Dare To Love

3 - Smoothies

"That smells awful," Louis exclaimed, fanning the air in front of his face dramatically.

"Truly vile," Zayn agreed, looking at the smoothie in disgust.

"Thank you!" Niall chirped, looking proud of the mixture he was currently preparing.

"Is this some kind of initiation?" Harry asked, some mix between amused and horrified as he stared at the four boys in disbelief.

"Not an initiation, per say," Liam shrugged, taking a sip of his beer and draping an arm over Harry's shoulder comfortingly, pulling him closer. "But, it's kind of our thing."

"Plus," Niall added, the sound of a can opening echoing around the room. "You'll get points depending on how daring of a dare it is, and by the end of the year, the person who has the most points wins a prize!"

They were in Niall and Harry's dorm building, sitting in the common room of the building, the only place where they could find a blender. The boys had instructed Harry to face the other direction so the concoction would be a total surprise to him.

"If it makes you feel any better, we've all done much worse," Louis shrugged, lips quirking as he watched disgust settle onto Harry's features. "Niall had to strip and run—"

"Almost done!" Niall cut in, grinning eagerly and obviously very much hoping that Harry would accept the dare he'd just suggested.

Niall looked back down to the blender, looking proud of the mixture he'd came up with. Then, there was the sound of something dropping into the blender with a plop, prompting some groans from the audience. Louis could see tuna, and possibly hints of pickles. He winced in disgust, watching as Harry's nose crunched up. That was a dare he wasn't going to steal, that was certain.

As Zayn and Liam recounted something that had happened during their classes earlier, Louis found himself watching Harry, who had not moved since being presented with the dare. He was definitely not paying attention the the anecdotes being shared, his green gaze unfocused and he was drumming on the table with his fingers — anxiety radiating from his body like heat.

Louis felt a little bad for Harry, he wanted to tell him that showing his weakness would only make it worse. But as someone who showed his every emotion on his face, Harry was probably incapable of hiding and doing anything about it.

"Ready?" Niall asked a few minutes later, looking over his shoulder at Harry, who looked petrified, fingers drumming against the tabletop like the manifestation of nerves spilling out.

Meeting his eyes and taking a deep breath, the green-eyed boy nodded solemnly. "Ready."

"That a boy, Harry!" Zayn cheered quietly as he did a little celebratory dance.

"That's fucking vile!" Niall let out some exaggerated gagging sounds as he poured the thick, brown and chunky liquid onto a cup and placed it in front of the curly-haired boy. "Bon appétit!"

The five boys stared at the smoothie — or rather a chunky and brown liquid that was topped with what looked like a decorative garnish. Sitting atop the drink were two little green and blue umbrellas that the blonde had most likely bought from the Dollar Store. Zayn released a gag, Liam turned away for a moment, Louis' eyes widened in horror and Niall looked pleased with himself.

"What the fuck is that?" Louis exclaimed in horror, face scrunching up in disgust as he brought his nose closer to the cup, taking a sniff and regretting it instantly.

The smell was now at the back of Louis' throat, and he fanned a hand in front of his face to get rid of it. He took a big swig of his beer, wincing when he still tasted the smell at the back of his throat. He threw a sharp glance at the drink, before looking towards Harry apologetically. It truly looked like shit, and smelled like the bottom of a dumpster. If it would've been his dare, Louis would not be looking forward to finding out which it tasted more like.