Bullets rained down. Well, not bullets, more like paintballs. And no rain—just paint splatters flung across the field like a kid going wild with finger paints. But based on the warrior cries and the groans of pain, it sure felt like a war zone—so long as said war zone was neon-colored. 

I stood at the edge of a large grass field, tall gray walls scattered throughout— places to hide, with tall, thick trees that cast long shadows across the terrain, making it harder to find your target. People ducked, ran, rolled, and sprinted from place to place, eyes glistening with menacing intent as they scanned for targets. 

As I watched a girl sprint for a nearby wall and get shot five times in the back before she tripped and fell face first into the grass, I began to regret my desire to attempt to get out of my comfort zone and make friends. 

There has to be an easier way to make friends... 

"LILY!" a familiar voice shouted. Bex seemed to drop out of a nearby tree, landing in a crouch before bounding out of the grass as she made a beeline for me, face bright with mischief. She didn't have a spot of paint on her. "You came."

"Yeah..." I said staring out at the paintball field again, growing nervous. "I... don't know about this."

Bex began to tug me toward the check in counter. "Don't be ridiculous. You'll love it!" Her attempt to sound as chipper as possible sent my heart racing. She was trying too hard and that left me wondering how battered and bruised this girls night was going to leave me. 

A flash of rainbow hair caught my attention as I finished pulling on a protective vest. The twenty two year old rainbow haired girl, with a bounce in her step came over to Bex, eyes on me. "This must be Lily," she said, holding out her hand, eyes bright. Unlike Bex, Rainbow Haired Girl had a splatter of paint across her chest. It was probably due to the fact that she was covered in neon colored clothing. It probably made her an easier target to spot.

She held out her hand. "I'm Em. I used to work with Bex at 'Pizza Nerd,' she said by way of introduction, shaking my hand warmly. "And you are Lily, Bex's roommate." 

"The one and only!" Bex said, slinging her arm around my shoulder with a smile. 

I knew exactly who Em was. Em Springs was an ex-gossip columnist, who had become famous over night for starring in a movie with her now boyfriend and movie star Luke Walker. But after the movie finished shooting, she changed careers and was currently an up and coming podcaster, diving into conspiracy theories. 

Bex talked about Em all the time, and I felt like I had far more information about her than was probably appropriate to admit for a first meeting. It made me feel like a stalker. 

"EM!" A woman with glistening black hair said, stomping out of the grass behind Em, her purple painted lips in a scowl. She was dressed in all black, war paint underneath each eye, an irritated expression on her face. She clearly took the game very seriously. "You can't just run away in the middle of a round!" 

This was another face I recognized. Lavender West was an actress, famous for her action adventure movies and was ex girlfriend to Luke Walker. The idea that she and Em were friends was something I couldn't wrap my head around. But then again, I spent all day staring at my crush, after three years of obvious rejection so I couldn't really judge. 

Em turned to look at Lavender with a snort. "I wasn't running. Cute that you think I'm afraid of you. Just meeting the new girl." 

Lavender turned to me, brow raised as she took in my nervous expression. Then her lips spread into a slow smile. "Ah. You've never played before, have you? I call dibs on her for my teammate." 

Bex gestured to Lavender, giving me intel, clearly pleased that Lavender wanted me on her team. "She's the resident expert."

"Learned to shoot stunt guns for movies," Lavender said with a shrug. "Who knew it would be useful?"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!" Another voice shouted. We all turned to stare at the final person stumbling out of the grass, her entire body covered in paint, her platinum blond hair wild around her face. "YOU ALL LEFT ME IN THERE!?! WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A STUPID GAME! I WAS SURROUNDED!!!" 

A smile tugged at Em's mouth as she fought a laugh. "Lily, this is Prism. Our resident panic shooter."

"When you play with psycho's it's best to be unpredictable," Prism muttered, pushing a strand of hair out of her face with what little dignity she could scrounge together. She gave up a moment later when her hair wouldn't cooperate. "WHY DID YOU ALL DITCH ME LIKE THAT?!?"

Em gestured to me like that was an explanation. "New girl."

"She's on my team," Lavender said, claiming her turf.

Prism rolled her eyes. "Doesn't matter. You'll beat me, Bex and Em even if New Girl slows you down." 

I had already been coined the new girl, my name forgotten. Awesome.

Em crossed her arms, eyes flashing. "She will not! I'm taking her down this time." She gestured to Bex. "She'll snipe, I'll be on the first line of defense and you..." Em trailed off as she looked at Prism. 

