Tell Me You Love Me

After eating some lunch, we all sat in a circle on the floor. Brian sat between Josh and Stephen. Jess sat beside Josh, and I sat on Jess’s other side, while John sat next to me with his arm around my waist.

“What can we do?” Stephen asked. “I’m bored!”

“Let’s rock out!” Brian suggested.

“No, I want to spend time with all of us,” John interjected. “Including Sam,”

“Fine,” Brian sighed.

Then Josh’s face lit up. “How about we-”

“NO!” Jess exclaimed.

“But you didn’t hear my idea!” Josh protested.

“We don’t need to, knowing you,” Jess pointed out.

“I got an idea,” I said.

“Well?” They all eagerly waited.

“Truth or Dare?” I suggested.

“YES!” Jess said. “It’s classic fun!”

Everyone seemed to agree.

“Josh, truth or dare?” Brian began.

“Dare,” he responded.

“I dare you to slap Stephen!”

“Wait, what?” Stephen protested.

“Okay!” Josh eagerly walked over to Stephen and slapped him across the face.

“OW!” Stephen yelled holding onto his cheek, which was now a bright scarlet red.

We all laughed.

“This is fun!” Brian concluded. “Josh, your pick man,”

“Sam, truth or dare,” I had to think long and hard.

“Truth,” I wanted to play it safe.

“Who is the hottest guy in this circle?” he asked.

“That’s easy, John is!” I happily answered.

“He doesn’t count since you’re dating him,” Josh said.

I looked up at John and he nodded, giving his approval.

“Uh,” I was thinking. “I guess Brian is? I don’t know,”

“FINALLY!” Brian exclaimed. “Someone else sees my hotness!” I just laughed at him.

“My turn,” I said. “Jess, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” she answered.

“You girls are such WIMPS!” Josh yelled.

“Shut up!” I shot a quick glare and focused on Jess. “From Every Avenue, who would you date?”

“Dennis, for sure!” we giggled.

“Why not Dave? Or Jimmie?” I asked.

“Because Dennis can play drums and he is definitely way hotter than Dave and Jimmie combined!” she said.

“No-uh!” I argued.

“Yeah-huh!” We giggled again.

“Girls,” I heard Brian mumble.

“Brian, truth or dare?” Jess asked.

“Dare,” Brian answered.

“I dare you to run around in your underwear and chant, ‘I’m a pretty Unicorn!’ while Sam records this,” She’s good.

“WHAT?” Brian bellowed.

“You heard me,” Jess said. “It’s too late to change now!”

“Fine,” Then he took off his jacket, his shirt, and finally his pants. I took out my camera from my bag and pointed it at him.

“Ready?” I asked. Brian nodded as everyone else tried to hold in his or her laughter. I pressed the ‘record’ button. “Action,”

“I’m a pretty Unicorn!” Brian sang while prancing around in the circle.

We all started laughing.

After a while, Brian got dressed again and sat down in the circle again.

“Stephen, truth or dare?” We all turned to him.

“Truth,” he responded.

“Wimp,” Josh added.

“Would you date Sam?” he asked. That’s a shocker.

“Heck yes!” Stephen answered.

“Hey, back off my girl!” John joked.

Then we all started laughing.

“But seriously dude,” John said seriously. “You are not laying a hand on her,” he winked at me as he tightened his grip.

“John, truth or dare?” Stephen said.

“Truth,” John responded.

“Do you think Sam’s the one?” he asked.

“I’m not sure yet, but I sure hope so,” John exclaimed.

“Awh, how nauseating!” Brian cooed.

“Shut up, it’s sweet,” I leaned up and pecked John on the lips.

“Sam, truth or dare?” John asked me.

“Dare,” I answered. I trusted John with dares.

“I dare you to kiss Brian…on the lips… for 3 seconds,” he said.

“What? No! Why?” I was super shocked.

