"Alright folks, you should know your teams. They were posted on the table. I'm going to be captain of my team and I need to know who wants to be captain of the other. They'll hide and guard that team's flag," Matty explains to the group.

Cooper shoots his hand up, "I'll do it."

"Uh, Coop. I didn't see you registered to play. Who are you with?" Matty asks and Cooper pulls me into him.

"Sadie Melvin. I am filling in for Finn Weston, he had to leave due to an emergency," Cooper says confidently and I silently thank him for coming up with the vague explanation. I am hoping Matty won't be a twat and say this goes against the rules or something but he mutters, "Finn couldn't chance losing again this year it seems? Well, alright. I'll allow it." Cooper fist pumps and then weaves his way through the crowd to grab the neon orange flag. He holds it up proudly and then Matty says, "Give us ten minutes to scatter and then Layla here will signal when we can break across team lines. During that time, Layla and Donna are going to give everyone their powder packets and if you get color bombed, you're out. Last team with players or first to capture the flag wins!" Layla gives him a kiss on the cheek before he leaves and he floods red as he turns around to take off across the field, with Cooper running off in the opposite direction. I didn't get a chance to look at the table so I have no idea who I am supposed to be standing with. Cade catches me standing there confused and points over to Donna and Dotty. How were they put opposite Matty?

I wander over to Dotty and say, "Hey there teammate."

Her hands go up ecstatically and she wiggles her hips as she says, "This is gonna be so fun. Don't get bombed though!"

"I don't really understand how this works," I confess and I watch as Donna and Dotty drop baggies into players' hands.

"You're gonna get some powder, it's like dodgeball, don't get hit! You got to stealthily get the flag without getting color bombed by the other team. Hope you're okay getting dirty!" Donna comes over to us to give us our bags of powder and when she drops mine into my hands, she goes, "Ah, we got Sadie on our side I see."

"Hope it's not awkward to steal the flag from your son," I tell her as I look at the neon green powder bombs I was given.

"Oh, she's gonna play stealth defense if anyone gets too close," Dotty says, ratting her out.

"You're seriously going to sabotage your own team?" I ask and she waves a hand at me, "No, no just if the wrestling happens like last year. You know, your little boyfriend takes this game a little too seriously. Put my Matty in a headlock. That happens this year, I am bombing them." She eyes me and then continues handing powder out.

"Wasn't a match between you and Matty it seems?" Dotty asks while dropping her hands on her wide hips. I give her a frown before saying, "Afraid my heart was already with someone else when I went on that date. I didn't realize it until after."

"You seem like a sweet girl, honey, which is why I want to let you know that Mr. Weston is as handsome as they come. He's sweet and charming and has lots of ladies pining after him. Keep your guard up so that big heart of yours doesn't get broken." She squeezes my arm with a small smile and I choke down the frog in my throat.

"What if I am the heartbreaker here, Dotty?"

She laughs as she waves a hand at me, "Oh well that much is obvious if it were anyone else. But Finn just has a reputation for liking his independence. He doesn't get serious with girls after his divorce. He just kinda leaves them heartbroken in his wake."

"Really?"

"I'm good friends with his mama, I've known that boy a long time. I'm just saying, be careful. Lots of girls are a sucker for those blue eyes of his."

"They are something aren't they?" I joke and she nudges me with her shoulder as she laughs.

Layla and Donna come back to stand in the center and everyone spreads out, worried to get bombed early on. The women take ten steps apart like they are preparing to duel and then Layla shouts, "Game on!"

People start running toward each other, throwing powder everywhere, but I shoot off toward the tree line, away from the chaos. A few enemies try to attack me with powder, but I am able to dip away from the bombs. I'm already out of breath by the time I make it to the wide trees that line the perimeter of the park. Most people seem to be sticking toward the center of the field, screaming with excitement at getting bombed with powder, but I don't think I'll be able to weave around all of the powder being blasted around.

