"Hey, Ben?" Axel asked.
"Yes, Axel?" the Brit replied.
"Do you think _____ likes me? Or, do you think that I'd have a chance with her?"
Benatar sputtered. "Wha-what?" he finally managed to get out.
"I really like _____. Do you think that I'd have a chance with her?" Axel had a hopeful/pleading tone.
"Well, there is only one way to find out. And that is to ask her yourself."
"Or we could all play a game of truth or dare," Puff said, interrupting the two.
"Why would we play that?" Axel asked.
"Because, idiot! If you can get _____ to say "truth," then you can ask her out of us four who she'd like to be in a relationship with!" Puff explained, obviously annoyed with Axel.
"Oh! That, might work. But Ben's suggestion seems safer..." Axel trailed off.
"Nonsense!" Puff exclaimed as he walked away.
Soon enough, four males and one female were sitting in a circle on the ground.
_____ had a grin on her face when Puff said they were going to play Truth or Dare- it was one of her favorite games!
Axel was still hesitant about the game, of course. He still thought that Benatar's suggestion was safer, but Puff wasn't going to give up...
It had been a while, and soon it was dark. Axel had almost every single chance to ask _____ that question, the one about relationships...but he chickened out each and every time.
Why was he so scared when it came to asking her something? Sure, he liked her- but it was supposed to be just friends. Why did he like her as more than that?
"Axel, truth or dare?"
Without even thinking about it, he said "Dare."
"I dare you to tell your feelings about me."
Axel was confused when he heard this. He replayed the sentence over and over in his head, trying to figure something out.
It was a girl's voice who said it.
Oh fuck, Axel thought. Panic swelled inside of him. There's only one way, now...
"_____, I love you. I have ever since we met in elementary." Axel swallowed. Tell your feelings... "I hate you when you hang around other guys and hug them and kiss their cheeks and I hate those guys more than the heat of the sun and I hate how you talk about them like you've known them forever.
"But I love the way you sound happy when you talk about them and I love how your eyes shine and the way you giggle and laugh and have fun and I love you more than I hate those guys. I'm sorry."
Axel's head fell as he noticed the incredulous look that three of the four gave them. Benatar gently patted his back as he said "Let's go outside for a minute, alright?"
The drummer nodded, and the two long-haired males stepped outside of the bus while the other three stayed in.
"I knew it! I knew that she wouldn't like me back..." Axel hissed. His shoulders started shaking as he tried to hold back his tears.
"Axel, she might have just been shocked..." Benatar said, trying to comfort his band mate. "With the way her eyes looked..."
"The way her eyes looked to me was she didn't return my feelings!" Axel hissed.
"Woah... I knew he liked me, but I didn't think it went that far..." _____ mumbled. She had a dazed look on her face.
"Well you better go and tell him that!" DeeJay exclaimed. "Like, now."
_____ shook her head. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
"I thought I knew what I was doing, but he kept chickening out. But that's not the problem! You really should tell him something to calm him down- he looked like he was about to lose it!" Puff exclaimed.
"Trust me, guys!" _____ replied. "Can I get a little bit from my bros? Like, seriously!"
Axel sniffled slightly as he lie on his back. He let his eyes slip close, and he tried to force the picture of _____ out of his mind. It was always that same expression from earlier...
The drummer was about to let out a frustrated sigh, but the light pressure on his lips wouldn't let him.
"Hey, Axe? Can I sleep with you tonight? Being my boyfriend and all, I think we should give Ben his bunk back."
A wide smile crossed Axel's face. "You...you do like me?"
"No, I love you. All those other guys were just friends. Who gave me money. But just friends."
Axel smiled as he pulled _____ under the blanket with him, holding her close.
That, and every night to follow, Axel had the sweetest dreams.
And so did _____ of course.
And, a couple of years later (when the band broke up), so did their small baby boy (who they named Ben).
