AN: This was challenged to me by 'people aren't perfect', and here are the requirements: (And PS: I did find oatmeal underneath my cousin's bed. Not a pretty idea.)
1. Blue Raspberry Baby Bottle Pop 2. Massie & Todd 3. Gives You Hell (song) 4. Footsie Pajamas 5. Soy Sauce (hold the sushi) 6. KFC Macaroni and cheese with chicken wings
-d-a-r-e-
If you find a man worth a damn and treats you well
then he's a fool; you're just as well; hope it gives you hell
I hope it gives you hell
Games of truth or dare in the infamous Block-Lyons estate were no normal matter. While most people would dare you to do simple things, like calling up your crush, or use the power of 'truth' to get you to admit that you did, in fact, steal from your mom's purse – Block/Lyons truth or dare games were much worse. Each game was specially designed to ruin the players, to cause tension, secrets, and drama to rise in their wake.
Say, for example, daring the weight conscious Dylan Marvil to either devour or give up fast food – she nearly cried when she was forced to hand her chicken wings and macaroni and cheese over to Kristen Gregory. Another way to cause misery at one of the custom truth or dare games was to force the grade-conscious Kristen Gregory to let all of her friends cheat off of her on their science tests. (It wasn't their fault that they couldn't remember the difference between P-Waves and L-Waves – it was the least she could do.) You could dare self-conscious Alicia Rivera to do an accurate impression of her more promiscuous relatives…over the phone to a boy she had no feelings for. Or, just to irritate love-conscious Claire Lyons, you could choose whomever she was dating for the impression.
And if you wanted to get on the ever-conscious Massie Block's nerves, you could simply dare her to go within three feet of Claire's younger brother Todd.
As Kristen finished dumping soy sauce into Alicia's popcorn, and watching her eat it, she turned to Massie, a cruel grin on her face. It was her turn as official 'dare person' for the next two turns, and she intended to get her revenge for one of the last dares (a whole incident involving shredded cheese…one she preferred not to think about). "Massie, it's your turn. And then Claire gets to dare."
Massie's jaw dropped, her mouth forming an exaggerated 'o'. Before she could even select 'truth', Kristen decided to make it her responsibility to choose dare. (To be honest, it was more like dare or dare than truth or dare.)
"Hmm," Kristen feigned thought. "I dare you to either go kiss Todd, or to call Derrick and tell him you're in love with Dempsey." A horrible choice – kiss a seventh grader? It would be a shame to freshman everywhere! Or then again, there was the awful fate of breaking up with a great guy just because you supposedly liked some boy who actually brought a Jedi Light saber to school.
The choice was clear.
-;-
Todd Lyons' room was a pigsty – and it smelled like the pigs in the pen had rolled up and died. There were things like rotting bowls of oatmeal underneath the bed, and posters of Tyra Banks, Giselle, and Heidi Klum were peeling off of the ceiling. Every game system imaginable was hooked up. It was man's paradise, and a woman's nightmare.
When Todd saw Massie entering with the grim look of one being sentenced to death, he already knew what was going on. In fact, he sat up so fast that the wire for his XBOX tangled around the ankles of his odd friend Tiny Nathan. Tiny Nathan slipped on the hardwood floor (footie pajamas weren't such a bright idea after all) and crashed to the ground, as Todd nearly shunpo'd over to Massie.
"So what is it this time?" He wiggled his eyebrows, thinking that he was suave. Massie's face registered disgust, but she pulled him out of the room anyway.
If anyone had seen them in the guest room, they would've though that the two were going out.
-;-
"Double-dare!" Dylan Marvil burped out, much to the amusement of her friends. Once the laughter died down, Dylan smirked in the way only Cruella de Vil could. "Claire, call Josh Hotz and tell him you think he's ten times hotter than Cam." As Claire nearly fainted at the mortifying idea (she'd just gotten him off of her tail!), Dylan's green eyes rested on Massie. "I dare you to ask Todd out on a date!"
"Oh my god!" Kristen's signature, hacking old lady cackle almost echoed off of the walls.
"That was cruel!" Alicia giggled, loving every second of it.
"Forget you guys!" Massie rolled her eyes, and headed out the door, more nervous than mortified. How was she supposed to ask Todd Lyons out? Where would they go? What if Derrick saw them? The thought was too horrific to even consider. So when she saw Todd, she grabbed him over for a private conversation.
-;-
They ended up in the kitchen. Jay Lyons had gone out to get pizza for everyone. Judi Lyons was upstairs, telling the other girls to quiet down.
"Hey, I was wondering," Todd asked, his brown eyes fixed on one of the ice cream spoons one of the girls had abandoned earlier. It was then Massie realized how Derrick-like his eyes really were. They were both that same shade of melted chocolate. "Why do you do whatever your friends say?"
Massie blinked, not exactly able to answer the question. It sounded simple enough but, it was kind of hard to answer. Why exactly did she obey a dare meant to destroy her? In fact, she spent so long thinking about it, that she completely forgot that Todd was there.
"Well, if you need me, I'll be upstairs," Todd yawned, already tired of it. Massie reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Well what am I supposed to say? You have to follow my dares, but I don't have to follow yours? That's not exactly going to work."
"Aah, I see young grasshopper," Todd nodded like he was some wise old sensei in a bad kung-fu movie. "You must use my old phrase. It shall get you out of any situation."
"What is it?" Massie couldn't help but wonder. Could a simple phrase really help her out of anything?
-;-
"Okay then," Claire smiled happily as Alicia returned, looking angry. (Seeing as the dare involved Tiny Nathan, a butt, and a smack, who could blame her?) "Massie's turn! I dare you to go and make out with Dempsey when we see him at the movies." Claire smiled angelically.
All eyes rested on Massie. Instead of flushing, or getting angry in any way, she looked up from her purple nails. "Suck a Baby Bottle Pop. Blue raspberry."
"What?" Kristen demanded, trying to find the logical sense in that response. "Where did that come from?"
"I don't get it…" Alicia scratched her head. Usually, Massie had snappier comebacks. What was this about candy?
"I want candy now!" Dylan chirped.
"Ooh, me too," Alicia agreed.
"We have some left over from Halloween," Claire jumped up, the dare already forgotten. In two fragmented sentences, Massie had wiggled her way out of a horrible, and possibly traumatic incident. As Dylan, Kristen, Alicia, and Claire hurried down the stairs, images of gumdrops and sugar plums filling their heads, Massie sat down and put her feet up on Claire's desk.
Crisis averted.
-;-
"I never thanked you," Massie reminded Todd as they walked down the stairs towards the candy stash hidden away in the darkest corners of the Lyons' home. "Baby bottle pops was so random, it worked."
"Didn't I tell you?" Todd seemed immensely proud. "I'm a genius."
Massie didn't say any of the sarcastic things that popped up in her head. As much as she wanted to say something to ruin the moment, or maybe push him down the stairs, she didn't. Instead, she planted a quick kiss on his lips.
"Was that a dare?" He asked, confused.
"Baby bottle pops. Blue raspberry."
Massie left him standing there.