17 year old Emily was sitting on the floor of her room, along with her five closest friends Brittany, Chloe, Hayleigh, Taylah and Sophie. Each girl was immersed in a magazine, trying to find the perfect dare to ask at Emily's 18th birthday party, which was the next day. The girls had been reading for hours, recording their dares on pieces of paper and throwing them into a box in the middle of the room. No one knew what the other girls dares were- it was part of the fun- and were all beyond excited for the next day. The five girls were staying the night, and were planning on crashing early, so they'd be able to stay awake for Emily's party. It was only a small gathering, of 10 girls and 10 guys, and coincidently, each party member was single. Emily had a shrewd idea that some of her friends were going to try and set her up with someone, but who it was she had no idea. Neither of Emily's friends were quiet, and the "noise" here was deafening. Not.
Emily threw her magazine aside and said "Enough of this! We have enough dares to last a year in that box! Let's go do something productive, and go shopping for something to wear!"
Each girl squealed, and leapt up, picking their wallets up on the way. They were at the mall within 10 minutes, and each girl ran for their favourite store- Birds Eye View. The only way into the store was from the top, and the mirrors spread intentionally around the store made you feel as if you were looking into a shopping bag, or as the owners said, looking down like the birds do. They immediately ran for 'their' clothing section, the only place they got clothes from and were picking outfits within seconds. Within 5 minutes, each girl was in a changing room, trying on a new outfit. It was their rule that no one saw what the other was getting before the party, that way; each girl was surprised at what the other was wearing. The only bad time this happened was when Brittany and Taylah got the same outfit. Now, they asked the sales attendant to check what each girl was wearing and if there was a clash, each girl would put their outfit back, no questions asked. It was easier that way.
The Party
"OH MY GOD! You look amazing!" screamed Sophie.
I blushed and mumbled thanks, before turning around to get the door. I turned and walked straight into a muscular chest and rebounded off, heading straight for the floor. Before I could hit it a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist, securing me to their body. I sighed with relief and turned around once I could stand. My blue eyes were met with a pair of twinkling hazel ones, ones that I lost myself in straight away. They seemed never ending, and I couldn't tear my eyes from his.
"Thanks" I managed to whisper.
There seemed to be no one around us. I was focussed on Hayden and he was focused on me. His arms were still wrapped around my waist with mine resting lightly on his chest. My breathing started increasing as Hayden moved slowly in, never taking his eyes off mine.
Slowly, my eyes closed and- "EMILY! Where the hell are you?" screamed Chloe.
I jumped and detangled myself from Hayden's arms. I ran away as fast as my 3 inch heels would let me but before I could get into the kitchen my hand was grabbed and I was pulled into the closest room by Hayleigh.
"What?" I asked.
Hayleigh seemed too shocked for words. "You- him- what- um" she stammered.
A confused look swept over my face. "Huh?" I asked.
"You nearly kissed Hayden! What just happened? What did I miss?" she demanded, finding her voice.
I sighed and said "nothing, I was talking to Soph and I turned around to get the door, and walked straight into his chest and fell backwards. He grabbed my waist and caught me and then, we nearly kissed"
"Chloe stopped it right?" Hayleigh asked. I nodded and glanced over at her.
She sighed and said "I thought so. Why did you run so quickly? His face fell so quickly when you did, but he pretended to pull himself together so no one else would see. Except I did"
I groaned, and whispered "I was... well, shocked. I didn't know what to do and if it would be awkward. Plus, he deserves someone better than me. I'm just plain old Em, youngest person of our group, whose parents don't care about her enough to even visit her! Why would he be interested in me?"
I walked over to the door, and let myself out quietly. The few tears that escaped my eyes were mopped up quickly, no one wanted to see the birthday girl crying at her party. Everyone else was in the living room with the guys playing pool and the girls talking amongst themselves.
The doorbell rang and I answered it, quickly bringing in the warm pizzas the guy had just delivered.
"PIZZA'S HERE!" I yelled out, and everyone raced towards me.
