[Fiction] DARE! The Hidden Power

[sarahsarah]

Please note that this is very different to my other stories on this site.
It will be a slightly slow build into what I hope is a beautiful crescendo and resemble more of a novella. This story may also contain some dark themes in the future so bear this in mind if it isn't to your taste.

Please provide feedback if you would like me to continue this.

This story is based off of the film 'Nerve'. The plot will follow a similar early development before taking a route of its own. Enjoy

Chapter 1

In 2028, a power shift occurred in a way that nobody would have ever anticipated. A city transformed in a desire to be relevant thrown into chaos, based on the hopes and desires of a lone few.

It’s often discussed where the true power lies in the world. Some argue that it lies with the rich but they’d be wrong. The rich are limited by that which cannot be purchased by wealth, they are limited through knowledge and fame. Wealth comes with a price of its own. Others believe that power comes with the politicians, but again they’d be wrong. Politicians are elected by the public and that means they never have true power. History proves that even dictatorships and royalty are weak. They can be taken down swiftly; a target glowing on their back.

So where does the real power lie? Nobody truly knows, because the true power lies where the weak are the same as the strong, those with nothing are the same as those with everything, where all voices have a say, but no targets are created. Nobody knows where true power lies... because true power is anonymous.

****************************************

Liv stared at her screen with the same anxiety as she had for the last thirty minutes. Her dream lay waiting on that screen, finally a scholarship offer into the arts college she’d desired for the last three years. The large accept button flashing at the bottom of the email; all she had to do was reach forward and tap that box with her finger, the sensor would read her fingerprint and she would be registered.

Instead she selected the reply button and began to type. ‘To whomever it may concern, I am sorry to confirm that I will not be able to accept your offer of scholarship for the class of 2032. This is because...’ How could she finish that sentence. ‘Because I’m a spineless coward who can’t tell my mother who she really feels about life and I am a pathetic skbnsotnbsobtn’, Liv typed ferociously before slamming her face down into her desk, her blond hair flowing down onto the keyboard as her hands stretched out in frustration.

Liv looked up, and stared at her hands. The pink tips on her fingernails were still glistening from when her mother had done them only an hour ago. How could she tell her that her little girl wanted to abandon her for good. She looked behind the email and saw she had a new FlowShine alert, the latest social media craze. Normally she would have ignored it, but seeing the name made her heart flutter. JD Robertson had mentioned her in a post. Frantically she selected the notification.

‘Thanks for the great photo, totally gonna look a stud on my profiles with this one – With Liv Finn.’

Liv stared at her camera work. It really was beautiful, really capturing the 3D landscape background. She had a talent for photography, which had led to her offer. Her FacePhone suddenly started to buzz, displaying the name ‘Sonya Bliss.’ Liv quickly answered the phone and was greeted by the welcoming face of her best friend. “Hey babes, been stalking JD again?” Sonya joked.

“No, I’ve just been reading the news,” Liv lied, quickly closing the FlowShine page and bringing up a base news website. She saw Sonya’s curly red hair flick back to reveal a smirk. The girl was so confident in everything she did, never hesitating and never doubting her own ability. Liv often spent her time in Sonya’s shadow, but it meant she often got included in a way that she probably wouldn’t be without her friend. Sonya could probably easily dump her for a cooler crowd, but the two had been close for years and that had continued into senior year.

“Whatever biatch, I know you’ve never read the news. You know you just need to ask him right. Constantly taking photos from afar is gonna get you nowhere in life,” Sonya goaded.
“Shut up, it isn’t like that. Why the hell would he be interested in me anyway.”
“Because you’re goddamn fucking hot. Just let your hair down for once, literally. Stop tying it up and put on something a little less, noughties nerd,” Sonya replied.
“If you say so, but you know that isn’t me,” Liv replied and it was true. She didn’t like to stand out and be leered at, and it didn’t matter what Sonya was saying, she didn’t see that sexy body.
“Please tell me you’re at least coming to the game though?” Sonya asked.
Liv sighed. “Yeah, I have to be. I agreed to take photos for the school paper as usual. They want big headline shots for the end of year championship celebration.”
“Great, because you won’t want to miss it,” Sonya stated.

