The Dare

Chapter 11:

RECAP: The Ferals have finally announced the dare, and it involves spending a night at Sir Nicholas' creepy abandoned house, with nothing besides your fright and two people to accompany you.

******

"Are you really not scared at all?" Anna asks, looking up at Sir Nicholas' house. It's a sturdy wooden house, its windows battered and broken, graffiti decorating its exterior walls. From the cracks in the wood and the windows, you can catch glimpses of the view inside, though it's not exactly worth looking. However, if you study the house from afar, you can't help but appreciate its uniquely mystic beauty. It stands abandoned, a crumpled beauty that speaks of a time long gone.

"Oh, come on, Anna. Is there anything I should be scared of?"

After I was dared by the Ferals, I have been surprisingly calmer than I expected to be. Anna, on the other hand, has been anything but. Although she and Todd voluntarily agreed to accompany me on my night in Sir Nicholas' house, the two of them have been worried sick. I think it is because they are failing to see how much worse this dare could have been. The Ferals had one shot to get back at me but in my opinion, they blew it up.

"Well this house isn't exactly a welcoming place. Can you imagine how long it has been since its walls heard the laughter of a child or got a whiff of home baked lasagna?"

"No, and I don't want to either. It is seriously just one night. How hard can it be?"

A gust of wind blows and the house, stripped of its splendor by time and age, shrieks in protest. Flicking my wrist, I check the time on my watch. It is almost three pm, the sun beating down our backs reinforcing that fact. After school, Anna, Todd and I headed straight to Sir Nicholas' house, just to be sure of what we were going to face in the night. There are only nine hours left before we crash at his place and I don't think I could have been any calmer.

"Oh, I don't know, Allison. I just have this weird feeling in my gut."

"And what makes you think it is right?" Shaking her head, she dignifies my question with a sigh. I look away from her, my eyes searching for Todd. When they finally spot him, I find him standing at a distance from the building, staring at it as if it holds the answers to all the universe's questions. He does not seem scared or white-faced like Anna, but from the wavering set of his shoulders, I can tell he's not exactly overjoyed at the idea of spending a night at an abandoned house.

The three of us stand by the house for a few more minutes, observing it from the outside like it can be studied by only looking at its exterior. When our feet are tired, our clothes drenched with sweat and the surrounding air reeking of our own body odor, we depart and go our separate ways. I don't know about my friends, but I am eager to see how the events of this night will unfold.

*****

The night has only begun and I've learnt more lessons in the last few hours than I have in the past eight years of attending school. One, that it is fairly easy to lie to my parents and that the standard I'm-going-to-my-friends-house-for-a-sleepover excuse actually works. All I had to do was to get Anna to sound like her mom on the phone to my mother, giving her assurances of my safety. The ease with which everything flowed makes me question why I don't lie to my parents more often.

Jamming my hands into my pockets, I huddle closer to my friends, digging my face in the collar of my shirt. That's the second lesson- when you plan to crash at an abandoned house at midnight, bring your jacket with you. It is oddly chilly tonight, which makes me want to rush into Sir Nicholas' house so I can envelope myself in its warmth. But-

"The Ferals said they won't believe we completed their stupid dare if they don't witness us going into the house. And look at them now, nowhere to be seen!" Anna angrily complains.

"I don't think they are going to show up. Coming in this house's close vicinity probably makes them wet their pants," Todd says.

"I'm surprised you haven't wet your pants as yet," says a deep, husky voice from behind. The three of us whip our heads in its direction, but we know who it is, all too well.

Michael.

Flanking him are James and Henry, but surprisingly, there seems to be a new person with them. In the dimly lit street, you can't see much of the said person's face, just his silhouette against the starlit sky. It isn't until he's closer to me that I recognize the chocolate brown hair and the hazel eyes I've adored so much.

Jake Hiddleston.

My breath hitches. What is he doing here?

Without providing any reasonable explanation for his presence, he greets everybody, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically for the occasion. After an exchange of curt nods with everybody else, I turn away from the Ferals and shift my gaze to Sir Nicholas' house, which is staring back at me in all its ancient glory.

Suddenly, the night feels far too dark, the house far too humongous and my existence, far too small. An acrid, metallic taste finds its way onto my mouth, increasing my urge to throw up. But I don't puke. Instead, I dig my hands deeper into my pockets, arch my shoulders upwards and look at the house with a challenging smile.

It's time.

                                                                                                      *****

Author's note: Hello everybody! It's been sooo long since I last updated, but man, has that time been so hectic! It's my final year in high school so everything is chaotic as it is, and my wish to get into a top-notch college, which demands PERFECT academic performance really isn't helping. I have been taking after school classes to keep my grades up, which entails having to attend math classes that last as long as NINE FARCICAL HOURS. You have no idea what you're capable of doing till you have to do it.

Anywayy, tell me what you thought about this chapter! They're finally going into house. Are you excited? Because I am. AKSFDKGL.

Also, during my unbelievably long hiatus, I've received so much support from these wonderful people, who I totally think you should check out:

FoxyTales -  thank you for all the supportive and helpful comments! You're an absolute gem!(which is why you should check out her breathtakingly beautiful poetry book—Drowning in Thoughts)

@mysterystudentgirl – you're so sweet! Thanks for pushing me to update with your encouraging comments.

@DarrenDean1 - you're so lovely. Thank you so much for all your votes.