A/N: Hey friends! Thanks for sticking around for more. I'm super excited about this chapter and the next few as well! Feel free to tell me your ideas about what's going on here, I thrive off of feedback (that and caffeine, as every author does). ;) Love you all! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

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ISFNE Chapter 28

Allison POV

The car-ride up was fairly uneventful but I had fun getting to know Peter and Dana. They were obviously in a new relationship and were "going public" for the first time at the party. Especially if the game we played went well apparently. Something I, of course, started asking after.

"So what is this game we're playing tonight?" I finally probed.

Chloe and Kate exchanged a quick look up front that I couldn't make out before Chloe responded, "It's a game we played during undergrad. Simon invented it actually. Unfortunately, the whole premise is that you don't know the game until you play it, so we can't tell you much."

"What's it called?" I asked, intrigued despite my wariness.

"It only known in the outside world as The Game," Kate said turning with a grin. "You have to play tonight, Allison, it's so fun."

"I don't know guys, I'm guessing it's a form of a drinking game and I'm still underage. Plus, I still need to limit alcohol intake for the twins," I said.

"Allison, we know you can take a break this weekend, it won't stick around long enough to affect them by the time you're back. You need this weekend to let loose," Chloe said dismissively, "you need to play."

"I don't know," I said quietly.

"Please?" Kate pleaded, "You're going to be perfectly safe and it's going to be so fun!"

"We'll help you out as much as we can," Chloe tacked on. "You won't get hurt."

It went dead silent as we only heard the humming of the tires on the asphalt. I gave in, "Fine, I'll play. Does this mean you'll tell me what this game is now?"

"Fine. One hint," Chloe relented, "It's also known as Truth, Dare, Drink, or Spin," she said, giving me a wink in the rearview mirror. My feeling of unease didn't settle at all with this knowledge and I wondered what I'd truly signed up for. It felt like I'd unknowingly conceded something important. I was silent the rest of the way up while Peter and Dana began chatting excitedly about all the night had in store.

Chloe POV

It was going better than I could have planned. We'd gotten Allison to agree to play and gotten her slightly comfortable around Peter. As I pulled up to the cabin and we unloaded, I got my first good look at what Allison had worn and found she had followed my advice wonderfully. At first glance, she didn't look obviously layered but on second glance she had so many different pieces of clothing that I knew she could definitely make it through The Game without her modesty being compromised too much. Now it all depended on how she played. We already likely knew what avenue she'd take when faced with her options, but even if she didn't, we were confident Simon would know how to play her. He was scarily good at making The Game go his way. I glanced over at Allison as she grabbed her bag, feeling a small stab of pity. This was not going to be easy for either of them. I brushed the feeling aside, it was for their own good, I told myself, if we didn't force them together to work out their problems they likely never would. We were doing them a favor in the long run…though they likely wouldn't see it that way tonight. I looked over at Kate and received a grim but supportive nod; it was time to enact part two of the plan: we had to make Simon jealous and protective of Allison.

Simon POV

It was approaching eight thirty when the doorbell rang a few times before the door opened to reveal Chloe, "The party has arrived! Add five more players to The Game!" she sang out, eliciting a small cheer. She entered followed by a girl I didn't recognize. Kate followed them and an acquaintance of mine, Peter, followed her, pausing at the door to hold it open for the girl that followed…one that I immediately recognize. It was Allison. I did a double take, how was she here? How the hell had she been talked into coming? And she had entered The Game? Had she lost her mind? I watched her enter and laugh at something that Peter said to her and felt a small knot of anxiety form in my stomach. Did she truly have idea of what she was getting into? Hadn't Chloe and Kate tried to dissuade her? I went to pull her aside but thought better of it. She wanted nothing to do with me, I should keep my distance.

I watched her carefully throughout the night and did not miss how Peter continued to hang around her. He seemed intent on her and, for some reason, she seemed welcoming of his company. I tried to ignore the jealousy that flared at that. It wasn't like it meant anything.

Allison POV

Peter hung around as the night went on, wandering with me through the party – something that I didn't miss and asked about in regards to Dana. Why wasn't he with her?