‘Of course not,’ Liv thought. Sonya was cheerleader captain so she probably had something big planned for the championship game that she assumed would blow the roof off. Liv never understood cheer leading as a skill. She got that it took some talent, but for the most part it seemed a knock off of actual dancing. But non-the-less it was what Sonya wanted to do, so as a good friend she had to support it.

“So.... Liv.... Have you signed up for ‘Dare’ yet?” Sonya teased.
“What the hell is dare?” Liv asked.
“How haven’t you heard of it. It’s all everyone is talking about. It’s a dark net game challenge that’s all over the internet. You have to be a viewer for me. Hang on let me send you a video.”

A link suddenly popped up on Liv’s screen and she quickly clicked on it. A dark video with flashing lights started to play. Huge dollar signs flew around as a booming voiceover began. ‘Do you consider yourself daring? Do you believe you can do what others can’t? Maybe you have what it takes to become a Contender. Make big money by completing challenges set for you by viewers or if you just want to watch become a viewer yourself for just $18 a day. Challenges are taking place constantly for the next week and even right now. There are only two ways to lose, Bail or Fail. Earn your way to the top of our money and viewers boards and become the final two and you’ll play in our big money finale. Alternatively support those who want to win your hearts. So the question is, Do you DARE?!’ Images flashed of crazy stunts, silly acts, blue pill red pill and more money.

The video cut to black and then a screen flashed up with two large boxes. One read CONTENDER and the other VIEWER. “So Liv, are you going to be a viewer for me or not?”
“You’ve seriously signed up for this shit?”
“Hell yeah, it’s already making people famous and this could be my rocket ship to the top. So you going to sign up and support me or what?”

“OLIVIA!”
“Sorry, I’ve got to go, my mother is calling. I’ll see you at the game and maybe sign up when I get back afterwards,” Liv stated and quickly hung up before running out the room.

“Hey mother, what’s up?” Liv asked as she walked into the room.
“Dinner’s ready,” her mother stated as she piled a large portion of lasagna onto a plate and handed it to Liv. Liv eyed up the monster portion. Her mother always did enough food to feed about six despite it just being the two of them at the moment. Her Father would be back in about two months but was currently away on duty.
“Thanks mother,” Liv said, taking the plate and sitting at the kitchen table. She quickly dug into the dish as her mother timidly started on her own portion.

“I was thinking Liv, I’m so proud of you right now. You’ve been successful in your exams, you’ve been accepted into a local school, and although I can’t really afford the accommodation costs, it means you can be my college roommate instead,” her mother said dreamily.
“On that mom, what if we possibly put this place up as a bed and breakfast. We could clear out my brother’s room finally and then we could make enough money for me to go to college dorms. It’ll give you some space as well,” Liv suggested.
“I don’t want space! I just want to be close to you, especially after Tommy!” her mother said, voice rising.
Liv sighed. “It’s been two years that he’s been gone now mother. Isn’t it finally time to move past it. He isn’t going to come back, he can’t come back,” she retaliated, tears forming in her eye.

It was two years ago that the accident happened. We say an accident although it was more an act of outright stupidity. Tommy had always been into his cars and eventually it had led to the unthinkable. A drag race through the tunnels of the city as he had many times before, but a mistake had meant he didn’t come home that time. Since then her mother had kept her ridiculously close, trying to keep her away from any harm.

On that comment her mother disappeared upstairs with her plate of food, leaving Liv to dwell in silence. She picked up her Swipe (Basically a modern phone, similar size to a playing card which also recorded on command) and called her friend Sam to come and collect her. Since Tommy’s passing, she had never learned to drive, she just couldn’t stomach it. An hour later and she was stood in the male locker room.

The unusual nature of the situation had washed away over time and now seeing partially naked men everywhere didn’t phase her. For the most part she felt like a ghost, even with Sam beside her. They completely ignored her presence in the room as she went about her business, taking team photos that may be useful for bigging up the propaganda on campus.

