Warning: This is meant to be all fluff. No intelligence, nothing. Just pure fluff.
It's the perfect slumber party game…
Truth or dare? The girls are bored - very bored.
Truth or Dare and Seven Minutes in Heaven
"Whose smart idea was it to have a slumber party at D.A.'s place?" Keesha Franklin grumbled, tossing aside a magazine. She plopped down onto a beanie bag that was on the floor in D.A.'s room.
The one good thing about Dorothy Ann's room? It was always neat and immaculately decorated, whenever people came over (not when people didn't, she claimed, which was why she always made it a point for people to call before the came over. Her room overlooked the local neighbourhood park, and was all tree-ish and the balcony looked like a setting from Romeo and Juliet. The bad part? Dorothy Ann offered little by way of entertainment.
"I told you guys I'd be busy. And I think it was your idea, Keesh," Dorothy Ann pointed out, still concentrating on her SAT II practice tests.
"Girl, the school term barely began. Relax!"
"Keesh, I can't relax. I told you - AP classes, Walkerville Charity, Science Club, Forensic Club, Volleyball, etcetera, etcetera, not to mention, little Miss Drama Queen wants me to dabble a bit in the coming school play."
"Hey, don't blame this on me!" Wanda Li protested, messing up Dorothy Ann's wardrobe to look for something hot in the wardrobe that she would consider wearing. Too bad Dorothy Ann's tastes were - although eclectic - too conservative for her. The only thing slightly revealing that Dorothy Ann had was a long black pencil skirt with slits on the sides. "You're the one who's aiming for the stars! - Bleargh!" Wanda threw clothes onto a pile on Dorothy Ann's bed.
"Imagine if she'd been born a Virgo. Virgos are supposed to be perfectionists, but Miss Aries over here is beating all the Virgos in Walkerville High for the title," Phoebe interjected, as quiet as ever on top of said bed.
"I'm not a perfectionist," Dorothy Ann shook her head, not looking up.
"Says she of the Honor Roll society," Wanda said. "My only wonder is why you didn't join cheerleading." Wanda was a cheerleader (a flyer), and the school's resident drama queen, literally, besides also playing a bit of sports.
"My legs aren't nice enough."
"Your legs are fine." Keesha (cheerleader #2 and broadcasting president) said. " And you can dance! And you've got rhythm! And you're pretty flexible!"
"Would you mind not bothering me, you guys? When I'm done with this practice test -"
"You'll only start another," Wanda interrupted. "Live a little, D.A.! Enjoy life!"
"Dorothy Ann, I can't believe you would treat moi, your best friend since forever -" Keesha began.
"Third grade," Dorothy Ann corrected.
Keesha ignored her. " - Like this!"
Dorothy Ann groaned and made a mental note to freeze the time. She could come back later, and besides, she wasn't going to be able to do anything if Keesha whined while sitting upside-down on a beanie bag (which Dorothy Ann had never believed was possible until she saw Keesha doing so in one), Wanda continued to throw clothes around, and Phoebe - well - just being quiet little Phoebe. Okay, not so little Phoebe (she was 5'9", the tallest of all the girls. Keesha came second at 5'8", then Dorothy Ann at 5'5" and Wanda at 5'1").
"Okay, you guys. Let's do something normal girls do during their slumber parties. What do you guys want to do?"
"Dress-up is a nightmare, we have to pass for that," Wanda informed.
"Burn all of your books!" Keesha clapped her hands gleefully.
"Yeah!" Wanda began jumping up and down Dorothy Ann's bed in excitement.
"No!" Both Phoebe and Dorothy Ann cried. "I need to study!" Dorothy Ann cried, at the same time Phoebe gasped, "You'll harm the environment! Do you know - ?"
"Okay, Pheebs, stop!" Keesha groaned.
"You know what? Do what normal girls do. Play Truth or Dare. Just don't fight," Dorothy Ann sighed.
"D.A., you're brilliant! That's the best idea you've ever had!" Keesha began hopping.
"D.A., I dare you to burn your books," Wanda said.
