A Dare With The Player

Chapter 6: Get Real Good Grades

“Are you sure you’re calling my phone, Rubes?!” I asked her as I rummaged through my entire bedroom that was starting to look like it got hit by a typhoon from the mess I’ve made.

“For the fiftieth time, Thalia, yes, positively sure the number saved as ‘Big Booty Energy’ is you.” She said and I turned to her with a glare because of the name before groaning in frustration right after.

“Urg, this is ridiculous! I know I had it last night before we went to sleep!” I threw another one of my pillows out of my bed.

“Ouch! I’m right behind you!” Amber shrieked and I looked at her guilty.

“Sorry, Ambs, didn’t see you there.” I apologized with a pout and she begrudgingly accepted it before helping me look for my phone again.

“Are you really sure you had it before you slept? You might have like lost it sometime… before.” Amber theorized and I looked at her for a few seconds in thought.

Could she be right? I vaguely remember holding on to something before we slept last night, but then again, after the crazy stunt I pulled, I don’t even know if I remember things correctly because I tried so hard to forget it.

Frankly, I still can’t believe I actually pulled that off… Stealing Cristiano’s boxers.

I glanced to the right side of my room where my drawer was and where I hurriedly hid his boxers after getting back from his house. Well, the girls stared at it in disbelief at first then I frantically tried to hide it somewhere, desperately wanting to completely forget that I had really just done that, but in all honesty, it was impossible.

The whole thing was practically engraved in my head. Sneaking up to his room, seeing where he slept, where he probably spent most of his time, and just being there taking in the place and the scent… his invigorating and intoxicating scent.

“Thalia? Do you remember where you put it now?”

I shook my head, not realizing I had disappeared in my own thoughts until my friends were both staring at me.

“Wha- I-”

Shit. It then dawned on me right at that very second while I was remembering being in Cristiano’s room…

“Oh god, did I…” My eyes started to widen and I felt like I was going to faint at the possibility.

“What? Did you what, Thalia?” Rubi asked as they both looked at me confused.

“Did I accidentally drop it in his room?! Oh my god, bury me now! Bury me now!” I cried out in panic and disbelief.

“s**t, guys! Help me find it!” I begged my friends before continuing to rummage my already destroyed room.

“N-no way! That’s not possible, we’re sure it’s here! Come on, Ambs, lift up the bed!” Rubi tried to reassure me, but I was sure deep inside she was thinking the same as well now.

It was the only explanation at this point, but I wasn’t giving up… at least for the meantime because it was the only thing keeping me sane. Lying to myself that my phone must have just dropped somewhere in my room and not his. I wanted to keep thinking that to keep myself and my sanity intact.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door that almost had my soul leave my body. Turns out it was just my mom.

“Hi girls, is everything alri-” My mom couldn’t even finish her sentence as she was clearly beguiled by what was in front of her - an absolute mess.

Her eyes blinked confused. “Was there some kind of earthquake or typhoon that passed by only in your room, Thalia? What in the world is going on here?”

My friends and I glanced at each other before chuckling awkwardly.

“It’s nothing, mom. I’ll fix it. I’m just looking for something,” I quickly told her to reassure her.

“By ‘something’ do you mean your phone again?” She looked at me with a raised brow and when I was hoping to be saved by my friends in the sudden interrogation my mom had put me in, they were more than ready to jump out of the moving train.

“Oh, did you hear that? I think that’s my ride! Can’t let my dad wait. See you tomorrow, Thalia! Thanks for letting us stay over, Mrs. Donovan!” Rubi said as she grabbed her things that were underneath my blanket.

“Let me catch a ride, please! Thanks again, Mrs. Donovan!” Amber quickly asked and in a split second, the two had already abandoned me in my time of need, hurriedly running out of my house.

Thanks a lot, guys.

“So? Where did you leave it this time?” My mom asked, or more like demanded, as she picked up my things scattered around the floor.

“I can do that, mom.” I told her, but she insisted.

