CH3

Azalea set her last cup down with a satisfying thud, and Jackson followed suit. A small crowd had gathered around the big dining room table, which was large enough to fit ten people comfortably. The energy in the room was high, and everyone seemed to be buzzing with excitement for the impending challenge.

"Okay, you understand the rules, right?" Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow as he adjusted his stance.

"Yes, we had this conversation five minutes ago," Azalea replied, her voice dripping with playful annoyance.

Jackson smirked, leaning back slightly. "Okay, no need to shame me in front of the boys, babe," he teased, winking and motioning his head to the group of guys watching them. A few of them let out a collective "ooo," causing Azalea to shake her head with a reluctant smile.

"Just prepare to get a tattoo after this," she shot back, not missing a beat.

Jackson grinned. "Only if it's of your name. Then, sure."

With a shrug, he opened his bag of almonds—something they'd both agreed on using as their "ball." Azalea had made it clear she wasn't about to mess around with actual ping pong balls. She'd called it "cross-contamination," and Jackson had to admit, it was kind of a valid point.

Azalea popped her bag of almonds open and prepared herself, her fingers feeling the smooth edges of the little snack as she thought about her next move. "You want to go first or what?" she asked, glancing over at his set of ten cups.

She studied them closely, trying to figure out which ones were filled with soda and which ones had alcohol. But it was a total gamble. They'd both been sneaky, making sure to mix things up so there was no way to tell. It made the game all the more intense. Unlike regular beer pong, dare pong wasn't just about accuracy—it was all about reading the other person and playing mind games.

"You can go first," she said, shrugging casually, even though she was already planning her strategy.

Jackson grinned, tossing a few almonds into his mouth like he was getting into the zone. Then he grabbed one more from the bag, giving it a careful look before steadying himself. He took a moment to aim, his eyes narrowing as he lined up the shot. With a flick of his wrist, he launched the almond toward the front cup on Azalea's side.

The almond sailed through the air with surprising precision and dropped neatly into the cup.

"Looks like I got one," Jackson said with a smug grin, leaning back slightly as a few of the guys in the background cheered.

He smiles, locking eyes with her. "Drink up doll." Azalea grabbed the cup and drank. The feel of warm liquor eased down her throat. She chewed on the almond, clearing her throat.

"Okay, my turn." She threw an almond of her own and it landed in a cup to the left. Jackson glanced down at it and sighed.

He picked it up and drank, eating the almond like she did. He gave little to no reaction when drinking and tossed the cup to the side.

"My turn." Jackson tossed his almond and landed another perfect shot. Azalea picked it up and drank, this time it was soda. She was glad of that, now she's got four of each left. However, when it comes to Jackson she'll never be able to know which one it is he's drinking.

Azie took another almond and threw it, it bounced off the top of the cup to the very front and landed in a cup to the right side. Jackson threw it back and tossed the cup.

Little to no reaction.

"Oh, what's this, beer pong?"

Jackson glanced up at the voice and saw Megan standing there with Priscillia by her side. Both girls were dressed exactly the same—platinum blonde hair, pink dresses, and matching clear heels, looking like they had just stepped out of a magazine ad.

Two Barbies in one place.

"Dare pong," Jackson replied smoothly, tossing another almond into the cup. It landed perfectly, and he pumped his fist in celebration.

Megan snorted, clearly unimpressed. "Dare pong? That sounds so childish."

"Yeah, totally childish," Priscillia grinned, her eyes flicking over to Azalea.

Azalea took another drink from her cup, the same burning sensation hitting the back of her throat, then trailing down into her stomach. The harshness of the alcohol made her wince, but she kept her face neutral, refusing to show any discomfort.

"Not if you get the other person a dare if you win." Jackson are more almonds and sent a wink to Azie. Megan sent a glare towards the girl and crossed her arms.

"Oh my gosh, you look so hot. The red dress matches your ginger hair. However, I've never seen a ginger with hazel eyes before, are those contacts?"

Azalea tossed another almond but it missed. Jackson chuckled and the girl cussed lowly.