"I prefer truth," Dorothy Ann replied.
"Who do you have a crush on?"
"Why are you guys picking on me?"
"It's because - oomph!" Pheobe squealed as Wanda and Keesha tackled her onto the bed.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, I want to find a guy, right now. I wonder whether Ralphie's team-mates know anyone?" Keesha pondered.
"All you think about is guys, Keesha," Phoebe said in disgust. "Just like a cheerleader."
"Hey! That's offensive!" Wanda put her hands on her hips.
"Did anyone tell you that you look like that girl from that Gap ad? The one with the Chinese girl?" Dorothy Ann said, to placate her.
"Why thank you, D.A. You are very pretty yourself. I can see why - hey!" Wanda yelled. "What the hell's your problem, Keesh?"
"Am I the only one who can keep a secret?" Keesha whispered.
"- As I was saying, I said I could see why guys have such crushes on you," Wanda continued aloud.
"What are you talking about?" Dorothy Ann was not paying much attention. She had gone back to her SAT test.
"That's it! I'm going to Ralphie's," Wanda declared. "Honestly, D.A., even Ralphie pays more attention to me."
"Of course, Wanda," Dorothy Ann said. "He likes you likes you."
"Oooooh!" Keesha squealed, whilst Phoebe said, "Seems like your wish came true, Wanda," to a very red-faced Wanda.
"How do you know this, D.A.?" Wanda said, trying to stop the conversation from going to the Ralphie loves Wanda and vice versa topic.
"Carlos told me," D.A. said simply, shrugging.
Bingo.
"Does Carlos like you like you?" Phoebe asked, curiously.
Before Dorothy Ann could retaliate, Keesha said, "I'm sure he does. He and D.A. are tight. They hang out all the time."
"Of course!" Phoebe snapped her fingers.
"I don't know. Let's go over to Ralphie's house. I hear they're hanging out tonight," Wanda suggested.
"Who's hanging out?" Dorothy Ann asked, and was pulled out of her room by the two girls, as Phoebe played security guard and made sure none of Dorothy Ann's conservative parents noticed.
"I'm in my pajamas. My baby-doll dress pajamas (referring to the sleeveless, white, knee-length chiffon dress she was wearing as a mean of pajamas) and my white sandals. Where are we going anyway? My parents will kill me," Dorothy Ann complained.
"You look decent, D.A. Very pretty, if I do say so myself. It's a dress you could wear to prom," Phoebe tried to reassure her.
"Yeah. We're the ones wearing hot pants and belly shirts," Wanda referred to Keesha and herself. "And Phoebe is wearing a very, very long shirt."
"Here we are!" Phoebe announced.
"Up here!" Wanda was over the hedge in a minute, and D.A was hoisted up over -
"Hey, this is Ralphie's house!" Dorothy Ann cried. "We can't possibly -"
Wanda threw some stones at an illuminated window, and did not stop even when it was opened by a very irate-looking Ralphie. "What the - ouch!" Ralphie yelled as a stone hit him.
From inside, they could hear Tim saying, "What is it, man?"
"Shut it, nitwit. Mind if we crash? D.A.'s party wasn't going so well, and I know your parents aren't around, so are you going to leave us outside to freeze?"
"I'm not going in! I'm not dressed!" D.A. tried to scramble back over the wall, but Phoebe and Keesha were too tall and were effective blockers.
"Dude, is that Dorothy Ann?" They could hear Carlos' voice, and a second later, they saw Carlos' face as well. "D.A.? What the -?"
"It seems like they want to have a slumber party with us," Tim observed.
Somewhere inside, they heard Arnold's voice. "Girls at this slumber party? I knew I should have stayed at home tonight."
Ralphie ignored him and said, "Come on up, girls."
"Cute jammies," Ralphie commented, when he saw D.A.
"Shut up," Dorothy Ann snarled. Carlos tossed her a sweater.
"Thanks, Carlos," D.A. accepted it gratefully.
"Mind putting some clothes on?" Wanda said, gesturing to Tim and Ralphie, who were clad in boxers only. Arnold and Carlos, dressed some Bermuda pants and T-shirts, smirked.
