Twist, Click And Lock

Breathe

                                                                 Terry's POV

She was breathing hard, or maybe not breathing at all. I grabbed her shoulder softly.

"Elle, Elle are you okay?" I asked her, shaking her shoulder lightly. Her breathing hitched, her chest heaving up and down as she struggled to breathe.

"I'm- Clau- claustrophobic, Terry!" She panted.

"WHAT!?" Panic took over me. I hurriedly made my way out of our hiding spot and helped her out. Immediately, she felt immensely better. We moved over to another hiding spot. Obviously not as good as the previous one, but It had to do for the moment given our circumstances.

 I gently rubbed her back as she panted, trying to regulate her breathing.

Why on earth was I helping her out? She deserves to die. I thought to myself but I just couldn't bear not helping her in such a condition. So, this is how she does it. This is how she convinces everybody into thinking she's just like every other innocent and girly 18-year old. I sighed internally at the thought.

Once she was better we had realized that the seeker had been on the move for long by now. It was a miracle she hadn't caught us yet.

Initially we had come to a ferris wheel. But since we realized we couldn't hide in the  floor, we hid in one of the carriages, crouching low to make sure the seeker wouldn't be able to spot us so easily through the carriage's window.

We sat side to side, our back against the cold steel door of the carriage. Chantelle had closed her eyes and lay her head back on the steel. I studied her for a moment. It was dark so parts of her face were shadowed.

She looked beautiful, the slight curves of her cheeks, the inward curve of her sharp and slender nose, her long eyelashes, her soft and plump lips, her eyebrows, and her gorgeously jet black, silky hair let loose with it pinned on the sides with small white pins that had sanrio characters on them. 

I chuckled quietly. I couldn't believe this.

She opened one eye looking at me and raised her eyebrow. "You're gawping dude, never seen a pretty girl before?"

"Tsk, pretty? Sure" I rolled my eyes at her pretendedly and chuckled quietly again resting my head back too.

"You're weird, Terry"

"You're one to say" she laughed while shaking her head.

I moved my head to the side to look at her again. She opened her eyes as if she could feel my gaze on her. God, her eyes... they were so captivating. So enchanting.

It felt like hours had gone by in that single moment while we stared at each other intensely. Before I could know what I was doing, I moved closer to her, unable to stop myself.

Our lips were inches apart.

It was so tempting. I moved closer, breathing hard. My hand reached up to the nape of her neck, grabbing it softly.

I tilted my head, going in for the kiss when I suddenly felt myself falling backwards.

I landed on the hard steel floor of the ferris wheel. Somebody had opened the door causing the both of us to fall backwards. 

Chantelle was bursting and shaking with laughter on the hard floor. Somehow she found this amusing, despite the fact that she had scratched her knee badly.

"Elle, your knee is bleeding, stop laughing for god's sake" I said but found myself grinning from ear to ear as well until I ended up convulsed with laughter as well.

"Aha! Found you two!!" Our homeroom teacher yelled out in glee. She looked so happy that for a moment having lost didn't feel so bad.

"I think that's quite obvious Ms. Jones" Chantelle said, still smiling wildly. Then as if she had just realized she exclaimed "We lost!" and gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth.

"Oh nooo, what are we gonna do noww???" I teased her to which she gave me a death stare. She looked really bummed about having lost. She was too used to winning I guess.

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It was almost sundown, Isa and Jake had won. We were back at the cabins. The class president had set up a campfire with the help of our chauffeurs. We were sitting around it, having dinner. Grilled pork and sausages with corn on the cob and chili stew. After dinner we roasted marshmallows. I looked at Chantelle who was sitting next to Brittany who was hand in hand with Ethan. She was gossiping as always. I tried imagining what she would be saying to her best friend. Do you know Sarah cheated on John just to go back to that toxic ex of hers? Yeah, she must've said something like that, since both Bree and Ethan looked appalled. 

After our cozy campfire dinner, the students headed to the cabins. Wooden beams and flooring surrounding us, the fire cackling in the earth creating a snug and comfortable vibe, some of the students were settling into their beds while others were setting up late-night games to play. 

The girls and boys cabins were separated by barriers. That didn't stop them from mingling. The students were scattered on both sides of the barriers. We were teenagers, we couldn't be trusted with following or obeying curfew like good kids. 

I went to the girls cabin and found a bunch of boys and girls huddled over a game of snake and ladder. I found Ethan and Bree sitting together in one corner while Chantelle was sitting close by reading a book. For some reason, she looked upset. 

Chantelle's mood had actually looked upset for the whole of the day after we lost in Hide & Seek. I had tried my best for cheering her up by cracking jokes every now and then, but nothing seemed to work on her.

I walked over to where she was sitting on one of the stools and grabbed one for myself and sat down.

"Elle?" I could only see her eyes because of the huge ass book she was reading. Me Before You, the cover read. 

"I'm reading, go away" She said giving me an annoyed look.

"That was straightforward..." I grabbed her book and put it on the bed beside us. "Elle, I know you're upset about what happened in the morning , but it was just a City Fair, it's not that big of deal. Move on already"

She still looked annoyed and tense but eased a bit. "I was just hoping that... forget it"

"What?"

Her posture suddenly changed, she sat up straighter. She cleared her throat, pulling her stool towards me to get closer. She blinked and took a deep breath.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"What....what is?"

 "I wouldn't have given a fuck about this stupid City Fair had I not been paired with you. I wanted to go with you. Don't pretend like we didn't almost kiss back there".

She paused for a moment, taking another deep breath. 

"I like you, Terry" She said, looking dead serious. 

Her face was heating up, showing a mix of a wide variety of expressions. I could sense nervousness in her body language. I could see anticipation, fear, hopefulness, vulnerability, and some excitement too. Was she expecting me to confess back...?

Oh god. I thought to myself and face-palmed myself internally.

I stayed silent, trying to comprehend her words, but I wasn't surprised. It was quite obvious actually. 

"Elle..." I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what or how to feel. I had no idea if I actually liked her or if I was just tempted by her.

After all, she was a fucking murderer. There was no way I'd let myself fall for her, right? I sighed. It hurt to see her hurt, which clearly was the expression on her face, quickly changing to disappointed and sad.

  Shit.