The Plastic Man

Tommy Nayward

"My life was falling apart. I was heading nowhere. No motivation, no purpose, no reason... that is... until I met her."

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"Yo Tommy! Dude! You made it!" My friend hollered at me just as I walked through the door of his suburban household. The house was fairly standard when it came to décor, solid coloured walls, small wooden dressers and drawers leaned against the walls, small, circular dining table with 4 sets of chairs, a couch in the living room just across from a medium sized flat screen. It was barebones, but it would do.

"Hey Richie! Thanks for the invite. So, when does this party hit it off?" I asked him, noticing that not many people were there at the moment.

"Most should start pouring in about a half passed eight." Richie said, staring at his watch, while casually taking a swig from a bottle of alcohol in his other hand.

"Just sit down, make yourself at home! We haven't had a nice party in ages!" Richie added. I nodded, plopping on the couch, as I grabbed the television remote and scrolled through the different channels, trying to find something entertaining to watch in the mean time. As the guests started to arrive, the party began to pick up at a steady pace. Music was played, people were drinking, Richie set up his game console, and a couple of people had competitive couch multiplayer battles with his list of video games. I hung out with Richie, catching up with him and a couple other friends of mine.

"Alright Michelle, truth or dare?" Richie asked a girl we both knew, named Michelle Black.

"Just give me a truth." Michelle said. She sipped a can of beer in her hand.

"Is it true... you've stolen something before?" Richie asked her. She half smiled, lowering her eyes.

"Yeah. But not intentionally." She said.

"Not intentionally? What did you accidentally put a bag of candy in your pants and forget about it or something?" Richie teased her. She punched his arm, as the group laughed.

"It's a weird story. I'll get to it another time. Who's next?" Michelle asked. Richie chugged his drink, and raised his hand.

"That'd be me. Give me a fucking dare!" He yelled.

"Alright, alright. I got one." Another boy said.

"Lay it on me, Kev!" Richie yelled.

"I dare you to take a slap in the stomach from everyone in this group right now." He said.

"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Bring it!" Richie said, pulling up his shirt and standing, preparing himself for the assault that was about to transpire.

"Dude, you better not puke on me after this!" I said to him.

"I'll try to hold it back, princess." Richie teased. I laughed. Everyone in successive order began striking Richie as hard as they could, in his stomach. He tightened his abs, and endured the pain as best he could, but after the last slap, he was toppled over on the ground. I helped him back up into his chair.

"Ok... ugh... ok. It's my good friend Tommy Nayward's turn now!" Richie said through groans.

"I don't know if I wanna do dare after seeing you go through that." I chuckled.

"Don't be a pussy bro!" Richie teased.

"Alright, alright. I'll do dare! I can't let you top me like that, after all!" I said to him, a flare of competitiveness flashing over my eyes.

"Dare it is! Now... now... uh." Richie started.

"I can't think of any dares." Michelle said.

"Neither can I." Kevin added in. As I awaited my dare/punishment, I glanced around the room. My eyes fell on the front door as it opened. A girl with long, silver hair, piercing blue eyes, and hoop earrings walked in. She was wearing a black, cotton, long sleeved shirt over a white t-shirt, as well as black leggings with a skirt over them. My eyes fell on her, and she looked over at me and smiled. Her smile was dazzling, alluring, and warm.