"I'm the distraction, yeah yeah. I know," she replied, blowing a strand of paint covered hair out of her face.

Lavender turned to me. "What is your specialty?"

I blinked. I had no idea. I hadn't even held a paintball gun before. But it felt like an important question, a test. "Um... improvising?" 

Bex shot me a thumbs up, always supportive. Lavender stared at me for a long moment, weighing my words far more than she should have. I wasn't expecting to be very good, or very useful to her. "Good enough." 

She began to move toward the tall grass, expecting me to follow. 

Glancing back at Bex, she gave me another encouraging smile. "You'll do great."

"I'm going to die, aren't I?"

Em smiled. "Nah. We'll just bruise you a little. Builds character." 

Then Em ducked into the tall grass, humming happily to herself. 

Yep. I'm dying... 

...

"Okay, two things..." Lavender said as she ducked lower in the grass, running in a crouch, far faster than I was comfortable with. I kept getting hit in the face with grass, but it was clear she wasn't slowing down, so I continued to follow. 

"As soon as the air horn goes off, no more talking. That's why Em's team keeps getting trounced. Prism won't shut up. She screams every time someone gets close," Lavender said, a smile in her voice. 

"And two. Be unpredictable but unafraid. Prism has the right idea. But she's so afraid of getting hit that it causes her to freeze and as you could see, it makes her a beautiful tapestry of paint and terrible decision making." 

As we continued to bolt through the grass, I decided that I liked Lavender. I liked her competitive nature. Her determination to win. And how unapologetic she was about it. She was confident and honest and I took a mental note to learn that myself. 

She led us deeper into the grass. "Bex will be high in a tree. So keep an eye out. You'll hear Prism long before you see her. Just duck when she starts shooting. She shoots wide. Em is the one you have to watch out for. She's fast and a good shot. So keep moving the moment you see that colorful hair of hers."

I swallowed, growing more nervous, sweat beginning to bead at my neck. 

I'm not ready... 

My heart began to race. 

I don't know if I can do this—

The airhorn went off, making me forget how to breathe. I froze, legs glued to the ground. 

Who needs friends? Who needs to socialize? Friendships are overrated. I'll just sneak away and—

Hearing rustling to the left, my body bolted into action, moving before I had wrapped my head around the fact that I was in danger. I rolled, barely dodging a shot to the chest as Prism came stomping into view. "Shoot!" she shouted. 

I lifted my gun, intent on getting a shot in, but she screamed so loud in panic that it startled me, sending my shot wide. I heard a grunt a moment later, followed by the sight of Bex rubbing her thigh in the tree nearby, nearly falling off the branch.

I hit her! Accidentally, but still! 

Pride swirled within me. I couldn't believe it. I was on the verge of doing a victory dance when I realized that Prism had finally stopped screaming and was pulling her paintball gun up again. I bolted through the grass, Prism fast on my heels. 

A moment later Bex dropped down from the tree and followed. 

Crap. Crap. Crap. 

I dove behind a wall, crawling through the grass, trying to disappear and stay as silent as possible. 

"Liiiily!" Bex said in a singsong voice. "Come out and plaaaay."

It's official. I'm friends with a crazy person.

"We'll find you eventually..." Prism added. 

I continued to crawl, unnerved by how close they were. 

A set of bright boots appeared before me. I slowly looked up to find Em smiling down, rainbow hair falling into her face, gun trained on me. "Any last words?" she asked sweetly. 

"I... just not the face?"

I scrunched my eyes shut, and a moment later the sound of paint hitting its mark filled my ears. My eyes shot open to find Em stumbling backward, glaring past me at Lavender, hand to her chest. 

Lavender shot Em two more times before Em had a chance to disappear into the tall grass. Lavender didn't say a word, brow raised at me in question, ever the professional, refusing to talk during the game. 

I nodded. I was fine. My breath hitched, my eyes going wide, fingers suddenly scrambling for the trigger. Lavender hadn't even fully turned before I shot Bex in her other thigh, causing her to swear. Prism who was a step behind, screeched in panic and accidentally shot Bex in the back. 

"Seriously?!?" Bex shouted, whirrling around to glare at her teammate.

"Sorry!"

Lavender bit back a laugh and shot Prism several times before Prism dove for cover. 

Lavender gestured toward where Em disappeared to and bolted off that direction, making it clear she thought I could handle Bex and Prism alone. 

