Dared Love

Prologue-The Party

     It was a Friday night, we were at a party, and we were a few drinks in. Typical us.

     It was just us in a small group towards the back, but close enough for us to be in the party still. I was sipping at the new drink in my hand, watching as my friends came to sit down next to me a few minutes after I had sat down.

     "Did you guys finally get bored?" I ask, seeing how they weren't smiling or laughing how they were when I left them. "Yeah. Seems like they were only interested in getting to you, like always," Mark answers, making me chuckle. "When you left, they made their excuses and flocked over to Jason, as routine would've followed," says the deeper voice of our group, Zeke.

     I looked into the crowd to find the blonde head that is our friend Jason. His once gel-filled hair is now flat from the sweat of dancing all night. He was currently dancing with a few girls. Those poor girls. If only they knew he was getting bored of them. You would only know if you actually knew him.

     He spotted us from the crowd, giving us a look that told us he was going to join us in a few minutes. He danced for a few more minutes before stopping and excusing himself from the girls, making his way over to us. The girls looked sad, but it didn't last long. They started dancing on each other, trying to get the attention of other guys in the crowd.

     "A person can only take so much of drunk girls with high-pithed voices before they get bored and the alcohol starts to wear off," he says as he plops down in a seat, wiping the sweat off with his forearm.

     The guys laugh and I join in, but my laugh isn't as genuine as theirs. We're all silent for a few moments before Zeke pipes in. "What do you say boys? Game time?" he suggests, leaning forward and resting his arms on his upper thighs. We all give our own version of a yeah.

     In case you're wondering, the so called 'game' we're talking about is not a board game. No. This is much more than a board game. This is how we are able to survive in high school. This is how we stay on the top of the social pyramid. This game is a definite game of social survival.

     Our game can last up to a couple days up to a couple weeks and even up to a couple months depending on who we're dealing with. We choose a girl and we have to get her to sleep with us. We each take our turns so that we can focus on one girl at a time and help each other out. If you can't get the girl to sleep with you after your fourth try, you're basically exiled from the group.

     We started out as a group of nine. Here we are now as a group of four. It's junior year and we started this our freshman year after puberty hit. That should give you an idea on how bad this can get. We do everything we can to get the girl to sleep with us, or else we go down a few levels in the social hierarchy. It's not pretty to watch.

     "So whos turn is it?" Mark asks. "Well it was Zekes turn last so...." Jason trails off, causing them all to look at me. "So it's Jacks turn," Jason finishes saying. "So who do you want? Or better yet what type do you want?" Zeke asks me. I think about it for a second. "I want a bit of a challenge. Something that'll entertain me for awhile," I say, leaning back in my chair. "The last girl was too easy. I don't necessarily care who. You guys can choose," I add, looking at them. I will probably regret it, but who cares.

     In case you couldn't already tell, we're what you would call the 'playboys' of our school. And just like any other group-especially one full of playboys- we are all different personality wise. Zeke is the funny guy that is able to charm everyone with his humour. Mark is like the serious one of the group. Many people would label him as shy, which the girls find adorable. Many people would think that since Jason is like our leader figure that he'd be the biggest playboy of the four of us, but no. He's the popular one that many girls pay attention to, but he's not the one that they fall head over heels for. That's me.

     Girls usually fall for me, which would them lead to victory. Most people wouldn't expect it, but I'm the biggest playboy of all. I know what girls want and I give it to them so that I can get something in return. People don't expect it because I don't completely break off ties after they've slept with me. I keep it going so that it doesn't seem like I was just using them, even though I completely was. They don't know the real me.

     Now, the three boys in front of me are scoping out the crowd, looking for my next potential prey. Zeke pipes up after a few moments of silence. "How about her?" he asks, pointing to a girl wearing tight jeans and a revealing top. I shake my head. "Nah. Even though she's kind of covered up, she'd still be easy," I say. They keep looking.

     We're quiet for a few more moments before Mark asks, "What about Nicole Sainez?" I shake my head again. "She's a nerd, but I've heard she's been down on a few guys," I say. "Man. You're hard to choose for," Zeke says, complaining. I shrug one shoulder and take out my phone, scrolling through social media as the guys keep looking.

     "What about her?" asks Jason. This pokes my interest, seeing how he was quiet until now and his judgement is usually good. I look up to see who he's talking about. He points over to the three girls who just walked in. "Which one?" I ask. "The one on the right," answers Jason.

"But dude. That's Bella Martinez," says Zeke. "So?" Jason replies. "So, she's the biggest nerd in our school," answers Zeke. "What does that have to do with anything?" Mark asks. "That means she's never had a boyfriend. She's surely not gonna be easy. I bet she hasn't even been asked out, much less kissed," Zeke retorts. I smile. "Perfect," I say.

     Zeke turns to me. "What do you mean 'perfect'?" he asks me. "I mean," I start, "I just found my next target," I finish. "Oh thank god," Jason says, flopping back into his seat. He's silent for a minute before saying, "This calls for a drink. Hold on." He then stands up and goes to the kitchen to get us new beers, I'm guessing. "Are you sure about this?" Zeke asks me. I nod. "I said I wanted a challenge, and she's obviously gonna be a challenge," I answer. "Come on man. Let him do what, and who, he wants," Mark says, making me smile and Zeke grumble.

Jason comes back a couple minutes later with drinks. He hands us all one before sitting. He holds his drink up. "To Jakes new prey," he says. We clink cups and repeat what he just said. "Enjoy your last days of being innocent, Miss Nerd. You won't know what hit you," I add before downing my whole beer, the rest following suit. Let's see just how long Bella Martinez can resist Mr.Playboy, Jake Rodriguez.