Hey! This is a story that a plot bunny has been bugging me with FOREVER! I finally decided how I was going to write it and everything so...yah! And this story dosen't connect to my other two stories, Save our Sonny and Is It Getting Hot In Here, at all. This is stand alone, which means that it will have no vampires, werewolves, stayers, wood nymphs or anything else. Normal teenage stuff, like so many of you were dissapointed I veered away from. Unless you count ghosts in that category, but there's only one ghost and it's of a student. Yeah, scary right? And it's more...dulled down. No immortal prophecy...or anything. *Sigh* this will be weird not having that stuff, but I'll give it a try! This is set three months before graduation.

Summary: When a game of assassin is announced, everyone is going to put fourth all the have. And when a bet comes into play between two of our heros, each is determind to win. If not, dire consequences await them. But, when one person goes to far and something goes wrong, the game is halted for good. Zach thinks that he's free; but karma has it that he ends up being the slave to the ghost he never wanted to be...

Happy reading!

It started with the announcement. Of the game; that is. The excitement that filled the air was unmatched to anything every before on the ship. Not prom, or spring break, or the prospect of graduation. Okay, so maybe graduation but they were defiantly a close tie. If anything.

It was the last time for fun, before everyone would have to hunker down and study for finals. The final final some would take, Cody often joked. Zach would glare at him pointedly, but made no comment to contradict. They all knew it was true.

It would last until the end of the year, a whole three months. Weekends included, which made it at whole lot easier but yet harder at the same time. For some, this was a chance to win, and others to fail miserably. Either way, though, people could barely sit through the dull, dry lesson about the Crusades- not when they had such important things to deal with. Miss Tutweiler caught at least seven notes in her classroom that day- and those were the poorly executed note passing. It would have been easier to set up an official mailing system in there room, what with all the notes flying this way and that and here and there. Teams were being made, plans swapped, and excitement bubbling.

Yes, announcing the senior class would play a large game of assassin the morning of classes was definatly a mistake.

Even Cody, who found it at first absurd and childish, was now jotting down plans. He, of course, was adding math into everything. The best places to shoot from, the probability of himself picking a name of someone he didn't want to kill, the accuracy percentile of this and that- even he couldn't stifle the anxiety welling up.

When the bell rang for the assembly to explain in further detail, the room was cleared within seconds. People pushed and shoved to get to the door, even if the game hadn't yet begun. Miss Tutweiler (who had bargained pretty dang hard with Mr. Mosby to even have him THINK about hosting this, and much more to have the idea go trough) was beginning to think it might not have been the best idea. Reguardless, she gave a little hop as she exited the classroom; she herself warmed by the fun and merriment that the children would have. One last time to behave as children before they were adults.

Maya grabbed Zach's had as they exited, and Cody's fingers intertwined with Bailey's. The four made their way to the auditorium.

"I've been thinking-," Zach began.

"Crap! Thanks for the heads up! Scatter!" Cody teased him, "Save me, Bailey!" He thrust his newly rekindled girlfriend in front of him. Zach glared at him.

"Cody!" He growled, "I WAS SAYING that I think we should all stick together for this. The four of us?" He offered, "Better to work in teams."

"What about London? Or Woody? Or Addison? Reina?" Bailey listed off their friends, although she didn't really consiter Reina a friend- she was sly, and quick and could be a good asset to their team. Plus she was Addison's room-mate, so...

"London won't last a day!" Zach gave a bark of laughter, "Sides- Woody, Addison, and Reina will all band together. They've been glued to each other the past week. Haven't you noticed?" He asked.

"Yes. The lack of taco smelling farts is a nice change." Cody commented lightly, "I agree with Zach. Smaller numbers- still a group, but easy to win." He said.

"What happens if one of us picks a name of each other- or however this is going to work?" She asked.

"That won't nessicarily happen. I've heard of games where you wear something- like a necklace or ribbon or something- and the object is to collect as many as you can." Zach said, "That would be interesting- we wouldn't have to go after each other. Plus, with hopes we wouldn't all four make it to the end." He reasoned.

"If you want to know the exact number of chance that we'd all four make it I can just-," Cody offered up immideatly, as they sat down in the front of the auditorium, where the seinors sat.

