TNLOCK 28- The plan? Truth + Dare
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Happy New Year.
Chloe's POV
I kept trying to claw at his hands but it didn't make any difference. He was determined to end me, so he was ignoring the pain. I could hear Alek screaming: at me, at them. He was trying to escape his guards to get to me, but it sounded like he wasn't even close. It sounded like Amy and Paul were sobbing, but they were further away than Alek. Soon, dark dots clouded my vision, and I started to get dizzy. Noise seemed to fade, and the only thing I could hear was my frantic heartbeat. Then, the world completely faded.
I shot up in the bed, gasping for air. I had the dream again. I had never had it twice in one night, but I suppose that I generally don't go to bed after having it the first time. The entire night flashed before me. Running into Scarface, the nightmare the first time, and the argument with Alek.
Where was I? I wasn't on the couch like I remembered being. "Chloe," Alek's voice broke me out of that thought. I wondered how many times he had said that before I finally heard him. He was sitting on the other side of the queen sized bed. I looked down and saw dark blue satin sheets. Around the room there was basketball posters and pictures. This must be Alek's room. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah," I said before realizing I was still breathing heavily.
"You had that dream again, didn't you?" He asked.
"Yeah," I repeated dumbly. Alek cupped a cheek in his hand as he leaned a little closer to me; our faces a foot apart.
"What was it about?"
"Nothing, it's just a stupid dream." The lie passed my lips with what felt like for the hundredth time. "Are Jasmine and Mimi back yet?" I asked him, changing the subject.
"Um, yeah, they got back around an hour ago at around four. They weren't able to find him. They went to bed to sleep for a few hours. I think Derek is sleeping on the couch right now."
"Were you able to sleep at all last night?" I asked, concerned that he still wasn't sleeping because of me.
"Is that an invitation to sleep with you?" My cheeks became a little warm, but I didn't want to encourage him by responding. He leaned in closer, becoming so close I could feel his breath against my cheek. "You know, I find bruising can be very sexy." My breath hitched a little before he leaned in fully and pressed his lips against mine. There was a fierceness in his kiss.
It felt like my heart skipped a few beats. He pulled me in closer, our chests beating against one another before he shifted so he would be on top. His knees and hands on either side held most of his weight off of me, almost like our training sessions when he had me pinned, but he pressed against me. I grabbed his head and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. I heard a small growl come from Alek; an animalistic quality that sent shock waves through the rest of my body.
When he broke the kiss, my breath was heavy, but his lips never left my skin as he led a trail of kisses down my chin and neck before he stopped at one place. His hands found mine and pinned them above my head as I felt a small bite on my neck. Oh mai god I couldn't help but think when I could feel him sucking at my neck. A moan passed my lips, but I didn't care at that moment. After he finished with my neck, his lips moved to attack mine once again. He moved his hands again, one to support his weight, but the other went to my thigh and traveled to my hips, moving up until it reached the end of my shirt. His hand found a place where my shirt had risen up, his warm hand now on my bare skin. With my hands now free, I tangled them into his hair before pulling him even closer. Our chests beating heavily. I pushed my tongue forward, asking for entrance. Our tongues rolled around, fighting for dominance. He won. I could feel all my barriers crumbling as I just wanted more.
That's when I pushed him away slightly, my arms on his chest. I didn't have to push hard before Alek noticed what I was doing and pulled away quickly, his face still only a few inches away from mine. "We should stop." I said, my voice breathless. Every bit of my body ached when I said that, and it took every bit of my restraint not to kiss him again. He nodded his head, his breath just as ragged as mine before he got off of me all together.
Alek's POV
The rest of the morning seemed to pass by very quickly. We had toasted bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. Chloe asked if we were going to start history lessons this morning, but Mimi chimed up and said that it could wait until later. Instead of questioning why we wouldn't be giving her lessons even though that was the reason why she came over the first place, she shrugged and went to take a shower.
"Any luck?" Mimi asked quietly once she heard the water from the shower going. I sat down on the couch to watch some basketball with Derek, but since it was only nine in the morning, there wasn't any good games on.
"She's not going to tell us." I told her causing her to sigh.
