ᵀᴿᵁᵀᴴ ᴼᴿ ᴰᴬᴿᴱ メ ᴾᴴᴬᴺ

-31-

marcus was watching the tv closely. phil has just chosen the 'dare' envelope and it has switched to a commercial. sighing, he wondered just how much dan and phil trusted each other. there was clear tension in the room when conor had first introduced the switcheroos and marcus could tell that there was a reason for the suddenness of of it. as if he knew that there was going to be drama.

he walked into the kitchen, where his tea was being made. pj making the tea made him crave it - he was english after all. in all the rooms there were cameras everywhere. it seemed today they were specialising in the dan and phil pairing. they had showed dan leaving grumpily, with conor doing a voiceover to suggest what dan was feeling. that dan didn't trust phil to be with pj because he was apparently so willing to introduce himself to him. marcus rolled his eyes as he remembered what his old friend said. as if dan didn't trust phil.

as he took his tea back into his lounge, the show came back on with phil still holding the card. this particular episode wasn't live. if it was, he would have urged phil to choose the truth card. he looked in dismay as conor gave a wicked grin, the same grin he knew and loathed. how on earth were they ever friends?

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conor gave a prompting look towards phil, almost urging for him to open the golden envelope which was sitting in his shaking pale hands. phil took a deep breath, as if it was one of the hardest decisions he had ever have to make. which it wasn't, since he had already made the decision.

pj watched from behind, still sitting on the sofa as if it was none of his business. except, if only it wasn't.

"if you aren't going to open it then perhaps give it to pj?" conor suggested through gritted teeth. he would open it himself but knew that would look bad for him. even though the show wasn't live, he had to make it look like it was the contestants decision to open whichever envelope and it was best that they were the ones that opened their own challenged. phil looked at conor and then pj who shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't mind.

phil looked down at the envelope. why was it so hard to open it? it wasn't like he was trying to disarm a grenade. he had tried playing a game on that before with dan and it didn't go well - he didn't work well under pressure.

"look we don't have all day, if you can't even open an envelope maybe you should have chosen truth." conor sighed, taking the envelope from phil's hand.

"i already chose dare," phil snatched the envelope back. "i'll give it to pj," he said with a sigh, handing the envelope to his new partner.

"are you sure? it's your challenge." pj stood up, taking the envelope. he raised an eyebrow as if in uncertainty of phil's choice.

"yes," phil replied, "pj, can you please read my out my challenge?"

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"pj, can you please read out my challenge?" dan watched the tv which chris had switched on. a golden envelope was slid through the door telling them to switch to the right channel so they too could tell what was happening with their partners. not that phil and pj knew of course.

dan's eyes were glued to the tv, watching phil's every step. of course they didn't see the worse of the exchange between conor and phil, skipping from phil choosing dare to passing it to pj instantly. dan's hands again were clenched in annoyance, fixing his glare on pj for being so close to him as he started to open the envelope.

pj waited a few seconds, reading the challenge before looking at phil almost apologetically.

"what is it?" phil asked, almost nervously.

"your challenge is to have a date with me." pj announced, folding the card back to how it was and placing it back in the envelope. dan stood up in anger, the chair he was sitting on toppling over.

"what the fuck!" he shouted as chris laughed behind him. he watched phil who's eyes widened, his body stiffening. was he allowed to say no? he must say no.

"is that all it says?" phil asked, feeling that a date with pj didn't really sound much of a dare. he could go on a date with anyone but that wouldn't guarantee he would have a good time. it wasn't with dan after all.

"oh umm," pj scratched his neck, his eyes not meeting phil's as he question arose. "i don't think you want to know, i mean..."

"come on, i need to know what i'm getting into." phil retaliated, his arms crossed now. dan watched his old partner grow in confidence as he challenged pj.

"well obviously there are going to be consequences if you don't complete the dare," pj sighed, "and also if you don't do it." he opened the envelope again, taking out the card and handing it to phil. "why don't you give it a read?"

phil took the card, reading it closely and then aloud so the viewers too can see what it said.

"welcome phil,

congratulations on being chosen to be on 'truth or dare'. as you have chosen dare for your first challenge, we hope you enjoy a lovely date with your new partner. we will be giving you an experience for you and pj that you will never forget. however, there are some conditions to completing this quest which will be told to you tonight if you accept this challenge.

remember, this is a game of trust as well as love for your partner. this means that breaking such trust could become something worse for your love. as a result of this, if you refuse to accept this challenge or fail to complete it successfully, there will be consequences to you, your 'truth or dare partner' or both. however, if you complete the challenge, you will be rewarded for your success.

it is your decision and yours only.

"i mean..." phil looked at pj, "you could have told me that,"

"what, is it so bad to go on a date with me?" pj laughed, phil blushing and looking down at his feet. dan rolled his eyes in disgust, folding his arms at the question. what hurt the most is that phil didn't say no, even though he didn't say yes either.

"phil, are you going to accept the challenge?" conor asked, almost looking impatient. dan couldn't help but want to punch conor, even though it wouldn't get through to the tv how much hatred he was currently showing towards the host of the show for making this happen to them.

phil nodded, "i accept the-"

dan switched the tv off.