Ugh, I quickly realized she’s not going to leave until I tell her the truth. She’s experienced this so many times, she doesn’t even act at all surprised. From the many dares I’ve accepted, it’s a given my phone sometimes gets sacrificed. I think the worst one was when I forgot it was in my pocket and I jumped into the waterfall. Let’s just say it was waterproof, but not rock-proof. Oopsie.

“It was a dare,” I told her flatly and she didn't even look up.

“I already knew that,” she replied as she helped fold my clothes I had thrown all over the room.

“But did you really lose it or can you get it back?” She finally looked up and I wish she just didn’t because her green eyes that I inherited were staring at mine impatiently waiting for an answer.

“Uh…” I didn’t have an answer because in the first place, I wasn’t even sure where it was and honestly, if I told her that, she’d freak out.

It’s not that she was super strict. If anything, my mom was just like my best friend too and scolding wasn’t really in our dictionary. The thing is, I’ve had three phones in the past year and I don’t think she would appreciate me asking for a fourth one very much. My dad, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t mind spoiling his little girl…

“I can get it back! I swear,” I smiled at her squarely and raised my hand up as a scout’s honor.

She looked at me thoroughly unconvinced and I was getting ready to come up with another excuse but fortunately, she decided to let it go.

“Hm, alright, but you finish fixing your things later. Go down and have breakfast first,” she said before making her way out of my room, but not before slightly realigning the picture frame near my door.

Always a perfectionist, my mom.

I let out a sigh of relief the second she was out of my room, slumping on my bed and mindlessly staring at the ceiling.

Shit. Now I really have to get my phone back. The question now is… from where? Or more specifically…

From who?

“Oi, time for breakfast!” I quickly sat up when my i***t brother barged into my room all of a sudden.

“What the heck happened here?” He looked around my room, his face painted with astonishment and dumbfoundedness all at the same time. “Did we get robbed except the robber only cared about terrible items of a teenage girl?” He turned to me snickering.

“Shut up, you have terrible taste!” I retaliated, throwing him one of the pillows, but he was able to quickly close the door and use it as a shield.

“Hah! Zero points for The T-1000 and plus ten for the Brominator!” He declared before letting out an evil laugh.

I was about to throw another pillow, but he beat me to it again.

“Get your butt down or I’m eating all the waffles!” He said at the last second before slamming my door.

“You wouldn’t dare!” I shouted back at him before scrambling to get out of my bed, step over my mountain of scattered clothes and things, and finally make it to my door.

“Mom, don’t let T eat all the waffles!” I shouted as soon as I got out of my room.

Fortunately, I’m sure she heard it because our house wasn’t really that big. I mean, it had its size, but compared to where dad used to live, aka a mansion, our house was totally nowhere near that.

Both of our parents chose to live out of the spotlight, amidst my mom owning one of the biggest veterinarian hospitals in the city and well, my dad being the big-shot CEO and all. The only time we get to go to his old house is when we visit our grandparents, but even then that’s rare because they traveled everywhere.

When I got to the breakfast room, I glared at T who was holding the waffle plate and putting all of it on his.

“Stop right there, thief!” I yelped at him and he just stuck out his tongue at me.

“Mom!!!!” I cried out for back up, but she didn’t seem to be in the mood for any of our antics this morning.

“Cut it out, you two. We can just make more waffles if there’s not enough.” She said calmly, looking over T and I with that motherly look.

Not the sweet and loving kind, though, but the one where you know you’re supposed to behave or else and so T and I both instantly recomposed ourselves.

“Here you go, my favorite big sister. Have more waffles,” T said with a fake wide smile and I rolled my eyes at him.

As much as I wanted to beat that smile out of his face, I had to be on my best behavior as our mom was staring at us.

“Thank you, little brother, how kind of you.” I replied to him, taking the plate but making sure to get more than half as his to annoy him.

He gave me a look and I quickly stuck my tongue out at him and our mom didn’t see.

“Plus ten points for T-1000,” I mumbled to him as he unwillingly accepted his defeat.

I snickered in triumph. We’ve given each other that nickname since we first watched The Terminator when we were around ten years old, but until now it’s still stuck.

