After everyone sat down and Amber retrieved an empty whipped cream bottle (I like it with waffles in the morning) Amber laid out the rules for us. "Okay, so this is how it works: Alfie will go first because he's my boyfriend and I want him to. When he spins the bottle, whoever it lands on he has to kiss, even if they're a guy. If it lands between two people, he chooses the one he wants to kiss more. And no loophole kisses, like kisses on the cheeks or anything. It has to be on the lips. Everyone understand?" Everyone nodded, and she nodded to Alfie.
He gave it a nice twirl, and it landed on…Patricia. She made a face and kissed him quickly, wiping invisible germs from her mouth when she sat back down. "Hey, I'm not that bad!" he protested. She just shrugged at him, and almost broke the bottle as she yanked it sharply to the right. It spun for almost five minutes before it landed between Joy and Mick.
"I think I'll do the opposite gender," Patricia joked, and kissed Mick not as quickly as Alfie, but she was out within five seconds. Mick spun it, and it hit…me. I leaned in and let him peck me on the lips. He was a nice kisser, but I didn't feel it.
I spun it pretty hard, and it hit…Eddie. Oh, great, I get to kiss my protector. It was like kissing a brother. He smirked at me, and I practically gagged as our lips met each other, and I could feel the tiniest spark ignite. Yet, it wasn't anything. At least, I hoped not… "AH HEM!" A loud person butted in. I pulled away and smiled embarrassedly at Patricia. She just set her mouth and wrapped her hand around Eddie's as the bottle Eddie had just turned rotated. It finally landed on Amber, and they quickly touched lips and parted just as soon.
Amber gave it a good hearty spin and we watched the tip until it settled on…oh. Alfie let out an involuntary giggle—I was surprised Jerome hadn't laughed, until I remembered he had amnesia—and the mood shifted to a little uneasy as everyone stared at Amber's victim.
Joy spat out some unrepeatable words and forced her mouth to meet Amber's and then shoved her away. "NO ONE ever mentions that we've kissed twice," she warned everyone, channeling that girl that scared me last year. Everyone nodded, cowering away from her murderous expression.
That is, everyone but Jerome. "Twice?" He asked innocently. "I've got my eye on you, blondie," she promised, and sat down. "How about some truth or dare?" Amber asked. Normally I would've groaned and passed, but I was a little desperate to forget the awkward scene that had happened, and I agreed. So did everyone else, so Amber nodded to Joy to start.
Joy surprisingly chose Mick to ask. He paused a moment, and said, "Dare," and Joy immediately responded, "kiss who you think is the prettiest girl in the room." He hesitated, and you could practically see his mind at work trying to decide who was the most beautiful. We eyed each other, all knowing that we were secretly hoping he would choose ourselves.
Mick marched over to Joy, brought her to her feet and placed his lips against hers confidently. She was obviously surprised, but melted into his kiss. They kept on going, without even stopping for oxygen. Finally, after Amber clearing her throat many, many times, they broke apart. They grinned goofily at each other, and sat down together, holding hands.
"Mick, it's your turn to choose a person," Amber reminded him. "Oh, right, um…Jerome, truth or dare?" "Dare," he said, like everyone knew he would say. "I dare you to scream out in the hall that you just saw aliens landing on the Eiffel Tower," he said. "That's not hard," Jerome reflected, standing up.
"Fine, do it in girl's clothes," Mick shrugged. Jerome stared at Mick, who was now just looking at Joy as if only she existed, no one else. "Eh…" "I can pick you out a dress! Just DON'T ruin it," Amber cut in cheerfully, oblivious to Jerome. Jerome all of a sudden was squirmy, wringing his hands and pacing, his eyes clearly showing that he was trying to find a way back.
"Jerome you're acting like a caged animal. Just get into the damn dress and do it!" Patricia said, using Eddie as an armrest. "It's…a dress." he said, like that explained everything. "Yes, and I'm impatient. DO IT!" Jerome winced, but complied, and a few minutes later, he emerged wearing a pink, extremely sparkly skintight dress, and the highest high-heeled shoes Amber owned. "You look lovely, Jerry," Alfie said in a high pitched voice. Jerry glared at him.
"Right, here goes nothing," he said, more to himself then us. He took a deep breath, and plunged into the hallway.
"Oh, my god, everyone has to run! I just totally saw an alien spaceship land on the freaking Eiffel Tower!" he screamed at the world in falsetto, and tried to sprint back into the hotel room. He wasn't half as agile in heels as Amber, however, and fell flat on his face. Everyone held back laughter, but then the door adjacent to ours opened up and two French girls stared disapprovingly at Jerome. When he sat up, their eyes widened, and they slammed their door shut. Giggles erupted from behind their door, and Jerome yelled, "Hey, it was a dare!" This time we couldn't hold it in, and everyone broke out laughing. That is, everyone but Mara. She just sat stony-faced and unmoving, but in the cracks of her mask shone out complete misery. It was the one emotion that I could see no matter what, and it bothered me.
Apparently Jerome sensed it too, because he furrowed his brow and quickly said, "Mara, truth or dare?" everyone became quiet. "Truth," she whispered, her eyes shining with wanting and suppression. "What happened between us last year?" he asked, his eyes locked on hers.
She stared down at her hands, knowing not to betray her emotions to Jerome. "You know how you found your dad and how you freed him from prison? I just helped with that, and became friends with your little sister, Poppy. That's…that's all." She was lying. Everyone could tell. She was an even worse liar than me, and that was saying something.
Sadly, Jerome could see through her ruse as well. "C'mon, tell us the truth!" he pushed. Mara sighed through her nose, and stood up. A new expression took over her face. She was angry, furious even. "Fine. Want the truth? We dated, Jerome. We dated, okay? I loved you. But…I don't know now. Just give me some space." She whirled around on her heel, slamming the door shut, leaving a dumbstruck Anubis house behind her.
