Truth or Dare
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, someone
else does
Chapter one…The Dare
Silently the bottle spun across the polished wood
surface as if twisting through space. Air whistled in the tapered rim on each rotation
until it finally slowed, coming to an abrupt halt in from of Hamilton.
"Hey
you guys! That's not fair, you're fixing this!"
"How
could we fix it?" Will asked gently, his voice showing that kind of smug
satisfaction that he was famous for
"Well, I don't know, but its landed on me for
the past three goes in a row"
"It
just has taste honey," Jake said in a sickly sweet sarcastic voice as she
snuggled up beside him. He smiled slowly, leaning down to kiss her and I
averted my eyes slightly, not wanting to remind myself of what I didn't have –a
relationship
"Okay
then, so what are my choices?" He asked, finally breaking away from his
girlfriend who was neatly nestled under his arm, still in full guy gear, which
was extremely unnerving during their extensive make-out sessions
"The
truth was, what's the kinkiest thing you've ever done…" Will replied
"And
the dare?"
"Streak…down
the hall" He said it with a smile, knowing full well which one Hamilton was
going to pick
For
a long moment Hamilton looked at Jake, considering his options before sighing
and jumping up, tugging off his T-shirt as he did so.
"You're
not…!" Will was amazed; obviously his earlier guess as to his friend's choice
had been incorrect
"Of
course. My kinkiest moment is very precious to me…" he said unbuckling his belt
and sliding down his jeans "…and…" he said ducking out of the doorway and
throwing us back a rumpled pair of boxers "…extremely embarrassing"
For
a moment the five of us sat in silence, astounded by our friends decision and
the speed of its undertaking.
Bella
and Sean, who'd been previously making out furiously in the corner, finally
came up for air and stared at the door through which a naked Hamilton had
recently passed
"Did
he just do what I think he did?" Sean asked pensively without letting go of his
girlfriend, the one girl I'd ever loved, my sister.
"Sure
looks like it" Will said in a matching state of shock.
"Good
luck to the guy is all I say" I said slowly, looking back towards Jake who
could only sit and gape, her delicate features a startling contrast to the
rough guy-like exterior, she swallowed.
"He's
dead"
We
all agreed.
Five
seconds later a panting Hamilton finally made it back through the doorway,
wearing nothing but an excited smile.
"Wow
that was mad" He puffed, slipping inside with only his hands to cover himself
and quickly ducking to pick up the underwear he had so recently discarded on
the floor.
"We
thought you were a gonna" Will said a matter-of-factly from his place next to
mine, his legs extended out in front of him, towards me, lightly touching the
small of my back.
"I
take it no one saw you?" I asked
"No
one about, lucky for me" Hastily he pulled on his jeans and took his seat back
beside Jake, kissing her deeply as he sat down "Right, where were we…"
No
one replied
"I-I
can't believe you just did that!" Jake said finally with a laugh "My God, if
anyone had seen you…"
"…they
would have got a lot more than they bargained for" He smiled, tugging his
T-shirt back on "So who's doing it next…?" He asked jokingly, looking round the
circle, we all averted our eyes and he laughed again, obviously high on his
experience.
For
a long moment no one moved, or spoke. Sean and Bella were busy making out again
in the corner I noticed idly, but choose to ignore them. It was Hamilton that
finally snapped us out of our amazement.
"Right,
are we doing this or sitting here like a load of dummies?" We sat, like a load
of dummies. He laughed once again. "I'm picking this time, the truth is: what
is your deepest sexual fantasy?" he smiled with his own mischievousness " and
the dare is…" he paused, enjoying his power "…kiss the person on your left,
properly" He looked toward Jake as he said it, who just happened to be seated
on his left.
We
all did the same and my stomach flipped when I realised I'd have to kiss
Hamilton. However a second before I could voice my objection Hamilton's hand
shot out and spun the bottle once again. Silently the four of us watched as it
glided across the floor, slowing gently before finally coming to rest on Will.
Who
happened to be seated on my right.
My
stomach did a triple flip with turn, pushing upwards against my lungs and
forcing all the air out of my chest.
Hamilton
was loving it, laughing hysterically at my terror from his vantage point across
from me; while Jake and Will exchanged a look I couldn't read.
For
a long moment we all sat in suspense as Will made his decision. It took him a
while, which puzzled me slightly; surely he would take the truth… he would
never…
My
thoughts were cut off abruptly as a strong pair of lips came down on mine.
I have no recollection of him getting up, or
even moving towards me, he was simply there, eyes closed, lips searching, mouth
against mine, sweet to the taste and soft, so incredibly soft.