"It's a good thing that I have a backup plan then." She seemed to say mostly by herself, but left to her room before I could question her further. I glanced over at Derek to see if he knew anything about this, but he just shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch the game.
Three hours later, when the five of us were watching a movie together, the doorbell rang. "Are we expecting someone?" I asked cautiously when getting ready for action. It looked like Jasmine and Derek were doing the same, but Mimi just laughed.
"Relax guys." She got up and answered the door to show Amy and Paul holding two large pizzas.
"Did someone order a pizza delivery?" Amy joked as she stepped into the apartment.
"Amy!" Chloe shouted happily as she went to hug her best friend. I tried not to grimace when I saw how long it took for her to walk because of her ankle. "What are you doing here?" She asked while still hugging Amy.
"Mimi invited us over. Said that we could come on over and hang out with you." Was this part of Mimi's plans to get Chloe to say something, or was she just thinking about Chloe? I could tell that Amy was trying not to stare at her bruises. "So we brought pizza."
"Perfect," I said when getting down plates and napkins for everyone. "I'm starving."
"Oh my god, Chloe!" Amy squealed loudly. "Is that a hickey?" Before Amy had arrived, Chloe did a good job having her hair cover the hickey, but apparently her hair got moved when she was hugging Amy. Chloe's face turned red as she tried to cover it up again, but it was too late. "It is, isn't it?!"
"It's… Uh… Maybe." Chloe managed to choke out. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips as I was walking over towards Chloe. "Alek!" She tried to hit me, but I caught her hand beforehand and pulled her closer to me.
"What? It's not exactly like you protested when I gave it to you this morning." My hands wrapped around her waist, holding her tighter. Her cheeks blushed even more. "In fact, I think you rather liked it a lot." I teased her more, remembering the slight moan she let out. "But you know, we could try it again." I said softly as I moved my lips toward her neck, but she quickly pulled away, her entire face red.
"We should eat. The pizza is going to get cold." She said loudly, obviously trying to change the subject. I laughed again, but dropped the subject for now.
"I know what we should do." Mimi said once we had all sat down with our food. Chloe and I were on the couch along with Amy and Paul. Jasmine and Derek were on the love seat couch, when Mimi was sitting in the chair by herself. "Truth or dare. We can do crazy things for the sake of it, and learn more about each other." This was her plan all along, wasn't it?
"Really, truth or dare?" I asked her, trying to make my two meanings clear to her.
"Yes!" Amy squealed happily. That got annoying real quick. "It is fun and maybe a little lame, which makes it even more fun."
"As long as we keep it human friendly." Paul said.
"Scared Paul?" I grinned. As ridiculous as this may be, it might actually help everyone relax and take their minds off of things. I glanced over at Chloe, and saw her slightly smiling at the idea. It was such a normal, teenage thing to do, that she must be psyched for the opportunity.
"Bring it." He said nervously.
"Derek, truth or dare?" Mimi asked.
"Truth," He said slightly hesitantly. Truth was probably the safer bet when it came to Mimi. I remembered playing this with her a few years ago, and it got wild. After a moment of thinking, she found something to ask him.
"What was your first impression of the Uniter?"
"Brave, nice," He said without hesitation. "I met her only once or twice, for a short amount of time before being added to her security. She was concerned for others safety more than her own." I glanced over to Chloe who looked a little surprised, and a tint of pink touched her cheeks. "Jasmine, truth or dare?"
"Dare," He got a huge smile on his face when he got up and went into the kitchen. We all exchanged glances. When he reappeared around a minute later, he was carrying a small bowl full of ketchup. Only around half a cup, but gross.
"Eat it,"
"That's nasty." I heard Amy say, but Jasmine just shrugged her shoulders and took a bite.
"Yeah, that's gross." Jasmine said after she finished the whole thing, causing all of us to laugh. "I think you just ruined ketchup for me." All Derek answered in return was a smile. "Amy, truth or dare?"
"Um, I don't know. Truth?" Amy said.
"Have you and Paul…" She trailed off but rose her eyebrows suggestively. Both Paul and Amy were blushing hard.
