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The Challenge by The Lucky Kind of fanfiction.net

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The rest of the dinner was simple, easy. The awkward silence that filled the room before was long gone and replaced with laughter and lengthy conversations. The sound of forks scratching against the plates faded into the background and for the first time in a long time, I actually felt like I was home.

I watched Dara from the corner of my eyes. Watching as she threw her head back and laughed at something my mother said. The smile that was on her face wasn't the forced smile I saw earlier today. It was genuine and real. The kind of smile that made me forget how to breathe. I laughed along with her, although I did not hear a word my mother had said. Her laugh alone can make a smile tug at the corner of my lips.

At this point, I knew I was staring. But I couldn't turn away for the fear that I would miss out on anything. I'm even too afraid to blink because who knows what adorable action she could make in the time it takes me to blink. She turned her head to the side, noticing my stare. Her eyebrows knitted together and curiosity replaced the laughter. I already miss it.

She quirked an eyebrow at me, silently asking me what my deal was. I shook my head, mentally noting that I needed to be more cautious with my creepy stares.

Somewhere during my mother’s extremely detailed descriptions of my baby fat, Dara had decided it was time for her to go. I led her to the door, eagerly pushing her away before my mom pulled out the photo albums.

"Thanks for what you did in there," I smiled.

She gave me a nonchalant shrug. "No problem. It was definitely more interesting than Bikini Beach Bloodbath will ever be."

I gasped. "Bikini Beach Bloodbath is an amazing movie!"

She rolled her eyes. "The title basically explains every aspect of the movie."

"Smartass," I mumbled under my breath.

She chuckled, shaking her head pityingly at me. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, reaching for the doorknob.

I grabbed her arm, stopping it from reaching the door. She smiled knowingly up at me, already adjusting to my constant interruptions. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her towards me, and pressing my lips against hers. I began to feel her pull away, but I only held on tighter, keeping her in my arms. She detached her lips from mine softly, but still keeping our bodies together.

"No," I whined, moving my head towards hers so our lips were lightly touching.

"I think we have an audience," Dara mumbled against my lips.

I opened my eyes, seeing that hers were still closed. I sighed, feeling the presence of three nosy individuals looming by the kitchen door. I reluctantly pulled away from her, watching Dara's eyes slowly open to look at me.

"Let me walk you home," I suggested with a smile.

"You don't have to," Dara said, shaking her head.

"I want to. It'll give me an excuse to get out of this house and away from any eavesdropping family members," I said, nodding my head behind me where I knew they all stood, straining their ears hoping to catch pieces of our conversation.

Dara smiled, nodding her head in agreement. She looked past my shoulder to wave goodbye to the , who, at this point, scurried off in all directions, trying to hide their obvious snooping. I opened the front door, quickly ushering her out into the yard. Once the door was closed, I let out of deep breath of relief.

Dara chuckled, holding out her hand for me to take. "Well you couldn't get out of there fast enough."

I rolled my eyes, taking her hand in mine. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have been put in that position."

"It's fine. Your family is great," she smiled. I gave her an incredulous look with my eyebrows raised. "Okay fine," she conceded. "Maybe some parts of the dinner were slightly...uncomfortable."

"It was terrifying," I corrected.

She laughed. "Alright! Your dad may have scarred me for life."

"Ugh! I'm so sorry. He usually isn't that bad, I swear," I groaned, running a frustrated hand through my hair. "It's just for some reason he decided to make an extra effort to be an today."

"It really wasn't that bad."

"How could you say that? If it were up to my dad he would have patted you down to see if you had any weapons on you. I bet he's at home doing a background check on you right now," I grumbled, easily imagining him hunched over a computer screen, scrolling through Dara's academic records. "He was so rude to you and he wasn't even trying to hide it. He might as well of held up a sign saying I hate Sandara Park written in big bold letters."

"Was that true? What he said in there? About you not wanting to go to college?" she asked timidly, obviously knowing it was a sore subject between me and him.

I sighed before nodding my head. "Yeah. I never liked school and I was never good in school. I don't want to spend four years in a place that wouldn't help me in what I really want to be."

She nodded her head while chewing on her bottom lip.

"What?" I asked. "You're holding back on me. What is it?"

She sighed, looking over at me. "You know that I have complete faith in you, right?"

I slowly nodded my head, getting an idea of where she was going with this.

"I think you're so talented but...college is important," she paused to run a hand through her hair. "I just think everyone needs a plan B."

I rolled my eyes. "Spare me the lecture, Dara. I've heard-"

"Just hear me out," she interrupted. "I'm not saying you should go to college. I'm not even saying you shouldn't go. It's your life and it's your decision. I just think you need to think more carefully about your this. This isn't like choosing what to eat for dinner. This is your future and it deserves something more than just a spur-of-the-moment decision. And if your decision ends up being a mistake then the only thing you can do is learn from it and fix it.

Besides, I bet a huge part of your choice of not going to college is because you know it'll piss off your dad."

"No it's not!" I squeaked, wincing shortly after at my high voice.

She chuckled with a tender roll of her eyes. "This is an important decision. You shouldn't make it just to be rebellious towards your father."

"He thinks that I'm going to screw up my life if I don't go."

She shook her head. "I think the only time someone can screw up is if they make a mistake and don't try to fix it. Making mistakes doesn't mean your life is over; it means that you're human. Just promise me that you won't make up your mind yet. Promise me that you'll think about this."

I looked at her, studying the way her lip pouted and her eyes nearly sparkled with hope. I sighed, nodding my head. She grinned up at me, her eyes lighting up in victory. "I wish my dad thought the same way you did. All he does is yell and tell me that if I don't go to college I'll end up living in a shoebox because I won't be able to afford a refrigerator box."

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