In the days that followed James' encounters with Sirius and Remus, he had decided that he needed a comrade to pull of his scheme—and the obvious choice was the fourth member of their little gang—Peter. In secret, he and Peter had been meeting. Of course, the round boy had been shocked at first, and had asked James if he was absolutely sure:

"Do we know? I mean, aren't they just touchy with one another?" Peter had asked. James rolled his eyes.

"They're touchy because they like each other, Pete. Why else would they be like that?"

It was decided that action needed to be taken. After all, no cohesive pranking could get done whilst there was tension between the Marauders.

November 1st, 1974

James and Peter entered into their room late that Wednesday. They had spent the last week going over the plan: truth or dare, where they would get both boys to slowly realize that they both liked each other. It was perfect; they'd ask only them questions, force them to respond (the boys, over time, had developed some very intense rules), and eventually…the two would fall in love. The way James pictured it, they would learn that they both fell for each other at the same time, that the crushes they would describe were each other, and then at last: a dare to kiss one another. It was all very perfect, very wonderful, and as James believed, very brilliant.

"Alright boys, it's truth or dare time!" James exclaimed. Remus groaned.

"Oi, not again," He said, closing his book and jumping off the bed. It was an unspoken rule: when truth or dare called up, you answered. Sirius was hesitant as well, but like Remus, he had little choice.

"Alright, alright, I'm in," Sirius grinned.

"Excellent," James began. "Now, as the initiator of the game, I start. Come circle up."

The four boys formed a little circle on the floor of their room, amongst the scattered clothes and books. James cleared his throat.

"I now declare this game…begun! And for my first turn, I choose…" James said as he looked around his circle of friends, "I choose Moony. Truth or dare, mate?"

"Truth," Remus said, somewhat hesitantly. James smiled.

"Alright…do you have a crush?" Remus narrowed his eyes, but James pressed on. "You said truth."

"Well…then yes," Remus said shyly. Sirius' eyes widened.

"WHO! Moony, you need to tell us these things. Who do you like?" The boy asked eagerly. Sure, friends told each other these things. But beneath his curiosity, Sirius was almost jealous.

"Technically, it's whom, and technically," Remus smirked, "That's another question."

"He's got a point," Peter piped up. Sirius groaned and James continued.

"Right…So, Peter, you get to ask a question next."

"Okay…Sirius!" Peter said. "Do you have a crush?" Sirius scoffed.

"Boy, when don't I? Of course, you prat. I've got to pine after someone, put these good looks to use," He said, flashing a grin. Remus rolled his eyes—it was a typical Sirius answer. But deep down he was curious: who was it?

"Ok, excellent," James smirked. "Now…Remus, you get to ask a question."

"Uh…" Remus looked around the room. "Sirius. Who do you like?" He asked, trying his best not to seem overeager, though he had forgotten to even ask truth or dare. Sirius paused, but quickly, responded.

"Who don't I like! Minnie," James snorted at this, "Marlene, Alice…they're all great girls," Sirius said, ignoring the look from James. It was a half-truth, cleverly played, so that he wouldn't have to give a single name. Remus rolled his eyes, unimpressed, and perhaps even a bit crestfallen.

"My turn!" James beamed. "Remus—"

"Hey!" Sirius complained, you skipped me.

"I'm the leader of the game, aren't I? Don't I get to choose who goes when?" James insisted. Sirius couldn't argue with that—it was a rule he had created. His hair flopping down with him, Sirius hunched over a bit. "Right, then, Moony, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Remus said. He wasn't about to divulge anything else.

"Alright…I dare you to tell me what you like about your crush."

"That's cheating!" Remus pouted. Yet, no one came to his defense. James and Peter were in on the plan, and Sirius was far too curious. "Fine. Okay…They have really nice hair. They say it's just one color, but it's not—there are hints of red in it in the sunlight, and it bounces up and down when…they walk," Remus said, playing the pronoun game. "And they never fail to make me laugh—ever. Even when I don't feel like it. And they treat me normally, even though they know…how sick I am," He said, almost revealing too much. He flushed. "That's all I'm going to say." James flashed Peter a quick grin before continuing.

"Right, good job there Remus. Er…Peter! It's your turn," James said, nudging him.

"Um…Sirius!" Peter said excitedly. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Sirius said proudly. "I'm an open book."

"Alright…" Peter began, pretending to think of a question. In truth, he had James had figured out what to say days prior. "When did you first start liking your crush?" Sirius shrugged.

"I don't know, it's hard to pick a specific day…but it was finally when I learned everything about him last year—" Sirius paused when he saw Remus' eyes widen. Peter and James both pretended to look shocked. "Er…yeah. I like boys," he said, trying to pass it off as nonchalantly as possible. Remus gulped, and Sirius narrowed his eyes. "That isn't a problem, is it?" He asked, staring right into the werewolf's eyes. Please say no, please say no..

"No!" Remus exclaimed. "No, not at all—I'm happy for ya, mate…" Remus drifted off, and caught a quick glance from James. Wait a minute… "I'm glad you told us. Really." Remus turned to face James. "Now, I think it's my turn," He began carefully.

"Right you are, Remus!" James clapped, completely oblivious to the gears turning in Remus' head.

"James," Remus said cooly. "Truth or dare."

"Uh," James began, not expecting this. "Truth?"

"Do you know who Sirius likes?"

James paused, glancing at Sirius.

"You said truth, mate," Sirius insisted, though he looked a bit pale. James nodded.

"Yes."

Remus smirked.

"I thought so. Alright, then, who's turn?"

"I'll go," Sirius suggested. "I haven't been yet and I'll ask…James," He said, looking right into his friend's spectacled eyes. "James, truth or dare?"

"Er…Truth, again," James said, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. This was not in his plan.

"Right, then. James, do you know who Remus likes?" Sirius asked. James looked at Remus, who just shrugged.

"Uh…Yes." James coughed. He looked between the two boys. "I guess it's my turn again, so…Remus," James said, regaining his composure. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Remus said, locking eyed with James, who gave him a smile.

"Alright then…Remus, I dare you to kiss Sirius." Both boys froze.

"I, er…" Remus began, not sure what to say. "You want me to…right now?"

"That is the dare," James said. "And you know what you have to do if you don't follow through on a dare." Remus gulped. If you didn't do the dare, you had to moon Professor McGonagall. He was not about to do that.

"Alright…uh, Sirius, if you want to get closer…" Remus started awkwardly, and Sirius nodded, shifting his weight forward. Remus wasn't sure why Sirius felt nervous—Remus was the one who James had been targeting, making him kiss his crush, making him fess up…

"Ready when you are," Sirius breathed, his nose touching Remus'. And then, their lips locked. And they stayed locked. In fact, Sirius ran his hand up to the back of Remus' hair. In turn, Remus set a hand on Sirius' thigh, leaning further into the kiss, before running his fingers through that black curly mane. Then, there was tongue, and Remus bit Sirius' lower lip as he retracted from the kiss, breathless. It was what both both boys had been yearning for for nearly a year.

"Remus, truth or dare," Sirius said, heart beating fast.

"Truth," Remus said softly. "Truth is, I like you Sirius. Now, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Sirius whispered. "Dare me to kiss you again." Remus didn't need to wait a moment longer. The two boys locked lips again, and Peter turned to James.

"Are we still playing truth or dare?" He asked, his two, snogging friends completely oblivious.

"No, Pete," James sighed. "No, I don't think so. Our work here is done."

"Work?" Remus and Sirius pulled away from each other, simultaneously asking the same question.

"Oi…"