The Darings

Soon enough, Friday came ‘round again and Ash found herself walking side by side with Finn to Niall’s flat a few blocks away. The pair had spent time together nearly every day for the rest of the week, eating meals together or grabbing coffee together (the male barista at Starbucks looked at Finn like she was a witch and Ash couldn’t help but wonder why), but most importantly compiling a list of dares. The girls around the hall watched them with curious eyes as the pair went next to everywhere together, unsure of why Finn Watz would hang out with someone like Ash.

But Ash knew differently. For whatever reason, Finn saw her – Finn listened to her when no one else really cared to, Finn wanted to hang out with her when everyone else looked past her, Finn didn’t have to try and get her; she simply just did.

Suddenly Ash had friends in London. Not just one, but three.

Niall and Harry were increasingly friendly with her in Biology (once the girl who normally sat in Niall’s new spot moved to Ash’s old one) – they even initiated an iMessage chat between the trio that kept up even outside of class. Even more surprisingly, Harry texted her, just her, to invite her over to Niall’s that Friday. It was her responsibility to invite Finn. The concept was so foreign, it was exhillirating.

Harry had invited her. Just the thought of it made her heart flutter.

“What do you think they have planned?” Ash asked as they walked together, Finn as stoic and cool as ever. When Ash glanced at her, she only caught her friend’s reflection in the windowpanes as they passed. Finn seemed to be looking at the city’s reflection through the mirror-like panels, appreciating the world around her.

She simply shrugged one shoulder in a non-committal fashion.

Ash found herself getting flustered. “Well, do you think they’re inviting loads of people?” she questioned further. “Or is it just us? Do you think they’ll want to try some of the dares on our list? Or do you think they’ll have their own? Or do you think they’ll have invited so many people we won’t do any?”

Finn finally turned her head from the buildings and instead faced Ash. “Ash, no need to twist your knickers about it. No matter what, it’ll be fun.”

Ash went silent and only nodded in response, choosing to worry about it just to herself instead. She didn’t want to sound ridiculous in front of Finn; surely it would be easy to scare her away. It was hard to not be nervous though – she wanted the others to like her so badly. Especially Harry. Her knees went a little weak when she thought of that insanely gorgeous smile. She even found herself smiling at the thought.

“Do you fancy Harry a bit?” Finn asked out of nowhere, putting Ash entirely on the spot. Ash sputtered for a moment, staring at the redhead, mouth agape, trying to find the right words to say. She knew that Finn hadn’t meant the question to throw her off – she was blunt and that’s just who she was. But Ash still found herself blushing beneath her freckles, trying to find the best answer to Finn’s question.

“He’s fit,” she answered, just as non-committal as Finn’s shrug. Finn simply hummed in response.

“Ladies!” Niall greeted when he opened the door to them, revealing the fact that no one else was at the flat besides Harry, who was sitting on the couch with his curls pushed back by a backwards snapback for some team Ash didn’t recognize. His head turned and he flashed them that gorgeous smile.

“Hey,” Ash replied as coolly as possible, entering the room behind Finn. “What’s the plan?”

“Well, funny you should ask, because Harry just showed up with supplies,” Niall answered, his smile cresting on his lips.

“Supplies?” Finn questioned, cocking an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Oh yes,” Harry replied, standing up from the couch to join them. “We have something planned for you both. But first, I think Niall has something to show you.”

Niall lead them through his modestly decorated flat – he was a boy after all, Ash couldn’t expect him to know how to decorate – to a wall that featured a whiteboard. Simply written on the whiteboard were the words ‘DARE POINTS’ and underneath, each of their names. Ash’s name already had ten points next to it from her endeavor in Professor Bains’s class. She couldn’t help but grin at the sight of it.

“Brilliant,” she breathed excitedly. She was already in the lead.

“I figure we can just decide points as we go,” Niall elaborated further, considering the board with the most serious look Ash had ever seen on him. “I think we were maybe a little generous with your prank in Bains’s, but a deal is a deal. It might just be easiest if we all vote after a dare to see how well it was executed and stuff.”

Finn nodded with a stunned, impressed look on her face. “You’ve put a lot of thought into this, Horan.”

“I like a challenge,” he replied easily. “Ash is in the lead and I won’t be able to rest until I pass her.”

“If I don’t pass her first,” Harry added, winking at Ash. The butterflies in her stomach went berserk.
“W-we’ll see,” she stammered, struggling to keep that cool exterior she was going for. “Now, what are these supplies for?”

“Ah, yes…” Harry mused, going back to where he was sitting to retrieve his knapsack. Ash glanced at Finn, who glanced back at her with raised eyebrows. Neither of them had any idea of where this was going.

“We thought it might be a good idea to start putting some points on the board, so we came up with a dare for you guys.”

“Great minds think alike,” Finn hummed in response. “We came with a list.”

“Oh?” Harry replied. “Well I came with water guns.”

He pulled out two water guns from his knapsack in neon shades, with tanks big enough to fit liters and liters of water. Ash’s interest was piqued. In moments, Harry was giving the girls the run down on their dare – Niall and Harry dared them to run down to a random floor, knock on a random door, and spray down whoever answered it before running away. Finn was grinning at how evil the scheme was by the end of it.

“Easy,” she retorted. “Fill ‘em up, lads.”

Ash could feel that same surge of adrenaline running through her veins already. That same surge she got when she hit that bong at the Shots party, that same surge she got when she harassed Professor Bains in front of his own class. It felt amazing, that surge of sparks and heavy breaths and fizz in her head. It made her feel so alive.

“We’ll do one close to the stairs,” Finn decided. “Just a floor down so we can run away. In an out, a quick job. Can you run fast?”

Ash nodded. “Fast enough.”

So in moments, they were downstairs, the boys standing in the doorway to the stairwell to watch for points purposes and hold the door open for the girls’ escape. Finn prowled the line of doors until she selected one that had a light coming from beneath it. Ash’s heart was pounding as she reached to knock on the door in front of them. At the last moment, Finn pulled Ash’s arms behind her back to hide the water gun in the event the resident used the peep hole.

Sure enough, in moments the door pulled open to reveal a guy in a loose t-shirt and a pair of shorts, his hair done up in gel rather like a Geordie. And before he could even open his mouth to greet them, Ash and Finn pulled out their water guns and blasted him with dual sprays of water. Once he looked thoroughly soaked, Ash began to run away, not even seeing his face. Finn followed closely behind.

Niall and Harry were laughing so hard they were gasping for air, struggling to follow behind the girls as they raced back to Niall’s flat. Ash’s nerves were on fire, everything was bubbly and exciting, she could hardly feel her feet as she ran through Niall’s front door.

“Hurry! Hurry!” she urged, sheparding everyone through the door before closing it behind Harry, who was struggling to catch up he was laughing so hard.

In a surge of confidence, Ash turned the water gun on Harry and sprayed him down with whatever remained. He burst into laughter struggling to get the gun from her as she shot him, but when he finally did all the water was spent on him.

“You cheeky monkey,” he quipped in response. “Five points.”

And that time, Harry didn’t smile at both of them. No, that time he was smiling just at her.