TWENTY-ONE

There were to be two teams of four, two people in each of those teams were going to be "scouters" while two were going to be "swimmers". The scouters did not need to get in the water, it was the position Abby wanted. She wasn't the only one that wanted the position though, everyone else also seemed to want that position because no one seemed to want to get in the water.

For the game, two swimmers of each team would have to go on the water rides, many of which involved swimming therefore the name "swimmers". The job of the swimmers was to retrieve bottles that had been scattered around the water park. These bottles were going to have a rolled piece of paper with something written on them. And whatever was written on these papers were things the "scouters" were going to have to go around searching for.

Once scouters found whatever was written on those papers, they would have to take a photo with said thing. At the end of an hour, whichever team had the most photos would end up winning. There was going to be a prize for the winning team and a penalty for the losing team. They hadn't been told what the prize or the penalty were going to be yet but everyone already knew that penalties could never be good so both teams were aiming at winning just like all of them were aiming at becoming scouters.

"So no one is going to volunteer to be swimmers then?" 

The manager looked at all eight members with a mischievous smile. 

"Uh-oh. He's up to something. That's his smile when he has something up his sleeves." 

Abby heard Simon whispering to Lucas. She only wished they would volunteer themselves so that she and Abel could be scouters but it wouldn't be fair to ask that of them. 

"Fine then. This will only make things more fun." 

The manager rummaged through a box that was on the floor by his feet, from it he pulled out a rope.

"Tug of war but not just your regular kind of tug of war, you guys will have to play over that pool over there." 

Abby felt her heart start to race as soon as she turned to see where the manager had pointed. She gulped. It looked like she wasn't saved from having to get in the water yet after all. She wished they could have just done rock paper scissors in order to decide on their positions but it seemed like both the manager and director seemed to want to make the show as exciting as they possibly could.

"Why are we even wearing makeup if we're going to be getting wet?" 

Lucas started to complain as soon as he and Simon were given the rope. He was the one standing in the front which meant that if he and Simon lost, he would be the first one in the water.

Abby was nervous at both ideas of falling in the pool or falling on the ground. She knew the latter was easier to prevent, all it would require would be her maintaining her balance. The former was harder to prevent since it all depended on strength. And once you were pulled there was no way of not falling in. Whatever her fate was going to be, she was going to be sharing it with Abel. They had both chosen to team up against Lucas and Simon after all. All four were supposed to be on the same team but in this instance they were each other's rivals, all fighting for the same position.

Both Abel and Abby were given the other end of the rope and had to decide who would go in the front and who would go in the back. 

"Where do you want to be? The front or the back?"

He was giving her the choice. He knew she was probably not going to like either but he still thought it would be better if she got to make the choice on which position to take. 

"I don't know. Both are pretty much equally as bad. I guess you choose?" 

Now she was giving him the choice. 

Abel tried to think of which position would allow him to help her out more. If he were in the front then it meant he wouldn't be able to protect her from the back. And if he fell in the water, the chances of her falling in after him were high. But if he were to be behind her, he could do his best to try and protect her from both falling in the water and falling to the ground. All he would have to do was pull extra hard to make sure they didn't lose and if they ended up losing their balance and falling back, he would be there as her landing. But if the other side ended up being stronger and ended up pulling them forward, there was always the possibility of him just moving Abby away so that only he would fall in the water and not her. He had made his decision.

"I'll be in the back. You take the front. But don't worry, I won't let you fall in the water."

Abby took her position in the front. She really didn't want to have to touch the rope but she had no other choice. She also thought falling in the water would be much worse than holding onto a rope. Because if she didn't end up falling in the water, all she would have to wash were her hands and not her whole body.

Both sides were in position but the whistle that was supposed to be blown as a signal to start hadn't been blown. Abby just wanting to get things over with quickly, turned to see why they hadn't been given the signal to start. It appeared that the other side was the one causing the holdup, specifically Lucas who was having an altercation with the manager.

"Can't we just do this once instead of three times?" 

"Stop complaining and do what you're told. If the director says it will be better to do it three times then that's how it will be." 

