A/N: Just finished the new chapter... angst, angst everywhere. But I hope you guys like it, it's insanely long. And if you pay attention you can catch the other couples of the ff...


Chapter 2: Truth or dare?

Some of the Starkids who went to New York that day for Darren's show decided to stay in the city for a whole week, that way they could see Lauren in her play the next Saturday and they'd be going back to their towns in Sunday. Lauren made room in her little apartment for Julia and Jaime Lyn, she couldn't be more grateful, at those times there wasn't something that she needed more than support from her best friends. A pair of mattress on the floor next to her bed and a full fridge was all they needed. Dylan and Joe Walker stayed at Joe Moses' house, he was living with her sister and he had a lot of space so no trouble with that. Joey and Darren were sharing the room in a hotel, but apparently Darren was planning to stay for more than a few weeks so he'd see if staying there was the best option. Brian and Meredith couldn't make it. They finally have moved together in Chicago so they were settling all down, and going to New York at those moments would involve a lot of complications, although they promised Lauren they'd go to see her before the season is over. Everyone in the group were extremely happy for them; they've seen how much they cared about each other and were happy that they finally took the risk to get into a serious environment, a house, a future. All of them had the looked up for the couple.

As it was usual when a big part of the gang were in the same city, they met every night to spend some quality time together. Lauren used to love those reunions but in the circumstances she was struggling into, she avoided them at any price. She made silly excuses in Sunday when they had dinner at Tyler's (despite how much she missed him), faking a hardly believable flu. In Monday they decided Joe's house was big enough for all of them, and trying to avoid crowded public places, they stated that place as their own quarter for the rest of the week; and it was perfect because they just needed some drinks and Darren's guitar and they had the night already settled. Lauren made up she had to go to bed early because she had a mysteriously improvised coach session the next morning. She knew Darren would be there and wanted to avoid seeing his face all the time it was possible. The next day it was confirmed, apparently he went back with Mia. She lived in New York so they were probably together all the time and that was banging her head nonstop. She thought she couldn't be strong enough to see them together, not now, not after what happened in the concert.

She didn't say any of the girls the reason of her attitude, and just replied with a laugh whenever they asked her what was wrong. "I'm fine", she repeated. But, inevitable, in Tuesday she entered to the apartment and saw the two girls standing up next to the table looking at her, with the most serious face she ever saw in them, and knowing they had a big talk ahead. She left her bag on the table and looked first and Julia and then to Jaime, scared.

"What's happening?"

"That's what we want to know" Julia started, making room on another chair for her and pointing at it. Lauren sat down, knowing there was no escape now. She'd have to talk.

"I'm fine" she assured.

"You're going with us to Joe's place tonight, then?" Jaime added. They both took place at every side of Lauren, she felt totally cornered. She rolled her eyes "Come on, Lauren, we know you. You have been not only missing in action, but acting weird too. You know you can talk with us."

"I'm not sure…"

"It can't be that bad…" Julia said "Can't be?"

Five seconds of absolute silence followed those words.

"Darren kissed me after his concert."

Not even a fly dared to buzz. Another five seconds of absolute silence, and their eyes widened in shock, before Julia put their feet back on the real earth again. That just wasn't possible.

"Darren what?"

"He kissed me after the concert. On the mouth. Repeatedly." Lauren explained.

"…Wow". That was everything that Jaime's brain could process. She wasn't even slightly surprised of her friends' response, she was exactly expecting that. It took some minutes to Julia to realize her friend finally opened to talk, so she added quickly:

"I want details of this."

"Well, details, details, I don't know" she struggled. "He asked me if I needed someone to drive me home, so I called Zack. You know that part," they both nodded, hearing the story so abstracted as if was a matter of life and death; that made Lauren a little nervous "so I started to cry after that. And he… Well, he told me things. Nice things."

"Nice like what?"

"Uhm, well… he said that I'm worth so much more than him, and that I deserve someone who truly cares about me and loves me and threats me so."