"We're going for a surprise reveal sort of thing. I wonder if you'd be willing to help me with that?" he said turning it back on me.

"In what way?" I asked, interested, but not without suspicion.

"Act like you're being swayed by my charms. People will think I'm playing for you during the Game instead of Dana," he said, with a devious grin.

"Peter! That's so…"

"Hilarious? Brilliant? Ingenious?" he teased.

"Sneaky! Why all the subterfuge?"

"Well, let's just say, it's been a really long time coming with Dana and me. Everyone who knows us has been trying to force us together and now that it's finally happened we want to turn it on them as much as possible and have some fun ourselves. What do you say? It's only for a little while," he said conspiratorially.

I relented, "Sounds like it could be fun, but be nice."

"Of course," he said with a wink. "Let me go get you a drink, any preference?"

"Nothing with alcohol."

"Good call. Be right back."

Simon POV

"Hey guys, what's up?" Peter said joining the group of guys that had gathered around the cooler of drinks.

Hellos were exchanged and general small talk continued but conversation quickly turned to The Game and prospects. There were quite a few single guys and girls who were scoping out options and many of the guys in the circle were among the singles.

"Becca's been dropping hints in class that she'd be up for a private party, this is my chance," one of them piped up.

"Not if I have my way," another piped up, "she's been eyeing me up all night."
"They're all pretty hot, but I've gotta avoid Jenna. She's still after me since that party at your place, Peter," a guy, maybe his name was Michael, maybe it was Micah, I didn't know or care, threw in.

A cheer and laugh went up at memories from this party that had apparently happened before Michael/Micah piped up again, "Yeah, Pete, who're you going for? Dana's here! Tonight's the night!"

Peter smiled and rolled his eyes, "Give it a rest!" They all laughed, "I don't know, that girl Allison is pretty cute, maybe I'll get to know her tonight," he joked, raising an eyebrow suggestively, to which everyone laughed and "ooed" …excluding myself, of course. Peter made his exit at this, picking up a can of Sprite, a water bottle, and a snack bag of pretzels and heading directly toward Allison. I tried to stomp down the rage I felt at his comments. How dare he set his sights on Allison! He was going to scare her to death. I looked over again and saw Allison eating the pretzels and pale slightly at whatever it was Peter was saying to her. He continued to talk until she looked only slightly disgruntled. And then I saw him lean down to whisper in her ear as she listened intently. She looked confused as he leaned back slightly and then kissed her cheek. Instead of the fear, or possibly the act of self-defense, I thought I was about to witness, she blushed and smiled slightly with surprise, he whispered one more thing to her and then finally left her side.

I was going to kill him.

Allison POV

"Brought you some pretzels too," Peter said, arriving back at my side. "A little help for getting through The Game. Food makes drinking easier."

"Thanks," I said, accepting the pretzels and water, grateful for any help I could get. "What's up with the group of guys over there? Why are they looking at me?" I asked.

"That circle is mostly filled with the singles for The Game and they're staring at you because I may or may not have just staked a claim on you."

"WHAT. Why would you do that?!" I demanded, suddenly very agitated, "What does that even mean?!"

"Woah, calm down, it'll all be explained about rules and stuff but one of the objectives you can choose is to leave with someone from the group for the night."

I paled slightly at that, "I-I don't, I don't want to-"

He shrugged slightly, "I figured as much. I don't want to leave The Game with you either. But in claiming I do, I've really done us both a favor."

"Please enlighten me as to how have you done me a favor," I challenged.

"I benefit in throwing them off of my real objective: Dana. You benefit by having people think you're spoken for, especially since you've been sticking with me this whole time."

Surprised at this twist, I grudgingly had to admit he had a point.

He seemed to sense my acceptance, "You're welcome."

"Whatever, did you seriously have that completely planned from the start?"

"Gotta stay as many steps ahead as one can when it comes to The Game," he said.

"The more I hear about this game the more I regret agreeing to participate," I responded, eating another handful of the pretzels.