It seemed like she hadn't been the only one that wished they would only do it once. Doing the same thing three times just didn't make sense when the decision of who won or who lost could just be made after the first time. But it seemed like they were going for a score of 2:1. 

"I'll win us the first two rounds." 

Abel was determined to win for Abby's sake and if they won the first two rounds it would mean they wouldn't need a third round and that meant one less worry for Abby. He wanted to do anything he possibly could just to make her feel better.

"Thanks but just don't try too hard that you'll end up hurting yourself. I know both Lucas and Simon have been working out so I won't blame you if we don't end up winning."

It was the thought that mattered after all and she felt thankful for Abel trying to reassure her. She just really didn't want him to overexert himself for her sake. More than anything she cared about his well being than some stupid competition.

"Thanks for the boost of confidence. I've been working out too you know and so has Cain so the body you're in should be strong enough for this." 

It looked like he had taken it the wrong way. Abel was indeed more on the "petite" side for a man, he was barely a couple inches taller than her but Abby could still tell that he was strong in his own way. He wasn't just a pretty boy, he had muscle to him. 

"I'm sure of that but we should never underestimate an opposing team. After all, they want to win just as much as we do." 

She was never one to get her hopes up. Doing such a thing only gave a chance for disappointment.

It looked like Lucas REALLY wanted to win, either that or he just REALLY didn't want to get his makeup ruined, he had been pulling so hard the whole time that it wouldn't be surprising if he ended up with blisters. Abby's hands were already starting to hurt. Abel had been right about Cain's body being strong though because she was able to feel it, his strength. Had she been in her own body she knew she wouldn't have been able to last as long. It was only the first round and they had probably been at it for almost three minutes but neither side had budge. Both sides wanted to win just as much but someone had to lose otherwise there would be no ending to the pain that was surely inflicting all of their hands.

"My hand is starting to burn. I think I may have even gotten a cut." 

It was Simon, he had taken a hand off the rope so he could look at it. They should have given them gloves for this reason but they hadn't. Abby was too distracted trying to see if Simon was okay but Abel wasn't and he took the opportunity to pull at the rope and with it bring Lucas down into the pool.

"Ha! We win suckers!" 

Abel fist pumped and then kicked the air. It seemed like he was even happier than Abby was about their win. She would have been happy too but she was more worried about Simon's hand. She had to go see if he was okay.

"Are you okay? You didn't get cut, did you?" 

"No but I did get a splinter." 

Simon showed Abby his hand which indeed seemed to have gotten a splinter. At least it wasn't as bad as a cut but they were going to need tweezers to get the splinter out. She was sure Cain would have some with him as he was working as a makeup artist. She went to go look for him and found him inside the car he had come in, he was eating a cup of noodles.

"Hey. You got any tweezers with you? Simon got a splinter." 

"I believe so. Check my makeup box." 

Cain gestured at a box that was next to him. It didn't take her long to find some tweezers and once she did, she immediately went back to Simon. 

"Let me take it out. I got some tweezers." 

The splinter was small so it wasn't going to be easy to take out but she was somewhat of an expert. Since her mom had owned a flower shop, Abby would often find herself getting poked by thorns that were on stems of flowers. Some of those being very small thorns that weren't always easy to get out but with time it had gotten easier for her.

She was going to have to hold onto Simon's hand but she was okay with that. He was hurt and she could always just wash her hands right after. She wasn't going to let him be in pain just because of some small splinter that she could easily get out. 

Abby took Simon's hand very gently and had to get close just to be able to see the splinter well. If it weren't for Cain's bad eyesight, she wouldn't have had such difficulty seeing if she had gotten the splinter with the tweezers. What she would have normally gotten done in one try had taken her a second try just to be able to get it out.

"Thanks hyung." 

Simon wanted to hug her but she moved away before he got to. Just because she had managed to touch his hand, it didn't mean she could handle a hug. There was also the fact that she wouldn't be able to change clothes had he hugged her but washing her hands was possible. Abby asked for a bathroom break for this reason.

"That was very nice of you to do." 

