Chapter 2
Thursday had arrived sooner than expected. The day before the deadline. Hero still hadn’t figured out how to create the truth serum, and it was causing him to stress out. Reminding him that we still had hours to get it down only seemed to stress him out further.
“What are you missing in the serum?” I asked in an attempt to help.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be trying to figure that out,” Hero snapped.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. Why couldn’t I do anything right?
Hero glanced up for a split second, a hint of regret written on his face, but instantly looked back down. Ayden was intently watching Hero as he worked on the potion, not blinking for minutes on end. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t even noticed I was here.
In the corner of my eye, I noticed the door slightly opening. It was the tuxedo kitty, strutting over to me. My lips curled into a smile.
“Hi, kitty,” I said in a high-pitched voice. It meowed.
Ayden finally took his eyes off Hero, smiling at the kitty. Hero jerked his head. “Get the cat out now.”
“Why?” Ayden asked.
“It might try to jump on the table and…” Hero stammered for a moment before looking Ayden in the eyes. “It’ll ruin the potion. Why would you even leave the door open for the cat to come in?”
Before Ayden could respond, his sister, Cara, came barging into the room. Her blonde hair was put into two low ponytails. “I want the kitty.”
“Yes, please take it,” Hero said gently, gesturing for me to give the kitty over to her. I extended my arms, and she took the kitty before leaving the room.
* * *
“I got it!” Hero poured the last ingredient into the beaker, and the liquid inside that had previously been grey had now turned green. He glanced up at both of us, flashing a huge smile.
“Are you sure?” Ayden asked eagerly.
“Pretty sure.” Hero paused, then frowned when he realized that we didn’t know what he meant. “It’s time to test it out.”
We all silently glared at each other; none of us wanted to test it first.
“Ladies first?” Ayden shrugged. I stared at him, crossing my arms. “What? It was just a suggestion.”
But Hero continued to stare at me. “I’d like that. I’d really like if you were the first person ever to drink a truth serum.”
He didn’t want to pressure me; he wanted me to feel honored. I did feel honored, of course. Being the first person to try something new was a great honor, but in this case, it was also a huge risk, and Hero didn’t seem to take that into account.
But even so, I didn’t want him to feel disappointed.
“I will do it.” I extended a hand to pick up the beaker, staring at the green liquid that was filled to the brim. I placed the beaker to my lips and lifted it, the liquid pouring down my throat. It had the grainy texture of sand and the sour taste of a lime.
“Yuck.” I stuck my tongue out to show my disgust. Both of the boys stared at me, trying to observe any side effects. A minute passed and nothing seemed to be different.
“Ask me a question,” I said, breaking the silence.
“Do you have a crush on anyone?” was the first question I heard. It came from Ayden.
My eyes widened and my face turned red. I didn’t think they would ask personal questions like that, but it made sense after thinking about it. After all, how would we know it works if I was not being asked a difficult question?
“Yes,” I blurted, immediately covering my mouth with my hands. I didn’t want to answer it, but the words just spilled right out of my mouth. Hero and Ayden glanced at each other, then back at me.
“Who?” they asked in unison.
“Hero.”
I have had a crush on Hero since middle school.
Three years, to be exact. He was my first love, and still is.
I never told him because I was afraid it would ruin our friendship.
I knew Hero didn’t have the same feelings towards me, so what was the point of telling him?
But now he knew, and it wasn’t by choice.
I just blurted out that I liked one of my best friends and I couldn’t do a thing about it.
I stood there in silence as their eyes widened in surprise. I hoped for one of them to at least say something—anything—but there was just silence. I started to walk out of the room, tears falling to the floor, afraid of what else would come out of my mouth if I spoke.
Hero grabbed my arm. “Don’t go.”
I wiped my tears with my other hand before facing him. “Why would you guys ask me that?!” I shook out of his grip. “Do you understand how embarrassing that was?”
Hero shuffled his feet. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“Me neither.” Ayden nodded. “But hey, at least we know the truth serum works.”
I chuckled, sniffling. “That’s true.”
“It’s only fair that you ask us personal questions too,” he suggested.