Peter suddenly leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Don't hurt me, I'm just sealing the deal. Look surprised but flattered." Before I could retort, he kissed my cheek. I decided to play the part and smiled prettily. His hand landed on my shoulder as he whispered again, "This has been lovely, best of luck during The Game."

"I'm going to kill you," I said out of the side of my mouth. Peter laughed and left to rejoin the group of guys.

Chloe POV

It was the moment of truth. People started gathering and Kyle quickly had everyone start forming a circle in the living room of the cabin, moving couches and tables out of the way. Everyone finally settled, some looking nervously around not sure of what they'd gotten into, others eagerly chattering as we got ready to start. I scanned the circle quickly from my seat and saw Simon silently entering the living room area from the open kitchen. He took a seat almost directly across from Allison; the spot that those who knew his playing style knew was his targeting spot. I breathed a small sigh of relief and saw it reflected in the quick glances I exchanged with Kyle, Kate, and Grant, but it was still grim. Part three was starting. Hopefully, Allison would hold up.

"Welcome, everyone. Thanks for joining us on faith for Truth, Dare, Drink, or Spin," Kyle announced as everyone quieted down and a shot glass was placed in front of each player. "For those of you who are new to this, I'll do as brief an explanation as I can. As the title clearly states there are four parts to this game. Truth and Dare are fairly self-explanatory. There are parameters for the dares that will be addressed if anything interferes with them. The option to Drink will result in you taking a shot. The option of Spin will result in you spinning this," he pulled out our modified Twister spinner, "and possibly losing an item of clothing.

"These are the basic building blocks of the game. What makes this entire thing interesting is how they are implemented. This," he said pulling out a bottle of vodka, "will be your spinner for turn-taking. It will also be the bottle we take shots from. This makes it challenging, but not impossible," he gave a quick wink, "to target people. You also can take away one option after the bottle has landed on the next person BUT they may not choose the same option more than three times in a row, making it impossible to avoid more than one part of the game. You have two 'chickens' to use on anything you would like, but if a dare has been proposed and turned down, that same dare may not be propositioned again by the same person or another person. The only exception is the dare to leave the game which can be turned down from one player but issued again by another. Finally, there are only three exit strategies in this game. The first: lose every piece of clothing. Second: become too drunk to continue. Third: leave with another player.

"I won't patronize or lecture but please, be safe and make sure everything is consensual after the game has ended. If you leave the game with another player, you will be spending twelve hours in their company, though hopefully many of them will be spent sleeping. The dare-er will pick a piece of paper out of this bowl," he gestured to the bowl right outside the circle, "which specifies the room you will be in for the night. Choose wisely, two are bunk beds, two are full, one is a queen, one is a king in the master bedroom. You may have noticed there are more people than there are bedrooms. The remaining people will be on air mattresses and couches down here," he said, finally finishing up. "Any questions?"

As he cleared up a few minor details, I spared a glance at Allison and could tell her mind was going a million miles a minute trying to figure out how she would get out of this game. I peeked over at Simon and saw him obviously puzzling out the situation as well, glancing occasionally at Allison, his brows furrowed. I felt a stab of pity for Allison, she didn't know what was coming. Oh, please, let this work.

Simon POV

It'd been an impulsive decision to join the Game, but damned if I wasn't going to strategize like it was a war. I was going to get Allison out of the Game to keep her from Peter, something I realized would definitely be made more difficult by her almost certain resistance. I'd have to corner her, definitely a more challenging route. I looked over at her and quickly began to analyze her playing strategy. I knew Allison, I knew how her mind worked… so what was her play? She wouldn't want to leave with Peter or anyone, and she definitely wouldn't sacrifice her modesty, which eliminated two strategies, making her options suddenly very narrow. She would either try to drink herself out, or she would hang back and try to be a leftover, something very difficult to accomplish on purpose since so much of the game was based on chance. I only needed to get rid of her two chickens, and force a dare, that was the option she'd likely avoid most. I studied her outfit though, she could waste a lot of turns on "Spin" depending on how far she was willing to go.

I winced inwardly, she was going to hate me even more if I went after her with no mercy, but as I thought it through again, I knew I could finally get the answers I'd wanted so badly for so long. If she was going to hate me either way, I might as well make the most of it. I'd just have to pick my moment, be relentless, and hope for a little luck and maybe some help from my friends.

