Blackout

Ch 10 - Truth or Dare

We began to make our way towards the large building in the distance, Ashton leading the way with his flashlight. Once our surroundings came into a clearer view, there was an excited cry from Michael.

"Oh, no WAY!"

I laughed at his outburst. The pure joy on his face was contagious, and I couldn't help to grin at him. "Oh, so now you're glad we jumped the fence, huh?"

"Hell yes! Hey, Luke. I'll race you to the swings." He took off then, barely giving poor Luke time to process what he had said. But even with the head start, Luke caught up to him easily. The boy had legs for days.

"Damn," Calum said, obviously impressed. "I think that's the fastest I've ever seen Mike move."

"Maybe you should let him go out and play more often, then," Alexis answered. "Come on."

We followed her the short distance to the large playground where Luke and Michael were caught up in a fierce competition of who could swing the highest.

"Eat my dust, Hemmings!" Michael shouted as he furiously pumped his legs to go higher.

"Fuck off, man! You're cheating!"

"If either of you fall and break an arm, you're out of the band," Ashton warned before taking a seat on the swing beside Luke. This caused the two boys to immediately slow down to a more leisurely pace. "So," he continued, turning towards and Alexis and me. "Besides the obvious kick ass playground, what's so special about this place that you'd bring us here?"

"This, my dear Ashton, is where we went to school," I told him, motioning to the large building beside us.

"Private school, huh?" Calum questioned, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "Did you have to wear those little school girl uniforms?"

"As a matter of fact we did. But I think I forgot to mention that this was our elementary school. Seven year old me in a school uniform doesn't hold quite the same appeal, now does it?" That wiped the smirk right off his face.

"Ew. Now I feel creepy."

"As you should."

"I'm bored," Michael interrupted, bringing his swing to a complete stop.

"Already?" Alexis asked. "You have the attention span of a two year old." He stuck his tongue out at her. "And the mentality to match."

"Calm down, you two," Ashton scolded. As playful as he could be, he really did seem to have the father mentality when it came to his bandmates. "How about we play another game?"

"Like what kind of game?" Luke questioned.

"Well, since we're at a school, we should probably take it back to those good old days. Truth or dare, anyone?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, mostly because no one had any better ideas. Those of us still standing found a seat on either the remaining swings or the ground.

Once we were all settled, I spoke up. "Alright, who wants to go first?"

"I'll go!" Michael volunteered. "Alexis, truth or dare?"

"Truth," she responded with no hesitation.

"Come on! Truths are boring."

She just smiled and repeated her choice. "Truth."

"Fine," he groaned. "Um... ok. How old were you when you had your first kiss?"

"Talk about boring," she joked. "I was 12. His name was Timmy Stevens. He was only 11 at the time, but I had a major crush on him. Unfortunately for me, he was like most men and completely clueless. One day at lunch I decided I had enough. So, I walked straight over to him and planted one on him in front of all his friends."

"Shut up! What'd he do??"

"He peed his pants." The group roared with laughter. "Needless to say, I got over my crush on Timmy that day."

"Holy shit, that's classic!" Ashton shouted, trying to catch his breath. Once he finally composed himself, he turned to me. "What about you? What was your first kiss like?"

"Me?" I questioned. "It's not even my turn!"

"We're making up the rules as we go," he smiled.

"Fine, I had my first kiss when I was 10. As a matter of fact, it was right here on this playground."

"Really?" Calum asked.

"Yep. Right underneath that slide over there." I pointed to the slide in the distance as memories of that day came flooding back to me. "His name was Logan, and he had the bluest eyes I've ever seen. We were at recess one day, and he sent one of his friends over to tell me to meet him under the slide. So, I did, and he kissed me, totally out of the blue. Didn't say a word. After he was done, he just ran off. Never talked to me again. The whole thing was terrible."

"Damn," Luke commented when I was done. "Your first kiss and your first heartbreak, all wrapped into one day."

"Where is this Logan kid today?" Calum asked with a stern look. "I feel like kicking his ass."

I just laughed as his need to protect me from a so called heartbreak that happened over 10 years ago. "I'm not really sure, to be honest. But I think I'll be ok. It took a while, but I was finally able to move on." I gave him a small smile, which he returned. "How about you? When was your first kiss?"

"I don't really remember how old I was. 8 or 9 maybe? It wasn't that special. I don't even remember her name."

"Wow, Hood," Alexis commented. "You're a real charmer."

"Hey, cut me some slack! I'll have you know that I've gotten much better since then."

"At kissing or at remembering girls' names?" I asked him jokingly.

"Both," he responded with pride. He gave me a sly wink which I chose to ignore. I was trying my best not to get too caught up in this boy who I had only met only a few hours before. Despite what Lex had said, he really was a charmer. But as much as I was trying to convince myself to put some distance between us, I knew there was no point. I was already putty in Calum Hood's hands.