Chapter 13: 8 - What did you just call me?

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- If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?

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What, from the bottom of my heart, the fuck?

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" I yell, waiting for them to tell me that this is some kind of a sick joke.

"Yes, but you didn't have to point that out in front of everyone," Erica mutters, rolling her eyes at me. "I mean, it was supposed to be a secret."

"Shut the fuck up Erica. Now's not the time to joke," Bruce interrupts, looking at me and Ridge. "Do the dare guys."

"I'm so not doing that." I yell, getting up from my position, Ridge's jacket falling off me. "Give me a real dare, you fucktards."

"Exactly, this is not a dare. It's a fucking conspiracy," Ridge says, getting up himself. Everyone else just roll their eyes at us, murmuring amongst themselves, completely ignoring us. What even?

"Sorry guys, you have to do this. Don't chicken out. A dare is a dare." Trish shrugs, looking at us.

Who the fuck even gives such dares? Dating someone for 3 months? 3 months? I decide to weigh the pros and cons. Pros are that Ridge is hot. He has that sexy, mischievous, rugged devil-may-care vibes that make him even more hot and sexy. Also his voice, God, don't get me started on his voice. I kinda have a thing for a guy's voice and Ridge's voice is husky and smoky in a mysterious way. His voice is rough but smooth at the same time, and deep but soft at the same time. Nothing I've ever heard or liked before, for that matter. Maybe that's why I'm so drawn to him. It's a win-win for me.

Maybe, dating him is not such a bad idea after all.

I look up to meet Ridge's gaze, gesturing him to come with me. He understands the signals and turns towards everyone else." Why don't Lydia and I talk about it and then decide if the dare's worth it or not."

After everyone nods their head, Bruce decides to speak up, "Don't start having sex in the room for practice guys."

"Shut up." Everyone else says in unison.

By now most of the people have left the game and are scattered around the house so it's just our group and a few other people from the school, probably waiting for the verdict and then gossip about it in school tomorrow. Typical.

Together, hand in hand, might I add, we head inside. Since Ridge thought that I might get lost between this sea of people, he decided to take hold of my hand, dragging me towards the corridor. He looks like a man on mission, already knowing his destination.

We stop in front of a door which has a sign that says, 'Stay the hell away. Demons inside!" This must be Austin's room, I guess. Why isn't it locked though? Before I can say anything, Ridge twists the doorknob, opening the door to reveal a well furnished and surprisingly, a clean bedroom. But one look at the room and you can tell that this room belongs to a teenager - a boy to be more specific. The walls are covered with posters of different artists, bands, movies and girls. The rest of the room is very, very huge in size, like two bedrooms combined size. On the extreme left is the king sized bed. On it's side is a two-seater brown leather couch with a coffee table right in front of it.

Ridge and I get inside, shutting the door behind us. "Won't he mind?"

"Who? Austin? Nope, he knows that I know his room is off-limits." He replies, then adds. "It's not like we are having sex so, it's fine. Unless you want to."

I roll my eyes. Teenage boys.

I make my self comfortable on the couch and pat the empty space next to me. "Come sit. And no sex for you." For now.

He obliges, taking the seat next to me, removing his shoes and putting his feet on the coffe table. "So, Lydia Herrington, you wanna date me, huh?"

I punch him in the stomach. "Don't get ahead of yourself, dumbass. I'm not the one who came up with the dare."

Also, the punch doesn't affect him. At all.

"Yeah whatever. So, do you wanna do this?" he raises an eyebrow, facing me completely now. "Will you be comfortable?"

"Why are we talking like we are about to have sex for the very first time?" I roll my eyes at him.

"Will you stop thinking about sex for a minute so we can discuss the more important topic. All this sex talk is making me horny." He chuckles, shaking his head.

Teenage boys, yet again.

"Okay. Look, I don't mind doing this for a dare but I have a few conditions." I give him a stern look, pointing my index finger at him. He rolls his eyes, but sits up a little straight, gesturing me to go on.

"First, we will be loyal to each other for the next 3 months. That means no flings, no one-night stands, no fooling around in the janitor's room. Second, don't make out too much from this dare and third, no feelings to be involved," I announce, rubbing my sweaty palms against the fabric of my dress.

"That sounded like an ultimatum more that a few conditions but I'm fine with them," He shrugs. "But I'm warning you, you might have a hard time following the third condition."

"Why don't you think about yourself honey? I can handle myself," I counter, leaning against him slightly, leaving very less space between us. His eyes travel down my face, stopping right where my dress shows a little cleavage.

"Are you sure about that, Lydia?" he whispers, leaning more close, his breath hitting my face. "You think you can control yourself around me?"

"Oh I know I can control myself." I pat his shoulder, before getting up. "But you might wanna control a certain part of your anatomy first. He's getting a little too eager."

With that, I walk out of the room, swaying my hips on purpose.

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As soon as I told everyone that Ridge and I decided to do the dare after all, they went into a state of frenzy, screaming and shouting happily. Bruce comes from behind me, swinging his arm around my shoulders. "So, how does it feel to be Ridge's girlfriend?"

