Chapter Text
It was the summer before freshman year of college, and Adam only just turned nineteen last week. He needed money like he needed time, both slipping past him like sand through his fingers. He felt like he had broken through an hourglass and was trying to refill it before it all ran out, but no matter how much sand he filled at the top it still sank to the bottom.
College was coming up fast, and he didn't get the scholarship he needed, and the thought of paying for school solely out of pocket sounded absolutely terrifying. He barely paid for the first semester by the deadline, but he knew no matter how many jobs he picked up (currently three) he couldn't afford the next semester while also paying to live in New York City. Which meant he was basically fucked.
That's where Henry came in. It was Henry who suggested they use this website, called n3rv3 . Adam hadn't heard of it before, and then after it was described to him he wasn't sure if he would want to do something like that, to play truth or dare extreme edition, without the truth, where his fate was judged by others who played the game deciding what he would do for their entertainment. He needed money, but he didn't want to make it that way, but somehow through the course of one night out, Henry proved to Adam the levels of the game and that it could be fun if he let it. He was kind of in. He was kind of desperate.
It was a warm humid night in New York, and Adam couldn't help but feel nervous. He signed up that afternoon for the game but hadn't yet clicked play. Henry promised him he would have fun as well as make money. There were really only three rules to the game: record everything on his phone, money could potentially be taken away if the player fails or bails, and the player can't report anything to law enforcement, although Adam didn't see the point of the last one. Henry said it was harmless fun, and it looked it after watching Henry make a fool of himself the other night. But he supposed there had to be some extra edge to an over popular game that was probably gonna die out within the month.
"Come on," Henry said, egging him on. "You never have fun."
Adam gave him a withered look before his eyes darted back down to his phone. Play was pulsing under his thumb, asking to be touched.
"Don't feed into peer pressure, Adam," said Blue, who joined them for a night out when she heard Adam might be doing this. The three of them grew up together in the same Podunk town of Virginia, but they were visiting Henry's cousin in Staten Island that weekend to get the lay of the land of Adam's future state. And tonight they were going to make fools of themselves in it.
"It's not peer pressure if he's the one who asked me about it," said Henry. There was a momentary pause as he questioned it, himself. "Right?"
Adam hesitated listening to either friend, knowing in the end it was his decision. He wanted to be spontaneous for once in his life. He wanted to make money like how Henry did last night. He wanted to be a teenager.
He clicked Play.
The screen immediately turned into a camera.
"What- How do I do this?"
He looked to Henry. He didn't get this far in the tutorial. Henry took his phone from him and began swiping and tapping. Adam and Blue both inclined their heads closer to see what it was he was doing.
"Okay, you've got your basic view count in the bottom," Adam already felt ill when he saw a dozen people already looking in, "and dares pop up here. Comments can be made visible or invisible with this little bubble button, and you have to be filming live as you complete a dare otherwise it's not documented and doesn't count. The rest of it I'm sure you'll learn along the way. I did."
Adam took a deep breath and wondered how bad this could be. Henry's worst one the other night was mooning a cop. Okay, no that was pretty bad now that he thought about it. Suddenly he didn't want to play anymore.
"Oh! Your first dare." Henry touched at the screen with glee. He was enjoying this more than Adam was. Or should he say, user @the.magician. That's what he went by on this website.
Henry's smile faded flat. "Okay, this is kind of boring."
And Adam instantly swiped Henry's hand out of the way to read it.
Go to Nino's on 5th for your first dare
Ignoring how creepy it was the game knew relatively where they were, Adam sighed and accepted.
"Okay, let's go," he said.
Nino's on 5th was a pizza place falling apart. There was another one back home that Blue worked at, which was equally in disarray. This one looked like it was trying to be a 50s diner with a side of space town theme. It made no sense, but that was beside the point. When Adam checked back into the app with his location, a new dare appeared on screen.
Kiss a stranger for fifteen seconds
The reward? $100.
Adam couldn't believe this. Fifteen seconds was a lifetime, and with a stranger no less. But $100 for one kiss? What could be the harm in that? But what if they had bad breath? What if there wasn't anyone relatively attractive or age appropriate inside? What if they didn't want to kiss him back?
Inside, Adam only panicked more, seeing the selection of patrons at his disposal.
"Oh my god you're really gonna do this," said Blue. He saw her reach for his phone as they walked. "Did they say which sex or gender to kiss?"
"No, Blue." Adam remembered to hold the phone so his viewers could see what he was seeing. There were comments appearing at the corner of the screen but he ignored them all. They were trying to get him to kiss the weirdest people. An old, balding man who looked to be drooling into his tea. A woman trying to wrangle three kids. A girl probably their age... who had a boyfriend.
His eyes raked over the place as they moved through, Henry whispering pointers in his good ear, and Blue talking about the dangers of group based games.
