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"My painting looks like a horse on wheels," Poppy concurs, tilting her head to the side as she examined her canvas with a frown. "How was that supposed to be a mountain?"

I giggled, peeking at her canvas, intent on telling her it wasn't that bad, but when I saw it, I couldn't help but laugh harder. I mean, how hard is it to draw a decent mountain? It's just a triangle with snow caps on the tip. Somehow, though, Poppy did manage to make her image resemble horse on wheels more than a mountain.

"Oh shut up," Poppy huffs at me, but I can see her smile. "I bet yours isn't that great."

I glance at my own canvas, which by far looks like more of a mountain than hers, and she leans over to take a look herself. Immediately, she frowns, a deep crease setting in her brow as she stares at my painting with her mouth ajar.

"How come you're good at everything?" Poppy whines.

I roll my eyes. "I'm not good at everything."

She gives me a look. "Are you kidding? You're a piano prodigy, you get stellar grades, and now you're a painter!"

On the word "painter", she points her paint brush at my canvas, but there was still paint at the tip of her brush, making blue paint splatter across my canvas. We both stare at each other silently for a moment before I decide to retaliate. I dip my own brush in paint and fling it on her canvas, but some of it misses and lands on her old t-shirt instead.

I cover my mouth with my hand, my eyes growing wide, as I try to conceal my laughter. Poppy looks absolutely stunned by the flecks of red paint currently dripping down her left cheek and down the bridge of her nose. Unfortunately, her expression just makes me laugh harder. While I'm in my laughing fit, I feel something wet come in contact with my forehead.

Now it's Poppy's turn to laugh uncontrollably as paint drips down my forehead. Instead of getting mad, I grin evilly, and dip my hand into the paint before smearing it across her cheek. She laughs, too, and before she can retaliate, I run out of the arts building laughing, a bottle of red paint in my hand as a weapon.

"Mina!" Poppy shouts, her laughter following me as I run behind a tree, taking cover. "Get back here!"

She squirts her bottle of blue paint at the tree I'm hiding behind, and some of it gets on my hands. I lean away from the tree and run up to her, getting a big glob of red paint on her leg. Before I can run away, she sprays my shirt with blue, and I end up just standing there spraying her back with red.

"Well, this is new," A familiar voice muses a few feet away.

I turn and see Carter smirking at us, both covered head to toe in paint, with amusement clear in his expression. A plan forms in my head almost immediately, and I check to see he's wearing a plain old t-shirt and shorts- nothing expensive or irreplaceable- before an evil grin stretches across my lips.

"Hey Carter," I say in a sing song voice, taking a step towards him.

He narrows his eyes at me immediately. "Amelia, don't."

I take another step, blinking innocently, and ask sweetly, "Don't what?"

"I know what you're doing," Carter warns in a low voice as I near closer to him, now just an arms length away. "And if you do, I swear-"

He stops speaking when I lift my bottle of red paint and squirt it towards him, effectively getting a hefty glob of paint on his cheek and neck. His eyes widen and he stares at me, too stunned to move, while I get lost in my laughter, unable to contain myself. Unfortunately, I'm too busy laughing to realize he's snapped out of his daze, and he reaches forward to snatch the bottle out of my hands.

I sober up just in time to feel paint dripping off my shirt and down my pants, onto my legs, some dropping into a puddle on my foot. This time, Carter's the one smirking at me, and I can't help but laugh. The boyishness that was alight in his eyes last night was back in his expression, and Carter's playful side was officially out in the open.

"Mina, catch!" I hear behind me, and turn around to see Poppy throwing me her bottle of blue paint.

I catch it and turn around to see Carter running away from me, but that doesn't stop me from chasing after him with my new paint bottle, laughing uncontrollably. He laps around the art building and then hides behind trees, trying to lose me, but I eventually catch up and begin spraying the paint all over his body.

That is, until an awful spluttering sound comes from the bottle, and I glance in my hand to see all the paint is gone. I look at Carter with wide eyes, suddenly fearful of the monster covered in red paint in front of me, and he smirks widely. Quickly, I drop the bottle and run away from him, but his nearby laughter tells me that he's right behind me.

