The Third Scott Brother
Chapter Four Part Two: Dare Night
Hi everyone! As promised, here's the second part of chapter four! I hope to post the third part during next week ;)
"I've got a bad feeling about this whole dare night…I wonder what that Felix guy is planning" said Nathan as he and Tim were lying on two parallel beds, waiting for the special massage that was part of their dare.
"C'mon Nate, that guy is a genius, this night is gonna be awesome" Tim grinned, barely able to contain his excitement: as soon as Nathan had read the first dare, he had raced to the parlour, sure that their "special" involved something erotic.
"Yeah right" Nathan muttered, sarcastically "Tim, Felix is just an arrogant jackass, you shouldn't trust him".
"I don't understand you, Nate, why do you hate Felix so much? After all, you used to be a lot like him in the past, didn't you? In fact, the Nathan I knew would have totally enjoyed things like that."
"Well 'the Nathan you used to know' is here no longer; he has decided to grow up a bit"
Tim turned his head, confused "That's why you can't stand Felix? That's crap, Nate; we are all the same, deep down; look at your brothers we all called him Saint Lucas in the past, and then he screwed over Peyton and Brooke…"
"That's was just a mistake, and Lucas has made amends for…wait, you said 'brothers'? What do you know about Michael?" Nathan asked, suspicious.
"I don't know anything, I just heard Felix saying something about it…"
"What did he say?"
"I don't really know Nate, I was just passing by…look; they've arrived!" Tim whispered excitedly, when two masseuses opened the door and got in the room.
Nathan sighed, it was most likely that Tim had no idea of what Felix was implying, but it surely meant that he was cooking something against Michael…
""Who is going to be the first?" asked one of the two girls.
"Me! Me!" shouted Tim, raising his hand, making Nathan chuckleHe never changes…the black haired boy leaned his head on the bed, watching the girls approaching his friend's body, applying hot wax on himWait, what?
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Tim screamed in pain, and Nathan realized that the "special" of the parlor was a full body wax! Rising up immediately "Hell no" he said in response to the girls' questioning stares, and rushed out of the room and, sighing in relief, checked the silver card, looking for the next dare: as soon as he read it, he grimaced I'm really going to kick that punk's ass.
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"Here we are" said Peyton as she paid the cashier and picked the plastic tray with the five pickled eggs that she, Haley and Michael had eat in order to clear their first dare.
"Michael, get near Peyton, so we can take a picture as a proof"
"At your orders, sis-in-law" Michael grinned and reached Peyton, holding together the tray.
"Ok guys…say cheese…my, you look like such a cute couple!" Haley ignored the dirty looks that both Michael and Peyton threw at her, and made a photo with her cellphone "Done"
"Now we only have to eat them" Michael scratched his chin while Peyton was staring at the eggs "They don't seem really tasty" she muttered.
"You know, we could simply throw them, the others would never discover that" proposed Haley, making the blonde girl gasp in mock horror.
"Haley James Scott! We don't cheat!"
"Well, you did with Lucas" Haley joked, which made Peyton glaring at her again.
"Don't make me smack you!" she warned, while Michael was smirking amused.
"Girls, despite how much I'd love seeing you two catfight, we don't have time to lose"
"Fine" Peyton picked one of the eggs "I'll eat them" she said, and took a bite at it; she chewed for a pair of seconds, then she froze, her face twisted with disgust, and quickly grabbed a napkin and spat the food on it.
"You were saying?" asked Haley, giggling.
"Shut up" Peyton groaned How can she possibly be always right? "Ok, we throw them" she turned, looking for a trash can, but Michael stopped her and, surprising both girls, ate an entire egg, swallowing it with just a little irritation
"God, it really tastes bad" he commented.
"Ok, two questions" Peyton stared in disbelief at the boy "First: how the hell you managed to eat that stuff? Second, why did you make me do it first?"
"Well, to answer your second question, I just wanted to see you face while you were eating that" he laughed when Peyton scoffed "As for the first question…it's a dare night, so I would say it's just me being extremely competitive, with a mix of stubbornness"
"Personally, I don't mind the reason why you can eat those eggs, as long as I don't have to eat them" said Haley, then she added "Though I must say, it was fun seeing Peyton trying to eat them"
"Quit it, both of you, or dare night will turn in murder night" Peyton handed the eggs to Michael "They're all yours, enjoy them"
"Thank you, but, I was thinking…are you up for a little dare on our own, me against the two of you?" suggested Michael.
