0 0 1 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝟑𝟎𝟎𝐊 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑

"I found a new game for us to try in one of those magazines at the last store we stocked up in," One announced to James during their quiet walk along an overgrown street in Upside Down Pennsylvania.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's called 'Truth or Dare'," One answered with a sly smile. "If you choose 'truth', you have to answer any question the other player asks. If you choose 'dare', you have to complete any task the other player comes up with. Wanna play?"

"Sure, why not?" James answered with a slightly nervous smile.

"Okay, truth or dare?"

"Umm...dare," James answered after contemplating the choices.

"I dare you to..." One drummed her chin with her fingers as she tried to think of a dare. "Lick that tree!"

James' eyes followed One's finger to a large oak on the opposite side of the street that was coated in gooey, black grime and a look of disgust quickly covered his face.

"Do I have to do it?" James whined, his eyes pleading with One to cut him some slack.

"Yes," One said determinedly, her mouth set in a straight line. "Those are the rules."

"Fine," James groaned, slowly crossing the street towards the tree. One watched in gleeful anticipation as he got closer and closer. When James was right next to the tree, he glanced back towards One for sympathy, but she offered him none.

"Lick that tree! Lick that tree!" she cheered, pumping her fists up and down in rhythm.

Seeing no way out of it, James pressed his eyelids shut and stuck his tongue to the rancid tree, immediately recoiling the second his taste buds touched the dark grime.

A fit of laughter unstuck James' tongue from the tree and he looked to One, who was nearly rolling on the cracked pavement, with a scowl.

"Alright, your turn," James frowned with furrowed brows and crossed arms. "Truth or dare?"

One glanced towards the tree James had licked before confirming her answer. "Truth."

"Okay..." James pondered a question to ask One that would make up for the dare she had imparted on him but came up blank. Instead, his curiosity led him to the following question: "What's the first thing you would do when we got home if we were able to escape here?"

For reasons unknown to her, One was genuinely caught off guard by the question and struggled to come up with a response. "I don't know..." One answered at last, speaking the only words that came to mind.

Despite all the time to think that their current predicament presented them, it was a question that One had never considered. She desperately wanted to get back to their dimension, but what came after that she couldn't say. The only thing she knew she wouldn't do was return to the Lab. She'd rather remain in the hellish landscape they found themselves in than go back there, back to Dr. Brenner.

"What would you do?" One asked James.

James looked straight ahead, his eyes fixed on something far away that One couldn't identify. With a steady tone, he answered, "I'd burn the Lab to the ground."

One's pace faltered for a second but she quickly re-righted it. Her eyes then dropped to the ground as she watched her feet take one step after another. James' answer was a little extreme, but she couldn't deny that a small part of her wanted to do the same.

"How about after that?" One asked next.

A look of deep contemplation settled on James' face and it became apparent to One that like her, he hadn't thought too much about returning to their dimension. She still tried to summon a portal back every day, but the number of attempts she made were becoming less and less. Defeat was slowly creeping into their minds and establishing the belief that they were stuck there forever.

Instead of answering One's question, James posed a new one: "Would you still be my friend if we returned?"

"Of course," One answered without hesitation. "Would you still be mine?"

A smile lit up James' previously somber face. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Not even if I dare you to lick another tree?" One asked, another mischievous smile creeping across her face.

"If you dare me to do that again, I'll feed you to one of those monsters!" James exclaimed, playfully shoving One.

One shoved James back and bolted down the street, taunting him to chase after her. The two raced each other, trying to see who could keep the lead as their laughter echoed around the vast, dark dimension.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ahhh 300K reads! Every time I reach one of these milestone I just get more and more surprised! I super-duper appreciate all the support you guys have given me and this story. Here's some mood boards of James and One for you guys! (:

★ 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐃 ☆

★ 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐃 ☆

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