Then he found himself freezing, eyes having found someone of interest. There in the corner was a lone, shaved head peeking out from behind a large and pretentious Latin novel. He remembered having to read it in high school, and couldn't believe there was someone reading it out here like this for possibly pleasure. His feet were up on the seat of the blue speckled plastic booth cushions, wearing a motorcycle jacket and combat boots. Just above the pages his eyes peered out from behind the book, piercing like a hawk's intense stare just before it dove down into a mouse and ate it. He gulped.
"It says to hurry up," Blue noted dully. Adam panicked and fiddled with his phone. He changed the screens so it was on him again and hissed at his camera.
"Fucking patience," he said.
"Dude," Henry laughed. "You're gonna get kicked out with that attitude."
Adam gave him a look that said he couldn't care less, even though he did. He wanted this money, and more importantly he wanted to prove he could do this. Not to Henry and certainly not to the strangers on his phone that were probably getting some creepy thrill from this. He wanted to prove it to himself, mainly.
After handing off his phone to Henry, he stepped forward, inching really, and then felt Blue give him a gentle shove that knocked him a few big steps closer until he was at the end of the booth. The guy looked up from his book, and when the book was pulled away from his face, Adam momentarily held his breath.
Fuck this guy was gorgeous, with sharp features that enhanced in the harsh lighting of the diner, paired with bright blue eyes that matched the color of the booths. Every bit of him screamed with a warning, but he felt a thrill when their eyes met. It was then he noticed the earring in his right ear and a tattoo peering from under his collar.
With a twisting smirk he eyed Adam up and down, lifting one eyebrow slowly above the other as he motioned for him to speak. Adam felt like an idiot. The comment section probably said as much. He glanced back at Henry and Blue to see Henry with his phone raised to film them. Jesus.
" The Achilleid . That's a good book," said Adam.
The guy noted his own book with an offhand glance. "It's boring. I'm falling asleep."
"Your usual Saturday night?" Adam quipped.
The boy had dimples when he smiled. Jesus Fucking Christ.
"Hurry up," Blue hissed in the distance. Or maybe he was imagining it, because he didn't mind who he picked to kiss at all.
Like a switch had turned on Adam felt his body move on instinct alone. He sat down, pushing off the guy's leg, and he inclined his entire front into him without a second thought.
A little nervous, but suddenly feeling the thrill Henry promised, he watched as the guy's eyes went wide and a flush creep into his cheeks. He was startlingly handsome it almost made this feel staged, like he was left here for him almost.
"I have to kiss you," he said. "I'm sorry."
"What the f-?"
And Adam was kissing him. At first it was a simple basic kiss that Adam felt was nice enough, real simple he could get away with fifteen seconds with this stranger. But then something overcame him, and when the guy opened his mouth in surprise, Adam felt compelled to kiss him deeper. The guy was kissing him back, a sweep of his tongue running across the base of Adam's teeth. His hand came and knotted in Adam's hair, who liked the feeling and leaned more into him as a result. The guy then tilted his head so he could angle himself better, and Adam felt his second hand come to hook at his neck and pull him even closer. Adam felt courage enough to reach and touch the guy's face in return, thumbing the edge of his jaw. This was less a kiss as it was more an adrenaline high, even the other guy's heartbeat fast and jerky like they were on a rollercoaster at high speed. When the big upside down twist came up, Adam heard Blue hissing in the distance.
"You're good," she said. "Stop. Stop . Helloooo ."
Adam pulled from the guy, although his hand was left in place. The boy's penetrating eyes were still closed for a few seconds when they split, and then they opened to Adam's delight. His expression clouded as his hands returned to him, and they were separated at last.
"Okay, thanks." Adam slid out of the booth and walked away. Without looking back, still a little dizzy from the kiss, he hurriedly returned to his friends who were still holding his phone out for him.
"Dude," Henry said, and Adam looked to see he had nearly two hundred viewers from that alone. God, how embarrassing. There were comments flooding in about how hot that was and did you really know him??? we wouldn't judge bc wow and holy shit u really went for it. He muted them with the touch of the bubble button. But he grinned when he saw a bank notification that he got the $100.
"I can't believe you just did that," said Blue.
"Was he a good kisser at least?" asked Henry.
Both Blue and Adam looked at him with similar expressions of disinterest.
They both asked more of him, about the kiss and if he was going to play more, when out of nowhere Blue's eyes were wide with fear.
"What?"
He turned around to see the guy standing directly behind him and he flinched.
"Shit."
At first he thought he looked angry, hooded brow and flatlined lips, but then those lips twitched into a tiny smile and his eyes relaxed as he raised up his phone.
Take cute freckled boy into Manhattan
Adam felt a rush of energy pulse through him. "You play?" he found himself asking.
The guy shrugged. "It beats sitting at home masturbating alone," he replied.
Adam laughed despite himself. The boy quirked out a slightly wider smile, showing his teeth underneath as his lips split apart. Adam couldn't help but feel a little impressed.
