Truth or Dare

Chapter One

"Maybe we shouldn't hang out so much anymore." I regretted it as soon as I said it. All the light left his eyes.

"Oh...Ok" He stands up, hanging his head like a naughty child.

"You know we should just mingle with other humans sometimes." I swallowed down a lump in my throat, why am I saying this? Because of his file, I shouldn't have read it, it's changing the way I think about him.

"I'll see you at school then." He turns and walks to my bedroom door.

"Wait." he stops dead and I'm sure he's not breathing, "Tell me..."

"Tell you what?" He hasn't moved but I can see he's breathing now and his voice sounds like it's about to crack. Have I made him cry?

"Tell me a secret."

I mean really was it such a bad thing? Am I just being melodramatic? Talking to him he's so...normal. Well not normal like...normal, not 'the norm'. But not crazy and it's just a vision it's not real. He hasn't done it. But would he? That's the biggest problem. Would he?

Spending time with him makes life so much more bearable. Actually it makes life worthwhile. And If I didn't hang out with him I wouldn't hand out with anyone else. And we have so much in common.

He has great taste in music. So do I.

He loves to read. So do I.

He's sad. So am I.

So he used to cut. I still do.

So he used to do coke. I smoked weed once.

He has vivid fantasies in which he shoots people at our school because he wants to save them from this filthy world, as he put it. I have, on occasion, felt like bashing my peers' heads in with hard objects.

The links are getting weaker but they are there.

Ok so he has visions of shooting people at school and I have the occasional urge to smash people's heads in. We all feel like that sometimes, right?

Am I being stupid? I like Tate he's fun and interesting and we all have our problems. And they are only fantasies he hasn't done it and if my dad thought he was going to do it he'd have called the police on Tate by now. Which he hadn't done so no real danger, right?

"Umm... Vi?" He's still standing at my bedroom door with his hand on the handle but now he's turned to look at me.

"Violet?" He's looking down at me quizzically. "What kind of secret?" He looks expectant but I have no idea how to ask for the right one without letting him know I already know it.

"Actually let's play truth or dare." I sit up straight, on the floor against the foot of my bed, and pat the space next to me.

"I thought we weren't gonna be hanging out so much." He doesn't move from the door.

"Maybe. Maybe not." I pat the floor again. He walks over to me and sits down.

"First you want me to leave, then you want me to play truth or dare. It's a good thing I like you Vi." He's grinning, good he's not angry. "Truth or dare?"

"But I already asked."

"But you just tried to kick me out so I get to ask first." He looks at me sideways and smiles.

"Truth." I look at the floor expecting some horribly personal and perhaps vulgar question to fly out of Tate's mouth.

"Have you ever been in love?" I can see his hands holding his knees as he's sitting cross legged on my bedroom floor.

"No." A little sigh escapes me as I say it. Not until now, my head tells me.

"Your turn."

"Truth or dare?" If I ask the right questions I might find out what I need to know.

"Dare." Crap I'm never gonna find out what I want to know with a dare.

"Ok...umm...just a minute..." Quick what's a good dare? Shit I can't think of anything. Maybe this wasn't a good idea I don't think well on my feet or the floor.

"Ok let me know when you get an idea I'll come back." He stands up and moves back over to my bedroom door.

"NO! Wait...umm...lick the floorboards!"

"Are you serious?" One of his eyebrows goes up and he looks down at me.

"Yeah lick the floorboards." He laughs a little like it's a dumb dare.

"All of them?"

"Ha, no just like a little bit...there." I point at a floorboard near me. "Moira's a shitty maid, god knows what crap is embedded in the floor boards. So really get your tongue in there." I grin as he sticks his tongue out at me.

"Ok" He sits back down on the floor in front of me. He looks at me with those big dark eyes before sticking his tongue out and leaning towards me. He leans to his left and then down to the floor. I can smell him as his hair passes by me. He smells of soap and there's a hint of banana, from what I've no idea. He licks a big stripe on the floorboards. He pulls in his tongue and leans back up before pulling a quizzical face and removing a hair from his mouth. Holding it up to the light he looks at it then at me.

"One of yours." He places the hair on my knee.

"Thanks, been looking for that." This is much more fun than I imagined when I suggested it.

"Truth or dare?" Looks like he's enjoying himself too.

"Truth." Wow his eyes are so dark.

"Who was your first crush?"

"Slash."

"Really?"

"I liked his hat. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What do you fantasise about?" No real point beating around the bush.

"Like general or specific?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyday fantasies when I day dream during class or fantasies I have when I'm alone. In bed." There's that grin again, this time coupled with a glint in his eyes.

"Hmmm...general."

"Running away to a snow covered mountain is a regular, but I have others."

"Like?"

"Nope my turn. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Shout 'banana tree monkeys make me horny' out the window."

"What?"

"Do it."

"Fine. Crazy but fine." Tate you're so weird.

I get up and walk to the nearest window, lean out of it and say; "Banana tree monkeys make me horny."

"I said shout it."

I sigh and give it another go; "BANANA TREE MONKYES MAKE ME HORNY!"

He's practically fallen over laughing at the ridiculous sentence I just bellowed to anyone walking on the street below.

"You really shouldn't have asked me to play especially as so far I'm being nice." There's that grin again, I like it, even if it is a little creepy.

"Your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." What do I want to know now? Something embarrassing would be good.

"Have you ever been caught?"

"Caught? With what?"

"Doing what."

"Oh. No actually no one comes in my room they're probably worried I'd throw something at them if they did." How dull and not a hint of embarrassment. Must try harder Violet.

"What about you?"

"You didn't say truth or dare."

"Ok, truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

"Clever."

That's when I hear the car pull up. My parents have returned from their afternoon out, wherever they went. I peek down at them from a window they look about as happy as I suddenly feel. If they find Tate up here they'll go mad.

"You should go, don't want my Dad to catch you." Just like earlier I don't actually want him to go.

"Two things first. Finish your dare and promise me we'll carry on playing...tonight when your parents are asleep." I turn from the window and stare at him.

"Ok."

"Then your dare is to walk downstairs, in front of your parents, with your sleeves rolled up."