by Becky
Laura rubbed her eyes, which were starting to get irritated. It was getting late. She had been thumbing through the files aimlessly all day. She really had had nothing to do, but she had needed to at least pretend to do something. But it hadn’t helped. She was too afraid to let her thoughts roam free. Too often they turned to Stefan and their conversation the other day. He had been so cruel.
“Truth or Dare?” a voice asked, breaking into her contemplation.
“What?” Laura asked, looking up confused. She saw her sister standing at the door. “Amy, please, I’m busy.”
Amy walked in anyway. “No, you’re not, the workday’s over. Come on Laura, you need a distraction. You need to take a break, regain your balance. What better way that with a good game of Truth or Dare? Are ya chicken?”
“How old are you?” Laura griped, but a mischievous smile was starting to form. She did need a break from it all.
“Today, I think I’ll be twelve,” Amy declared. “Remember those times, Laura? We used to do things together. We were sisters.” The hurt seeped into her voice.
“Oh, Amy, we are sisters. Don’t you know how much you mean to me? It’s just that life--”
“I know, I know. It’s one drama after another. For at least a few hours, let’s just be Amy and Laura, two chicks having fun.”
Laura smiled widely. “That sounds wonderful. Why not?” She walked around her desk and plopped down on the floor. “Okay, ask again.”
“Truth or Dare?” Amy asked, finding a spot on the floor.
Laura paused. She remembered how ruthless Amy could be at this game. “What are the consequences of not telling the truth or refusing to do the dare?”
“The other person gets to reveal a really juicy secret,” Amy responded.
“That’s a good consequence,” Laura muttered. She wondered if she should bail out now, but she tossed that idea. She needed to have some fun. Which should she pick? “Truth,” she decided.
“Who was the last person you slept with?” Amy asked.
Laura glared at her sister. “David Letterman,” she said sarcastically.
“Laura...”
“Oh, alright.” She paused. “Stefan.”
“I knew it! How was he?” Amy grinned.
“Ah, ah, ah, you only get one question. Your turn. Truth or Dare?”
“Um, truth.”
“Who was the last man you slept with?”
Amy stuck out her tongue. “Okay, well, you can’t say anything can you?” Amy looked at Laura, her cheeks starting to get red. “Tony.” She closed her eyes and then opened one to see Laura’s reaction.
“Tony?!” Laura laughed. “Tony Jones??”
“What?” Amy asked indignantly. “What is so funny about me sleeping with Tony Jones?”
“Nothing, it’s just that... it’s Tony.” Laura shook her head, trying to get rid of the mental image. “It’s, um, just hard to picture, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well, it was only one time, and he was a perfect gentleman.” They burst out in giggles. “Hehehe, your turn!” Amy announced happily. “Truth or Dare?”
Laura bit her lip, pondering. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She knew what Amy would ask if she chose truth, but if she picked... “Dare,” she said, bracing herself.
Amy rubbed her hands together, laughing delightedly. “Let me see... What will I have my big sister do?”
“Amy...” Laura warned.
“Shush, I’m thinking. I got it! Hold on a sec.” Amy jumped up and walked out, returning soon, with a huge smile on her face.
“I dare you to kiss Alan.”
“What?!” Laura balked. “No way!”
“Alright,” Amy sighed. “But if you don’t I’ll have to tell everyone you slept with Stefan.”
Laura’s eyebrow shot up. “You’ll pay for this, Amy.”
Amy laughed. “Talk, talk, talk. Go smooch Alan.”
Taking a deep breath, Laura got up the floor and walked out of the office, Amy closely behind her.
Alan and Monica were talking to Stefan. Laura stopped as soon as she saw them and turned to face Amy. “I can’t do this.”
“You have to,” Amy told her, biting her lip to keep from snickering. Laura could give her a nasty bump on the head if she lost her temper.
Determined to wipe the smirk of her little sister’s face, Laura turned back around and proceeded on her mission.
“Excuse me,” she told them. They all turned around to look at her questioningly. It was obvious they had been in the middle of an argument. It was now or never. Laura reached out and grabbed Alan’s head and planted one on him, with Stefan and Monica gaping at the display.
When Laura released Alan, he stuttered. “Uh, Laura?”
“Amy dared me,” she explained sheepishly.
To her relief, Alan grinned and said, “I’m glad I could be of help.”
“For a second there I thought I was in the Twilight Zone,” Monica said, starting to laugh.
Laura smiled widely. “Believe me, and I mean no offense Alan, he’s just not my type. I’ll talk to you later.” Carefully avoiding Stefan’s gaze she quickly walked away.
