Chapter 22 – Girls Rule…Learnt That the Hard Way

Zara's POV

"So, it's all set then?" Conner asked. Everyone nodded and started talking among themselves. I sighed in content and rested my head on Hayden's broad shoulder. I felt him rest his head on top of mine.

"Since next week is all planned out, how about I take you out tonight?" he asked me quietly. I got up and looked at him.

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a real date. We haven't been on one since we've been together, you know. Besides, I wanna make up for the crap I did to you."

"Uhh...ok, I guess we can do that tonight. Where are we going?"

"Not telling," he said smirking at me. I groaned.

"Oh come on Hayden, that's so cliché," I whined making him laugh as he swung his arm around me.

"Don't worry, I'll make it original. I'll even let you put a dent on my credit card," he said winking at me then pecked my pouting lips. This is so not fair. I demand to know where I'm going.

"Oh, we're leaving at seven," he said to me, his eyes shone with amusement.

"Where are you guys going at seven?" I heard Lilly ask.

"Jerk face over here is taking me out on a date, yet he refuses to tell me where we're going," I answered.

"Really, that's so romantic," she squealed then turned to everyone, "Everybody Hayden's taking Zara on a date a seven!" Everyone started 'aww'ing at us which made me roll my eyes.

"We girls are so giving her a makeover," Karen said and while all the girls squealed in excitement, I groaned. Hayden laughed.

"Guys, she doesn't need a makeover. She's beautiful just the way she is," Hayden said which got them back to the 'aww'ing sound.

"Aww, as sweet as that sounded, we're still gonna do it," Abigale said. Hayden leaned down to my ear.

"I tried, babe but it looks like you're gonna have to go through with it," he said.

"Hey, Hayden, can we talk now and leave these girls to their planning," Gavin said. I almost forgot he was here. Hayden nodded at him then got up.

"What color should she wear?" Lilly asked Abi. They all looked thoughtful. Since the girls got on the topic of fashion, all the boys discreetly exited the room one by one...leaving me to my doom.

How sweet of them, and please remember I'm being VERY sarcastic right now.

"How about yellow?" Jenna suggested.

"No, no, no that would just...its way too bright for her skin," Abigale said.

My skin?

"Alright, how about blue? That would really bring out her eyes," Lilly said.

"True, alright...blue it is. I have this amazing blue dress that would show all her curves and..." Abigale ranted but I just tuned them out. This should be fun...again please note the high level of sarcasm.

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Hayden's POV

After the settled details from the 'meeting' I went out to meet Gavin. I walked through the glass door at the back and saw him sitting on the patio. I eyed him suspiciously. As you can probably tell, we didn’t really get along too well. I sat down in the single chair beside him and looked at him.

"What's up dude?" I asked trying to sound concerned. He chuckled.

"What's with the voice? You sound like you actually care," he said.

"Well...I was trying to give support to what you were gonna say but since you don't need it, let's get straight to the point,"

"Now that sound more like you," he said and I rolled my eyes, "alright, I actually wanted to...uhh...apologize," he stuttered out and I stared at him astonished. Then I laughed.

"Are you ok?" I asked through my laughter.

"Hey, I'm trying to apologize here. Have some respect," he said but I could see the smile on his face.

"Alright, did Karen put you up to this or something?"

"Actually...yes," he said making me laugh harder, "she wants us to be friends since we're basically family." I shook my head and looked at him raising my eyebrow.

"So, you really came out here and apologized for the sake of my sister?"

"Yeah, I would do anything for her just to make her happy," he said and I heard the sincerity in his voice.

"Alright, that's good because I really don't want her come crying to me saying 'Oh awesome Hayden, the big bad Gavin broke my heart' so..." I said in a girly voice. It was his turn to laugh.

"Dude...Karen does...does not talk...like that," he said through his laughter.

"Well, too bad for her, that voice was awesome," I said and then we both looked at each other in silence and then busted out in laughter.

"We cool, Pierce?" he asked stretching out his hand. I looked down at it and then back up at him.

"Yeah man, we're cool," I said fist bumping his hand.

"Hey, wanna do something hilarious?" I asked smirking evilly. He raised his eyebrow.

