My (Not So) Charmed Life

Truth or Dare

To the side is a song that I feel worked really well with the tension of this chapter, Break Your Little Heart, by (my absolute favorite band in the entire world) All Time Low <3

We headed downstairs into a room that was filled with soft looking couches, a high theater screen and blankets all over. I sank onto a couch, pulling a soft brown blanket around me and pushed my face into the material. What was going on with me?

It was time to admit that yes, I had a crush on Ryan. I didn't want to tell him, because I was afraid that if I did, he would tell me that he didn't feel the same way and our friendship would be ruined. Not to mention that I didn't know where he was planning to go after we, hopefully, won the war against Petram's army. Would the Council put him on another mission? I might never even see him again.

I wished that I could go back to the time when the biggest thing I worried about was my grades.

I decided that the best course of action would be putting Ryan out of my head. Most likely, he didn't want to be anything more than friends with me, and soon, he'd be leaving me alone and on a new mission. I wasn't going to let my feelings for him get any deeper than they already were,because it would only lead to heartbreak.

But tonight, my resolve was definitely going to be tested, because I wasn't sure if I could handle watching Ryan flirt with Tori all night. When Ryan came into the room, I took a deep breath. He looked insanely cute in his tight grey tee shirt and black and red flannel pajama pants. His hair was wet from a shower and I could smell his cologne from where I was sitting, intoxicating and purely Ryan.

He glanced at me and smirked. "Hey, you clean up nice," he said, bringing my memory to the last time I'd seen him, all sweaty and gross. At the same time, my heart swelled from the compliment.

"You look pretty great yourself," Tori purred, stepping closer to Ryan.

"Thanks," he said, and went to go sit on the couch. Tori scooted herself close to him, all the while smiling at me in a way that made me want to punch her. She was wearing pajamas that I would never be able to pull off: a silky pale pink camisole with lace and matching shorts. Her hair was curled naturally around her face, and her perfectly plucked brows were raised at me every time she moved closer to Ryan.

And the worst part? Ryan didn't seem to mind her proximity.

"Time for some snacks!" Ryan announced. He conjured up a huge bucket of popcorn, some Twizzlers and a bag of Haribo gummy bears, the last of which he handed to Tori, who ripped the bag open and popped one bear into her mouth.

"Aw, you remembered my favorite candy!" She gushed, raising her eyebrow at me again. I refused to rise to her bait. Sure, it hurt that he remembered her favorite sweet, and it bothered me that she was sitting so close to him when I wished that it was me at his side. But I was not going to pathetically throw myself at him.

I grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in my mouth, distracting myself from the flirting in front of me with the buttery, salty taste of the popcorn. Tori got up and conjured up a DVD, making sure that when she bent down to put the movie into the TV, Ryan got a perfect view of her butt. The pink lace of her shorts gave way to a glimpse of her black lace panties.

When the movie started, I tried to relax. Emma Stone filled the screen, telling her story of Hester Prynne proportions in Easy A. I loved the movie, but it was slightly ruined by what was happening one couch over.

Every few minutes, Tori would scooch a little bit closer to Ryan, finally stopping when they were cuddled together. Then, she put her arm around him, and whispered something in his ear. He laughed softly and it took all of my self- restraint to not get up from my spot and slap Tori until she agreed to back the hell off from Ryan.