Double Dare // Sky Flaherty

Chapter Twenty-Six

"How'd it go?" Olivia asks the instant I walk through the door, exhausted from my first day of rehearsals.

"Really well." I smile slightly, joining her on the couch. "I knew rehearsals would be draining, but I wasn't expecting them to be this draining."

"I'm glad it went well! Did you make any new friends?"

I nod. "Yeah. Everyone is really nice. I didn't get a chance to meet everyone, obviously, but the people I talked to were great. I think everyone is going to get along really well."

Olivia smiles brightly. "You should introduce me to some of them sometime," she encourages for what seems like the tenth time that week.

"I will. Eventually," I add. With a sigh, I get up off the couch. "I need to freshen up. Despite my protests, Sky has decided to host a get-together for the cast. I need to take a shower."

"You do, I can smell you from here," Olivia teases as I roll my eyes.

I take a fast shower, change clothes, and make sure I have everything I need. However, as I'm getting ready to walk out the door, someone knocks on the apartment door. I glance at Olivia, confused, but she just gives me a small smile.

"Go on, answer it," she urges.

"Okay," I say, opening the front door. Outside our apartment stands River, a small bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"Hey," he says softly, smiling. "Happy first day of rehearsal."

Surprised, I take the bouquet and give my boyfriend a hug. "Thanks, babe."

"Of course." He smiles more and steps inside. "So, what are you doing tonight?"

I close the door behind him. "Oh, actually I was on my way out. Sky's hosting a party to celebrate our first rehearsal."

He raises his eyebrows. "Sky is?"

"Mhm." I nod.

"Oh." He pauses. "I know it was your first day and all, but do you think you could sit this one out? I just flew all the way here from Florida to see you and now you're leaving for a party."

Shrugging lightly, I readjust the bag on my shoulder. "I'm sure they won't mind if you come with me. Do you want to come?"

"Sure, why not?" River gives me a slight smile. "Let's go." Lightly placing his hand on my back, he guides me back toward the door.

"Bye, Olivia!" I call over my shoulder as we leave the apartment, headed for the party. We chat as we walk to Sky's apartment, catching up and filling each other in on events that happened while we were apart. As happy as I am that River's back, something is different between us. Over the past few weeks, I've been debating telling River about the kiss I shared with Sky. When we got back together, we decided to be more honest with each other, and I hate violating his trust.

Before I can make up my mind whether I should tell him or not, we've arrived at Sky's apartment. When I knock, Mariah, the actress playing Regina George, answers the door. She smiles. "Hey! Long time, no see, Jack," she jokes, opening the door further so River and I can step inside. "Who's this?"

"This is River, my boyfriend." I smile at my new friend. "River, this is Mariah. She plays Regina." After River and Mariah shake hands, we continue into the party, greeting others. I spend the rest of the evening getting to know my castmates better.

Later, I'm talking to Sky, when he and River strike up a conversation. I start letting my mind wander a bit. I've been trying to have fun, but I can't stop thinking about how I'm going to tell River about kissing Sky. I've come to the conclusion that I have to tell him, but I don't know when or how.

Sky nudges me, bringing me back to earth. "Jack, what's wrong? You've been pretty quiet."

I glance at River. Before I can stop myself, the words spill out of my mouth. "I kissed Sky when we heard that we were going on tour." I freeze, and it seems like Sky does too, waiting for River's reaction.

Very slowly, River turns to Sky. "Is this true?" If looks could kill, Sky would be a dead man.

Sky glances at me, a panicked look in his eyes. "I...um, y-yeah. It is."

Before River can do anything to hurt Sky, I jump in. "We were just excited about getting cast. It meant nothing, right?"

He tries to hide it, but I catch a slight look of hurt in Sky's eyes before he answers, "Yeah. Nothing."

River, still glaring daggers at Sky, says in a low voice, "It's getting late. I should get you back home, Jack. Come on."

"O-okay," I mumble, nervously following River out the door. He doesn't say a word on our walk back to my apartment. I'd almost rather him get mad with me than say nothing at all. The silence is torture, but I make it home. River murmurs a quick goodbye as he drops me off at my door, leaving to go back to his hotel room. As I step inside the apartment, I wonder why I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

~ * ~ * ~

"I don't want you going on tour."

My jaw drops slightly when River makes his statement the next afternoon. "What?"

"You heard what I said. I don't want you going on tour," he repeats coldly. "I can't trust you around Sky. I can't trust you to not do it again."

"River, you can't just tell me not to go on tour. It's my job. And we leave in a few weeks. I think it's a little late now," I argue.

"That's not my problem. What is my problem is that apparently, I can't trust my girlfriend to not kiss other guys when I'm not around."

I scoff. "I told you, it meant nothing. Nothing."

He shakes his head. "Maybe it did to you, but not to him."

"How do you know that?"

Now, it's River's turn to scoff. "Are you kidding me? Have you seen the way he looks at you? He's certainly not doing anything to hide it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I counter. "He looks at me like he looks at any normal person. Like he looks at everyone else."

"Are you really that stupid, Jacqueline?"

I don't say anything for a few moments after that. We stand in a tense silence, until it's finally broken by River's sigh. "I have a plane to catch in a few hours, I should be getting to the airport," he says finally.

"Wait." I stop him before he turns to leave the apartment. "Look, I'm sorry about the kiss. I really am. I just wanted to be honest with you. I know you're mad, but I still have to go on the tour. I promise I'll be honest with you about everything from here on out."

"Okay," River agrees finally. "Then be honest with me about one thing." I nod, waiting for his question. "Do you have feelings for Sky?"

"No," I answer. It was at that moment that I broke the promise and lied.

~~~~~
Jack really isn't that smart is she
thanks for reading!!