"Oh my god." The expression of the girls changed from the edge of a total shock to adorableness.

"Then he hugged me, like, really close. And I looked at him, and he kissed me. Well, we both kissed. Uhm- I don't know." She was so bad at explaining things.

"How was the kiss?"

"Good."

"Good like how? Long? A frenchie? Did you like it? God, Lauren, please, you're killing us."

"Uhm. Very good. Very long. I don't remember." That wasn't true, and her friends realized it because they gave her a killer gaze. She gave up "Ugh, it was amazing, ok? There was tongue and there was touch. Jeez, his hands drove me crazy. He grabbed my waists, and pushed me closer to him. I had my hands on his arms and… I never realized how strong he is, actually, until he held me like that. It was an intense moment. Happy?"

"And then?"

"And then" she stood up, and looked at Julia and then Jaime "Mia walked in."

"Oh, honey…" Jaime added, and they followed her when she started to go to her room "I'm so sorry. Did he say something after that?"

"I didn't let him. And I'm not planning to go after an explanation. We don't have anything to talk about, really. We left our instincts take control of the situation, but we didn't want it to happen. He doesn't owe me any justification, either. It's okay, but… I just don't want to see his face anymore." She sat in her bed, trying to give a final conclusion so they'd leave her alone.

"But, we're talking about Darren. I'm sure he wouldn't just go for something like that for no reason. Not with you." Julia said. Darren was his closest friend in college so she knew him well. He'd probably do something like that a little drunk in a party back in then, but not now and not with Lauren.

"You don't understand." she started, and her voice broke although she was trying to keep it strong "He made me think he sang that stupid song for me. And he didn't. I'm just the more pathetic and stupid person on earth, and looking at him makes me remember that."

"You are not." Jaime cut her.

"Ok, stop this. Let's not care about stupid songs tonight. You're going to change your clothes, to stop consuming yourself in that way, and we'll go to Joe's. You are in no way letting him ruin your night, your week, your month. We are in New York, the best city in the world. Let's have fun with our friends."

"But-" Lauren cried.

"No buts. You are going to have a fucking blast even if I have to force yourself to it. And you know I will."

She knew.

"Yes, sir." she testified her defeat, dropping herself on the bed, and Julia smiled, rubbing her shoulder. Then whispered to Jaime:

"We're going to need alcohol." Jaime winked. They were sure everything was under their control.


They were stepping into Joe's house later that night. His house was literally a mansion. He had an enormous living room, and a big glass door in which you could see one of the best landscapes of the whole city, which headed you to a garden. The gang greeted Lauren, surprised for her appearance, and she just laughed in response. She hugged Joey and Dylan, who she hadn't seen in a while. They were making awesome at Los Angeles. Joey was at the moment with some episodes in a Disney's show, and Dylan was working behind the camera of a Sketch Show. Lauren was happy they were finally getting all the credit they deserved. Jaime and Julia went with them on the couches in front of the TV, where Joe was yelling at the TV with a beer on his hand. There was a game on. She smiled. There was people talking some steps further, but she only recognized a few of them who saw a few times in the past month, some actors, musicians, a little of here and there. Then she saw them. They were a little apart from the rest of the group; he had a drink in his hand and she was saying something to him, and then he leaned over to listen her better, putting his hand on her waist.

And a stabbing pain went through her chest in slow motion. Darren had always been the flirt guy, and she never cared about that silly stuff, but now every action he did it only made her angrier and angrier. She went immediately to Moses.

"Where are the drinks?" she spitted. He looked at her, surprised. Lauren didn't use to drink.

"I'm sorry, Lo. I didn't know you were coming. Now I only had beers, but my sister is getting home in 10 minutes so I can tell her to bring something else."

"Please" she raised her eyebrows, a little meaner that she wanted. Joe took her phone and started texting her. She sat on the armrest of the coach, next to Julia; and looked at the beer on her hand, blaming being allergic to gluten more than ever.

