Disclaimer- I own the fingers I type with and that's about it.
Authoress's Note- Truth or Dare it is! I'm actually quite proud of the way this turned out and hope anyone who was skeptical likes it as well. I'm actually too much of a chicken to ever play Truth or Dare, so it was quite fun to have the characters play it without myself being embarrassed though I did feel embarrassed for the characters! Anyway, I believe that you all will greatly enjoy this chapter, it's particularly 'juicy' I might add. -grins- I just said a very magical word, didn't I? E.D.J.
(1) "Ding dong the psycho's gone!" is credited to the TV show Friends.
Thanks!
Tash- I'm glad you liked the chapter and have nothing against Truth or Dare! I think if it's played too viciously than it's horribly mean though and not fun.
Pretty Padfoot- Yes, I'm hoping it's not too cliched! I didn't put myself through the agony of trying to read some Truth or Dare fics to find out what NOT to put it and I haven't really ever played in real life, but I think it turned out well.
ThelovelyladyLily- I'm glad you liked my lovely beginning to the last chapter. I'm particularly proud of it since I thought it was funny! Oh don't feel sorry about not liking Truth or Dare! I asked your opinion! And I'm not big on it in real life either, I'm too wimpy. -grins- I'm postive you'll like the results of this game of Truth or Dare. Well I'm not positive, but I'm hoping-crosses fingers-
brooklyngirl- Yes indeed. Ella Enchanted is a very sick movie. Princess Diaries Two was horrible as well. Have you read the books? The second movie has absolutely NOTHING to do with the books! If I was Meg Cabot, I would feel properly horrified by what they did to my masterpiece. That is why if I ever get my book published and they want to make it a movie, I'm telling them, "Either let me read over and change or write the screenplay or keep your filthy hands away from my work!" I'm glad you liked the quotes on my authoress's page! My friends and I are obsessed with funny quotes! Yes, I've read the Wayside School series as well. Those are good, very funny books too. And what state/city am I from? Are you planning on stalking me? Just kidding. Because I tend to be very very very paranoid, all I'll tell you is that I am from the Midwest.
blondedork- I'm glad you think the Truth or Dare will be brilliantly brilliant! You and brooklyngirl are both planning on stalking me! Again just kidding. If you didn't see the above response, I'm from the Midwest of the U.S. of A.
MagicFairyDuster- Ah yes much evil winks to you as well! I can't really tell you if there will be more Lily/James, but -evil wink- You'll see.
Skippy- Oh yes I think this Truth or Dare is very FUNNY.
Ch. 22- Don't Play This At Home, Folks
"What do you mean 'what am I supposed to do now'?" asked James, confused. "Isn't it obvious?"
"No!" said Sirius huffily. "Before, when I thought she hated me, the plan was to get her to like me. But now…what am I supposed to do? Ask her for a date and that's it, I'm in?"
Lily, Hestia, and Emmeline shifted uncomfortably.
"Well not exactly," mumbled Hestia. "She still has some er… problems with you."
"What'd you mean?" demanded Sirius.
Emmeline breathed deeply and decided that if Sirius already knew about Monica's feelings for him, it couldn't make it any worse to tell the rest of the secret. She cleared her throat. "Well, Mon thinks you only want her for… erm… pleasurable purposes."
"You mean a trophy girl," said Sirius miserably, burying his face in the sofa arm, so his voice was slightly muffled. "Another name to add to my list of bedded girls? Another shag to brag to my mates about? ANOTHER GODDAMN NOTCH ON MY BEDPOST, HUH?" Sirius lifted his head, and his grey eyes shone with suppressed fury. He glared vengefully at the three girls who were terrified by the dangerous edge to Sirius's voice. "Is that right?"
Lily opened her mouth and her voice came out as a dry squeak. "Yes, that's right."
Sirius threw back his head and laughed. "That's what she thinks, huh?" he murmured, eyes glinting. "Well, I'll show her." With that, he stood up and strode purposefully out of the room.
Everyone stared at each other, terrified out of their wits by Sirius's sudden switch from confusion to misery and then to anger and insanity.
