*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧—chapter fourteen: truth or dare

August 22, 2021
Hackett's Quarry
Upstate New York, New York

DYLAN WAS LEADING THE GROUP ALONG THE PATH TOWARD THE FIRE PIT. Ryan was walking behind him at a loose distance, more than liking taking in the scenery and the way the sun was continuing to set below the horizon, coloring the sky a golden yellow. Cassidy and Sawyer stayed toward the back, talking quietly in whispers to each other.

"Do you really wanna know what happened with Jacob?" Cassidy questions, crossing his arms as he looks ahead of them as they walk.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to—" Sawyer started to say, but he interrupts her.

"No, no, that's not what I'm sayin' at all. It's just that only me and Kaitlyn know, and neither of us told anyone yet..." He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans, his fingers coming in contact with his phone and earphones and the tarot cards he's collected thus far.

"How bad is the situation?" she asks him, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

"Very," he answers. "We're stuck here all night 'cos Jacob stole the rotor arm for the van. Me and Kaitlyn saw him do it," he explains. "He just wants to spend more time with Emma and hopefully get back with her. But she clearly doesn't want anythin' to do with him pertainin' to their relationship."

"Oh, my God... He is such an asshole."

"I know. I'm gonna fuckin' kill him."

The two of them soon fall into complete silence after that as the group soon reaches the fire pit. Kaitlyn had been using her phone when they arrived, taking pictures of the island.

"Hey, Kaitlyn, guess what?" Dylan asks as he walks over to the Ka girl. Kaitlyn lowers her phone once the Lenivy boy nears. "Mr. H is a voyeuristic creep. He has hidden cameras everywhere, and a secret room."

"No, that's not—" Ryan had started to say, but was interrupted by Kaitlyn.

"Uh— Whoa, now. Back up. What?"

Cassidy sighs, shaking his head as he oinches the bridge of his nose. "Dylan thinks Chris is a pervert."

"His eyes are everywhere. He's always watching us," Dylan replies in a creepy, deep voice.

"My uncle ain't a pervert, Dylan."

"Keep telling yourself that, Cass."

"Knock it off, man," Ryan scolds. "He— He's just got... trail cameras set up. Y'know, forest surveillance. That kind of thing."

"Oh," Kaitlyn says blankly. Now she hadn't thought it seemed so bad as Dylan had made it out to be.

"You don't think that's weird?" Dylan asks her.

"Well, he's got a perimeter to check, kids to protect," Kaitlyn explains. "Yeah, probably just to keep track of wildlife."

"Yeah, exactly. Those trail cams are for wildlife tracking," Sawyer says, agreeing with her.

"You guys have no imagination," Dylan mutters, crossing his arms.

"So, uh..." Ryan starts again, gesturing to Kaitlyn and the empty fire pit, "what's going on here? Everything ready?"

"I did see a weird light in the treehouse," Kaitlyn answers, turning her phone around to show them. "Yeah, that's pretty spooky. Maybe it's your girlfriend, Ryan."

"The Hag of Hackett's Quarry," Ryan replies jokingly.

Kaitlyn groans. "I told you to never say 'Hag of Hackett's Quarry' again."

"What's wrong with say 'Hag of Hackett's Quarry'?" Both Ryan and Cassidy ask at the same time.

"Are you done?" she responds, giving them both a look. The two boys remain silent. "You know, I just realized we may never see each other again after tonight."

Dylan furrows his brows as he looks at her, tilting his head as a slight frown upturns his lips. "You can't have just realized that."

"Just trying to set the mood!"

"What mood?" Ryan questions.

"The mood. The vibe. Y'know."

"There is no mood and there is no vibe, Kaitlyn," Cassidy replies, crossing his arms.

"Speaking of setting the mood..." Dylan says, gesturing to himself as he goes to sot down on one of the log benches, "I have work to do. Okay? Because playlists don't make themselves... I mean, I guess they do, but..."

"All right, Ry-guy, time to get wood," Kaitlyn says, turning to face the Erzahler boy.