"What's with the whole mysterious look?" he asked but seemed curious about my plan none the less.

"I've got a plan," I said.

...................................................

I furiously stepped through the glass door with Gavin behind me shouting profanities at me.

"You're such a f*cking asshole! All you care about is yourself. You're not even thinking about Karen!"

"Shut the fuck up Gavin! You don't even know why I did or better yet, WHAT I did," I protested.

"Oh, I don't?" he asked skeptically. I turned around and glared at him. I also noticed that by now, we had some spectators. I walked up to him and we stood nose to nose.

"You don't know shit about my life so I advise you to stay out of it,"

"And as far as I'm concerned, it involves Karen and whatever involves Karen involves me," he said stepping forward as if challenging me.

"Uhh, boys tone it down a bit alright, just calm down. What's this about?" I heard Karen ask but I only focused on Gavin.

"He's being a complete and utter asshole right now, that's what," Gavin said.

"Gavin, I advise you to shut the fuck up and step down," I said sternly my voice filled with authority.

"You're not the only badass Alpha here you know. Besides, I have a reason to know about my mate. She's my responsibility,"

"She's my sister," I also pointed out, "family is family"

"Oh, and I'm guessing family is also the one who fucks her every single---" he said but he didn't get to finish that sentence because I punched him in the face. He fell on the floor because of the impact of the punch. I got on top of him and started punching the hell out of him but he countered one of my punches and managed to push me off him and get up to punch me in the face.

"Stop it!" Karen shouted and we both ignored her. He kept punching me as hard as he could.

"Gavin, I said stop!" Karen said.

"Hayden Pierce, stop right now!" I also heard Zara say.

"Stop!" both girls shouted at the same time so we both stopped, looked at them and then looked at each other and started laughing. Gavin got off me and held out a hand for me to take. I took it and stood up still laughing. Then we looked at everyone’s faces and that just made us laugh harder. Their faces were so confused.

"What the hell?" James asked and I looked at him and cracked up.

"Man, you should be an actor," Gavin said.

"You're not so bad yourself," I complimented him and fist bumped him.

"Can someone please explain to me what the fuck is going on here?" Zara asked. I shook my head at her in amusement.

"Don't stress over it, babe," I said to her then Gavin and I bowed to the crowd standing around us.

"And that was the end of the show. Feel free to leave tips in...Well, we don't have a hat so..." Gavin said then trailed off and then thought of something, "Yes, feel free to leave tips in this shoe."

"What the hell, dude? A shoe, really?"

"Yeah, got a better plan smartass," he asked.

"Well, I could always go upstairs and go get a hat..."

"And we would lose bystanders, I don't think so,"

"Good point."

"What the hell is happening?" Karen asked while frantically throwing her arms in the air. Man, did she look confused and pissed at the same time.

"Karen, it was an act, get it?" I said slowly so a baby could understand. Everyone looked around at each other and then started to get it. I rolled my eyes and then ducked when a cushion started in my direction.

"Do you know how serious that fight looked?!" Zara screamed at me.

"I know babe but...babe, what are you doing?" I added quickly when I saw her pick up a huge water gun. What the hell is a water gun doing in the living room? She smiled at me evilly and then pointed the water gun in my direction.

"Now Zara, I know that was very mean and I'm sorry for worrying you like that. Please, put the water gun down so we can talk about this," I pleaded as I stepped back.

"Good luck man," Gavin said as he folded his arms but I didn't dare take my eyes off Zara.

"Speak for yourself," Karen said and all of a sudden she held up a huge water gun too.

"What the hell are you guys doing with water guns?" he asked.

"Oh, Karen told us to get ready because you guys might want some...cooling down. You see, she predicted a fight would happen but when she saw you guys laughing and talking so friendly, she seemed to let it slide. We were planning on coming out there and squirting you guys with water if you guys fought. The only reason you guys aren't wet right now is because we're in the house," Zara explained.

"We're not that predictable," Gavin protested as he raised his hands in the air like what I was doing and took a step back.

"Yes, you guys are. Now please keep stepping back until you reach outside," Karen said.