"This whole thing is making Sirius a right loon," James muttered. "I for one will be glad when it's over."
Everyone else nodded, too stunned to speak.
Monica whistled cheerfully as she made her way up the Potters' front stairs and rang the bell. Gavin was gone and she was free to peacefully lust after Sirius, go after him, or even forget him entirely. Oh the possibilities!
After a few moments, the door opened, revealing the Potters' house-elf, Victor. "Hello, Miss," he squeaked, bowing. "Victor is sorry, but Miss's friends have already gone home." He gestured emphatically at Hestia's house next-door. "Miss is welcome to come in. Young Master Potter and his friends is having tea at this very moment." A rather perplexed look appeared on the elf's face. "Well, they is not so much having tea as they is throwing Victor's fresh hot crumpets at each other. But, Miss is welcome just the same."
"No thanks, Victor," said Monica politely. "I'll just go to Hestia's house."
Victor nodded, gave her a slight bow, said goodbye, and shut the door once again.
Monica practically skipped across the sand to Hestia's house and bounded up the stairs, unaware of the huge grin on her face. When she reached the girls' sitting room, she flung the door open, singing, "Ding dong, the psycho's gone!" She and Hestia had been introduced to the wonder that is "The Wizard of Oz" earlier that week. (1)
"What psycho?" asked Emmeline absently from where she sat doodling a picture that looked suspiciously like Remus Lupin on a scrap of parchment.
"Separation-anxiety?" asked Monica wryly, glancing at the parchment. Emmeline turned scarlet and hastily stuffed the picture into her pocket. "And what do you mean 'what psycho'? How many psychos do we know?"
"Ooh, tough one," said Emmeline, pretending to think. "Let's see, Sirius, of course, Lily and James, you-"
"HEY!" shouted Monica, flinging a cushion at her. "If I must spell it out for you, oh daft one, I broke up with Gavin."
"Oh, that psycho," said Emmeline with a smirk. "I knew that. I just needed a little jab at you after your unwanted comment on my artwork."
"Ha, very funny," said Monica still grinning. "Where are Lily and Hestia? We need to celebrate!"
"We thought you'd never ask!" laughed Hestia's voice and the door to Lily's room was flung open, revealing Lily, Hestia, and a number of enormous cases of Butterbeer and sweets.
"You three know me too well," said Monica, accepting a bottle from Lily and downing it in ten seconds flat.
Four hours and five Butterbeers each later, the girls were still at it. They'd declined dinner and taken to lounging around the sitting room in their pyjamas and laughing hysterically over anything that happened to come out of their mouths.
"You know what we should play?" asked Lily, eagerly bouncing up and down on the sofa.
"What?" asked the other three, too sugar-driven to realize how unnecessary the question was and how brainless all four of them sounded.
"Truth or Dare!" squealed Lily.
"Truth or what?" asked Hestia, confused.
"Dare," supplied Emmeline. "It's a Muggle game. Lily and I will teach you and Mon."
All four girls agreed to play and Emmeline and Lily quickly explained the rules.
"So we have to do or answer anything anyone asks?" asked Monica. "No matter what?"
"No matter what," repeated Emmeline, grinning slightly. This was going to be fun. Despite the sugar, she still had her wits and devious, calculating mind to help her. All she needed was perfect timing.
"I'll go first," Hestia volunteered bravely.
"I get to ask the questions then!" screeched Lily, an evil grin on her face. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth." Hestia knew she didn't have any secrets she hadn't already spilled to her friends. She didn't keep secrets from them.
"What really happened on your date with Nathaniel Waters back in fourth year? The one where you came back with your hair all mussed and wild-looking."
Correction: Hestia didn't keep secrets from her friends. Except that one.
"No!" yelped Hestia, her face red. "Anything but that!"
"You picked truth," Monica pointed out, already greatly enjoying this game.