"Yikes," Ryan replies through gritted his teeth. "Wording."

"Oh, I know what I said," Kaitlyn says, raising an eyebrow at him as she then turns to face Cassidy. "Why do you have a gun?" she asks him, pointing to the shotgun slung over the Hackett boy's back.

"Oh, so now you're noticin' that?" he scoffs.

"I was distracted," she replies, frowning. "Where did you even get it from?"

"Chris' office," Cassidy answers. "Someone," he says, looking over at Ryan, "was tryin' to talk me and Dylan out of takin' it."

"Well, now it's stolen property," Ryan mutters.

"It ain't stolen if I'm gonna return it, Ryan," Cassidy replies, rolling his eyes.

"It's stolen if you didn't get permission to take it."

"Shut up, Ryan." Cassidy then sticks his tongue out at him.

In response, Ryan blows a raspberry at him.

"You two are so childish," Sawyer comments, a laugh leaving her lips.

There's footsteps coming from the path leading to the fire pit and Kaitlyn looks over to see two familiar faces.

"Abi! Nick! Just in time!" she says to them as she walks over.

"We got wood!" Abi says, holding up a pile of twigs and branches she had collected when she went with Nick.

"Nice! But, we've already done that joke," Kaitlyn comments.

"It's... mostly just kindling," Nick says quietly in response.

"Oh, that's all we need," Kaitlyn smiles, gesturing over to the fire pit area. "There's already a big pile of logs here."

"We could've gotten more, but there was a hog— or a boar... But, Nick was very, very brave and took one for the team," Abi replies, sending the Furcillo boy a smile. He smiles back awkwardly before looking away.

"Oh, my gosh, it can't be..." Kaitlyn says, feigning surprise, "the Hog of Hackett's Quarry!"

Cassidy breaks out into laughter at Kaitlyn's response.

"What?" Abi asks, confused.

"I thought you hated that phrase?" Ryan questions, looking over at Kaitlyn.

"Big jokes take big sacrifices."

"You're so brave."

Kaitlyn just shakes her head as she turns back to look over at Abi and Nick. "Aww, I just want to shrink you down to little pocket people and put you in my pocket and peep at you when I need a little pick me up!"

"Okay..." Abi replies, still confused as she sets the pile of kindling on the ground.

A bang goes off, echoing through the air and the group startles, looking over to see Emma holding a shotgun as she walks over to the fire pit with Jacob, who's pushing a wheelbarrow full of watermelons and an unopened box of beer.

"Special delivery!" Emma says, a smile on her face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kaitlyn exclaims, walking over to the two. She gestures toward the gun in Emma's hand. "Where the hell did that gun come from?"

"Uh— dude, relax! Okay, it's not even real!" Jacob says, putting up a hand.

"Uhhh—"

"Well— I mean, it's a real gun, but it's just for shooting bears," Jacob clarifies, letting go of the wheelbarrow's handles.

"We found it in the storage room," Emma explains.

Kaitlyn was still staring at them silently.

"Okay, fine, fine. We'll put it down," Jacob says, looking over at Emma.

"Thank you," Kaitlyn replies, crossing her arms. "Guns are no joke, dipshit."

"And... And... we bring you a handpicked selection of only the finest that Hackett's Quarry has to offer..." the Custos boy gestures toward the contents of the wheelbarrow. As he's talking, Nick walks over and picks up a yellowish-orange bag.

"No freaking way," he says as he turns the bag around to take a look at the label.

"Yes freaking way—" Jacob replies, grinning.

Then the two break out in dance and song,

"'Pop, pop, Peanut Butter Butterpops! Pop, pop, pop 'em in your mouth!'"

Jacob then adds an extra loud 'pop!' at the end.

"I didn't even know you could still find these anywhere," Nick says afterward, going to open the bag. Jacob is quick to react, snatching the bag from him before he's able to pull it open.

"Hey— Hey— Hey, cool your jets there, cowboy, all right? These... are spoken for," Jacob warns, holding up the bag.