Hero shot a sharp look at him but agreed. Asking them embarrassing questions would definitely make me feel better. They both respected that I didn’t want to talk about my crush on Hero, not mentioning it even once.
“Who’s going next?” I asked, grinning.
Hero took the beaker and drank a few sips, hesitantly swallowing it. His eyes shut, due to the sour taste.
“Ask away,” he coughed, the taste still lingering in his mouth.
“What was your most embarrassing moment during middle school?”
“It must’ve been when Reese pulled my pants down in the cafeteria for everyone to see,” he blurted. “Or when I thought Violet actually liked me.”
Hero used to be obsessed with Violet. I tried blocking her out of my mind, but that just wasn’t possible—she was in our class this year. It was impossible not to hear her loud, obnoxious voice.
Violet was the cause of Hero and Ayden not being friends anymore.
It was the middle of seventh grade—she had just transferred to Pineshire Academy and didn’t know anyone.
During lunch, I noticed she was eating alone.
I had approached her, asking if she would like to sit with us. That was a mistake. A huge one.
She instantly became talkative with Hero and Ayden, but whenever I said something, she would act as if I weren’t even there.
After a week, she had them at her feet. She dated both of them—yes, at the same time.
They were always competing for her attention and that was what led to them hating each other.
Violet never liked either of them, only using them to gain popularity, and even tried to break my friend group apart. Unfortunately for her, they never left me out or cancelled plans with me, so she didn’t completely break apart the friend group like she intended to.
She ditched them once she was able to get in with Reese’s friend group. Even though it was Violet’s fault—manipulating them—neither of them would admit it and move past it. They held a grudge towards each other for competing over her.
Hero clenched his jaw and shoved the beaker to Ayden’s chest. “Your turn.”
Ayden grabbed ahold of the beaker and stared at it. His hands were shaking, hesitant to drink it. He looked at me, his eyes filled with fear. “You won’t ask me the same question, will you?”
I was. I thought maybe if his answer was similar, regarding Violet, they would bond from it. But considering Ayden’s reaction, I was far from the truth.
“I told mine.” Hero’s eyes darkened. “It’s only fair you answer it too.”
“I won’t drink it.”
“It is my truth serum, and I am telling you to drink it,” Hero demanded, catching on that Ayden must be hiding something. What was he so afraid of?
“Yours?” Ayden scoffed. “We all had a part in creating it.”
“Drink it,” Hero repeated.
“Get out,” Ayden croaked, not being able to make eye contact.
Hero snatched the beaker from Ayden’s shaky hands and splashed him with the truth serum, carefully making sure there would still be enough left to present with.
He began walking out with his bag over one shoulder and beaker in hand, then stopped at the doorway, turning to face me. “Are you coming, Pepper?”
Ayden’s hair was completely soaked with the sticky, green liquid. He clenched his jaw, approaching Hero at a fast pace.
“Ayden, don’t!” I shouted.
But it was too late.
Ayden swung a punch at Hero. Hero threw the beaker to me for safekeeping before pushing Ayden to the floor. He then lunged on top of him and began throwing punches at his face. Left fist. Right fist. Left. Right. Left. Right.
I screamed for him to stop. With all of the commotion, Ayden’s parents heard it and stormed upstairs. Mr. Davis pulled Hero off of Ayden. “OUT OF THE HOUSE. NOW!” He then turned his attention to his son, pulling him up.
Mrs. Davis examined Ayden’s bloody face. “Oh, my baby.”
Hero spat at Ayden, took the beaker out of my hands, and swiftly walked out without saying a word. He slammed the front door so loudly that we could hear it from all the way upstairs.
“I’m so sorry,” I said in a panicked tone, “I tried to stop them but—”
“Don’t blame yourself, dear. You seem like such a sweet girl.” She put a hand on my shoulder. “We do need to speak to Ayden alone though, so if you would head out as well, please?”
“Of course, ma’am.” I quickly nodded, hurriedly taking my backpack and glancing over at Ayden once more before heading out.
As I headed out of the house, I could hear his parents demanding to know what happened. They were so worried. Were my parents worried about me?