First Blood

Moving in a blur, Sean leaped forward, throwing his body out to stop Ramsey from crashing into the thicket of dead branches at the side of the pond. Ramsey instead slammed into Sean, sending him sideways into the clump of sharp and pointy tree limbs. The creaking and snapping of wood sounded all around him as a knife-like object slashed his cheek.

Dazed, Ramsey heard voices behind her but couldn't focus on what was actually being said. Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong hands pull her off the soft yet hard lump she landed on. Turning around, the strawberry blonde saw Owen helping her stand up.

"Ohmygawd! Are you okay, Rammy?" Lacey questioned in a loud shriek. "I'm so, so sorry. I was teaching Owen to skate backward. We got so caught up in it; I didn't see you standing there."

"I think so. Did I hit something?"

"Or someone," her best friend answered with a strange smile. "It looks like you have a guardian angel, Rammy."

The stunned girl turned to see Peyton helping her younger brother climb out of a crapload of branches while JoJo stood by, fretting over his condition. He almost fell back into the brush before JoJo threw out a hand to steady him.

"Geez, little brother, can't I leave you alone for one--oh, you cut yourself," Peyton remarked, bringing her finger up to his face.

"Really?!" Lacey inquired, sounding oddly cheery. Glancing around happily, she noticed Polly watching her with narrowed eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," the shy brunette replied. Rolling her eyes at Lacey's obvious antics, Polly skated away.

"You better head over to Rachel and get a band-aid on that," Peyton told her brother.

"Mrs. Stratton?"

"Of course. She always carries them in her purse. You know that," Peyton said, reminding him of Rachel's propensity as a mom and teacher to always be prepared with a small first aid kit in her purse.

"Wait," Sean said, whipping around. "Ramsey, are you alright?"

Still unsure what happened to her, Ramsey looked at the boy in surprise. "I-I think so. Oh, you're bleeding!"

"It's okay. Lucky for me, it's winter, and I'm covered everywhere else," Sean noted, pointing with his gloved hand to his thick winter coat. "If this was the summer and I fell into that, I'd be all sliced up."

"Um, yeah, okay," his crush responded, wondering why he seemed cheerful after falling into those branches.

"Guess I better head over and get something on this cut, or my mom will be freaking out when I start dripping blood everywhere," Sean joked as he started to head toward the adults.

"Um, thanks for saving me, Tarver," Ramsey remembered to say when he was several feet away.

"Sure, I'm just happy I was there to help," he called back.

"See! I told you he was a nice guy," Lacey said into her friend's ear after putting an arm around her. "You should have seen how he dashed forward to save you. He didn't even stop to consider if he would get hurt. Did you see that blood? Did you, Ram? Hey, are you okay?"

"My stomach feels funny," Ramsey softly admitted, causing Lacey to perk up.

"Maybe that's because you found your guardian angel!"

Turning her head so that she could whisper into her friend's ear, Ramsey embarrassingly admitted, "No, my stomach feels sick. I felt something earlier, but it's gotten worse."

"Oh! Um, I think you're still hungover, Ram. Maybe you better take a break and drink some water," Lacey suggested. "That whole getting slammed into by Owen thing probably didn't help."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that."

Lacey watched as the strawberry blonde moved over to Newt, who appeared quite ready to take a break. She then helped her student skate to the other side of the pond. All around her, Lacey noticed that the others left to take a break too.

"What are you doing?" came a voice from behind Lacey.

"I was thinking of heading over to get a drink. Owen's already halfway there."

"No, what are you doing with Rammy?" Whitney demanded to know.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play all innocent with me, Lacey! You did that on purpose; I saw you lead Owen straight into Ram," Whitney accused.

"No, I didn't. It was an accident; I didn't see her there."

"Bullshit, Lace! I saw you looking right at her back," Whitney insisted.

"What are you doing with Rammy? You've been awfully focused on her and not on helping anyone else?"

"Don't try and change the subject! You're up to something, Lacey. Tell me!"

"You tell me! You're obviously up to something as well," Lacey threw back at her.

"It's time that she moves on from Micah, and I found the perfect boyfriend candidate," Whitney announced smugly.

"With wh--wait, Newt?"

"Yes, he's perfect for Rammy. Smart, quiet, focused, and nice. Much better than your choice."