"Dude, you can't just shove those in my face and not expect me to pop, pop, pop 'em in my mouth, c'mon!"

"Emma," Jacob says, turning to the Mountebank girl, "please hand me the shotgun."

"What, you're gonna shoot me over them?" Nick scoffs.

"No, dumbass! Okay, we are going to... shoot for them," Jacob clarifies as Emma hands him the gun.

"Nah, dude," Nick replies, shaking his head as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Absolutely not. No."

"Okay, there is no way I'm leaving you dill weeds alone with a gun," Kaitlyn scolds.

"Come on!" Jacob whines in protest, turning around and pointing behind him. "Look, the shooting range is, like, right over there, okay? It'll be fun! Okay... look..." he turns back to face Nick. "You and me. Old-fashioned shootout. First prize: Peanut Butter Butterpops, all to yourself."

"Dude..." Nick was tempted, but he still wasn't so sure of Jacob's idea.

"I guess you don't really want them then, huh."

"Fine, you're on."

"Yeah, boy!" Jacob exclaims, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Jaocb, stop swingin' that gun around 'fore you accidentally shoot somebody!" Cassidy warns, walking over to the Custos boy and taking the gun from him.

"Hey..." Jacob frowns.

"Kaitlyn can supervise you two. And she will take the gun 'til you guys get over there, all right?" Cassidy instructs, handing the gun off to Kaitlyn.

"Thank you, Cass. Those were some very wise words," Kaitlyn responds, starting to walk off. Jacob and Nick follow her.

✧ ✧ ✧

By the time the three return, the sun had sunk even lower, the moon already starting to rise in the east. Everyone decides to choose their seats. It was a bit awkward, though, considering the circumstances thus far. Kaitlyn and Dylan were sitting beside each other on one of the log benches. Cassidy, to his dismay, was sitting between Jacob and Ryan—not that it was a bad thing, but he was literally by Jacob. Sawyer was sitting beside Nick. Abi and Emma were sitting together.

They all sat drinking theirs beers and eating watermelon. It was boring the first few minutes, none of them really talking about much. Cassidy, having already gotten bored of eating watermelon, sets his down and picks up his beer bottle. Fingers wrapped around the neck of the glass bottle, he brings it up to his lips and takes a swig. He nearly chokes as he sets the bottle back down. The beer tasted so bad.

"This," he says aloud, gesturing towards the beer, "tastes like shit. The watermelon tastes so much better."

They all give him a strange look before Dylan sits up and claps his hands together. "Okay! New idea! Party game!"

The other members of the group groan in disapproval, specifically Nick and Cassidy. Dylan just dismisses it with a roll of his eyes.

"C'mon, people, we might never see each other after tonight! Let's make some memories!"

"Like, what, Dylan?" Cassidy questions, picking up his bottle of beer again to take another swig, grimacing at the taste.

Dylan turns to face him, a smirk on his face. "How about the ultimate game of secrets and lies..." he says, at which Cassidy frowns. "Truth or Dare, but Dylan style." Cassidy raises an eyebrow in interest as the Lenivy boy continues. "Okay, house rules are... someone asks you truth or dare... Then you choose, and then you do. And there's no ifs, ands, or buts."

"So, like, normal truth or dare?" Kaitlyn questions and Dylan nods, answering with a yes. "So we can like, make people kiss?"

Dylan nods again. "If they choose dare, yeah. As long as everyone consents... of course."

"Cool beans."

"I mean, keep it in your pants until it's your turn, but..."

"Well, who does get to go first?"

"Well, it's house deals, so..." Dylan trails off, looking at everyone in the group before clapping his hands together and looking at Abi. "Abigail! Truth or dare?"

The Blyg girl doesn't answer for a moment, taking a moment to get her bearings. Everyone's eyes were on her and it was making her nervous. "Um... Truth," she answers after awhile.

"Really dodged a bullet, huh?" the Lenivy boy chuckles. "All right. Here goes. Have you ever slept with anyone..." The question immediately makes Abi stumble over her words as a soft pink tint brightens her cheeks.