Boxes were thrown open and pieces were grabbed, with everyone grabbing what they could. With 20 people eating here you couldn't afford to be picky- there'd be nothing left by the time you'd made your decision. The pizza's were gone within 15 minutes, and everyone relocated to the backyard. Thankfully, it was summer, and the temperature wasn't cold- yet. After the sun went down the temperature dropped a good 5 degrees, something I wasn't looking forward to. Taylah and Brit brought four picnic blankets out with them and placed them in a square with the box of dares in the middle. Upon realising what it was, each girl squealed and the guys laughed.
Chloe whistled and said "to play this, we need to sit boy-girl. I know it's like we're back in primary school again, and all that stuff, but just humour me for once. Each girl has a number and whatever number is written on the guys dare, they have to do together. If the person doesn't want to do that, there is also the option of Emily choosing what you have to do, or either of the people sitting next to you" she smirked.
"What about the guys numbers?" asked Jessica.
"It's the same deal as ours, the card has a number from 1 to 10 for the girls, and 11 to 20 for the guys" Chloe explained.
Everyone nodded and Chloe said "coz it's your birthday Em, you get to go first!"
I laughed along with everyone else and pulled a piece of paper from the box. "Swap an article of clothing with18 or the person on your left. Person 5 chooses when they get to swap back" the paper said. I laughed and looked around, trying to find person 18. The person next to me was Toby, and 18 was Bryce. Bryce had a hat on, and I held my heels out to him.
He looked shocked and I said "hat. We're swapping".
The guys burst out laughing as we swapped and I stuck his hat on my head with the bill facing backwards. He pulled his shoes off and attempted to put his foot in my shoe, which somehow fit. Maybe it was good I had big feet after all.
I looked over at Jess, who was number 5 and said "when do we swap back? It's your choice" She grinned happily and said "3 turns away".
I nodded and said to Bryce "it's your turn!"
He carefully got up and strutted to the box in my heels, somehow not falling as I'd expected him to.
He burst out laughing and said "walk across the street to number 9 and say to the people there you've lost your teddy, have they seen it?"
We all jumped up and after he'd put his shoes on he walked across the street. Each person hid somewhere in their yard, waiting to see what would happen. He ruffled his hair and rang the doorbell.
Within seconds, a middle aged woman answered and said "how can I help you?" He burst into tears and said "my teddy's gone! He was right there on my bed and I turned around for a second and then he was gone! I can't sleep without him! I'm gonna have nightmares without him!" His sobs picked up as the lady stared at him, unable to process that he was an 18 year old guy looking for a teddy. "Ha- Have you seen him?" he asked and hiccupped. "No." The lady said and slammed the door. "My teddyyyy!" he wailed.
I couldn't help it; I had to leave before he made me start cracking up laughing. Each of us quickly ran from their yard and as soon as we were in my house we burst out laughing. People were rolling around on the floor and I had tears running down my face.
"Dude that would have to be the funniest thing I have ever seen" said Hayden.
I nodded in agreement and caught his eye. He gave me a small smile and winked at me. I blushed and looked down towards the ground. Everyone started heading outside and I joined them, wanting to avoid the awkward moment that was soon to come with Hayden. We sat down again and Bryce picked Chelsea to go next.
She bounded over to the box and picked out her card "Sing 'I'm a little teapot' and do the actions along with player 20 or the person on your right" After checking to see who the guys were, she pulled Hayden to his feet and started singing. He went bright red, but joined in, going redder and redder as the song continued. Each person was rolling around on the ground laughing at them, and Hayleigh was videoing it.
They finished quickly and Hayden went over to the box. "Take Emily on a tour of the house, pretending it's not hers, while giving her a piggy back" he read out.
I gulped and smiled nervously. He walked over to me and held out his hand so I could get up. I grabbed it and he pulled me up effortlessly, carefully putting me on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked over his shoulder.
"Well, Emily, this is the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, laundry, blah, blah, blah" he said with a smile.
"Really? No way!" I said, laughing at him.
"Up the stairs we go!" he exclaimed and proceeded to run up the stairs like a horse.
I clung to him; I didn't need to fall again tonight. I rested my head against his back as he continued his 'tour' of my house.
"This is the other bathroom, your parents room, and... your room!" he commented as he walked in.