"Baby, I just got this shirt," Gavin whined.

"Really, dude, you actually think that's gonna stop her?"

"Come on, baby, I'm super sorry. I love you," he continued to plead. Karen only raised her eyebrow at him.

"I love you too baby, but after that...tremendous fight, I think you need to cool down," she said.

"Women will always be cruel dude," I head James mutter loud enough for Gavin and I to hear.

"What did you just say?" Lilly asked him while a water gun was also in her hand. James' eyes went straight to the gun and then back to her eyes.

"I...I didn't mean you Lilly, you know that," James said.

"Mmhmm, get in line," Lilly said pointing over to us. James tried to beg her but she only gave him a look that meant if-you-don't-get-in-the-line-I'm-gonna-hurt-you. James gulped and looked at her as he surrendered and came over to us.

"Why did I even open my mouth?" James asked and he sighed beside me. I chuckled.

"Welcome to the club," Gavin and I said in union.

"You too, Conner," Abigale said.

"What the hell? Why?" Conner argued.

"Do you really want to argue with me," she asked and we all knew Conner would stand no chance to that. He sighed and got up unhappily.

"Up against the wall soldier," Jenna said to Jonah.

"What? What did I do?!" Jonah exclaimed. Jenna aimed the gun at him and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know exactly what you did mister. Now up against the wall," she said, leaving no room for arguments. He sighed and walked over to us.

"I didn't even do anything," Jonah said and he held his hands up in surrender. I heard Logan laugh at all of us.

"Hey, so why is Logan over there?" I asked.

"Good point," Jenna said then she pointed the gun at him and nodded her head over to us, signaling for him to go over the wall. He didn't even say anything, he just came over willingly.

"And since you're the only one who gave up willingly---" Jenna started but he interrupted her.

"That means I don't have to be on their team?" he asked hopefully. Jenna, along with the rest of the girls tsked.

"Hun, you will always be on that team since you're of the male body," Karen said. He groaned.

"But, you won't get it as hard...wait, inappropriate sentence...ahh, you won't suffer from our gun power as bad as the rest of them," Zara said. I saw Jenna going towards the phone. She called her best friend, Maya and asked her to come over and help with a water gun war that we...well, they apparently...were having. Maya instantly agreed and was over in less than ten minutes. She picked up a water gun from the coffee table and smiled at us boys.

"Hey boys, how's it going?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, just chilling and about to cool down. How about you?" Jonah said with a hint of sarcasm.

"You know, the usual, but I already chilled before I came here so I'm here to help my friends chill," she said smirking. Ok so now it was even. Six against six. Us boys were defenseless while the girls had water power.

What the hell are we gonna do?

"Maya, give each girl two more guns please," Jenna said. Two more guns?! What the---

"What?!" Jonah and James said in union. Guess they were doing the math too.

"Oh come on," Gavin pleaded.

"Alright, loose all items you don't want to get wet and painted---"Zara started.

"Wait...paint?" I asked, "There is paint as well?"

"Well, duh. We wouldn't be lining you guys up just for water, you know. As I was saying, loose all items you don't want to get ruined; cell phones, watches, T-shirts. Feel free right now." Each of the guys looked at each other then back at the girls.

"You can't be serious," I said to them.

"I’m giving you all ten seconds to do that then we're gonna put your asses outside and shoot all of you," Karen said.

"Oh, my God, you girls are serious," I muttered to myself.

"10..."

"But aren't you---"

"9..."

"We need to---"

*8..."

"I think we need to shut up," I said and started taking out my cell phone.

"Good boys," Jenna cooed and I glared at her.

"7..." Zara still counted.

"Oh, and all boys are required to lose the shirts," Abigale said.

"You know what, that's a great plan, Abigale," Zara said and then smirked over to us, "take off the T-shirts."

"Ok...uhh...now I'm really considered that all of you have gone sex craved monsters," Gavin said taking off his watch. I took off mine the same time and placed in on the floor.

"Well, honey, if you wanted a strip show I would have given you one," Conner said calmly. Abigale squirted a little water in his face.

"No sass talk, mister," she said.

"You heard her, and that goes for all of you," Jenna said.

