The clouds had rolled in slowly all during the late afternoon and brought smothering humidity with them. "It's going to storm soon," Cody said as he looked out their patio door. He was right. The sky had darkened considerably in the few moments he'd been leaned up against the glass. Zack looked up from his homework and humphed at his brother. Meteorology was even less interesting to him than the algebra he was slowly doing. "Come here and look at these clouds, Zack, they're huge."
"I've seen clouds before, Cody. Unless they've changed a lot since last time I saw them I think I'll be fine." Cody frowned at his brother as the first drops of rain began to spatter on the glass, accompanied by a streak of lightning off in the distance. No matter what Zack said, this was cool. Unless the power went out during the storm, that was, since that was profoundly not cool.
"Okay, boys," Carey said as she stepped out of the bathroom in a sleek black dress and heels, "I know I promised you that I was going to be off tonight and that we'd go see a movie but..." she didn't finish since both boys already knew that the other singer had fallen down a flight of steps and twisted her ankle. "I thought I'd let you guys order a pizza to make up for it."
"Oh sweet, Mom!" Zack grinned at her and Cody cringed.
"On one condition...you get something your brother likes too this time." Zack shrugged and Cody breathed a sigh of relief after flashbacks of a pizza covered in anchovies and mushrooms raced across his mind. "Good. I've got to run now so you two behave yourself, alright?" They both nodded and promised, cross their little hearts, that they'd be perfect angels while she was gone. She kissed each on the top of their head and was out the door.
"Okay, I'm done with this for now," Zack exclaimed as he closed his algebra book and made his way to the couch. He flopped down and flipped the television on in one rather graceful motion. Cody started to protest, to say that he should just go on and finish it, but he knew he'd be wasting his breath. He instead stayed by the window and watched the storm roll over them.
A short while later Cody gave up storm watching and joined his brother on the couch as they flipped through the channels. Thunder rolled all around them, so close that the room shook a couple of times. Zack soon found himself crowded on his end of the couch by Cody and he grudgingly let him sit a little closer. As a huge bolt of lightning lit up their suite like a searchlight and thunder crashed less than a second later, everything flickered for a few seconds before staying on. Everything except their cable, that is.
"Oh what is this crap?" Zack said, more than a bit upset he was missing the best parts of Zombie Brain Eaters 5. Why couldn't the storm have hit this hard after the zombies ran through that convent and ate the nuns? He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Looks like the storm knocked out the cable, Zack," Cody told him. Zack shot him a look that read thanks, Einstein, I'd have never figured that one out.
Zack pointed the remote at the television in the vain hopes that it would start working again before he tossed it across the room. "Well this sucks. What are we supposed to do now?"
"Um, maybe your homework?"
"Unless you're planning on doing it for me, maybe not." They sat in near silence as the static from the television dueled with the storm's thunder to fill the room. Cody eventually got up and and returned to the couch with a book while Zack continued to stare off into space.
It was Zack who broke their silence. "Hey Cody, truth or dare?"
"What?"
"You heard me, truth or dare."
"I'm trying to -"
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth," Cody said, finally giving in. He slid his bookmark into place and set the thick book aside.
"Have you ever kissed a girl? And I mean really kissed a girl." Cody grinned a little; usually they started off with small, unimportant things before they moved on to such a topic.
"Really kissed one? No. Have you?"
"I don't know, you'll have to ask me, Cody. You know how this works!"
"Fine," Cody laughed, "have you ever really kissed a girl before, Zack?"
"Cody, you suck at this game." He let Cody be puzzled for a few seconds before he explained. "You have to ask me truth or dare, dur!"
Cody harrumphed and asked properly. "Truth or dare, Zack?"
"Dare."
"What? You..." Zack cackled.
"No, I'm kidding. Truth." He was always amused at how easy it was to get Cody flustered.
"Have you ever really kissed a girl?" Cody's voice had a note of triumph in it now that he finally got to properly ask the question.
