The Fractured Mage

Chapter 21 - Age-Restricted(Part 1)

"So, what exactly is this game?" I asked her, as she entered my room, holding a pack of cards.

"It's a pretty simple card game, it's a deck of thirty cards, we each hold three cards in our hands at a time. Each card has one of three symbols on it...rock, paper and scissors. We both play one card each turn, and then the rules of rock-paper-scissors apply," She explained, as she sat on my bed, across from me.

"Oh, okay, so it's just rock-paper-scissors in card form, then?" I surmised in bemusement.

She wasn't kidding when she said that this is a simple game. I suppose it could be a slightly more fun way of playing rock-paper-scissors, but it seems kinda boring, especially for a game that she picked herself. There's gotta be more to-...

"Hehehe...come now, who do you think I am? Obviously there's more to it than that! Did you really think I'd waste money on a game that's got nothing more to it that just rock-paper-scissors in card form?" She responded smugly, as she opened the pack and began shuffling the cards.

Uh-oh, I'm getting a bad feeling about this now...I don't trust that gleam in her eyes one bit...

"Alright, ket's see here," I frowned warily, as I picked up the pack and read the back of it.

'A spin on the classic game of rock-paper-scissors, with a twist! There are ten cards of each sign, and on top of that, each card comes with a dare! Lose a round and do the dare on your opponent's card!'

"Hey, don't look! It would've been more fun if you went into it blind!" She groaned in dismay as she snatched the pack out of my hands.

"Does it really make a difference?" I shrugged indifferently.

Not gonna lie, this actually sounds like it might be kinda fun. Well, depending on what the dares are like, anyway. But I doubt it's gonna be anything too extreme, they wouldn't sell something with mature content to a fourteen year old-...hm?

"What is it?" She asked me, as I narrowed my eyes at the corner of the pack.

"Uh...this game is age-restricted, it clearly says '18+' over there. I don't think this is appropriate for us to play," I frowned apprehensively.

If I'm being honest, I don't exactly hate the idea her being made to carry out some rather explicit dares with her...b-but I can't let my intrusive thoughts get the better of me! Come on, brain, be better!

"Huh? Oh, it does...well, whatever! I paid for it, so I'm gonna use it! Plus, we're not THAT far from eighteen, just a few years. But how about this...if we come across any dares that are too extreme, and we both agree that it's too much, we'll skip it and redo the round or something," She suggested after mulling it over.

"Yeah, I don't know about this. I mean, it's gotta be age-restricted for a reason..."

"Come on, let's at least give it a shot for a few rounds!" She tried persuading me, a hopeful, pleading look in her eyes.

"O-okay, fine, let's try it out...stop looking at me like that," I muttered as I averted my gaze.

"Yay! Alright, I'm done shuffling. Take three cards and then let's get the first round started," She remarked, as she set down the deck between us as drew three cards from it.

What have I gotten myself into? Might as well get it over with, I suppose...I hesitantly reached for the deck and picked three cards off the top. I'll play whichever one has the most innocuous dare, let's have a look here...

Two rock cards and one paper card. Huh? W-woah...what's up with these dares? Uh...none of these are even remotely innocuous!

The dare on the paper card is 'take off one article of clothing'. Lilac's only wearing a tank top and a skirt, I-I definitely can't play this one! If she'd been wearing socks or gloves or something, it would've been fine, but if I play this and she plays a rock card, I'll win...i-it's way too risky.

As for the rock cards...one says 'flash the other player...damn it, that's basically the same thing! No, it's even worse!

And the other one says 'sit on the other player's lap for one minute'...a full minute feels like it could be super dangerous, not sure I'll be able to keep my blood rushing down to a certain spot...and yet, it's probably the safest dare among these three. I have no choice...

"O-okay, uh, I think I've got my card ready to play. You?" I inquired, turning my gaze towards her before my eyes widened slightly in surprise.

She had a taken aback look in her eyes, her cheeks slightly red...well, that's not good. Whatever's on her cards are so shocking that they've left her speechless.

"Hey, maybe we shouldn't play this game after all-...," I began.

"N-no, it's fine! Alright, I've picked which card I'm going to play too, let's do this...you ready? On three!" She declared, trying a bit too hard to appear unbothered by whatever was on her cards.

"Huh? Wait, we should think this through a bit m-...!"

"Three! Two! One!"

As she finished her countdown, I gave in and played my card, the rock card with the lap dare. And she played...a scissors card. Oh, guess I win...wait, no, that's bad!

I then glanced at the text on her card, curious to see what dare she played...'take off two articles of clothing'. Huh, on second thought, I'm glad I won, now I don't have to strip.

"Oh, that's it? This isn't so bad, guess there are some easy dares in the deck too! Come on, stretch out your legs, I can't sit there if you have your legs crossed" Grinned Lilac, looking a bit relieved after reading the dare on my card, as she scooted over towards me, plopping herself down onto my lap as I reluctantly stretched out my legs, "Pardon the intrusion, good sir!"

She's so soft and warm...

"O-okay, uh, I'll keep an eye on the clock...a minute will be up when the second-hand goes back around to the twenty minute mark," I informed her, focusing on the clock to distract myself as a fragrant scent wafted into my nostrils from her hair, before I stiffened slightly as she began shifting around to get into a more comfortable position, "H-hey, stop moving around so much, that's dangerous!"

"Huh? What are you talking about? It's not like I can fall off or something, and even if I do, we're on the middle of the bed, so I'll only land on the mattress," She shrugged in bemusement as she glanced back at me, continuing to shift around.

D-damn it, she's not getting it! Th-this is bad, h-her shifting around so much, it feels t-too good to ignore. I-it's no use, as hard as I'm trying not to notice, I can't ignore it...!

"H-hey, uh, I-I think you should get off now!" I blurted out, starting to panic as...

"It's not even been half a minute yet, what's got you so-...hm? What's that? Something's poking me...," She muttered curiously, turning her gaze downwards.

K...kill me. Please, someone, anyone...just put me out my misery already...