~Dedicated to dirty truth or dares that lead to times you'll always remember~

Chapter Eighteen-"It's the best of both worlds to quote Hannah Montana"

I always imagined Paris to be the romantic city; you know the type of place you went to with your true love and had that fireworks-head-over-heels experience. I was sort of hoping to have that with Dave in Paris seeing as how he was going to leave in a few days back to Redwood. Don’t get me wrong, I was no expert in relationships, I still worried about me kissing Dave and wondering if my breath was bad. I still thought about whether I looked like a dork or not and if Dave would ever realise that I wasn’t worth his time but the way he was acting right about now was more like a great best friend instead of a boyfriend.

We were at the Eiffel Tower and it was midday. The Eiffel Tower I had to admit was even more impressive that I thought it would be. Tall and breathtakingly beautiful, it was something out of a fairy tale. I had always wished that one day I would visit and now I was here, standing right at the top while Dave was busy looking out of a scope at the people in one of the nearby parks. I sighed and ran a hand through my wavy blonde hair before casting a glance at Dave.

He looked happy enough with a goofy grin on his face as he talked to Jack, a fellow geek except with looks, about something that sounded like people looking like ants from this height. Dave didn’t seem like he wanted to break up with me or that he had lost interest either; he just seemed to be enjoying his time in Paris like I should have been doing from the beginning. Pushing away the thoughts of Dave leaving me for someone prettier, I turned my attention to Juliet who was currently devouring an ice-cream like a starved woman.

I raised an eyebrow, “Hungry much?”

Juliet stuck out her tongue at me, before she replied, “It’s so good! Who knew French ice-cream could be so utterly and unimaginably good?”

“The French,” I asked.

“Ha-ha, very funny,” Juliet responded before she smoothed down her pleated black skirt with her free hand and asked, “So why are you here instead of cuddling up with Davey boy?”

 I cast another look at Dave who was back to staring through the built-in scope before answering, “Look at him Jules.”

“I am and boy is he fine, which brings me to why you’re here when you could be kissing his face off? It’s Paris,” she continued doing a twirl, “the city of love.”

I sighed, “I don’t know…”

Juliet stopped, her green eyes scanning my face for a second before her eyes widened slightly, “This is about Sean right?”

I felt my cheeks heating up slightly before gasping, “What? No! Don’t be ridiculous Jules!”

“Liar, liar pants on fire or in your case panties,” Juliet sang, casting a glance at the short pink dress I wore.

“Jules,” I hissed, “look I don’t like Sean in that way and it has nothing to do with the whole Dave thing.”

Juliet smiled but it was clear that she didn’t believe me, “Viv, I know you better than you do and I mean, I support your crazy ideas and geeky habits but honey you have it bad.”

“Bad what,” I asked in confusion.

“Bad for both boys,” Juliet replied, biting into her cone.

“I do not!” I retorted trying to sound convincing but failed tragically.

Juliet grinned at me before turning me to face Dave as she spoke, “Look at it this way Viv, you can Davey here in France, you know the good boy who does it all right and then,” she spun me again to look at Sean who was talking to Chris about something, “you can have Sean in Venice. It’s the best of both worlds to quote Hannah Montana.”

“Jules this is crazy,” I breathed out.

“But admit it, you’re kind of liking the idea,” she retorted with a smirk.

I groaned, “I hate it when you’re right.”

Giggling, Juliet flicked over her red hair and walked over to Chris with a quick wink to me. I watched Juliet’s smile instantly go flirty as she batted her eyelashes up at Chris causing Sean to scrunch his nose in mock disgust before he turned and began making his way towards me. My breathing suddenly became irregular and I felt my mouth go dry. God, what is wrong with you Viv? It’s just Sean Gregory, you know the guy you’re tutoring Maths too? Juliet is totally wrong about you liking him because you already have a boyfriend. Dave, remember Dave? God, look at those hazel eyes, they’re so gold and warm and- What are you thinking? You’re into Dave, Dave Peterson the hot swimmer and who the hell are you kidding?

“Lanter,” Sean greeted with his trademark smirk, “what are you doing her all by yourself?”

I felt my cheeks going red before I stuttered unintelligently, “Oh y-you know, I-I thought that uh…” I glanced around the Eiffel Tower before my eyes came to rest on a ‘No Littering’ sign, “…I just wanted to read the signs on the Eiffel Tower.”