"I'm going to kill myself" she whispered into Julia's ear.

"Don't look at them" she replied. "Watch the game."

This time her eyebrow was meant to be offensive. She wasn't a fan of sports and she was upset now. She just really really didn't want to be there. A few minutes after, Sarah, Joe's sister got home with a few vodka bottles. She was a girl three years younger than his brother, blonde and very charismatic and enthusiastic. Lauren never talked with her but she was nice.

"So, is Michigan winning, right?" She asked, running in front of the TV. "Fuck" she added as saw the screen.

"They're going to win. They have to." Walker settled "I bought a million of fireworks to shoot right after this finishes"

"You shouldn't have bought so many" Dylan laughed.

"How are we?" Darren asked, approaching them "Oh, no." He leaned over Joey's spot on the couch to see the screen better. He was wearing his "Go Blue" T-shirt for the occasion. She hated the fact that she loved that shirt. He looked at Sarah and went surprised at the bottles of vodka and some other stuff she still had in her hands. "Wow, it wasn't enough yet?"

"It's for Lauren. You know, she can't drink beer. And I might make her company. I don't really like beer that much either." She put the bottles on a little table next to the couch and started to serve some of the liquid on the glasses; then she stood up for some ice. And it was only when she mentioned her that Darren realized that Lauren was there, he thought she wouldn't go that day either and it surprised him. They both wished that they weren't looking for each other's eyes at the same time, so he just muttered:

"Hi."

"Hi." She responded quietly after a few seconds, and tried to not look so awkward but it was in vain. Luckily, the whole gang was focused on the game.

"No!" they screamed at the same time, as the marker counted a point more for the opposite team.

"We are so screwed." Joey said "There are twelve minutes left."

"Shut up!" Walker commanded.

Sarah went back to the audience group with the ice, and prepared some drinks for them. The blonde sat at the head of one of the couches and stared at the screen. Mia walked from the other group of friends chatting (They probably weren't watching the game because they weren't from Michigan), and approached Darren, who intertwined his fingers with hers.

That was it, Lauren thought. She leaned over to the little table, and drank the whole glass in a matter of ten seconds.

"Oh my god," Joey commented, when she winced "you are really a box of surprises."

She didn't reply anything. A burnt went through her throat, insanely hot. She took another glass and it was gone in another ten seconds.

"Yes!" the gang screamed cheerful, when the Wolverines made a point more for them. They were still losing, but that gave them a little hope.

She was going for the… fourth, fifth glass? When a hand stopped her.

"Lauren," Julia warned, quietly so no one else could hear it; but the group was only interested in the game for the next five minutes after all "don't go too fast. You never drink. You're going to lose control this way. You can drink, but do it slowly, ok?"

Lauren nodded. She was aware she was a lightweight. She was already feeling dizzy so she relaxed the things a little. Don't look at their fingers intertwined, she repeated to herself, and she couldn't help but glance to them, don't look at their fingers…

"Look, I don't even care, okay?" Joe was yelling in the garden, ten minutes after, looking for his lighter on his jacket and putting all the fireworks on the floor. "We fucking win."

"Yeah, in your mind, but that's fine too…" Jaime whispered, and Joe glanced at her, completely mad. She grinned, and Joey walking slowly behind Jaime, pushed her gently back by the waist.

"If we want to enjoy it we have to go further back" he explained. The group obeyed and moved a little.

"That way we can see how Joe burns into flames" Julia joked, just in time, because Joe lightened the last flame and he run back with them at the perfect moment.

Their heads went up all at the same second, along with the first pair of fireworks which exploded in red and green above their eyes. And another pair of lights, and another one, and another one… It was beautiful.

Lauren felt the sounds of the explosions a little distant, and the dizziness started to get more serious, but she enjoyed the amazing view. All of them were together in the most beautiful city in the whole world looking at the fireworks mixing with each others just in front of their eyes.