Without
my minds consent my mouth responded to his, tentatively at first before coming
more passionate. Hamilton's dare was defiantly being fulfilled, this was a
proper kiss, the most proper kiss I'd felt I'd ever experienced in my life.
And
it was Hamilton who had started it all.
And
it was Hamilton who broke it apart.
A
hoot and a cheer from behind us suddenly snapped us back into reality. Our lips
flying apart, our faces flushed, eyes wide, breath short. For a long moment all
I could do was stare at him, into that face, so sweet, so angelic, so perfect…
"What
the hell did you do that for!?" Like a
bullet I was on my feet, terrified, shocked, repulsed. One hundred thoughts
flashed through my mind, things I should have felt and didn't, things I
shouldn't have felt and did.
Finally
I turned and fled, out of the room, out of the dorms, out of the building.
Stopping only when my feet hurt and my lungs ached for air and then slowly
lowering myself onto the dew-drenched lawn, a bundle of confusion, with the
taste of my best friend on my lips.
The
night was warm, a soft breeze cutting gently through the quiet of the evening.
An owl hooted far off to my right, startling me, causing me to realise where I
was, bringing my thoughts back into the present, rather than a few minutes
before.
"Stupid,
stupid, stupid" I mumbled to myself, over and over
"Why the dare?" I asked myself out loud "Why
not just answer the question?" It was simple enough, he needn't have told the
truth, just made something up, keep Hamilton happy, keep him quiet…now what was
he going to think.
But
what worried me most was not Will's decision but my own reaction to that
decision, the movement of my lips on his when he so wanted them to. The reply
to his touch, the feelings that coursed through my body as I felt his breath on
my face, that sweet breath, those soft lips…
I shook my head hard, these weren't the types of
thoughts I should be having. I'm straight for gods' sake! No red-blooded male
should be thinking these thoughts about another guy, his best mate no less.
Suddenly my mind switched over to Will: Was he…? Surely he couldn't be… I'd
have worked it out. It would have been obvious…wouldn't it? And if he is…what
am I?
My head started to spin, like the bottle which had
started all this mess, that damn bottle, so simple in design, that frazzled the
very framework of my life, my thoughts, my mind.
There
was a noise behind me and I spun round, catlike, on edge from the wars I was
having with myself inside my head. There was nothing there, only the gentle
swish of the grass in the wind and the occasional song of a cricket calling
into the short summer night.
Trying
desperately to relax I laid myself out along the grass, staring up at the stars
as they twinkled down at me, dazzlingly bright against the midnight blue of the
sky. More like 2am blue, I thought to myself idly, I shouldn't be out here, we
have crew practise in the morning, I was trying to be practical, running my
thoughts across more manageable subjects, ones I could rely on to be menial. I
should go back to bed…back to the dorm…which I share with… I hit a flaw in my
logic, or, more specifically, a brick wall.
Slowly
I closed my eyes, slitting them against the stars, hoping to tear my thoughts
away from this, this which I couldn't accept and didn't want to.
I
could feel his presence before I heard it
"Scout…"
It was a simple enough word, tentatively spoken. Terrifyingly my heart did a
series of somersaults inside my chest. I didn't reply
"Scout,
I don't know what to say…" There was a thump as he sat down beside me,
presumably watching me, but I didn't open my eyes to find out, I couldn't,
couldn't face him, couldn't be sure that the moment I set eyes on him those
feelings would return.
"I…"
He started once again, this time reaching out and laying a hand on my arm. I
flinched
"Don't
touch me…!" I spat in his direction, eyes flying open, scrambling away from him
as I had done just a few minutes before. He admitted defeat, sitting perfectly
still, evading my gaze.
I
had been right; once my eyes were open I couldn't take them from him. The guy
that until about half an hour ago I'd considered my best friend in the world,
we understood everything about each other, and although we were utterly
different, we were perfectly the same.
I
couldn't help but notice his profile as he looked down at the grass, his face
lit up by the lights of the school behind him, far over the rise in the lawn.
How desperately I wanted to touch that smooth skin, those perfect lips, those
long, feminine eyelashes…
I
snapped my eyes shut
"This
wasn't supposed to happen…" He said slowly, quietly, as if admitting his
deepest and darkest secret
"What
wasn't…?" My voice was hoarse, low, confused
"Your
reaction…"
"What
do you mean?"
"You
weren't supposed to act this way," My eyes flew open, astonished
"You
mean this was planned?"
