Gem City

Chapter 7

“American i***t” - Greenday

“Here"s To Never Growing Up” – Avril Lavigne

“OKAY! I AM ARRIVING AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS MOMENTARILY,” Luke announced, obnoxiously loud. “Oh, hey, guys,” he said casually when he saw them. “Vanessa insists we continue on with "Throwback Thursday" and you come and play Truth or Dare. So chop-chop- her words, not mine. I don"t say lame things like "chop-chop".”

“Yeah, dude, we"ll be right there. Just give us a sec,” Ethan replied with a pained expression.

Luke"s face went from confused to understanding quite quickly, and then he broke into laughter. “Yeah, okay, man, see you in a minute.” He continued laughing all the way down the stairs. Ethan requested that Courtney talk to him about something else, so she gave him the rundown of her hatred of fruit. He looked at her quizzically, but she was used to it.

“People are prejudiced against non-fruit eaters,” she complained. “You have no idea. Soccer games as a kid? No snack for Courtney because she doesn"t eat oranges. Birthday parties when weirdos put strawberry filling in the cake? Courtney gets no cake.” She wasn"t quite sure why she was referring to herself in the third person, but it seemed to fit her mood. She was positively buzzing after their interaction. This apparently did the trick because Ethan picked her up and claimed he was going to carry her downstairs that way.

“You are a strange girl, sprinkles, but I"m starting to think you"re kind of perfect for me.” His tone was serious as he put her down. Courtney blushed and squeezed his hand as they entered the basement. Vanessa was waiting for them, her arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.

“Could you be slower? I wanna play Truth or Dare! Come, come, sit,” she demanded. “Okay, here are the rules-”

“There are no rules for Truth or Dare, babe, let"s just play.”

“No, my party, my game. As I was saying, everyone gets one veto, you can use it on a Truth or a Dare, but otherwise you gotta play along. No one has to do anything illegal. Well, unless they really want to, I guess. And everything stays in this room. You got it?” They all nodded. Vanessa was a little scary when she was on a mission. Luke was the loudest- always, so he got to go first.

“Courtney, Truth or Dare?” he smiled excitedly.

“Seriously? Picking on the out-of-towner huh? Fine. Dare,” she answered bravely, thinking it might be safer than having to answer any personal questions.

“Yes! Now it"s a party. I dare you to do a body shot off of… Vanessa,” he beamed.

“Oh, Jesus, veto,” Courtney replied, laughing.

“What?! Veto on the first one? You"re in for a long night, girly, that"s not even close to my best dare,” Luke warned.

“Okay, so I"m not just saying this because I desperately want to see you lick Vanessa"s neck, but he"s not lying. His mind is a twisted, twisted place,” Ethan agreed. She knew Luke was getting a kick out of it because he thought he could embarrass her. She decided to prove him wrong.

“Lie down, V. Luke, I assume you have the appropriate set-up for this operation?” Courtney questioned, challenging him.

“There ya go. Of course I do. There are perks to having an absentee parent.” He went over to his bag and pulled out shot glasses and a bottle of vodka. He sprinkled sugar on Vanessa"s neck despite her squirming and put the lemon in her mouth. He held out the shot glass for Courtney, along with one for himself, and said, “Cheers,” with a tone that suggested he didn"t quite believe she"d do it.

“Cheers,” she said back in an even tone. She licked the sugar off of Vanessa"s neck, downed the shot, and picked up the lemon with her mouth. She shuddered when the alcohol hit the back of her throat. There was a reason she didn"t drink vodka, but Vanessa couldn"t stop giggling the entire time, which eased any leftover anxiety. “Happy?” she raised an eyebrow at Luke.

“Oh, you have no idea,” he replied. “Your turn.”

“Truth or Dare,” she said as she turned and looked at Ethan.

“Ahhh, s**t,” he laughed. “Truth.” Courtney was glad. She had been thinking up some questions to ask him, and the body-shot challenge was making her feel a little braver than she should.

“How many girls have you been with?” she asked, staring straight at him, her lungs refusing to take in an appropriate amount of air.

“No, no, no, no, no. Veto. Hell no,” he said, refusing to meet her gaze. “We are not traveling down that road today. Next question.”

“Well, now you"re making me think you"re a man-w***e. You"re better off just answering and easing my mind, don"t you think?” Courtney said sweetly, determined to get an answer before she could totally commit to what she thought she wanted with him.

