Chapter 30 Truth or Dare?
Stephanie returns to the living room to join Brooke and the others. She had found the bathroom and just washed her face. She sits beside Luke again but gives more space between them than before. She sees that Brooke is busy with Cole. They're whispering things into each other's ears and giggling. Well, Brooke is giggling.
Steph thinks of an idea and pulls out her phone to text Brooke.
Steph: Would you guys stop that?
Brooke feels her phone vibrate so stops playing with Cole to pull out her phone. She gives Steph a glance after seeing that the text is from her. She unlocks her phone and reads the text which brings a smirk on her face.
Brooke: Go get your own boyfriend.
She looks at Cole but sees he's now talking to Luke so he hadn't seen the text.
Steph groans when she reads Brooke's reply and that makes Luke shift his gaze to her.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
Steph covers her phone's screen.
"Yes. I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she answers with a fake smile.
Luke looks at her for a few seconds before returning to his conversation with Cole and the other guy who joined them when she went to the bathroom. From what Steph remembers, he's on the football team with Cole and Luke.
Steph: Did Ivy come here when I left for the bathroom?
Brooke: Nope.
Steph: So where's she? We both know she's here.
Brooke: Why would I want to know anything about that Bête Noire's whereabouts? She could be in Davy Jones' Locker for all I care!
Steph sighs.
Steph: Ask Luke.
Brooke looks up from her phone to give Steph an incredulous look.
Brooke: Why can't you? You're the one that wants to know, so ask.
Steph: I can't and you should know why so please ask.
Steph watches her read the text before she looks up to meet her eyes. Brooke lets out a defeated sigh.
"Hey, Luke."
He looks at her at the mention of his name.
"Where's your girlfriend?" Brooke questions which cause Cole to raise an eyebrow.
Why would she ask about Ivy? He knows she hates her.
"You mean Ivy?"
Brooke raises an eyebrow. "Is there another girlfriend of yours that we don't know about?"
"She should be somewhere around here. She left to get drinks and has not gotten back since then," Luke replies to her earlier question, ignoring the second one.
Brooke shifts her gaze to Steph before looking back at Luke.
"And you're not concerned?"
Luke, Cole, and the third guy share a look before bursting into laughter.
"Why would I be? She can take care of herself. She's probably with Aspen."
Brooke gives Steph a look that seems to say 'That's the answer you wanted.'
Steph clears her throat.
"Maybe you should call her, you know, to make sure she's safe. It's a party after all, anything can happen." Steph says without meeting his gaze.
"I guess you're right," Steph hears Luke say as she looks around.
There's a pause before Cole speaks.
"What are you doing?"
Steph turns to see Luke's phone in his hands just as hers is in her hands.
"I'm going to call her," Luke answers.
"We're in a party, the noise," the third guy says.
Luke groans. "Let me go find her then."
He stands and walks away in search of Ivy and only then does Stephanie breathe normally since she got back. She moves to sit beside Brooke.
"Why did you leave there?" Brooke asks.
"I'm not comfortable beside him and he might come back with poison Ivy," Steph answers softly so that Cole who is on the other side of Brooke won't hear.
Brooke shakes her head.
They both watch a brunette walk over to them and sit beside the guy talking to Cole. She immediately wraps her hands around his bicep.
"I've been looking everywhere for you Skye," she croons.
That's his name, Steph thinks.
"I just came to have a little chat with Luke and Cole," Skye replies her.
"Doesn't matter. I'm with you now," the girl croons while still hugging Skye's left arm.
Brooke rolls her eyes.
She gets back to talking with Cole while Skye talks to his girl.
Steph sighs and unlocks her phone to continue playing Candy Crush.
A few minutes later, Luke returns but not alone. He has Ivy and Aspen with him.
"Found her," he announces. "I told you guys nothing was wrong." He ends up sitting on the couch, beside Skye's girl.
Steph looks up at Luke's arrival and she's glad she left her previous position beside him.
Ivy hasn't noticed her yet because she's busy glaring at the girl beside Luke-- Skye's girl, who isn't paying her any attention.
Steph watches Ivy as she walks over to sit beside her boyfriend. Instead of sitting at Luke's right side, Ivy squeezes herself to sit in the little space between him and the girl. Luke smiles before making more room for her to sit comfortably.
After that, Ivy begins to scan the faces of people seated and Steph looks away before her eyes land on her. Ivy shoots daggers with her eyes when it lands on Brooke who hasn't spared her a glance since she came. Then she does the same to Steph beside her.