"Nope." Cody's eyes widened a little.
"But what about...oh, what was her name?"
Zack's cherubic face showed his famous demonic smile again. "That's another question you'll have to ask me, buddy. Now, truth or dare, Cody?"
"Truth." Cody chose without hesitation. Zack already knew that Cody would pick a truth and would continue to pick them until Zack first chose a dare. His brother was so predictable sometimes...
"Um...let's see...I've got one. Cody, have you ever gone commando?" Zack repressed a giggle.
"What's commando, Zack?" Zack put his hand on his forehead.
"You know, for being so smart you sure are out of the loop on a lot of things, Cody." Cody shrugged. "Commando is where you don't wear any underwear under your clothes. And I'm not talking undershirts or pajama pants here, bro."
"Of course I haven't done that. Why would I do that, Zack?" Zack rolled his eyes.
"It's all about the freedom, Cody, the freedom!" He started laughing and Cody simply looked at him like he was crazy.
"Whatever. I haven't. Anyway, truth or dare, Zack?" They continued on this way for the next ten minutes or so, each truth ending up a little more bizarre than the one before it, edging up to the line of impropriety, sticking a toe over, and scurrying slightly back before the next round.
"Truth," Zack said in a rather tired voice. Zack had decided that this was getting to be a rather boring game and this would be the last truth he requested.
"Okay then," Cody seemed to be getting a little bored with it as well, Zack noted, "aside from me, Mom, Dad, and our doctors, has anyone seen you, you know, down there?"
Zack laughed out loud. "Yes. Yes they have." Cody's eyes widened and begged an explanation.
"Who?"
"Remember when we were waiting for the bus with Mom the other day?" Cody nodded and motioned for Zack to get on with the story. "Well, I was bored as I could be so I flashed a taxi as it drove by."
"So that's why it nearly ran up on the sidewalk!" Cody fell backwards into the couch laughing and Zack joined him. Zack's little stunt had nearly caused an accident when the cab swerved, apparently out of surprise and almost hit a bus. The two eventually calmed down enough to have Zack return the same question and not surprisingly at all, Cody told him that no one had seen him naked aside from family and doctors.
"Dare," Zack answered when Cody asked him a moment later. Cody stammered for a minute, a little taken aback by the sudden shift in the game.
"Um..." He looked around the room to find something that would help him out and his eyes settled on the refrigerator. "Eat a spoonful of butter."
"What? Butter?"
"Are you chicken? Do I get a point?"
"Of course I'm not and of course you don't." Zack bounced up from the couch and sauntered into the kitchen. Sure, he'd brought this on himself but butter? Cody would pay for this one. He grabbed the little container from the door and picked a spoon from the drawer and came back to the couch. Cody watched with wide eyes as he sat down and fought the lid off and stuck the spoon in.
"I can't believe you're going to eat butter, Zack."
"You dared me, little brother," he said as he eyed the spoon. Neither boy made a sound as Zack prepared to do his dare, each watching the small bobs and weaves of the spoon in Zack's nervous fingers. He finally took the plunge and shoved it in his mouth.
Cody watched with amusement as Zack's face changed from surprise to a neutral look and then to what appeared to be disgust as the butter started to melt in his mouth. Zack squinted his eyes and made a face as he swallowed it.
"Gaaaah!" he said as he opened his mouth again. "That was awful!" He wiped his mouth and went back to the kitchen to get a drink of water.
"You actually did it!" Cody told him with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Duh? You dared me. Now it's my turn." Cody swallowed hard and looked apprehensive. This was the part where Cody usually lost. Zack would do anything he asked while he'd always say no to something and lose. Not this time, he told himself, not this time.
end part one.
This is a little something that's been rattling around in my head for a while now and I decided to go ahead and start it. Tag-teaming with me on this affair was Aragorn0789. I'm trying to get him to write some stuff of his own so maybe if you all say enough nice things he'll jump in the proverbial pool and play with us!