Her eyes couldn’t help but gaze in the direction of JD though, a slightly larger than necessary sample of the photos being of his shirtless body. His rippling 6 pack on the dark shin with that pure cockiness, which passed as charm in the right way. Over 6 foot and all hunk, she would love to tell him how she felt and dive into a kiss but she just felt to shy and scared of rejection. She snapped one more photo of his smile as it was directed her way and went back to trying to capture team spirit.

The music blarted out and the team started the charge. Liv stumbled backwards trying to capture photos as the team ran out onto the pitch. She turned once they had all passed and watched as the cheerleaders formed their signature pyramid formation. She watched Sonya pose in front for the team. Liv caught her eye and she came running over. “So glad you made it Liv, it’ll be a night to remember.”

She turned to the crowd and Liv saw Chevon waiting with what looked like Sonya’s Swipe. Sonya went running towards her and Liv caught a glimpse of what she said. “Hello viewers, this is for you babes, keep watching and get me to the top.” Sonya blew a kiss to the camera and ran back to the cheerleaders.

The dance continued for about a minute, with Liv continuing to take her usual team spirit photos, and only as the music hit a crescendo did the crowd instantly silence. Sonya, spinning into a handstand, caused her skirt to drop down and reveal what everyone else could see for themselves. There was nothing on underneath. Sonya had just revealed her entire body to the team, the coaches, the crowd and Liv’s camera.

Finally Sonya fell back onto her feet, covering herself up. Gasps still echoed around the crowd. Liv looked into the stands and saw Chevon giving a big thumbs up. Written on Sonya’s Swipe were two large bold words: ‘DARE COMPLETE.’

[iceman713]

Yo Sarah glad to see your back. Great start so far keep it up looks interesting

[Wardishydra]

Wow, this is a really well written story. Besides the sexual aspect, it reads like a real sci-fi novella! Great job!

[sarahsarah]

Originally Posted by iceman713

Yo Sarah glad to see your back. Great start so far keep it up looks interesting

Thanks, I'm going to try and keep updating casually. I am still very busy so it may be a slow process. I will try to ensure that I don't let my stories die though.

Originally Posted by Wardishydra

Wow, this is a really well written story. Besides the sexual aspect, it reads like a real sci-fi novella! Great job!

Thank you. That is exactly what I am pushing for. There will be some more sexual scenes in the future but I am trying to create a full plot.

[sarahsarah]

Chapter 2

Liv continued to stare at her camera in total disbelief at what had just happened. She ran over to Chevon to look at the Swipe to see what had just happened. “What the hell Chevon, why did she just do that?” Liv questioned.
“Chill your bill Liv. It’s all cool, look at these hearts flying in and that viewer count is shooting through the roof.” Liv stared at the swipe which had a stream of hearts flying through the right column. In the bottom left showed the handle she was going by @Sonyaknowit. In the bottom right was a hieroglyphic eye and next to it read the number 1136.
“You mean over a thousand people are currently watching Sonya?” Liv asked.
“Hell yeah. Well they’re probably watching the dare complete highlight but you get the point. She’s into the top 10 on the leaderboard already with over 4000 viewers in total. It’s awesome.” Chevon continued.

At that point the screen flashed off and was replaced by a message, ‘Congratulations, $200 has been credited to your account.’ The screen flashed a few times before it went blank. “So, she just gets payed to do these tasks? How are they decided?”
“Well, that’s done by the viewers, hang on I’ll show you how it works.” Chevon put Sonya’s slide down and pulled out her own, quickly logging into dare being greeted by the message ‘Welcome back viewer.’ “Basically you click on the person you want and anyone is able to suggest a task. Other viewers can then approve or deny it. If a task gets enough approvals then a moderator will initiate it. Nobody is sure who the mods are but they seem very active. You can also donate towards prize pools in the hope that moderators may push it further.”