Suddenly, a very slippery hand wraps around my waist and pulls me backward into an equally as wet chest, and I let out a squeal of protest. I look up with wide eyes and see Carter grinning down at me, his eyes swimming with playfulness as he holds the bottle of blue paint above my head threateningly.

"You thought you could get away?" He asks, his voice low and husky.

"I'm sorry," I say instead, feigning remorse. "I didn't mean to shoot you with my paint."

Carter laughs heartily, his eyes still shimmering. His grip on my waist tightens, and I can't help but notice how absolutely toned his chest is, even with two layers between us. My heart skips in my chest for some unknown reason, and I avert my focus to Carter's big, white-toothed smile.

"Any last words, princess?" Carter asks, his lips right at my ear.

For some reason, it's insanely hard to focus with his warm breath hitting my paint-stained ear, and my back against his rock hard chest, but I try not to let any of this on.

"I just want you to know that..." I whisper, looking at him with big eyes. "Red really isn't your color."

He stares at me in shock for a millisecond before snorting, and then, for the second time since being at camp, Carter makes my hair blue.

+ + +

It took forty five minutes of standing under the hot spray of the shower, scrubbing my whole body with a loofah, and drenching my hair in shampoo before the paint came out. When I finally did step out of the shower, my skin was red and tender from all the scrubbing, but I still think it was worth it. I walked out of the bathroom towel drying my hair when I came face to face with a very angry blonde.

"Katie," I say in acknowledgement, then move to walk past her.

She side steps me to cut me off, and I come to a halt in front of her as a result. She narrows her eyes and hisses, "I thought I told you to stay away from Carter."

"And I thought I told you that being in the same vicinity as you kills my brain cells," I snap, and then pretend to think about it. "Oh wait, I must've forgotten to tell you that. Katie, being near you makes me dumber. Now that that's out of the way, move."

The way she looks at me makes me believe that everything I just said went directly over her head. She just stares at me blankly before shaking her head, as if deciding that she shouldn't even try to pick apart my insult, and then narrows her eyes again. "Listen bitch, I'm not going to say it again. Carter Miller is mine, got it?"

I cock my head to the side and look at her with raised eyebrows. "You know if Carter wanted to be with you, then he would be, right?"

I don't know why I didn't just tell her that I didn't even like Carter, or that she had no reason to think that I was, in any way, a threat. I could've just said that I wasn't interested in him, and then she would've let me go. But I didn't. And I didn't want to think about why I didn't, so I chalked it up to the fact that I hate how Katie thinks she's superior to everyone else.

"Oh, he does," Katie smirks. "He's always checking me out. I know that he wants to be with me."

I roll my eyes. "Good for you. Seriously, can you move? I have to keep at least some of my brain cells if I want to keep functioning as an intelligible human being."

Without listening to her response, I push past her, walking back toward my bed. God, that girl was dumb. Poppy had already taken a shower before me, and was doing her makeup when I reached my bed. She looks away from the mirror in front of her and down at me instead, a small smirk on her lips.

"I saw blondie head back there. Did she talk to you?" Poppy questions.

I roll my eyes again just thinking about our interaction. "She had some stupid things to say. It doesn't matter. What should I wear tonight?"

Poppy lowers her mascara and gives me a look. "Since when do you care about what you wear?"

I frown at her. "I put effort into my appearance sometimes."

"This doesn't have anything to do with a certain bad boy, does it?" Poppy questions, but she it looks like she ignores whatever I'm about to say and smirks, coming to her own conclusion. "One that likes pranking just as much as you do?"

I scrunch up my nose in distaste. "It has nothing to do with Carter Miller. I just-" I sigh and shake my head. "Nevermind. Forget I asked you for help."

I turn my back on her and start rummaging through my duffel bag of clothes. This had nothing to do with Carter! I mean, I just asked what I should wear. Is it such a crime to get my best friends opinion? My thoughts race in my head after Poppy suggests such a thing, but before I can get too worked up, she laughs.

"Mina, I was just kidding," She says sweetly, smiling down at me. "I think you should wear that white vee neck long sleeve that makes your boobs look killer."

My annoyance evaporates with her words, and I nod. "Good idea. But I'm doing it for myself, not for a guy."