She grinned, and looked at the group, no one realized that she was watching them. She felt so grateful for having them, and for a second she regretted not being there the two past days. Then her eyes fixed on Darren hugging Mia behind her back, with his head rested on her shoulder and a smile on his lips. He just looked so happy.

And she realized it. It was anger, it was sadness, it was resentment, but it was more than any other thing, jealousy.

And suddenly she couldn't focus her gaze on Darren's smile, and everything was upside down. Her stomach was making all kind of noises. Oh no, she gasped terrified, walking into the house the faster as her state let her, I'm going to throw up. She practically run to the bathroom, luckily all of the others were staring up the sky and didn't notice she was gone. That was what she thought; before closing the door and leaning over the toilet, feeling like her stomach was tying itself.

"I'll be right back" Darren said to Mia when he noticed Lauren was gone.

"Hurry up, the fireworks are about to end" she told him but he wasn't listening to her anymore.

He quickly checked the living room and the kitchen but he found no one, so he walked down the hallway and as he was getting closer to the bathroom listened some coughing sounds, so he understood instantly.

"Lauren, do you need help?" he asked. He knew Lauren was a total lightweight. She didn't know how to drink at all, so he had his reasons to get worried "I'm coming" he added after getting no response, to found the girl throwing up in the WC. He served some water from the faucet in the toothbrush's glass, and bent over next to her. He used a hair rubber as a bracelet, so he took it and tied gently her hair, while she was undoing from the last traces of alcohol.

He pulled the chain and handed her a wet towel when she raised her face again. Against what she'd like, she accepted it and pressed it against her face. She still felt a little sick, but a lot better than before. She drank slowly the glass of water.

"You are such a small fry." He told her with a grin, rubbing her back. It seemed like if nothing happened for him. She might be weak but she wasn't going to deal with that. She got up the faster she could without getting so dizzy. Darren frowned. "What? You don't want me to touch you?"

His hand on her waist, their fingers intertwined, his head on her shoulder.

She shook her head. Darren looked at her, confused; but then Julia walked worried into the bathroom.

"Oh my god, Lauren, are you okay? I didn't find you outside and-"

"Let's call a taxi." She interrupted her, walking outside, dropping the wet towel on the lavatory.


"Never. Again." A broken voice shouted when the windows opened suddenly, and the sunlight burned her eyes. She put her pillow over her head, whining. "Never. Again."

"I can guess your head hurts" Jaime messed with her, adjusting the curtains.

"I hate you both" she cried, rolling over the bed.

"Oh, come on, Lo, it wasn't a full trip to New York if you didn't get obscenely and stupidly drunk one night." Julia said in defense.

"You know I'm not coming back today, right?"

"But, Lauren!" the girls claimed at the unison.

"I'm wasted like hell. And I'll get another chance to see my favorite couple fucking in front of my eyes. That's a no." she explained, her voice sounded low because she still had the pillow on her head. Darren and Mia were actually pretty reserved but it still hurt in an unsupportable way.

"Wait, today's the birthday party of one of their friends. They aren't going to be at Joe's tonight."

"Still…"

"Come on, we're leaving on Sunday." Jaime started to defend the position "You have only four days to enjoy with us. And we promise to not let you do something embarrassing again. Please?"

"Hmmmm…okay" Lauren agreed quietly, rolling more and more on the bed. "I hate you both." She repeated, but her anger turned into a laugh as they jumped over her to hug her.


"I hate you both." She said for the third time in that day, as soon as they walked into Joe's house that night to find the gang (There were only Starkids, because she recognized all of them) sitting in a circle on the floor, talking lowly but the main sound were the chords of Darren's guitar. She found him in a second, although she didn't even need to because his voice already was enough for her to recognize him. Mia next to him. And he was singing Lovefool.

"Hey, Darren, I thought you had a birthday tonight?" Julia asked when he stopped playing, and the girls joined the others.

"Yeah, well, Mia's going right now with her friends. I wanted to spend this week that you all are here, with you guys." He explained, taking a drink.

