Warning~ Long Chapter

In the laser tag arena, they strapped on their vests and took their guns in hand.

"Hey, thanks for all of this. I guess it's not such a bad thing to lose bets," Trechial said as they walked toward the laser tag course.

Devin bumped her with his shoulder, though his arm itched to wrap itself around her. He was happy to hear her rely those sentiments, and he wanted her to remember this night because he would never forget it.

They entered the maze. "See? I'm not a bad date at all." He flashed a smile at her before running off since they were on different teams. He ventured through the winding walls until he was on the other side and slowed his pace, creeping through, looking every which way for her.

With his height, he could almost peer over the walls, but the top was just out of reach. He huffed and rounded a corner, catching a flash of Trechial as she walked down a corridor. He quietly trailed her, keeping a good distance between them.

When he got just feet away, he rounded the corner into the corridor and pointed his gun through it only to find that it was empty. She wasn't there.

All at once, his vest lit up, glowing with electric, red stripes that shot around his waist. He spun around and discovered Trechial standing before him with her gun aimed at him.

"That's what you get for trying to sneak up on me," she said. Laughter bubbled out of her, all in victory once more, then she ran around the corner.

Devin shook off his amazement and armed himself with determination to find her. He headed the way that she ran, trying to seek her out through the darkness of the maze, but there were only a few blue lights illuminating the way.

He gazed down the passing corridors and heard shuffling from up ahead. "I know you're close, Trechial!" He sped up his pace and cut into the next corridor, which had a dead-end where Trechial stood, helpless.

Trechial whipped around at the end of it, a groan sounding from her when she realized that he had her trapped. She tried to raise her gun to shoot him, but he beat her to it, and her vest lit up red.

"Gotcha," he sneered. She smirked at him.

"You better run because I'm coming after you," she said.

Devin chuckled and ran away from her, but he wished that he could stay near her, right there in that dead-end hallway. Despite all of their years together, he still liked being around her. He never got tired of her, while he sometimes felt overwhelmed by Candice. It made him feel slightly guilty to think that, but Trechial meshed with him better. He knew it. She knew it. Heck, even Candice probably knew it.

It didn't take him and Trechial long to find each other again, engaging in battle after battle when they faced each other. Their laughter echoed throughout the maze as they ducked around corners and sprinted down corridors, away from each other. They played around until the timer ran out and they had to leave. Nearly breathless from moving around so much, they headed out of the course and returned their gear, smiling at each other from the rush.

"You are way faster than I remember," Devin said, breathless.

The nearly empty street laid out before them. "I was always fast," Trechial said.

Devin knew she was right. When they used to play tag as kids, she would race down the street with her puffy ponytails bouncing up and down. He'd eventually catch up to her, but it winded him by the time he did. He missed those days and how carefree they were back then. Now, there always seemed to be something happening for them to worry about. Parents. School. Friends. Relationships. Charlie.

"Well, I've worked up an appetite. How about you?" Devin said. He wouldn't mind adding dinner to their date.

"Sure, I could eat," Trechial said with a smile as she gazed around at some of the restaurants in the area.

"There's pizza, tacos, sushi..."

"You hate sushi, Tae. But tacos sound good." She motioned toward a small Mariachi Taco restaurant.

Salsa music played overhead as they were led to a red booth at a wooden table near the back corner. Soft golden light filled the space, gleaming off the small white menus.

"I think I'll try something new tonight. I'm feeling lucky," Devin said, his positivity being powered by her presence.

Trechial roamed the menu and winced at the majority of what she read. "Yeah, I'll stick with what I know. What are you getting?"

"Carne Asada." He enunciated the word in his best Spanish accent.

She found it on the menu and nodded in approval. "I think I'm going to get the chicken chimichanga and a Dr. Pepper."

The waiter walked up and took their orders, and once he was gone, Devin said, "I haven't been out to dinner in a minute." He folded his hands under the table so she wouldn't be able to sense that they were clamming up. Now that they'd ordered, the obligation to carry on conversation weighed on him, shoving his appetite out of the way. But the night was close to ending, and he had to make the best of it before it would be over forever.

Trechial lifted her eyebrow at him. "You haven't been out with Candice?"