"No." Bailey patted his hand, "I don't think that's needed. I mean, we don't even know how we're going to play the game- eh?" She nudged him affectionatly. Cody grumbled, putting away his portable pocket calculator, a disgrunted look upon his face.

"Save all the statistics and stuff for when we're actually play, Cody." Maya chuckled, "With you AND Bailey- one of us is garenteed a spot in the top." She scowled, but it was a thoughtful look, "Do you think that they'll offer a prize?" At this, Zach perked up.

"Of course! Yeah, it's fun doing it in GENERAL, but for all our hard work they HAVE to." He threw his hands up.

"They don't 'have' to do anything, Zach." Bailey rolled her eyes. It was no secret the two tolerated each other, Bailey mostly because she was dating his twin. Sure, he'd flirted with her at first, and she'd flirted with him to make Cody jealous, but the animosity that lay beneath the surface became more prominet each day. The worst was the news reporter- that's when people realized that the were friends for Cody's sake, but barley any more feelings than that. When she and Cody hadn't been dating; they had barely talked. Once or twice in a week or two; and that was a lot.

Bailey hated Zach's laziness, his attitude, and the way he thought he was so much cooler. She hated how work was a loose suggestion to him, when she'd been raised her whole life with work and exaustion, where it seemed he hadn't even lifted a finger. She hated how he was so smooth- how he intrapped girls in a web so easily. She had fallen for it at first, but she'd soon seen the error of her ways.

Zach hated Bailey's persistence, hard working values, and smartness. He could deal with his brother and his brain, because they were brothers and they had to- but Bailey was a whole different story. He didn't have to like Bailey any more than he had to tolerate her. He hated how much of stick in the mud she was- never had he seen her break rules or do anything fun. And that if he were to do something wrong, she'd tattle quicker than one of her stupid Kansas similies she'd use.

So, they would play nice and get along for this; but neither had to be happy about it.

Zach turned his body, pivoting in the plush seats, to face her.

"Just like you don't 'have' to be a snotty know-it-all." He replied back with a hard edge. Both Cody and Maya gaped at him, amazed.

"Zach! You take that back!" Cody threatened.

"Yeah, Zach that was mean." Maya scowled.

"Stop it guys." Bailey rolled her eyes, "I can take care of it myself. I'm a big girl." She said, slightly annoyed that they had but in.

"But that crossed the line, Bailey. You know- we don't have to work with him if you don't want to." Cody said softly.

"Gee- sell your brother, no your only twin, only sibling out. Great to know I can count on you." Zach sneered.

"No it's fine. I'm more mature than Zach is. I can be civil." Bailey assured, much to Cody's relief.

Zach gave a snort, but didn't do much else. Maya narrowed her eyes, immiediatly starting ranting about how he should be nicer to Bailey, and that if he was like this to every person he didn't like, he wouldn't get far in life. Bailey held in a snort. He'd be a bum reguardless of his attitude; that would just speed up the inescapable process.

When it seemed the whole senior class was crammed into the auditorium; a good two hundred or so kids, the lights dimmed.

Mr. Mosby walked onto the stage, and tapped his microphone. A horrible screeching sound echoed throughout the area, and everyone covered their ears.

"Sorry, sorry." He said briskly, obviously not wanting to spend more time on this than he had to. Miss Tutweiler skipped up, and took the mic from him. The joy from not having to talk about the rules and such was evident on his face. The red-headed teacher walked to the podium.

"Who's ready for some fun?" She yelled. The children hotted, cat called, and clapped. She smiled. Mr. Mosby looked ill.

"Good, because I assure that this will be nothing but." She said once the noise had calmed down. With a click of a remote, a screen slid down. When it blinked to life, the game 'assassin' appeared in what looked like the Star Wars font. It was accompined by a sound effect of two blades clashing.

"This will be fun, but...nothing can be wonderful without rules." This made a wave of groans ease from everyone, but most people had been expecting as much so they weren't as annoyed.