"We kindly allow you into the male inner sanctum," Tim announced, "And this is how you repay us?"
"I never wanted to go in," Phoebe said quietly. She was blushing and her eyes were averted from the boys.
"Neither did I. Please kick us out," Dorothy Ann said. "Keesha, Wanda?"
The two girls made themselves comfortable by sitting on the bed. They were looking at the CDs scattered on the bed. The room itself, was extremely messy.
"Why don't you make yourself comfortable? Carlos, scoot over and let D.A. and Phoebe sit next to you," Keesha ordered.
Dorothy Ann sat next to Carlos on the miniature sofa, and Phoebe sat on the handles.
"Why'd you come?" Carlos whispered.
"The girls kind of threw me over. Literally," Dorothy Ann rolled her us.
"Take a chill pill, D.A. I'm glad you guys came over. Ralphie and Tim were kind of arguing and it was getting annoying."
"What about?"
"Girls."
"Ah. Would they so happen to be the ones who took me hostage and threw me over the wall?"
"Precisely."
"I wish they'd let me change, at least. I feel underdressed and ugly."
"You look beautiful," Carlos said simply.
Their eyes met, and Dorothy Ann didn't know what to say to that. There was a silence for a moment.
Between them at least. Keesha had found a CD entitled, Girls like it Hot.
"What kind to movie is this, you two?" She was yelling.
"What is it? Is it porn?" Wanda added, hands upon her hips.
"P-Porn?" Arnold stuttered, nervously.
"No!" The two of them answered in unison.
"It's -"
Phoebe shook her head. "Arnold told me about it. It's the typical male-movie. Four guy friends meet four so-called hot girls (she made a disdainful face here), and get into steamy situations in the car, while on the run from police officers in the deserts of Nevada."
"You guys enjoy this kind of movie?" D.A. seemed horrified.
"It's pretty interesting," Carlos shrugged.
"This is stupid. I should be studying," Dorothy Ann got up, and began taking of the sweater. She was about to leave, when Carlos grabbed her wrist.
"Stay," he said, in a bored voice, and down she plopped into the miniature sofa. "Study tomorrow."
"Want to watch the movie, D.A.?" Keesha asked.
"No."
"That's right. We were playing truth or dare. You guys wanna join?" Wanda asked.
"Boring!" Arnold said.
"It's better than Seven Minutes in Heaven," Keesha said.
"Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Phoebe asked.
"God, Pheebs, you're so naive," Wanda said.
"Hey, I don't know about it either," Dorothy Ann said.
Carlos and Arnold seemed to turn red.
"Well, it's based on the length of time it takes for you to screw - "
"Ewww. You want to play that?"
"Yes!" Ralphie cried.
"Two minutes to undress, five minutes to -"
"No!" Dorothy Ann declared, and Wanda continued, "The last two minutes to put your clothes back on."
"Truth or dare seems better," Phoebe interjected.
"Okay, then let's sit in a circle."
"How about another version?' Ralphie suggested. "The seven times Truth or Dare?"
"What?" Wanda exclaimed.
"You know, the one where they slam a person seven times in one go, a truth or dare."
"What the - " Dorothy Ann was flabbergasted.
"You said it, D.A. Who actually comes up with these stupid games?" Phoebe shook her head.
"Count me out," Arnold chimed in.
"Ah, come on, guys. It'll be fun!" Carlos pleaded. "Besides, it's nice forcing you to do things you don't want, D.A."
Dorothy Ann scowled.
"Keep doing that, D.A. Some guys around here find it kind of sexy," Ralphie said, amused.
Keesha stared at the guys. Tim was definitely red in the face, while Carlos - she couldn't see his face; it was carefully averted.
"Well, it just shows she's passionate about what she cares about," Carlos said, rummaging through Ralphie's stuff.
"Is that why you like to tease her, Carlos?" Phoebe asked, quietly.
Carlos was saved from answering when Tim said, "For crying out loud, you guys, just sit down and play.