Abel followed Abby into the restrooms. 

"What was?"

She immediately put her hands under the soap dispenser and started to lather not caring that Abel was there to see.

"Taking out that splinter Simon had despite your phobia of touching others." 

He had been surprised by what Abby did but at the same time he thought it had been really nice of her. 

"Well it's not exactly a phobia of touching others...it's more like a phobia of the germs that are on others..."

Although in a way it was pretty much the same since she always feared others touching her because to her everyone was just unclean unless she knew they had just "cleaned" themselves.

"So does that mean that you would be okay with touching someone if that someone were to have recently washed?" 

"I guess...why do you ask?" 

He had gotten an idea, one that would make Abby feel better. 

He went straight to the sink next to Abby but instead of just washing his hands like she was, he was going to wash as much of himself as possible.The first thing was his face. He didn't know why he would even need to wash it since he doubted Abby would end up touching it but he washed it nonetheless. If it was something he could wash, then he was going to wash it. Next he washed his neck which had actually started to get a bit sweaty so it felt refreshing to do so. 

Abby had stopped washing her own hands and was instead watching Abel in awe as he washed himself up. No one had ever offered her to wash themselves like that for her. Cain had showered for her but this was different. "Washing up" wasn't as necessary as showers were. This was voluntary.

Abel thought of what else he could wash and saw that his arms were bare since he had a short sleeve shirt. He lifted the short sleeves up and washed from his wrists all the way up to his shoulders. He knew that washing his arms was a must if he wanted to grab onto Abby which he planned on doing in order to save her from any possible falls. Once he was done with his arms, he went on to wash his legs. Since he was wearing shorts, it was easy to do.

"I think that's pretty much all you can wash now."

She had to stop him before he went on any further. He had already washed more than enough. There were really only two other places he could wash but she would rather he not. Whatever parts his clothes covered were already protected by those same clothes.

"Are you sure about that? Because I could have sworn I had a sick pack. We could even use it as a washing board to wash my clothes."

He winked at Abby as he grabbed a hold of the bottom of his shirt. Her face had gotten red and he loved that he had been the cause of it.

"You do that and I'll--I'll record you! And I'll--post it on the fancafe for everyone to see!"

Abel couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to laugh. Her reactions just kept on getting cuter to him. He couldn't believe this was really her way of threatening him. He doubted she even had the guts to do such a thing.

"Why are you laughing? You think this is funny?"

"Sorry. It's just that I love seeing your reactions. Has anyone ever told you how cute they are?"

"Hey Abel, I'm sorry to say this but I think you're spewing your crap in the wrong place. The toilets are over there. So if you got more crap to spew, go into one of the stalls. But if you don't then hurry up cuz I'm sure everyone is waiting for us."

Another thing he liked about her, her sass.

Abel checked himself in the mirror before walking out after Abby. He had noticed that his makeup was starting to look a bit smudged despite the makeup they had been wearing being waterproof. He hadn't noticed Abby's makeup being smudged but she also hadn't washed her face like he did. But even if he had washed his face, it still shouldn't have smudged. He had worn waterproof makeup before and knew that the only way to get some of it off was with special makeup remover.

It was the second round and if they were to win this one as well, there would be no need for a third round. This time they were given gloves all thanks to Simon's little incident. Because of this they no longer needed to hold back in fear of hurting their hands.  

"Are you sure you don't want to switch positions?" 

Abby asked Abel as she saw him grab the rope from behind her. She knew it was probably harder to be on the back but she had been able to test Cain's strength and she was sure she could manage being in the back. 

"You don't think I'm strong enough? I may be smaller than Cain but I'm probably just as strong or maybe even stronger." 

There he went again with his machismo. Normally Abby would have found it annoying on other guys but on Abel she found it to be sort of cute. It's like he wanted to prove himself of things that she was already sure of. She knew that Abel was full of surprises, his voice probably being the biggest one. The deep voice he had just didn't go with his baby face. She liked that combination though.

"I was just asking. You don't have to put words in my mouth y'know."

