THIEF! Chapter 1

Dare

"Ok, so which do you choose, Sara, Truth or Dare?"

They were playing Truth or Dare. It was their favorite game to play at slumber parties. Liana and the other girls watched Sara intensely; eager to see which she would choose.

"Hmmm…" mumbled Sara as she cuddled her Tangela. "Last time I chose Dare, you made me swing like Tarzan on Spinarak thread. I think I'll choose Truth."

"Well, then," said Jenna with a sly grin, "tell us who you have a crush on."

Sara immediately blushed a rosy red. "Um, well, I kinda like, well, Derek." And she buried her face into her pokemon.

"My brother!" Liana shrieked, disbelief in her hazel eyes. "Why him?"

"Never mind her, Sara. Derek is a great guy. He's cute, smart, and a star Pokemon trainer." All the girls save Liana sighed dreamily.

At that point there was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal none other than Liana's older brother, Derek. All the girls immediately tried to look their best, except for poor Sara, who was still hiding behind Tangela. "Time for lights out now, ok, sis?" asked Derek.

"Yeah, sure." Once he closed the door, Jenna had her Quilava light its flame. The girls turned off the lights, but continued their game by the light of Quilava.

"Your turn Liana. Truth, or Dare?"

Liana didn't want to be trapped into blurting out her crush. "Dare." Besides, Dares were usually more fun.

Jenna got that smile of hers again. "You do gymnastics, right Liana?"

"Yeah. Why, do you want me to go balance on top of the roof or what?"

"Not exactly. I want you to climb in the second story window of next door, and steal 1 sock, which you will show to us as a trophy." She delivered the ultimatum with a cheerful smile.

A hush fell over the room. This was a very serious dare, more serious than they usually did. But Liana would not be branded a coward. "I accept," she said boldly. Then she opened the window and climbed out.

All the girls rushed to the window, just in time to see Liana land gracefully on her feet. She even did a bow for their benefit. Then she hurried over towards the house next door, and the girls lost sight of her.

"Now how am I going to do this?" she asked herself. Then she saw that the tree near the house had a strong-looking branch that came very close to the second floor window. Liana smiled to herself. This wasn't going to be so difficult after all. She climbed up the tree, and went out on the limb. Fortunately, the window was opened, to keep the room cool on this warm summer's night. She carefully entered.

The room was dark. Liana could barely make even shapes out. But she could tell that she was in a bedroom. And that must be her neighbor, sleeping there in the bed. Quietly Liana moved to the dresser, where she hoped to find her prize. The first drawer was full of clothes, but none were small enough to be a sock. She tried the next drawer, but it was stuck against something. After considerable shuffling around, and wishing dearly for a flashlight, she managed to move the table (for that's what it was) out of the way a little. She opened the drawer a bit to peek inside. And there were socks! She took one out, and now she could come back a success!

But in her haste, Liana knocked against the table, and pushed it into the bed, making a loud thump. Had it woken her neighbor? It seemed to have done so, for Liana could see a shape moving on the bed. Quickly, she dived under the bed, so as to avoid being seen. Just in time too, as she saw a pair of feet touch the floor in front of her.

"I don't know how long he'll be awake anymore, and I need to get out of here now. So, in an act of desperation, she took the pokeball from her waist, and released her pokemon. "Kirlia, help me out." Liana whispered as she held tightly to her pokemon. "Use Teleport to get us outside this house!" Kirlia began to glow softly, and Liana suddenly found herself outside in the air, and falling!

Liana managed to land on her feet, and hid behind the tree in case her neighbor looked outside to investigate. "Good job, Kirlia" she told it, and gave the pokemon a brief hug before returning it to its pokeball.

What a rush! Liana had never felt anything like it. She struggled to contain her euphoria as she walked back to her house, triumphantly holding her prize. For the rest of the night, she felt like a queen.