[Aethi]

All right. There's a bit more sexual tension in this chapter, but I hope I did it well. Enjoy! (Do note: it's exactly 1111 words. Ironically. xD)

Chapter 9

The house was alive, truly and utterly. The loud beat of the music was its heartbeat, the pipes its veins, the windows its airways, the rooms its organs, and most importantly, the people its brains. The night was coming to a stop. The wind had died down, the temperatures far below freezing, and the snow had stopped.

But the teenagers were as alive as ever. And Tyler, the one who was supposedly gay and interested in Kyle, was about to get a dare from the said Kyle. He was excited, cautious, and worried about something humiliating. Not that he didn’t enjoy being humiliated, but he was still worried about it, especially in front of his friends. A public humiliation around those that he didn’t know would be much more preferable than to be humiliated privately in front of his friends. Nevertheless, he would have to wait for the dare, no matter what it was. If it was something humiliating, then he suppose he could forfeit the dare and do the punishment, but, alas, the punishment was so severe.

“So, Tyler…” Kyle began. “Your dare will be… hm.” When he paused for a moment to think about what dare he was going to give Tyler, an idea sprung into his mind. “Oh, for each piece of clothing you have on, you have to swap clothes with someone else.” The young man grinned impishly, as he knew that would force Tyler to become naked, even if it was in another room. Perhaps it was too revealing, but at this moment he didn’t care.

Felix laughed and Jonathon grimaced. “Bit harsh, eh?” Jonathon said.

After a shrug, Tyler took off his shirt and quickly traded with Jonathon. It was his shirt anyway, luckily. He slipped off his jeans, revealing green boxer-briefs, and gave them to Anthony, would gave his shorts to Tyler. He then looked to Kyle and said, “Underwear included?” Tyler almost wished yes at this moment, but at the same time, he didn’t want to do it in front of everyone.

“Nah, not underwear. At least, not yet,” he said with a grin.

Tyler grinned and, feeling strange in the new clothing, turned to Anthony. “So, truth or dare?” he inquired. Though he was not entirely confident of what he had planned, he was confident enough that he knew he wouldn’t be embarrassed by it.

Anthony pondered his choice for a moment before choosing dare. Tyler dared him to only choose dare for the next few rounds. Anthony picked Sebastian, who picked Jonathon again, who picked Felix, as he hadn’t been picked yet. It continued for mostly fun and games besides the slight sexual mentioning here and there. But this had to have an end, just like so many other things did.

Eventually, Felix instructed Kyle, as it was a running joke that he was the “horniest member there”, to strip to his underwear and put his clothing into a pile. “I’m sure that Tyler will get a kick out of this,” he said with a grin. “Also, you can only put on one piece of clothing per time you’re asked, but you have to take off one piece of clothing every two times you’re asked,” the man added with a hint of mischievousness.

Kyle jokingly pouted for a moment before starting to strip down. He placed the two pieces of clothing he had on besides his underwear into a pile next to him. With a shiver he looked over to Jonathon. “If I can’t call on him to get pay, I suppose you’ll do.” Taking a breath, grinning evilly, and rubbing his arms to keep warm, he added, “Strip completely.”

Jonathon raised an eyebrow, and said, “Seriously?” His town of voice was incredulous, not condescending.

“Yeah, seriously,” Kyle replied. He wasn’t going to have his idea be put down just because someone didn’t want to have a bit of fun. Sure, it may be selfish, but it was going to be how he was going to be.

Jonathon sighed and began to remove his clothing. He did it all hastily, as if he would lose the nerve if he paused. Pausing for the slightest moment when he got to his boxers, he closed his eyes and practically ripped them off. It excited Kyle, but he felt awkward. Then again, seeing another man naked was something to be excited by, even if you were straight, right? Whatever the case, he didn’t care; it excited him.

Anthony and Sebastian were curiously looking around, trying not to be seen how exciting and new this was for them, but Felix was stealing glances at Jonathon, apparently not trying to hide it. Tyler was smirking at Kyle, eyeing his ‘abs’. Tyler was interested in Jonathon, sure, but he was so undeniably more interested in Kyle.

Kyle grinned at Tyler, but then tried to think of his next dare and truth. He still didn’t know who he was going to pick, much less what he was going to make them do. Perhaps Felix, or perhaps Anthony. But what truth would be interesting for them? What dare would be humiliating but enjoyable for them?

Sebastian, who was picked by Jonathon, picked truth. He was asked what was the most sexual thing he did with his brother was, which he responded with a very embarrassing “slept with him while naked”. It wasn’t really that sexual, but it still make the group laugh at him. Embarrassing? Yes. Humiliating? Yes. Worth it? Yes.

Sebastian turned to Tyler with a smirk. “So, Tyler, truth or dare?” he asked with a strange tone to his voice, one that Kyle couldn’t detect exactly what it was.

“Erm…” Tyler began, realizing the hint of something in Sebastian’s voice was probably something sinister, “truth?”

Sebastian nodded and asked, “So, Tyler, who do you think is the hottest, here, in this room?”

Tyler swallowed, obviously afraid to mention it. Blinked. Swallowed again. Took a breath. “Kyle,” he said, though quietly. Jonathon blinked, Anthony and Sebastian grinned, and Felix showed no response. Kyle merely smirked.

“Thank you,” Kyle said, smugly. “I guess,” he added with a joking tone. In truth, he actually really enjoyed it. In the short time he had to think over everything, he managed to realize he truly enjoyed the fact that Tyler liked him. Partly because it was an honor, and partly because he actually truly liked Tyler back.

“So, Kyle, truth or dare?” Tyler asked with a smirk.

“Dare.” Kyle’s heart was beating, unsure of what Tyler had planned for him. Perhaps something simple, perhaps not. No matter the case, it was frightening for him.

“All right. I want you to kiss me.”