"Eh, the same. It's not like we have done anything yet. Also, we are dating, we are not in an official relationship," I respond.

"Same difference."

I decide to change the topic and ask him about Trish. "So, Bruce, how does Trish look tonight?"

He looks at me weirdly, as if analysing my face for an answer. Then his expression turns into one of admiration. But soon, that expression is gone too, replace with a scowl. "That devil's spawn? She looks hideous in everything so it doesn't matter."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME? DEVIL'S SPAWN, HUH?"

And that voice belongs to our dear Trisha Powers. Looks like she's gonna live up to her last name guys. Her eyes are flared with anger, hands balled into fists on her sides, and she's giving Bruce a deadly glare. Bruce gulps on seeing Trish angry, backing away slowly. "Look, I was just joking, okay? Don't get angry. It was a joke."

"I'll show you what a joke is. I'll rip off your limbs ond by one, then feed them to my cat. That's a joke. You hear me Bruce? And if you don't want that, run for your life." She threatens in a serious voice, throwing daggers at him with her eyes.

What do I do? Snatch a drink from Erica and just watch the show, sipping on the drink. This is fun.

Bruce gets the message, because the next thing know is that Bruce storms of, with Trish running behind him in heels. HEELS! Remind me to never get on her bad side, ever. I look at my watch, to see it's already 11:35, so I decide to call it a night and head home since we have school today. I look around to find Ashton and Erica in the kitchen, on the bar slab, sucking faces. Contemplating whether to call her or let her be, I go for the second option. I sigh, looking around for another familiar face when I stumble upon Ridge, talking to some girl. The girl looks like she's having the time of her life talking to him. Annoyed, I walk up to them, wrapping my arms around his waist.

He looks at me in shock, but then recovers, putting his arm around my shoulder, giving me an amused smile.

"Hey sweetheart, shouldn't we go now? It's getting a little late. We have school tomorrow." I give him a sweet smile, completely ignoring the girl standing in front of us, who's giving me the stink eye, by the way.

Sorry sweetie, temporary or permanent, this one's taken!

His eyes dance in amusement as he replies, "Sure. Let me just say bye to Candice, then we'll go."

He turns towards her, bidding her farewell. She smiles at him, saying bye and then leaves, without looking at me this time.

Ridge twists in my arms, looking down at me, smirking cockily. "Possesive, huh?"

"Shut up. I just wanted to go home, that's why I did that." I roll my eyes at him, stepping away from his grip. "Come on, take me home."

"Wait, aren't you supposed to go with Erica? Didn't she drop you here?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. But my ride's riding her boyfriend, so you are my only option." I tell him.

He laughs loudly, shaking his head. "You're crazy. Come on. Let's go. I'll drop you, since we are sort of together and shit."

Together, we make our way out of the house and head straight to the parking area, where his car is parked. I look at the car, admiring it's beauty. It's a Matt Black Aston Martin One-77 shining under the moonlight. It looks absolutely stunning.

"Nice car," I comment, giving him a small smile, running my hand across the surface. "This one's my favourite of all the other models."

"Same. I got this baby as a birthday gift from my parents," he exclaims, grinning at me. He opens the car door for me, gesturing me to get inside. Smiling, I slide inside. He walks across the front of the car, sliding in the driver's seat. Starting the engine, he steps on the gas and hits the road.

"Punch your address in the GPS please," he says, throwing his phone on my laps carelessly.

Picking it up, I put in my address and then hand it back to him. Carefully.

While driving, we don't talk that much. It's complete silence. A comfortable one so I don't really mind. It gives me time to think about today's events. What if this all goes in the wrong direction, somehow affecting our new born friendship? What if something terrible happens?

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Ridge's questioning voice breaks the silence. "Also, in case you didn't notice, we've already reached your house."

I look out of the window to see that he's right about that. We are parked right outside the driveway of my house. I spaced out, I guess.

"I don't know. Are we doing the right thing, Ridge?" I ask, feeling a little nervous, looking him in the eye. Now that we're alone, away from the crowd - I feel the doubts kicking in.

He shifts in his seat slightly, turning towards me. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think. I mean, pranking and playing games is fun, but dating, for a dare? Do you think we'll be able to do it? Handle it all?" I ask him, my thoughts getting the best of me.

"Look, I know it's tough, but we just have to date for three months. Then it's over. Back to square one. Plus, I don't like to say no to a challenge. So, we'll do what we have to do." He shrugs his shoulders, running his hands through his messy hair. A few strands fall on his forehead, making him look a lot more cute. "We can make a pretty good team."

No wandering of thoughts, Lydia Herrington!

"So, what are we gonna say to everyone in school tomorrow? And people like to gossip, so they'll ask questions. Also, if you say that I'm the side chick or just a fling, I swear to God, I will strangle you with my belt," I threaten him, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Lydia Herrington, will you do the honour of being my girlfriend for the next 3 months?" He asks, giving me a big, dimpled smile, which makes my heart skip a beat.

Damn him and his smile!

I chuckle, grinning at him. "I thought you'd never ask."

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Chocolate or vanilla?