"This is how it's going to go down. You will, tonight, get an enveloped slipped under your door with a randomly picked name that is NOT your own with your target. How to kill your target will be explained later on. We have set up a page on our school's website for this game. It shows a picture of everyone in your grade, and when someone is killed a red 'x' will be put over their picture to show that they are killed. If you happen to end up with your own name, that means that you've won for the time being. At the end, if more than one person ends up with their own name- which is bound to happen- we will have a specail death round."

She paused, taking a breath.

"There will be a prize at the end; two to be exact." She said.

"See," Zach muttered to Bailey in a 'told-you-so' way, "Don't know everthing, huh bookworm?" He taunted.

"I never said there wasn't." She retaliated sourly.

"One prize will be given to whoever wins overall, and the other who gets the most 'points'. Also be explained later," She paused, and added hesitantly, "We...well I believe...the prize will be money. Cash." This made everyone's excietment sky rocket and a chatter rose, drowning out her voice. She waited until it was mostly quiet, a half-afraid grin on her face.

"There are ways not to be killed, but you have to pay the price of possible embarrsement. We asked the underclassmen to come up with things you have to wear or do to be untoucable for an hour. Just and hour; we'll be keeping track. To get these; you must come to my classroom and ask for one. Only one a day."

"Now...the safe places are in the classroom, but not in hallways, when someone is working, or in the chapel we have. Anywhere else, including cabins, are fair game. Now- the points and how to kill someone." With each of her words, on the projector the words popped up, "You will be getting a list of these tonight with your first target, but I figured I'd better go over these now. There are many ways to kill someone that we have allowed. Depending on what method you use, gets you more points. To win points; at least one other person must be present to see and verify that you did this. Now please, act your age and be truthful with these." She glared hard at certain people, Zach included. Bailey smirked behind her hand.

Mrs. Tutweiler went through explaining each way to kill a person. It went as follows.

Direct Contact- "Less points than indirect, but is still effective. Well, anything you use is effective unless you fail to kill the person." She had reasoned with an afterthought.

-Water gun. "You must hit the target's clothing and make it visible for you to win the point; or at least hit them with enough water so that the hair is wet. No 'light misting' to count.' 5 points.

-Nerf gun. "You have to wet the end with non-toxic, washable paint or markers so when you hit someone, they can see it." 10 points.

- Sock or tennis ball. "This one is tricky- we don't want any black eyes, but you have to be able to feel it when it hits you. Most effective way is to wet the ball or sock enough so upon impact, you can see the mark. In fact- do this. Hitting them dry will not help you at all." 15 points.

-Plastic Spoons, Knives, Forks, and Sporks/ Toothbrushes. "You have be holding these- no throwing to attack- and poke someone with it on the flesh. Pretty hard to argue with this one." 20 points.

-Sharpie markers. "Make a mark on their flesh. Anywhere else- clothing- you loose points. Any color works, in fact- usually people choose specific colors for this and later on things- like a calling card of some sort." 25 points.

-Stickers. "Any type of sticker, anywhere on the body that is visible. The sticker must have your name or a letter or two of your name. Can be pre-put on clothing, but only kills them if they are wearing it. That means if you check over your clothing before you put it on, and find a sticker, you can take it off and be okay." 30 points.

-Clothspin. "Sam rules as stickers for these." 30 points.

-Lipstick. "If you manage to get lipstick on the flesh anywhere- like the sharpies, it counts. Here's the hard part- it must be on your lips." The boys had groaned (mostly because this risked kissing any girlfriends for a while), and the girls grinned. 35 points.

Indirect Contact- "This is one more for being honest, and can be bent a bit. You need to be a responsible person with these and accept when you are killed by it.

-Poison "There are three types of poison that are..."

*hot sauce. "If you manage to put hot sauce in your target's food, you kill them. This is why the kitchen will not be offering any hot sauce until the end of the year. You must find other ways of obtaining it. And trust me, this one is pretty hard to play off. If you're going to use this- I encourage you to use the hottest kind you can find. Otherwise, no point." 40 points.

* toothpick. "If you manage to put a toothpick with a paper flag reading poison and your own name, then you kill someone." 40 points.

* the 'slip'. "If you manage to put a piece of paper under someone's plate- or tape it to a plate they eat off of- and they must find it, or you tell them (which could be risky if it's not really under there and you let on that you're targeting them) you kill them." 40 points.

