,” Damion suddenly says, and I wonder if he’s insane. We’ve hardly said anything the whole trip so far. Luke has done all the talking. I keep quiet, waiting for him to continue 'cause I don’t know what to say to him. I got a hell of a lot to say to Kiara about stuffing me in this car when I see her though.

“Why is that you think?” he continues. I just pull up my shoulders.

“Are you worried about what your little boyfriend is thinking?” He pulls his eyes and smiles wickedly, dragging out the word ‘boyfriend’ sarcastically. I gasp. I haven’t even given Ren a thought. Does that make me a bad girlfriend?

“You’re not a bad girlfriend … you’re just not in love with him,” he says blatantly, and my jaw drops. Is he psychic or something?

“I can read you like a magazine, angel.” I frown at him, but he keeps his eyes on the road. I look at Luke’s entertained face and the little guy slowly lifts his shoulders and pouts his mouth.

“That guy is all wrong for you, you know.” Eyes still on the road, but his voice dipped an inch onto the deeper side.

“Oh sorry I didn’t know you’re an expert on how I should live my life … just let me get my notebook so I can take notes.” My voice is cold and I hope he can hear the hate laced in it. The arrogance of this man is astronomical.

“Well, he’s cheating on you for one … maybe put that in your notebook.” He also sounds cold now and it bothers me more than what he’s saying.

“You’re a dick, but being one doesn’t make yours bigger,” I shout, forgetting that Luke is in the back seat.

“Oh, I don’t have any problem with my ba-donk-a-donk’s size, angel. But please don’t hold back on the insults.” I frown at the word he uses for his penis – maybe it’s because of Luke.

“Go to hell!” I’m sure my one eye is twitching.

“Been there, done that, even got the scars to prove it.” He’s not even shaken, and here I am mad as a leprechaun.

“I hate you!” I turn my back at him as much as I can manage in my seat. We drive for what feels like hours in silence, and it’s as if the absence of noise in the car is almost deafening. Why would he say that about Ren? Does he know something I don’t? No, Ren would not do that.

“I’ve figured it out,” Luke breaks the loud silence, and I turn to look at him. Damion glances in the rearview mirror.

“You two are secretly in love and you’re both too stupid to admit it.” He gives a large proud grin as if he just figured out the undisclosed meaning of the universe.

“Gmf! Sorry to burst your bubble Luke, but your brother isn’t capable of loving a girl, he has no heart. I think he might even be a monster.”

“You know, love can be deceiving, just like rumors. And monsters can be real.” Damion mumbles, taking his eyes off the road to look at me and a flame shoots from them to burn my core. What does he mean by that? I’m still trying to figure it out when Luke gives one of his quirky but rather brilliant thoughts.

“So Mel, you don’t like my brother then?” Luke asks softly as if he’s disappointed. I chose to throw Damion’s words back at him.

“Well, I’ve been there, done that, even got the dragon to prove it. He's no Prince Charming, that's for sure.” I steal a secret glance at him and notice his face going pale.

“So you want a fairytale?” Where does this kid get these questions from? And between him and his brother, I don’t even get time to take a breath before they slam me with a mind-changing fact.

“Not so much, but I want something real. Not a one-day prince that will just leave me hanging the next day.” I know Damion will get the meaning behind the words. He’s not your normal knight in shining armor on a white horse, no, he’s more of a demon in jeans on a black bike, and instead of saving you, he will destroy you.

“You need a good guy and not a prince then,” Luke says, taking my hand in his, and all I can do is smile at him. This little nut-head crawled into my heart and stuck himself there. Damion just shakes his head, giving a soft laugh as if he finds it funny. He turns the Bonny Tyler song on the radio up as if he doesn’t want to listen to us anymore.

‘Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods … ‘ Perfect … even the radio is psychic now … and I’m sure I’m gonna get stuck with an ogre in my life … so much for fairytales.

‘Isn’t there a white night upon a fiery steed …’