"What do you mean?" asked Peyton.
"What about, every egg I eat gains me a credit to use, for example, to make one of you clear a particular dare of this list, or to ask any kind of question, that has to be answered; however, if I can't eat all the eggs, you'll gain credits for each egg left; we would start on par, since both me and Peyton ate one egg…what do you think?"
"We accept"
"Peyton!" protested Haley.
"Relax, Hales, he can't possibly eat three other eggs, it's impossible" the blonde winked, sure of herself "You better keep your word, Michael" she stated.
"Sure I will" answered Michael, a mischievous glint in his green eyes.
Five minutes later….
"Ok, I guess I was wrong" mumbled Peyton, avoiding Haley's stare; one after the other, all the three eggs were eaten by Michael, who was grinning victoriously.
"C'mon sis-in-law, don't make that kind of face, I'm not going to ask you anything particularly embarrassing" he promised as the trio walked off the shopping mall.
"Why I don't believe it?" Haley shook her head "Anyway, where are we going for the next dare?"
"To the baseball court" answered Michael "but let's not think about it, for now: I'm going to use one of my 4 credits to make a question, right now."
"Great" said Peyton, sarcastically "Let's get over with it…Michael?"
The brown-haired boy had stopped, and was staring at both the girls dead seriously.
"Is there any way to make Brooke change her mind about calling me 'Illusive Boy'?"
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Riiing! Riiing!
"Where are you?" shouted Brooke on Felix's phone; half an hour had passed since the hispanic boy had excused himself to the bathroom, and, by now, the brunette was fuming.
"Sorry Brooke, but now it starts your true first dare: I dare you to dine and dash
"Are you kidding? I can't do it!"
"Too bad then, because I'm sitting on a table at the Karen Café right now, and you have no money to pay all the expensive dishes that you ordered" said Felix, smirking.
"Wait, Felix…!"
"Good luck, Brooke" Felix closed the phone, raising his eyes to stare at the girl who had just reached him.
"I'm surprised to see you here" he said as the girl took a seat "Shouldn't you be at the mall right now, meeting up with Michael?"
"Relax, there's no need to rush things up…I'm going to run on him after they go to the church, which means" she stopped to check on the list of dares that Felix has set up for Michael, Peyton and Haley "that I've got more than an hour to be there"
"I see" Felix leaned his head on his right hand, grinning "Couldn't be that you're afraid of seeing your loved one with two hot girls?"
The girl remained silent for a whole minute, her mind reviewing the scene she had assisted a pair of weeks ago.
Michael was sitting in the club, the party almost over, chatting and laughing with Peyton and Brooke; she felt the rage rampaging in her veins and, for a moment, her body moved on its own, making its towards him…but that was not the right time, she had to wait…soon, he will be hers, once again…
"Don't over think things too much; I'm just waiting for the right moment, that's all"
"If you say so" Felix commented "Now, I suggest you to leave: Brooke will be here soon, and it's best for the both of us to not be seen together"
"I agree" the girl stood up, and started to walk away "Good luck with that little cheerleader girl" she said, leaving Felix alone.
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"That was not funny at all!" muttered Haley: the trio was going to the church for their third dare; however, Michael was still laughing for what happened few minutes ago, while Peyton was fuming.
"If you don't stop, I swear I'm going to kick your sorry ass!" she threatened.
"Really? Man, I expected a bit more gratitude after I saved your lives" Michael recalled, still smirking.
"Yeah, after you stood there watching us being hit by those stupid balls!" Peyton protested, remembering the event.
Flashback-
They had arrived at the baseball field, and Michael had just read the second dare: being hit in the head by a ball.
"You're kidding, right?" asked Haley.
"Sorry Haley, but, nope, I'm serious: I'm using my first credit right now, so one of you two will do this dare"
"Fine by me" declared Peyton "Haley, get a helmet"
"What? Why me? It was you who agreed on this stupid bet!"