“Come on!” he pleaded. “It’s just a game, I’m allowing it, and you said so yourself that Brian is the next hottest guy besides me!” I looked at John, then at Brian who also seemed shocked.

“Fine, but you owe me!” I said.

“You have my word,” John swore.

I took a deep breath and sighed. I got up and walked to Brian’s side and sat down, facing him.

“You better not pull anything,” I warned. I leaned in and kissed him, then pulled away after 3 seconds.

“Crap, now I’ve got to burn my lips!” I complained. Everyone busted into laughter except Brian, who pretended to look hurt.

“Admit it,” he teased. “You loved it!”

“It was like kissing a wall!” I turned to John. “You owe me!” I repeatedly wiped my lips with my sleeve as I sat back down beside John.

We played Truth or Dare for the next hour. Jess and I always chose “truth” to play it safe.

“Okay, we’re running out of questions and dares,” Jess pointed out. “New game?”

“How about we go out?” Brian suggested.

“Where would we go?” Stephen asked.

“Bowling!” Josh blurted out. “We’re all great at it!”

“How about Team Bowling?” I negotiated.

“3-on-3 or 3 teams of 2?” John asked.

“3-on-3,” everyone said.

“Okay, who are the team captains?” I asked.

“The two girls seem fair,” Stephen said.

“But I wanted to be on a team with Jess!” I complained.

“Yeah, we were going to destroy the other team!” Jess chimed in.

“Well too bad,” Brian said.

“Fine!” Jess and I cried.

“You pick first,” Jess instructed.

“John,” I smiled.

“Brian,” Jess called.

“Stephen or Josh?” I asked John.

“If we pick Josh we can annoy him by being cute,” John whispered. “And if we pick Stephen, we can win the game and most likely annoy him!”

“Good analysis,” I said. “We want Stephen!”

“Fine,” Jess grunted. “I guess we have Josh,”

“What? Does nobody want me on their team?” Josh whined.

We all laughed and left the house to go to the local bowling alley.

***

Before going to our designated alleys, we all went to the rental shoes counter.

“The only bad thing about bowling are these rental shoes,” Stephen complained as he tied his shoes. John nodded in agreement.

“What?” I argued. “That’s the fun part!”

“How?” John asked.

“Bowling shoes are just adorable, and stuff!” I concluded.

We got up and walked to alley 13.

“So what are the conditions?” Brian asked.

“Losing team buys ice cream?” I offered.

“I like that idea,” Josh said.

“That’s because you like ice cream,” Jess pointed out. “But it’s a good excuse for an ice cream run one day,”

Everyone else seemed to be in agreement.

“So what are the team names?” Josh asked. “They’ve got to be bands; that’s the theme,”

“We’ll be Jimmy Eat World!” I eagerly said.

“And we’ll be Sum 41!” Jess chanted.

“Let the games begin!” Brian called out.

***

“STRIKE!” I shouted as John and Stephen cheered.

“Way to go, Sam!” Stephen said, high-fiving me.

I sat myself down by John, but then he pulled me onto his lap.

“Oh, hey there!” I smiled as I turned myself around to face him.

“Hey Sam,” John said, lightly pressing his forehead against mine.

“GEEZ!” Brian yelled. “I thought we agreed on No PDA!”

“We did,” I turned towards Brian. “No PDA , in the house! ”

“And the last time I checked,” John cut in, “we’re at a bowling alley!”

“They’ve got us there,” Jess smiled at us. “And you guys are just jealous because the baby of the band got a girlfriend before you guys did,”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Josh defended. “I am on the verge of getting a girlfriend!” I smiled at Josh. He may really like Mal.

Brian and Stephen gave him the “not helping” look.

“Can we get back to the game?” I asked getting off of John’s lap. “I really want some ice cream!”

“Fine,” Stephen says. “John, you’re up,” John got out of his seat and Stephen replaced him.

“So,” he began breaking the ice. “I was wondering how you’re going to tell Mal about you and John?” I became wide-eyed.