Back in her office, Amy and Laura fell to the floor, laughing.
“I can’t believe you made me do that!”
“Did you see the look on Stefan’s face?? I thought his eyes would bug out!”
As they calmed down, Laura said, “Thanks, Amy, I needed a good laugh.”
“I’m glad it helped. Well, I’ll let you--” She tried to get up, but Laura grabbed her leg.
“Not so fast. I believe it’s your turn,” Laura smiled wickedly.
Amy groaned. “Fine. Shoot.”
“Truth or Dare?”
“Truth.”
“Chicken,” Laura taunted.
“Yeah, yeah, TRUTH,” Amy repeated.
“Alright. What do you think of Stefan?” She had no idea why she had just asked that.
“Uh, okay. Well, he’s gorgeous...” Amy started.
“He told me I was like Helena,” Laura blurted out.
“He what?!”
“Yeah, he saw Lucky with her. He said I was a bad mother and that I had no heart.” Tears started to form in her eyes.
Amy scowled. “Who cares what he thinks? You’re NOT like Helena. Why would he say such a nasty thing?”
Laura looked at her guiltily. “He has his reasons.”
“Like what?”
“I, um, slapped him and blamed him for Lucky’s death even though I knew he would never hurt any of my children. And Luke and I left him locked up inside a closet on a boat. I called him a monster, among other things, and--”
“Jeez, Laura, that’s enough.”
“He just makes me so damn mad!”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Who’s’ acting like a child now?”
“Whose side are you on?” Laura demanded.
Amy sighed. “Yours, you know that. But from what you tell me, you treated him like dirt and he didn’t deserve it. Are you really surprised he’s mad at you? I seem to recall you telling me some pretty cool things about him not so long ago. Like him saving you life, remember?”
“Of course I remember.”
“For that, I’ll always be grateful to him. And he was there for you when we all thought Lucky was dead. And you said he’s great with Lulu.”
“He just did that so he could win me over,” Laura said, looking down.
“Do you really believe that?” Amy said softly.
Laura looked up into her sister’s sweet eyes and admitted, “No, I don’t. But it’s too late now. I can’t take back what I said.”
“No, but you can apologize and start over.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do -- with Luke.”
Amy let out a silent scream in her head. Taking a few seconds to gather her thoughts, she said, “Laura, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen that special look in your eye when you talk about Luke. Now I see it when you talk about Stefan.”
“Why don’t you date him if you like him so much? I thought we were going to play a game, not talk about Stefan,” Laura said.
“You brought him up,” Amy said.
“And now I’m changing the subject,” Laura snapped.
“Fine. Truth or Dare?”
“Truth. And if you ask---”
Amy gave her a triumphant smile. “How was he?”
“Amy!”
“What? I want to know.”
“I refuse to answer.”
“Laura!” Amy whined. “Alright, this one then. You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“I’m not going to answer that, either. Double dare.”
“Oooh, double dare! Now this requires some serious thought.” An idea had already started forming in her head. The question was did she have the guts to go through with it?
Laura put her hand over her face and laid down. “What have I done?” She laughed. “Let me guess. You want me kiss Monica?”
“Hmm...” Amy pretended to consider it. “Nah. I think... yes! I dare you to -- hold on.” She got up and walked to the door.
“Amy,” Laura said as she got up to follow her. “Where--”
“Wait here,” Amy instructed.
Laura sat back down, getting more nervous as the seconds ticked by. Finally, Amy returned and held out her hand for Laura to take it. “Come with me.”
Reluctantly, Laura did as she was told. They walked until Amy stopped in front of Stefan’s office. “I dare you to kiss Stefan.”
“Goodbye,” Laura said as she tried to leave, but Amy dragged her in.
“Hello, Stefan,” Amy said cheerfully.
Stefan removed his glasses and stared at them. He did not return Amy’s smile, though his pulse speeded up a little at the thought that maybe she has dared Laura to kiss him. “May I ask what you think you are doing in my office? This is not the place for childish antics, Ms. Vining, Mrs. Spencer.”
“I’m out of here,” Laura said, but Amy blocked her way.
“Oh no you don’t. You two are going to stay in here until you talk about everything. And I mean everything. Laura, you’re my sister, and I love you. Get a backbone and fight for what you really want. Forget about what Lesley wants. This is your life. Stefan, stop being such a heartless bastard to my sister. Don’t make me regret this.”
That said she quickly walked out, slammed the door and locked it. She sat down and smiled, ignoring the pounding on the door and the threats coming from both Laura and Stefan. She wished she had thought to bring food. This could take a while.
