Triple Dog Dare

 Buzz, buzz, time to get up. I threw my phone across the room and fell back asleep. “Get up Noah!” my Mom yelled. Nah, I’m good. 10 minutes later I’m ripped from my bed and practically pushed upright.

 Everything in my life seems like a blur. I don’t want to do anything. I don’t feel like doing anything. School is such a waste of time and energy. No one wants me there anyways so whats the point?

 I’m sat at the back of the school bus with my airpods in. They always seem to never be loud enough you know? Sometimes you just want to drown yourself in music to shut out everything else in your pathetic life. I’m just a waste of space.

 “Bet you can’t beat me in a fist fight.” Tyler said. “Bet I could.” I say simply. “Prove it shorty.” He knows what he’s doing. Every time anyone mentions my height it feels like I’ve been in the oven for too long. “Shut up Tyler. You wouldn’t want your pretty face to get recked anyways.” I said fuming. “At least I have a pretty face.” he winked. Practically growling, I held my fist securly at my side. “Go.” 

 That’s my life. No one could care more or less about me or my problems. I want to stand up for myself but when I do, it just ends badly for both of us. Yeah I can fight but then the kid is too much of a scardy-cat later and tell. People really don’t know when to stop do they? One day they’ll regret what they did to me when I’m gone. They’ll realize how much they’ve broken me and every kid that was too afraid to actually stand up for themselves.

 I take the black plastic tray in my hands and slide it across the side of the counter. The lunch ladies put the food into the sections of the tray and let me walk away. Surprisingly, the room isn’t as packed as it normally would be so I can sit down at a table just for myself today. Today was chicken strips, green beans, orange juice, and mashed potatoes. I fiddled with my mash until I saw him. The hottest guy in school… well in my option. He’s a pretty quiet kid compared to most. He’s got a few friends but that’s all I really know about him. The rare occasions he speaks is when he’s with his friends. I only know that because he sits behind me and I can hear when he speaks. 

 Everyone at school knows I’m into guys and stuff which causes most of my bullying but honestly, they didn’t need to be all up into my business. Oh my god. The lunchroom had gotten pretty full since I had sat down and I didn’t even realize while daydreaming. Andrew, the boy I liked, stood in front of me. I looked up slowly, trying not to embarrass myself. He looked pretty awkward and so was I so we just looked at each other for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and asked quietly, “Is anyone sitting here?” I gulped but was quickly pulled back down to earth. “No. You can sit there if you want.”

 The next thing I knew, I was face to face with my crush. I looked down quickly and he did the same. Come on Noah! This is your chance, don’t mess it up! I spoke quietly but I knew he heard me because he stopped for a moment.

“I’m Noah, what’s your name?” 

“Andrew but my friends call me Drew.” 

I nodded at his response. “We have a few classes right?”

“Yeah.”

 I’m not quite sure how to respond to a ‘yeah’ so I go back to picking at my mashed potatoes. A few moments go bye without anything from both of us. My foot started to cramp so I let it stretch further under the table until I hit something. Drew lifted his gaze a bit. 

“Sorry.” I mumbled and put it back in its original place.

 Drew didn’t say anything and I felt a little disappointed. I knew someone like him couldn’t be into boys. When I hear him talking with his friends, he’s always talking about video games or something like that. Me myself is more into music. When I grow up, if I grow up I mean, I’d want to be a guitarist. The melody can really take you away and put you into a whole new world entirely. I hope to do that to someone else if I get the chance.

 The lunch bell rung and pulled me from my thoughts. “Wait!” I burted out. Drew spun on his heel and looked confused. Instantly embarrassed I looked down going pink. “Um it’s just I wanted to know if you’d like to hangout sometime or thing. You just seem cool and stuff.” He only nodded and walked away. Darn...

 It was saturday and Drew had actually invited me to his house. His other friends were here so I got to see his true self luckily. We were doing spin the bottle truth or dare which was actually pretty fun. His other friends made it really funny and sometimes we’d brake down in tears. Korbin and Peter I think we’re their names? They were all pretty nice to me compared to everyone else at school. They made me feel like I was already part of their group.

 It was my turn to spin the bottle and it landed on Drew. “Truth or Dare my friend.” Peter asked. I was feeling a little brave so I chose dare. “Ah hah…” Peter said while tapping his chin. “I’ve got the perfect one but this time you have to both do it not just you crack an egg on his head or something.” My eyebrows raised in suspicion and looked at Drew. He had the same expression. “Ohhh I know what your saying.” Korbin said happily to Peter. They both smiled and then turned to both of us. 

 “We triple dog dare you to kiss eachother.” I nearly choked on air. “Wait what!” I exclaimed. “Both of you are gay so why wouldn’t it hurt?” asked Peter. My face flushed. “Your gay?” I asked turning to Drew. His face instantly went red and he closed his eyes in embarrassment. “Oh cmon Drew. It’s not like its the end of the world.” Korbin said simply, “He’ll do it.” He then elbowed me and inched me to get up. Unwillingly, I stood and watched as red faced Drew got up as well. “Some privacy?” I asked the both of the boys on the floor. Peter put his arms up in defense while Korbin followed him out of the room. 

 We looked at eachother awkwardly for a few seconds, are faces going more and more red. “Lets just get this over with then?” I asked looking down. Suddenly, I felt his hand on my chin, pulling my face back up to look at him. I gulped as are faces were only inches apart. I leaned in and kissed him softly. I could feel him smile and so I did too. “Awwww.” Korbin said with Peter beside him recording. Drew picked up a pillow from off the ground and threw it at the camera still red faced. “What are you doing?!” Both of them laughed while me and Drew scolded them.

 Everything worked out perfectly between me and him after that whole ordeal. His friends became mine and my problems became his. I’m just glad we are each others.