Hate Only Last So Long.

House Rules.

"Truth or dare?" Darnell asked, narrowing his eyes on the first victim of the game.

"Truth." Patience replied, hoping as the first person she'd luck out with an early game starter.

No such luck.

"Remember house rules; you reject a truth choice, then you get a dare - and vice versa. But if you reject both, then you are sent to the center circle with a person of the party hostess' choice." Taylor reminded her friends before the game officially started.

"Is it true that you hooked up with one of your besties last year at the summer blowout? And if so, which one?" Darnell quipped, eager to hear the answer to the rumor that circulated from ear to ear at the beginning of the school year.

The entire waited tentatively for Patience to answer. Spencer and Chris smirked, waiting to hear about the girl-girl action. Olivia's digit danced between Kia and Taylor as her besties shared a discerning expression, conveying that they both knew the answer.

Unwilling to be the first dud of the game to chicken out of her question, Patience sighed heavily, ready to corroborate. "Y'all make a big deal about that this..." She warned the young men in the room, "But yeah, TayTay and I hooked up after the party that night. We were both shitfaced, and barely remember most of it. So it's no big seak. Right, Tay?" Patience surveyed for a complying statement from her longtime bestie.

"Hmmm, yeah, it was no big." Taylor forced herself to lie, hiding her version of the truth behind a weak smile. She'd never admit it, but Patience was the first girl Taylor was intimate with since coming out as bisexual.

To top it off, Patience's reluctance to give something a shot beyond their first hookup never sat right with Taylor. Yet at the same, Taylor understood that Patience was in no place for a committed relationship after Patience's whirlwind breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Coop.

So while she remained with what-ifs, Taylor was content with keeping her best friend in the end. However, across the circle a stoned-off Chris spoke volumes, visually tearing into Patience.

Spending the last six months crushing on Taylor, Chris couldn't help the rush of anger towards knowing Taylor never thought to give him a trial run as well. His momentary scowl went unnoticed though, as the bottle spun again.

"Truth or date?" Patience asked, ready to perform her toxic damage since she was put on the spot already.

Believing that she had nothing to tell of interest, Kia chose, "Dare."

"Alright miss scholar, I dare you to not only give your body count but to do so with full details." Patience instructed their best friend, desiring to know if little miss perfect ever got her out of her books or laptop, long enough to have any fun in the past year, or so.

Not one for blasting her sexcapades - ever - Kia began to wonder if she should chicken out and go for a dare. However, she knew Patience would push harder if she went for the truth option as well.

"What's it's gonna be, Mama Ki? Are you ready to stop pretending to have it all together like the rest of us?" Patience pressed harder, slight anger toning her voice from all the lectures she endured from Kia about her own messy love life. "Just tell us who's dipped their hands in your cookie?"

"Fine, you're so desperate to know, here you go, Pay." Kia groaned, tired of listening to Patience raving. "Body count; 2. Names Jordan Baker and Darnell Hayes." She listed off, erupting chaos in her midst.

"You let Beverly hit?" Darnell shouted, jumping to his feet. "Before me." The last part was his more stunning revelation, always believing to have been Kia's first.