"How many seconds are you at Zara?" Karen asked her.

"5..."

"What happened to six?" Jonah asked earning him water in his face for 'sass'.

"4..." Zara continued to count, "oh and you might want to lose the shirts before I reach three." Immediately, all the shirts were off. Zara's eyes went up and down my sculpted abs and I heard her gulp. She looked up at me and I smirked at her.

"3..." she said preparing her guns.

"2..." they all stood up confidently in front of us, aiming the guns at us.

"You better not let me reach one and you're all still standing here," Zara said and we dashed out the door. We ran as fast as we could and when we heard one, it was like that motivated us to move faster.

"Dude, if I don't make it..." Logan said as he ran beside me, "take care of the X-BOX!"

"Really, Logan? Really..." I asked him as we slowed down because the path was blocked. Sadly, we ran in the direction of the pool. Gotta thing, gotta think, gotta think...

"Hello boys," we heard the girls behind us. God dammit....

We all turned around very slowly and looked at how the girls were well prepared. They planned for us to run into the pool.

"Fire!" Jenna and Maya shouted and suddenly we were being shot at with either water or paint. The force of the water stung my skin. We were all being shot at from different angles so we had to cover our faces so they didn't get paint-balled.

"Ready to give up, oh fierce ones?" Abigale mocked. I groaned at the choice. Ok, if we didn't give up, we would be painted and wet all over (not in that way you smutty minded people) but if we do give up, we would never live it down. Embarrassment or Humility?

"I, for one give up," Jonah said as he winced at one paintball hitting him straight in his abdomen. That one must have hurt. He ran off to the house without another word, afraid of getting shot at again.

"Good, only five more to go. Jenna you can go wash him off," Zara said. Jenna's face turned crimson red.

"What?"

"It's fine, I'll go," Maya said and then running off in the direction that Jonah ran off in. I discreetly saw Jenna clench her jaw and her fingers. Ok...what's that about?

"Alright, who's next?" Karen asked. No one answered so they shrugged and started firing again. Only twice as hard.

"Ok, ok, I give up," Logan said. They girls stopped shooting and smiled at him.

"Good boy, Jenna do you want to go now?" Zara asked and she nodded and both of them disappeared talking.

"Four stubborn ones to go. Before we start again, does anyone else want to quit?" Karen asked. Again, no one answered so they started shooting again. The stings were getting unbearable right now, but it would look weak for me to quit now.

"Dammit, out of power," Abigale muttered and I heard Conner praise.

"Check my back pocket," Zara said as she continued to shoot me. Man, she's determined.

"Thanks," Abi said then she started shooting again.

"Alright, fine I give up!" James declared and Lilly smiled at him.

"Good boy," she said to him and she went up to him. He grabbed her and brought her closer to him so the paint rubbed off on her.

"You're gonna pay for that,"

"Oh really now," then they ran off together.

"Three more..." Zara said in a taunting voice. I growled at her.

"Let's put them to misery," Abigale said grinning and then they all fired now using two guns. Do you know how harsh it is to be hit with two paint-ball water guns? No, then trust me...you don't wanna know.

"Fuck," Conner muttered as he felt one in his side, "don't these women care at all."

"Oh, we do, but we're trying to prove a point," Karen said.

"What point?" I growled at her.

"The point that Conner and Gavin brought up earlier, well James was there too. He said that men rule and crap like that," Karen said as she shot Gavin once again. I turned and glared at him.

"You're the reason why we're getting shot at!" Conner shouted at him, obviously as upset as I was.

"I didn't know that simple statement would lead to this!" Gavin protested while managing to miss a shot of paint.

"Ok, I've had enough," Conner said and then put his hands up in the air in surrender.

"Good, now who rules?" Abi asked.

"Women, most definitely women," he said to Abi as he hugged her and soon they both turned to go inside.

"Alright, the last two. How about some major guns?" Karen asked Zara.

"What major guns?" Gavin asked. They both set down the used guns and dug up in the bag the carried (and to answer your question, yes they brought out a bag filled with water guns...to our dismay). When I looked at the side of the gun, my eyes widen. I don't even own that gun.