THE DARE
579 Words
The crowd kept chanting.
“Dare! Dare! Dare!”
I groaned and rubbed my forehead.
“This is ridiculous.”
Adrian leaned back in his chair, clearly enjoying the situation.
“You picked truth last time,” he said casually. “Now you have to pick dare.”
I glared at him.
“You seem way too happy about this.”
“That’s because I know what they’re going to ask.”
That didn’t make me feel better.
The bottle was placed back on the table, and everyone leaned closer, waiting.
“Alright,” one of Adrian’s friends said loudly. “Lena has to do a dare.”
The crowd cheered again.
I crossed my arms.
“Fine. What is it?”
The guy grinned mischievously.
“You have to—”
Before he could finish, another voice interrupted.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
It was Adrian.
The room went quiet.
The guy looked confused.
“What do you mean ‘no’?”
Adrian stood up slowly.
“She’s not doing whatever stupid idea you’re about to say.”
“Since when do you ruin the fun?” someone asked.
Adrian shrugged.
“Since now.”
I looked at him in surprise.
“Why are you defending me?”
He glanced at me.
“I’m not.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Preventing chaos.”
“That sounds unlikely.”
The crowd started complaining.
“Come on!”
“That’s not fair!”
“Let her do the dare!”
Adrian sighed.
“Fine,” he said finally.
The room went silent again.
“But I’ll choose the dare.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“That doesn’t sound safer.”
His smirk returned.
“It’s very simple.”
He stepped closer to me.
Close enough that I could see the tiny scar near his eyebrow again.
“You have to dance with me.”
The room exploded with excitement.
“WHAT?!”
“No way!”
“Adrian never dances!”
I blinked in surprise.
“That’s the dare?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not even embarrassing.”
“You’d be surprised,” he said quietly.
The music in the room suddenly changed to a slower song.
The crowd stepped back, forming a circle around us.
My heart started beating faster.
This was definitely not how I expected the night to go.
Adrian held out his hand.
“Well?”
I stared at it.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Probably.”
I sighed.
Then finally…
I placed my hand in his.
The crowd cheered loudly.
Adrian gently pulled me toward the center of the room.
His hand rested lightly on my waist while the other held mine.
For a moment, the loud party disappeared.
It was just the music.
And the strange feeling of dancing with the one person I argued with the most.
Adrian looked down at me.
“You’re nervous.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re gripping my hand like you’re about to run away.”
“That’s because I might.”
He chuckled softly.
Then his voice became quieter.
“Relax, Lena.”
His gray eyes met mine again.
“I’m not the villain everyone thinks I am.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You literally started a truth-or-dare game that trapped me.”
“Fair point.”
But for the first time since I met him…
Adrian wasn’t smirking.
And somehow that made the moment feel even more confusing.
- Writer
