————<•>———-

"He might need some chapstick as well, his lips are crusty"

Senor Uhl's truck was parked outside the school as the nominees approached it while Senor Uhl explained the rules.

"King and Queen nominees approach the truck. Place your hands on the vehicle, Should you cease contact with it at any time, you will be eliminated." Senior Uhl explains before signalling for me to sit on the truck—which I do with a happy smile.

"I have Y/n here to do the thing she does best, annoy people, good luck with that" Senior Uhl says with an eye roll while I give him a sarcastic smile.

Everyone placed one hand on the hood, Steve and Jim glaring as they stood across from the other. Eli nervously placed his hand on it—smiling when someone cheered in the background for him.

"You got this, Eli!" I tell to him as he excitedly smiles at me.

"Hoo-hoo" Steve exclaims suddenly, weirdly wriggling his body around.

"You good there blondie" I ask as I sit cross legged on the hood of the car—giving me a perfect view of their hands.

"Totally! I just downed ten energy drinks, I can go all night." Steve explains to me with a cocky smirk.

"Aren't you worried you'll have to use the bathroom?" Jim questions with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's just say, I've got it covered." Steve says with a smirk as I gag.

Steve may be the grossest person who goes to our bloody school.

"Please tell me you didn't" I exclaim as Jim looks to me confused, not understanding what Steve meant.

"Ooh! Are you wearing a diaper?" Sharron squeals with disgust—also realising what Steve meant.

"Who's the loser now, loser?" Steve cackles.

"Seeing that your the one in a diaper, I'd say you" I say with an eye roll—gaining a harsh glare from Steve.

"Shut it, L/n" Steve snarls.

Jim continued to look confused while Mary seemed disgusted at the thought of sitting in your own urine and feces. However, it got worse when Steve stretched out, grunting and wriggling his body around.

"Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Steve laughs.

"The Touch-A-Truck-athon begins!" Senior Uhl exclaims before signalling for me to start talking.

"Ok, so I was at the shops today right? And I was looking for this snack I always get but then when I got to the isle...it wasn't there! So I was really confused and ended up asking an employee and guess what?" I ask while everyone just stares at me.

"What?" Mary asks, seeming to be the only one interested.

"They changed the brand!" I exclaim making Mary gasp.

"No!" She says.

"Yes!" I exclaim as I throw my arms up in the air. "And even worse! The employee I asked was this really old guy who started to flirt with me! It was so gross, like, he was so old that he had old people goop on his face!"

"Gross" Jim mutters as I nod my head before he looks to me concerned. "Are you alright?"

"What?" I ask confused before realising he's talking about having an old dude flirt with me at the shops. "Oh, yeah fine. Wouldn't be the first time"

"I hear that" Mary mutters as the two of us share disgusted looks—Jim just staring off with a small frown on his face.

I then started to rant about this book I was reading and how the main protagonist annoyed me with her stupid decisions—but Mary'a groaning made me pause mid rant.

"Ugh! When do we get a pee break?" Mary asks with a small grimace.

"That's the point, Miss Wang. There are none." Senior Uhl cackles.

"Doesn't anyone else have to go?" Mary asks with wide eyes.

Our attention drifted to Steve who started shivering and moving his body around weirdly.

He isn't...

"Depends" Steve smirks.

My mouth opens in horror at the boy. I knew he had the diaper on, but knowing he just used it is so incredibly disgusting.

"Ew! Gross!" Shannon gags.

"That is disgusting" I say as I scoot further back on the hood of the truck.

"Giving up yet, Lame Junior?" Steve asks with a sneer.

"Hand on truck. Not that difficult" Jim deadpans.

"This isn't worth it!" Mary yells before she removes her hand and starts to walk off.

"Mary, no!" I exclaim—sad because she's quitting and upset because she's the only one actually contributing to my rants.

"I'm sorry, I just cant do it" Mary says to me with a frown.

"Adiós. You have been eliminated" Senior Uhl smirks.

"Whatever" Mary scoffs before she walks out of sight.

Not long after Mary left, Strickler suddenly started walking over to us with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Oh no" I grumble.

"Mr. Lake, I've been meaning to speak with you" Strickler says to Jim—his evil smirk still on his face. "I received word for a mutual acquaintance, Mr. Rot. He said you had lost something rather valuable the other day."

"I'll get it back" Jim says with narrowed eyes.

"Sure, you will. Oh, and I'm on my way to another lunch date with your mother." Strickler says, his smirk widening after seeing everyone's reactions.

"Oooh!" Darci gasps.

"Barbara could do better" I say with a shrug while Strickler narrows his eyes at me.

"It's a shame you won't join us. You don't happen to have a breath mint on you, do you?" Strickler asks Jim.

Jim's face is filled with anger—his head probably filled with countless scenarios of how to kill Strickler right now. My eyes snap to Jim's now balled up fist and I immediately know he needs to calm down.

"Jim" I mutter to the boy, causing his eyes to snap to mine as he watches me shake my head.

Jim lets out a staggered sigh before unscrunching his balled up fist.