Sean raised an eyebrow before he followed my gaze to the ‘No Littering’ sign and then back at me with a full on grin plastered on his face as he spoke, “Seriously Lanter, that’s the best you could come up with?”

I scoffed indignantly as I answered, “I was under a lot of pressure okay and I don’t think well under pressure.”

Sean chuckled before leaning closer so that I could feel his breath against my skin. I fought away the shudder that wanted to run down my spine and forced myself to look straight up at Sean with a calm expression. My cheeks suddenly grew hotter when I let my eyes fall onto the nearness of Sean’s lips. Clearly my whole staying calm plan was failing badly. Biting my lip, I balled my hands into my fist and dug my nails into my palm. You are dating Dave Viv, remember Dave.

“I bet I can help you relax,” Sean replied, his voice sounding huskier than before.

I opened my mouth to answer him when I was cut off by Jessica’s girly voice interrupting.

“Hey Vivienne,” she called, “I need to ask you something in private?”

I turned my attention to Jessica and although we had been getting along since that night when she opened up to me, I was still uncertain about her motives. Glancing back at Sean who looked slightly annoyed at the interruption, I smiled apologetically and excused myself. I walked over to Jessica who was busy fiddling with her denim shorts while tapping her gladiator heel impatiently. With a supressed groan, I threw her an irritated look and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” I snapped.

Jessica rolled her eyes, “Jesus, it’s like I pulled you away from shagging him,” she retorted, “but I bet if I left you two any longer you would have.”

My cheeks heated slightly but I ignored my blush, “Jessica, I was not about to-”

She held up her hand silencing me, “Save the excuses,” she glanced at Dave before replying, “Just be glad that for once I’m being nice here and not the mean bitch you call me to Juliet.”

Again I opened my mouth to protest but Jessica cut me off, “I have ears all around school,” she replied smugly before continuing, “Just, look I know all about boys okay? And no matter how much Jules is your best friend, she doesn’t know a thing about the whole love triangle.”

“I am in no love triangle!” I finally managed.

Jessica gave me a ‘Are you serious right now’ look which made me look away in embarrassment before she spoke, “That’s what I thought.”

I sighed, “Is it that obvious?”

“Girl, why the hell would I have threatened you about Prom Queen stuff if I didn’t think you were hitting on two guys to get more votes than me?”

“Huh?” I asked in confusion.

Jessica sighed, “You’re supposed to be smart?”

My eyes narrowed, “Shut up.”

For a moment Jessica grinned at me before speaking, “And to think just a month ago you couldn’t talk to me without sounding like an intimidated kid.”

I opened my mouth to respond but closed it when I realised that Jessica was right. A month ago I had been a blubbering brunette haired girl who dressed like an eighty year old woman and wore thick glasses that was probably stolen from the set of Harry Potter. And here I was now, the new and better Vivienne Lanter who dressed like an almost eighteen year old senior should, who wore contacts that showed off my blue eyes and had blonde hair that I had to admit was way sexier than my brunette locks. Maybe becoming popular really wasn’t that bad.

“Now listen here kiddo,” Jessica began, pulling me out of my thoughts, “tonight we get a free night from Mrs Flavia and Mr Berkley and their horrid idea that going to Opera Bastille would be a blast so,” she smiled slyly, “I thought that since our hotel offers that indoor pool feature, we take over just for a night.”

My eyes widened as I took in what Jessica had just said, “But-but that’s against the rules!” I exclaimed.

Jessica grinned wider, “Exactly! You need to cut the whole good girl status one day and why not now?”

“I-I but…us…the pool…huh?” I stuttered stupidly.

Jessica sighed before replying, “Look, you just have to get dressed in a bikini and be at the pool by ten, no troubles okay?”

I just nodded silently before I groaned inwardly. Why did I just agree to sneak out of curfew to go to some silly pool party organised by Jessica? No doubt it was just a prank to get me to pitch up and realise no one was there or maybe she wanted to push me into the pool and laugh because she put dye in it and I’d end up turning blue or something worse, yellow. Seriously, I am an idiot beyond doubt and belief and there was no turning back.