After a moment of everyone doing what they want, Aspen speaks.
"Hey. Let's play a game," she suggests from her position near Luke. She had made sure to leave enough space for two people between them. She doesn't wanna get on Ivy's bad side.
"Yeah. How about 'Truth or Dare'?" Skye's girl says with a cheery voice.
"I'm in," Aspen agrees.
Others agree but Steph doesn't say anything.
"Must a stupid childish game be played at every one of these parties?" Steph whispers to Brooke.
Brooke shakes her head slightly with a small smile on her lips. "Stephanie...."
"I'm not participating in this game," Steph tells her.
"Okay. It's your choice," Brooke replies.
"Before we start," Skye's girl rises to her feet, "let me get Cleo. She loves playing this game."
With that said, she walks off to find her friend.
She returns with a blonde and guess who her friend drags along -- Christopher.
Steph recognizes her as the girl he was making out with.
At least I'm not participating, Steph thinks.
Skye's girl returns to her previous seat while Cleo and Chris occupy the space between Aspen and Luke.
Chris and Steph lock their eyes for a moment. A smirk appears on Chris' face and he winks at her. Steph breaks the eye contact and looks away.
Chris doesn't like the idea of having to play 'Truth or Dare' with Ivy present but Stephanie is, and it'd be fun.
"We're playing 'Truth or Dare'," Skye's girl announces. "Who wants to go first?"
"Me," Aspen says. "But firstly, Chris where's Jason?" She questions.
"I don't know," Chris shrugs.
A frown appears on Aspen's face at Chris' answer. She hasn't seen him. How she wishes he was here to play the game also. Maybe she should go find him instead. Tonight might be her lucky night. She has been following Ivy since they arrived but now that Ivy is here, about to play truth or dare she can go find Jason and try her luck.
"Um...okay. I've changed my mind. Someone else should go first," Aspen rises to her feet.
"Why?"
"I need to do something," she tells them and hurries off before anyone can ask a question. No one talks for a few seconds after her departure.
"Okay...." Cleo speaks first and scans the face of everyone seated. She stops at Steph and motions to her. "Why don't you go first?"
Brooke nudges Steph to gain her attention.
"Huh?"
Cleo nods. "Start the game."
"Me? No way. I'm not interested," Steph replies her.
"So you're not participating?" Cleo asks.
"Nope. You guys go ahead. I'll be here, minding my own business," Steph answers, risking a glance at Chris to see a blank look on his face.
"Okay then. I'll start," Skye's girl speaks. "Cleo. Truth or dare?"
Everyone waits for Cleo's answer, staring at her.
"Dare," she smirks.
"Kiss anyone you want to for a minute," Skye's girl dares her.
"Seriously Mia?"
Skye's girl, whom Steph and Brooke just got to know her name Mia shrugs.
"Pretty much."
"That's easy."
Cleo pulls Chris closer and kisses him.
Steph looks away, pursing her lips.
Thank goodness I'm not participating, she muses.
Cleo and Chris continue kissing and Mia times them.
Chris doesn't feel comfortable kissing Cleo, mainly because Steph is here, watching. It's bad enough that she bumped into them making out. All these just speak 'Player' just as she described him. He doesn't know why he doesn't want her to think of him as that.
"Time up you two," Mia announces.
They separate and the first person Chris looks at is Steph but she's busy on her phone.
And the game continues with Brooke, Cole, Skye, Mia, Ivy, Luke, Cleo, and Chris as players.
"I'll go next," Cleo decides then points at Brooke. "You're Brooke, right?"
"Yeah."
"Truth or dare?"
"Dare," Brooke answers confidently.
"I dare you to kiss Luke."
This causes Steph to look up from her phone.
Brooke doesn't seem fazed by this. She shifts her gaze to Ivy who has a scowl on her face. She looks Ivy straight in the eye and everyone begins to wonder if they're having a staring contest.
Steph notices the determined look on Brooke's face and she begins to wonder if she will really kiss Luke. She knows Brooke can do it to spite Ivy but will she? Will she do it knowing that Steph likes Luke and most importantly, she's dating Cole -- Luke's best friend.
Brooke wants to go through with the dare to spite Ivy but it wouldn't be fair on Cole. Cole is her boyfriend. The fact that she was dared to do it doesn't matter. She would be mad if Cole dared to kiss another girl and he does it.