“Awh crap!” I said. “She thinks I’m dating some guy that I met at work, so I can keep our relationship on the DL!”

“Well you’re going to have to tell her Friday,” Stephen pointed out. “Sooner would be better so she won’t get caught off guard,”

“You’re right,” I whipped out my phone and texted Mal.

You still in class?

After a minute, my phone buzzed.

Nope. It was pretty boring since you weren’t here :(

I laughed at that text. I forgot that I only have one class with her this semester.

Sorry :( I didn’t mean to get suspended.

It’s okay. So what’s up?

I took a deep breath and sighed. But my thoughts were interrupted when I heard a cheer beside me.

“WOO!” John chanted. “Strike!” I looked at the scoreboard and saw that my team won by twenty points.

“Good job, babe!” I called. I looked back at my phone.

Mal, have I told you whom I’m dating?

We returned our shoes and went to the park across the street. The band and I settled at a bench by a shady tree. I sat on the bench beside Josh while Brian, Stephen, and Jess sat on the grass, under the tree.

Suddenly I felt hands resting on my shoulders.

“Who are you texting?” John asked.

“Mal,” I replied with a smile. Then my phone buzzed and I quickly opened the text.

A lot of people are saying John Gomez. ;) Are you?

I laughed at the text. I guess news travels fast.

YES. :)

“What’s so funny?” John took the other seat beside me.

“Nothing,” I rested my head onto his shoulder. “JESS!” I screamed.

“WHAT?” she called back.

“WHEN ARE YOU PAYING UP?” I laughed as John cringed and tried to cover his ears.

“SOMEDAY!” she yelled. “AND SAM?”

“YEAH?”

“WHY ARE WE SCREAMING?” she started to laugh.

“I DON’T KNOW.” I replied.

“OH GOD. MAKE IT STOP!” Brian cut in.

“YOU GUYS ARE SO LOUD!” Josh tried to talk over us.

“OH HUSH,” Jess said. “WE’RE HAVING FUN!”

“EXACTLY!” I retorted. “GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS!”

“JUST SHUT UP!” Brian said.

“I THINK I CAN SHUT HER UP!” Then John kissed me. When we pulled apart, I started to blush.

“Finally,” Stephen sighed as he placed his hands back onto his lap. “I thought she’d never shut up,” I glared at him. I started to open my mouth to yell again but Josh covered my mouth with his hand, from behind.

“Don’t.” He warned. “OW.” Josh quickly removed my hand from my mouth.

“What happened?” Brian asked.

“SHE BIT ME.” Josh was holding his hand against his heart.

“I DID NO SUCH THING!” I innocently smiled.

“Sam,” John looked down at me. “Did you bite Mr. Montgomery’s hand?”

“No,” I grinned wider.

“Liar!” Josh shoved his palm into John’s face. “Look at these teeth marks!”

Brian, Jess, and Stephen were trying to hold in their laughter.

“Get your hand away from my face!” John swatted Josh’s hand away.

“BUT SHE BIT ME!” Josh yelled.

“I’m sorry, Jobe!” I smiled. I shifted myself from John to Josh. I tried to give him a hug. He leaned in but I quickly pulled away swaying my arms. “JELLYFISH!” I screamed.

Everyone started laughing and Josh pretended to be hurt.

“Okay, seriously now!” I laughed. I gave him a hug and he hugged me back. “I’m sorry, Josh for biting you,”

I let go and leaned towards John. “What time is it?”

“Almost 8,” Brian answered.

“Let’s have a sleepover!” Josh suggested.

“YEAH!” Stephen agreed. “It’ll be at our house,” I thought about it for a while and looked at Jess.

“Jess?” I sweetly smiled. “I’ll go if you go,”

“JESS IS GOING!” John smiled down at me, as I merely laughed.

“What if I said no, Gomez?” she shot.

“Then I would drag you to my house,” John replied.

“Fine, I’ll go!” Jess gave in and gave me a smile. “Can I hit your boyfriend?”

