I Thought You'd Care
Chapter 27: Truth or Dare
Chapter 27: Truth or Dare
Harry’s POV
“Truth or dare,” I said, smacking my gum a bit. We’d been at it for almost half an hour, but so far, not much had happened beyond me kissing a passed out and drunk Niall on the cheek and her prank calling Taylor Swift. I knew that Taylor had deleted my number after we had broken up, and her reaction to Nell’s pretending to me a crazed, murderous fan had left us both clutching our sides, gasping for air.
“Oh, I’ve had enough dares. Truth.” She answered, while I tried to think of something to ask. I finally settled on one that I’d been dying to know since earlier that day.
“What did you and Niall do when he said he was helping you move in?” I asked. We had agreed at the beginning of our game that there was nothing off-limits, and swore to avoid getting offended by either an answer or a question. I knew that the rule could prove difficult, especially if one of us asked a very prying question, such as this, but it was worth it to find out what I wanted to.
She sighed and looked me straight in the eye. “Leave it to you to ask a hard-hitting question, Harry. Well, I told him that I didn’t want a relationship, but we could still let things happen. We can kiss, or things like that, but not in front of people. I don’t want people thinking that we’re dating.”
I stared at her, incredulous. I eventually found words for what I was thinking. “You and Niall are friends with benefits?” I asked.
She threw the first object she could find, in this case a fluffy white pillow, at me. “No, we’re not, pervert. I just mean that I don’t want to date him, but whatever happens is going to happen, and I’m okay with that. Oh, and then I kissed him. Briefly.” It occurred to me that this was the kind of mentality that I had wished plenty of girls would have before, but I just couldn’t be happy that Nell had it. I wanted her—and not just to bed her, but to legitimately call her mine—and she didn’t want a relationship. I knew that I was pretty far from doing anything with her, but it still made my heart sink thinking that I never truly could get what I wanted from her.
It only took me a few moments to shake off my shocked expression and think to myself, I’m going to change her mind. I’m going to make her want to date. “Okay, fair enough,” I said, ignoring the bit about the kiss. “It’s my turn, then.”
“Truth or dare, Harry?” She asked teasingly.
“Truth.” I answered, looking her right in the eyes. She had such a piercing gaze. Her eyes were bluer than Niall’s, or at least a more icy-looking blue. Her eyes looked like they had seen too much, and I supposed they had.
Her question broke me out of my reverie. “Why are you so upset about my answer?” She asked. She arched her eyebrows a bit when she noticed that I was still staring at her. I quickly looked away.
“I’m not upset.” I said, realizing that I sounded like a seven-year-old.
She laughed, finally, a musical laugh that fit her incredibly well. “Hotshot, we’ve been over this. There’s a reason I’m going into psychology, and that reason would be that I can read people really well. And you wear your emotions on your face, so I can tell that you’re upset, and I’d like to know why.”
I sighed and slumped my shoulders a bit. I wanted her to find out that I had feelings for her in some super-romantic whispered conversation, not with a slightly-drunk Harry in my dark bedroom over a game of Truth or Dare. But then again, maybe I needed slightly drunk Harry to do my dirty work. Sober Harry would probably never tell her, and just cower in a corner while she fell more and more for Niall. I took a deep breath to calm myself, knowing full well that if I didn’t slow myself down and calm my nerves then I would be stuttering all over the place, and went for it. “I guess I’m afraid, you know? I’m afraid that Niall’s going to win you. I’m afraid that I’m not going to get the girl, for once, and that it’s going to suck. I’m afraid that you don’t feel the same way about me that I feel about you.”
“How do you feel about me, Harry?”
“I’m pretty sure that with a truth, you only get one question.” I said.
“But that wasn’t the full answer. So you have to give me the full answer.”
I didn’t answer again. “Truth or dare?” I said, and she sighed, picking dare, allowing me to, once again, dance around the question.
I chose to answer her, though. In an indirect manner. So I said, “I dare you to kiss me.”
She bit her lip for a minute before scooting over to me and locking her hands behind my neck. “Is this supposed to be your answer, Harry?” She asked, and I nodded. She slowly leaned forward so that her lips just slightly brushed mine. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me, deepening the kiss. It started slow, but we got more into it, and eventually I bit her bottom lip a bit and she opened her mouth. Our tongues collided and battled, me eventually winning, and then, all of a sudden, she pulled away. “I don’t think I was chewing mint gum before,” she whispered, and I grinned guiltily. “I think that will conclude our game.” She said, standing up and walking to the door. “Sleep tight.” I heard from the hallway just before she closed my door, leaving me sitting on the floor, wondering what exactly just happened.