She nods back at me. "I know, I know."

While she continues on with her makeup, I pluck the white shirt out of my laundry along with my high waisted jean shorts. I change into them quickly and then sit down on my bed, running a wand of mascara through my eyelashes a few times before deeming myself ready. Poppy was clad in a maroon tank top that had straps criss crossing over the chest and very short shorts, her makeup done perfectly, and her hair in wild curls.

We walked over to Cabin 14, following the familiar path in the darkness, and we were greeted by Teddy the moment we walked in. He drunkenly enveloped us in large hugs, stumbling into me after embracing Poppy, and then kept a heavy arm around my shoulders while he walked me over to the cooler. I grabbed myself a beer before being pulled into a game of beer pong with Teddy, against Zach and Poppy.

Against my better judgement, I played three full rounds of pong- Teddy and I only won one, thanks to his blurry vision that can be credited to his intoxication- before I managed to pull myself away from the game. I wasn't wasted per say, but I was definitely more than tipsy at this point, and found myself swaying slightly when I was walking back over to the cooler to get myself another drink.

"Whoa there," James chuckles, putting his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

I laugh too, but it ends up in a fit of giggles. "Thanks."

"No problem," He says, removing his hands as he reaches down to grab himself a beer. "Want one?"

"Yes, please," I say in a sing song voice.

He grabs two, but before giving one to me, James eyes me carefully. "How many have you had?"

I shrug. "I had a few when I was playing beer pong, but I don't know how many. I promise I'm not that drunk though." James doesn't seem entirely convinced by this, and I give him puppy dog eyes and pout. "Please?"

He looks around before handing it to me, then says quietly, "Fine, but you didn't get it from me."

I grin at him, taking the beer happily. "Thanks, James!"

James smiles back before walking off, and I turn to scan the room, noticing that quite a few more people had trickled in while I was busy with beer pong. My eyes land on Carter, who was standing across the room laughing at something Justin had said, but that's not what caught my attention. What caught my eye was the blonde hanging off of him, her hand on his chest, clinging to his side.

Katie tugged on Carter's shirt and smiled seductively when he looked down at her, then reached up to whisper something in his ear. When she was done, he was smirking, and then he leaned down and they were suddenly making out in the middle of the room. I found myself frowning for some unknown reason, but quickly looked away and told myself that I didn't care.

"Hey beautiful," A voice says beside me, diverting my attention.

I glance beside me and see Brad standing there, a little too close for my liking, with a sly smile on his lips that meant trouble. I've seen him use that smile on so many other girls before, including Poppy, and while I usually would've dismissed him, I didn't this time. For some reason, I just smiled back.

"Hey Brad," I greet. "What's up?"

"Just enjoying the party. How's your night been?" He asks, his dark eyes flashing unmistakably to my chest before meeting my gaze again.

While I seem cool on the outside, there's an internal war raging on in my head. I knew exactly what Brad wanted- to hook up with me and then leave me alone, just like he did with every other girl. Usually I would've dismissed such behavior, but Poppy's words from the first day of camp were ringing in my head. The last boy you kissed was Jake; don't you want to change that?

"A bit boring, to be honest," I say nonchalantly, still thinking about Poppy's words.

Brad's lips curl into a smirk as he inches closer. "Well, if you're looking to have a little fun, I'm sure I can help turn your night around."

Maybe it was the drinks, or maybe it was the way Brad was just there and no other guy was, or maybe it was the way Poppy's words were playing on repeat in my head, but the next thing I did was so uncharacteristic of me to do. I look at Brad through my lashes, smile flirtatiously, and nod.

"I want to have a little fun," I tell him quietly.

I see his smirk before his lips touch mine. His hands grab at my sides as he draws me closer, and then they travel down to my butt uncomfortably while his lips devour mine. His kisses were nothing like Jakes kisses- sweet, caring, gentle- but they were sloppy, rushed, and made me feel like I was being used. And I probably was. But the little voice in my head that kept repeating Poppy's words finally came to a strict halt, because Jake was no longer the last person I kissed.

