All's Fair in Love and One Direction

9: All's Fair in Truth or Dare

Chapter 9

I'm not ready to go home just yet, but neither do the boys want to run the possible risk of paparazzi or fans, so we hang out in the delivery lot behind the restaurant. Niall suggests lunch - Louis suggests shoving him into a refrigerator. Zayn and Harry are snickering about something as they pore over Harry's phone. Liam and I are trying to skip sticks along the parking lot surface. After a minute or two Louis and Niall join us. It's an epic war ( which I'm winning ) when my phone beeps.

I look down at the lock screen - a picture of me and the boys from last night - and see a superimposed box announcing a message from a blocked number.

***********: Hey babe, try and open your phone :)

What? I slide my thumb and type in my passcode. The screen shivers and displays WRONG PASSCODE. Hmm. I could have sworn I put it in right. I try it again. WRONG PASSCODE.

An inkling of an idea starts to form in my head. I type in my passcode one more time. WRONG PASSCODE. I look again at the text and turn to Harry and Zayn, realization dawning. "You - you -"

Harry doubles over with laughter, and Zayn looks way too pleased with himself. I throw a twig at them. "Tell me my passcode!"

"Hmm..." Harry turns to Liam. "You think I should tell her her passcode?"

Even Liam seems amused. "Nope."

Harry looks at Louis and Niall. "What do you lads think?"

"Make her work for it," Louis comments. Niall nods.

Harry turns back to me. "Sorry, the jury's out. You're going to have to work for it."

I would be mad, but there's something hilariously ridiculous about this whole situation, so I cave. "Fine. What do I have to do?"

The boys jump up and move a little ways away to consider. I try random passcodes in frustration until my phone is locked.

The boys move out, looking triumphant. "Truth or dare."

"What?"

Liam takes over as spokesperson. "Truth or dare. Me, Niall, and Harry get to ask you one truth each; Zayn and Louis each get to give you a dare. And you can't refuse any of them. Then we'll give you your phone back."

I'm apprehensive - who wouldn't be? - but I agree.

Liam goes first. "What's the craziest thing you've ever done?"

I take a breath. Large price to pay for my passcode ... I will get back at these boys someday. "Hmm. It was probably back in sixth grade, when I took my dad's car for a joyride. I hit a tree on my way out of the driveway and besides the fact that I almost died, the back half of the car was totaled." I leave out the important part though - like the fact that I took the car to try to run away, and that my dad refused to pay for my school lunch for the rest of the year to pay off the damage...

Zayn laughs, cutting into my thoughts. "You're a wild one, Andie!"

I brush off the memory and laugh. "Oh, yeah, I definitely have a wild side you guys." It's funny because, really, I don't.

Niall goes next. "What made you decide to be a vegetarian?"

Aww. Ten-year-old me time. "I had a pet rabbit in fifth grade. He was fluffy and white and adorable. But eventually he got sick and died. I was totally crushed. Coincidentally, a few days later at school, we had a culture day in history class. We were learning about Native Americans and someone brought in rabbit stew. In my ten-year-old mind, I thought we were eating my rabbit. I cried and cried. Then I went home and I told my mom I didn't want to eat an animal ever again and she said okay, I didn't have to. And I haven't eaten meat since."

Louis pops up. "My turn!!" He grins evilly. "I dare you ... to write I Love Louis Tomlinson on your arm in Sharpie. And you can't wash it off."

I am NOT about to tell them that I have done exactly that once before - with four of my friends sporting Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Liam Payne. So I just hold out my hand for a Sharpie, roll my eyes, and write "I Love Louis Tomlinson" in big, swooping letters along my forearm. The boys explode in laughter.

I'm 3/5 of the way to getting my passcode back, but now it's Harry's turn. He thinks for a second and then grins at me and says, "So ... Andie ... How old were you when you had your first kiss?"

Now I shift uncomfortably. The truth is, I've never been kissed. It's not that I've never had the opportunity - but I've never had time for a relationship.

Harry sees the expression on my face and crows. "You have to tell the truth, remember?" He is having way too much fun with this.

"I've never been kissed," I say quickly.

They stare in disbelief.

"I've really never had time for a relationship," I clarify.

Before anyone else responds, Zayn breaks in. "Ready for your dare, Andie?"

I roll my eyes. "Fine. I just want to be able to get into my phone again."

His eyes skim over the group and settle on Harry, and all of a sudden I can see the wheels turning in his head. I have a sneaking suspicion of what he's going to say, and I feel my cheeks start to burn a split second before he says it: "I dare you ... to kiss Harry."

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My first thought is to say no.

It's one thing to make out with a poster of One Direction alone in my room. (No, I don't do that. I don't know what you're talking about.) Its another thing to actually kiss a boy I'm not romantically involved with. At all. Even if he is Harry Styles. Especially if he's Harry Styles.

I mean, I won't deny that yes, I have wanted to kiss Harry Styles for a long time.

But that was when he was a celebrity instead of ... a person. Now, I realize, I'm just ... scared.

I look up at Harry, and I'm surprised to see his cheeks are as pink as mine - no smirk this time, but he looks mildly amused as well as embarrassed. I drop my eyes; I don't know what to think. Zayn is grinning like he just won the lottery. That boy ...

"Fine." I step towards Harry. He meets my eyes and gives me a little smile, then wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me in, pressing his mouth to mine.

For one electric second, our lips are touching. Then we pull apart. And now the boys are laughing, and I'm blushing, and Harry's back to his old smirking self, but I can see a shadow of something pass across his face so quickly I can't make out what it is.

Zayn types in my passcode and lets me change it, and in a few minutes we're back to normal like the kiss never happened at all. But I can't stop sneaking looks at Harry and thinking, What just happened?

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(A/N: Heyyyyy butterflies!!! How did you like THE KISS? (Don't lie. You know it's what you've been waiting on all these 9 chapters.) Well guess what? Here's where the action really starts to pick up ... ;) Vote/comment/fan!!!!! Xxx, Maria)