“Do you want some, mom?” I turned to her and saw that her plate was just filled with fruits and one piece of french toast.

“It’s alright, sweetie, thank you. This is enough for me.” She replied with a smile before happily munching on her breakfast.

You know how they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day? T and I grew up with heavy breakfast for as long as I can remember whilst our mom only ate the same food, healthy and just the right amount.

I always wondered why, but it was when our parents told us their love story did it all start to make sense. Their story was truly something special, but even more so their relationship. I grew up in awe of that, of both of them, which is why I’m most likely never going to be in a relationship because of my high expectations.

“So how was the convention last night with the twins and Cristiano?”

My hands were holding on to the utensils as I cut my waffle, but with the mere mention of his name, I was frozen. I couldn’t deny that my sense of hearing suddenly heightened, though. Was I just curious or was there something else as my heart skipped a beat out of nowhere?

“Your dad would have wanted to come, but Prague with your uncle Aiden comes first for business,” she added.

“It’s no problem. It was really fun with just us. It felt like we were back to being those little boys.” T happily shared, grinning as he took a bite out of his food.

He looked genuinely happy. I watched as he started talking about what happened that night. Although I could barely understand half of it with all of the Football stuff, it seemed like it was a good night.

“Oh, yeah! We almost got into a brawl!” T somehow proudly shared, earning him a surprised and unamused reaction from our mom.

“I’m sorry, what? A fight?” Uh-oh. She was nowhere near pleased.

If there was one person who disliked violence the most, it would be her.

“I- I meant, uh…” T was a little too lost for words, glancing towards me in an attempt to tell me to save him.

Sorry, brother, but you’re on your own on this one.

“The dude took the ball when I already got it and I- I was just standing up for myself! But don’t worry, Cristiano took care of it easily. He looked at the guy for a quick second and he almost pissed his pants. No violence or anything!” T explained as he stared at our mom cautiously, hoping she would now let the topic go.

“That boy has grown up, hasn’t he?”

I could almost hear T’s internal sigh of relief as our mom did let it go.

“Yeah, he definitely has. Sometimes I feel like he’s hiding something, though. Like deep down inside there’s something that’s holding him back?” T commented before shrugging his shoulders and continuing to munch on his food.

Suddenly, I am more than intrigued.

What did he mean by that? I know there is something different with him, but is this something that he’s hiding the reason as to why he has changed? So many questions, but can’t find the answers…

“Just be there for your friend. It must be tough being back here after all these years. I reckon he will need some time to adjust so be a shoulder to lean on,” our mom suggested.

“Mom, you’re making us sound like a couple,” T said with a light chuckle.

“Well, aren’t you?” I butted in to tease him and funnily enough, mom laughed with me.

T was not amused. “Not funny, you dingus!” He grumbled displeased and was about to put me in a headlock but I managed to stand up before he could reach me.

“Get back here!” He shouted out while I continued to run away from him.

“Nuh-uh! Over my dead body!” I said while running away and just before getting out of the breakfast room, I caught a quick glimpse of our mom smiling as she watched T and I.

Sunday passed by relatively quickly after that. I stayed mostly inside my room, cleaning up the mess I had made, and then internally panicking when I didn’t find my phone anywhere.

I was screwed, I thought to myself, but it wasn’t game over yet. Tomorrow… I’ll find out soon enough whether Cristiano is the culprit or not.

-

“Dad! You’re here!” I giggled excitedly as I ran downstairs the second I saw my dad standing by the door.

I didn’t expect he’d be here since I figured he’d still be in Prague, but there he was, smiling proudly in his leather jacket fit. Sometimes he dresses up like T that people mistake us as siblings. Okay, not just sometimes.

He opened his arms wide and I jumped into it, tightly hugging him as if we hadn’t seen each other in months. In reality, he doesn’t really go away for more than a month unless really needed for work. I was fortunate to have a dad that really cared for his family and always put us first. Apparently, his parents and my grandparents had a sort of problem about that when he was my age. I’m just glad that’s all in the past now.

“Of course I’m here. I would never miss out on my babies’ first day,” he commented before planting a kiss on my forehead.