It went for a while before someone landed on Allison. One girl had already gotten targeted by two guys and in the process had lost every stitch of clothing on her top half before slyly accepting a dare to leave with one of them. Five rooms were left. When it finally landed on Allison, they offered her every choice. I watched as she quickly chose to down a shot, assuring me that I been correct in guessing her primary exit strategy. She gave the bottle a twirl and it landed on Peter who she offered every option as well. He eyed her up and chose to spin, losing his socks. He spun and landed on the other girl that had been with them, Dana apparently, who lost her leggings and then landed on Allison.

"Truth, Dare, or Spin," she offered.

A small flash of panic flitted across her face at not being offered Drink but she covered it well, "Truth," she said reluctantly.

"First kiss story," Dana said with a grin.

I winced inwardly as I saw Alice pale, a clear sign that Dana had unknowingly hit on a traumatic memory. I wondered what Alice's response would be. Would she dare to tell and bring down the party vibe, or was it worthy enough of using one of her precious 'chickens'. I could practically see her weighing the options.

"Chicken," she finally whispered in defeat. I could see the ripple of surprise run through the unknowing others at the seemingly innocuous question, but saw my understanding reflected in the faces of my friends.

She spun and the game continued for a while, her losing her sweater and the slip under her skirt, and getting to down another shot; me telling the story of my first kiss (kindergarten, on the playground), and two more couples leaving. Three rooms left. She was reaching her limit with what she was willing to lose on a Spin. All that was left was to get rid of her last 'chicken' and corner her into a dare. It was time to strike.

Allison POV

This was the most frustrating and stressful thing I'd ever endured. I was powerless to make the game go my way and had only been able to get in two shots since the beginning. Thankfully, though, I had made it through halfway. There were only three rooms left and people were getting agitated about getting a room for the night. I'd lost my sweater and gotten out of losing my skirt by taking off the slip underneath much to the amusement of the entire group, but I was getting close to dangerous territory with the option of Spin. Peter offered me everything but drink. I spun again and landed on pants, and carefully removed my pantyhose, preferring to keep my skirt, sending up a small groan of protest in the group and a laugh from Peter. I spared a glance at Simon as I sat again to find his gaze on me looking deep in thought. I landed on a different guy who drank and then landed on Simon who took a dare to lick a bar of soap. Suddenly the bottle was pointing back at me.

"Truth, Dare, or Spin?" he asked.

Damn, if I spun and messed up I could lose my skirt, I really only had my shirt left to lose. But Simon and either of the other options seemed like a very dangerous combination. I was torn. "Truth," I finally settled.

He thought for a moment, "I'll hold onto it, and use it within twelve hours. Agreeable terms?" he asked.

I froze, my brain short-circuiting. Had he really implied what I though? He'd basically told me he was going to get into one of the last three rooms and that it would be me who joined him. Why else would he lay out an arbitrary time limit of twelve hours if not to proclaim his intention to have me leave the game with him? I was petrified. What did Simon want? What was he going to do to me? I had to get out of this now more than ever. But how? And then I realized the answer was right in his offer. Evade the dare. If I lasted long enough the rooms would fill and then I wouldn't have to go with Simon or answer to whatever truth he wanted from me privately. "I accept the terms," I said evenly as I could, though I felt my voice quaver slightly. He nodded and I spun, too preoccupied to try to aim for anyone, only to have it land on Simon. He looked at me expectantly. "Truth, Drink, or Spin?" I asked, wary of any and every Dare.

He spun and lost his pants, stripping to his boxer briefs before sitting and spinning the bottle; it landed on me once again. Simon apparently had a talent or had gotten the hang of the bottle's weight. Hopefully someone would drink soon. "Truth, Dare, or Spin?"