"Now's the dilemma: who should we pick on first?" Keesha grinned, rather evilly.
"Arnold," Wanda said, at the same time Arnold said, "Wanda."
"How about oldest to youngest?" Dorothy Ann suggested.
"You're only saying that because you're one of the youngest! You're born on April's fool's, D.A," Arnold complained, since he was also the eldest.
"Did I ever say how ironic that was?" Carlos said.
"Well, it's unanimous then. Arnold, you're up," Wanda said, as-a-matter-of-factly.
Arnold frowned at her.
"Okay, let me go first," Keesha said. "Truth or Dare?"
"Truth," Arnold said, not hesitating.
"Arnold, who do you have a crush on?"
"Skip."
"You can't skip a round," Tim said, aghast.
"I take dare then."
"Fine," an exasperated Keesha said. "I dare you to tell the person you like that you like her in front of all of us."
Arnold's glasses nearly fell off his face. "No way, that's not fair!"
"Technically, it is the rule," D.A. shrugged.
"No according to your research?" Arnold said, frustrated.
"There was no research required," D.A. shrugged.
"Just go on with the dare," Tim said.
"Wait, is the girl you have a crush on even in this room?" Carlos asked.
Arnold was redder than a tomato (and his hair). "Yes," he mumbled.
"So, what are you waiting for?" Wanda said, waving her arms. She was a pretty funny sight, her red spaghetti-strap and black hot pants making her look utterly ridiculous.
"Wanda, it's you. I like you," Arnold said, so simple it was as if he was simply conversing about the weather. Of course, the fact that he was redder than a peony belied this fact.
Keesha gasped. "But you can't - I mean."
The boys stared at Keesha (after they were done staring at Wanda and Arnold), but it took D.A. less than a minute to understand. It was Phoebe who had a crush on Arnold, and Wanda wasn't interested in boys (except for Ralphie), and now it was going horribly wrong.
"What?" Wanda blurted out, as soon as comprehension dawned.
"Whoa. Arnold has the hots for Wanda? Dude, I think hell just froze over. Could we check?" Tim said.
"That wasn't funny, Tim," Keesha said.
"So, what do you say?" Arnold asked Wanda.
"I - I -" For once, Arnold rendered Wanda speechless.
"Let's just get on with the game," Phoebe said, quietly. Dorothy Ann couldn't say whether Phoebe was unhappy or not, because Phoebe had the same impassive facial expression as she usually did, but Dorothy Ann knew she was a little sensitive. No doubt she was choking on her tears.
"I'll go next," Tim said.
"Why don't we just play normal truth or dare?" Wanda suggested.
"I second that," Carlos said, from where he was sitting.
"Okay, who goes next?" Dorothy Ann asked. "Carlos?"
"Dare."
Silence. No one knew what to say. Then, Tim's lips twitched, and he broke into a grin. "Play strip poker with Ralphie," Tim hooted.
"What kind of dare is that?" Dorothy Ann demanded.
"No way. No freaking way," Raphie shook his head, adamant.
"Think of it this way; afterwards, Ralphie, you won't have to take a dare."
"But with the girls watching? Man, you know I always lose to Carlos!" Ralphie complained.
"I'll be scarred for life if Ralphie's the first naked guy I see," Keesha drawled as Carlos dealt the cards, smirking. Dorothy Ann saw him wearing his I-know-something-you-don't-know smile, and was intrigued. Carlos won the first game in a record of five seconds. Ralphie took off his shirt.
"Wow," Keesha said, jaw open. "Then again, I forgot how buff he is - hey! Don't hit me!" she yelped, as she earned a whacking from Wanda.
By that time, Ralphie was now in his boxers, and Carlos looked supremely confident, holding the cards, the smile on his face still there. He caught Dorothy Ann and winked.
Ralphie, looking annoyed and trying to find ways to stall his defeat, called over, "D.A., want to play?"
"Nice rhyming, Shakespeare," Tim said. "It is your turn, though."
"I pick truth," she said. "Can you imagine playing strip poker in this dress? I'd be stark naked within ten minutes, if I were playing against Carlos!"