"Dude, that's like the equivalent of directly askin' what someone's body count is. Not cool, man," Cassidy interrupts, crossing his arms as he sends a look toward Dylan.

"Come on! I'm not... finished," Dylan replies, giving him a look in return before looking back over at Abi. "Have you ever slept with anyone... at this camp?"

Abi's face lights up at the rest of the question, and she shakes her head in response. "Ah, no! Nope. Sorry." She looks around the group momentarily, her eyes falling on Cassidy. "Cass, truth or dare?"

The Hackett boy keeps his gaze level with hers as he reaches down to pick up the bottle to take yet another drink, before answering as he wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his sweater. "Truth."

"Hm... Okay," Abi looks around for a moment, trying to come up with a question for him. "Um... What's something new you found out today?"

"Ah, that's an easy one," Cassidy takes another swig from the bottle before placing it down again. "I could say that my family's a bunch of fucking liars and pieces of shit. Or... I could say that I know exactly why the van wouldn't start." He glances over toward Jacob, who instantly pales. He can see the Custos boy gulp and turn away from him nervously. "Jacob, do you have something to share with the class? I think everyone would love to hear what you have to say."

Jacob laughs nervously, shaking his head. "I, uh... I don't— I... I don't know what you're talking about, Cass," he answers. "The van's just old, I guess... Needs some fixing, that's all."

"Sure..." Cassidy responds, narrowing his eyes at him. He, at least, hopes someone in the group caught on to him trying to rat out Jacob for breaking the van. He turns to Ryan. "Ryan, truth or dare?"

Ryan sits up straighter, beer bottle in hand as he takes a swig before setting it down and answering. "Dare. Gimme what you got."

"Ooh, okay. Well, I dare you... to kiss either Kaitlyn or Dylan..."

Ryan looks over to the log bench where Kaitlyn and Dylan are seated. He glances between them before settling on Dylan. The Lenivy boy was watching him with a hopeful gaze.

"Dylan. Let's go."

When Dylan stands up from the bench, hand still gripping his beer bottle, Jacob voices his approval and Emma whistles. The Lenivy boy walks over to the Erzahler boy and leans forward, connecting his lips with his. The kiss was short and sweet, but that was all that was needed as Dylan backs away.

"Always happy to please," Ryan comments as Dylan goes to return to his seat, a light shade of pink tinting the Lenivy boy's cheeks as he smiles. The Erzahler boy then looks around the group. "Alrighty... Who should I pick?" His gaze falls on Sawyer next. "Sawyer."

She looks over at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Truth or dare?" he asks her.

"Truth."

"What were you and Cass talking about earlier?"

"Um... I don't think I'm allowed to say anything about that..." she trails off, looking over toward Cassidy, who shakes his head and mouths no. "Um, Kaitlyn." The Ka girl sits up and turns to face her. "Do you want my turn?"

"Sure," Kaitlyn replies, setting her drink on the ground. She locks eyes with Emma immediately and smirks. "Emma—"

"Dare." There was no hesitation in the Mountebank girl's response.

"Emma, so, you have to kiss... Jacob... or... Nick."

Cassidy raises an eyebrow at this. But it seems he wasn't the only one who was affected by the choice Emma had to make. Jacob is grinning like a fool. Nick is quiet as he glances toward Jacob. Abi isn't looking at anyone, glancing down at her lap and picking at her nails.

Emma smirks, not removing her gaze from Kaitlyn as she speaks. "I choose Nick."

Everyone's silent.

Emma gets up from her seat and walks over to where Nick was sitting. Nick is staring wide-eyed at her as she sits in his lap and locks her lips with his. The Furcillo boy never moves away though, which he should have. Instead, his senses are overtaken and he becomes more involved in the what was supposed to be a quick kiss, turned into a full on make out session.

"Hey! This isn't supposed to be a fuckin' make out session!" Cassidy shouts, watching them in disgust. They didn't seem to be listening to him, though. Too involved in their kiss.

"Guys," Jacob says at a normal level of volume, hoping to deescalate the situation before it got even worse. "Guys!"