“I can’t believe her Viv,” Juliet remarked while tying up her ruby red swimming costume.

It was a one piece that tied up around her neck and had a large slit down her back so that if you were looking from behind, it looked like a bikini. Her hair had been pulled into a messy braid but still looked neat enough to walk out of the room with. Her lips were smeared with a light cherry coloured gloss and her eyes were outlined in dark kohl. All in all, she looked like she was about to drop some jaws, but more importantly Chris’.

“I know right? Since when did Jessica Hubert turn good?” I replied, glancing at my reflection.

My hair was pulled into a high ponytail and Juliet had convinced me to leave down a few strands so that it looked like I had side-bangs. My blue eyes were outlined with purple eyeliner that Juliet had found in her makeup bag and my lips were coloured a light pink that just gave me the whole innocent yet bad look. Not that I was going to be innocent for any longer. I mean who the heck listened to her enemy up until the trip to Paris, and went along to a party which was definitely on the list of things Mrs Flavia stated we could not do.

“More importantly when the hell did she become your friend?” Juliet asked, turning to face me.

I sighed, “We are not friends, we just…I don’t know? Tolerate each other better?”

“Yeah ever since she told you her deepest secret,” Juliet replied, faking shock.

I rolled my eyes, “Look, can we just ignore the whole suspicious being nice to us Jessica and go to this party before getting caught?”

Juliet’s eyes flashed with mischief, “Okay what happened to my goody-two-shoes best friend and why is she acting like a party animal that I can totally get used to?”

I grinned slightly at Juliet, before answering, “She’s been replaced by the new Vivienne.”

Juliet and I were definitely not prepared for what we saw when we walked through the doors to the indoor pool. Instead of a small group of teenagers that I assumed Jessica would invite, the pool room was filled with everyone from our tour group along with a few hotel guests which caused my eyes to bulge out of their sockets and my jaw to drop. I took in the bar which was already buzzing with a few of Redwood’s students and guests and there was a small dance floor to the side. Majority of the people were in the pool, either swimming or splashing around while a few girls were lying on the deck chairs as though they were going to get tanned in the middle of the night.

I turned to Juliet who mirrored my surprised expression before speaking, “Okay, so how the hell did Jessica manage this?”

Juliet shrugged, “I don’t care but all I know is that she’s in my good books for a while.”

I laughed at that and followed Juliet towards the deck chairs where she dumped her large Tote bag and our towels before letting her eyes flick towards the pool. She let out a low whistle and I followed her gaze, gasping when my eyes fell onto Dave who was standing in all his glory of his swimmer’s body. I let my eyes roam his well-muscled arms and then down to his six-pack abs which looked more than just good with water trickling down it. I felt a nudge in my ribs and snapped out of my fantasies, glancing at Juliet who was grinning at me proudly.

“Go and kiss his face off for mama,” Juliet ushered with a wide grin.

I felt my cheeks heating up but laughed at her suggestion and decided that maybe I was going to finally be the Vivienne that I should have been a long time ago. I was going to be confident and ooze out beauty like I had been pumped with prettiness. I glanced quickly at my blue and purple bikini, feeling slightly self-conscious at the exposure of my body but quickly shrugged off the feeling. There were a lot more girls dressed in less than what I was wearing so I didn’t have to feel embarrassed and besides, this was Paris. It was time to get my love on.

I strolled towards the pool and heard a few wolf-whistles from a few drunken jocks I remembered seeing sleeping at the back of Mr Berkley’s Social Studies class. I ignored them and the growing redness in my cheeks that I was sure to have made me look like a tomato. Glad for the dim lighting, I made my way to the edge of the pool, before I glanced down at the deep, blue water. My nose wrinkled slightly from the scent of chlorine that made its way through my nostrils and down my throat. Looking back up to where Dave was, I was surprise to find him staring at me with a small smile.

I returned his smile and decided it was now or never. Be the new Vivienne and go to him instead of waiting for him to come to you. Dipping my toe into the water, testing if it was too cold revealed to be pointless. The pool was heated and warm enough to swim in comfortably. Ignoring the approving looks I was getting from a few guys who were nearby, I sucked in a deep breath and jumped off the edge and into the water. My body surged through the water with a splash and I could feel air bubbles brushing through my eyes and ears. I closed my mouth and let out a breath before coming up for air.