Abel was pulling as hard as he could but his hands were too small and the gloves were too big. He was probably better off without them, he wished he hadn't put them on because he was starting to doubt he could hold on any longer. He had to try to grip the gloves just as much as he was the rope but doing so left him confused as to whether or not he was actually holding onto the rope. All he could feel was a bulge but he couldn't tell if it was the rope or the too big gloves on him. 

There was a sudden strong pull from the other side. Abel who was startled by this ended up letting go of the grasp he had on his gloves and because of this he no longer had a hold on the rope. As soon as he realized this, he grabbed onto Abby to pull her away from the rope and instead it was him that ended up being pulled into the water. 

Abby was still standing when she realized what had just happened. Abel had sacrificed himself for her, he had saved her. And he had touched her but that was okay because he had washed himself in the restrooms. She wondered if the reason he had washed himself was because he had planned to do this all along.

Cain had been watching everything from afar, he almost ended up dropping his cup of noodles when he saw what happened. He felt somewhat jealous as he wished he could have been the one to have done what Abel did. But even if he had been closer, he couldn't have interfered. They were recording and he was just a makeup artist. Had he went in to save Abby, he would have most likely been fired. He had to keep his job if he wanted to stay close to her. He had to be content with the fact that Abby had someone by her side that could help her, even if that someone was his love rival.

Abel was happy that he had been able to save Abby from the fall in the water but what he was not happy about was that there was going to be a third round and it was all thanks to the too big gloves. He didn't care if his hands ended up getting hurt, he was not going to wear them anymore. The third round was going to be the one that counted after all, the one that decided their fate. He had to give it his all if he wanted them to win.

"Dude your makeup is running. Just look." 

Lucas had his phone's selfie camera open and put it in front of Abel.

"Aren't we wearing waterproof makeup though?" 

Simon walked over to where Lucas and Abel were at. 

"Just look at Lucas. He was also pulled into the water but his makeup is not even smudged at all yet yours is. Why do you think that is?" 

There was only one explanation and Abel knew what it was, Cain. He must have used different makeup on him, one that wasn't waterproof. He must have done it to try to sabotage him.

Cain saw as Abel walked towards his direction. His makeup had gotten ruined just like he had planned. He probably shouldn't have done it since it would only make him look immature but he had gotten the urge to do it and couldn't give up such an opportunity. Instead of the waterproof makeup, he had used regular makeup on him. Knowing that makeup artists had made similar mistakes in the past and were never fired over them, he decided to make it seem like an accident. He was going to act innocent and say that it was an honest mistake. All he would have to do was redo Abel's makeup with waterproof makeup.

Cain had been trying to hold his laughter in but as soon as Abel was standing in front of him, he was able to see the severity of the ruined makeup. He had to cover his face with both hands because he couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to laugh. So much for pretending to act innocent.

"Why did you do this?! Is it really because you're jealous?! If you are then that's just pathetic! Does she even like you?!"

"Does she like you?" 

Cain knew that what he did had been pathetic and it wasn't like by doing that he was going to get Abby to like him or dislike Abel. But he had just been so mad when he found out that he had made Abby count his freckles. He knew that Abel never really cared about how many freckles he had, he just wanted to get Abby to be close to him. Abel had basically played dirty but he figured that if he could play dirty then so could he. It had been his way of getting back at him. He had stolen some of his time with Abby by making him add all those freckles on him after all.

"Maybe..." 

He noticed how dejected Abel's answer sounded. He even felt some sympathy for him since he too knew what it felt like to like someone that may possibly never be able to return your feelings. 

"Well she has to like one of us, if not then she and I won't be able to switch back bodies." 

He didn't know why he was trying to comfort Abel, perhaps it was because he felt guilty for having ruined his makeup. 

"True but one of us isn't just me and you, there are six other guys. I've seen the way she gushes over Lucas. And just earlier I caught her checking out Joel. Then just now with Han and that splinter...she touched him and she normally never does that. So what if it's one of them and not one of us?" 

"We're the only ones that know who she really is, we have that advantage over them. I doubt any of the guys will start falling for someone they think is me."