"My choice?"

"I assume Jared...although knocking her over seems like a strange plan, even for your convoluted matchmaking plans," Whitney remarked, pondering what Lacey had in mind. "Did you plan on having Jared attack Owen?"

"Of course not!"

"Wait, you're not trying to set Ram up with Owen, are you?"

"What?!" Lacey asked incredulously, breaking into laughter. "Bet you would like that, huh? Get Rammy to take that bland boyfriend off your hands."

"Well, who else is there? Sean?" Whitney laughed at her own suggestion until she saw a spark in her friend's eyes. "Wait, you can't be serious?" the blonde questioned as if Sean was more unbelievable a selection than her own boyfriend.

"Why not? They're perfect together," Lacey said without a doubt.

"No, they're not. Gawd, why does everyone think Sean and Ramsey are so perfect together?" moaned Whitney.

"Who else thinks it too?" Lacey pressed, thrilled at the prospect of another ally.

"Jared. He just said something a little bit ago."

"See, he can tell, and he doesn't even know Rammy," the redhead gleefully pointed out.

"That's why he's wrong. Rammy needs a nice, calm, and inexperienced guy, exactly like Newt," Whitney listed. "Sean's too much for her to handle.

"He is not! Sean's sweet, kind, compassionate, smart, and handsome," Lacey defended her choice. "Not to mention, they both love to read mysteries."

"You sure you don't want to date him instead?" Whitney smirked at Lacey.

"No, I don't! And don't say that shit around Austin," she ordered her friend. "Look, Rammy's from a long line of reporters and wants to be an investigative journalist. Sean's the grandson of an actual private detective. They'd be like a real-life Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy!

"Aren't there two Hardy Boys?" Whitney nearly buckled under the intense heat of the glare Lacey shot her way. "Oh, come on, Lace! It's not like Rammy and Sean will be out solving The Case of the Stolen Bicycle together. This is real life we're talking about."

"Fine, don't see it. But I will get them together, I promised."

"Promised, who? Sean?" Whitney asked, wondering if she had missed some clue about what was really behind Lacey's matchmaking.

"No, myself," the petite redhead scrambled to say, not wanting to violate Sean's confidence, even with her other best friend.

"Well, I think you're wrong. And I'm going to get Rammy with Newt, no matter what," Whitney asserted.

"You think so? Well, I'm not backing down," Lacey said, meeting Whitney's unspoken challenge.

"Then it's on."

"Oh, it's on for sure, rich bitch," Lacey added, using Caterina's nickname for Whitney.

"There you go, all better now, Sean," Rachel warmly told him as she finished applying the band-aid to his cheek. His cheeks were still red from blushing after Chastity kissed his boo-boo.

"Um, thanks, Mrs. Stratton, but, uh, are you sure you don't have any different ones in your purse?" Sean asked as he touched the band-aid for kids that featured characters from Frozen.

"I think Olaf the snowman is a fitting look for you, honey," Bridget remarked with a grin.

"I love Olaf! He's funny, and a great friend," Chastity announced, hoping Sean would feel better about the band-aid.

"Sorry, Sean. All my superhero ones for the boys seem to be gone," Rachel apologized. "They do tend to get more cuts and scrapes on the playground. But don't you worry; I'm sure that your superhero moment won't be forgotten by Ramsey anytime soon."

Bridget joined in agreement with a big nod, telling him how proud she was of him. Gabby added some comments about him being a big, brave boy. Not knowing what else to do, Chastity threw her arms around Sean for a big hug.

Embarrassed by the women's comments and the feel of Chastity's large breasts, Sean walked back over to the edge of the ice. Looking over, he noticed that the girl he saved had resumed her interest in Jared by sitting next to him on the ground. That dampened his earlier feeling of hope, but at least Jared seemed uncomfortable with Ramsey's attention. He tried to ignore her by talking past Newt, who sat on his other side, to JoJo, but Sean's best friend ignored him as well.

Suddenly a hand grabbed his, pulling him onto the ice.

"C'mon, Mister Hero, let's go have some fun!"

Thrown off by the sudden move and request, Sean allowed himself to be dragged far onto the ice. The redhead that kidnapped him finally stopped after passing the middle, narrower portion of the pond. There she turned around and lightly touched his non-injured cheek.

