Zenon's Game Chapter 242

That's an understatement. I was as shocked as everyone when I found out that Zenon Albert was dating Candace. But after seeing them together, it makes more sense. Zenon's always been so stoic at school, but with her, he lets his guard down.

Candace's so random that it takes most people off guard. That's my girl.

Axel threw the rock with more force this time. The bucket tipped over and a yellow painted figurine fell out. We were expected to collect these figurines from each activity to prove that we did it.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, giving Axel a high five.

My mom would be so mad if she knew I was making any moves. I turned the figurine in my hands to control my nerves as I said:

"Hey, Axel? Are you seeing someone?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

We heard the distant sound of a bird screeching.

Axel said, "That sounds like Candace."

~Bryce's POV~

If anyone expected me to be paying any attention to these activities, they were delusional. What's the point of a team if you can't rely on them to do everything?

"How many bars do you have?" I asked, raising my phone in the air as I tried to get more cell service.

I was trying to watch a video, but it kept buffering. There must be somewhere in this forest where I can complain about customer service.

"We're busy, Bryce," Bianca informed me, stuck in some kind of gymnastic position, "We want to finish so we can go home."

"Fine by me," I replied, "You're doing a great j-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

I dropped my phone in shock.

"What in the world was that?!" Oma exclaimed.

"Sounded like a gargoyle," I muttered, checking my heartbeat. I'm OK.

"We have to see if they're ok," said a kindhearted Oma.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," I agreed, following in her footsteps.

~Candace's POV~

Zenon was leaning on his elbow, using it to prop his head up as we said sweet nothings. We had completely given up on doing the activities. I was looking at him when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw several shadows in the trees.

Zenon noticed that I'd lost focus and turned his head to look at the source. He groaned.

Usually I hated interruptions, but this time felt different. I looked at this group and saw my friends. It really felt like I had friends. And that meant the world to me.

Oma's wisdom and Axel's heart. Bryce's overconfidence and Cynthia's strength. And maybe, just maybe, I could find it in my heart to admire something about Bianca.

"Come on," Zenon said, getting up and extending his hand to mine.

"What are you doing, Zenon?" I said, turning back to see if they had noticed us, "I think they're looking for us."

Zenon kept his hand over mine as he pulled me further into the forest and away from them.

"I'm tired of the interruptions," he said.

He can take me away any day.

Hey, that rhymed.

Zenon took my hand and stole us away before the others could see. We fled through the trees, creating as much distance between us and our friends. We wanted to be alone, together.

And I wanted this to last forever.

OK, if that isn't a lyric from a future Top 10 hit then I don't know what is.

I made a mental note to text Jake later.

"Why are you smiling?" Zenon asked, glancing over at me with a relaxed smile of his own.

We were fleeing from our friends. I turned back to see if any of them had noticed us, but it looked like we'd gotten away.

"Are you sure you know the way?" I retorted, trying to change the expression on my face to match the escape plan.

His eyes were so beautiful. Has anyone told him that?

I turned 180 degrees to test him, but he spun me back round, playfully taking me the right way. His arm circled my waist as he pulled me in front of him. I laughed and shook my head, not wanting to lead the way. I had no idea where we were going.

Suddenly, Zenon pulled me towards a tree bark and let me rest my back against it. We were well hidden from the others, all alone in this forest now. He pressed his hand against the bark next to my head and kissed me.

I thought I was doing fine until I felt his touch on me. Heated sensations tickled my skin as his mouth hovered over mine.

"I won't forget this," he whispered, "I swear to you Candy, you caught me in a way you don't even know."

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising my hands and gently stroking his arms.

"You make me rethink my choices," he said mysteriously.

We ran from Mr Woodhouse's activity center without telling anyone.

We hadn't followed the cartoon map, done none of the activities and hadn't said our goodbyes. Zenon grabbed our bags from the trunk while I used his phone to call an uber. It felt like we were runaways.

The drive back was when the fatigue kicked in. I'd completely forgotten that the last time I slept in a bed was in Dubai. As the car drove on empty country roads, my head slowly rocked onto Zenon's shoulder. And I fell asleep to the sound of his breathing.

"Babe," Zenon whispered into my ear.

I opened my eyes and sat up, feeling his arm around me loosen. I don't know how much time had gone by, but the light outside had faded with dusk. I looked out of the window and saw the familiar street I had grown up. We had grown up on.

Nothing had changed.

We were home. After a week in a foreign world, in Bryce's world, we were back.

"What do you have in that bag?" Zenon asked, pointing at the plastic bag I kept between my legs.