Liv stared madly at the screen as it flashed onto a user @RodIsGod. “Hey viewers, you asked for it, you got it.” He winked at the screen, seemed to pass the swipe to someone and ran backwards. Suddenly he disappeared over the edge of a cliff. Whoever was holding the swipe followed him forward and caught the image of him plummeting head first into the sea. A mass of hearts suddenly flooded the side of the screen. Comments railed off down the left. ‘Wow man, balls of steels’, ‘Holy shit, thought he’d die’, ‘Woo Woo Woo’, ‘Rod really is God’, ‘For the win man’.

“This is absolutely insane,” Liv shouted at the swipe.
Chevon smiled. “Yeah it is. Rod is currently topping the leaderboard, and you may say it’s insane but that task just made him $700.” Liv just laughed and walked off, looking back down at her camera. It was still displaying the picture of Sonya, her pussy completely on display. Liv shook her head in disbelief. Not only did she have this picture, but up to 4000 people had just seen the same image and potentially saved it, saved this shaven slit of her best friend into their own folders. Sonya may have wanted to become famous, but Liv couldn’t believe this was the way she wanted to go about it.

An hour later and Liv was sat in the local cafe opposite Sonya. Chevon was peering over her shoulder at the swipe in her hands. Ryan was sat next to her watching intently. Sam finally came back to the table. He handed Liv a milkshake and took his own as he sat in the seat behind her.
“How the hell did @JackIt become so high on the list, he’s up to third and above me now. He was nowhere a few hours ago?” Sonya blurted out annoyed.
“Apparently...” Ryan stated, “He spread peanut butter out on his junk and got his dog to lick it off.”
“I could’ve done that...” Sonya stated nonchalantly, “... I just don’t have a dog.”
“... Or a dick” Liv added causing Sam to laugh.
“Small details,” Sonya said. “The point is, I’m ready, willing, and game to win.”

Chevon stared at her swipe a bit and looked over Sonya’s profile. “How the hell do they know that you’re afraid of heights and being tied up?”
Sonya’s face suddenly went slightly shocked. Ryan cut in “Oh that’s easy. All they do is take all the information off your other online profiles and install it into your ‘Dare’ profile.”
“That is mega creepy like,” Sonya replied before taking a large slurp of her own drink.
“You do realise that you just got suspended,” Liv commented, “How the hell are you still even talking about this game? If you keep going you’ll probably get expelled, you should be done with this stuff.”

“Hell no Liv, a similar game went around in the UK at one point. The girl who won that got insta famous,” Sonya answered.
“Who the hell cares?” Liv asked.
“I obviously care Liv. It’s not like I’d expect you to understand though. I’m an adrenaline junkie. You just prefer to stay in your comfort zone and that’s fine.”
Liv gently hit the table annoyed, “That is not true Sonya, what about the pole dancing class that we took together?”
“Liv, really? I dragged you to the class and you watched on from the corner,” Sony taunted.
“Well yeah, I’m more of a visual than active learner.”

“Why the hell are you attacking her?” Sam interjected.
“I’m not attacking her Sam,” Sonya replied, “Life is just passing her by. Maybe you just need to take a few risks once in a while. Take a chance for once.”
“I do take chances Sonya,” Liv stated.
Sonya smirked. “OK... OK... Let’s say that you were one of the people playing Dare! What would make a good dare for you?” Sonya asked the group openly.
“Make out with JD” Chevon whispered lightly.
“Woah,” Ryan interjected, “Lets start easy. Just talk to JD for once.” Liv tried to stammer out a reply but couldn’t form a meaningful sentence.
“Come on Liv,” Sonya added, “He probably likes you to, but you’re never going to know if you never talk to the guy.”

Ryan started to sway and laugh, “Who wouldn’t want to see Livvy... necking it on with JD?”
“Oh my gawd, yes,” Chevon answered. “Everybody who’d in the yes say yes.” A harmonious yesss echoed from Sonya Chevon and Ryan. Only Sam didn’t egg it on. Liv turned to look at the table where the team was sat. JD was laughing away to Gaz, the captain.
“So yes, yes, yes” Sonya pointed at each of the them in turn, “And I assume no,” she pointed towards Sam.
“I abstain,” Sam commented getting a thanking nod from Liv.