As soon as my head broke through the surface of the water, I took in a deep breath and glanced to where Dave was standing but frowned when I noticed he was gone. Did he think that I going to him was too forward? I turned my head but froze when I felt two strong arms wrapping around my torso. It was clear that it was guy who had come up behind me, so when I felt his warm breath against my neck I decided it was time to pull away before anything more could happen.

“Relax Viv,” the familiar voice breathed out and I realised that it was Dave.

Choosing not to mention that I didn’t recognise Dave’s touch, I replied, “Everyone’s looking.”

Dave laughed slightly before pressing his warm lips against my neck as he spoke, “Let them look.”

Be confident Viv, this is the new you, remember, the new you.

“You’re right,” I replied softly.

“Really,” Dave asked, sounding surprised.

I slowly turned to face him with his arms still wrapped around me, “Yeah.”

And with that, I leaned up and pressed my lips onto his. Disregarding the absence of any electricity in the kiss, I let myself just enjoy it for once. Sure there was no goosebumps and my body wasn’t melting as much as I would have hoped for, but Dave was an overall good kisser. He let me take the lead for a moment, allowing my lips to guide his slowly until I parted mine and he mimicked the action. Dave slowly leaned in closer, pushing his tongue into my mouth, letting it draw small patterns purposely so that I felt my legs growing weaker. I suddenly pulled away, and glanced up at Dave whose eyes were laced with desire.

My cheeks heated slightly when I realised that a few people were staring at us and some girls glancing and whispering to each other before throwing me a cold glance. I bit my lower lip and turned back to Dave who was now smiling at me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher but felt its intensity scary somewhat. I let my hands go to my hair which was dripping and still tied up. With a soft sigh, I pulled out the hairband and let the blonde waves free before I spoke.

“So uh…” I began, “that was…”

“Nice?” Dave offered with a smile.

I nodded, not trusting my voice before I turned to look towards the deck chairs and found my lips curving up into a smile when my eyes landed on Chris and Juliet who seemed cosy enough to be considered a couple. Maybe Paris was really the city of love after all. I snapped out of my thoughts when I spotted Sean who was sitting at the edge of the pool with a dark haired girl who resembled a runway model, who was draped over him like curtains. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her legs were brushing against his more than just once to be ‘accidental’. All in all, she reminded me a lot of a slutty version of a French nun; not that I would know what a French nun would look like, but I mean, runway model was definitely French.

Dave noticed my glowering eyes and turned to look at what I was focused on. I felt his arms tighten around me slightly before he turned back to face me and spoke, “Want to get out of here?”

Before I could answer, Jessica’s voice suddenly ran over the loud music playing.

“Hey, if you’re totally up for a game of truth or dare then get your asses over to lounge corner,” she shouted before heading towards the corner of the room where velvet red sofas were lined around a large cube which glowed a bright white colour.

Dave turned to me with a smile, “Like there?”

I shrugged, not able to stop the smile, “Why not?”

We made our way towards the red sofas and I was glad to see that Juliet had joined too along with a few of the Redwood students and unfortunately Sean with his bimbo of a French ‘girlfriend’. Jessica seemed to have taken charge and brought an empty vodka bottle with her, where she placed it on the small cubed table with a smirk. She turned and eyed each face which was seated around the bottle before she took hold of the bottle and spun it around. My eyes followed the bottle as it spun around until it landed on Chris who was seated across from me.

Jessica beamed, “Okay Chris, truth or dare?”

Chris grinned, “Definitely dare.”

“Sure about that?” Jessica asked, raising an eyebrow.

I caught the envious glare Juliet was throwing Jessica, but neither Chris nor Jessica noticed.

“Course I am,” Chris answered with a grin.

“Okay, then I dare to you to kiss Jules,” Jessica retorted.

I glanced towards Juliet who was blushing a bright red before she threw a glance at Chris who seemed just as stunned as she was. After a moment of silence, Chris regained his cool composure and shrugged with a simple, “Fine,” before he stood up, made his way to Juliet and cupped her face in his hands, before planting a huge kiss onto her lips. It was clear that when they pulled away, there was definitely an invisible chemistry between them.

Chris smirked, earning a few cheers from the guys as he made his way back to his seat and