Truth or Dare

CHAPTER THREE – The Unexpected Date

“So, who do we have here?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious.

“Oh, sorry,” Alex said quickly, “this is Jade Thompson, our new classmate. He just moved into the neighborhood and joined our school.”

“Hi,” Jade said, stretching out his hand with a confident smile.

“Hey,” I replied, shaking his hand. “I’m Skylar Anderson — but everyone calls me Sky.”

“Okay, babe, I’ll do just that,” he winked playfully.

Before I could roll my eyes, Kenzy appeared, and we all left for the car. Alex couldn’t stop talking about Jade the whole ride home. He confessed that he liked Jade but was scared because, well… Jade was gay. I told him gently, “You never know, Alex. Just tell him how you feel.” But Alex only shook his head, too shy to even imagine it.

He dropped me off at home, and I went straight to my room. I cleaned off my makeup, freshened up, slipped into my pyjamas, and crawled into bed. Just as my eyes began to close, the memory of the kiss flashed through my mind — and I smiled. It was good. But then I frowned. It came from my enemy, Caden. Ugh. I sighed and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I had just finished freshening up when a message popped onto my phone.

“Happy 15-hour anniversary, babe. Congratulations to us.”

I didn’t even need to guess who it was. Caden.

I ignored the message, but another came almost instantly:

“Babe, don’t ignore me. Is this how a good girlfriend behaves? Get dressed — we’re going out on our first date to celebrate our anniversary.”

I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. How did he even get my number? Still, I ignored him.

I went downstairs to help Mom in the kitchen, but she had already finished making breakfast.

“Good morning, Mom,” I greeted.

“Morning, my princess,” she replied with that familiar twinkle in her eyes. “How are you? How was the party? Any boyfriend yet?”

I froze. “Uh… no, Mom!” I laughed nervously. But before she could ask more questions, the doorbell rang — thank God.

“I’ll get it,” I said quickly, rushing to the door.

When I opened it, I froze.

Standing there, grinning like the devil himself, was Caden.

“What are you doing here? And how on earth did you get my address?” I snapped.

“Too many questions, babe. Can I at least come in first?” he said, smirking.

Before I could answer, Mom appeared beside me.

“Well, hello, handsome,” she said, smiling from ear to ear.

I rolled my eyes.

“Hi, ma,” Caden greeted politely.

“Oh, don’t call me ma, it makes me feel old. Just call me Camelia,” Mom said, giggling.

“So, how may we help you, young man?” she asked.

“I’m Caden, Sky’s boyfriend,” he said innocently.

If only she knew!

“Oh dear, come in, come in!” Mom beamed.

Caden walked in confidently, crossing his legs as he sat on the sofa. Mom excused herself to the kitchen, leaving me glaring at him.

“Babe,” he said, still scrolling through his phone, “aren’t you going to get dressed for our first date? I meant what I said.”

I groaned, stomped upstairs, and decided — fine. If he wanted a date, I’d show him one.

I slipped into a short gown that stopped just above my knees, added a touch of eyeliner and lip gloss, grabbed my bag, and came downstairs.

“Okay, Camelia,” Caden called out, “I’m taking her out for a date.”

“Alright, but don’t be late!” Mom said, pecking my forehead.

Before I could say anything, Caden wrapped his arm around my waist — in front of my mom!

Mom literally squealed in excitement. I rolled my eyes.

We went to the park first, then to the movies, and finally grabbed something to eat at a cozy restaurant. To my surprise, I actually had fun. I laughed more than I expected, and when he dropped me off at home later, I caught myself smiling.

Monday came quickly. Alex picked me up for school, and I told him everything. He was excited for me — maybe too excited. I shrugged it off and told him, “It’s fine, Alex. In just a month, this will all be over.”

We walked into class, and then Mr. Ben, our teacher, came in.

“Alright everyone,” he announced, “we’re pairing up for the new project — groups of two.”

I silently prayed I’d get paired with Alex or Kenzy. Or even Jade. But when the list came out, my heart sank.

“Skylar and Caden.”

I nearly screamed. “Sir, please can I change partners?”

“No, Skylar,” Mr. Ben said firmly. “The decision is final.”

“Oh no,” I muttered under my breath.

When I turned around, there he was — Caden, smiling like he’d just won the lottery.

A moment later, my phone buzzed.

Caden: Meet me at the school library.

I rolled my eyes again, slipped my phone into my hoodie pocket, and muttered, “Here we go again.”