Blood pumping, I scrambled to my feet, my competitive side taking over. I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to destroy the other team. I wanted to wipe their faces in paint and leave them crawling away. Fire crackled in my veins as I began to stalk towards Bex and Prism, bringing up my paintball gun, ready to fire.

Bex had played enough games with me to know my competitive face, and took off running, leaving Prism behind. 

I shot Prism and then took off after my roommate, determined. 

You're mine.

Bolting through the grass, I only had a moment to react when Bex stood up two dozen feet away, shooting. Diving, I took cover behind a wall. Before I could get my bearings, Bex ran around the corner, shooting again. She hit me in the arm, and instead of running, a flash of red filled my vision. 

I refused to loose. I rolled again, shooting back and miraculously hitting her before I came to a stop. We both raised our guns, ready to continue shooting, itching to paint each other until there was nothing clean left when the airhorn went off again. 

The end of the game. 

I lowered my gun, breathing heavily. Bex's eyes were alight as she lowered hers. "See. Fun." 

Prism swore from nearby. "I should go help her," Bex said with a grin before throwing her arms around me, smooshing more paint onto my clothes. "I'm so glad you came." 

Then she jogged off, looking for Prism. 

"Nice shot!" Lavender said suddenly at my side, causing me to jump. 

"You nearly shot Bex right out of that tree." Lavender game me a small smile, clearly impressed. I smiled back, but didn't have the heart to tell her it had been a panicked shot, a complete accident. 

"Anytime you want to play, you're welcome to join my league. Em and I play all the time." 

The idea of playing paintball regularly was both exciting and exhausting. "I'll think about it."

We began our walk back through the grass. "So, what's your deal?" Lavender asked. 

"My deal?"

"Yeah. Bex doesn't invite just anyone to girl's night. And yet here you are," she finished, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. 

I bit my lip. Lavender struck me as an honest, if somewhat blunt person. Which is why I said, "I'm on a journey to work on myself. Making friends is on my list. But it's hard. So..." I held up my hands self deprecatingly. "Here I am, trying."

She nodded, lost in thought for a moment. "I get it." We walked in silence for a beat before Lavender continued. "Making friends is hard. Especially good ones. You don't always find your people at first. Especially ones that are willing to try out the things you like." She shot me a smile. "Prism hates paintball but humors Em and me. Bex tolerates it because she loves the rush. Bex loves watching the movies I've been in, heckling them. I humor her by watching them with her. Prism loves reality tv shows. We all humor her and manage to sit through an episode or two before we force her to change it to something tolerable." 

We stepped out of the grass and Lavender shot me a loaded look as if to say. 'What crazy thing would you make us do for a girls night.'

"I like movies from the 1920's through the 1960's," I said. "And junk food." 

Lavender held out her hand. "Phone." 

I raised a brow but reached into my pocket and handed it over. She tapped out something and handed it back. "My number. Consider this an official invitation to future girls nights, Sharp Shooter."

"Sharp shooter?"

"New Girl isn't really a good nickname."

She began to walk off toward the check in counter, pulling off her paintball gun strap. "I'm looking forward to your girl's night pick," she said over her shoulder. "I love Gene Kelly. 

I smiled back, excited to have found someone else who loved the same movie era as me, itching to tell Bex what happened... so long as she didn't kill me for nearly knocking her out of a tree first. 

As I walked toward to the check in counter, I had a new bounce in my step. I made a new friend!

The reality of it made me feel giddy. Friends weren't always easy to find, so the reality of it felt special, something to soak in. I began to repeat the list of things I liked about myself as I took off the paintball gunstrap. 

I am a fighter. I am clever. I am kind. I am honest. I am compassionate. 

I smiled to myself, thinking of  something new to add to my list, beaming by the time I slapped my paintball gun down on the counter. And I am pretty good at paintball. 

---

Thank you for reading chapter ten! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!

UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!

What did you think of Lavender, Em and Prism? 

If you'd like to see more of Lavender and Em, check out "The Journalist and Her Actor." Link in the comments here! -->

If you'd like to see more of Prism, check out "The Detective and Her Bachelor." Link in the comments here -->

What do you think the girls will do for the next game night?

The next thing on Lily's list is 'go on a date'! Will it go well? Who will she go out with? What does Allie have planned to make it happen?

Will Dash eventually convince Lily to go on a "thank you" date with him?

What will happen next?

CHAPTER QUESTION - Would you ever play paintball? If so, would you be a sniper, a panic shooter, or a speed runner? (AKA an Bex, a Prism, or an Em) Or are you like Lavender, 'the resident expert'?