Kiss or Miss?

"Guys!" the redheaded boy, Jack, yelled. All the boys immediately stopped talking, and all turned their heads to look at him. He smiled at them, and met Ralph's light blue eyes. Ralph smiled back at him, and sat down next to Samneric.

"What, Jack?" Roger asked. Jack smiled crookedly at his best friend before raising his hands for emphasis.

"We're going to play a game called Truth or Dare!" Jack had made it up—not knowing the game had already been invented—and the rest of the boys all looked at him confusedly.

"What's that, Jack?" a littlun called out—they were all getting along and called each other by first name, even the littluns, since Jack had stopped bullying them... though Roger still teased them—especially Eric.

"It's a game where someone picks someone else. You can't refuse if they pick you. They ask you 'truth or dare?' and you pick one. If you pick truth, you have to answer the question they ask completely honestly. And if you pick dare, you either both refuse and get the chicken, or you do whatever dare they tell you to do. And after that, the person who had to pick truth or dare gets to pick the next person, and it goes on. Any questions?" Jack nodded at a littlun who raised their hand.

"What's the chicken?" Jack smiled evilly and cast a glance at Roger.

"Roger gets you for the rest of the night and does whatever he pleases with you."

The littluns gulped. Roger smirked at Jack, then cast his eyes toward Samneric. They both gulped, but then Eric grabbed Sam's hand, scared, and cast his eyes in Jack's direction, pleading him silently to never pick him. Jack ignored him, and continued to look at the other boys, also ignoring Eric's quiet whimper. Jack smiled, and thanked that it was still sunset, for there was still light to see everyone's faces. He ushered them all into a big, crowded circle—missing a couple of people from when they first landed on the island two years ago—or so they thought was two years, it could've been less, it could've been more. The group had become more together because of the big loss of people that they began to know.

Jack felt his stomach flip when he remembered the people that were gone. Piggy—he didn't really care all that much about Piggy, but just the sight of his brains spilling was implanted in his mind forever, knowing it was his fault. Simon—he winced inwardly; it was completely his fault Simon had died—he had been the one that had told everyone to attack because he thought it was the beast, and then didn't even try to save Simon's small, fragile body from the cold blue sea as he finally recognized the coarse black hair and open, tear-filled green eyes. Johnny—he had simply been used as a pawn and was killed as a warning; he hadn't deserved the cruel death that he received. Wilfred—he had died because Jack ordered Roger to beat him too much and eventually his brain shut down from all the blood loss and beatings, his body became immobile and Jack had told Roger to beat him as hard as he could that last time, not knowing it would be the last time he saw the light pooling through the trees and creepers of the island. Robert—Jack shivered. Robert hadn't been paying attention when they were trying to kill a male pig and was attacked severely; his body lay beneath the soil in memory of one of Jack's faithful pupils. Soon after, Maurice had committed suicide, not being able to withstand life without his best friend and almost lover. There were a few more littluns that Jack couldn't remember the names of, and he sent the images away, focusing on the people who remained.

Ralph, Samneric, Roger, Henry, Tyler, Percival and another two littluns that didn't usually talk to the others—Tony and Sid.

"Okay, I'll go first!" Jack said cheerfully, already forgetting the people in his mind. The group nodded.

"Hm..." he thought for a bit. "Percy." He smirked as Percival flinched at the call of his name. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to go jump from a tree and land on your feet."

Percival wept, but did the dare anyway—he didn't want to be stuck with Roger for a whole night. Every bigun currently knew that Roger was going through his hormonal stage—so basically just Jack and Ralph knew. And maybe Sam, but if Sam did know, then he didn't tell Eric to save his younger brother the truth of Roger's behavior toward him.

Percival returned, slightly shaking due to the impact it had on his feet. He sat down next to Ralph—on the opposite side of Samneric.

"Samneric." He pointed at them, leaning on Ralph, who put a comforting arm around him, letting him fall asleep.

"Hey!" Jack said. "He shouldn't be picking two people, only one!"

"Jack," Sam began, "we technically—"

"—are one person. And we—" Eric finished with a satisfied smile as he held his brother's hand. He didn't notice the slight expression of annoyance on Roger's face as he watched the twins.

"—pick dare."

"Well, since Percival is sleeping, Jack, would you like to pick their dare for them?" suggested Ralph. Samneric glanced at Jack nervously as they witnessed his lips turning up into a smile.

"Of course. Samneric, I dare you to each give Roger a kiss." Jack said. Roger smirked, and Ralph regretted asking Jack to pick it.

"Oh," Roger said, "for Sam, a kiss on the cheek is fine with me, but as for you Eric..." Everyone seemed to gulp in suspense as Henry, Tyler, Sid and Tony all fell asleep in the warm sand, their soft breathing seeming to echo in the silence. "You have to give me a passionate kiss, willingly, and enjoy it. And it has to be a long, intimate one too."

Eric gulped.

Sam sent an apologetic look at his twin, kissed Roger's cheek, sat back down, and everyone waited to see what Eric would do. Eric scooted away from Roger, and whispered something.

"What?" Jack asked, slightly annoyed. "I can't hear you, speak louder, Eric!" Eric gulped again, and looked at the ground as he spoke his answer louder.

"Chicken."

Roger smiled evilly.

Ralph and Sam gulped.

Jack smirked crookedly.

Eric looked like he was about to cry.

The littluns all continued to sleep.

"Okay...before Roger and Eric leave for the night," said Jack, smirking as Eric made a noise of protest. "Can you two pick someone?"

Samneric looked at each other, and smiled an identical smile.

"Jack—" Eric said.

"—truth or dare?"

"Dare, of course, I'm a man."

"We dare you—"

"—to kiss Ralph."

The fair haired boy and the red haired boy both froze, smiles fading, and turned almost as red as Jack's hair.

"What, but I—I won't—" began Jack, stuttering and embarrassed.

"What, are you—" began Sam.

"—chicken, Jack? I thought you were—"

"—a man!"

Jack scowled at their amazing persuasive methods, and looked Ralph straight in the eye.

Ralph flinched in surprise, leaning back just slightly, Percival rolling away from him with a groan of—Ralph wasn't even sure what it was. He's going to take a chicken like Eric, he's got to, I mean, we're all boys and boys kiss girls, not other boys, and—oh my bloody hell, why is his face getting closer—what does he think he's—why isn't he saying chicken, why isn't he saying anything—why can feel his breath on my lips, why am I not moving—bloody hell, Jack's lips are soft.

Jack kissed Ralph softly, not noticing Roger grab Eric by the hand and drag him into one of the huts away from the others, or Sam sleepily walking into his hut and yawning—all he could think about was Ralph, Ralph, Ralph. About how his hair was so soft, and his body was so warm, and how his lips were soft, just like he'd imagined a girl's would be against his own. How Ralph's eyes fluttered close when their lips met, and how they melted in each other's arms, and how Ralph's hands roamed his back.

By now, both boys were laying on the cooling sand, lips molding together. Jack pulled away and brushed some of Ralph's light hair away from his face. Ralph said one thing before Jack met his lips again;

"I really like this new game you invented, Jack."

Fin