Devin shifted a little in the booth and scratched at the back of his neck. He was aware of the tension between Trechial and Candice, which was mostly incited by Candice. He was pretty sure that she was just intimidated by how close he was to Trechial. Wouldn't it be that way with any girl he chose to date? Wouldn't every girl be jealous of his relationship with Trechial?

He shrugged. "Not lately."

Technically, he could've spent tonight with Candice instead, but put plain and simple, he didn't want to. He enjoyed having the brief time away from her to relax with Trechial, who he could truly be himself around. Candice's taste for expensive things and being the "it" couple was quickly becoming a problem for him. He'd much rather play ball and video games than go to fancy dinner parties and hang out with the "clueless" bunch at the mall. Last week he spent two hundred dollars of his hard-earned money on a pair of pink heels that Candice would most likely wear only once. With Trechial, it was different. Her idea of a good time was doing things like this––bowling, arcade games, playing at the park. Normal, everyday things. He didn't have to act like anyone else or be on his best behavior to charm and woo her. And he didn't have to spend a lot of money which was his favorite part.

"Are you guys still going strong?" Trechial said, her eyes dropping to the table after she asked.

Devin was surprised that Trechial wanted to talk about him and Candice. It was a bit of a tense conversation topic, especially since he liked Trechial and Candice hated her. It was an awkward triangle that he was still trying to get a handle on. They were both prominent people in his life, but Trechial would always mean more. It would always be her, no matter what happened. His non-negotiable.

Candice could make him happy. She was an interesting person to be around, who was passionate and sweet at times. She wasn't a bad girl, and she would suffice since he couldn't have Trechial. He hated to think like that, but that was the fact of the matter. He had to settle. And she gave it up, whenever he wanted it. Most times she initiated the making out that would lead to more, and admittedly he had gotten used to it. Another harsh reality was that while he half-expected sex from Candice, he would wait until marriage to have Trechial in that way.

He stumbled over his answer. "I mean—it's going." He shouldn't have discussed his relationship with Trechial since she wasn't a part of it, but she was also Trechial. They told each other almost everything, and it was hard keeping things from her.

She lifted her eyes back up to him. "I just want you to be happy, Devin."

Warmth flushed through Devin at the sound of her sincerity. He wanted the same thing for her. He just wanted to see her smile and for her to be taken care of, and he wanted to be the boy who did that. But someone was in his place at the moment.

"What about you?" he said. "Are you happy?"

Her eyes dropped once again like she couldn't face him.

The waiter interrupted them with their food and drink. When Trechial launched into a talk about how good the food was, Devin decided to continue the conversation later. It was probably a talk to be had outside of a public place, and he wanted her to feel comfortable enough to talk to him. He could tell that something was on her mind by her sudden quietness. After they finished eating and Devin paid for the food, they headed out to walk along the beach.

The evening turned into night as Devin and Trechial went for a stroll along the shore talking about school, friends, relationships, and Charlie. The bright light from the moon and stars painted the dark sky with white speckles and beams that shone down on the bumpy ocean.

The beach was too cold to host any crowds, especially at this hour, so Trechial and Devin were alone. Devin's fingers draped at his side as he took the lead in front of Trechial, leaving his footprints in the sand. They walked in a silence that yearned for a conversation, but neither knew what to say or how to start it. An invisible string of pure fondness tied from Trechial's beating heart to Devin's devoted passion for her, which gave them a bond that temporarily occupied the quiet moment.

The rush of the tide on the sandy floor created noise, as did the seagulls chirping in the distance, but the loudest noise was the voice in Devin's head that kept telling him he loved Trechial.

It was more than a feeling. It was a fact. A pure and undiluted fact. The date so far was perfect, from playing at the arcade to the dinner and conversation they shared and he doubted it could get any better.

***

Trechial's heart pounded in her chest as she watched him casually stroll down the beach before her. She grinned, staring at his slightly bigger footprints for a second before hopping in one then another.

Devin paused and turned around just as she hopped in the last footprint behind him. He narrowed his gaze at her balancing on one leg, and shook his head, "You're such a kid." Then he turned back around.

