The Hijinks War

25. Captured Flag

I shouldered my door open, my brain already running through how I could get some answers. Storming right into my closet, I changed into my running gear, though I wasn't sure I'd run in the cold. I was grumbling under my breath, cursing Kellen and Jackson and even Jess for their impulsivity and lack of foresight. With one shoe on, and one in my hand, I barged out of my closet and right into Katia.

Katia? In my room. 

"God, you're a ray of sunshine aren't you?" She snarked.

Where had she come from?

"You didn't even notice I was here!" She offered me a smug smile, and gestured for me to follow her. "Come please."

Was she okay? In what world was I going with her? "Oh-kay... Why?"

"Because, little Ace, I'm here for my flag."

"That's nice, but I'm not the flag," I matched her patronizing tone. Who was she calling little anyway? I was taller than her.

She pondered my words for a second, then shrugged. "Eh! Come please."

I planted my feet when she took my arm and tried to pull me along with her. With an irritated look at me, she clicked her tongue. "See, the thing is, I don't care. I came here for the flag, and I'm taking it. So, you'll come with me, or I'll take you."

"I'm not the flag." I stood my ground. Or I would have, if she hadn't grabbed both my arms and before I could wrench them from her grip, zip-tied my wrists together surprisingly fast. I stared in shock; shouldn't I have been able to overpower her? I hadn't even noticed she had the ties. "What the hell, Katia?" 

I thrashed as she draped dark fabric over my head, and snapped her fingers in some sort of command that brought two people to my sides. Had I not noticed them in my room either? Nicole, you're slipping.

"Seriously??" I yelled as they shoved and dragged me from my room. "Don't touch me! I swear I'll remove your damn hands!" I fought them all the way to our destination. "This is ridiculous! I'm not even the right person!"

When I was finally released into a room, my blindfold tugged off, I looked at Katia with indignation. With a genuine smile, she used a switchblade to undo the zip-tie on my wrists. "Sorry about that, but you didn't exactly make it easy."

"You decided to kidnap a fighter!" I grumbled, rolling my wrists. I eyed her with curiosity, "What did you take me for anyways?"

"The flag would have to be someone they'd miss, or notice missing. And you just said it, you're a fighter, so it's kind of a no-brainer... Note to self, fighter."

"Well, I'm not the flag, and I told you that already."

"I figured you could be. Either Jess or you. He'll come for you." She sounded certainty.

"Again, Jess I get, but why me?"

"You came to rescue the guys when we took them." She said as if it were self-explanatory, one hand on her jutted hip, and one gesturing back and forth from me to the imaginary Trifecta that sat beside me. "I figured you would only do that if you were dating one of them."

My jaw dropped. Dating one of them?

Ignoring my expression, she continued, her hands moving as she talked more to herself than me. "Leon's off the table, because, gay. It's possible Jackson could be into you, but..." 

"Eww!" The thought made me want to hurl; sure he was cute, but I knew him in a way that made me bristle at her statement. "Jacks is like family; that would never happen!"