Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 54 - Dare

"Like what?" he presses.

Bodhi huffs at Griff's determination. "Y'know what? I'll just do a forfeit. What is it?"

"How about..." Griff starts, as if it hadn't even crossed his mind before now. It definitely had. "...you have to take a shot."

You see Bodhi stiffen. And you can't say you're not slightly anxious yourself - your last encounter with too much alcohol at the VIP party didn't exactly lead to a great night.

"Fine. Give me one." she says, and as if on cue, one of Griff's friends comes over with a tray of shot glasses filled with a clear drink. He places the tray carefully on the ground and Bodhi bends down to take one, quickly downing it in one go without too much effort. Afterwards, she throws the glass down, raising one eyebrow at Griff. You know that this isn't what she had expected would happen at her party tonight, but she's not letting Griff win.

"Okay," Griff smirks. "Who's next?" he spins the bottle again, and you feel a sense of dread as it slows and comes to a stop pointing straight at you.

"Dare." you say quickly, knowing it's probably the safest option with your situation with Ari at the moment.

Griff looks thoughtful for a moment, and no one seems to offer up any possible dares this time. Until someone speaks up.

"Why don't you surf the break?" Poppy says, shooting you a fake-smile.

"What, now?" you reply, eyeing the darkness enveloping the clubhouse and undoubtedly the beaches now.

"I just thought that was your thing now." she shrugs, looking innocent.

Poppy obviously hasn't forgotten about the little incident after Boardriders, where she accused you and Ari of being together after Griff told her he saw you two in the board shop in town. She's not happy with you at the moment, and you'd completely forgotten about all that stuff before. After Stairway, it just didn't seem that important.

"Okay, there's your dare, Y/n." Griff smiles, but Ari stands up.

"Nah, you're not doing that," he says with a slight shake of his head. He's probably remembering what happened last time you and him went for a night surf. "It's basically pitch black out there. It's not safe."

"I think Y/n can speak for herself, Gibson." Griff shoots back, also standing up so he's facing Ari. He just loves stirring up trouble. He doesn't really care about you being able to protect yourself; he's just trying to wind up Ari.

"Hey, why don't you just shut up?" Ari says, sounding more fed up than angry. "You crashed the party, now you're making us play this stupid game, not to mention whatever's going on between you and Poppy..."

"We didn't crash the party, Gibson, we were invited." Griff shoots back, taking a step towards Ari threateningly.

"Didn't you find that strange? You obviously know we wouldn't want you here. You just came here to start trouble."

You know exactly where this is heading. No adults, a group of slightly tipsy teenagers on rival surf teams - this could only end in disaster. This needs to be resolved quickly, you think.

You come between them, holding the shot glass in one hand and showing it to both of them. "Hey, look, I'll just take a shot, it's fine." you offer, trying to calm the situation. The tension in the air is palpable, and Ari continues to glare at Griff as he speaks.

"You shouldn't have to." he says through gritted teeth, grabbing the glass from the top, uncaring of the liquid soaking his hand as he throws it to the floor.

"Let's just move on guys, yeah?" a voice which you haven't heard in a while speaks up. Marlon stands, placing himself opposite you. He seems unsteady on his feet, and you wonder if he's been drinking even more since the last time you saw him at the bar, pouring vodka into a pint glass.

"Sousa's right," Griff says. "Who's next?"

He returns to his spot in the circle, giving the bottle another spin. It lands on Bodhi again.

"Isn't it strange how it keeps landing on Shorehaven surfers?" you say, pretending to be half-joking when you're fully serious. You don't understand how Griff could have rigged the bottle - it's probably not possible - but he must be doing something.

"Fine, you spin it." he shrugs, and you hesitate at his unbotheredness,

You reach forward and spin the bottle aggressively, but you clench your fist as it slows and lands facing Ari.

Griff chuckles as you stare at the bottle. "How ironic."

"C'mon," Ari mutters, gently grabbing your arm and guiding you to your feet and towards the outside of the circle. "We're leaving."