“She"s good,” Luke interjected.

“Oh my god. Whatever. You asked for this. I want immunity from any backlash that is to come, got it?” he stated very plainly to Courtney. She held up her fingers in a Scout"s honor position.

“Two girls.”

“Liar,” Luke said under a very obvious fake cough.

“No lying allowed!” Vanessa protested.

“Damn it, Luke! Fine, four. That"s the real number. You just wait, man, you are going to find your tires slashed one day in the parking lot next year, and you will remember this moment,” he threatened. Courtney couldn"t tell quite how serious he was in his anger. She tried not to think about the four other girls. At least it"s not fourteen, she told herself. He was impossibly beautiful, and he had been honest about how he usually…behaved. Is it really that bad? Her heart calmed slightly just with the fact that she didn"t have to wonder about it anymore. She tried not to let her own number of zero make her feel self-conscious. Better zero than any number of regrets.

At least it"s not fourteen,Is it really that bad?Better zero than any number of regrets.“Just for the record, and to hopefully win back this girl"s affection,” gesturing to Courtney, “there hasn"t been anyone in a while, okay? Are we good?” he asked specifically to her, toying nervously with the ring on his middle finger.

“We"re good,” she replied, thinking she meant it. She shook off any leftover concern and refocused on her good mood from earlier. Purposefully, she got up and went to sit on his lap to erase any doubt he had about her answer. His lips found her shoulder, making her shiver.

“Vanessa, Truth or Dare?” Ethan asked.

“I would love to stay and play, y"all, but I think it is time to go TPing! Gosh darn the luck! If only you two hadn"t been upstairs for eleven hours!” Vanessa exclaimed innocently. The other three erupted in protest, but she did not waver. She sent Luke upstairs to load up his truck with their supplies while they changed into more stealthy outfits.

“Unbelievable!” Ethan said under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear him.

“Oh, Ethan, don"t get so bent out of shape. I didn"t like the direction the questions were headed in. My significant other may not be as understanding as the girl you have there,” she informed him. “Better that we avoid it altogether.”

“Well, when you put it that way, maybe you"re right,” Ethan conceded. “All right, let"s get up there and commit a misdemeanor, shall we?” He grabbed Courtney"s hand, pulled her off the couch, and the three headed upstairs to change and meet Luke outside. “So, whose house are we hitting tonight?” he asked.

“I vote for Zack Roads" place!” Luke said emphatically. Zack was Vanessa"s ex-boyfriend, so the selection made sense.

“Eh, why not? He has it coming, dirt bag,” Vanessa agreed, a shadow crossing her face. “It will help Luke get through some of his anger issues too.” They piled into the truck for their criminal act.

Luke pulled down the block from Zack"s sizable lot with the headlights off.

“Okay, fellow ninjas, here is the game plan. TP the crap out of this yard and don"t get caught. Those are the basics. If anyone comes out, we scatter and meet back at the truck when it"s safe. Got it?” Luke coached.

“Yes, ninja master. Thank you for teaching us your ways,” Courtney joked. Luke flipped her off and got out of the truck. The four sneaked onto the property, and soon there was a silent fireworks show of toilet paper in all directions. They were hushed and stealthy, covering the yard in under seven minutes. They saw a faint light flip on through one of the upstairs windows.

“Crap, crap, crap! Run!!!!” Luke whispered as loud as he could, and they took off running for their lives. The sound of their feet on the pavement seemed to match that of Courtney"s heartbeat in her ears. They made it around the corner before anyone came out of the house, and they didn"t look back as they bolted for the vehicle. Luke backed it down the street without his lights, and no one breathed until they made it out of the neighborhood and onto one of the back roads to Vanessa"s house.

“Oh my GOD, that was awesome. Seriously just as fun as when we were kids,” Courtney said breathlessly to Vanessa.

“Right??? This was the best idea ever,” she related. Vanessa leaned across the truck and planted a kiss on Luke"s mouth. “That"s for being a badass,” she said as he smiled. The four were abuzz with the high of almost getting caught as they drove back to the house. Courtney couldn"t believe how ridiculous they all looked in black with bandanas on their heads like a motorcycle gang, but she still thought Ethan looked delicious. His lean muscles showed through his thin t-shirt and she reached over to grab his hand. He lifted hers to his lips and kissed the back of it sweetly. How have I lived my whole teenage life without him?

How have I lived my whole teenage life without him?