Beautiful Mess (Book I)

Chapter fourteen

"Something about you is just so addictive."

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•Kyle•

"We're going to play a game today," Shelley tells us. "It's going to be fun and I hope you'll all enjoy it."

"What kind of game?" Star asks with a smile. "I'm good at games, all kinds. I used to play soccer and baseball with my brother back when--"

"You know where we are, right?" Lilly asks, annoyed. "This isn't a playground, as you can see," she grits out, frantically waving her hands around.

Star pouts but doesn't defend herself. I don't blame her, Lilly can be scary sometimes.

"Lilly." Shelley gives her a warning look before turning to us. "I assume you've all played, or at least heard of 'two truths and a lie'. Am I correct?"

"Yeah, I like that game," May says quietly.

I'm sure it's going to be insufferable.

"For those of you who don't know, it's a game where someone tells three things about themselves, two truths and one lie, and the rest of the group has to identify the lie," Shelley explains.

"Let's do this!" Oliver exclaims, and Megan rolls her eyes at him.

"Who wants to go first?" Shelley asks, and Oliver raises his hand like an excited kid.

"Go ahead."

"I wanted to be a mechanic when I was a child... uh... what else..." He strokes his chin, being dramatic as usual. "I love getting drunk." He smiles, leaning back on his chair. "I'm a great cook."

"Number three," Megan states bluntly.
Oliver chuckles, shaking his head.

"Wrong! Does anyone else wanna try?" He turns to us.

"The second one is the lie," May says, observing him with narrowed eyes.

We all look back at him to see his stunned face. "Bingo. I hate alcohol. It tastes like shit."

The room becomes quiet as we stare at him in surprise.

"So you can cook?" Megan asks, looking dumbfounded.

Star and May chuckle in amusement.

"You bet." He winks at her, and she pretends to gag.

"Who wants to go next?" Shelley asks.

"I had a puppy when I was little," Megan starts. "I was passionate about ballet when I was younger." She glances at Oliver and smirks. "I'm a great cook."

"The second one, obviously," he says, confidently crossing his arms over his chest. "I can't even imagine you as a ballerina. No way in hell."

"Wrong! It's the first one. I hate animals."

"Who would hate puppies?" Star mumbles with a frown.

"Ballet, huh? Interesting." Oliver raises a brow.

"Who wants to go next?" Shelley asks, but everyone stays silent so she tells us to proceed in order of our sitting position.

May is the first one. She fidgets with her sleeves for a few moments. "Um... I used to be overweight," she starts. "I'm allergic to chocolate." She looks up at the ceiling for a moment before adding, "I can't swim."

"It has to be the first one. I mean look at her." Star gestures to May's slim body.

"You're wrong. I lost weight after I got into high school," May tells her with a shy smile. "The second one is the lie, I love chocolate."

"I killed my neighbor's cat," Lilly says suddenly. We all turn to her and it takes us a moment to realize that she's playing the game. "Black isn't my natural hair color, I dyed it last year," she continues. "I like math."

Oliver bursts out laughing. "It's the third one."

"Correct," she states blankly.

"So what's your original hair color?" he asks with a curious look.

"That's not what you should be asking her..." Megan frowns. "You... killed your neighbor's cat?"

Lilly flashes her a wicked smile which answers Megan's question.

"Why-how-why would you--" Star stutters, and Lilly cuts her off by stating that it's none of her business.

"Uh... I like Roses," Star starts, realizing it's her turn. "I write poems." She becomes silent for a moment before adding, "I don't like celebrating my birthday."

"The third one," May says with a smile.

"You're wrong. I didn't even know my birth date until recently. My grandpa didn't believe in celebrations, he thought it was unnecessary and a waste of money." Star chuckles, but it sounds bitter to me. "It's the second one, I don't even like literature."

May nods and there's an uncomfortable silence among us until I realize it's my turn.

"Uh..." I start, trying to come up with something. "I don't have a driver's license," I start with a truth. I never had the chance to be a normal teenager. "I like going out." Also true, though I don't get to enjoy that anymore. "I have tattoos all over my chest."

Oliver bursts out laughing again. "The last one seems true to me. The lie has to be the first one."

I don't have any tattoos because I can't trust myself enough to make permanent decisions. I guess I have commitment issues. I know there are ways to remove tattoos, but why go through all the trouble. But I didn't always think this way. I wanted to get a tattoo when I was younger. I remember asking my mom for permission and she laughed before telling me I'm not old enough for it. I almost smile at the memory but then I remind myself that what happened to me is partly her fault.

"Is he right, Kyle?" Shelley's voice pulls me back to the present.

"No, it's the third one." I glance up at Rae and see her chuckling at my answer. Our eyes meet and my heart starts beating faster. The warmth I feel around her is quickly becoming familiar and I don't know how I feel about that. I didn't expect this to happen. The last thing I wanted was to start caring about someone. I just gotta focus on myself and get the hell out of this place as soon as possible.

When it's Flint's turn, none of us expect him to talk. But he clears his throat and sits straighter, surprising us all.

"I'm scared of the dark," he starts. "I was popular in high school." He pauses and glances at Lilly. "My natural hair color isn't red, I dyed it last year."

Lilly scoffs. "The last one."

He shakes his head, and for the first time, there's some kind of expression on his face. He looks amused.

So now these two like each other too? What the hell is this, a sappy chick-flick?
  
"The first one?" Star sounds uncertain.

"No, it has to be the second one," Oliver states.

I don't think any of us can identify the lie when it comes to Flint. We don't know anything about him since he doesn't talk about himself much. Hell, he doesn't even talk at all sometimes.

"Flint?" Shelley reminds him to tell us the answer.

"All three of them are lies," he states with a blank face.

"Um... you know that's not how this game works, right?" Star asks, frowning in confusion.

He remains silent and Shelley chooses to leave him be and moves on to the last person.

"Umm..." Rae starts, glancing at us one by one. "My favorite color is grey." She bites her lip and remains silent for a moment. "I love action movies," she continues. "I like rabbits."

"Number two!" Oliver exclaims like he's so sure of himself. But he tries again as she shakes her head. "Number one!?"
 
"No, it's the last one. Rabbits freak me out," she explains. The fact that she's scared of those harmless creatures... I find it oddly cute.

Wow, look at me being all cheesy and shit. What are you doing to me, Rae? I don't like it. I don't like it at all.