Nell’s POV
I think I stood in front of the bin in my room for a good minute before I finally spit Harry’s gum out. Some part of me, deep down, had wanted to keep chewing it, because it was almost like I was still kissing him, but the guilty part of me told me that what I was doing was wrong, so I threw it in the bin and sat down on the bed, sighing and covering my face with my hands. I had a sudden, strong urge to walk out to the living room and wake up Niall. I wasn’t sure why I had it, but if I did, then whatever we ended up doing would probably not turn out to be PG, and I really shouldn’t keep doing this, so I held back.
I was aware that I was leading both of them on, quite badly, in fact. I didn’t mean to. I’d actually meant to go this whole time and not do anything at all with either of them, but it took me eight minutes to fail that.
I shook my head and pulled on some pajamas—leggings and an old Ramones t-shirt that Taylor gave me ages ago. I jumped into the bed, which felt quite foreign, and reflected on just how strange this whole situation was. I had been texting Liam, and I had mentioned that Jake, my ex-boyfriend, had gotten out of jail, and I was afraid of what he might do to me, especially because I was part of the reason he was in there in the first place. Liam had kept prying, and had eventually gotten me to tell him the full story. He had concluded that Jake was a dangerous guy, and he didn’t want me all alone. On a last minute decision, I had sent Clyde to a month long summer camp. I wanted him where Jake wouldn’t get to him. My mother had taken this as a sign that she should go on vacation, so she decided to go to Paris for four weeks. When I told Liam all this, he offered that I stay with them until they got back. I had been reluctant at first—I didn’t want to impose, and I didn’t want to live with Niall and Harry for that long, for fear that I would be able to restrain myself—but he had convinced me. So here I was.
My initial plan had been to not do anything with Niall or Harry, but it took me about seven minutes of being in the apartment to break that rule. And I just had again with Harry. I knew it wasn’t fair of me. I was afraid of getting close to them. I was afraid of getting close to anyone. No matter what, it would end in pain. I felt myself getting too attached to them, which broke my number one rule. They were just so irresistible. There was something…trustworthy about them.
I resolved to avoid them tomorrow. I knew I couldn’t handle it. I finally fell asleep, having nightmares for the first time since I met them.
Harry’s POV
“Truth or dare,” I said, smacking my gum a bit. We’d been at it for almost half an hour, but so far, not much had happened beyond me kissing a passed out and drunk Niall on the cheek and her prank calling Taylor Swift. I knew that Taylor had deleted my number after we had broken up, and her reaction to Nell’s pretending to me a crazed, murderous fan had left us both clutching our sides, gasping for air.
“Oh, I’ve had enough dares. Truth.” She answered, while I tried to think of something to ask. I finally settled on one that I’d been dying to know since earlier that day.
“What did you and Niall do when he said he was helping you move in?” I asked. We had agreed at the beginning of our game that there was nothing off-limits, and swore to avoid getting offended by either an answer or a question. I knew that the rule could prove difficult, especially if one of us asked a very prying question, such as this, but it was worth it to find out what I wanted to.
She sighed and looked me straight in the eye. “Leave it to you to ask a hard-hitting question, Harry. Well, I told him that I didn’t want a relationship, but we could still let things happen. We can kiss, or things like that, but not in front of people. I don’t want people thinking that we’re dating.”
I stared at her, incredulous. I eventually found words for what I was thinking. “You and Niall are friends with benefits?” I asked.
She threw the first object she could find, in this case a fluffy white pillow, at me. “No, we’re not, pervert. I just mean that I don’t want to date him, but whatever happens is going to happen, and I’m okay with that. Oh, and then I kissed him. Briefly.” It occurred to me that this was the kind of mentality that I had wished plenty of girls would have before, but I just couldn’t be happy that Nell had it. I wanted her—and not just to bed her, but to legitimately call her mine—and she didn’t want a relationship. I knew that I was pretty far from doing anything with her, but it still made my heart sink thinking that I never truly could get what I wanted from her.
It only took me a few moments to shake off my shocked expression and think to myself, I’m going to change her mind. I’m going to make her want to date. “Okay, fair enough,” I said, ignoring the bit about the kiss. “It’s my turn, then.”
“Truth or dare, Harry?” She asked teasingly.
“Truth.” I answered, looking her right in the eyes. She had such a piercing gaze. Her eyes were bluer than Niall’s, or at least a more icy-looking blue. Her eyes looked like they had seen too much, and I supposed they had.