“We’re not babies!” Just then, T came down sporting almost the same outfit as our dad was wearing.

What did I say?

“You two will always be our babies no matter how many years pass,” our mom popped up from the living room and both of our parents looked at us endearingly.

“I can’t believe you’re both starting your last year in high school. It seems just like yesterday Thalia was crying because she didn’t want to enter kindergarten without your dad and I holding her hand,” mom commented and my cheeks turned tomato red.

“Ha-ha what a baby,” T teased and I shot him a look.

“And Theodore stayed in the bathroom for the entire time, scared to meet other kids back then,” our dad added and I burst out into laughter.

“Aww, what a baby Theodore,” I teased as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh, would you look at the time? We’re going to be late! Come on!” He grabbed my arm, pulling me away from our parents as we stepped out of the house.

“See you, kids! Be good!” Mom said as they both waved goodbye.

T didn’t bother to turn around, waving quickly, but not as quick as his steps to get inside the car. I was happily chuckling beside him.

“Man, why do parents have to be so embarrassing?” T groaned as we stepped into his car.

“It’s how they show their love. I’m surprised you’re still not used to it after these many years,” I told him while connecting my music phone to play songs.

Scrolling through my endless selection of music, I couldn’t decide which to play, and then I saw it.

“Oooh,” I let out a light snicker which made T turn to me.

“Is that what I think it is?” He asked with a raised brow and smiled prankish after I nodded.

“First day of Senior High, here we go.”

Just right after T stepped on the gas, the beat of the classic song from the 1980’s started to play and our drive to Eastwood High was starting off on a good note.

Take on me

Take me on

I’ll be gone

In a day or two

“Tununtuntuntun!” “Tununutuntuntun!”

T and I sang endlessly in the car like a bunch of idiots until we saw the tall American flag and we knew we were near.

“In honor of our last year in high school, I want to propose your first dare of the school year.” T said as he turned to me wiggling his eyebrows.

“Well, well, this is a first. Should I be scared?” I looked at my brother curiously.

All these years, he’s the only person who’s never dared me to do anything. Why do I have a feeling he’s going to be a butt about it?

“You should be. This might just be your hardest dare to date,” he said with a cunning smile.

“Just spill it, loser.” I rolled my eyes at him.

“I dare you…” He started to look around, trying to find an empty parking spot while I was starting to get impatient.

Finally, he found a spot and right after parking he turned back to face me. “To get real good grades this year, not your subpar ones.”

What? That’s it?! I knew it wouldn’t be a real dare!

“You know, you could be such a pain in the ass, but I couldn’t ask for anyone better to annoy me,” I said with a small smile.

He then turned to me with a teasing smile. “That’s if you even have an ass in the first place.” He said before bursting into laughter.

“Rude!” I shouted out to him and was about to get my revenge, but he quickly stepped out of the car.

Hurriedly, I took off my seatbelt and opened the car door to catch him as well. Without any other second thoughts but to give my annoying brother a taste of his own medicine, I started running to his side only to be stopped when I hit something in front of me.

“Oof! Hey, watch where you’re going, man!” I complained, not knowing who I was that I had bumped into.

It was only when I looked up and caught those familiar set of hazel eyes staring into mine that I immediately stiffened up and I began to panic internally.

Fuck. You’ve got to be kidding me. First day and I’ve already bumped into Cristiano?! Out of all the people here?! Geez, what luck, but I might as well just act as cool and calm as possible. Pretend it’s just a normal day, Thalia, because it is. It absolutely is.

“If it isn’t the little daredevil…”

His voice immediately sent tingles down my spine and frankly, our close proximity with one another wasn’t helping my case here.

He cleared his throat and my heart skipped a beat the second a smirk formed on those soft and luscious lips of his.

“Is that how you talk to someone you just stole from? You know, if you wanted one of my boxers, you could have just said so.”

Oh s**t. So much for hoping he didn’t see me that other night.

Before I could retaliate, he leaned in closer and whispered into my ear.

“I would have gladly given it to you.”