Four Letters in Reverse (FLIR #1) by Christina Channelle Page A

the circle the five of us made on the basement floor of Hannah’s house.
    The rest of the week went by in a blur and it was Friday once again. I hadn’t had the guts to approach Owen all week with an apology. The fact that Carolyn always seemed to be lurking about, with her group of friends that looked like her own teenage girl militia, didn’t help.
    So now as promised, we were all hanging out at Hannah’s place. Her parents were upstairs watching TV. I loved Hannah’s parents. They gave us space that kids our age needed, but the door to the basement was still wide open.
    Hannah was an only child and the reason why she was, kind of, spoiled rotten with having the luxury of her own basement space with a sixty inch flat screen TV plastered on the wall. We had been playing video games for hours but as usual, Hannah got bored (especially since Matty kept beating her) and wanted to play a game of truth or truth.
    Matty stared at me when he answered Owen’s question. “Because this one doesn’t do dares. Ever.”
    Bruno and Owen looked at me and I shrugged in awkwardness. “I just don’t want to be forced into doing something I don’t particularly want to do. If I want to do something, I’ll do it. No need to dare me.”
    “So you’d rather tell the truth?”
    I looked at Owen steadily. “Yes.”
    “Okay then.” He looked over at Bruno who sat beside him. “Let’s play. You go first.”
    Bruno glanced around the circle. He turned to his right where Hannah sat. “Who do I ask first?”
    “Hold on one second.” Hannah rose and ran up the stairs to the main floor. When she returned, she was holding an empty pop bottle.
    “Here,” she said, placing the bottle in the center of the circle. “This will determine who will be asked.”
    “Are you sure we’re not playing spin the bottle?” Bruno asked with a grin. His eyes flicked over to me.
    I quickly averted them and they landed on Owen who regarded me with a raised brow and a smirk.
    Tish.
    Shaking my head, I looked over at Hannah. She had this grin on her face as she sat down between Bruno and me.
    “Never. Annabells here would have a hernia.”
    I gave her a dirty look then looked over at Bruno. “Spin it.”
    Bruno leaned forward and turned the bottle clockwise. We waited as the bottle spun round and round in circles.
    It landed on Mateo.
    Bruno pointed a finger at him. “Have you ever liked Annabella or Hannah?”
    “Always. They’re my best friends.”
    Bruno made a face. “That’s not what I meant.”
    Mateo shrugged, a gleam in his eyes. “That’s how I interpreted it.”
    Bruno looked over at Hannah and me for help and I felt bad. “The thing about truth or truth, is that you have to be very particular about the way you ask the question since you only have one try … at least until your next spin.”
    Hannah grinned over at Mateo. “So Matty answered fine. It’s your turn to spin.”
    Mateo grabbed hold of the bottle and spun quickly with the flick of a wrist. Once it finally stopped, the bottle landed on me. He rubbed his hands together in glee. “Hmm, what can I ask Annabella that I don’t already know?”
    I smiled smugly. “Not a thing.”
    Mateo realized his mistake. “Tish, I didn’t—”
    “Sorry, Matty,” I said, moving forward to grasp the bottle. “My turn.”
    After spinning the bottle, I really didn’t want it to land on Owen because we hadn’t talked to each other in what seemed like forever. Ugh, I didn’t want our first interaction to be asking some stupid question.
    It landed on Owen.
    I gulped as I looked in front of me. Owen regarded me calmly.
    I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to say. That was when the panic set in. It was like someone had ripped out my vocal cords and I was unable to speak.
    The silence droned on in what seemed like forever before Owen saved the day.
    “I’m not gay.”
    My eyes widened. “But I—”
    “Nah ah,” Owen interrupted. “You already asked a