-Bombs

*Cd bomb- "If you manage to tape a CD saying 'Whoever, you've been killed by whoever' and put it in their stereo and they play it, you kill them. " 45 points.

*Email bomb- "If you make a document reading that 'you have been killed by whoever' and they open it on their laptop, you kill them. This is one you MUST be honest with, and same as above." 45 points.

*Mail bomb- "You can enclose the message in a letter with a dart. If they open it, and read the letter, they are dead." 45 points.

-Animals. "You can put rubber animals in beds, books, backpacks, closets- anywhere where the person can find them. You have to write the name of the intended, and your name for it to work. This way, if a friend finds it and shows the intended, the target is not killed, and you have been revealed. Of course, you'd still be in the game, but now they know. Animals that are fair game are PLASTIC OR RUBBER snakes, rats, spiders, lizard, and bugs." 50 points.

When she was done, she smiled sweetly and said, "You are dismissed. The games offically start tomorrow. Good luck. May the best senior win."

As they exited, Zach wrung his hands together, looking like a mad man. Bailey could already see the wheels spinning in his mind.

"Too easy. I may be bad at book smarts, but this is everything I'm good at." He jut his chin out haughtily, "They might as well just give me the prize now. I'm going to win." He said with so much conviction, Bailey believed it. But only for a second.

"Think again. I'm going to win. And you will loose." She said with fake sweetness.

Zach stopped in his tracks.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked, stepping close so they were an inch apart.

"Only if you think you can handle it." She said, "We wouln't want anyone getting hurt."

"Oh, it's you that should be worried." He said, quirking an eyebrow. Then his grinned, "Let's make a bet. If you're up to it."

"What kind of bet?" She asked.

"Bailey, come on- this isn't worth it!" Cody pulled at her wrist anxiously, knowing how devious his twin could be.

"Zach cut it out- whoever wins, wins." Maya said from the others side, gripping his shoulder. Both ignored their partners.

"A...agreement of sorts." he said, shaking Maya's hand off. He took a step back, a tiny one still, and a thoughtful look came across his face. Cody moaned, knowing that expression quite well.

"Agreement?" Bailey's face revealed nothing.

"Yes. Whoever wins; or gets the most points gets to be a slave to the other for a day." He said. Bailey looked unsure.

"What goes? What does the other person do?" She asked hesitantly.

"Anything the winner desires." A dark expression came over his face, and he grabbed a wrist, "I know exactly what I'll do with you." No one missed the indication in his voice, and Maya stomped her foot. She wedged between them, and slapped Zach's face.

"Don't you dare! That's cheating on me, and making her cheat on Cody and wrong and horrible!" She hissed, "That's it...we're leaving!" She said.

"Good idea. You're disgusting, Zach." Cody said, and pulled Bailey in the other direction.

"That's right, run away. I knew you'd be spinless, bookworm!" He yelled after her. Bailey just grit her teeth and walked away.

But, three minuets later, Zach recieved a text from Bailey.

"You're on."

So...how did you like it? By the way, I'm currently looking for a BETA. If your interested, tell me. I'd need you to do this piece and another one I'm working on (Save Our Sonny) which updates pretty reguarly. Also maybe a Warriors or other fanfiction once in a while, but mostly these two.

I don't know how long this will be- not more than twenty chapters at least.

By the way, I need more classmates for our favorite characters (Seniors to participate in the game!) you can submit as many as you want; they will all be used. I will pick a few to be more main characters, and I will inform you if that so happens. Here's what you fill out...

-Full name (First and last)

- 'Code name' (a name that would be used during the game as an alias, like Bailey's will be 'bookworm' and London's will be 'Paris')

-gender

-hair

-eyes

-skin

- a pretty detailed personality

-short history (if you fee compelled)

-siblings. If a sibling is another senior, tell me. If it's a lowerclassmen or one not at the school, just give me the age and gender, not nessicarily the name. That's not AS important

- other features (glasses, freckles, birthmarks, scars, burns, disablity, ect)

-Other

Thanks, and please review! I don't know when the next chapter will be out- for sure after I have five classmates, although I'd love a lot more!

-Frosty