“Just not the face,” I teased. John covered his face with his arms as Jess hit him on his side.

“OW!” He yelped.

“Okay, now is Sam going?” Josh asked. I held up my index finger telling them to wait and be quiet. I took out my phone and called Adam.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Adam!” I smiled to myself. “Can I sleepover at the Gomez residence with the band?”

“Sure!” Adam said. “I was planning to head out with some friends,”

“Thank you!” I said. “Love you, and be safe!”

“Love you too! And have fun, but not too much fun!”

We hung up and I faced the band.

“I’m going!” I exclaimed. “But I need to get some clothes first,”

“PARTY!” Brian screamed.

“WOO!” We all chanted. We got up to leave the park to go back to the house. I jumped onto John’s back as we walked to Brian’s and Stephen’s cars.

“Josh!” I called out. “Invite Mal too!”

“NO.” He answered.

“Why?” I pouted.

“Because we haven’t gone on an official date!” I shaped my mouth in an “o” form.

“Well aren’t I oopinsday!” I said.

“Oopinsday?” Josh looked at me.

“Yes, oopinsday!”

“What’s oopinsday?” John called behind his shoulder.

“The best word, ever!”

We arrived at the cars. John and I rode in Stephen’s while Jess was stuck with Brian and Josh.

“Good luck,” I smiled at Jess.

“That’s not going to get me through this torture,” she glared at the guys singing The Lion King.

“Sorry,” I told her.

“You better come back soon,” she called out. “Or I’ll hunt you down and kill you in your sleep,”

“I love you too!” I said ignoring her last comment as Stephen, John, and I headed for my house.

“Okay, so we’re getting your stuff then going back to the house?” Stephen said.

“Yes,” I smiled as John grabbed my hand.

***

At John and Stephen’s house, the band and I crammed each other onto the couch as Brian was trying to pick out a movie.

“What are we watching?” Jess asked.

“Well, there’s comedy, horror, thriller, and action ,”Brian told us.

“I want to see things explode!” Josh exclaimed with over exaggerated arm gestures.

“Let’s scream until we die!” Stephen yelled.

“What about laughing our asses off?” I suggested.

“I want to cry of laughter!” Jess added.

“WAIT.” Brian screamed. “I FOUND THE PERFECT MOVIE!” We all looked at him waiting for the revelation of the movie. “The Lion King!” Brian tosses us the DVD case.

“OMG. YES.” I said. “My favorite Disney movie and soundtrack!”

“OMG. NO WAY.” Brian cheered. “MINE TOO!” He inserted the movie and sat between Jess and I.

“EW. Get away from me!” Jess tried pushing him off of the couch. “It’s bad enough that I hang out with you 24/7 but now I have to sit with you for the next 2 hours!” she teased.

“Shut up. You love me,” Brian said as he tried to hug her. He was rejected and was slapped in the stomach.

“SH.” I hushed. “The movie’s starting,” I curled up by John as he wrapped his arm around me.

“Geez, you’re obviously excited,” Josh observed. I shot him a glare.

“Want me to bite you, again?” I threatened.

Stephen started laughing as the giraffes entered the movie.

“What the heck?” I looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“Giraffes have freakishly long necks!” He said between laughs.

“Giraffes are adorable!” I defended. All of a sudden, Brian started singing on the top of his lungs.

“THE CIRRRRRRCLE OF LIFE!” Brian sang.

“IT’S THE WHEEL OF FORTUUNE!” I continued

I looked up at John who was trying to hold in his laughter.

“Shut up,” I smiled.

***

“Best. Movie. Ever.” I sighed as the end credits began to roll.

“I agree,” Brian said as he high-fived me.

“Dudes,” Stephen began, “check out John.” I looked up as everyone turned his or her heads at him.

John was peacefully sleeping, his head against the wall.

“I got an idea,” Josh whispered to us. We huddled together and began plotting.