Page 9 of Dared

He noticed my reaction, and his expression softened slightly, although there was still a hard set to his jaw. “Leo Evans. You don’t want to know how many hours it took me to find out where you were. But I didn’t stop, and do you know why? Because you’re my fucking friend, and you don’t get to decide that our friendship is over because of one tiny mistake.”

“I-it wasn’t a tiny mistake,” I whispered. “I gave you a fake name. I wanted… When I was online, I-I liked that I could be someone else. That I didn’t have to be Leo, the person who fucksup all the time and can’t even get through a fucking presentation or dance rehearsal without it becoming a-a major crisis.”

“Fucking hell,” he muttered, rubbing his hand over his jaw. “Have you been lying to me about anything else? Whenever we’ve been talking?”

Shaking my head, I dug my fingernails into my palm. “N-no.”

“Then it’s just your name. And I get why you’d do that. I know you. Viking, Erik, Leo. They’re allyou. We’ve been getting to know each other for a while now, and as I just said, I know you. I like to think I’m a good judge of character, and I like you. You’re my friend.”

“B-but I?—”

“Stop.” Lowering himself into a crouch, he reached out, steadying himself on the side of my bed with one hand, the other outstretched towards me. “I’m gonna tell you right now that you’re overreacting, and I don’t want you to give yourself a hard time about it, okay?” He studied me intently, and gradually, the hardness faded from his expression. His lips curved into a small smile. “Don’t look so worried. Let’s start again. Hi, I’m Finn.”

Swallowing hard, I shifted forwards, wrapping my fingers around his and letting him shake my hand. “H-hi. I’m Leo.”

He released my hand, and I tried not to wince, thinking about just how sweaty my palms were. Glancing around the room, his gaze landed on my PC, and his smile grew. “Want to playLesath Legends?”

I could barely speak past the giant fucking lump in my throat. How had he accepted what I’d done that easily? I nodded, blinking rapidly.

“Fucking hell. C’mere,” he muttered, and the next thing I knew, he was yanking me into what might have been the most awkward hug of my life. When he released me, he was biting down on his lip. “Sorry. Uh…my family is all about the hugs, and you looked like you needed one.”

What was happening? I stared down at my hands. “I-I didn’t mind.”

Because I was still intently studying my hands, I didn’t see his expression, but I heard the smile in his voice. “Honestly, Leo. Forget about what happened. It’s all good. Let’s play, and I can show you the cave I found yesterday. There’s a chest in there we can loot if we can take out the guards.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

And just like that, it was really okay, and I had no idea how or why. Finn sat at my desk while I sat on the bed, and we played a split-screen version of our game. The weird thing was that it wasn’t weird at all. There was none of the shyness and anxiety I felt around other people other than my four friends. Somehow, I found myself able to speak to him like I always had done, right from the beginning. It was easier now he wasn’t looking at me, of course, and that our conversation was mostly based around the game.

“So,” he said eventually when we’d cleared the cave of guards and looted the chest. “You know how I dared you before to talk to me on the phone? I have an idea for another dare, if you’re interested.”

“A dare?” I finally looked at him, and there was a hesitance in his gaze, but he nodded firmly. I thought about it for a minute. This was Finn, the friend who’d somehow instantly forgiven me for what I’d done and was still treating me like he normally did. “Okay…what’s the dare?”

“I dare you to let me help you with your confidence. Like, if you want, I dunno, help with any situations that you know are gonna make you feel nervous, like your presentation or performance. I could, uh, I could help you prepare for them or something.”

“How would that work as a dare?”

He shrugged. “We can play it by ear. Individual dares for each thing. I’ll come up with some ideas. What do you say?”

I’d been given a second chance, and if Finn was patient enough to help me with the shyness that could be debilitating at times, then I’d be a fool not to take him up on his offer.

Raising my eyes to his, I spoke, pushing through my natural urge to drop my gaze, feeling my cheeks flushing but not caring for once. “I’d like that. I need all the help I can get. But what are you getting out of it? If there’s anything you want in return, say so, and if I can do it, I will.”

He shot me a crooked grin. “Helping you to find your confidence is reward enough. Like I already said, you’re my friend, and if I can make your life a bit easier, I will. But hey, if I need a PC expert or someone to teach me dance moves, I know where to go. Ander couldn’t believe I’d never had a lap dance—” Cutting himself off, he smacked his hand over his mouth, and this time, he was the one with flushed cheeks. “Fuck’s sake. I didn’t mean anything by that. It was just a stupid comment. I’m not trying to get you to give me a lap dance or anything.”

“Um. Good.” A nervous laugh fell from my throat. “I haven’t, either. Had one. Or g-given one.” The thought was laughable. I couldn’t imagineeverhaving that level of confidence, not even close.

“Uh, how about we stop talking about lap dances?”

“Please.” We looked at each other, and both laughed. Finn shook his head.

“Why am I the one getting flustered here? I’m meant to be the guru. The Jedi Master or whatever.”

“Does that make me your apprentice?”

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