"NO!" Amy said very loudly. Paul looked slightly offended from Amy's response, but was too embarrassed to protest. "No," She repeated. "Mimi, truth or dare?"
"Dare," Amy smiled evilly as she pulled out her phone and handed it to Mimi.
"Prank call Mr. Smith,"
"Our history teacher?" Mimi asked, surprised. "How on earth you have his number?"
"I have my ways. Now call." With a sigh, she pressed the call button.
"Hello sir," Mimi said in an almost convincing British accent. "I'm calling from the FFUC organization… You don't know what LSDC is? Why, that's impossible sir. You're our biggest donor for the Foundation for ugly children…. Yes sir, this is Peter Smith from San Francisco, right?... I'm sure I have the right number…. No, this is not a prank sir…. Hello? He hung up." By the last bit of their conversation, we were all cracking up. "Yes, yes, very funny. I just hope he didn't recognize my voice or we'll have some explaining to do to Valentina. Chloe, truth or dare?" My breath hitched without me wanting it to. I've been waiting for Mimi to reveal her plan.
"Um, let's go with dare." I tried not to let out a sigh of relief. Mimi can't ask her about the dream. My relief was short lived once I saw Mimi's face.
"Do a body shot, off of Alek." You could see the look of surprise on Chloe's face.
"No," I told her strongly. "Getting the Uniter drunk leaves her defenseless."
"First of all, there's four of us in here and another two placed in the building watching her right now. Not only that, but one drink isn't going to get her drunk. Maybe just to relax a bit and open up." I continued to glare at her. "Come on, it's supposed to be fun." Mimi continued to try to convince us. "But if you need to chicken out Chloe…"
"Alek, she's right. It's not going to do any harm." Chloe said, her cheeks a little pink though. "Don't make me chicken out the first round of the game." I forced a smile on my face before agreeing.
"Okay. Where's the body shot then?" I hoped Mimi knew what she was doing.
"Abs," Mimi said without hesitating before getting up to get everything. "Get on the ground," She ordered the two of us. "And take of your shirt Alek." After I did so, she poured salt on my abs and handed me a lime slice.
"Like what you see?" I asked Chloe when I noticed she was staring at my chest.
"So it's salt, shot, and lime. Right?" Chloe asked instead of responding to me, but her cheeks became a little bit pinker. I chuckled slightly before placing the lime in between my lips. "I can't believe I'm doing this." She muttered softly before lowering her lips to my abs. It took my entire restraint not to react as she licked up the salt. I wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then, but knew I couldn't. She then quickly downed the shot before moving her lips near mine for the lime. Our lips barely touched as she took the lime, but all that lust from the morning burned again as I nearly grabbed her waist and kissed her full on. Chloe adorable shook her head a few times because of the sourness and her nose crinkled adorably. "There, done." She said, but the way she looked at me made it clear that she also felt like I did. "Paul, truth or dare?" Before waiting for a response, she went and sat back on the couch.
"Truth," I heard him answer as I pulled on my shirt and went to sit next to her again. Once I sat down, she leaned against me so I wrapped my arms around her.
"Okay Paul, umm." She stalled. "I hate that you picked that. I know everything about you."
"May I suggest one?" I asked. When she nodded, I leaned in to whisper it in her ear, lingering for a few moments more than maybe necessary.
"That's a little embarrassing, isn't it?"
"Which is the whole point of the game."
"Okay, Paul, what's the most embarrassing thing you've done at a family gathering."
"CHLOE! We said we wouldn't bring it up again." She just shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, when I was really little I was playing a game with my perfect older brother, and he kept winning. I needed to go to the bathroom but when I asked for a break he just said that I was just giving up, so I stayed. I wasn't able to hold it for long, and soon he was running out telling the entire group that I had wet myself." Everyone was laughing except for Amy and Paul. Amy was trying to comfort him, saying it wasn't too bad, but even she had a smile on her face. "I was little!" He tried to defend himself, but when it didn't, he tried to change the subject. "Alek, truth or dare?"