“Either way Liv, it looks like the majority have it. You’ve just been dared. Do you choose to accept your dare Liv?” Sonya asked.
“Say yes, go on,” Chevon added, trying to egg the girl on.
“What’s the actual point though, we’re about to graduate anyway?” Liv asked.
“All you have to do is start a conversation, go say hi,” Sonya stated.
Liv sighed, “But I don’t want to say hi and have a conversation.”
Sonya nodded. “That’s fine. I love you Liv, but at the end of the day it just shows, your a viewer and not a contender.” Liv shot Sonya an annoyed look. “So since that’s the case, watch me do it for you.”
“No, no, no, no, no,” Liv blurted out trying to stop Sonya from standing up. “Sit, sit, sit, sit,” she added but it was too late. Sonya had already gone and was heading towards the four players.

Sonya got a mild applause as the lads spotted her approaching. “Hey Sonya, great show, maybe show us the tits next time as well though,” Kev joked.
“Only if you show us yours first Kev, I hear it’s really big,” Sonya goaded him sarcastically, pulling her hands close together for effect. The other players burst out laughing.
“I mean, it’s average,” Kev tried to defend to no avail.
Sonya punched JD lightly in the shoulder, “So JD, I was wondering... Do you have a girlfriend right now?” Liv gasped and tried to hide her face in the arm of her hoody. JD started to stammer before Sonya cut him off. “It’s not for me, it’s for a friend.”
“Well... which friend?” JD asked causing Sonya to point dramatically towards Liv. JD turned his head towards her direction and Liv tried to put on her best smile and hesitantly waved towards him.

What followed was a long pause which felt an eternity to Liv. The room seemed to have just dropped by 5 degrees in an endless silence of purgatory. JD turned back to Sonya, “No, no, I’m sorry... she’s not really my type.” Liv couldn’t help but shake her head, her world seeming to tumble around her.
“You’re not nearly as hot as you think you are JD, you’re just a douchebag,” Sonya stated, patting him hard on the shoulder before heading back towards where Liv was sat, frozen in place.

Liv couldn’t face it. She stood up, grabbed her rucksack with her camera and stuff in it and stormed towards the exit. “Come on, Liv... Don’t go,” Chevon and Ryan called after her.
Sonya saw her leaving and tried to chase after her. “Liv, please Liv, Liv,” She called out but the girl just kept going.
“Just let her go,” Sam stated at Sonya. He sighed and shook his head, “You know, that wasn’t cool.”
“I’m just trying to help her,” Sonya defended herself.
“Well... that wasn’t helpful.”

Liv stormed straight from the cafe onto her bag and plugged in her headphones. She got on her bike and peddled hard. The second she was out of earshot from anyone she screamed and screamed hard. Messages popped up on her handlebar display, synced in with her Swipe. The first was from Sonya, ‘I’m Sorry Liv. You’re too smart an hot for him anyways’ followed by 3 hearts. The second was from Sam, ‘Screw Sonya, not everyone needs to be a contender.’

Liv shook her head, discarded the messages from her mind and continued to pedal quickly until she got home. She ignored her mothers comments downstairs and made straight for her bedroom, slamming the door closed behind her and throwing her bag onto the bed. She flung herself forward after it and slammed her face into the pillow crying out in frustration.

How could her friend do that to her, betray her in such a horrendous manner. She stared back at her swipe and the messages she received. Sonya just seemed to live in her own bubble, she didn’t care about who else it effected. All she wanted was her own life to be glorious, and it didn’t matter who suffered in her wake. She stared at Sam’s message. He was no better. She knew he at least cared for her but he didn’t have any faith in her, seeing her as his helpless friend he had a crush on and could protect from harm.

She threw the swipe down and groaned loudly. Why did she always feel like she had to tackle life on her own? Her mother just saw her as a little girl, her friends had no idea, her dad wasn’t even around. It was her versus the wall.

That’s when she saw it.

