10- "Truth or Dare"

"Uh- hi." Greg said, shocked.

Arianna was soaked. In both hands she held a suitcase.

"Don't hate me." She whispered.

An hour later, Ari was sitting on the couch and Greg was on the opposite end. They sat facing each other.

"I'm so sorry I just had to spring this on you. They just kicked me out since I went on a 'maternity vacation'. They said I can't live there over a vacation that long. Those jerks, they didn't even tell me. I hate myself for having to ask you this... but..."

"Stay here was long as you want," Greg said, waving his head in the air as if it were nothing.

"Just until I can find a-"

"Stop talking," He said, smiling at her. She couldn't help but smile back. Her legs were sprawled out near him, her protruding stomach seemed pretty awkward, and her hair was starting to dry and become fluffy after the rain.

Empty Chinese food containers were piled up on the coffee table, and Ari and Greg were making small talk.

"Let's see what's on the tube," Greg said, and leaned over to grab the remote, but, classically, at that moment the electricity went out.

He dropped the remote, "Or not."

Ari burst out suddenly, "Oh God, Greg, I am so sorry that I am here! I'll just-"

"Fine." He interrupted, "You can stay here, but for a price. And I don't want your money..." He said sneakily, and winked in a playful way as he readjusted his position on the couch.

She smiled back curiously, "...scared of you."

"Okay, as girl-sleepover-ish as this sounds, we are going to play a little game of Truth or Dare, without the Dare part."

"Good. Being the pregnant one, I might've ruined some."

"You first," Greg said, and reclined back on the couch, stretching his legs against hers as she smiled that smile back at him.

"Fine. We'll start off easy. Where were you born?"

"San Gabriel, California on May 7th. I went to UC Berkeley and majored in Chemistry. I was president of Science Club back in high school and I enjoy sports and long walks on the beach." He said this all really fast, "Okay, my turn."

She smiled back, realizing she shouldn't have given away an easy one. She winced, ready for him to ask her a really personal question

All he said was: "Okay. Tell me your story."

"My- my story?"

"Yeah."

She shifted uncomfortably, "Well I was born October 7th, in Denver, Colorado. I went to Columbine High School a year after the shootings... and that was pretty emotional. I hate sports except dance... and by that I mean all kinds of dance, except interpretative because that is just too weird."

Greg gave her a questioning look.

"I came from a family who lived in Colorado their entire lives. I was into arts and crafts and could have become an actress but that's a kiss-ass industry and I hate doing that, so I decided to take a different route. I owned a dog and taught it all these commands in Spanish just to confuse people, but he was run over when he was two. That's about it."

Greg shot her an amused look, "Tell me about your family."

Ari became noticeably more uncomfortable, "This would be so much easier if I could get drunk." As an afterthought, she took a swig of her water.

Greg suddenly felt for her, "I'm sorry, if I am pushing too far..."

"No no, I guess... I guess I should tell someone. My husband, at the least," She joked. It was the first wedding joke made that day, and it lightened the mood, even though it was pretty dark in the room, except the few candles Greg had lit.

"Well, my family was terrible... but not in the way you'd think." Greg threw her a confused look.

Finally, her dam burst, and she just started going.

"My family... they were so normal. So intensely and utterly normal. It was sickening. Everyone in my neighborhood, they all had no dreams. Like, everyone just wanted to grow up and have a family and die. They all had no drive! My sister died last year at the age of 22 because she had AIDS from when she ran away and prostituted herself when she was 15. Before she died she told me it was because she was bored.

"I never understood her! How could someone throw something as precious as a life away! No one even flinched! Nothing could have changed that! I felt like a freak, actually dreaming of a life where I could change the world. No one even bothered to help me reach any goals. It was like a curse if you never outgrew your childhood habit of dreaming! It was a dreamless world and I was one person who couldn't take it!

"My father was a cop and died when I was 12 because one stupid drunk driver didn't want to spend the night in jail. As if my father's life wasn't worth that. And my mother, ah, she was just a vessel! A house-cleaning vessel. She mind as well have been an android! There was no emotion there. She died last year. They never told me of any relatives, and of course, the relatives would have never come to me."

She began to tear, "...and here I am, a broken down, pregnant from God-knows-who, 18 year old who is totally afraid of emotions because I never grew up around them. Some people dread living in poverty but it can be just as bad growing up in a place void of ambitions or intelligence or feelings.

"There was no love. And I am so..." her voice cracked, and she began to speak quieter, "...scared that I will raise my child the same way. I don't know if a curse like that is genetic."

She looked at Greg, "Then I meet you, someone full of such laughter and joy and who is so nice without a reason. Just so... empathetic and funny. I know it isn't true but sometimes I feel like I don't deserve to be around you.

"I just- need something. I don't know what, but something. I probably won't know until I get it."

She finally fell silent, not exactly crying but holding back tears.

Greg nodded, "That's what I wanted from you."

"What?" She asked.

"I needed to know that you weren't perfect. I was afraid you were an angel."

He leaned over and hugged her. For once, she didn't have the urge to stop him.

"Why do we close our eyes when we kiss, sleep and dream? Maybe it's because the best things in life are just unseen!"
-Unknown