Narrator's P.O.V.
A few short minutes passed, and the atmosphere in the living room felt more like a minefield. Kael and Yuri settled on opposite sides of the makeshift circle, both in a silence so dense that the other friends began exchanging sideways glances, suspecting something had happened. Pedro nudged Pabllyo every time one of the two had to answer a question, as it was possible to notice barbs being thrown, though all thinly veiled, as if neither wanted to show it.
However, even with the heavy mood between the pseudo-couple, the game was turning out to be quite fun. Every time the bottle was spun, some new gem was dropped, laughter exploded, and gossip was born. In the last round, Lucas had to kiss Ícaro, one of the latest additions to the friend group, which made everyone go wild.
"What a beautiful kiss. Holy shit!" Verônica said, completely awestruck.
"Ícaro is gorgeous, right?" Pedro commented.
"Stop, guys, you're making me blush..." Ícaro was completely flustered.
"It's a little too late for that, darling," Lucas said, grabbing the bottle. "Who's spinning next?"
"Me."
It was Pabllyo who grabbed the bottle, placing it on the floor and spinning it without ceremony. Everyone started letting out low chuckles; after all, they all knew he was exactly the one they feared the most.
Pabllyo was the person with no filter, who spoke his mind, even if it was to provoke or humiliate someone. With a fun personality and always flawlessly done makeup, the boy's fair skin practically glowed, it was so beautiful. His personality, being someone who stood out so much, was something that intimidated a few of his friends. After a few spins, the bottle stopped, pointing right at Yuri. The younger boy laughed nervously.
"Here we go," Farias muttered, shifting in the armchair he was sitting in.
"So, Yuri... truth or dare?" he asked.
"Truth."
"Well, let's go easy then." Pabllyo gave a half-smile, that kind of expression from someone who knows something they shouldn't. "Yuri, you started working with Léo and Kael recently, right? And I see that sometimes you guys go out together after work, but without Kael. It's been happening pretty frequently, so we were wondering... have you ever hooked up with Léo?"
The silence that followed was sudden. Yuri, who until then had tried to maintain a mocking posture, froze. His eyes darted quickly to Kael and then to Léo, who was in the other corner of the room. He cleared his throat, adjusting his shorts—now properly zipped up—with a nervousness he couldn't hide.
The fact was that Kael and Léo worked together, and Ávila had gotten Yuri a job there. However, after a few weeks, Léo and Yuri got too close, to the point of going out for drinks together after their shifts, without inviting the brown-skinned man, who only found out when one or the other posted about it on social media.
"What the fuck kind of question is that, Pabllyo?" Yuri forced a laugh, but the sound came out dry. "Nothing to do with anything. Léo is my friend and that's it, we just work together. No, I've never hooked up with him."
The denial was far too quick, and the boy's strange reaction left a trail of doubt hanging in the air. Kael gripped his wine glass so tightly his knuckles turned white. Just another piece in Farias's puzzle of lies. Yuri kept stealing glances at the brown-skinned man, probably trying to gauge his mood, but he merely remained expressionless while his mind boiled with hundreds of thoughts eating away at him from the inside.
"If you say so..." Pabllyo's expression was one of disbelief, but he couldn't accuse him without proof. He was satisfied enough to have voiced the suspicion all the older friends were harboring, exactly because they wanted to expose Yuri to Kael.
Now it was Yuri's turn to spin the bottle to see who his target would be. Ironically—or perhaps not—the bottle spun and spun, until it finally stopped on none other than Kael. A heavy weight crashed down on the room instantly, especially since everyone had already noticed the vibe between them was absurdly hostile!
"Kael, truth or dare?" he asked harshly.
"Truth," he answered bluntly.
"Truth it is, Ávila. Since you've had that shitty look on your face all day, tell me: why do you always have to be so unbearable and ruin every single hangout with this persecution complex of yours?"
The attack was direct and cruel. The friends around them held their breath. It was the kind of question that wasn't looking for an answer, but rather blatant humiliation. Kael held his gaze. He didn't look away, didn't shrink back. On the contrary, he felt the cold anger he'd been nursing since the bedroom finally find an outlet.
"I wouldn't ruin any hangout if you didn't have the nerve to lie to me in the most ridiculous way possible, Yuri. And you always fucking lie!" the man answered directly and sharply.
"Lie? Where did I lie, Kael? You're crazy, you're making things up in your head again!" Yuri flared up, his voice rising in pitch, his face beginning to flush a furious red.
"I saw it, Yuri. Everyone who was in that bedroom saw it," he blurted out, his voice now laced with a contempt he could no longer contain. "You in my bed with Samuel, with your shorts unzipped. Do you really expect me to believe the 'I was hot' lie? You really want to call me unbearable for not accepting being played for a fool in my own home? In my own bed?!"
The impact of those words was like an explosion that destroyed everything and everyone around them. Samuel didn't say a word, merely observing the destruction. He knew where this was going to end, and perhaps that had been his intention all along. Yuri stood up, his face now completely red, the veins in his neck popping.
"Stop being ridiculous! It's always the same fucking story!"
"Exactly. And I'm sick of it always being the same, being played for a sucker by you!" he yelled.
"Go to..." Yuri started to lose it and lunge forward, but was interrupted.
"Enough! Both of you, stop!" Pedro cut in with an authority that surprised the group. "The game is supposed to be fun, not for airing dirty laundry between a couple that can't get their shit together. Yuri, sit down. Kael, breathe. The bottle is going to spin again and this conversation is dead here. I don't want to hear another peep out of either of you, goddammit!"
"But..."
"No fucking 'buts'! Sit down!"
Yuri reluctantly threw himself back into the armchair, huffing. His breathing was heavy, and his eyes were still locked on Kael with a hatred that was, deep down, pure terror of being exposed. Kael simply took one last sip of his wine, feeling the metallic taste of adrenaline wash down with the grapes, alcohol, and the sadness of, once again, being played for a clown.
The game continued, but for Kael, the only truth that mattered had already been spoken. The dare now would be surviving the rest of that afternoon...