"I have a breath mint!" Sharron pipes up as she lifts her hand off the truck to get a breath mint out for the teacher—gasping as she realised what she just did.

"Adiós, Shannon. Darci wins for the girls" Senior Uhl announces as Sharron lowers her head.

"Nice, Darci" I cheer as I give her a high five.

"Yeah! That's right! Go, Darci! I'm fabulous! Of course I am, cause I'm Darci!" She celebrated, dancing around as Strickler reached for the mints from Sharron.

He snickered at Jim before cockily shaking the mints  in the boys face and walking off.

"He might need some chapstick as well, his lips are crusty" I say to Jim as he gags.

"Gross, Y/n" He grimaces as I laugh.

"For the boys, the game is still on." Senior Uhl announces.

"Go, Darci" Darci continues to celebrate.

"Congratulations. Now get back to class!" Senior Uhl says harshly—Darci immediately nodding her head and running off.

"Ha! He's dating your mom? Whoa! Why didn't I think of that?" Steve mumbles to himself as I raise an eyebrow at him.

Steve's taunting only continued to get worse for poor Jim—the boy trying many tactics like poking him, insulting him and now his current tactic—beatboxing very close to Jim's face.

"Still not giving up, and your breath smells worse than your diaper." Jim sasses in an annoyed tone.

"Just butt off, Steve" I groan as I kick him away from Jim—making Steve stumble and almost take his hand off the truck.

"You can't protect your boyfriend forever, L/n" Steve snarls—immediately causing Jim and I's eyes to widen and our faces to flush.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

We both snap our heads to eachother, awkwardly smiling before quickly looking away.

"Mm.. Hour four is complete. I need more coffee. Eli and Y/n are in charge" Senior Uhl announces, breaking the uncomfortable silence that settled over us.

"Yes!" Eli and I cheer as we high five.

As soon as Senor Uhl was out of sight, Steve decided that now he can cheat.

Steve sinisterly laughed before throwing a punch Eli quickly dodging and the blow now colliding with Jim's shoulder.

"Ow! Seriously" Jim asks Steve in annoyance.

"My hand hasn't left the truck" Steve cackles.

"Steve, quit it" I say sternly, the boy only giving me an innocent smile before shoving Jim again.

"Whoops?" Steve cackles as he gives me a creepy wink.

Ugh.

"Guys, please stop! I don't want to get in trouble!" Eli cries out but Steve doesn't listen.

Steve throws another punch at Jim—the boy quickly dodging the blow this time and instead runs around the truck, Steve in tow. The two still keep their hands connected with the truck, the metal squealing beneath their touch.

I sigh and pull out my book from my bag as I sit cross legged on the hood of the car—deciding that boys are annoying and I wish the girl contestants were still here.

"Quit it! Y/n! Little help!" Jim exclaims as he ran around the truck while trying to keep his hand on the truck.

"Busy, don't worry you got this! Whoooo" I say unenthusiastically as I read my book.

"Don't make me-" Jim starts to yell at Steve—not being able to finish as Steve threw another punch, but Jim grabbed it, throwing Steve over Eli.

Angry, Steve threw another punch, Jim dodging it again and pressing Steve's head against the hood.

"Let go, dweeb!" Steve threatens, although he looks quite shocked to be taken down by Jim.

I don't particularly blame him. Jim definitely doesn't look strong, and that's why it's always hilarious seeing people's reactions to his actual strength.

Jim let go of Steve, the blonde instantly pushing Jim to the truck instead.

"Get off of him, Steve" I say blankly with a roll of my eyes.

I swear I've said that same line twenty times already.

Jim yells and pushes the brute away before he could pummel him. Eli, who was still hiding in the front, cries out to them, catching their attention.

"Stop! Please!"

Jim had Steve pinned, however, the blonde idiot still wasn't giving up.

"Hands still on the truck" Steve laughs as they continue to grab at eachother.

"Guys, please stop!" Eli yells.

Steve pushed Jim to the side, sliding off on one end while Jim stays on the other.

"Eli, come here" I whisper to him as I gesture to the trunk of the truck.

Eli nods frantically before he drops into the trunk of the truck, hiding within it as I continue to read my book—attempting to ignore the two boys.

"Eli's gone" Steve says, clearly thinking Eli had ran away from the competition. "Looks like it's just you and me buttsnack"

Eli goes to pop his head up to say something but I quickly grab his head and duck it back under—whispering to be quiet.

As much as I want Jim to win—I doubt Steve will ever let him win this trial, so my second option for a winner is definitely Eli.

Steve raises his fist with a laugh, chasing after Jim who let out a yelp. The two manage to get inside the truck, bumping into the horn as they kicked and punched one another, Steve whooping at the thrill.

"Hey!" I yell loudly as I turn around to face the window—both boys immediately freezing as they look to me. "At least try not to break anything in there, Senor Uhl will kill us"

Both boys quikcly nod their heads before they resume their fighting—honestly I wouldn't even call it fighting, it looks quite pathetic really.