He almost forgot they weren't alone until he felt Blue at his side pulling on his arm, and Henry groaning beside her.
"What, you just happened to be here?" asked Blue. He could hear judgment in her voice. She didn't believe him. Adam held her back with an arm across her shoulder.
"The app has location services turned on," the guy reasoned. "Probably knew someone would be here. Matched us or something. I don't know. I had no idea you were going to do that, in case you were at all worried," he said, looking again at Adam. "But now the game wants more, so here I am."
For some reason he trusted what this guy was telling him, even though he had no reason to.
"You can always say no," and the guy shrugged, placing his phone back in his pocket. "I wouldn't hold it against you. I would say no."
"You would?"
"But I did just give you the best kiss of your life, so...." He smirked and Adam almost blushed, but he managed to control his emotions when he remembered they kissed for a dare. He rolled his eyes instead.
Blue scoffed next to him. Adam really wished his friends weren't here eavesdropping on this. He couldn't help but find himself smiling at this guy. His bad jokes were enough that Adam felt himself loosening up at the idea of going across the bridge to Manhattan with him. It was less terrifying as the boy stared back at him with open wonder in his eyes, intrigue in his smile. Adam's whole body twitched.
When he glanced back to his friends, he found Henry giving him eyes that said to go, while Blue looked more apprehensive with her hands across her chest.
"I'll be outside if you change your mind," said the guy, and he disappeared around the corner and out the door.
"Dude, go," Henry said. "We can take care of ourselves."
"Don't feed into peer pressure!" Blue hissed. "This is reckless."
Adam looked between them and back to the where the boy once stood. He teased his teeth on his lip as he remembered how every particle of his body was awakened and rejuvenated at the meeting of their mouths. He almost laughed at himself.
"I'll see you guys later."
"What?" Blue gaped.
"Have fun," said Henry.
Outside Adam followed after the guy to the parking lot, and realized he wasn't wearing a motorcycle jacket just to look hot in it. He was leaning against a motorcycle when he found him. Adam gulped as the guy reached for a helmet hanging from one of the handlebars.
"You sure you want to do this?" he said. "Plenty of time to say no."
"I'm sure," said Adam.
You're in luck, then," the guy said. "I just bought a second helmet today."
He outstretched his hand to Adam, offering one to him. Adam didn't know what to respond to this.
"We can uh take the bus....." he said, collecting himself enough his voice didn't come out as shaky as it wanted. His phone beeped as he stood there, and he looked down at it where a new dare had popped up.
Ride the motorcycle - $200
"Fuck this is creepy." Adam looked around, suspecting someone was watching, but they were alone.
"You left it on," the guy noted. Adam soured, thinking he was making fun of him.
"I'm new at this," he said.
"Wouldn't have guessed." The guy laughed a little when Adam came and gently hit him at the shoulder. After a moment he stepped back again and looked back down at his phone.
"This game isn't safe, in case you think it's an easy ticket to cash," the guy warned. "That kiss is going to be the easiest thing you'll be dared to do all night."
Adam frowned at him. "I can handle myself," he said.
"You sure?"
"Fuck you. Yes, I'm sure."
The guy sat straight on the bike and looked him up and down again. His tongue came to run across the edges of his lips and Adam was pleasantly reminded of the kiss not that far back. The memory triggered his legs to quake, a feeling he did not particularly enjoy displaying in front of this boy.
"You can probably do whatever you put your mind to, I bet," he said. The boy had more faith in his daring side than he did.
Adam was a very logical person. He didn't often take risks. He didn't often do much else except school and work. But in order to pay for school, he needed to do something a little illogical.
"I always get the job done," he explained.
The boy's eyes seemed to soften as he sat forward on the bike, inclining into him as much he could with the distance between them. The light of his bike's speedometer lit up his face from underneath, casting shadows that distorted him. His dark eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks.
"You know, kissing a stranger is a risk these days," he said. "I could've been a serial killer."
"Still could be," Adam replied.
The boy said nothing. With his wicked and sharp smile, and his vibrant blue eyes, he was slowly unearthing an adventure inside Adam that only required him to say yes and sit down. He fidgeted with his phone, then clicked accept.
"Okay," he said, shaky, as the timer went off for him to sit down. "Well, if I'm going to ride on the back of a motorcycle with you, at least tell me your name."
"Ronan Lynch." Ronan offered a hand to shake.
"Adam Parrish," he replied.
They shook hands, Adam's callused palm a little sweaty, as was the rest of him out here in the humidity. Ronan's hand was softer, rough at the edges like his though, and he had a nice, firm grip. The heat of his wrist at Adam's fingertips as they grazed past it for only a second was matched with the feel of his pulse escalating from skin against skin. It was enough to send a buzzing thrill to his head. He sort of wanted to kiss him again.
Focus, Adam.
"Okay." He breathed. "Give me the helmet."
"Sure thing," said Ronan. He flashed another grin as he handed it over.