Play With Me: A Banana Bus Crew Fan Fiction

Chapter Twenty Five

"No!"

"Shh!" Evan said. "Stop screaming. You'll wake everyone up."

The two sat in the center of the cell, their heroic looking masks close to their sides. The only hidden identity that remain was the one shielded by Delirious's altered white hockey mask. Since just a few days ago, his hair had grown a bit more and he still had not had a chance to cut it, resulting in more hair in his eyes and more random throw backs of his head. For the most part, to keep it contained, he ran his right hand through it and left it there.

"I'm not doing that, man." Delirious whispered.

"You have to, that's the game."

"Fuck off, man."

"Then you should have chose truth."

"No!"

"Shh!"

"Fuck this game."

"I'll ask again, then. Truth or dare?"

"...Fine. Truth."

"How many dicks have you sucked?"

"Zero!"

"Shh!"

"I don't suck penis, man."

"Really?"

"You fucking bitch."

"It's just that I would have thought-"

"Delirious does not suck penis!"

"...Like, anymore, or..."

"Your turn! Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to... um, eat Nogla's mask."

"A paper bag?"

Delirious nodded furiously, perking up at the vision of it. Sometime during the night, Nogla had taken it off and it sat beside him as he slept with his back to the wall. Evan crept over and picked it up, careful to make sure the material of the bag didn't start making noise itself. He brought it back to the center of the room where the two sat up, playing the game.

"The whole bag?" He asked. Delirious nodded furiously again. Evan gave the bag a serious look. All types of disgusting thoughts ran through his head. What if Nogla had licked the inside? What if he had sneezed? He couldn't do it. He dropped the bag beside himself.

"No. I'm switching." Evan announced.

"What? You can't switch."

"You switched."

"That's different."

"How?"

"My dare was harder."

"Harder than eating a bag that's been sitting on Nogla's face all day? It wasn't. What if he sneezed and his snot is all in it?"

"That's the price you pay, man."

"Fuck off. I choose truth."

"Fuck. Fine. Umm... have you ever... hmmm... Oh! Am I your best friend?"

"No."

"No?"

"No! I'm not even your best friend."

"We complete each other, man. Like Batman and Robin."

"...Like Batman and Joker, you mean?"

"I'm a good guy, man!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Evan insincerely apologized. "How could I make that mistake? Of course, Rapey Raccoon is a superhero."

"Rabid Raccoon!" Delirious corrected. "I don't rape!"

"...Like, anymore, or..."

"It's my turn, ask me."

"Okay." Evan began. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Oh, come on. You can pick dare. I won't ask you again."

"I don't trust you, man."

"I dare you t-"

"I said truth!"

"Shh!"

"I said truth." He whispered.

"I heard dare. So, I dare you to... tell me the truth. Who is your best friend?"

Delirious giggled at the manipulation. "No one is my best friend." He claimed. "I don't have a best friend."

"What about Luke?"

"He's a friend." Delirious explained. "But so are you. And so is Mini. And so is everyone else."

"You're lying!"

"I'm not lying, man!" Delirious said. "I don't have a best friend! And if I had to choose, I couldn't just choose one."

"Top three?"

"I don't have a top three! I don't have a top anything. You're all my top one. You're all my best friend! If I didn't have one of you, I wouldn't have anything, man."

Evan was struck in silence for a moment. "You couldn't live without any of us?"

"Duh." Delirious said. "You couldn't either! No one here could. That's what the Banana Bus Crew is! We complete each other, man. You're my best friend. Nogla is my best friend. Everyone is my best friend! Even Ohm is my best friend! He locked us in here and is trying to force us to play with him forever, because we're all his best friend! Not friends, but friend. We're one, man! He needs all of us, like we need all of us."

The silence struck Evan again, but for a much longer time. He didn't know how to respond, or that there was someone else among his friend group that felt the same way as he did.

"...You are my best friend." Evan said. "...And so is everyone else."

"...Dare."

"What?"

"Dare."

"You already went."

"I stole a turn, bitch. Dare." 

"...I don't have a dare."

"...Ask me again."

"No."

"Yes." Delirious insisted. "No secrets between friends... No secrets between the best of best friends."

Evan felt a twitch in his chest that, for a moment, made him think about crying. That title he had been given meant something to him. They were not best friends in a unique sense as everyone in the cell and groups of people out of it were their best friends. They were the best of the best friends and that made him smile. He hesitated. The first time he had asked, it had been a joke to get a reaction out of Delirious. But something would come of him asking this time. He'd be answering a question that lingered in the minds of millions and he, along with a small group of other people, would be the only ones who had answered it. He bit his bottom lip as he looked into Delirious's eyes that sat behind his white hockey mask and they stared for a short while. He wanted to know. And as the best of best friends, there should be no secrets.

"I dare you," he began, "to take off your mask."

Delirious took the thumb of his right hand and slid it under his mask as his remaining fingers rested on the outside. He pulled the mask over his head, never once breaking the stare he had on Evan. He didn't flinch. He handed the mask to Evan, who took it, and, again, they were locked in eye contact. Evan took note of every curve and every color along Delirious's face, for no other reason but his own. He would never share this information. It was his secret. He noted the eye color, and skin color, and nose shape. He locked the information away. Delirious smiled at him.

"You're turn." He said. "Truth or dare."

"...Dare..." Evan said quietly, still staring at Delirious.

"I dare you," Delirious began, "to hug your best, best friend."

That dare turned out to not be a problem.