"C'mon, Hilary! Don't be scared!" Ray teased and encouraged at the same time, knowing that I was a flight risk.

Scared? Ha, I wasn't scared...

"Yeah, Hilary, you can do it!" Max cheered, pumping his arm with gusto.

I was a total nervous wreck, that's what I was. Max who could have just opted for a simple dinner party for his birthday, had decided to be adventurous and once again with our whole BBA gang, we hit the road for camping in the words. Almost everyone we had bumped heads during the World Championships were here. The White Tigers, All Starz, Miguel and Matilda, Raul and Julia, Kane and Salima, all our friends.

Anyway, despite my pleadings, no one had brought a single board game to keep ourselves busy. And so, weighing all the options, we narrowed it down to Truth or Dare, and remind me to never go camping with any of these people ever again! I wish I could have psychic powers to use telekinesis to control the bottle, or at least stop it from pointing at me. And since I couldn't, I chose truth all the time. And after Julia teased me out, I had no option but to go for dare.

And for that, let me say it just one time…I'm such an idiot.

"Are you just gonna stand there all night?"

Flustered, I snapped by jaws at Max. After all, he was the one who came up with the task. Had it not been his birthday, I would have pummelled him into the hill. But seriously, shouldn't he be doing something better than playing truth or dare with a bunch of girls—

Oh, right. I almost forgot about the whole girl obsession (or womanizing, as I like to call it).

He quips. "The longer you wait, the harder it'll be."

"And what do you know?" I snap. "When you impulsively ask girls out, they reject you right away."

"Yes, but at least I get rejected quickly," he argued. "Then I'm able to find the next girl who'll win my heart."

I close my eyes and sigh. He really is hopeless.

Suddenly, he grabs my shoulders and turns me around, giving me a slight push in the direction I'm supposed to go in.

"Now, hurry up and do your dare," he badgers, letting go. "Don't worry we're all cheering for you."

"G-great," I stutter, walking over to the snack table where he, my best friend since kindergarten, is currently munching on some potato chips, the crumps visible on the sides of his face. I stand behind him and weigh my options. Number one: I could refuse the dare and walk away before he notices me. My results? My friends would tease me and call me chicken, but that wouldn't really affect me. I think what would bother me the most would be thinking back on this moment and wondering what would've happened if I actually went through with the dare. Then I might regret not doing it and call myself an idiot for that.

Option number two: I could do the dare. My results? Kenny and my other friends wouldn't be on my case, but this could either make my relationship with him better (which would be really awesome, considering that I've liked him for over a year), or make it very, very, very awkward.

"Um..." I start, tapping him on the shoulder. "Tyson?"

Yep, you guessed it. He and him are actually Tyson.

He turns around and smiles at me. "Oh, hey, Hilary. What's up?"

I try and return the smile, but my heart his thumping so much I can hardly focus. "Not much..."

I bite my lip and gather my courage. This is it. I'm going to do it.

Tyson raises an eyebrow. "Hilary? You okay?"

Before I lose my nerve, I lean up, place my hands on his shoulders, and kiss him. He tenses in shock, grunting in surprise, and a few seconds later I pull away. He stares at me with wide eyes, and just as he opens his mouth to say something, I run away and head out the door.

(Yeah, that's definitely going to be a memorable first kiss).

A week flew by and I'm still avoiding Tyson, which I know is really stupid. Not only is he my best friend, but I should face him and find out what he thought about that kiss before I automatically assume he's going to reject me. But that's exactly it. That fear of rejection is what's compelling me to avoid him.

I pull my thin jacket tighter around my body as I walked down the sidewalk. I don't know why I went out for a walk. It's cold and windy and the clouds are like one huge blanket over the sky. But walks always calm me down when I think too much, so I guess I sort of looked over all of the technicalities. A warm coat would be wonderful right about now. Sighing, I try to relax and enjoy the area surrounding me, despite the fact that it's rather grey out. The trees are orange and yellow and red, and leaves are scattered all across the sidewalk and flying in random directions with the wind. I really love the autumn months. Everything looks much prettier this time of year.

As I continue walking, I pass by two kids, a boy and a girl, playing in the leaves, laughing and throwing them around their front yard. I smile and think of how Tyson and I used to do the same thing when we were young. Every day, I'd come play at his house and we'd jump in huge piles of leaves. Even now (just last week, actually) we relive our childhood and play in the leaves.

For a second, I feel jealous of the little boy and girl. They're innocent and they can be carefree. They don't have to worry about relationships, romance, and everything else that involves cooties. That girl can look at that boy and just see him as nothing more than her best friend. It's kind of awkward liking my best friend. I don't act any different around Tyson then I did a few years ago, and then all of a sudden, I realize that I've completely fallen for him.

And then, on a stupid, stupid, stupid dare, I kiss him.

...Damn.

"Hilary?"

Damndamndamndamndamn—

"Hilary, wait up!"

Damndamnda—holy crap who's grabbing my arm!

I scream, loud and shrill, and jump back, whipping around to see who's holding onto my arm.

My eyes widen and I feel my cheeks heat up (which is actually somewhat relieving, considering how chilly it is). "Tyson!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologizes. "I...just thought you were ignoring me again."

"Oh," I reply softly, looking down to avoid his gaze. It really adds on to the growing guilt. "Tyson...I'm really sorry. I haven't been a good friend lately—"

"Don't be sorry, Hilary," he interrupts. "I understand."

I see him step closer and look up to meet his gaze. He gives me a small smile.

"But," he went on, "if you hadn't been avoiding me, I could've done this sooner."

Raising an eyebrow, I open my mouth to ask him what he means, but before I can utter a sound his face is suddenly right in front of me and his lips are on mine. My eyes fly open again.

He's...he's...he's kissing me.

(Ohmygoshthisissofreakingawesome)!

Before I can bring myself to return the kiss, it ends (and too soon, damn it!). I stare up at Tyson in shock while smiles down at me.

"So, uh..." he trails off, his cheeks turning a light shade of red. "Does this mean we're...'cause, I mean, I like you too, and uh..." He chuckles lightly.

I smile back at him, grabbing onto his shoulders and leaning up to kiss him again.

(Now this is more like a memorable first kiss).