It Started With A Dare

“I said that I’d take you here someday.” I heard him say from behind me.

“Gerard … wow.” I said as I took in the sight in front of me. It looked just like it did in the picture he drew; even in the darkness the beauty was clear. The hills in the background gave the feeling that the whole place was sort of closed in and made it even more special.

“How’d you even find this place?” I asked, my eyes still scanning the grassy landscape thoroughly.

“I dunno, I was driving around for ages and just sort of stumbled upon it I guess. I come here a lot, to think, y’know?” he said. I turned around and he’d taken a seat on the grass behind me, staring off into the distance. I walked closer and sat down next to him, my arms wrapped around my knees to keep myself warm in the fresh night air.

“So how come one of the most popular seniors in school has so many secrets?” I asked him.

“Why’d you have to ask so many questions?” He asked sighing, but still had the hint of a grin on his face so I wasn’t worried.

“Just answer the question, dude.” I replied.

“Popularity is pretty much everything I have in high school; sure I’ve got good grades but if I didn’t have the social acceptance I do, I probably wouldn’t have survived.” He said, avoiding eye contact as he spoke.

“Wow, that was deep.” I said, making him let out a breathy laugh.

“Yeah well you asked for it.” He retorted.

“You really shouldn’t care what people think, just be you.” I said.

“Yeah I’m sure everyone would love that.” He said sarcastically.

“Well I think you’re great.” He turned to me with a smile on his face, I tried to smile back but my teeth kept chattering.

“You cold?” I nodded “Here.” He took off his jacket and put it over my shoulder, no matter how much I protested for him to keep it on. I blushed and thanked him, averting my gaze back to the wonderful view in front of us.

“Seeing as you’ve got so many questions, do you wanna play 20 questions?” He suggested.

“Okay, you first.” I responded.

“Is Bob a mean brother or a nice one? I’ve always wondered about that.” He asked, trailing off.

“He can be really annoying at times but he’s a great brother really.” I replied “So, why’d you bring me here tonight?”

“Well I promised I would someday, and you seemed to really want to see it. Do you like it?”

“Yeah I do, and that counts as another question.” I said, watching as he glared playfully at me. “Have you ever been arrested?”

“Yeah, once.”

“Why?” I asked curiously.

“Got caught drinking in the park past midnight when I was 14.” He responded “And that counts as another question.” He added, mocking my previous statement, making me stick my tongue out at him childishly. “What about you? What’s the worst thing you’ve ever been caught doing?”

“I got in trouble with the principle for grafting on a wall that he liked to take it up the ass.” I replied, causing him to start laughing “Hey, it’s not funny! I got like a week of detention for that!” I said, shoving his shoulder lightly.

“Okay, fine, next question.” He said through his laughter.

“Are you a boxers or briefs kind of guy?” This question made him stop laughing.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit personal?” He retorted.

“Not at all, now answer the damn question.” I said smirking.

“Fine, boxers then.” He said. This carried on for a while until it grew even darker outside and even colder as well.

“I should probably take you home now, we’ve got school tomorrow.” He said, standing up and reaching out his hand to pull me up. I glanced at my watch to see that it was around 2 am. Wow, time has gone pretty fast. We made our way back through the greenery to where Gerard had parked his car, both of us getting in and Gerard drove off.

“So I’ve still got a few questions left.” He said through the silence of the car.

“Indeed you have.” I responded.

“Okay, who was that guy with you at your locker?” he asked. The question sort of caught me off guard, yet I knew exactly who he meant. He was talking about when James had tried to come onto me all that time ago, though thankfully he hadn’t tried anything recently. I still didn’t see why he kept on trying to ask me out, I wasn’t anything special really.

“That was James Parker, he’s a sophomore jock.” I responded in a monotonous voice. “Thanks again for telling him to back off.”

“And again, it was nothing. He looked like a jerk.” He said.

“He is.” I stated.

“Well you shouldn’t settle for jerks, you’re way too good for them.” I glanced at him to see that his eyes were still focussed on the road, so I was glad that he didn’t see the blush that erupted on my cheeks.

“Good to know.” I murmured, feeling embarrassed. We soon arrived back at my house; I unbuckled my seatbelt and sat facing Gerard for a moment.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He said with a grin.

“Yeah, thanks for taking me there, it really was so cool.” I said.

“No problem.” He said. I smiled and leant forward, wrapping my arms around him in a quick hug before bidding him goodbye and hopping out of the car. He waited outside of the house until I’d made it back up to my bedroom window, and I watched as he drove away out of the street. Yawning, I changed back into my pyjamas and slipped into bed, crashing as soon as my head hit the pillow.