The Player Game

Chapter 1

Does he never shut up?

Aaron seems to bask in my anger, taunting in a sing-song voice,  "You're falling for the player!"

"I'd never fall for a player, douche bag."  I glare at him.  His blue eyes glimmer with humor at my fury.  "You're so annoying."

Defiantly, I turn my shoulder on him, allowing my blonde hair to fall across the side of my face, shielding my rosy cheeks.  As much as I hate him, I have to admit that his more-than-attractive presence is embarrassing on my behalf.

His tousled dark brown hair is perfect with just a flick of his head, and his bright blue eyes are big and oval.  There's nothing you can fault about his looks, from his nicely sized nose, with a slight bump in the middle, to the line of straight white teeth resting comfortably in his gums.   There's no denying that he's fit too.  His membership in the football and baseball team is something that he enjoys showing off.

It's a shame his personality doesn't match the good looks.

Well, what can you say?

A pretty face doesn't mean a pretty person.

"Oh my god, Emily!"  His hand slams on top of mine to stop me from scrolling further down the page.

"Ouch."  I tug my hand out from underneath his, rubbing it tenderly where he hit so hard.  I'll admit- I'm exaggerating the injury a tiny bit, but when I'm around Aaron, I have a need to annoy him as much as possible.

He nudges me in the ribs with his elbow.  "Look!"

"What was that fo-?" Indignantly I start to protest against his unneccessary violence, before I realise that he's pointing at a large picture on the screen.

My eyes roam over the text on the image for ten seconds.  As I reach the end, my jaw drops.  He's grinning at me suggestively.

I look at him with disbelief.  "No way."

His teeth are gleaming at me now, his eyes flickering from the screen to me.

"Absolutely not.  Nuh-uh."  I cross my arms defiantly.  "I refuse."

His smile quickly turns into a smirk. "Scared you'll lose?"

He's called me out.  Whatever excuse I use, he'll just insist that I'm scared.  There's one thing I'm proud of and that's my nerve.  I'm not one to back away from a dare.

When I was five, a little girl named Cerys challenged me to a game of truth and dare.  The dare was to drink a whole bottle of vinegar.  Hell, I drank it and it made me sick for days.  But if anyone asked me if I would change what happened?  Without hesitation, I'd say I wouldn't.  I don't back away from dares.

"Are you daring me?"  I raise my eyebrows at him, spinning around to face him.

"Yes," he replies, staring right back at me with a determined expression on his face.

That's what makes the decision for me.

A dare.

"I can't believe you're forcing me to do this," I complain, dropping my pen onto the sheets of paper in front of me.

"Forcing?" he retaliates.  "You're the one who accepted the dare.  You've signed the sheets.  There's no backing out now, sweetie.  We start on Monday."

He points at our two signatures at the bottom of each sheet.  There are two copies of the pact, and at the top of each sheet, written in neat capitals is The Player Game.

That's Aaron's dare, you see.

The tumblr image we came across online sparked the idea and now we are taking it to the extreme, adding our own little accessories to the text and taking away bits as well.  Now we are finished, and the two signatures at the bottom of each copy bind us to the Game until someone wins.

I read through my copy one more time, as if to prove to myself that this is actually happening.  This isn't just a strangely abnomal dream.

THE PLAYER GAME

 

Let's sweet talk.

Let's hold hands.

Let's play fight.

Let's talk 24/7.

Let's tell each other good morning and good night every day.

Let's take walks together.

Let's share candyfloss.

Let's French kiss.

Let's sneak out to see each other.

Let's risk our phone's life to text in class.

Let's hold each other.

Let's hug and kiss.

Let's go on dates.

 

 

Whoever falls in love first?

Loses.

 

 

By signing this, I swear that I will abide by these terms for the next five months, without fail, and with no excuses.

 

Signed-

Emily Rosser

Aaron Nichols

My expression wavering between a glare and smile, I fold up my copy and force it into my tight jeans' pocket.  I'm not sure whether to be excited or angry about my agreement to The Player Game.  In a way, I'm excited about the prospect of it, but then again, I'm angry because it's Aaron I have to put up with.  I decide to settle with a sulk.

Aaron smirks at the grouchy expression on my face.

I glare at him, getting out of my seat and pulling my cell phone out of my pocket.

"I'm going to go now," I decide to point out the obvious, dialling my mum's number as I walk towards the door.

I hear a pair of faint footsteps behind me, and before I reach the door, Aaron steps in front of me.  He reaches out, holding the door open in a gentlemanly fashion.

"Bye bye, sweetie."  He winks as I give him a confused look.

My spare fist clenches together as I try not to hit him in aggravation.  Just as I'm about to tell him off angrily, a "Hello?" comes out of the receiver.  Promising myself I'll get him back later, I send a haughty glare in his direction before stalking out of the door and out of the house.

ENTERED IN THE WATTY'S 2011.  VOTE, FAN, COMMENT, PROMOTE.  You will be loved. :3

Characters on the side. -->

P.S. I know some of you will think it's cliche.  But, I promise you, this won't be a cliche story.  The 'Player' cliche is getting as many girls/boys as possible, right?  Whereas Emily and Aaron are doing the opposite.  SO, BAMBOOZA. :3 *Le random made-up comeback*