"Oh Sadie..." I hear Wendy taunt and I see her jogging toward me with a bomb in her hand. I look around and notice the tree next to me has a low branch, long and wide enough to climb on. I scale the branches and am perched on top by the time she makes it over. She tries to bomb me but she misses and I have a perfect vantage point to be able to line up my first bomb and launch it at her. It hits her right in the chest and she pretends to die as if I shot her in the heart.

Once her dramatics are done, she looks up at me in the tree while still laying on the ground and says, "Shit, I didn't think you could move that fast. You're like a cat."

"I gotta win this one Wendy, I gotta bring it to Finn."

"Alright, hop down, I'll cover you," she moans while pulling herself off of the grass. As gracefully as I can, I hop down and land on the plush grass with a thud.

"They take this shit too seriously," I say breathlessly and pull myself upright. I just climbed a tree to avoid losing. I look around us and Wendy waves me on. I dart from tree to tree and luckily, no one else has spotted me yet. I take my time dashing toward the church's parking lot and I wonder where Matty would hide the flag.

Squeals still flood the field area and people are still trying to take the most direct route to the basecamps, but I won't chance it. Matty will have Layla as a guard, ready to take out anyone who comes near.

I dip behind a row of bushes across from my grandmother's bench and I can't believe the day I have had. I will win this damn flag if it's the last thing I do.

I hear footsteps on the gravel and peer behind the hedge to see where the ruckus is coming from. I hear Layla yell, "Ah ha!" and then watch a man also pretend to die dramatically on the pavement while covered in pink powder. I'm clearly close to the flag if Layla is guarding the entrance to the parking lot. I then remember Matty's special parking spot and bet that's where he is hiding.

I watch as another woman tries to snake past Layla but Layla's arm is fast and accurate, taking her enemy out quickly. As another man runs toward her, I tiptoe out from behind the bushes and while she's distracted, cross into the parking lot from the other side of the church. I'm hoping to come up to Matty from behind if he's where I think he is.

I hear something crunch behind me and spin around to find a man on my tail. I chuck a powder bomb without thinking at his thigh. He looks down and says, "Aren't you on Cooper's team?" I nod and he shakes his head, "So am I toots."

"Sorry," I tell him as he tries and wipes away the green powder. "I think I know where the flag is, can you cover for me?" He starts doing hand signals I've never seen before and when I don't move he says, "I got your back. Head west, I'll create a diversion." He literally crouches down and crab walks so he stays covered by the bushes. I look around me and have no idea what direction west is. He side-arms a powder bomb at Layla and she spins away from me. I take the distraction as an opportunity to rise above the hedge and heel-toe, heel-toe quietly all the way to the parking lot. I hide behind a minivan and try and look around the church to try and remember where Matty's spot is. The church is the boundary line so it can't be in the lot past it.

I hear more shouting and squealing and see Layla's back is turned. I weave around a few more cars and find a woman crouched behind a Civic. She holds up her green powder to show we are teammates and I nod to her. She holds a finger up to her lips, implying not to make a goddamn sound and she points to the left of her. This shit is clearly very serious.

I glance left and see the other edge of the lot and I recognize the white-painted fence, which is where Matty parked his car at movie night. The woman goes to step out of her hiding spot and she is instantly powder bombed. She groans and I have to slink behind a Durango before I am caught too. I hear her having a conversation with her assassin and use their voices to cover my footsteps. I just have to get across one more row of parking and I am in the vicinity of the flag. I glance down at my watch and am stunned when I see we've already been at this for almost twenty minutes.

I realize I can get through the back side of the parking lot if I sprint around the church, but there is no cover. If anyone sees me, I am fully exposed. Clearly, there are enemies hiding in between cars at the front of the entrance, so either way, I am taking a risk.

I poke my head out and Layla is now so far to the left of me that I can't see her. As fast as I possibly can, I come out of the car coverage and sprint around the perimeter of the church. A pink team member is waiting near the alley, but he doesn't hear me coming. I blast a powder bomb at his back and he is stunned to have been hit.

