Hand Games and Mind Games

“One of us should talk to Zack,” Chloe said in a hushed voice, pulling Gavin by the arm, away from Brandon’s sister, who was camped out on the sofa. “But I think someone also needs to find out if Madison is telling the truth.”

Gavin’s lips tightened. He didn’t exactly revel in the idea of talking to Madison Cole. He’d known her a little from around school and as one of Lisa’s friends, but honestly the girl scared him. There was so much anger and **** wrapped up in such a small package that he was literally afraid that one wrong word would have her exploding in his face. Talking to her seemed like more of a girl to girl thing, or maybe they could just talk to her together. He’d feel braver with Chloe by his side, as he always did.

“Zack said he was going to take a nap,” Gavin replied, glancing at the short brunette on the couch. “So, maybe we should talk to Madison together and give Zack some space?”

“If this was just about Ashley then yeah, I’d agree, especially because I’m the last person who should be getting involved in their relationship,” Chloe prefaced with a shake of her head, her red hair dancing like a flame. “But there’s clearly something more going on here if he’s talking about his dad not being his dad. Have you ever heard him mention anything like that before? I can only imagine how he’s re-evaluating everything he must think he knows about himself. He shouldn’t go through that alone.”

Gavin rubbed his forehead. He could see Chloe’s point. Someone should at least check in on Zack, but given Gavin’s recent indiscretions with Zack’s maybe now ex-girlfriend, he seemed like the last person the existential young man would want to see. So, Gavin was stuck between two difficult choices of talking to two people, one who he didn’t want to talk to and one that probably didn’t want to talk to him. He glanced between the hall and the couch, weighing his options but one really seemed as disastrous as the other.

Seeing Gavin’s indecision, Chloe suggested, “How about we rock-paper-scissors for it?”

“Ok,” Gavin agreed, thinking the simple game was as good a way as any to decide. “But who does the loser have to talk to?”

“Mmhm, I guess…” Chloe pursed her lips as she thought which of the two was the worst case. Madison was volatile but the conversation with Zack would likely be deep and difficult. But Madison might also not be quite so aggressive towards people not named Zack or Ashley, whereas in Zack’s current frame of mind, he could potentially lash out against anyone. “…loser talks to Zack?”

He couldn’t see how talking to Madison could be considered any sort of prize, but since he didn’t have any better reason than his own cowardice, Gavin simply said, “Alright then.”

Gavin placed his hands in front of himself, one flat open, the other curled into a fist and resting on the palm of the other. Opposite, Chloe did the same, looking into Gavin’s eyes expectantly. He readied himself, nodding for her to go ahead as he began to predict what Chloe might do. Licking her lips, she called out,

“3”

Gavin clenched his fist a little tighter as he raised it up and brought it down against his palm with a smack.

“2”

Chloe swallowed, her eyes still fixed on his, as her own hand’s slapped together.

“1”

One final slap as both teens made their choice, for better or worse.

“Go!”

Gavin brought down his first once more, this time stopping just before he reached his palm, choosing rock as his champion. His eyes immediately went to Chloe’s hands. Opposite, in much the same position, Chloe stood, one hand hovering above the other, two fingers and a thumb, curled in, her fore and third fingers stretched out and separated. Her face fell. Rock beats scissors.

Not that she minded talking to Zack, but she didn’t like to lose. Though Gavin didn’t really feel like he’d won anything, as his eyes darted between his still clenched fist and the brunette on the couch. Chloe followed his gaze as she relaxed, bringing her arms back to her side.

“Just go talk to her,” Chloe encouraged, though it wasn’t like he had a choice. This was his prize. “All you have to do is figure out what Ashley said.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Gavin frowned. She might as well have asked him to defuse a bomb. “She could just lie again. How am I meant to know what was going through Ashley’s head?”

“Well, you’re the one that’s been sticking your dick in her the last couple of days, which is more than can be said for Zack,” Chloe remarked, a hint of bitterness underlying her voice. “Ashley confided in you about this stuff, so just talk to Madison and find out if it sounds like the same girl that said both.”

With a reassuring pat on the shoulder, Chloe offered an encouraging smile, before turning and leaving down the hall towards the bedroom. Gavin took a deep breath, eyes transfixed on Madison, as he gathered the courage to walk over to the couch. Each step felt like his body was weighed down by tonne weights, and he could feel his heart thumping in his chest. As he came to a stop by the arm of the chair, he looked down at Madison laying lengthways along the sofa, her head propped up on one arm. The huge hoodie that drowned her small frame had ridden up, just enough to show off the tight shorts that covered her thighs and taut buttocks.

He stood there, for too long, staring down at her body, thinking more about what to say to her than really paying attention to her bare legs and cute, firm ass. He looked for so long that Madison glanced up and caught him, his eyes seemingly transfixed on her. Didn’t this guy know that she was with Brandon? Or did he just think he could tempt the sister away from her brother?

“Hey, perv,” she barked, lazily looking back at the screen. “I’m not yours to ogle.”