"I'm a little jealous, Seanie," Lana declared, surprising Sean.

"J-Jealous?"

"I would've thought I would be the girl you risked this handsome face to save," she explained as her fingers caressed his cheek. "Am I not worthy anymore?"

"W-worthy?" Sean stumbled over his words as his former crush moved closer into his personal space.

"Am I not your favorite ginger anymore?" Lana continued with her questions as she moved her free hand down the front of her coat, drawing his eyes to the shape of her ample breasts underneath. "Have you outgrown me to the point that you wouldn't risk harm to save me?"

"I-I'd save you, La-Lana," Sean cursed himself for reverting back to his stuttering twelve-year-old self, but it couldn't be helped when it came to the redheaded sexpot.

"And do you know how I'd thank you?" Lana asked but leaned in to whisper into his ear before he could answer. "By first stripping you down and checking your whole body for cuts. Then I'd pamper my hero with a sponge bath that leaves you happy at the end for saving me."

"Everything okay here?" Peyton questioned as she skated up to the close pair.

Gulping, Sean didn't know how to respond to his sister. He was more concerned with hiding the rock-hard cock of his from her view.

"Everything's okey-dokey, Pey," Lana said, turning to wink at her best friend. Realizing what Lana was up to, Peyton rolled her eyes, uncertain again if this was the best idea. "Hey, let's skate while we have it all to ourselves."

Grabbing a hand of each Tarver sibling, Lana began to hum as she led them out into a series of wide loops around the far section of the pond. Finn, who had arrived right behind Peyton, stood there shaking his head at his ex-girlfriend's antics as she now sang a melody of holiday songs.

Cringing at her best friend's over-the-top singing, Peyton managed to extract herself from the mortifying display, leaving Sean all alone with the sultry tease. The teenager didn't know if he should be thrilled or uncomfortable at the level of attention that Lana gave him. Continuously, she alternated from holding his hand or arm to touching him all over. And in between, those D-cups always seemed to find a way to rub against his arm or back.

"Now, try putting your hands on my hips from behind, Seanie. We'll skate like..." Lana instructed the teen until trailing off as she felt a new pair of eyes burning a hole into her. "Oh, hey, Lace, what's up?"

"I think it's time you played with someone your own age," Lacey told her sister through gritted teeth.

"Oh, did you want to play with Sean?" Lana replied in an overly sweet voice. "It's about time you did."

Halfway into another Lana-induced trance, Sean could only watch as the older redhead skated away to join her friends. He barely registered the presence of Lacey at his side nor the displeased look on her face.

"So, what did you think of the plan?" Lacey asked and waited. "Sean?" She waited longer before slapping his side. "Sean!"

"Hey! Oh, sorry, Lace. What did you say?"

"I asked what you thought of the plan so far," the petite girl informed him.

"Oh, it was... painful," he remarked, bringing his hand up to his cheek.

"I know! Weren't we lucky with that break?"

"Lucky?"

"Yep, Rammy drew first blood. Now she'll need to make it right," Lacey said, dead serious until she shifted to beaming at him. "This plan is working wonderfully so far."

"I don't know about that, Lace," Sean started to say, wondering if Mr. Stratton watched too many old Rambo films around his daughter as she grew up. But seeing the hurt look on her face, he hurried to explain. "She did thank me, but she still went over to sit next to Jared."

"Don't you worry about Jared. We'll use him to help put you over the top soon enough," Lacey announced but dismissed his attempt to ask how. "The good thing is that she's started to see you as a good guy, not some creepy TV character."

Sean wanted to point out that it was Lacey's freakout yesterday morning that pushed Ramsey into that direction, but he held his tongue. The little ginger could be downright scary at times.

"Now, she did thank you, but you screwed up by not sticking around," Lacey admonished him.

"Well, I was bleeding. And she's still calling me Tarver like Austin does."

"Don't worry, Sean," Lacey consoled him by patting his cheek. "Come New Year's Eve; she'll be moaning your name from all the work your tongue puts in."

"Uh, I thought I was just going to kiss her at midnight?"

"Well, yeah, what did--oh, you have a dirty mind, don't you?" Lacey giggled.

"So what's next? Saving Ramsey from falling into some branches won't be enough," Sean pointed out. "It helped, but we need more."

"First, I need to handle a minor complication that popped up."