"You're adorable" Walker teased him. Lauren thought that, in fact, he was obnoxiously adorable.

Then Mia stood up, and said goodbye to the group. Then she leaned to kiss Darren, and left the house quickly.

Lauren took a drink from the center of the circle.

"Chill, Lauren" Jaime warned her.

"Sure" she said, and then Sarah joined the group too.

In correlative order, Lauren had Julia next to her, followed by Moses, Darren, Walker, Joey, Jaime, Sarah, and Dylan on the other side. Darren sung a few more covers before he put his guitar away, only due Sarah called for a pizza so they started eating. They knew another way he wouldn't shut up.

"I'm going for more ice." Lauren said to the guys.

She got up and went to the kitchen. She started to crush some big pieces of ices with a knife and when she got everything that needed in a container, she turned back to go to the living room again.

"Jesus Christ-" she gasped when saw a curly black hair man standing up in the kitchen's door. He didn't laugh at her reaction.

"Lauren, we need to talk" he warned. His tone was so serious, but Lauren shook her head.

"No, we don't. We don't have absolutely anything to talk about." She tried to make her way through the room but he stood up in her way.

"What the fuck is happening?" he asked, really confused. "You avoided me since Saturday. I didn't see you in two days, and now you don't talk to me and every time I look at you, you look away. You don't even let me touch you. What's wrong?"

"Don't act like if nothing happened on the concert, Darren."

He opened his mouth, like if he was about to say something but wasn't sure what.

"It's okay, it was a mistake. We don't have and we don't should talk about it." She just tried to keep walking out of there, but he didn't let her. "The ice's going to melt." Darren took the container from her hands and put it in the counter.

"That's what you think about it? A mistake?" he said, and stepped forward to her.

"Yes. Apparently you too. I don't see the problem."

"I don't think it was a mistake."

"No? You have a girlfriend, you bastard. You should think that." The tone of her voice showed her resentment. Her voice rose. He was surprised, it wasn't usual to see Lauren pissed in that way.

"You have a wrong idea about what happened that day. I went back with Mia after the concert. When she walked to us, we weren't together yet. I never cheated on her. When I kissed you, I was only with you." The way he said the last phrase made her heart skip a beat. The serious tone of I was only with you, like if she was everything for him. But she needed to stay in the real world, she needed to remember what he was doing to her.

"Still. You came to New York to seduce her, right? Why are you staying so long, after all? That's why you came back to Irving Plaza after all this time. That's the reason you invited her. And the song. You dedicated it to her, didn't you?" she spitted, and Darren felt so desolated, Lauren never was that mean to him. "Well, you got what you wanted, so you can be happy now."

Darren passed a hand through his curls.

"I'm not."

"Why?" she asked, but this time didn't raise her voice.

He let out a sigh.

"The song was, initially, for her. But then… uhm- Before I started to sing, and when I was singing, I only thought about you. I didn't mean it to happen but I couldn't get you out of my head. I have feelings for you, Lauren. It's killing me that you're acting like this. Literally. I can't stand watching one of the most important persons in my life being like this to me. And you more than anyone. I can't deal with that."

Her heart was every second more pressed into her ribcage.

"What kind of feelings?" she asked.

"Don't you feel it too?" he said quietly, and slowly took her hand and headed it to his chest. "You make me go like this."

Lauren felt the intensity of his heartbeat and the surprisingly synchronization with hers. Her hand was cornered by his chest on one side and Darren's hand in the other one. She bit her lip. How could she stay mad with him if he did things like that?

"What about Mia?" she didn't reply to his last question but let her hand on his chest. "Does she make you go like this?"

"Not like this. But-"

"You have feelings for her too."

He nodded, looking down. She put her hand away, and held the tears that wanted to go down her eyes.

"Then, what do you want me to do, Darren?!" she dropped her fists to the sides of her body, her voice out of control "Do you want me to keep seeing you secretly, and then watch you make out with her and act like everything is okay? I can't do that! You know me since years ago, please! And you think I'm that kind of woman? I just-!" but her preach was interrupted when she was pushed against the kitchen's counter.