"Yes, but it was also me the one who ate one of those eggs, so, it's your turn now"
"But…fine" Haley sighed, and went to pick a helmet.
"I'll start the automated bowler" Michael said.
Fifteen minutes later, Haley had finally managed to being hit by a ball in the head, and was laying exhausted on the ground.
"Here, hold my hand" Peyton had reached Haley to help her to stand up, when a ball hit her on her back.
"Ouch! The bowler is still on!" new balls were fired towards the girl, hitting both of them "Michael, turn that damn thing off!"
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"Ok, I'm sorry" Michael admitted when they reached the church "I promise I'll make up for it"
"Just read the next dare" Peyton said, and Haley nodded.
"Well, let's see…go to the confessional, and say what's written in the fourth card" Michael picked the card on his pocket, showing it to the girls.
"Ok, Felix is really a jerk"
"I could beat him up for you, Hales" Michael winked.
"Please do, you, Nathan and Lucas have wanted to kick his ass since the first time you saw him" Peyton run an hair through her hairs "I'll do it?"
"Are you sure, Peyton?" asked Haley.
"Yes, I can't wait to see the face of the priest" Peyton grinned as she took the card from Michael, and headed to the confessional.
Michael and Haley took two seats in the middle of the empty church, both immersed in their thoughts.
"How's the marriage going?" Michael broke the silence, his voice a whisper.
"Fine, at least for now…"Haley answered "Of course, we have many expenses to deal with but, thanks to Keith, Nathan's got a good enough job at the dealership; so, adding the money from me working at the Café, we're holding up"
"Keith seems like a good man"
"He is" Haley said softly "I've known him since I was little: for Luke, he's like a father" she paused for a moment "have you…met him?"
"I've exchanged a couple of words at your wedding reception, but nothing more"
"Are you afraid that he's like…"
"Dan? No, from what Lucas told me, I can see that they're not really similar; I'm not avoiding him, really: it's just that I didn't have much time during these last couple of weeks, with the work at the Café and at the club…"
"Well, you could have found some time after school, or work, if you had not been busy with something…else"
Michael smiled, knowing full well what Haley was referring to; after Rose, he had seen several other girls, always for a single date only soon, a voice had spurred in the school, of him being a womanizer.
"About that, I want to make clear that I've not been lying to any of these girls: I told all of them that I was interested in something not lasting."
"Sorry, it wasn't my business…"
"Don't worry Haley, I'm not angry; you're worried about me, so, if you have some questions, go ahead and ask"
"Well…it's just…I haven't known you for long, but you just don't seem 'that' type of guy, that's all"
Because I wasn't; not before…Shaking his head, he smiled "Let's just say, that, right now, I'm not ready to be someone's boyfriend"
"You know…if you need someone to talk with…I'm here, and not only me: you have a lot of people who are here for you, Michael"
"Thank you, sis-in-law" Michael hugged Haley briefly, then they waited for Peyton in silence; five minutes later, the blonde girl reached them.
"Are you ok?" Haley asked.
"Yes, let's go"
She's notMichael thought: it wasn't the first time that he noticed something awkward in Peyton (they had passed a lot of time together during the past days, while working together, alongside with Karen, for the opening of the club) but he decided to don't push the matter, right now.
As the three walked out of the church, Peyton asked "So, we have completed the dares?"
"Yup, it's time to head to the Café" Michael answered.
"I'm curious to see how the others did" Haley wondered.
"Personally, I wouldn't put it past Brooke to have killed Felix"
"Damn the girl always steals my fun" Michael joked, feigning disappointment.
"Well, you always find other ways of having fun, don't you, Michael?" a voice behind them asked.
Michael froze; he knew that voice: it was a voice that haunted his dreams, a voice that made his heart beat faster, a voice that caused contrasted feelings to swell in him.
Peyton and Haley stared worried at the brown haired boy "Michael, what's going on?" Haley whispered.
"Come on, Michael, don't you introduce me to your new friends?" the voice asked.
Holding his breath, Michael turned around, his eyes landing upon a woman that he knew very well, her ruby eyes shining in the night, reddish blond hair moved by the wind.
Sarah.