Write a scene involving a dare.

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"Wait for me here, alright?"

"Alright, alright! You said that like five hundred times already, Kate! Just go!"

I glared at Haley and turned to get on the waiting elevator. Pressing the top floor, I eased my beating heart and tried not to think of how high the building was.

The elevator dinged too soon and it opened. I stepped out and headed to the stairs where the roof was waiting for me at the end.

When I swept open the door, a gust of summer wind hit my face. While it should've had the effect of blowing my hair out of my face elegantly, all it did was surprise me and make me choke on my own spit.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the railing, my heart pulsing in my ears. Taking courage, I peeked over the metal and almost fainted.

Everything was so small and far away. It felt like something was pulling me down the longer I had my head out, so I quickly pulled back, my hand over my thumping chest.

But in spite of my fear, I had to admit that there was a great view of the city, and I whipped out my phone to snap a picture before completing the dare.

I had snagged some beautiful ones when suddenly I spotted something on the other side of the camera.

There was a person! And they were leaning over the railing!

Shocked, I forgot all about being a tourist to roof-land and ran over to them.

Except I guess my feet were a bit too shocked because they tripped over themselves, and I landed with a manly 'oof' on the ground at the feet of that person.

I heard a chuckle through my pain.

"Are you alright?"

When I looked up, a teenage girl was looking down at me with amusement in her green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied as I slowly stood up, "No broken bones." I winced when I breathed in too quickly. "I hope."

Another giggle came from the girl. "What were you doing?"

I froze from patting down my hair and clothes at her question. "Well, I thought that you were, well, doing something, um, dangerous." I smiled awkwardly at her.

The amused glint was back in her eyes as she cocked her head. "And were you planning on saving me?"

"Well, yes. A young girl like you shouldn't be doing something like that," I responded seriously.

The girl sighed as she looked out at the city. "Yeah well. Nothing ever goes the way it should."

She suddenly placed a foot on the first rail, startling me.

"Hey! Wait!" I yelled frantically, keeping my eyes on her other foot.

She turned her head to stare at me, and I used that second to try and distract her from doing what I feared her to be doing.

"Look, I don't know what you're going through right now, but I promise you, whatever it is, it's not worth it," I started out with a gentle voice, holding out my hands in front of me, "Please, just think twice before doing this. Think of the people who love you. What would they do without you?"

To my surprise, the girl scoffed and crossed her arms. "Do you even know what you're saying? Because it sure as fudge isn't doing anything to dissuade me." Actually, she didn't say fudge, she said the other word, but that's not the point.

"Look," I repeated, a little more resolutely this time, "I know, alright. I know it seems like there's no other solution than this, I know it seems like you're alone with no one to rely on, but I assure you, there is another way." By now, I had tears in my eyes as I stared at the girl pleadingly. "Please don't do this."

My sincerity must've gotten to her because after a moment, she sighed and jumped off the railing.

Back onto the roof, I mean. Not the other way.

"Gosh, alright, alright. Don't cry." Her tone was annoyed, but I could spot relief in her eyes.

She sighed and sat down on the ground, her back leaning against the metal that she had been about to jump off of. I followed and wiped away the unshed tears, feeling half embarrassed and half
alleviated from the previous tension.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, her deep in thought and me admiring the city view.

She spoke up a moment later.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

Chuckling as I remembered the reason for my being here, I replied, "I got dared from some of my friends. Either I take a picture sitting on the railing of a skyscraper roof or I pay for the next get-together we have," I paused before adding, "Except I have acrophobia." At that, the girl snorted, and I laughed, realizing how foolish I sounded. "Pretty dumb, huh? But I also have this competitive streak that can't handle losing, so.."

"What a nice combination," she finished for me with a sarcastic smile. The amusement was back in her eyes.

"Yeah, that's what got me here." I laughed again. But I sobered up soon after and ventured to ask, "What about you? What brought you here?"

She hesitated before whispering, "Everything."

I stayed silent, giving her plenty of time to think over her words and continue.

"My... mom passed away five days ago, and my dad's already thinking of remarrying. I figured out my boyfriend of three years has been cheating on me for a year just yesterday and with my best friend at that. My grades are so bad that I doubt I'll be accepted to any college anywhere, and last of all," she took a breath, and I held my own, "my goldfish died."

The breath released itself slowly, and I tried to be serious as I nodded. "I-I see. I'm sorry for your loss. All of them."

Suddenly, the girl burst out laughing, which made me jump in surprise.

"I can't believe, y-you fell for that," she said between chortles, "I was lying!"

"Oh.." I replied, slightly confused.

She wiped away tears as she sat up correctly. "Well, I actually only lied about the boyfriend and goldfish. All the rest are true."

"Oh.." I repeated, unsure of what to say.

"Don't feel sorry for me. I hate it when people do that." The girl sniffed and crossed her arms in a defiant way.

"Alright, I won't. You seem strong enough to overcome it yourself anyway," I responded genuinely.

Another silence settled on us as the sky started to get orange from the sunset.

"Well, I'm gonna get going now. You can stay here if you want," the girl announced as she stood up and brushed dust off her pants.

Confused, I scrambled up before she could walk away. "W-wait. What?"

"What? A girl can't get some fresh air for a bit and go back? You expect me to live here?" Again, that familiar amused glint was sparkling in her green eyes.

"Wait, so you weren't going to jump? I made a complete fool of myself for nothing?" I wasn't angry, just very bewildered.

She laughed and shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I would've jumped if you hadn't been there. But the world is full of 'what ifs', isn't it?" She turned to go, and I stared at her, kind of dumbfounded, like someone had hit me with a hammer.

"Oh hey!"

I raised an eyebrow at her calling.

"Aren't you gonna finish your dare?" She yelled from where she was standing.

"Oh yeah!"

I quickly took out my phone and snapped a picture of me leaning against the railing, making sure to capture the beautiful sky behind me. I figured I could weasle my way out somehow if they said something about me not sitting on the railing.

When I turned to go, the girl was already at the door. As we walked down the stairs together, she smiled and said, "We never introduced ourselves, now that I think about it." She held out her hand. "My name is Lain."

I took it and returned the smile. "Nice to meet you. My name is Kate."

We shook before letting go.

"Kate," she said as we were waiting for the elevator, "thanks for saving my life today."

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A/N

Umm... Not sure how y'all think about this one... I can't say I hate it but I can't say I'm satisfied with it either. :/ oh well~

Comment and vote! :D