She didn't actually have time to react when Darren's lips pressed against hers. She resisted at first but he was persistent. He put one hand on her waist and the other one on her jaw; and before she realized she was kissing him back. His lips had a little taste of alcohol but not too much, and his body was warm as usual. He pushed her so close that she heard his heartbeat again, more accelerated now, and she knew that was his intention. She squeezed his hair and passed her hands all the way down his back. He kissed her more passionate at every second, he couldn't control it, Lauren drove him crazy.

He rubbed her leg with his fingertips, lifting her shorts a little. He couldn't help it, he always wanted more of her; more skin to feel, to touch, to kiss. Suddenly, Lauren put her hands on his chest, and pushed him violently, separating them. They both looked at each for some seconds, Darren confused and Lauren offended. She had tears on her eyes.

She took the ice's container and went back to the living room, while Darren was trying despairingly to catch some breath and order his thoughts.

Thanks to some miracle, the rest didn't hear anything about their fight on the next room.

"Are you okay?" Julia asked Lauren as she sat down on the floor again. She nodded and blinked a few times to make the tears disappear.

Darren went back to them and no one even noticed. They kept talking about pretty much meaningless stuff until the food was over. Then they were tipsy enough to start with the interesting part of the night.

"Who wants to play a game?" Sarah started.

"What kind of game?" Joey asked, he was preparing the next round of shots, so that could be fun.

"Uhm- I don't know. Truth or dare?"

"What are you, twelve?" Joe laughed.

"Then spin the bottle" she suggested.

"I prefer truth or dare, actually." Jaime said, so Sarah took advantage of her vulnerability.

"Cool, that's it. You start, Jaime!" Sarah announced excited. She got up and, prancing, brought a toy ball, and throw it to Jaime. "You have the ball, you are the boss!" One could see the nervous on her face, looking at the ball.

"Well, I pick… Oh, I don't know! Dylan!" she stuttered throwing the ball at him.

"Jeez, Jaime, thank you." He said. "I chose… dare."

"Uhm…" she was having some troubles trying to chose an challenge enough funny and not too embarrassing. "You have to wear lipstick and a bra for the rest of the game."

The Starkids broke on laughs just to hear it from Jaime. Dylan dropped his head back, regretting pretty much everything he made in life since college. Sarah, as the leader of the game, went for the bra and lipstick on her room.

"Ok, how do I look?" Dylan asked, after putting a sinuous and obscene line of red lipstick on his lips and a bra which barely fit him over his t-shirt.

"You are so pretty." Walker joked with his best hilarious voice.

"I choose the owner of this marvelous idea. Sarah."

She hid her face with her hands, laughing shyly. Then she took the ball and bit her lip.

"Truth or dare?" Dylan asked.

"I choose… truth. I've seen that you guys can be very… intense."

"I'm sorry, Joe, I know you invited us at your house and everything, but I have to ask this…" he apologized first, and then asked with a grin "At what age did you lose your virginity?"

"Oh, the game started!" Julia commented, clapping and completely amused.

"Oh my god!" Sarah cried. She looked down for a seconds, the whole group staring at her "I'm not going to tell anything about that. No way. My brother is here. Just no."

"You chose truth, you have to do it!"

"Ugh, okay, okay, but this is everything I'm going to tell about it!" she hid her face with her hands "I was seventeen." The reaction of the group didn't wait, in different sounds of surprise.

"Well, holy shit…" Darren commented.

"I don't like this game" Moses added, frowning.

"Well, hanging out with you guys have been really fun these past days. I've got to know a lot about every single one of you, except one person. So here you go" Sarah threw the ball at Lauren.

"Oh, great." She complained "I choose truth, but… nothing about virginities, okay?"

"Nothing about virginities" she repeated, smiling. "Well, I don't know a lot about your years in college, so… let's get a little intimate, but not too much. No names, I just want a number! How many persons who are now in this room have you ever kissed?"