"Truth," I said happily. It didn't matter what annoying question he was going to have for me today. It couldn't ruin my mood, so might as well throw him a bone.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" The smile left my face quickly, and I could feel Chloe's body stiffen as she pulled away from me. The atmosphere followed our reactions. What possessed him to ask a question like that, especially after last night? I felt furious until I realized that he didn't know the details of last night, so it wouldn't seem like that bad of a question. Chloe turned around to face me, waiting for the answer. Her eyes were wide, and I could hear her heartbeat beating faster than before. She was no longer relaxed like she was a second ago.
"Yeah, uh, a few times." I responded honestly, but wished that I didn't have to answer. That I could lie without feeling bad. That I wasn't even asked it in the first place. I watched as Chloe's face seem to crumble. There was something that I couldn't quite read in her face.
"I, uh, ran out of soda." Chloe said. "I'm going to get another. Anybody else want one?" She didn't wait for a reply before she started limping over to the kitchen and I followed her after a minute.
She was facing away from me into the fridge, when I walked into the kitchen. "Chloe," I tried to say gently, but she didn't turn to face me.
"I could've just grabbed you one," She said when taking out two sodas from the fridge and handing me one. "You didn't have to follow me." I frowned at took the two sodas and placed them on the counter.
"We both know that's not why I came after you." She looked down, but didn't reply. "Are you mad?" I asked the question, dreading the answer. Terrified that it would change things between us.
"No!" She nearly cried, her voice so soft that I could barely hear it, and her head looking up at me. "I'm not mad Alek. I would never be mad at that."
"Then what, Chloe?" I whispered, moving my hand to cup her cheek, but she flinched away. "When I saw your face in there," It nearly broke me. I didn't say those words out loud. I couldn't.
"I don't know. I'm… I'm just confused." Chloe left into the living room before I had the chance to say anything else. She hadn't even brought the sodas along with her. After a few moments, I followed her.
"Mimi, truth or dare?" I asked when going back into the living room and handing Chloe a soda. Instead of sitting next to her on the couch, I decided to sit on the ground near the couch.
"I've already gone with dare, so let's go with truth." I knew she was trying to be upbeat, but she was unconvincing. The whole room was still a little tense after the last question.
"Who is the hottest teacher at our school?" I tried to keep it upbeat, knowing that the mood really needed that.
"Out of all the questions in the world to ask, of course you would chose that one." Mimi said with a forced smile on her face. "There really aren't all that many attractive teachers at our school. Hmmm…." A moment passed while she was thinking. "If I had to pick one, Mr. Erickson." Amy and Paul laughed, but the rest of us didn't. Jasmine, Derek, and Mimi probably overheard the conversation I had with Chloe."Derek, truth or dare?"
Chloe's POV
Alek had killed someone. I couldn't get that thought out of my head. There were so many emotions that were going through my head. I'm not angry, or at least, I don't think I am. But it was confusing to say the least. Oh crap. I told him that I was a monster because I almost killed someone. What does he think I think of him? I didn't view him as a monster, but does he think I do?
Derek came out of the bathroom, his head and shirt drenched with something. What had I missed while zoned out? The next thing I realized was that Alek was sitting on the ground, and I had a soda in my hand; unopened. Did Alek not want to sit next to me? Or was he just trying to give me space? I placed the soda on the table, I was never thirsty.
He would never kill to be malicious; I knew that. Alek would only kill in self-defense. So why was I feeling like this? What was I feeling? I didn't lie when I told him that I was confused. Maybe I was disappointed that he didn't tell me himself rather than being forced to during truth or dare. Or maybe I was hoping that I would never get to the point. Despite all the times that I had been attacked, I never believed that I would have to go that far and end someone's life. But he's proof that at some point, I can't hide from it anymore.
"Chloe," I don't want to be a murderer. "Chloe," I can't actually kill someone, be the reason… No. That can't happen. But what if it was them, or Jasmine? Them or Amy, or Paul? What if it was between them and Alek?! Eventually, there was no doubt in my mind that I would have to take someone's life in order to protect myself or someone that I love. End their existence, and take them away from everyone who cares about them. Eventually, I would be a murderer. I felt someone's hand shaking my shoulder. "Chloe!" It was Alek.
"Yeah?" I said quickly, shaking myself out of my thoughts. Everyone was staring at me worriedly.