But Brad smelled like cigarettes and booze, and his hands were entirely too grabby, and his tongue was being shoved down my throat way too aggressively. I finally regained some sense and pushed him away, then wiped my mouth with my hand, suddenly feeling dirty everywhere he touched me. He was smirking down at me, like he had just won some imaginary conquest, and then he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Want to get out of here?" Brad questioned, his voice thick and unsettling.

I shook my head. "No, I uh... I need to go."

And that was that. I broke away from his grabby hands and made a beeline to Poppy, who was watching me with wide eyes and her mouth ajar. She was standing beside Teddy, who was frowning at me, and who had apparently also seen the little show.

"Brad?" Poppy guffawed. "I was not expecting that."

"Neither was I," I mumble, regret washing over me as I realize what I just did.

"Why did you do that?" Teddy asks through his frown.

I glance at him, then at Poppy, and then look at the ground shamefully, unable to meet his gaze. "I didn't want Jake to be the last person I kissed."

Teddy scoffs, and when I look up, I see him fuming, even through his drunken stupor. "Seriously Mina? Brad isn't exactly an improvement from Jake." When he sees my saddened expression, his eyes soften, and he sighs. "Mina, you could do so much better than both of them. You could..."

Teddy trails off, unable to finish his sentence, and instead shakes his head. I frown, trying to look anywhere but the disapproving gazes of my two close friends, but my eyes end up landing on an even more disturbing sight. Carter had Katie pushed up against the wall, his hands gripping her sides, kissing each other passionately.

I decide the ground is the only safe place to look, and divert my gaze there, instead. I sobered up instantly, no longer feeling the effects of alcohol, but instead just wanted to curl up in bed. I felt dirty where I had let Brad touch me, and ashamed in my momentary lapse in judgement.

"Hey, it's okay," Poppy tugs on my hand and I glance up at her to see her smiling sympathetically. "It was just a kiss. Don't worry about it."

Teddy mutters something under his breath and walks away, and I frown at him as he leaves. I look at Poppy as if to ask "what's his problem?" and she her smile turns sad.

"Just ignore him," She supplements.

I nod, letting out a breath. "I'm going to get some air. I'll be back in a minute."

Poppy watches me as I turn around to leave, and my eyes dart around for Teddy. Why did he get so mad? Poppy was right, it was just a kiss; sure, it was a dumb, gross, horrible kiss, but it was meaningless and now it was over. I shake my head as if to clear my mind of these thoughts and keep walking toward the cabin door.

Suddenly, I felt something cold slither down my white shirt, making my skin sticky underneath. I gasped as the cool liquid hit my skin, and my eyes widened when I looked down to see beer sliding down my shirt, staining it a weird yellow color. My gaze darted up to see Katie smirking at me with her beer can upside down.

"Oops," She emphasizes the word, but her expression is far from that of remorse.

My eyes narrowed at her as I hissed, "What is your problem?"

She looks at me with her snarky smirk and says sweetly, "You should watch where you're going next time."

"Why the hell did you do that?" A voice booms.

I look behind Katie and see Carter standing there fuming, his brow creased and his fierce glare set on Katie. I clenched my fists as I watched him, not wanting or needing his help. I just wanted to get out of here.

"It was an accident," Katie splutters, her confidence gone and replaced with wide eyes and stuttering words.

Carter narrows his eyes. "I saw you do that. It wasn't an accident, it was on purpose. So I'll ask you again: why the hell did you do that?"

I'll admit, it was nice seeing Katie so flustered, but I wasn't in the mood to watch her pee her pants as the guy she had just been sucking face with yelled at her in my defense. I was wet, sticky, and felt like I needed a shower for more than one reason now.

"It doesn't matter," I mutter, shaking my head. "I'm leaving."

Carter looks to me, his expression softening. "Amelia-"

For some reason, that was it. I was done. I exploded, shouting, "I don't need your fucking help, okay? I can handle it myself."

And then I finished the walk to the cabin door, walked out, and let it slam behind me. I knew that Carter was just trying to help, and I knew that I shouldn't have yelled at him like that, but I was so fed up with tonights events that I couldn't help it. I just needed to get out of there.

I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't hear someone calling my name. "Mina! Hey, Mina, wait up, would you? Slow down!"