"Crap…" Lauren whispered, and the others yelled in the instant "No, no, don't get me wrong! I mean, I've kissed your brother for Otto, the short film, and…"

"Oh, no, no." Sarah corrected "I only mean real life kisses. I don't care about the others."

She winked at her, but that only made the situation worse. If she said the number she was pretty much giving herself away. She struggled internally, squeezing the toy ball in her hands.

"Oh, she's counting, that's a bad sign…" Walker said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Shut up!" Lauren said. Then she just gave up "I've kissed two people in this room."

There was still an overreaction in the living room. Julia was the only one who knew about the two of them, the rest didn't know about any of them, and those two guys only knew about themselves.

"That's not interesting, Lauren," Walker commented despite the reaction of their friends "let's talk about your virginity."

Lauren, and annoyed but laughing, threw angrily the ball at him; and raised her eyebrows.

"Truth or dare?"

"Fuck it. I chose dare. Bring it on."

Lauren was happy he chose that. She had the best revenge in her mind.

"You have to put an ice cube in your pants and wait until it melts."

"Burn!" Moses teased him, while Walker let out a scream of regret.

Five minutes later he was still with the ice cube in his hands, hanging around and trying to avoid the inevitable event.

"Come on, Joe, you have the balls for this. I don't know if you'll them have after, but now…" Joey started but was slapped in the chest so he shut up.

"Fucking shit, I hate you all" he stated, and put the ice cube –the biggest, especially selected by them- inside his boxers.

The group laughed like insane at his hilarious reactions. His face went from scary to ridiculous. When he finally announced that the ice completely melted, they all sat down again, between his curses and their laughs.

"I was going to pick Sarah, but I don't want his poor brother to have a heart attack, so…" he winked at Sarah and she laughed shyly again "You'd have to take care." And he threw the ball at Moses.

"Truth. Please" he begged quickly.

"I think I'm not allowed to ask about virginities, but no one said anything about this, so here I go. Who were the first boobies you have ever touched?"

Joe started to laugh before even answering, so obviously the memories were kind of funny for him.

"Jesus… Ok. There was this girl in middle school that was too grown up for her age. Like, her boobs were huge, literally."

"Oh, god." Jaime Lyn hid her face on Joey's shoulder, laughing.

"And it was the last day of classes and I didn't want to go to high school as miserable as I felt. And it was the last day, I don't know! I just went and asked her. If I knew she was so easy I'd asked for more."

"That's the saddest thing I've ever heard" commented Walker.

"Whatever, shut up." Joe finished and took a shot of the drinks in the center of the circle. He used this movement to thrown the ball at Lauren, who barely had time to catch it.

"Again?" she asked.

"Yep. Truth or dare?"

"Dare." She spitted.

"Cool. I have a good one." and Lauren already started to regret it "I'm not going to ask you for those two people you said. But my challenge is, you have to kiss, right now, one of those two persons."

Shit.

Just… shit. She couldn't kiss Darren. She just simply couldn't. He had a girlfriend and they'd know it was recent, it'd be so obvious. And the other person… well, she simply didn't want to. That happened a long time ago, and the reason she didn't tell anybody was because they both didn't want it to happen and actually never took it seriously.

"I don't think I can." She cried, shaking her head.

"Come on, Lauren!" the gang cheered.

She was so screwed. There was no escape. Darren would mean losing the dignity, the hided secret, and after that they wouldn't be able to act normal around the rest, as friends or as something more, never. So she looked at Joey, who just shrugged, like if the matter was really meaningless to him.

She really didn't want to, but there was no option.

Lauren leaned over to the other side of the circle, and slowly kissed Joey. Long enough so the others wouldn't complain, but softly because she didn't want that to happen. Joey was like her little brother, it didn't feel right.

The reaction of the group was diverse, some of them whistled at them, others yelled and some of them just remained their surprises. The only one who just stared at them with no sign of affection, was the curly black hair man with his guitar behind his back.