"No,
of course it wasn't" Fleetingly he looked up and caught my gaze, before
dropping his eyes once again "I just…" He paused "I guess I'd always had this
schoolboy fantasy that if this… ever… that you'd…" He stopped,
"I'd
what?"
There
was a long silence, punctuated only with the quiet whisper of the wind through
the stillness of the night.
"…understand"
It
was an ordinary word, but I'll remember how he said it for the rest of my life.
It was said with a sigh, long and drawn out like air whistling through his
teeth, those perfect teeth. I swallowed hard, not understanding, wishing I did.
"Oh
God Will…" To use his name felt alien to me, it rolled off my tongue in a way I
found unfamiliar, strange. "…I don't understand," I admitted quietly, staring
at the top of his head, willing him to look at me, into my eyes. Just moments
before I had been the one evading his gaze, but now I found myself desperately
seeking it out.
Finally,
he looked up, catching me watching him, holding my stare
"I
don't think I understand either" There was a smile playing on his lips, a quiet
one, subtle but there. "When Ham said… and the bottle landed on me… I just… I
didn't know what to do"
Unable
to finish his sentences he threw a few beginnings my way, hoping I would
understand. This was so unlike Will, the man with the prodigal vocabulary, even
he was lost in a situation like this.
"But
why…?" I matched his inability to string sentences together.
There
was a long silence before Will dropped his gaze again, I could tell something big
was coming, a confession, and my stomach tied itself in knots about it
"Because
you are the answer to both of the questions"
In
a flash I was on my feet, awestruck, astonished, amazed by the declaration.
Unable to speak I began to pace, terrified steps, trying to piece together what
was going on
"You
mean… you've… felt this way for a while" He nodded slowly, eyes closed, almost
ashamed, hurt by my reaction. "How long? How long have you wanted to do to me
what you did back there?" I was getting angry now; it was a mask for what I was
really feeling, not because I couldn't express it, but because I didn't
understand it.
"Since
I met you Scout" He was on the defensive now, on his feet, matching my gaze,
daring me to comment, to become upset, to get angry with him
"Shit
Will!" I spun away for him, resuming my pace, unable to take anything in "I
really can't handle this…this is so…fast"
"Fast?
Fast is one thing this hasn't been." His voice was strong, not loud, but angry,
he punctuated his words with his hands, animated, giving them impact "You have
no idea what its been like, to be there for you for this past term, to listen
to you go on and on about Bella and how you can never be together. That's what
I can't handle Scout, I can't handle lying there in my own bed and listening to
you drone on about how I could never understand how you feel because I've never
experienced a love that could never be…" He paused, breath coming fast, the
anger apparent. During the course of his speech I'd stopped dead in my tracks,
turning to face him as he yelled, astonished to see yet another side of my
mild-mannered friend which I had never witnessed before "…and you know what the
hardest part was Scout?" I shook my head slowly "Biting my tongue, not telling
you how I felt because I knew you'd react this way. When I said before that you
weren't supposed to react like this, that I'd always had some warped schoolboy
fantasy that you'd just fall into my arms and this would all be over, I was
telling the truth Scout, that was what I wanted, but I knew it would never
happen. I know you too well Scout, and that's why this hurts so much…it was
inevitable"
There
was a long moment where we simply stood and stared at each other, his chest
rising and falling heavily, but slowing, anger gently subsiding, his voice was
much quieter when he spoke again, more reasonable
"Scout,
I know I was stupid to take the dare, I should have just told some half-assed
lie about my deepest sexual fantasy. But I was tired Scout, tried of lying all
the time, to you and to my friends and even myself. These past few weeks have
been nothing but a lie Scout, trying to pretend that it wasn't you that I
thought of when I closed my eyes at night, using Caroline to prove I was
straight when it was you I wanted all along. I apologise for putting you
through this Scout and I thought I'd feel better when all this was out in the
open but I was wrong, I feel worse, because you're hurting about it too…" There
was a short silence before he finished quietly "…I think I've said everything I
have to say…"
Silently
he turned and started back towards the school, head held high, pride not
allowing him to show the hurt inside.
There
were tears in my eyes as I grabbed for his arm, twisting him round to face me
and offering him a wan smile.
"Shit
Will, I can't believe I'm doing this"
"Doing
what?" he asked pensively
And
running my hand up to the back of his neck I pulled the slightly taller boy
(…my best friend, the person I cared about most in the world, the best friend
of a girl I thought I had once loved…) down towards me, and kissed him deeply.
Chapter
Two…The Truth
Coming
soon