"Steve, stop this!" Jim yells in annoyance.

"Why couldn't you let me win this?" Steve cries, surprising Jim at the emotion in his voice. "But then you never do, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Jim asks confused.

I shake my head at him—why is Jim so gullible?

"People respected me. And you broke my face in front of everyone. I got benched from the team and the play" By the look in Jim's eyes, the boy was too easily trusting and just too kind-hearted that he instantly believes Steve's sob story.

"And now you got Y/n. Like honestly, how did you get her?!" Steve yells out—surprising Jim and I but we let him continue on. " I liked my life. You've threatened everything I know, turned my world upside down. And you know what the worst part is? I... I'm intimidated by you, Jim"

Jim's eyes are the size of saucepans as he stares at a vulnerable looking Steve. Even I'm struggling to decide if he's being truthful or not. It's hard to tell with Steve.

"What? Steve...I don't know what to say, man. I didn't know. I do care" Jim tells him.

"Yeah, right" Steve sniffs.

"You know what. Here. Look. You win" Jim says imply—removing his hand off the truck.

"Jim, you idiot" I mumble to myself as I start to pack my book back in my bag, sliding off the truck.

"Hahahahaha! I can't believe you fell for it! Hahaha! Whoo! Haha haha!" Steve perked up laughing as he removes his hand and celebrates.

"Steve, are you nuts?" Jim exclaims in shock.

"Who's the loser now, loser? Ka-boom! Hahaha!" Steve celebrates.

Suddenly Senor Uhl came running over, a panicked look on his face as he looks to his precious car.

"What happened here? I heard there was a fight! Are you okay?" Senior Uhl yells as he runs over.

"Yeah" Jim responds, oblivious to the fact that Senior Uhl is talking to the car.

"Oh thank god. My sweet Susanna is unharmed." Senior Uhl says while hugging the car. "Du bist mein Schnuckiputzi"

That man loves his car.

"It seems we have a winner" Senior Uhl says as he looks to Eli sitting in the trunk of the car—his hand still placed on the truck.

"Whoo! That's right! Who wins? I do! Look at me! I-"
Steve celebrates before I cut him off.

"Eli wins!" I yell as I pull Eli up from his hiding spot.

"What?" Eli questions confused.

"No!" Steve exclaims.

"Yay!" Eli yells as a crowd forms around him and cheers.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Steve cried.

I laugh softly at Steve before walking over to a surprised looking Jim.

"Better luck next time, Jimbo" I tell him, patting him on the shoulder.

"I hope there isn't a next time" Jim mutters to me as I laugh and nudge his shoulder.

"We should go to troll-market and check on Claire and Toby" I say.

"Good idea, they've probably murdered each-other already" Jim sighs.

"We can only dream" I joke as Jim grabs my hand, linking our fingers together as we walk off to Trollmarket.

————<•>————

Jim and I walk into the battle arena to find Toby and Claire skilfully fighting with their weapons, playful smiles on both their faces—unlike the glares and frowns that were there this morning.

"They look pretty good. Any problems mailing the package?" Jim asks as we walk up to Blinky.

"Actually Master Jim-" Blinky starts before Vendel cuts him off.

"Your team did an excellent job. Your allies are getting stronger. In time, a lot of time, they may actually be... useful." Vendel admits as I smile.

"Awww, thanks Vendel, love ya too" I say as Vendel smiles at me before quickly replacing it with his usual frown.

He loves me. I know it.

I look back to Toby and Claire—watching as Claire blocks every blow and manages to spin Toby. The poor boy falling to the ground with a thud!

"Woah" Toby gasps from the ground.

"Useful. It's a start" Jim shrugs before nudging me to go and join them.

I summon my staff as Jim summons his sword—the two of us smiling at eachother before we run up to the other two—joining the fight.

"You got room for two more?" Jim asks as he swings his sword at Toby—the boy quickly blocking it with a laugh.

I go to swipe my staff at Toby—surprise taking over my face as he manages to skilfully block it with his warhammer.

But he's hammers...floating?

"Since when could your hammer do that?" Jim asks with wide eyes.

"More like since when could you actually hold your hammer?" I laugh as I dodge a block from Claire.

"Yah! Hello? It's a Warhammer. Respect it, please." Toby says with a small laugh.

"Be quick on your feet! Hi-yah!" Claire yells as she swipes her staff under Toby's feet making him fall to the ground with another thud!

I laugh and look to an unsuspecting Jim—quickly swiping my staff under his feet as well, watching with a wide grin as he falls to the floor with a grunt.

"Really?" He asks me—a playful glare on his face.

I laugh as he quickly jumps to his feet and swipes his sword at me—making me quickly do a backhand-spring to dodge it.

"Yep" I smirk at him as he laughs at me before Toby and Claire join our fight, the four of us laughing as we playfully fight.

————<•>———-

Authors note:

This was a fun chapter to write

I also find it hard to add my own dialogue in parts so I'm sorry if there are parts in the chapters where Y/n doesn't say anything, I'm trying.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)