Her question broke me out of my reverie. “Why are you so upset about my answer?” She asked. She arched her eyebrows a bit when she noticed that I was still staring at her. I quickly looked away.
“I’m not upset.” I said, realizing that I sounded like a seven-year-old.
She laughed, finally, a musical laugh that fit her incredibly well. “Hotshot, we’ve been over this. There’s a reason I’m going into psychology, and that reason would be that I can read people really well. And you wear your emotions on your face, so I can tell that you’re upset, and I’d like to know why.”
I sighed and slumped my shoulders a bit. I wanted her to find out that I had feelings for her in some super-romantic whispered conversation, not with a slightly-drunk Harry in my dark bedroom over a game of Truth or Dare. But then again, maybe I needed slightly drunk Harry to do my dirty work. Sober Harry would probably never tell her, and just cower in a corner while she fell more and more for Niall. I took a deep breath to calm myself, knowing full well that if I didn’t slow myself down and calm my nerves then I would be stuttering all over the place, and went for it. “I guess I’m afraid, you know? I’m afraid that Niall’s going to win you. I’m afraid that I’m not going to get the girl, for once, and that it’s going to suck. I’m afraid that you don’t feel the same way about me that I feel about you.”
“How do you feel about me, Harry?”
“I’m pretty sure that with a truth, you only get one question.” I said.
“But that wasn’t the full answer. So you have to give me the full answer.”
I didn’t answer again. “Truth or dare?” I said, and she sighed, picking dare, allowing me to, once again, dance around the question.
I chose to answer her, though. In an indirect manner. So I said, “I dare you to kiss me.”
She bit her lip for a minute before scooting over to me and locking her hands behind my neck. “Is this supposed to be your answer, Harry?” She asked, and I nodded. She slowly leaned forward so that her lips just slightly brushed mine. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me, deepening the kiss. It started slow, but we got more into it, and eventually I bit her bottom lip a bit and she opened her mouth. Our tongues collided and battled, me eventually winning, and then, all of a sudden, she pulled away. “I don’t think I was chewing mint gum before,” she whispered, and I grinned guiltily. “I think that will conclude our game.” She said, standing up and walking to the door. “Sleep tight.” I heard from the hallway just before she closed my door, leaving me sitting on the floor, wondering what exactly just happened.
Nell’s POV
I think I stood in front of the bin in my room for a good minute before I finally spit Harry’s gum out. Some part of me, deep down, had wanted to keep chewing it, because it was almost like I was still kissing him, but the guilty part of me told me that what I was doing was wrong, so I threw it in the bin and sat down on the bed, sighing and covering my face with my hands. I had a sudden, strong urge to walk out to the living room and wake up Niall. I wasn’t sure why I had it, but if I did, then whatever we ended up doing would probably not turn out to be PG, and I really shouldn’t keep doing this, so I held back.
I was aware that I was leading both of them on, quite badly, in fact. I didn’t mean to. I’d actually meant to go this whole time and not do anything at all with either of them, but it took me eight minutes to fail that.
I shook my head and pulled on some pajamas—leggings and an old Ramones t-shirt that Taylor gave me ages ago. I jumped into the bed, which felt quite foreign, and reflected on just how strange this whole situation was. I had been texting Liam, and I had mentioned that Jake, my ex-boyfriend, had gotten out of jail, and I was afraid of what he might do to me, especially because I was part of the reason he was in there in the first place. Liam had kept prying, and had eventually gotten me to tell him the full story. He had concluded that Jake was a dangerous guy, and he didn’t want me all alone. On a last minute decision, I had sent Clyde to a month long summer camp. I wanted him where Jake wouldn’t get to him. My mother had taken this as a sign that she should go on vacation, so she decided to go to Paris for four weeks. When I told Liam all this, he offered that I stay with them until they got back. I had been reluctant at first—I didn’t want to impose, and I didn’t want to live with Niall and Harry for that long, for fear that I would be able to restrain myself—but he had convinced me. So here I was.
My initial plan had been to not do anything with Niall or Harry, but it took me about seven minutes of being in the apartment to break that rule. And I just had again with Harry. I knew it wasn’t fair of me. I was afraid of getting close to them. I was afraid of getting close to anyone. No matter what, it would end in pain. I felt myself getting too attached to them, which broke my number one rule. They were just so irresistible. There was something…trustworthy about them.
I resolved to avoid them tomorrow. I knew I couldn’t handle it. I finally fell asleep, having nightmares for the first time since I met them.
8/19/13