Fight for Me #Wattys2017

Chapter 14

I hear footsteps rushing down the hallway and into my room. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Luke and Michael ask before they notice why I was screaming.

I slowly turn around, doing everything I can to keep my composure. "Where is Mason. I need to go kill him for doing this."

"Your hair is--is--" Luke starts, but it takes him a second to finish the second. "It's almost pink."

"Actually it's more a purple. They must have used hot pink or bright red, but since your hair was already blue it just came out as a florescent purple." Michael continues.

"I know, Michael. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go kill the other team for this." I say marching out of the room. "Mason, you and the others better watch out because the gloves are officially off."

The prank war only escalates from there, and over the course of the next week a multitude of pranks are pulled. Some of the best ones were a ketchup bottle practically exploding all over Calum and Ashton (no thanks to my secret alliance with Bianca), my team getting stuck in a real house of horrors while Dad was away, and even a fake "sabotage" of our stuff. It all just kept building up, and the whole time we were waiting for the other side to give in.

Unfortunately, it was still in full force when I had to go out with the creep from the coffee shop. "Okay, so I know we're in the middle of the prank war, but I really need my big brother right about now." I tell Mason as I twirl my car keys in my hand. "Please, I don't want to have to even go out with this guy, so I could really use a escape hatch."

"Why are you even going out with this guy in the first place?" Mason asks completely baffled as he shakes his head.

"Long story short when I had to make a coffee run every twenty minutes for all the executives--who just couldn't use the high quality machines they have. He offered to save me some time and text him the order so I could pick it up and leave right away, but the loophole was that he would charge extra to the order or I could hang out with him--once. This is that one time, and I can't back out because he knows where I work. I just can't take the chance of someone getting another excuse to punish me."

Mason just leans back in his chair and sighing as he nods his head in understanding. "Fine. I'll keep my distance and give you an emergency call to get you out when you text me."

"Thank you so much, Mase. We should probably get going, he told me to meet him at some random coffee shop and indie club fusion? I don't really know what it is, and I don't think I'll be there long enough to find out." I pause, standing up and spinning my keys again as I say. "Let's go."

When I get there, coffee shop-guy is waiting outside, bouncing on his feet, likely from too much caffeine. "I was worried you wouldn't make it!" He tells me as he greets me with a gimmicky bow, and it takes every part of my will to not cringe. "Let's head inside, and get this date started."

"This isn't a date. This is just two people hanging out." I tell him, and he just pretends like I never said anything in the first place. I do my best to just push past it, and try to make the best of this dismal situation. "So what exactly is this place?" I ask as we go inside, and I'm met with a very LA-hipster atmosphere. The smell of coffee, and the sounds of machines brewing fills the air. Everyone here, quietly chatters and sips their coffee as they listen to the acoustic music. There are even a few people standing up and seeing along to the music.

"It's a coffee bar." Nathan, coffee dude, replies as though it was plainly obvious. "One of my friends helped come up with the concept. It's a coffee only bar, meets club with live indie music. Luckily for you, we came on one of the special nights where some of the guests are chosen to sing." I start screaming inside my head, knowing what he's about to say. "I had my friend put our names down on a list in advance, since he owed me a favor."