Emma finally pulls away and climbs off of Nick's lap, a satisfied smile on her face as she walks back to her seat. Nick is staring down at his lap, a look of embarrassment overtaking his features as he's just now realizing how quick things escalated. Abi gets up as soon as Emma sits beside her and comments on the kiss, the Blyg girl walking off in disappointment and utter betrayal.

Jacob is the next person to get up from his seat. He has an angered look on his face as he walks over to Nick. "You like kissing my girlfriend, asshole?" Jacob threatens, seething with anger.

Nick looks up at him and shakes his head. "It was just a game—"

"Hey, I'm nobody's girlfriend," Emma cuts in. But Jacob puts a hand out and shushes her.

"The fuck it was," Jacob replies, looking down at Nick. "'Oh, it was just a game!' Yeah, the fuck is was, man!"

Before Jacob can walk off, Cassidy stands up and walks over to him. "You sit your sorry ass down or I'll make you."

"And what are you gonna do?" Jacob asks, whirling around to face him.

"What am I gonna do?" Cassidy just laughs. "I have a gun on my back. You don't want me to shoot you with it, now, do you, Custos?"

Jacob scoffs. "I've got better things to do, Hackett. Like, not listen to your stupid little empty threats."

"Yeah? Well, if you did, you would leave Nick alone not get upset over a stupid summer fling!" Cassidy yells. "Emma doesn't want anything to do with you, asshole!"

"She doesn't want anything to do with me?" Jacob lets out a breathy laugh. "Are you fucking serious? If anyone doesn't want anything to do with someone, it would be your family. They don't want anything to do with you, it seems, since they left you all the way out here with us, yeah?"

"Shut up," Cassidy mutters, his upper lip twitching. "They care 'bout me. And they want what's best for everyone here. Chris will be back by morning, like he said. Look, it may not seem like they—"

"Yeah? Is that why you said they all lied to you?" Jacob fires back. "Why you said they're a bunch of fucking liars and pieces of shit?"

"Shut up!" Cassidy shoves Jacob and he falls on the ground with a thud. The Custos reaches for one of the beer bottles and smashes it against the side of one of the benches, holding it as Cassidy steps closer to him. He rolls over and stands back up, moving out of the Hackett boy's way and swings.

Cassidy takes a step back, just narrowly avoiding the jagged edges of the broken bottle. He loses his balance and slips on the dirt covering the ground, falling on the ground with a thud.

Jacob looms over him with the bottle, about ready to bring it down stab Cassidy with it, when he's pulled away by Emma. Cassidy's helped up from the ground by Sawyer. Cassidy hasn't removed his gaze from Jacob though.

"No one, and I mean no one is allowed to talk shit about my family but me, got it? And if you say or do some shit again like that, I'll fucking blast your head off!"

"Cassidy, stop. It's over, okay?" Sawyer says quietly, trying to snap him out of it. "Just... calm down, okay? You and Jacob need to calm down."

"I'm calm. I am so calm," he mutters, pulling away from his girlfriend as he starts to head off into the woods. "I'm stuck with a bunch of idiots for the night! How do you expect me to remain calm, Sawyer!"

"Cassidy, don't..." But the boy had already left the fire pit area and was headed toward the trees by the time she spoke.

Jacob was also gone by the time she turns around to face the remaining group. Emma and Nick head off to go find the Custos boy and the Blyg girl.

"Well..." Sawyer sighs, turning to Kaitlyn, Dylan, and Ryan, "we shouldn't have played truth or dare."

"I didn't know it would turn into... whatever just happened!" Dylan says quietly, frowning. "We were just supposed to be having fun..."

"Not your fault," Ryan reassures, moving from his spot to sit next to him.

"Feels like it. I am the one who started the game. We should've just played something else."

"Yeah, but I'm the one who gave Emma the option to choose between Jacob or Nick. I should've just made her do something else," Kaitlyn comments.

Sawyer remains silent from there on out, sighing as she sits down beside the remaining three.

author's note
conflict!!

07.27.22