Chapter One:

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"- William Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream

"Josh, truth or dare?" I found myself rolling my eyes. Beth always started a game of some sort when the party started to die down. Maybe party was too strong of a word. It was more like a get together, or game night. Josh, Beth and I would invite our closest friends over and we would all sit around and play card games, board games, video games, drinking games, any games really. One thing was always certain though. When Chris, Josh and Ash finished their way too intense game of Settlers of Catan, or when Mike finished dominating Cards Against Humanity, Beth would suggest an idea that would potentially end with someone getting naked, drunk or laid, if not all three.

"Beth, don't you think we're a bit old for truth or dare?" Josh had his typical smile plastered on his face. Judging by the way Chris and Ash were sitting, cleaning up the board game, it looked like they had lost.

"Okay, I'll ask Sam if you're going to be too much of a pussy to play." Challenge extended.

"Pussy? Alright. You've got me, Beth. Dare." Challenge accepted.

"Okay, I've got to see this." Jessica stood up from the cards and beer and made her way over to where Josh and Beth stood. She was followed by Mike, Matt, and eventually Emily, when she noticed the game was practically over. Even I made my way over, casually giving Mike what I hoped was a small, flirty smile. Sam stood next to me, arms crossed, eyes rolling, ready to see what was about to unfold.

"Alright then." A wicked smile spread across my sister's face. I recognized it. It was a look I've tried to avoid most of my life. She walked over to Josh and started to whisper something in his ear. I already knew where this was going. Beth has told me her weird fantasy about this. Josh's face confirms my suspicions.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes, Josh. Can't back out or I tell everyone your secret." Josh's face pales a bit. It wasn't hard to guess the secret, that he had a huge crush on Sam. Everyone probably had guessed to some extent, but Chris, Beth and I were really the only ones he told. His wording wasn't he had a crush on her, either. It was more along the lines of 'Shit! Where do these boners keep coming from?' as soon as Sam left our place one day. It wasn't hard to figure out the rest.

"Fine then. I'll get you back for this. Just wait." Josh walked away from Beth and over to where Chris and Ash were finishing up packing the game. "Cochise, can I borrow you for a moment?"

Chris shrugged. "Um, sure. Yeah, bro. What's up?"

There it is. The kill. Josh going in for a big one, his lips planting firmly on Chris's. Poor guy was too shocked to do anything but just stand there. Eventually he managed to get Josh off of him, but it took a couple of seconds. Maybe there was a part of him enjoying it. Who knows? "Dude! What the hell?"

Josh rolled his eyes, placing one hand behind his back and giving Beth the middle finger. "I'm sorry, I've just got the biggest boner for you right now."

Everyone was dying, cracking up from laughter. Chris had a look of complete betrayal on his face. Even Ashley was laughing. "Ash!"

She shook her head. "Oh my gosh, Beth, that was great!"

Josh gave Beth one of the dirtiest looks I've ever seen him give someone. "Don't worry, Josh," Beth said, "it's your turn."

He cracked his knuckles, ready to get his revenge. It was easy to see how this night was going to go. A tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts. Sam. "So, what was Josh's big secret?"

I roll my eyes. "Please! Like you don't know."

She shook her head. "No idea. What is it?"

I give her a pat on the shoulder. "Just think about it, alright? It's not that hard of a guess."

She shrugged. "Okay, then, what am I not seeing?"

Obviously not the bulge he's apparently always struggling to hide, not that I've looked. I overheard Chris and Josh having a discussion once. "Never mind. It's nothing. I'll tell you later if you don't figure it out."

She held out a pinky. "Promise?"

I gave her mine, and latched the two together. "Promise." The elementary school gesture sent waves of nostalgia over me, memories of happier days.

"Sammy, Hannah! Get over here!" There was Josh, making me come in and join the others in a game that was just going to leave me embarrassed in the end. Everyone had already formed a circle, bottles of beer and Smirnoff passed around. I just grabbed myself a bottle of water. Someone needed to stay sober, and I doubted Sam wanted to be the only DD.

We walked over to the group, a sound of something outside distracted me. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what, Han?" I had to stop the butterflies from dancing around my stomach as Mike spoke.

"Um, I'm not sure. It's probably nothing."

Beth's jovial face became serious for a moment. "Do you want me to go check it out?"

I shake my head. "No, it's fine. It's probably a cat of a bird or something. Come on, let's just play."

The game went on for the rest of the night. Several stunts were pulled, like Ashley having to shave Chris' leg, Matt having to get in the shower and soak all of his clothes, Jessica having to sit around the rest of the night in just her bra -I'm so jealous of her body- Chris having to dance around the completely obvious fact that he has the worlds biggest crush on Ashley, and Sam having to use me as a pole for a pole dance. Everyone had seemed to forget about the noise I heard outside. It had to be nothing, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. I felt like a pair of eyes were always paying me attention. Ignore it, Hannah. I'm always talking myself into these crazy paranoias.

Thank you for all the support! I am having a lot of fun writing this story, so I hope you are enjoying reading it. Things will start to pick up in the next chapter. Guest, to answer your question, Josh is simply another victim.