the nickname game

𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 - spin the bottle

As Hailey's best friend, Madison had the duty of helping her plan the spontaneous sleepover and decorate the apartment before their other friends arrived. Hailey had really gone all out with the decorations and snacks. She had filled up an entire cart of just decorations the other day and stayed up all night to bake a strawberry cake.

"What are we celebrating?" Madison asked as she hung up a silver garland over the windows.

"Nothing, I just thought a sleepover would be fun" Hailey said covering the cake with white frosting.

Madison got down from the chair she was standing on and looked at the decorations she had just put up. If it had been her choice there wouldn't be this many decorations but she and Hailey had very different taste, which she respected.

Soon enough their friends arrived. First there was Cora and Atticus, then Lawrence and Kayden showed up not that much later. As soon as the boys saw the snack table they couldn't resist but to run over to it. Hailey immediately gave Madison a look and pulled her aside when the boys were out of hearing reach. She was beyond excited about whatever she had to say.

"Maddy! Did you see how he hugged me?" Hailey looked all dreamy and excited.

"Yeah?" Madison hadn't put a thought into the friendly hugs the boys had given everyone upon their arrival.

"That must be a sign that he likes me, right?" Hailey asked and the question made Madison feel bad, she couldn't tell her the truth but she didn't wanna lie either. 

"It sure is" it wasn't Madison answering but Coralie.

Had she been eavesdropping on their conversation without either of them noticing? Coralie placed her hand on Hailey's shoulder and whispered something in her ear which somehow extended the smile on Hailey's lips even more. The slightly surprised look in her eyes made Madison wonder what she had just been told.

"Would you do that for me?" Hailey asked in pure disbelief.

"I'd do anything for a friend" Coralie smiled back and hugged Hailey before the two of them headed into the kitchen.

Madison still had no clue of what they were talking about but she knew Coralie too well to think this was a good thing. She always seemed to have a way to mess things up. Madison prayed that whatever promise Coralie had made to Hailey it was something that wasn't too serious.

"Look, I found an empty bottle! You all know what that means. We have to play spin the bottle" Hailey said sitting down on the floor with an empty soda bottle in her hands

They all gathered in a circle on the living room floor with the bottle placed in the middle.

"Uhm.. Why are we playing spin the bottle? I don't want to kiss anyone of you, no offense" Kayden said in confusion.

"You don't have to, unless the bottle lands on you after someone has dared you to kiss someone in the room" Hailey explained. "I'll start. The person this lands on has to post a snap to their story with the dog filter!"

Hailey spun the bottle and it landed on Atticus. He didn't even hesitate to pull up his phone and find the dog filter from 2016. Cora was resting on his shoulder as he was taking the photo. He smiled widely as he took a selfie and posted it on his story.

"Jokes on you! I only have a few friends on Snapchat" he said in a victorious voice. "Does that mean it's my turn now?"

The game continued on with silly dares. Everyone seemed to be having fun. The room was filled with laughters the entire time. Coralie had been dared to improvise a dance to "Mary had a little lamb" so now it was her turn to make up a dare and spin the bottle.

"The person this lands on has to kiss... Lawrence" she said making eye contact with Hailey who had a hopeful look on her face.

"Why me?" Lawrence asked but the bottle was already in motion.

As it slowed down it looked like it was going to land on Hailey but it passed her. Instead the cap was pointing towards Madison. Hailey didn't look too happy about the outcome of the spin and neither was Madison.

"The bottle has spoken! Give her a smooch, Lance" Kayden said eagerly trying to push Lawrence towards Madison.

"This game is stupid. I don't wanna play anymore" Madison said standing up.

"Are you chickening out, Maddy?" Coralie said provokingly and began making chicken noises.

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to but it's just a dare and it's not like it would mean anything" Lawrence said as she sat back down on the floor.

"Yeah, that's true. It's just a dare, Maddy" Hailey said.

Cautiously Madison crawled towards Lawrence and sat down on her knees in front of him. Her face was just inches apart from his and all she could smell was his perfume. It wouldn't be the first time their lips met but it would be the first time in front of an audience and the first time they would remember it. Still it would be just as meaningless as their first kiss.

With her hand placed on the back of his head and his hand slightly touching her thigh she moved her face closer to his. They both closed their eyes as their lips collided. His lips were a lot softer than she had imagined them to be. She didn't want to pull away from them but the thought of Hailey seeing all of this made her keep it short.