"Truth or dare?"
Flora asked, lifting the small cup to her lips. They were far too young to be drinking but desperately wanted to experience the thrill of something. Together, they'd both come up with the brilliant idea of filling shot cups with energy drinks.
Of course, the liquid didn't have much effect on either one of them.
"Truth."
Stella said confidently as she sat back on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other. She repeated the same action with her arms, folding them over the stomach as she felt her breasts push up.
She thought she was far too young for them; thought they were only a thing which only older girls had. It came as a surprise when she'd filled out a few months before starting secondary school.
The new changes to her body meant that Stella had already caught the eyes of a few boys. Everyone except the one she wanted.
Flora squealed as she clapped, tipping her head back and scrunching her face at the taste of the too-sweet beverage. She shuffled forward and gripped onto Stella's arms as she forced her to look directly into her eyes.
"You have to answer this honestly, okay?"
Flora reiterated as Stella simply grinned at her best-friend.
"I mean, I thought that was the whole point of picking truth but maybe I've been playing this game wrong."
She teased.
Flora pinched her arm as Stella threw back her head and laughed. She was so happy to have made friends with Flora, so happy to have found a best-friend. Flora wasted no time in asking the question she so desperately wanted to hear an answer for.
"Who's your crush?"
Flora asked, eyes wide as she stared at Stella. Stella kept a straight face even though her heart began to race in her chest. There was no way she'd reveal who her crush was, not to her best-friend, to his sister.
"I don't have one."
Stella muttered out as she pinched the side of her thigh. It was a habit she wasn't able to stop; whenever she'd lie about something, she always found herself pinching parts of her body. Flora knew this and when she saw what Stella was doing, she squealed and pushed her best-friend around.
"Liar! Who is he?!"
Stella grinned at her best-friend before she began tickling Flora. She knew it was Flora's ultimate weakness so she decided now would be a good time as ever to use it for her own benefit. Flora screamed out but the two girls giggled and laughed. And when Stella finally stopped, she felt a little more confident about answering the question.
Her heart was still racing like crazy in her chest but it was her own fault for picking truth over dare. She helped Flora sit up and braced herself as she opened her mouth.
"You can't be angry with me for liking him, Flora. And remember that you're the one who wanted to know. My crush is—"
Her sentence was cut short when the front-door of Flora's home swung open and someone stepped inside. Well, it was two people. It was Brandon and a…a girl. Stella felt her heart skip a beat and when the pair of them laughed, she felt it squeeze painfully hard. She grabbed a cup so that she'd have something to hold onto instead of fiddling with her shaking fingers.
Who was she?
"Gross."
Flora muttered as she took Stella's hand in hers and tugged her best-friend away from the sitting room and instead, into the dining room. Still, Stella was able to see Brandon and the girl.
"Who's that?"
Stella asked in a quiet voice. Her body felt hot, too hot, and her palms began to feel clammy around the plastic cup.
"That's his stupid girlfriend, Mitzi. She doesn't even go to our school but Brandon says that she's his girlfriend. It's so stupid. And she's so rude."
Girlfriend.
Stella shook her head and sipped on the cup so that she wouldn't have to say anything to that. She desperately wished she could be anywhere else but Flora's house at that moment. But Radius would work long shifts daily so he'd asked the Stone family for a favour; to watch over Stella. They agreed and had been watching over her for two years now.
She still wanted to be in her own home. Of course, Brandon would have a girlfriend. Why wouldn't he? It's not like he'd wait for Stella to grow up; he was already grown at fifteen. She was probably still a stupid kid in his eyes. She was the same age as his sister, he probably saw her as a baby. There was no way Brandon would ever see her as anything else.
It was okay, though. It was just a stupid crush, and she was certain that it would go away in no time. Maybe if she began crushing on someone else, maybe someone from her school, she'd be able to get over Brandon.
But when she saw Mitzi push a laughing Brandon onto the sofa where she was just a few seconds ago and watch her sit on his lap, wrapping her legs around his as she pushed her lips to his, a soft whimper left her throat.
Flora grabbed her hand at once and turned to look at her best-friend. Her face was filled with a worried look.
"Brandon."
Stella whispered as she gripped onto her best-friend's hand.
"It's Brandon who I like."
After all, it was just a stupid crush.
