'Cause No One Knows You Like I Do.

It was a week after the drunken barbeque and the entire group of us were sat in Alex and Lisa's house, hoping to God Peyton wasn't in the usual bounding-everywhere state we'd grown accustomed to. Once again, all of us were hungover and yet none of us could bring ourselves to care for anything but the pain in our own heads and the fun we'd had the night before. There was no sense of regret coming from anyone, everyone would gladly live the night again numerous times, despite the pain we always felt the morning after.
Jack was sat smirking at me from across the room once again, the same look we'd been sharing for the past week, though trying our very best to conceal it as much as we could. Alex, it seemed, knew it all. His eyes were roaming between the pair of us every time we were together, the same way they had when he'd caught us the week before. The same knowing that he hadn't voiced. Yet.
"So, which of you bitches is up for Truth or Dare? Drunken Truth or Dare, of course," Lisa burst out, jumping into the room with a couple too many bottles of Vodka. Four pm, still recovering from a hangover and she brings us the best cure. See, this is exactly how a girl gets accepted into our group. It may seem like the seven of us are borderline alcoholic but, in truth, we only do this when the guys are home. You see, they have this effect on us, where we spend a month or two drinking like we're seventeen again, they go back on tour to continue acting like teenagers and we grow up for three months until they come back and take us right back to where we started.
I have to say, it's a pretty good thing we have these boys around, or we'd be a little bit boring.
Jack shot me a look, a warning not to choose truth, though that was the norm for us regardless. Jack and I always knew our friends had a way of prying into the more private sides of a person’s life, the parts he and I would only divulge to each other. By the time high school was only halfway done, we'd already figured out it was dare or nothing, and that was all there was to it.
I could hear the murmurs of agreement, the slight enthusiasm every other utterance had lacked all day returning slowly but surely at the thought of alcohol. Lisa poured out 7 shots, finishing off one of the bottles we'd been drinking the night before. I watched the sly grin spreading across Alex's face as his girlfriend handed a glass to each of us and already knew the plans he had for the night ahead once everyone had left. Or perhaps before. Alex was never one to have any shame in his activities, and neither was a drunken Lisa. We threw the shots back into our mouths and the game began.
"Okay, okay, Becca; truth or dare?" Kara asked about half an hour and a bottle of vodka later. I looked over at Jack, biting my lip. They all knew I was going to choose dare, but the more alcohol I consumed the more appealing truth seemed.
"Dare!" I caught Alex rolling his eyes between Jack and Lisa, arm half around Lisa, half looking as though he was about to grope her ass at any second.
"Umm, okay, I dare you to... kiss Jack!" She giggled pointlessly, and I rolled my eyes. Kara got more childish than the rest of us during this game. I bit my lip again, turning to my right and pecking Jack on the lips quickly. "That wasn't a kiss! You so knew what I meant!" Again, I rolled my eyes.
"How long for?"
"Umm - 10 seconds!" She leaned onto Rian's shoulder, giggling slightly as she observed the space between Jack and me.
"This is so gross," I stated, trying my hardest not to show any signs of having done this before. I could see the smile tugging at the side of Jack's mouth facing away from everybody and tried my hardest not to grin back at him.
The sad thing was ten seconds seemed like no time at all from the moment my lips met Jack's until the moment they left. I could hear my friends whistling in the background at what they thought was the first kiss Jack and I had ever shared.
"You guys are so gross. You basically just made me kiss my sister," Jack stated, faking a glare at them all. I dropped my jaw, turning to Jack and hitting him on the arm. I knew he didn't mean it, but I had to do it anyway. There was no way I was missing this opportunity.
“I don’t care that he’s basically my brother, I care it was Jack! I mean, you could have chosen anyone, but you had to choose him! I’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee.” I watched Jack’s face drop, and the rest of our friends slowly deteriorating into fits of laughter.
“I can arrange that,” Jack replied, scowl on his face.
“You two are dorks. Stop quoting Star Wars at each other.” I glared at Alex, pecking Jack quickly on the cheek to stop his scowl. "Don't scowl at me, Barakat. This only started because you two are too pussy to choose truth."
"Fucking try me, Gaskarth."
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"When did you last get laid?"
"Last week. But that was weak; try something a little more revealing."
"One night stand or fuck buddy?"
"Fuck buddy. You know, heading toward a public discussion of my sex life isn't exactly a fear of mine. I don't mind."
"What was her name?" I shot Jack a look, though it was ignored. Now was the time to let it all out, or hide it all away and lie to his best friend.
"What; you think I'm fucking Becca behind everyone's back?"
"The name, Jack."
"Louise." Alex nodded slowly, turning away from Jack, looking as though he had gotten what he wanted, though I no one had any idea what that was. I grinned suddenly.
“Now my turn! Gaskarth. Truth or dare?”
“Truth, because I’m not a pussy,” he replied with a smug look coating his face.
“When do you guys actually leave again? I’m not talking when you leave to tour, I’m talking actually leave again, to do anything.” He gulped quickly. I knew what was coming, Jack had let slip something that had hinted it a few days before.
“Uh. Kinda. Monday?” Kara and Lisa’s heads both flew in the direction of their boyfriends, both of whom were trying to shrink into nothingness. I admit, it was cruel, and probably ruined the night, but it was better than the two of them not knowing until the day the guys left and the atmosphere being crappy for weeks. This prepared them for the blow of their loves leaving.
“How did you know to ask that?” Jack whispered in my ear as Zack walked away from the slightly heated discussion going on between the two couples.
“You told me last night we ‘don’t have much time’, I knew what you meant idiot boy.”
“Will you miss me?”
“Of course. You’re my best friend; I always miss you.” Jack frowned ever-so-slightly, but smiled back at me a moment later.
“Just was I needed to hear, Bec; exactly what I wanted.”
“But you won’t miss me!” I accused jokingly.
“I always miss you,” he replied with a sigh. I scrunched up my face, confused as to why he was acting the way he was all of a sudden.