Trechial poked out her tongue at him as a genius plan came to mind. She squatted down and scooped up a handful of mud and stood up, shaping it into a mudball snickering to herself.

He turned around to face her, his eyes going to the mudball in her hand, "Remember what happened the last time you threw mud at me, Mini?" Devin said with that hint of a flirtatious tone.

Trechial met his challenging gaze, recalling the past of their five-year-old selves.

"You wouldn't."

But her heart hoped he would.

He shrugged. The wind blew his hair away from his face, and his two tones glowed as he silently dared Trechial to throw the mudball. He wanted her to throw it. She wanted to throw it because she knew that Devin was a boy of his word.

So she tossed the mudball, hitting him in the chest. He dusted specks of mud from his shirt.

Trechial challenging Devin out of all people was like lighting a cheap firecracker and holding onto it, expecting it to not explode and hoping it wouldn't shoot sparks. She spun on her heels and took off down the shore with Devin giving chase. He caught her down the shore and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet. She shrieked with exaggerated surprise and swatted at his hands with a false desire for freedom as he spun her around until they were both dizzy.

Trechial relinquished defeat and they continued on their way, searching for a spot to sit "You didn't answer my question from earlier," Devin said.

Trechial frowned and sank down to sit in the sand, the crashing waves filling the silence. She brought her knees close to her chest and sighed.

"Yes and no," she said.

Devin sat beside her, his arm brushing hers, he wanted to reach out and hold her, but he stopped himself instead he asked, "Jared or Charlie?"

"It's not Jared. We're okay most of the time."

"Most of the time?"

"I mean, he's best friends with Amelia, and she hates me but other than that..."

"Ah. I see." A flutter of irritation bit at him because she didn't have one complaint about Jared, but it was something that he would live with for now.

"Anyway, I have no complaints about Jared." She huffed. "Charlie, on the other hand, is a different story. He's still fanning the flame between Mom and Yoon Mi Rae. He told her mom if she were to start talking back to Yoon Mi Rae t he might consider leaving her because she cares more about her friends than her marriage." She scooped up a handful of sand and squeezed it. Drizzles of sand fell through the cracks of her knuckles, and with a slight shake of her head, Devin swore he saw the beginning of a tear.

Devin inched toward her, yearning to reach out to her but resisting, thinking better of it.

She sighed, "I told Momma that I was with Maylee tonight. I couldn't tell her that I was with you," she whispered, the dying sun's glow gleaming in her eyes.

"Things won't always be like this. I know Mrs. Dee's eyes will open up to Charlie's true nature one day."

"I wish that he would leave me alone, Tae. My life is not his to control."

Frustration burned through Devin's flesh, and a brief vision of Charlie flashed through his mind––a bloody, violent vision.

"You'll get to be away from him soon. Then you won't ever have to see him again," he said. He hated Charlie for what he did to Trechial. It crossed his mind––getting a hold of one of his father's .22's and ending Charlie's worthless life. A bullet to the head would end Trechial's misery even if it would hurt Mrs. Dee. She would have to get over it.

Trechial drew in a deep breath and nodded, giving Devin a weak but thankful smile.

"You saved me from being home with him tonight. Thank you for that."

He returned his gaze back to the ocean.

"There's something I need to say," she said.

He reclined back on his hands, watching her, and she did the same, their fingertips grazing over each other.

Her gaze laid on him with a passionate tilt, and he couldn't help but lean into her just an inch more. His chest lifted, and his toes curled.

"I like you, Tae. And as much as I try to help it—as much as I try to deny it or force it away––it doesn't leave." She patted her heart with the other hand. "You're here. And I'm okay with that."

He swallowed, and his arms tingled with numbness that spread down his legs.

"I'm not saying I'm ready to break up our relationships but what I am saying is that I won't run from my feelings anymore. I still like you. So now you don't have to guess."

Devin's mouth dried, and all he could hear was a fuzzy silence that landed between them. Words couldn't find their way to his tongue, so he sat there staring at her, giving in to the long moment of his comprehension.

He looked down, unable to hold her gaze any longer, but her eyes never left him. When he came back to her, he reached up to grab her cheek and bring her face to his. But a beep jolted them out of the moment and back to the harsh reality of Devin's clear baby blue pager.