My Childhood Friend

The Dare

My cheeks flushed scarlet from the embarrassment. I didn't dare look up, but I could feel him walking towards me. The night was silent, and the darkness seemed suffocating now that I had lost to him. 

As if he could read my mind, he stopped a few steps away from me. 

"So," he began. I could sense the mocking grin on his face.

"Yeah, I guess I lost," I said, sighing.

"But you played better than I expected."

I looked up, indignant. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He chuckled. "Well, for someone of your size, you're pretty aggressive."

I rolled my eyes. " Well, what do you want me to do, seeing you won?"

"I haven't thought of it yet," he replied, and I could almost hear the excitement in his voice at his freedom to make me do anything. "Come over tomorrow night."

I frowned. How could I avoid it?

"My . . my parents won't let me go to your house," I began, making a feeble protest at getting out of the mess I had got myself into. 

He smirked, leaning closer to my face. "Of course they will," he replied, and we both knew it. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, honey."

I let out a frustrated sigh."Stop with the nicknames!"

And like the annoying creature he was, he walked away casually. 

I slumped down onto the ground. I had lost, I knew it. My parents had known him for too long, and would gladly let him drag me away. I sighed again. Who  knew what punishment awaited me? Well, I would find out tomorrow. 

I went home, and had dinner. The delicious indian food was so familiar, and comforted me. After dinner, while everyone went to sleep, I went to my room and called Mira. 

"Hey." I said.

"Hi! What's up?"

"Trouble. I got into  a basketball bet with Arhaan, and he won, and now he gets to make me do anything. He asked me to come over tomorrow night."

She tutted. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I can't believe you lost to him."

"Right?" I asked. "But what should I do?"

"Look. Whatever he does, we all love each other, and I know he won't hurt you. So go over, and try to get over with it as fast as you can. I gotta go to sleep. Tell me how it goes, ok?

"Ok."

"Bye!"

"Bye." I put my phone away, and lay on my bed. I stared at the ceiling. Whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad, right. Comforted by the thought, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

.        .        .        .

I slept late the next morning, waking up at eleven. I put on a navy blue cotton dress, and brushed out my tangled brown hair. 

"Mom, I have to go to Arhaan's house tonight." I said, sitting down to breakfast.

She raised an eyebrow. "Of course. But what time?"

"About seven."

"Ok, be back before eleven."

I didn't tell her that I intended to be back sooner. Of course I wouldn't give him that much time. Instead, I gobbled up my toast and eggs, and then went to my room to read for the afternoon.

I spent the afternoon reading my favorite book for about the thirtieth time, I think. The Fault in our Stars. The book never ceased to make me cry. At the end, I always wondered if I would ever have someone who loved me like Gus loved Hazel. I guess things like true love only existed in books and movies. 

At six in the evening, I jumped in the shower, and took a long half-an-hour to relax in the warm water. Then I dried my hair, and put on the same navy dress I had been wearing. I loved this dress. It was a simple dark blue empire-waist dress with camisole straps, and decorated all over with crochet embroidery. The dress came down to just above my knees, as I never bought anything too long because I was so small. I would usually get drowned in big clothes. 

I took a moment to stand in front of the mirror. I felt pleased with how I looked. When I had been in high school in Texas, I had always felt pressured to wear makeup and have smooth hair and wear revealing tops and skinny jeans to fit in with the girls, who I now realised were all insecure. But now, I smiled as I saw the best me I had ever seen. My simple dark dress complimented my skin, my lips were plump and pink, my face shone from my shower, and my long brown hair cascaded in my natural waves over my shoulders. This was the real me I wanted to be. 

I glanced at the clock, and to my alarm, it was four minutes to seven. I raced to the door, and slipped on my black sandals, shouting bye to my mom. 

I raced outside and across the park, to C Block where he lived. I took the stairs to the sixth floor, panting, because the elevator was taking too long to come down. I reached his floor, and rang the bell, my heart beating from the exhaustion- or maybe anticipation. 

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Hey Guys! So I just wanted to say that I hope you all are enjoying my story. If you read it, I would heartily appreciate any comments and also votes. So please give me feedback so I know kind of how to shape this story according to what you would like to read. I am taking a lot of time to build this story, and I would really like feedback and interaction from all of you who are kind enough to take the time to read it. Thank you!!