"But… but…" All three girls gave her looks and Hestia sighed. "Alright! My hair got tangled up around Madam Rosmerta's wand- NO! I DON'T KNOW HOW- and she and Nate tried everything even one of those things that'll untie any knot, I forget what they're called. So, they decided they'd just have to use a spell to cut my hair. Except Nate got the Severing Charm mixed up with another one and… he set my hair on fire.Andthat really got my hair off Rosmerta's wand."
"I knew it!" shouted Lily triumphantly. "I knew you smelled like you'd been set on fire when you came back!"
"Well, bully for you, Lils," grumbled Hestia. "It was the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me and it happened in front of the entire pub for Merlin's sake!"
Everyone else just laughed hysterically, and Hestia muttered something about how stupid this game was.
"Hestia, it's your turn to pick someone and ask questions," said Lily timidly, nudging Hestia who was still muttering fiercely.
"Fine," said Hestia flatly. "Em, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Alright, when you went on that date with Davy Gudgeon, did you really leave because of his eye scar or because you hopelessly fancied Remus?"
Everyone winced at the mention of Davy's scar and Emmeline turned scarlet. "Well, erm… the second one."
"Really?" said Hestia, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, and besides, Davy's not much of a looker," mumbled Emmeline.
"Emmeline Leanora Vance!" gasped Lily, pretending to be scandalized. "Aren't you the shallow one?"
"Shallow like a puddle," added Monica. "Though I admit Davy's been slightly cross-eyed since the Whomping Willow got to him."
Everyone winced.
"Stop mentioning his eye!" snapped Lily, covering her ears. "It's bad enough that we have to see it during the school year! I don't want to picture it now!"
"Alright, Lily, your turn," said Emmeline with a smile. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare." Perfect.
"Kiss James."
"WHAT?" Lily sputtered, her face deathly pale.
"Kiss-"
"No, I heard you the first time, but, Em, I can't just go up and kiss him!" protested Lily.
"Why not?"
"Because I have a boyfriend!"
"And? It's a dare. And I highly doubt Andy's going to find out when he's a billion miles away in the Land Down Under."
"It's against my principles!"
"Principles don't matter in Truth or Dare." Emmeline's grin was getting wider. She knew Lilycouldn't back out. Eventually, she would run out of excuses and then.… Voile! An instant step forward. Or perhaps backward. Emmeline liked the idea of chance. And besides, it would make James happy for the next few… years.
Emmeline turned back to Lily, who was still sputtering much to Hestia and Monica's amusement, and said, "Well?"
"Fine," said Lily, throwing up her hands. "I'll do it. But it will be your fault when Andy breaks up with me, I never get another boyfriend again, and I am forced to marry James Potter!"
Well that's the general idea.
"Splendid!" said Emmeline, rubbing her hands together. "Now we need to lay down some ground rules-"
"You mean I can't just blow him a kiss or something?"
Emmeline laughed. "No, Lils, that completely defeats the purpose of this being a dare. Alright, number one: It's a kiss on the mouth. You can choose the erm… Frenchness of it."
"I think I'll keep my tongue to myself, thank you very much," said Lily snidely. "Anything else?"
"It has to last at least thirty seconds-"
"THIRTY?" gasped Lily, horrified. "That's… that's… half a minute!"
"Well spotted," said Monica sarcastically
"One more thing-"
"WHAT? It can't get any worse than this!"
Oh how wrong you are, Lily. "We're watching."
"I hate you all!" growled Lily as the four girls trudged across the sand toward the Potters'. She pulled her dressing gown more closely around herself. "Couldn't you have at least let me change into something remotely decent?" she asked.
"No," replied Emmeline.
They had reached the Potters' house. Lily sighed and grudgingly put Disillusionment Charms on her three so-called friends, being sure to whack them each very hard on the head with her wand. She listened and thought she heard the scurry of slippered feet going away from her and toward the house.
With a sigh of defeat, Lily climbed the steps to the front door and rang the doorbell. The door was opened by Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper. "Lily Evans," she said with a smile, eyeing Lily's dressing gown and pyjamas. "Can I do something for you?"
"Well, erm… I was, well, you see, er… I was wondering if I could talk to James?" Lily squeaked.