"Dammit!" He yells after he realizes he's out and then slowly sulks away to the other side of the church. I relish my victory and don't run into anyone else as I sneak down the small alleyway. I see Matty's beige car and then see his bright blonde hair in the backseat. He's inside his car, I just have to get to his backdoor without anyone seeing me. I listen for footsteps and hear more squealing coming from the other side of the church. There aren't that many players to still have full coverage in the parking lot and several went out in the mass scattering at the beginning. My chances are good that by now, our numbers have dwindled and there are only a few players left.

As quietly as I can, I slink down the line of cars, staying low and quiet. I am one car away from Matty's when he spins his head around. I dip low and can't tell if he spotted me. Suddenly another teammate runs up to the car and is unexpectedly powder bombed by a hidden pink member. The pink member is momentarily distracted so I have just enough time to launch a green bomb at her and she is stunned to have been attacked from behind. I spin around and yank Matty's back door open.

He's sitting there, wide-eyed with the flag in his hand.

"Got you," I tell him, out of breath with my chest heaving. My heart is still pounding and I haven't had an adrenaline rush like this in a long time. He slides out of the back of the car, but he hasn't handed over the flag yet.

"Oh, Sadie I can't believe you got to me," he says with a dramatic frown. I hold my hand out for him to give me the flag but he still doesn't. Finn was so convinced he was just going to hand it over to me.

"You have to come and get it."

I tilt my head in confusion.

"I did, I'm here, powder-free," I tell him with two spectators now sitting on the curb watching us as witnesses. I throw a powder bag at him just in case that's some weird rule and I watch it explode across his chest. He looks down at the mess and laughs.

"You have to capture the flag, not just find it," Matty says again and his tone is borderline creepy.

"You want me to literally take it from you," I ask him again and he takes a step toward me.

"Yeah, I do." I try and catch him off guard and lunge for it. He yanks his hand away and puts it above his head so it's out of reach. I try and jump for it and feel like an idiot. He oddly seems to be enjoying watching me jump around.

"Whatcha gonna do now, Sadie?" He taunts with an unnerving smile. He brings it down in front of his chest again and I hold my hand out, "I feel like this is cheating. What do you want me to do, wrestle you for it?" He gives a minuscule shrug and he has some nerve. I launch myself at him, determined to get that stupid fucking flag. He wasn't expecting me to throw myself at him so he takes a step backward and we trip over the curb and onto the grass. I scramble to get the flag from him but he uses one arm to flip me over so my back is now on the grass. I finally am able to get my hand around the tiny white stick the flag is attached to and Matty's face is now inches from mine. I try and yank it from him, but he is still fully on top of me.

"Jesus, Matty, you lost. Let go," I command as I struggle to pry it from his grip. He still has me pinned and I am about to lift it from his fingers when he drops down and shockingly kisses the side of my mouth. I freeze, but my hand still stays firmly around the stick.

"Try that again and see what happens," I threaten, enraged he'd try that shit to distract me. I hear someone running around the corner and Layla finds Matty on top of me with my hand around the flag.

"Matty, she's got it," Layla says and it sounds like she is also wondering what the fuck is happening here. Matty's calculating blue eyes are staring into mine and I have no clue what he is thinking. He finally pushes himself off me and releases the flag.

"This one plays dirty," Matty tells Layla as he strides off toward her and I can't read her expression as she continues to stare at me. I stay sprawled out in the grass as I get my wits and breathing in order and am disgusted with Matty. Nice guy my ass.

My teammate who got bombed right before reaching Matty's car comes over to haul me off the grass.

"Not to rush you, but you still have to take it back to the center of the field before the other team does."

I drop my head back in annoyance as I whisper, "Fuuuuuuuccck." I nod to her and then take off through the parking lot, passing the bench and fountain and continuing on to the wide field. I don't see anyone looking victorious in the center and I am three-fourths the way to the victor's circle when I see Cade sprinting through the treeline with an orange flag in his hand. He spots me hauling ass with my flag and we both take off across the field as fast as we can.