He tossed another almond and Azie caught it, tossing it back. The almond landed in one of his cups and she celebrated.

"Hey that's cheating!" He screeched.

"The rules didn't say we could stop the almond from going in. So drink up... babe." She tease with a grin.

Jackson shook his head and drank. He made a face and she knew she caught him with this one. She summed it down to his first two being soda.

Megan scoffed. "This is the most boring game of beer pong I've ever seen."

"Yeah, the most boring." Priscillia follows up.

"Sue stop copying me."

"Ugh fine."

"Well that's because it's dare pong. Not regular beer pong Megan." Jackson tossed two almonds and both landed in different cups.

"You cant-

"Ah ah," he cut her off. "There's no rule that says we can't use two or more almonds. Now drink up buttercup."

"Fine." Azalea drank the two of them and they were both of alcohol. She squinched her face and fanned herself. Azalea decided that she was going to pull a trump card, but before she could she felt something wet touch her face.

"The fuck is your problem?" Jackson shouts. Megan set his cup back down and blew a kiss to him.

"Have fun with your new whore, Jackson."

"Yeah, have fun with your slut, Jackson." Megan grabbed Priscillia by the arm and pulled her away, shoving past the few people that was still there watching the new made up game by the two.

"Azie-

She winced, rubbing her eyes. Jackson rushed to her side, setting a hand on her shoulder. She smacked his hand away and tried to open her eyes, however the burn was too intense.

"Fuck."

"Come on." Jackson helped her upstairs where it's more quiet and away from the music and chaos downstairs. He found a room with a bathroom connected and she went inside.

Once inside Azalea shoved him back and slammed the door shut. Jackson exhaled a breath and took a seat on the bed. He glanced around, noticing that it could be Jett's parents room due to the family photos on the long dresser.

He floofed the bed below him, finding it's texture quite comfortable. About five minutes went by and Azalea finally emerged from the bathroom. Jackson gave her a once over, noticing her damp tips of hair and red eyes as if she'd been crying.

Has she been? He can only wonder.

A weird tension was between them. Jackson cleared his throat and sighed.

"I'm...sorry about what happened." His tone was low and his words were generic, but in a soft way. Azalea trusged over to the bed and plopped herself down.

Jackson faintly smiles, glad she's not angry at him for what happened. He glanced back at her and she glanced at him.

Again, there's a silence. A minor unknown tension between them. The both of them just stared at each other like there were nobody else around, even if there isn't.

"What's my dare?" She finally asks. Jackson could feel the room get instantly hot. If it wasn't this intense he would've just blurted it out. But the boy pivotted his original dare to something else.

"I dare you to go on a date with me on Wednesday. You could make me spend as much as you like for the day." He beams, laying down beside her.

"Why Wednesday?"

"Free day for the both of us."

"Okay."

"Well that was quick."

"Well, your ex did throw whiskey in my face and eyes and I did lose so, why not? Besides...I noticed that we don't talk about ourselves to one another."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know my favorite color."

"It's yellow." He quickly answers. She sat up, looking down at him.

"What? How do you know that?"

"Wait, your favorite color is actually yellow?," Jackson laughed. "I was just guessing."

Azalea rolled her eyes as Jackson continued laughing at her. "Yes, but I don't know your favorite color, or what you were like as a kid, or anything like that. I don't even know if you have parents. You could be adopted for all I know."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Are you adopted?"

Azalea shrugged. "No, I'm just saying."

Jackson sat up, grinning. "I know what you're saying. If you want to get to know me beyond being a ladies' man, a smartass, and, well, good in bed, then sure. It's a date."

Azalea shot him a look. "Uh, not a date. A friendly outing."

Jackson groaned and flopped back onto the couch. "Come on, Azie, you're killing me here."

"And I could feel the alcohol kicking in, take me back to my dorm please."

Jackson stood to his feet and reached the door. He's standing in front of her, towering over her. His blue eyes met her hazel pair and he smiled.

"Nah, they're real."