I opened my eyes, and we were indeed in my room. It still had sleeping bags and what not all over the floor as the girls were planning on staying the night again. He walked over to my bed and carefully put me down so I was lying down. I sat up and looked over at him. He put a hand inside his pocket and pulled out a small present.
"Happy birthday" he whispered.
I took the present from him and carefully opened it. I drew in a shocked breath and looked over at him.
"Thank you" I whispered, speechless. Inside the box was a diamond necklace in the shape of a wing.
"It represents freedom. You're now 18, you can do what you want" he said with a nervous laugh.
"Finally" I said.
"What you said to Hayleigh earlier, you know it's not true, don't you?" he said.
"What?" I asked.
"The stuff you said in the bathroom. I know I shouldn't have been listening, I didn't hear all of it, but the part I did was wrong, well most of it was, but there was one true part" he paused and was about to say something when everything he'd said sunk in.
I tore my eyes away from his and leapt up. Now I didn't have my heels on I could run a lot faster. I jumped off the bed and ran for the door, leaving him sitting on my bed. I didn't look back, and I ran as fast as I could out the door of the house and up to the park on my street. Skilfully, I climbed the tree I'd renamed as mine and sat on one of the higher branches, trying to not be seen. My sobs had increased now, and it was all I could do to keep them quiet. I'd finally figured it out, I was falling for him, and he didn't feel the same way about me. Hayleigh was wrong when she'd said he liked me, he didn't like me one bit, at least not in that way.
Hayden
"What the hell did you do to her?" Hayleigh hissed to me.
She pushed me back into Em's room and shut the door behind her.
"What did you do?" she repeated, shoving me backwards.
I fell onto Em's bed and put my head in my hands. I looked over at Hayleigh who had a murderous expression on her face and said "I told her that what she was saying in the bathroom wasn't true, and that what I heard was wrong. I was about to say something else when she ran from the room and I have no idea where she went".
"You stupid idiot" Hayleigh hissed to me.
"What? What'd I do wrong?" I asked. I'd never understood girls, but this time I needed to. I needed to find Em and tell her what I was originally planning on telling her.
"What Em was saying in the bathroom was a list of reasons why you wouldn't like her, or go out with her. The last thing she said was 'why would he be interested in me?' What you said to her made her think that there was no way you would like her, and now that she's figured out her feelings for you, she was all excited to see what would happen for the two of you. Now, well that's gonna take some hard clearing up to do" she said quietly.
I groaned and flopped back on her bed. I pulled the pillow over my face and held it on there, trying to block out everything else. I'd just about screwed everything up with Em, and I had no idea where she was. I'd heard the front door slam, so there was little chance of finding her. I'd just have to wait until she came home.
"Try the park, she's most likely there" said Hayleigh.
I threw the pillow off my face and leapt up calling "thanks" over my shoulder to Hayleigh. I don't think I'll ever be able to run this fast again. I made it to the park in a matter of seconds, and when I got there it was empty. My phone buzzed and a text from Hayleigh came through "try the tree with the boulder next to it on the right hand side". I inwardly thanked Hayleigh and headed straight towards the tree. As I got closer I heard tiny little sobs and I almost hit myself over the head. It was my fault she was crying, and on her birthday. What a great friend I was.
"Em?" I tentatively called. "Please, would you come down? I want to talk to you"
I heard a sigh and suddenly she was falling straight at me. "Ahh!" she yelled. I quickly manoeuvred myself so I was underneath her and she landed safely in my arms. I let out a sigh of relief before I placed her on her feet.
"What's with you catching me tonight? It seems as if each time I fall you're there to catch me" she said to me. "Good timing I guess" I said quietly. It was quiet for a second until I gently turned her head to face mine.
"Em, what I said in there, I didn't mean it. The part of what I said was wrong, the part about how apparently you're just plain old Em and how your parents don't care for you. The part I meant was right was that you're the youngest person in the group. You can't help that and we love you for it anyway. There has to be a youngest person, the same with the oldest. You just fall into the category of the youngest, but age doesn't matter. You're you and that's what counts" I finished, immediately thinking of how incredibly corny that sounded.
"That's all you heard?" she asked quietly.