It was still loaded on her screen from earlier. Dare!. Clearly the two boxes still shone brightly: In the left in big green writing was the word ‘Viewer’, and on the right in Bold red the word ‘Contender’. Liv was fed up of living her life in the shadows, fed up of being a fly on the wall of her own life. Her eyes zoomed in on the screen, focused purely on those two words. She sat at the desk and looked over the display, her FlowShine still showing JD’s face in the background. The news article about a random teen getting hit by a train that she pulled up in a hurry sat in front of it. The email with her arts application sat beside it, but her eyes only cared for one thing.

She thought back over the experience at the cafe, focusing on those two words. She clenched her fists, reached forward and touched the word ‘Contender.’

A green loading symbol replaced the two words and suddenly the booming voice kicked back in with related images filling the screen at each point. ‘Hello, welcome to Dare!. You have chosen Contender. Dare is a direct democracy. Viewers will decide your dares. The two contenders with the most viewers by the end of regulation will advance to the final round where the winner takes all. Viewers can watch from anywhere, but we encourage them to film live so don’t be alarmed by any cameras. There are three important rules to follow. One, all dares must be filmed on the active contender’s phone. Two, there are two ways to get eliminated, fail to complete a task, or bail from doing a task in the first place. Three, All snitches... End up with stitches,” An image of a child shushing appeared on the screen, “Thank you for keeping Dare a secret, Good Luck Contender.”

Her Swipe came to life beside her. A yellow box appeared at the top ‘Please Enter ID’. Liv reached forward and placed her forefinger on the swipe, allowing it to read her fingerprint. The second it had scanned a new yellow box appeared. ‘Are you ready for your first dare?’ with a green accept box next to it.

Liv reached forward and tapped the accept button.

Unknown to Liv, as soon as she touched that accept button the computer went into hyperdrive as the player profile matches up with her handle @AllLivsMatter. It took the data from her search history, her social media accounts, her photographs, her bank account details, her past purchases, her favourite books, movies, streaming services, and even dark web history. The profile of '@AllLivsMatter – Contender' was born.

[sarahsarah]

Chapter 3

The adrenaline was now pumping through Liv’s body. What happened now; the decision had been made. ‘One dare and then I’m out’ she thought, that way she wouldn’t get carried away. She could get involved, have her bit of excitement and be done with it. She waited anxiously for a few seconds as the system appeared to be booting.

Then it flashed on her phone, ‘Dina’s Diner 15 minutes.’ Liv went into panic mode. The place was nearby but she’d have to get a lift. 14:59 14:58, the timer had started. She needed to go. She grabbed the swipe and hit speed dial 3. It rang momentarily before she got her answer.
“Hey Liv, you OK,” Sam answered.
“Yeah, I’m fine, but I need to get to Dina’s right now. An you give me a lift,” Liv asked.
“Sure, but what’s with the rush?” Sam inquired.
“I’ve got 15 minutes, I signed up for Dare and that’s where the first one is,” Liv explained rapidly.
“Yeah, I’m in my car on the street now, just come out,” Sam stated. Liv sighed in relief and ran out the door. He must have been driving past anyway so this was a massive convenience.

She stepped outside and sure enough, Sam was there waiting. “What the hell Liv, you signed up as a Contender?” Sam blurted out as soon as he saw her. Liv just nodded. Sam sighed and opened the car allowing them both to get in.
“Really, Is that so hard to believe of me?” Liv questioned. Sam just shook his head and let out an exasperated gasp and started the engine.
“You hear that some kid actually died playing Dare in LA?” Sam asked.
Liv sighed. “I don’t buy that, if people died then the game would be shut down.”
“That’s the point Liv, they can’t shut it down. There isn’t a central server to shut down. As soon as a player signs up there computer becomes a new server. If one is shut down then there are still thousands to keep it running. So it’s basically impossible to shut down the game.”

“How the hell do you know so much about Dare! anyway?” Liv asked, “You’ve never even played the game.”
“No, but I know the dark web Liv. What you see is only a minute proportion of what is available. Why are you even doing this, it just isn’t like you. Is it because of Sonya?” Sam retaliated.
“It is not about Sonya, and the whole point is it isn’t like me,” Liv answered.

