The First Rule

Chapter 24a: Queen of Dare

After the.. you know, ‘incident’, Dom has been distancing himself from us—even from me. It's not like we haven't tried to comfort him. Liam did.. I did—you see—I tried, bro! But what happened was he went all rampage to me like—

"What the f**k is his problem these days, seriously?!"

Exhausted and drained from the intense encounter, you closed your eyes—letting out a deep sigh. Gathering your resolve, you finally opened them and summoned all the patience you could muster to explain the situation. "I'm sorry, Dommy.. It's just—it has always been his nickname for me since we were babies—just like I'm the only one who calls him Tyty—"

"The fact that I can't even complain about this when he's very welcomed to complain whenever I—"

"It's not like that! Dom—"

"And the fact that you guys know each other so f*****g well puts me off every time!"

"Dommy.. What do you expect? We've known each other since we were babies.." you consoled, frustration still evident in your tone as Hunt, still fuming, let out a groan of annoyance.

"I just—I need to clear my head. I'll catch up to you in a sec, W—"

He caught himself mid-sentence. At his almost slip up, you couldn't help but let out a slight cringe. After a brief pause—he raised his eyebrows and lit his cigarette to say,

"Emily."

He turned away, muttering under his breath a nickname he thought was best for now. Your stomach sank at his disappointment, and you couldn't help but plead, "Baby.. sorry.. I wanted to avoid this but I didn't know how—"

"It's ok babe, just after this one's finished, okay?" he interrupted with a forced smile, his words tinged with urgency as if he wanted to dismiss you as quickly as possible—and he continued his smoke.

But even after a few more smokes, he still hasn't decided to join us, fellas.

Damn it, was Tyler too hard on him earlier? Ok just—let him be for a while, Em. Let's just—focus on these games. If you're asking, yes—as usual, Wyatt's been keeping us busy with his never-ending list of games. But what I've been wondering is..

Why does.. Tyler.. keep staring at me?

Ok I don't know! But hear me out—ok—I'm sitting here, alright? Drinking what everyone called a Radler. I have Evie beside me, Scott and Tara on my left.. I just—I know he's sitting there—just a few feet away, right beside Wyatt and the gang. But—you can feel it when someone's watching you, right? Because when I glance in his direction.. See?! He is looking back at me—oh hell what's with that smirk—

But then your phone dings.

As you're about to reach for it, from the corner of your eyes—you catch him bouncing his eyebrows at you. Tilting your head, you squint your eyes in suspicion—and it all makes sense when you finally look at your phone and see the notification..

'Stop looking at me won't ya?'

You scoff at his text—rolling your eyes playfully before glancing at him with a slight smirk. Still looking at you, he chuckles mischievously, tongue licking on his lower lip—clearly enjoying your reaction. You try to hold back a grin, but it's a losing battle as you feel the corners of your mouth twitching upwards.

Deciding to play it cool, you look away from him—pretending to ignore his antics. However, just as you try to focus on something else, you feel another vibration from your phone. A big smirk forms on your face as you reluctantly take a another check on your screen, just to see—

'Arrogant.'

Letting out another amused scoff, you finally decided to reply—when someone grabs you from your seat and throws you to another random spot, leaving you sitting on the ground! Throwing your head back in irritation at your new seat, you groan, "Ohmygod what game are we even playing now?"

"Hello, Winters."

You immediately snap your head to the side—finding Cavill, already leaning on the sofa's cushion with his arm supporting his head as he stares at you.

Oh man, it's tough having an attractive bestie, isn't it? Everything he does could almost make me.. enchanted?

Sighing, you cover up your underlying amusement and act annoyed, saying, "Ugh, you again."

"What's wrong with me?" he asks with a smirk, raising an eyebrow as he snatches the phone from your hand before you could even argue—just to check what you typed for him. Disappointed with what he found, he tosses your phone back to you. "That's it? My bad—thought you were writing something important,"

"Sure, make fun of me all you want since you're so relevant—“

But before you could finish your sentence, he cuts you off by stealing your Radler and finishes it in one go—flashing you a cheeky grin afterward. Watching him with tired annoyance, you slump back into your slouched position and complain, "Can I just step out of this game, please?!"

"No. You're not allowed."

Wyatt's voice is firm—leaving no room for argument. He's positioned far across from you, sitting beside Eve—who’s already showcasing her signature smile.

Oh, so he's the one throwing me here.

Reluctantly glancing to your right, you catch Tyler's mischievous gaze still fixed on you. His eyebrows bouncing with a big smirk plastered on his face. Despite your unimpressed expression, he seems to be even more delighted before without warning—he reaches out to mess up your hair, earning a slap from you—

When he swiftly stops you, grabbing your hands and turning you to face the front—locking your own hands in front of you. Hugging you from behind. Annoyance courses through you as you feel his chuckle reverberating against his chest behind you, intensifying your irritation.

Rude.

"Allllright, Queen of Truth—!"

"Oh not this one I'm so not in the mood for this one—!"

You act like you're having a seizure in Cavill's embrace—eliciting laughter from everyone, including him.

I don't care! You see—I'm just. not. in the mood for this game. God help me.

"This one will be different though!" Wyatt assures, his arm now circling around Reed's shoulders.

Oh f**k, different? Different?! As if his ‘different’ would make me feel better—see that cheeky grin he has on his face? Never a good sign.

"Babe, everybody learned from their past experience how your 'different' usually translates for 'more chaotic'," Eve laughs in his embrace.

Chuckling at his girlfriend's remark, he announces, "It's only gonna be a dare, and the person before you will have to say the dare first before spinning the bottle," he pauses, his eyes scanning the room to ensure everyone understands the rules. Once he catches everyone’s nodding, he continues,

"Ready to hit some logs, Rivers?!"

The crowd erupts into cheers and excited chatter. Evie shakes his body in excitement, showing how supportive she is towards her boyfriend's wickedness. Groaning, you helplessly drop your head to Cavill’s shoulder behind you, silently pleading, 'Can you control this wild loco, bestie?' Nonchalantly, Tyler simply shrugs his shoulders—a mischievous glint dancing in his eyes.

With a dramatic hand gesture, Wyatt urges Cavill to place your now empty Radler in the middle. Then, he turns to you with a mischievous grin playing on his lips.

"So! Queen of Truth—I'm giving you the honor.. to be the Queen of Dare!"

As the chant of 'Spin! Spin! Spin!' grows louder from the crowd, you realize you have no other choice but to embrace what's to come. Taking a deep breath, you steel yourself—knowing that with this group, chaos is always just around the corner. So eventually, you have no other choice other than..

To spin.

As the bottle spins, each dare seems to outdo the last—and you can't help but chuckle at the antics of your friends. Here and there, you and Tyler share stolen glances and secret smiles, enjoying the brief respite from the chaos around you.

"Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!"