I was scared to death but the entire situation was safe enough at the moment that all it did was turn to restrained anger. I felt betrayed. "Truth," I said, feeling slightly bold. He banked it with the other one. I wasn't going to do let him get a chance to use either. It went around again and he banked again. I spun and Chloe drank. Finally, something that would throw off Simon's aim. She spun to Grant who drank as well, he spun back to Simon who carefully picked up the bottle and poured a shot, holding my gaze as he set it down and spun it to land right back on me. He downed the shot and then extended the offer. "Dare or Spin?"

I was thrown, "You can't only offer two."

"I can when you've done one three times in a row. Dare or Spin?" he said again, quietly.

If I took the Spin I could end up losing more than I was comfortable with, but if I took the Dare…I still had a chicken. Maybe he'd forgotten? If he offered, he couldn't do so again. I went for it. "Dare."

Simon POV

She knew what I was doing and she was going to fight me every step. I had hinted to her in the hopes that she might want to have a way out with someone she knew, but I realized it was a mistake the moment I saw her work it out. I'd only scared her more. It didn't matter, I was going to get her out of there no matter what she did. She was cornered though she didn't quite see it yet. She'd accepted a Dare…but why. She didn't want to leave with me. Then I understood her play. She still had a chicken, she was hoping I'd forgotten. A surprisingly well thought-out move for her inexperience. Now the question was whether I scared her with a Dare she'd have to chicken on, or did I take a chance with one that she might follow through with in order to avoid using up her last out. I didn't really want to outright take advantage of her position but I also didn't want to scare her more than I apparently already had.

"I dare you to pick someone to make out with in the closet for one minute," I said carefully, proud of my response. It was easy enough with the control in choice and the time limit, but it was made less appealing to her by her fear of any touch and the fact that the people here that she knew were either me, my friends, or Peter. I was actually unsure of what her response would be and it seemed she was too. She weighed the options for a long time with everyone egging her on to do it. She finally answered.

"Chicken," she said, worry coloring her tone. She had no more safety net. She spun and landed on a girl who then left with the guy she landed on next, leaving the room count at two. The bottle somehow quickly came back to me, I suffered through a very tame dare of playing the first song that came up on shuffle on my phone (Eye of the Tiger, classic) and was able to quickly spin back to Alice. She was panicking. I banked another truth, and two more after that, though she banked a few on me in turn but with much lengthier stipulations. Both rooms were still open and the group had narrowed significantly. A few people were much too drunk to continue, and one guy had been completely stripped and therefore was out. The group consisted of Kate, Grant, Chloe, Kyle, Dana, Peter, Alice, me, and a few stragglers. I would have been suspicious but was much too occupied by the game at this point.

"Dare or Spin?" I offered, as before.

She spun and removed her button up shirt to be left in only a cami and her skirt; she was trapped. I got in three more truths as she stubbornly refused to give in, getting more and more agitated by the minute. At this point the group was much more interested in the drama in front of them that their own agendas, they passed off the bottle to me with barely an attempt at an offer. I landed the bottle on Alice. Her breath hitched and I noticed a few stray tears leak out of her eyes. She was so scared. Why was she so scared? "Dare or Spin?" I offered.

"No, nonono," she pleaded, "I can't."

The room was silent. "You can," I said gently, "Dare or Spin, Alice."

She grabbed the spinner and landed on her shirt, something I knew she wouldn't lose. She really began to cry at this.

"If I bank the Spin will you take up my dare next round?" I asked her quietly.

She had brought her knees up, hugging them to her chest and burying her face in her arms. "I can't," she whispered through a choked sob.

"If you don't I'll only bank three more truths on you and you'll be in the exact same position," I reasoned with her. "Alice, it's just me. I won't hurt you," I tried to reassure her. "Do you agree to those terms?"

She was silent, her breathing still irregular in a way that I could tell she was moments from shattering, but she amazingly held together lifting her head slightly and finally gave a despondent nod.

"You have to say it," I said carefully.

"I accept," she finally whispered after a drawn out silence. She spun the bottle, it landed on me like a cruel joke. She banked one last truth on me. I could feel the entire group holding their breath for my next spin. I gave it testing nudge and carefully pulled it back slightly, giving it a well measured push. It spun once. Twice. Three times, and slowly came to a halt halfway through it's fourth spin at Allison's feet.