The rest of the journey went in silence and in 10 minutes they were in Dina’s. They called the place a cafe but it more closely resembled a bar. She put an order into the machine and waited for someone to bring there drinks. The timer slowly ticked down in front of them. With only a minute left, the waitress brought over the two Colas and left them in peace. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... ‘DARE INCOMING’ flashed up on the screen as her phone beeped.

‘Kiss a complete stranger for 5 seconds: $100’ came up on the screen. Liv repeated the words out loud to herself and watched as the eye symbol in the bottom corner jumped up from 0 to 2 and then 3. The dare was suddenly replaced by an accept box and Liv quickly pressed on it. Her swipe recorded her fingerprint and suddenly the dare was live.
Liv stood up and started to circle around anxiously looking for someone. She saw a guy at the serving station and moved towards him before he burped into his mouth. She turned away disgusted and looked down at her phone. The viewer number had jumped up to 14. She continued to circle as two words flashed on the screen, ‘Hurry Up’.

The viewer count began to rise along with her anxiety. It was now up to 35. Sam patted on her shoulder and pointed in the general direction of a slightly overweight man, probably late 20s who’d just finished a burger. “Just kiss that guy and get it over with,” Sam muttered. He looked a typical local. Liv would’ve gone for it but she hated beards. Then again there didn’t seem an option.

“Okay, I guess. I’m going to kiss that guy,” Liv stated with a swag nod attempting to intimidate Sam. Liv took a deep breath of encouragement. “I’m going to do it,” she said out loud. At that moment, the man stood up revealing the table behind. Sat on it was a young lad, probably about 20, short trimmed hair with a motorcycle jacket on. Clutched in his hands was a book, but not just any book, ‘The Shining Tower’ by Roxanna Dominique. It had come out a few years ago.

“Or I could kiss that guy,” she said to Sam, “He reads.”
“It’s your choice Liv, the clock is ticking,” Sam replied.
“Right, I’m kissing that guy. You just sit here and record it alright,” Liv ordered. Sam just nodded and took Liv’s swipe from her. Liv took another deep breath and moved towards the stranger. The book was currently hiding most of his face from view and her nerves only grew as she walked towards him. Suddenly she was stood beside the table.

“The... The Shining Tower, that’s my favourite book,” Liv stated.
“Really,” the guy replied nervously. “So do they get to the tower in the end.” Liv looked back towards Sam. He was motioning with his hand for her to get a move on.
“Ummm...” Liv started
“Actually don’t tell me... OR do tell me, real quick,” the guy said.
Liv looked him over, “Yeah they do actually, but that’s not really what it’s about. The tower represents something different to each character and each reader. It represents the thing that they want most in the world and in life. I’m sorry... I’m totally geeking out and ruining the story.”

“No... no... I’m the one who asked,” the guy replied. Unknown to Liv, the viewer count had now risen to over 100. She didn’t waste any more time and just decided to go for it. She dived forward, placed her hands around the strangers neck and locked lips with him. She expected him to push her off but he didn’t. Instead she felt something else, she felt a heat rising in her and although he wasn’t actively kissing back, he wasn’t doing anything to prevent it. She pulled him in and caressed the back of his head as her mind went blank. Her only thought being this guy, this pumping feeling in her gut, a complete adrenaline shot to the mind.

Then it broke. She didn’t know it, but her five second kiss had actually lasted closer to twenty. The viewer count on the screen was now at 140 and a small stream of hearts flickered down the side of the swipe. Sam rolled his eyes at the scene and sighed with annoyance. “OK, bye,” Liv suddenly said, patting the stranger on the shoulder and quickly darting from the table. She grabbed the swipe off Sam just as the two words flashed up ‘DARE COMPLETE.’

“So did you get it,” Liv questioned Sam as she hid down in the booth.
“Of course I got it, it was a bloody mini series and I recorded all 6 episodes. You do know how long five seconds is right?” Sam taunted. Liv peered back around the edge of the boot towards the table and was shocked to see it was empty.
She turned back to Sam. “Where the hell did he go?” she asked.
“I have absolutely no clue,” he replied. Her Swipe buzzed again and a message displayed. ‘Liv, $100 has been wired to your account. Liv wanted desperately to check but suddenly her attention was lured elsewhere.