"Okay, it was years ago! Get over it!" she yelled, and went back to her place, and thinking a little, she passed the ball to Julia.

"Hey, I'm next to you, aren't you ashamed of doing this?" she said with a grin on her face. "Truth."

"Well, I was thinking about asking this in another occasion, but now that I have the chance… When I was in Chicago I've found some guy clothes all around the house, and I mean before you started dating your boyfriend. Care to explain?"

"Oh my god." Julia put her hands on her face.

"It seems pretty bad, do we know him?" Moses asked.

"Yeah…"

"Oh, we know him!" he declared. "Come one, who is it?"

"First of all I want to tell it's totally over and it just were a few weeks and… I don't know, it's over, okay?"

"But who is it? Why didn't you tell me before?" Lauren started to complain already.

"Well, I kind of had a thing with… Nick… Strauss" she explained, ashamed.

"Nick? Nick Strauss? Our nick Strauss?" Jaime asked totally in shock.

"Yeah. Oh my god, I can't believe I said it." She was totally blushing, so Lauren hugged her like a sign of apologize. "Get off me, I hate you" she joked.

"That's the kind of stuff we wanted to hear. Finally!" Walker looked up to the ceiling and planking his hands together went "Thank Dead God."

When Julia recuperated her natural color, she threw the ball to Darren, who was totally lost since the kiss.

"Truth or dare, Dare?" she teased.

"Truth." He replied with a serious tone.

Lauren got scared, suddenly.

"We all know you are with Mia now, but, if you had the option to be with someone else, anyone who you have in mind, would you do it?"

That was the first serious question of the night. No one was laughing or making a noise. Darren was looking at the empty glasses on the center of the circle, like if he was about to grab one, but he didn't. He seemed to really think about the question seriously; not like if he was in a game, but like if was a subject that he need to decide at that moment. Most of the people in there didn't know who would be that other person, but still was a moment they didn't want to break. After a long moment of silence, he said, his voice more serious than ever:

"I'd do it."

Lauren gasped, without realizing it; and she was sure everyone would hear it if it wasn't because of a blare that sounded suddenly, covering her voice completely.

"Fireworks?" Joey asked.

"They stole my idea! There is even no game!" Joe complained, as they stood up.

"Let's go to the garden!" Sarah hurried them, and they run immediately to outside to see the fireworks in all their magnificence.

"Do I have to go like this?" Dylan said touching his nonexistent boobs over the bra, but still went outside. The fireworks were even prettier than Joe's, everyone were enjoying them. Everyone except two people that stayed sitting down on the floor.

Lauren stood up with some middle empty bottles and carried them to the kitchen, and left them on the counter. This time, she wasn't surprised when she turned back and found Darren on the door. He had the toy ball in his hands. None of them had a sign of emotion on their faces.

Darren threw the ball to her, and she caught it perfectly.

"Truth or dare?" he asked, stepping forward.

She waited a few seconds, they were looking at each other in the eyes, but it wasn't romantically. It was almost defiantly, as if they were trying to read the other's mind.

"Truth." She said quietly, but her voice sounded strong.

He stopped walking only when he was near enough to face her, but didn't touch her, although he'd do it if any of them moved a little.

Darren had already decided his question.

"It hurts so bad" he started, his voice terrifyingly serious, she could practically feel it reaching her neck "for you to see me with Mia, as it hurt me to see you kiss Joey?"

She only did it because of the game, and it wasn't really big deal, and still that stupid kiss annoyed him in an uncontrollable way. He couldn't even imagine how she felt.

Lauren leaned forward, put a hand on his shoulder, and her mouth right next to his hear, to whisper a phrase that sent chills through all his body. She said it in a slowly, seductive, and macabre way:

"As a million of fucking needles on my chest."

And she dropped the ball, which bounced next to his feet for a while, before abandoning the kitchen.

His heart beating faster than ever.


A/N: Reviews make me happy :)