Razzledazzle [ ✓ ]

Chapter 13 | The Discovery

I don't know what happens, don't know what comes over me. I don't know if it's the dark, don't know if it's the quiet, don't know if it's just the fact that he took me by surprise.

I don't know.

But I can't push him away. I can't react. I feel frozen, chained to the wall of the closet. All I can see is darkness, all I can feel is him.

And then it's over, and then I'm slumped against the wall of the closet, and I think he's standing over me but I can't be sure.

I catch my breath.

"What was that?" I ask softly. "What was that?"

He shrugs, at least I think he does. "It's what Troy dared me to do. What else?"

"That's what Troy dared you to do?" I can't hide my surprise. "Why did you say that it was cruel at the party? That wasn't cruel."

"You mean to say that you liked it?"

"Of course not," I snap. "Just—really? That wasn't cruel."

"Well, I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but that's exactly what he dared me to do." But his voice sounds different. Like it isn't his voice.

Like he's lying.

I take a moment to think about it. Why am I not reacting? Why haven't I slapped this boy yet? Why am I just sitting here?

And it starts to set in.

"Lee, why did you do that? Why did you actually do that? You didn't have to listen to him! You didn't have to do the dare! That was terrible!"

I raise my hand to hit him and he dodges it, knocking into one of the boxes in the dark. I hear a muffled groan of pain and then a small little clinking sound.

"Something just—ow—fell on the floor," Lee informs me. "Get out your flash—ow—light on your phone and see what it was."

"Don't order me around." I sigh, pulling out my phone and turning on the flashlight. It sends a beam of light towards a small metallic object on the floor.

A spare key.

"Are you kidding me?" I shout. "Are you telling me that I could have escaped this box the ENTIRE TIME!"

Lee shrugs, picking up the key. "Why don't we leave—unless you want to stay in here and—"

"Don't finish that sentence." I snatch the key from him and jam it into the keyhole, easily unlocking the door and opening it.

I'm grateful, so grateful, for the fresh air and the light that I can feel when I open the door. I take a deep breath, and I can hear Lee, who's tampering with the doorknob behind me.

"This really is stuck," he mutters. "Wait—wait, I've got it." He inserts the key into the keyhole, easily unjamming it.

"Look, Razzledazzle, I can be helpful."

I roll my eyes. I'm still not sure what to think about the fact he just kissed me, so I decide to forget about it.

It was just a dare.

Right?

The door to the classroom is suddenly thrown open and in burst Tyler and Alex, empty handed. "I guess we have to tell them that they're stuck in there until—GUYS! HOW DID YOU GET OUT?" Alex runs up to us.