I nodded, and wondered what I'd missed. Suddenly, she threw her arms around me and said "I'm sorry for running out like that, I was upset and I just needed to get out for a bit". I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me. I buried her face in her hair, never wanting to let her go. She pulled away slightly and brought her hands up to wipe her tears away. I gently caught her hand and placed it back around my neck with the other one before lightly wiping the other ones away. Her breath caught and I suddenly realised our position. It was like we were back at her place but there was no one here to interrupt us. I smiled softly at her before slowly moving closer.
"Get a room you stupid teenagers!" some drunk guy screamed out.
We both jumped away from each other and looked away, trying to avoid the awkward situation. I nearly groaned aloud. I swear, someone seriously didn't want the two of us to get together.
"We better be getting back" said Em quietly.
I nodded and walked beside her back to her place, neither of us talking. I opened her door for her and she smiled at me before heading in. I stopped suddenly when Harry ran up to me, threw his arms around me and said "Hayden, have I ever told you that I love you?" I nearly chocked and burst out laughing. He went off and pretended to sulk before he sat down and said "someone else's turn!"
Annie quickly went and pulled out a dare and called out "lock person 4 and 20 into a room for _____ amount of time!"
"What was the pause for?" asked Harry.
"It means that person can choose how long they have to stay in there" explained Chloe.
"Who is 4 and 20?" asked Hayleigh.
I stepped forward and looked around. No one else was coming out, and I realised Em wasn't there. "I think it's Em" I announced. Hayleigh raised an eyebrow at me and dragged me away from the group.
"What happened while you were at the park?" she asked.
"Nothing. It was just like last time. We were about to kiss and BAM! Some random drunk guy yelled out of his car to get a room, and the moment was broken. Then we walked home silently and I thought she came out, but she obviously didn't" I said.
She nodded understandingly and said "try her balcony. It's where she goes to think". I didn't need telling twice. I was up the stairs and into her room in a flash. I could see a figure standing against the railing and I knew it was Em. Quietly, I opened the door and walked out to her.
Emily
"Em" he whispered quietly.
I turned and faced him, waiting to see what he was about to say. Hayden moved towards me quickly, pulling me into his arms. I collapsed into them and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. He moved carefully backwards and sat down on the hanging chair I had. I started shivering and my hands started shaking from the cold.
"What on earth are you doing out here? You're going to freeze!" he exclaimed.
"I was thinking, I didn't even know I was cold until you came out" I explained.
He picked me up bridal style and pulled me into my room, where he put the heater on high and gave me his jacket. I smiled gratefully at him and paused before standing up directly in front of him. My eyes met his and immediately I was lost. Before I knew what was happening, he'd grabbed me by the waist and pulled me towards him. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck and I looked deep into his eyes. They were sparkling happily and before anyone could stop us, he bent down and pressed his lips to mine. Sparks flew immediately; I never knew a kiss could be so amazing. I tangled my hands in his hair and pulled him closer. His tongue grazed my lip, silently asking for permission and I let him enter immediately. His tongue touched mine and I moaned quietly. We needed to breathe soon, but neither of us wanted this to end. After all the stupid interruptions we were finally getting our kiss, and neither of us were planning on stopping it. He was the first to break away and he rested his forehead against mine staring into my eyes.
"Finally" he whispered.
"You read my mind" I said back and lightly pressed my lips against his. He smiled into the kiss before he grabbed me around the waist and spun me around in a circle. I burst out laughing and threw my arms around him. He hugged me close to him and linked my hand with his.
"How about we rejoin this party of yours?" he asked me.
I nodded and smoothed my hair down before taking his hand and leading him downstairs. I stopped at the doorway and laughed. Hayden stopped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist as I leaned into him. Bruce and Brit were doing the chicken dance in the middle of our circle, and for some reason, squawking as they did it. Hayleigh looked over and caught my eye. She smiled in approval and motioned for us to come over. Hayden sat down and leaned against the tree opening his arms for me to sit between his legs. I settled myself between them and smiled across at everyone. I raised an eyebrow at the starers and linked my hand once again with Hayden's. They seemed to get the point and each looked away, continuing to play the never ending game of truth or dare that seemed to be in motion.