"We've been saying your name for a minute. You didn't hear us?" Alek said as he removed his hand from my shoulder and took a step back, clearly trying to give me my space. "That must've been one deep train of thought." His face was worried, like he knew what I was thinking about. "Mimi asked you truth or dare." I could tell he was trying to hide his emotions, putting on his Protector face, but his eyes spoke a different story. They were sad, angry, and something else I couldn't quite place.
"Um, dare." I chose one at random since I didn't care. She got a huge smile on her face like she had already planned what she was going to say.
"Kiss Alek," Interesting dare, but it was a lot better than I thought it would be. We are dating, it's not like we haven't done it before. I stood up to walk near Alek, but he stepped back: keeping me at an arm's length distance. Hurt quickly flashed through me, but I tried to ignore it.
"If she doesn't want to, then we shouldn't force her." He said. That wasn't a normal response for him. Cocky Alek would've said something about giving me another hickey. Smart ass Alek would've made a joke, or embarrass me. Romantic and confident Alek would've pulled me into a huge, toe curling kiss. Alek would've done all those things, but instead he just stood in front of me, hurt and worried.
"Who said I didn't want to?" I asked, and without waiting for an answer, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. I must've surprised him because he didn't react at first, so I pulled him closer. Finally, he wrapped his arms around my waist and started to kiss back.
While I wasn't a fan of PDA, I wanted to do this. I wanted to show him that my feelings for him haven't changed because I found out. Before I could lose my confidence, I pushed my tongue forward, asking for entrance which he quickly granted. His hand found a place on the small of my back where the shirt had ridden up, so his warm hand laid across my bare skin. Our tongues rolled around, fighting for dominance, which I won. Time seemed to stop until someone behind us cleared their throat so I pulled away from him, though his arms stayed wrapped around my waist. "That was a pretty lame dare Mimi."
"It's not a real truth or dare game until someone kisses someone." She said nonchalantly. That's a fair point, I suppose. Alek and I went to sit on the couch.
"Alek, truth or dare?" I asked him, not knowing what I would do for either of them.
"Dare," He said immediately, probably wanting to avoid what happened before.
"Ummm," I stalled, thinking of what to dare him.
"You know love, if you can't think of anything, I could always give you another one." He murmured softly, his lips going closer to my neck. Amy squealed happily, loudly. I felt my face start to burn again, and I pulled away from him.
"No more comments like that for the rest of the day." I told him.
"That's my dare?" He asked, surprised. I hadn't thought of it like that, but that works out.
"Yes, that is." Alek chuckled a little, but nodded his head. We both plopped down on the couch again.
"Alright." He said, his face dropping a little. "Truth or dare Chloe?" I thought about it for a second.
"I've done dare twice, so truth."
"What was your nightmare about?" He asked quickly, almost as if he had already had the question in mind before I had picked one. His gazed pierced mine as he asked that. My breath hitched for a second. That was the one question that I didn't want to answer, but I also didn't want to lie.
If Alek knew that I was worried about Kai in the house, I have no doubt that Kai would be tossed out of there in less than a second. That was, if he was lucky enough that's all that he would do. Sure, Kai was feeling better now, but that doesn't mean that we should toss him out like that so soon. Especially as something as silly as a dream, when I knew that Kai wouldn't hurt me. After everything that we did to him, Kai deserves a warm, safe place until he was ready to move on.
But I didn't want to lie to Alek either. Relationships are built on trust. Lying to him would be wrong. I'm not sure I could even lie to him about something like this. My face, or my heartbeat would probably give me away in an instant.
"Scarface is there," I started, my eyes looking away from his on instinct. "Um," I got stuck on what to say next. "We're by an edge of a cliff, and he's ranting about how horrible Mai are. You and Jasmine aren't anywhere in sight, and he," Guilt flooded through me as I continued to lie to everyone, but I couldn't let Kai suffer because of some random dream. "And he pushes me off the cliff. End of dream."
"Chloe," Alek said softly, probably wanting to comfort me. He started to move to wrap me in a hug, but I shifted so he couldn't. I didn't deserve to be comforted when I was lying to his face.
"Hey, it's just a dream, right?" And a little, harmless white lie about something that doesn't even matter.