Noah's dare

Ethan rushed over, his voice filled with panic. "What the hell happened?!"

Noah, sitting on the floor, groaned in pain while clutching his wrist. His face twisted in frustration. "I think I twisted it or something. Crap, I can't do this now."

Lily stood nearby, her eyes darting between the others. Nervously, she asked, "So, uh, who's gonna pull the next tooth?"

Noah, gritting his teeth in frustration, tossed the pliers toward Ethan, who fumbled to catch them. "You're up, man."

Ethan's face paled as he realized what that meant. "Me?! No way, I can't—"

"You have to," Noah cut him off with a wince, the pain obvious in his voice. "You're the only one who can now."

Ethan took a deep breath, his hands visibly shaking as he gripped the pliers. His stomach churned at the thought of what he had to do. "Okay, okay," he muttered to himself, trying to psych himself up as he stepped toward Ava.

Ava, her face pale but determined, gave him a weak nod as if to say, 'Get it over with.' She sat up, bracing herself, already gripping the side of the couch for support. "Just... just do it quickly," she whispered, her voice strained.

"Right, quick," Ethan said, his voice cracking under the pressure. He positioned the pliers around Ava's last tooth, trying his hardest to keep his hands steady. His mind screamed at him to stop, but he had no choice.

In one swift motion, Ethan yanked the pliers with all his might. Ava's scream ripped through the air, louder and more piercing than before. "ARGH!"

"SORRY, SORRY, SORRY!" Ethan shouted, completely freaking out, his hands trembling even more now.

It seemed to take forever, but the tooth finally came loose. Ava, panting and drenched in sweat, glared at Ethan, blood dripping from her mouth. Her eyes were sharp with anger. "TWO minutes, Ethan! TWO! You were supposed to be quick!"

Ethan backed up, his face flushed with guilt. "I—I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to take that long!" He looked at the bloody pliers in his hands as if they'd betrayed him.

Ava just rolled her eyes, wiping her bloody mouth with the back of her hand. "Whatever," she muttered, clearly still in pain.

Noah, who had been watching. "Great, now who's left to take on the next dare?"

All three of them instantly turned to Noah. There was a long pause, and Noah's stomach dropped as he met their gazes.

"Wait, seriously?" Noah muttered, suddenly nervous. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Lily folded her arms. "Aren't you the only one left?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Before anyone could say another word, a new card appeared on the table as if summoned by the very tension in the room. Noah's hands trembled as he reached for it, his heart pounding in his chest. He slowly read the words aloud, his voice barely audible. "Dare: Grab The Wires."

He looked up, confused, but before he could ask what it meant, a loud crack echoed through the room. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling suddenly crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces and leaving behind several exposed wires dangling ominously from the ceiling. The room went deadly silent, everyone staring in shock at the live wires swaying back and forth.

"W-what the...," Lily stammered, her voice trembling with fear.

From the shadows, a low whisper seemed to echo, as if coming from the very walls. "You have two minutes."

Lily gasped, looking around wildly. "W-w-who was that?"

Noah's face drained of color. "H-How am I supposed to d-do that?" His hands were still shaking as he stared at the exposed wires, dread pooling in his stomach.

Ava, thinking quickly, turned to Ethan. "Ethan, grab that shawl from the couch, now!"

"W-what? Okay!" Ethan said, scrambling to grab the shawl as instructed.

Ava knelt in front of Noah, trying to steady him. She placed her hands on his shoulders, her tone firm but calm. "Hey, listen to me, babe. Focus, alright? I need you to breathe."

Noah was visibly shaking, his voice barely a whisper. "I... I can't do this."

"You can. You *will*," Ava said, squeezing his shoulders. "I'm not gonna lie, this is gonna hurt. A lot. But we've been through worse."

Noah nodded, gulping. "I—I don't know how to grab the wires without dying."

Ava turned to Ethan, who was holding the shawl tightly. "Ethan, when I give you the signal, you're going to run at Noah with the blanket, got it?"

Ethan nodded, determined despite his own fear. "Got it."

"Babe," Ava said, looking back at Noah, "as soon as Ethan gets to you, I need you to grab the wire. The moment you do, Ethan's going to knock you down with the blanket. It should break the circuit."

"D-Okay," Noah said, though his voice was shaky, trying to take deep breaths. "Yeah... that should work."

"It will work," Ava said firmly. She squeezed his hand. "You're gonna survive this."

Noah nodded again, trying to convince himself. "Y-Yeah... yeah, I'm ready."

Ava gave him one last reassuring look before stepping back. "Ethan, get ready."

Noah slowly walked towards the exposed wires, his palms sweaty, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Wait, Noah!" Lily suddenly shouted. "Take off your watch! And anything metal!"

Noah quickly fumbled with his watch and belt, tossing them toward Lily. "Good call."

"Okay, are you ready, babe?" Ava called out.

Noah stood in front of the wires, his entire body trembling. "Y-Yeah... I'm ready."

"Alright, Ethan, run as fast as you can," Ava ordered.

Ethan nodded, tightening his grip on the shawl. "Okay, on your mark!"

"One... Two... THREE!" Ava shouted.

Ethan sprinted toward Noah, and just as Ava screamed, "NOW, NOAH!" Noah reached out and grabbed the wires.

Electricity surged through him, his body convulsing as Ethan slammed into him with the blanket, knocking him to the ground. Both of them hit the floor hard, the sound of their bodies thudding against the wooden boards echoing through the room.