The Last Dance

The Last Dance (14)

Hello! Sorry for the long wait, I've been writing like mad lately but it's been all over the place and I have bits and pieces for the next few chapters but they still need to be worked. Anyhow I hope this is worth the wait =)

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xo.

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Chapter 14 - Trapped

John was already awake and sitting up when I opened my eyes. He was blinking sleepily and running a hand through his hair. When he saw me awake he brought a finger to his lips and jerked his head to the men. I followed his gaze and saw that everyone was huddled in a tight circle speaking frantically. I rubbed my eyes to wake up more fully and squinted trying to figure out what was going on. I could only make out Caleb's expression, and it was one of concern. His brow was furrowed and he nodded tersely in response to something. I turned back to John and cocked an eyebrow. He shrugged and jumped up, then put a hand out for me. I regarded his hand in mild surprise; whatever we were to each other now, it seemed to involve being more polite. Well, that was unacceptable. He got points for being sweet I suppose, but if he thought things could change just like that, well he had another thing coming. I enjoyed our bickering too much to just give it up. No, I had no intention of becoming the kind of acquaintances that acted distant and polite towards each other.  

Please. 

What fun was that?

I hid a smile so he wouldn't catch on and took his hand. He started to pull me up but instead I yanked his hand down hard, using the momentum to lift myself up. Not expecting the trick he tripped forward and ended up on the ground and I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. He looked up at me with shock written all over his face and seemed to be wondering how he ended up on the ground. I couldn't hold it in any longer and bent over giggling uncontrollably, his expression was just so priceless.

The John I knew would have gotten angry, thrown some kind of tantrum, or crossed his arms stubbornly waiting for an apology. He would not be content with rolling his eyes at me, especially with a smile tugging up the corners of his lips, and if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes I'd never believe it. I guess last night had been a changing point for us, to what I don't exactly know, friends maybe? Humph, well I suppose I could live with that. So long as it wasn't anything formal. And knowing John... I mentally rolled my eyes and half smiled. He either would be overly polite or too much of a jerk. I wonder if he could manage a middle ground. Well, at least I'd broken the ice on this polite business.  

Not happening.

While I was thinking John had gotten up again, and our commotion had drawn the attention of the men. Most only spared us a moment's glance while Brice and Rory looked on knowingly; even Caleb had a slight smile on his face. I was about to turn to John and ask why they were giving us such funny looks when Caleb extracted himself from the group and started heading over. The rest went back to their urgent discussions and I hoped Caleb was coming to fill us in on what was going on. Clearly, we'd missed something big while we were asleep.

"What's going on Caleb?" I unconsciously shifted to put myself between Caleb and John. It was becoming a reflex protecting him.

"We got some bad news a few hours ago." He looked both weary and stressed, as if it had been a long night, and I felt bad for having been asleep through it, though it couldn't be much later than six in the morning.