She glances at Cole and sighs. "I'll do Truth."
Cole smiles faintly at her answer. He wouldn't fuss about her kissing someone else as a dare but that doesn't mean it wouldn't hurt.
"Who would you like to swap lives with for a week?" Cleo asks Brooke.
"Nobody. Why would I want to swap lives with any of you? You ain't celebrities," Brooke laughs lightly. "But if I have to, I'd pick Cole."
Steph smiles while Ivy rolls her eyes.
Cole grins and laces her fingers with his.
"Chris. Truth or dare?" Brooke smirks.
"Truth," Chris answers.
"Uh....you're scared," Brooke taunts. "You're scared of a dare."
"No, I'm not. I want Truth."
"Okay," Brooke takes a moment to think before asking. "Who was your best kiss with?"
"Huh?"
"Your best kiss was with who?" Brooke restructures her question.
Why would she ask him that question? Steph wonders. What's she up to?
Chris wasn't expecting Brooke to ask a question like that but he keeps his face blank. He doesn't have to think twice 'cause he knows the answer like the back of his palm. It happened about a month ago at Jason's party, during a game of 'spin the bottle' and it was with Hazel- Stephanie. But he doesn't think she'll appreciate him telling everyone. Heck, she doesn't seem to want him to mention it to her.
So he blinks and stares at her.
"Well, it happened about a month ago or so during a game of 'spin the bottle' at a party," Chris says, still looking at Steph who is now staring right back into his green eyes.
"We don't care about when or where it was. Just tell us who it is," Mia groans.
"Yeah," Brooke and Cole agree and Chris breaks eye contact with Steph.
"All I'm telling you guys is that it was with a girl I didn't know existed and it was the best kiss of my life, for now," Chris confesses, then glances at Steph at his last few words.
Steph's heart skips a beat.
Wait. Could he be talking about me? Steph wonders.
After Aspen leaves the others to play the game, she goes in search of Jason. She hasn't seen him since her arrival but she knows he's here. Jason doesn't miss a party and besides, Chris already confirmed it. She heard he has broken up with his girlfriend Hayley and she's really happy about that. If Hayley was the reason he was resisting her -- she's outta the way now. She can have him. All she needs to do is to make the right move and Jason would be wrapped around her little finger.
She eventually finds him outside.
Jason had stepped out of the house for some fresh air but Aspen decides to disrupt his peace.
"Hi Jason," she says flirtatiously, batting her eyelashes coated with mascara.
He sighs. "Hey."
Her presence is already irking him and she's invading his personal space. Jason looks up to the night sky.
Why?
She starts talking but Jason doesn't say anything again. He would tell her to leave but that would seem rude. So he just keeps his eyes trained on the game of beer pong that some people managed to set up outside. Aspen keeps on talking, much to his chagrin. She's the type of girl that can go on and on about a particular topic. She's loquacious. And she just decided to come and burst his bubble.
This continues for a while before Jason decides that he has had enough. When he thinks he's about to snap, he sights Piper walking over with a smile gracing her lips.
"Hey babe," Piper says when she's close enough, then gives him a side hug. "I've been looking for you."
You have? Jason mentally asks but doesn't voice it out.
Piper wraps her arms around his right hand and leans her head on his shoulder.
He doesn't understand what's going on but hopefully, this would get Aspen away from him. So he plays along.
"I just came out to get some fresh air," he finally speaks after a moment.
"Well, we'll get it together now," Piper grins.
"Yeah."
Aspen who has been watching their display with a frown on her face turns around and walks away without a word.
They both watch her go before Piper disengages from Jason to stand in front of him.
"I wish you could have seen the look on your face," Piper laughs.
"What look?" Jason asks with a smile.
"You had this look that screams 'Someone help me!' or 'Someone please safe me from this raging monster'. Something along those lines."
"You can't blame me. She annoys the heck out of me."
Piper laughs.
"Thanks though for deciding to be the hero and saving me."
"You're welcome," Piper smiles.
They stay silent for a moment. Piper turns to watch the beer pong game and Jason watches it too.
"Let's go for a stroll," Piper suggests.
"A stroll?" Jason asks incredulously.
She nods. "A walk."
"I don't know, Piper. It's pretty late for a stroll."
"Don't worry. This neighborhood is safe or are you scared?" She raises a teasing eyebrow at him with a tiny smile.
"Of course not," Jason quickly replies.
"Then let's go."