“Oh, I...I’m sorry, Madison, I didn’t mean to, um, ogle, you.” Gavin blinked, looking away as Madison’s words pulled him out of his anxiety. “I just wanted to…uh…talk, I guess.”

“Oh?” Madison glanced at him, then back at the screen. The TV programme wasn’t really more interesting than this conversation, just some light trash, but she didn’t want him to know that. “What do you want to talk about, huh?”

“Oh, well, I was thinking about…” He gulped and felt his hands shake at his side as he reached the first hurdle. “…Ashley. I wanna talk about Ashley.”

“Thaaaaaaat’s riiight, Zack said you fucked her,” Madison said with a sly smirk, though it quickly faded from her lips, replaced by an irritated frown. “What is it with her and boys? Why does everyone seem unable to control themselves around her?”

“I dunno, I guess because she’s a cheerleader and she has a nice body,” Gavin mused, thinking about what attracted him to his best friend’s girlfriend, a dangerous line of thought if there ever was one. “And she’s easy to talk to.”

“I’m a cheerleader, and we’re exactly the same shape, so what is it that has guys tripping over themselves to be with her? The blonde hair? The blue eyes? Or is it just because she’s easy?” Madison scoffed, but before Gavin could get indignant and tell her that she was wrong about Ashley being ‘easy, she made a suggestion. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know if you get me a soda and some chips. We’ve been running low on supplies at the camp and I’m starving.”

“Uh, ok, sure thing,” Gavin acquiesced, retreating to the kitchen.

He didn’t appreciate being treated like a lackey, but the deal was good enough. Fill her belly and she starts talking. Perhaps this way, he could straight up ask her what the truth was, and she’d have to give him an answer. Lifting a can from the fridge and a bag from the cupboard, he retraced his steps back into the living area and tossed Madison the chips as she sat up. He placed the soda on a coaster on the coffee table and perched himself on the edge beside it.

“Alright then, tell me.” She tore open the bag and dipped her hand inside. “Why are you interested in Ashley, even though she’s proven herself to be a selfish, cheating whore?”

“That’s too harsh. Ashley is a good person. She just makes mistakes and gets into unwinnable situations. I know because I’m the same,” Gavin said defensively as he watched Madison shove a fist full of chips into her mouth. “But I’m not interested in her. She’s Zack’s girlfriend, and even if she isn’t, I just broke up with Victoria.”

“So, lemme get this straight, you broke up with your current girlfriend and fucked your best friend’s girlfriend, and then your best friend went and fucked your ex-girlfriend,” Madison reiterated after swallowing the food in her throat. She rolled her eyes. “And I thought my relationship was incestuous.”

“What?” Gavin pulled back his head and stared at the short brunette.

Madison blushed and coughed. So, Heather had told them that she and Brandon were living out in the park, but not about the extent of their relationship. The only people in this cabin then that knew about her and Brandon having sex were herself and Zack, and Zack was unlikely to say anything given how much he was already dealing with. Though it made Madison chuckle slightly at how naïve these guys were; what exactly did they think she and her brother were doing all by themselves in the woods for days on end?

“Oh, nothing, I just meant that you guys should try looking outside your normal social group once in a while, you know,” Madison deflected and changed the topic. “It’s a pity you’re not interested though, because she said there was another guy she was attracted to. You are kinda cute and sweet, I guess I can see what Ashley might like about you.”

“She…she said that about me?” Gavin stammered. Could it really be possible that after the game of Never Have I Ever and their mutual masturbation last night that Ashley had really fallen for him? When they’d finished, she told him to make sure he was fucking the ‘right girl’ next time…had she been implying that she was the right girl?

“Not in so many words,” Madison said, satisfied that she’d successfully dodged any suspicion about her own relationship with Brandon. “But when she said she was going to break up with Zack, she told Brandon that it was because she had feelings for someone else. However, she wanted to do it right this time because she blamed the way she and Zack started for how irreparable their relationship had become.”

That didn’t sound like Ashley, Gavin thought. Ashley wanted to work things out between her and Zack. She had been trying to be a better girlfriend and a better person, and had been extremely pissed when Gavin ruined that. There was no way she went to bed one night thinking that way and woke up the next having had a complete change of heart. He was sure that Madison was lying now because he knew that Ashley didn’t think her relationship with Zack had become irreparable.

Maybe she would once she came back and Zack had that discussion with her about her wanting to suck his dick and sit on his face, Gavin considered, but she didn’t know that was coming. Not yet.

“Did she really say that?” Gavin asked, giving her one opportunity to redact her comment.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Madison shot him a glare along with her brusque tone.

“No, no.” Gavin held up his hands. “I’m just surprised.”

It wasn’t surprising that Madison would lie, Gavin thought as he rose from the table and wandered back towards the kitchen. And there was no doubt in his mind, despite Madison’s aggressive insistence, that it was a lie. He was more certain now than ever that Ashley didn’t plan on breaking up with Zack at all. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just go to Zack with this because he had no more proof than his own intuition. As he leaned against the wall leading down the hall, Gavin wondered whether Chloe was having any luck getting through to Zack…