Abel wanted to point out that he had fallen for Abby even before he knew about their body switch but he thought he shouldn't since it could make Cain feel uncomfortable.

"Well if the other guys start falling for Abby, we'll just let them keep thinking it's you. That way when Abby and I kiss and you switch back, you won't feel so lonely if you have one of the guys liking you."

"At this rate I honestly think that the guys will just start to think that both me and you are gay, or at least that you are. You make it too obvious that you like Abby."

It was something that had occurred to Abel but he didn't care enough to actually stop showing his interest in Abby. He did after all wanted to show her how serious he was about her. There was still something that bothered him though, her ex.

"Whatever. I don't care what the guys think. I have more important things to worry about than that. Like do you know what's up with that bastard of an ex? Do you know anything about him? Is Abby planning to get back together with him?"

"I don't think so. I haven't seen him since that day at the café and I haven't gotten any calls or texts from him either." 

"Well if you do then make sure to get him out of Abby's life for good. She was crying the other day and I think it was because of him." 

If they had one thing in common other than liking Abby, it was that they both wanted to protect the girl they liked. And that was pretty much the only thing they could agree on.

"Well you two seem awfully close. Is my girlfriend perhaps cheating on me?" 

Abby had sneaked up on both Cain and Abel who both ended up jumping as they were surprised to hear her voice. They both looked guilty and as if they were hiding something, which in a way they were. Abby only really knew about Abel liking her but she still didn't know how Cain felt about her. He had tried to work up his courage to tell her many times but always ended up chickening out at the end.

"I thought you two weren't dating." 

Abel felt jealous at hearing Abby refer to Cain as her "girlfriend". Normally hearing something like that would have been funny to him but it wasn't in this case. 

"Relax Abe, we aren't. I was only kidding with you two. But you two really do seem awfully close. I actually always liked the friendship you two seemed to have, it made me wish I could have a friendship like that..." 

She had a couple of friends but none of them were as close of friendships as any of the ones she had seen between Adam members. She had given up on having such friendships when she gave up on love. If not even a lover was going to want her for being a freak, she didn't think anyone else would, not even as friends. So ever since then she started keeping a distance and kept a wall up whenever meeting new people. That had only started to change recently when she met Cain and Abel, they just had that effect on her. They were like the friends she never thought she could have again.

Both Abel and Cain looked at each other, they had been able to sense a sadness and loneliness behind her words. 

"Well you have Adam now, don't you?" 

Abel wanted to get rid of that sadness and replace it with something else like happiness or perhaps even just hope. Hope that things will be different for her from now on. He didn't think that what happened was simply coincidence. Abby had been fated to not only be in his life but in Cain's and all of Adam's members as well. Abel had always believed in fate and he believed that Abby was his fate just like he was hers. 

"I'll need to correct you on that because how am I supposed to have them when they don't even know who I really am? They all think I'm Cain." 

"Well you have both me and Abel, right Abe?" 

It seemed like both of them were going to have to put their rivalry aside and work on this one thing together, to try to cheer Abby up. 

"Right. You'll always have us. We'll be your friends, lovers or anything else you want us to be." 

Cain nudged Abel on the side for saying the last part.

"Lovers? Wow you're funny Abe." 

She must have thought he was joking because she was actually laughing. 

"What's so funny about love?" 

"Love and me just don't go together. We're like two puzzle pieces that just won't fit. I tried it once, actually more than once but that last time really hurt me. It destroyed me. It destroyed all the hope that I had for that four lettered word, love." 

Neither Abel or Cain had known what to say to Abby after what she had told them. The only thing they both really wanted was to prove her wrong but for that they were going to have to work hard. And as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Abel had already told Abby he liked her but those had just been words, he had to show her now too. He had to make her see that possibility of loving again and not only that but of being loved as well. 

Abel thought of all the ways he could show her how he felt as Cain redid his makeup. She had stayed with them and was standing right across from him. Abel kept his eyes on her the whole time and noticed that Abby too was staring back at him. He decided to give her a smile, she blushed in return.