Two Truths And A Lie

The Text

*Jess's P.O.V*
I'm so incredibly lucky. My life is ideal; I have a family that I actually love and get on well with, friends that are supportive and hilarious and the most delightful boyfriend. I can't even tell you how much I love him. He's drop dead gorgeous, amazingly sweet and always doing little things to surprise me. He's the what I would call the 'perfect man.' He's in the year above me, a jock, intelligent and incredibly caring.

He's so obsessed with me, he hates my friends and really despises it when I get close to other people. However I only see that as sweet, he's just wary that I'll leave him. Which I never will, i'd have to be stupid to decline the opportunity of being Bryce Walker's girlfriend. He's so respectful as well, I know that he's had sex before but for me, it would be my first time. He never adds any pressure on me though, I'm so glad that we can take our time and do it when it suits us bo-

"JESS IT'S YOUR TURN! ARE YOU LISTENING? JESS COME ON!"
I snap out of my daydream. I readjust to my surroundings; I'm in Alex's basement, sitting on an array of mismatched chairs and beanbags alongside my three best friends: Alex, Clay and Tyler. I stifle a laugh, we really are an interesting group of people, thrown together back on the first day of school and forever friends since.

Alex invited us round yesterday, we were sitting in science when he swivelled around on his stool to face Hannah and I. He had a cheeky grin on his face and I knew he had something planned.

"So, sleepover at my house tomorrow? I've got this awesome new game we can play?" he exclaimed eagerly, whilst avoiding any eye contact with Hannah. This wasn't done in a particularly malicious way, it's just Hannah is known to be a bit..strange.
I agreed instantly, I love spending time with Alex and it would give me a break from revising for the exams or dealing with Bryce's constant need for attention.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind it at all, in fact I love that he wants to spend time with me. It really makes me feel wanted, a feeling that I don't tend to feel often, but it can feel a bit pressurised sometimes. I don't think I'll tell Bryce that I'm going round to Alex's for this reason, he tends to get frustrated and angry when I do things with other people.

So yeah, here I am now. Sitting amongst my best friends, getting ready to play whatever new game Alex has found, surrounded by snacks and drinks galore. Alex's parents are amazing, they're so welcoming and greet us all at the door with a drink and a sharing size tube of pringles, each!

"So, I have invited you all here today.." starts Alex, waggling his fingers and eyebrows around, presumably to heighten the tension. I roll my eyes but smile, he's so funny In such a unique way, it's hard to not take a liking to him instantly.

Tyler, another one of my friends groans, "come on Alex, just hurry up and tell us what you're so excited about." He's always been quite serious, but he's also just as kind and considerate. He's the school photographer and is incredibly talented. His pictures move people, they evoke real emotions. I remember gasping when I first saw his portfolio, everything just seemed so perfect. He has a real talent for capturing raw moments, and I respect him fully for that.

He's sitting to the left of me on a beanbag dotted with princesses (Alex's sisters old favourite chair). I smile, he looks ridiculous on it but at the same time, he could never look ridiculous, there's something so self righteous about him. To the right of me, I have Clay. Clay is the only person in the room that I knew before starting at liberty high, two (long) years ago. He's just everything you could want in a friend, he's so selfless and caring. Whenever my parents decide they don't feel like being parents for a while, he's always there to welcome myself and my little brother, Dylan, into his home.

"Ok ok calm down!" starts Alex, slowly rising onto his knees, presumably to give himself some extra height to deliver this idea to us.
"Basically, I was thinking that we could all play a game of two truths and one lie. So- no shut up Tyler, it won't be bad, I promise." he exclaims as Tyler starts to grumble in protest. Of course, Clay always ready to be supportive, suggests that we "give it a go guys! you never know, it might be more fun than you think!"
Seemingly pleased with the idea he put forward, Alex slumps into a sofa older than his grandparents, causing an eruption of dust to explode from the ancient piece of furniture. We all laugh as his new shirt, high class brand, gets coated in particles and fluff. He smiles wryly and brushes as much of it as he can off, then clears his throat and begins.
"Ok, so who shall we start with? Hmmm. Jess? How about you?"

I've never been great at fast thinking, but I don't stammer or feel uncomfortable around them all. We're so close we can just laugh off anything awkward. That's how we cope, and that's how we've stayed friends for so long.
"Ok sure," I begin, confident in my words, but then I realise "how do we play exactly?"
Alex snorts but grudgingly explains the rules. Clay reaches over and puts his hand on my knee, as a sign of mutual power against Alex's incessant need to feel better than others.
"Ok, so are we all ready to play now?" he asks, for the final time.

We all nod and he smirks, ready to begin. Until he's interrupted by the shrill of a phone notification. His expression instantly hardens, if there's one thing Alex hates, it's phones. He believes they ruin your brain and turn people into follower-obsessed narcissists. I gulp and feel everyone else tense around me. The air turns thick, no one wants it to be their phone. In a sudden burst of bravery, I rise and walk over to the table. I immediately see that it was my phone, my eyes close and I want to be anywhere else.

"Is it Bryce? Can't handle being without you for more than a few hours? Pathetic." snarls clay under his breath, I pretend not to hear him.
My eyes skim the message, it's an unknown number and it's a short, yet effective text.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I drop the phone and back away, shaking. Clay is there instantly, holding me like I'm a child, unable to stand upright by myself.

He grabs my phone and I don't have the power to stop him, it's like everything is thick and heavy. The air feels dense, like we're all choking but don't know it. I see Clay turn pale, and then start to visible tremble too. Alex stomps over, clearly irritated that the attention has been taken away from his game. He grabs the phone out of Clay's hands and reads it.

I can see him processing this information, oktrying to reason it, ignore it, avoid it. Anything other than accept it. Because if we accept it, we accept that there has been death, and that it was all down to us. Tyler comes over, he doesn't even need to read the message to understand that it's serious and that we're in trouble.

"Oh come on guys," he says, trying to lighten the mood. "This is obviously a stupid prank or something, I bet when we go back tomorrow everything will be fine and we'll find out that it was just one of the jocks fucking with us. I'm sure they'll have a great laugh over that. But we can't let them effect us, we have to stay strong. And we sure as hell have to stay together."

As he utters that last word "together" he lifts up his camera and shoots it at us. The three of us, huddled around a phone. Practically ghosts of our previous selves. No one can manage a smile. And then, slowly, his eyes roll back and he falls, slowly at first and then all at once. He lands on his camera, we can all hear the splitting sound of the glass..or his bones, we're not sure.

I glance down at the text one more time, I suppose this is a sign that it's real. This is really happening, and we're about to have everything about us exposed. I close my eyes and brace myself, I can feel Alex and Clay rushing to help Tyler, seemingly unsuccessfully.

Game on.

[unknown number. Zach Dempsey has been found dead on the football field at Liberty High. The last person to see him alive was Bryce Walker. The last person to talk to him was Clay Jensen. The last person who touched him was Tyler Down. It's time to expose some secrets and reveal some lies. You've all wronged him, and you'll now pay the price. Get ready, Alex, Clay, Tyler, Jess. You're going to need it. See you at school on Monday. Stay alert. Stay ready. It's time to play.]