She did not notice a tinge of red passing over Carlos' cheeks, and he looked confused. Ralphie took advantage of this confusion to beat Carlos.
"Hah! Take of your clothes, Ramone!" Ralphie exclaimed gleefully - this was the first time he'd won against Carlos.
"Someone should stop them," Phoebe observed. "I don't think Ralphie can take being defeated much longer."
Keesha, on the other hand, said, "Very nice," as Carlos took of his shirt, revealing a broad expanse of chest.
"Gee, Keesh, I can see your jaw dropping, and is that a bit of drool I see?" Tim joked.
"Very funny. But even D.A.'d agree with me. What do you think?" Keesha turned to her blonde friend.
D.A. blushed. "I - I don't know whether it's appropriate to -"
"Forget it, Keesha. D.A.'s the good girl, the prudish overachiever who doesn't know a hot guy when she sees one - even Phoebe can know a hot guy when she sees one," Wanda trailed off.
"Of course I can see that Carlos is hot!" Dorothy Ann. "Just because I don't like saying these sort of things to his face - I'm pretty sure he knows I admire him and not because of his 'hot look' or his gorgeous bod' as you and Keesha and the rest of Walkerville High think. I mean, if you look at it, he's not that one-dimensional -" It was D.A.'s turn to trail off, as she realized what she said.
"You what?" Arnold said.
Enter awkward silence.
"I think I should go now," Dorothy Ann said.
Carlos had disappeared into the bathroom, so she only said good-bye to the six of them (Wanda, Keesha and Phoebe not being ready to leave yet), and let herself out.
The night breeze was chilly, and Dorothy Ann felt a little cold (not to mention underdressed). The Tenelli's yard was open and spacious, and filled with lots of trees, and there was a tiny alcove formed at the side, fully illuminated by the moonlight, perfect for two lovers to meet - very Romeo and Juliet, D.A. found herself thinking, although she hated the Shakesperean play with a vengeance.
She was so drawn to it when she felt a hand grab her wrist, she turned back, ready to attack, but it was Carlos, fully dressed of course. He drew her closer. "It's just me, D.A."
"Yeah, I can see that," she said, breathlessly. "God, you gave me a fright! What do you want?"
"Did you mean it?"
"Mean what?" Dorothy Ann asked, praying to God he would not -
"What you said earlier? Did you mean it?" His gaze was upon her, so earnest and pleading, that she did not know what to say. He just had to mention it, didn't he?
"I - I think we should pretend that never happened," Dorothy Ann managed to squeak out. She couldn't meet his gaze - it was too strong, and she felt a little weak at the knees, which was strange, considering Carlos was her best friend - guy friend at any rate and she'd never felt so very vulnerable in her life with him at all -
"Because I think you're wonderful as well," he said, not letting her continue, before he kissed her, leaving her breathless.
"I don't think those were my exact words, Carlos," she gasped, after the kiss ended.
"No, I don't think so. Did you enjoy the kiss?"
She frowned. "You spoilt the moment. And I forget to ask, pray, what was the kiss for?"
"For being yourself," Carlos said. "You cannot seriously believe that you didn't realize I had a thing for you."
"What?" she whispered barely inaudible.
"But I wasn't sure about you. I mean, how you felt. And we were such great partners, in the science classes and everything, and we were great friends, so -"
"I'm not as observant as I thought I was, I guess," D.A. said a little sadly/amusedly. Great, now she couldn't tell how she was feeling. Tricky things, emotions.
Carlos chuckled. "Would you -?"
"Yes," she said, knowing what his question would be. They stood there, the moonlight bathing their features, and she stood on tiptoe and kissed him again.
"Three times in on night," Carlos said, amused, when it ended. "It must be my lucky night. Do I get a bit of Seven Minutes in Heaven?"
"Keep on dreaming and maybe it'll happen," she said, rolling her eyes.
"I'm still dreaming, but it hasn't happened yet. – Ow!"
Author's Note
This little totally fluff, totally OOC piece was stuck in my head for forever! So I typed it out! Enjoy and review!:)