The pair followed Aiden to a patch of grass out behind the garage where a group of maybe 15 kids had gathered, away from the prying eyes of distracted parents. It was a small advantage of being the child of a self-obsessed Los Angeles parent; they never noticed when you just up and disappeared. Sitting side-by-side Spencer and Ashley joined the circle, greeting a few of the kids that they were friendly with in school.

“I’ll start… Ashley, truth or dare.” Aiden began, grinning mischievously as he folded his arms in a challenge. 

“Truth.” The girl responded, not willing to risk a dare from the boy.

“Do you have a crush on me?” The boy asked after a moment’s hesitation, incurring a chorus of tantalizing ooo’s from a few of the other children. Both Spencer and Ashley had to stifle a gag.

“Ew… No,” Ashley responded quickly, not intending to sound as cruel a she did. If the boy hadn’t been quite so blunt she might’ve been able to be a bit kinder.

“Why not! You said you’d marry me in first grade, I even gave you a ring!” The flustered boy responded, forgetting for a moment that their fellow students surrounded them.

“It was a Ring Pop, and it was cherry flavored. I hate cherry flavor.” Ashley spoke, folding her arms stubbornly and looking away.

“You’re such a bitch!” The boy exclaimed, using the phrase his father always used when trying to get a rise out of his mother.

Ashley gasped, eyes watering slightly as she looked around at the faces surrounding them. Spencer stood up immediately, her anger flaring, “Take it back!”

“I wasn’t talking to /you/ Spencer.” The boy replied snottily as he stuck his chin in the air.

“I said take it back!” The girl demanded once again, standing protectively in front of a rather hurt looking Ashley. Normally the girl wasn’t quite so withdrawn, but it was nice to finally let someone else stand up for her.

Aiden rose to his feet also, his own embarrassment fueling his anger, “No! She deserves it! She is a bitch!”

“She is not!” Spencer spoke, stepping forward to confront the boy. However, as she moved her untied shoelace caught underneath her other foot and she tripped, flinging her hands out in front of her. The girl’s finger caught on the edge of the boys pants and as she went down, so did they. The force of the grab took Aiden’s boxers along with the blur of camouflage, and in a fraction of a second he was left standing there with his pants around his ankles.