The guy she had just kissed was banging on table. He was holing a fake microphone and swaying. He brought his hand to his mouth. “I got the magic in me... Every time I touch that track, it turns into gold,” he began singing, gradually moving in her direction. The song was an old one but in a weird way it seemed fitting.

Suddenly he had random people in the bar singing along, “Magic, Magic, Magic..... Magic Magic Magic.” He was now right in front of her and gesturing in her direction as the rap portion broke out. “These tricks that I'll attempt will blow your mind
Pick a verse, any verse, I'll hypnotize you with every line
I'll need a volunteer, how about you, with the eyes?
Come on down to the front and stand right here and don't be shy..........”
The song kept going and as he hit the chorus again he got on the table. Unknown to her this lad was currently being recorded. Only when Sam pointed to the camera behind her did she realise. In the bottom corner of the screen was a viewer count of 1480.

As the song finished he jumped from the table, simultaneously ripping his shirt open and getting an approving gasp from the onlookers. Liv couldn’t help but laugh. “Congratulations.. You completed your dare,” She stated.
“Right back at you I guess,” he stated shuffling in next to Sam. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what was coming, I was just told to sit in that booth and then some kid came along and handed me that book.”
“The shining tower,” Liv groaned, “My favourite.”
“Exactly,” Sam cut her off, “Because it’s on your FlowShine page or online books records. They know all the information about you Liv.”
“Your name’s Liv,” the guy stated.
Liv nodded. “It’s short for Olivia.”
“I like it,” he said casually. “It’s hot and that was some kiss. Well it’s been nice talking to you, but I have a game to play.”

As the stranger began to walk off, both of their swipes simultaneously beeped. The man checked his and instantly stopped in his tracks. Liv looked at hers and smiled. Written across the screen was ‘Let him take you to the city - $200.’ “I guess the viewers want us together,” the guy stated.
Sam snatched the swipe off Liv and read the message. “You can’t go to the city Liv.”
Liv sighed. “He’s right, I can’t go the city. I’m not even really playing. I just wanted to do one dare.”
“Are you sure,” the guy interjected, “It is $200.”
“She’s pretty sure man,” Sam replied for her earning a dirty look from Liv.
“So... does he always tell you what to do,” he questioned.
“No! No he doesn’t,” Liv answered annoyed.
The guy shrugged. “I’ll be outside if you decide to change your mind. It was nice meeting you Liv. See ya man.” He nodded and walked towards the exit.

Liv let out an exasperated sigh and stared at Sam. “I could really use $200 you know.”
“Liv, you’re not going to the city. I mean... you said you’d only do one dare and then you’d be done.”
Liv smirked, looked at Sam, whispered “I’m sorry” and stood up from the booth.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this Liv,” Sam called after her but it was too late. She was already halfway out the door.

The stranger was sorting out his bike when he caught a glimpse of Liv entering the garage. He looked up and smiled. “I was hoping that you’d come.”
“I’m just warning you, I’m probably not the best partner... Not really the daredevil crazy type. You should probably team up with my friend Sonya. She’s obsessed with Dare,” Liv stated.
The guy looked her up and down, reached behind him and pulled out a passenger helmet. “But... the viewers want me to team up with you.” She stared in silence for a moment before stepping towards him.
“The second I feel uncomfortable then I’m out. Understood?” She questioned.
“Entirely fair,” he replied, clicking the accept button on the screen.

Suddenly a 15 minute countdown began on the display as Liv hopped onto the back. “I’m Dan by the way. I realised I hadn’t told you yet.”
“Well Dan... The city awaits.”


Sorry this chapter is a little short. It is all I had time to write. I am very busy the next couple of weeks so may be difficult until August to update frequently.

Please let me know what you think and any feedback is appreciated.

If there is anything in particular you really want me to incorporate into the story then let me know. I have the main story plotted out but I can veer quite a lot on the route so will take anything on board.