"Of course," said Mrs. Livingston, giving her a knowing smile. "I'll go get him."
"Thank you."
After the housekeeper had disappeared from the doorway, Lily bolted for the steps, but invisible hands grabbed her ankles, sending her scrawling headfirst down the steps.
"Lily?" asked a voice.
Damn it. She spit out a mouthful of sand and looked up to see James Potter staring down at her. "I er… tripped," she said helplessly as he scrambled down to help her up. "Thanks." Lily brushed sand off the front of her dressing gown and she saw James squinting at her as if he was wondering whether or not she was really there.
She looked at him for a moment before he cleared his throat. "Mrs. Livingston said you wanted to talk to me?"
"Ah erm… yes, about that…" Lily trailed off and decided to try a different approach. How exactly did you go about kissing your arch-enemy? They certainly didn't write self-help books about this. "Close your eyes," she ordered. He obliged.
Lily stared at him for a moment before finally saying, "Never mind. Open your eyes."
"Alright…" said James, opening them. He was unsure where she was going with all this.
Lily chewed her pinky nail thoughtfully. Finding no better ideas, she muttered, "Oh bugger, this is hopeless-" and flung her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his.
James stumbled backward, startled for a moment. What the hell was she doing? Is she kissing me? Merlin, she's kissing me! Dazed, his arms went around her waist and he kissed her back, unsure what was happening, but happy just the same.
Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty! Lily broke away from him, breathing hard.
"…the hell? What the hell?" murmured James, which seemed to be the only thing he could say. He stared at her, his arms still on her waist.
Lily stared back at him. Why didn't she have the urge to vomit or at least spit all over the ground? Why did she suddenly feel so safe and happy wrapped in his arms? Why was she grinning like an idiot at him?
Fear welled up inside her chest and she quickly disentangled herself from James's arms, murmuring, "Well erm… bye then," and darting off across the beach toward Hestia's.
Unbeknownst toLily and James, three nearly invisible shapes ran after her.
With a heaving sigh and another muttering of "What the hell?", James sat down on his front steps, wondering if he was dreaming or if Lily had suddenly gone mad.
Lily shook as she sat with her arms around her knees on the floor, wondering what was wrong with her. Did she miss Andy so much that all those emotions had made her think any kiss was special? Andy… She pictured him for a moment, tall, dark blonde, brown-eyed Andy. Nothing, no shiver of excitement, no butterflies, nothing. WHAT THE HELL?
Suddenly, Lily noticed the door open and three vague shimmers enter. "Hello," she said, her voice shaking with unshed tears. "You better not make medo that ever again, Emmeline." She pretended to shudder. "I think it's my turn to decide who goes next."
"Take the Disillusionment Charm off us first," said a disembodied voice that sounded like Hestia.
Wordlessly, Lily mutter the counter to the charm and the three girls materialized in front of her.
"Are you sure you still want to play?" asked Emmeline, touching Lily's shoulder, a look of concern on her face. She wasn't sure that dare had been a good idea anymore.
"Yes, why wouldn't I?" asked Lily, her voice bright with false cheer. "Hestia, truth or dare?"
They continued playing, but the game lacked much of the enthusiasm they'd had before Lily's dare. Everyone's minds were elsewhere. Lily was thinking about James and Andy, Hestia was worried about Lily, Monica was daydreaming about Sirius, and Emmeline was growing increasingly concerned with Lily and James and Monica and Sirius.
Finally, Emmeline had an idea right as it became her turn to ask a question. "Monica, truth or dare?" she said smoothly, praying Monica would choose the right one.
"Dare."
"Tell Sirius how you feel about him."
AHA-grins widely- Cliffie, aren't I evil? Em's quite the devious little thing, isn't she? Don't hate her! Admit it, you'd all do the same thing in her position! Admit it! Anyway I'm hoping to make it up to one hundred reviews! I believe I'm at ninety-three right so let's get the ball rolling people! Seven more reviews! I hope you all enjoyed the Truth or Dare! I know I did-grins evilly- E.D.J.