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“Are we really doing this?” I glanced at Maya nervously, hoping she’d say “No, we’re actually going to look up cute videos of bunnies,” but instead she just said, “Yes. We are. Everyone else is cool with it, Riles.”
I turned my attention to the other people in the group. Lucas just shrugged, Farkle and Smackle looked slightly wary, and Zay looked thoroughly excited.
I sighed. “Fine.” I crossed my arms and let out a little huff, just so Maya would know that I was agreeing, but I wasn’t happy about it. Mostly what I was concerned about was what my parents would think, not that I intended on telling them. Intended – that’s the key word. Because knowing me, the truth was bound to come out at some point.
“Great!” Maya clapped her hands together once, with a big smile. The six of us were sitting in a circle on the floor of Maya’s living room. We were alone as Katy commonly worked night shifts at the diner, and this was one of those nights. Maya placed an empty bottle of vodka on its side in the middle of the circle.
“I didn’t know your mom drank hard liquor,” Lucas said, pointing at the bottle.
Maya shrugged. “She doesn’t.”
Realization hit me. “Peaches!” I gasped.
“Anyways, let’s begin!” Maya hurriedly said, ignoring my gasp. We were going to have to talk later, I thought to myself.
Maya placed her fingers on the glass bottle, and with a little flick, sent the bottle spinning. It was a good spin too; it went around the circle at least seven times before it slowed to a stop in front of its first victim. I stared down at the bottle, the neck pointed at me, and turned to Maya.
“Hey, Peaches – ” And before I knew it Maya’s lips were on mine, and then they weren’t anymore.
I sat there, dazed for a second, as I tried to comprehend what happened. But before I could think about it too much, Maya was telling Lucas it was his turn. Lucas sighed and gave the bottle a good spin.
“Aw, c’mon!” Lucas exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air. Smackle, the chosen one, was rolling her eyes.
“Lucas. I’m in a relationship,” Smackle enunciated each word, glaring at Lucas.
“But I – the bottle – I didn’t – gaaah.” Lucas sighed, defeated, and leaned across the circle to give Smackle a quick kiss, her nose scrunched up in aversion. Before Lucas had leaned back into his spot, Zay was already spinning the bottle, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. It made me a little uncomfortable to think of how excited Zay was for this, but at the same time, it was so typically Zay that it didn’t bother me so much. Unfortunately for Zay, the odds weren’t in his favour. The bottle pointed at one of the two other boys.
“We don’t have to do this,” Farkle said, a concerned expression on his face.
Zay sighed. “Oh Farkle. If only we didn’t have to do this. But alas, I must follow the rules of the mighty bottle.”
No one really wanted to see a Zarkle kiss, so the rest of us averted our eyes and tried not to think about it too much. Then it was Smackle’s turn. It landed on a pleased Zay, much to Smackle’s dismay. Smackle was obviously trying to make it a quick kiss, but Zay placed a hand behind her neck and smashed his lips to hers. When he released her, Smackle looked stunned, and then quickly shook it off, wiping her mouth and glaring at Zay. Zay just laughed, clearly enjoying his little stunt. Farkle looked tense at Smackle’s side.
On Farkle’s turn the bottle landed on Maya, and Smackle was not happy at all. She grabbed onto Farkle’s arm, shaking her head.
“I’m his girlfriend, and Maya...well, she’s not his girlfriend,” Smackle tried to reason. It occurred to me that Smackle still felt insecure about being in a relationship with Farkle. She didn’t want to risk losing him. I started to feel something in my stomach, kind of like...jealousy?
“It’s alright, I’m with you,” Farkle reassured Smackle, and she eased up on her hold on him. Again, I felt a jealous pang in my stomach, and I felt confused because I couldn’t say why. Maya and Farkle briefly kissed, and Smackle instantly relaxed afterwards.
Finally, it was my turn. I hesitantly twirled the bottle, and closed my eyes waiting for it to stop. I opened my eyes a few seconds later, and looked up to meet Farkle’s gaze, the gaze of the person I was about to kiss. As if out of nowhere, my heart rate sped up and I felt my palms getting sweaty. What was happening? It was just Farkle, good old Farkle. Childhood friend, genius, kind, and always looking out for me...My heart beat sped up even more. Smackle didn’t look very happy that Farkle was about to kiss another girl that wasn’t her, but he slowly rubbed her back with one hand, soothing her.
I gave Farkle a nervous look, and he smiled at me and shrugged. Right. No big deal. Farkle was the one who started leaning in first, and Maya nudged me to do the same. Our lips met and...and...I couldn’t explain it. I had kissed Lucas before, when I thought I was in love with him, but it was nothing compared to this. I understood where the whole fireworks comparison came from now, because that’s what it felt like. I wanted to keep kissing Farkle, at least for a little while longer, but we both ended up leaning back too soon. Farkle and I stared at each other, both with similar expressions on our face. An expression that would give Smackle a panic attack. My attention to turned to Smackle, praying she didn’t see the look and mine and Farkle’s faces when we stopped kissing, and she looked indifferent. I sighed in relief. Smackle was my friend – I didn’t want to hurt her in any way. Maya on the other hand, clearly noticed. She gave me a wary look, and I bit my lip and looked away.
“So uh, that’s it I guess. Who wants to watch a movie?” Maya tried to take the attention off of the last. There were some murmurs of agreement from the group, but I sat in silence. Something had changed tonight, and somebody was going to get hurt.