Chapter Five

                                    

                                          
All surrounding eyes turn on me. People close in, clapping, patting me on the back, I feel my hair get pulled, someone even tugs on my clothes. I shake my head at Ian. He puts down the mic and jumps off the table. 
                          
One after another people want to shake my hand. I turn to Ian, in the very close, pressed vicinity, "You really felt necessary to do that?"
                          
He smiles at me, "Vee, you're Nerve's last accepted player- in order for people to watch you, they need to know who you are." 
                          
I furrow my eyebrows, "What- what do you mean the last player?" 
                          
"Nerve, they no longer give the choice of Watcher or Player.. They must've had enough to start the real game.. Now you compete to be the last Player, or last team in our case." He tells me.
                          
"How- how do you become the last player?" I ask.
                          
"You accept all your dares. As people decline them, they get disqualified. You keep accepting, while others drop out." He explains simply. 
                          
"So it's us now?" 
                          
Ian nods, "Us against the world." 
                          
I laugh, "I don't think so." 
                          
He furrows his eyebrows, "You know what I've noticed?"
                          
"What's that?"
                          
"You don't have much trust in me." Ian responds. 
                          
"Can you blame me? I met you three hours." 
                          
"Touche." He says stroking his chin. 
                          
Before I can respond he speaks up, "Want a drink?"
                          
I raise my eyebrows, "Like alcohol?" 
                          
Ian laughs, "Yes, but there's also soda." 
                          
I'm about to answer when my phone buzzes from my pocket. I pull it out, then look up to Ian, "This can't be good." 
                          
"What is it?" He asks me.
                          
"We're about to find out." I tell him. I open my phone, and we both lean over to see it. 
                          
Walk across the ladder. 
$400
                          
The first thing I noticed was the fact it did not say Team, underneath the dare... I would do this one alone. I look at Ian in confusion, "What are they talking about?" 
                          
He smiles hesitantly, "Above us." 
                          
I look up to see the ladder I first viewed when we walked in. I raise my eyebrows, "Are they joking?" 
                          
He shakes his head, "Afraid not..." 
                          
"That's thirty feet up!" I shout. 
                          
"And it's only thirty feet across, Vee. This ladder is sturdy. It's bolted on both sides." Ian says in a calming voice. 
                          
"How would you know?" I ask him. 
                          
Ian smirks at me, "I helped build this place." 
                          
"What?"
                          
"It's safe. I'll hold the ladder for you when you walking, and get a buddy to hold the other side if it makes you feel safe." He tells me. 
                          
I nod to him. Ian nods towards the staircase. I follow him up to the bars. Ian shouts over the counter to the bartender. They start talking then the bartender comes out from behind the counter. 
                          
"This is Jason, he's a friend of mine, and the best bartender in New York City. Jason, this is Vee- my partner." Ian introduces us.
                          
Jason smiles at me and holds out a hand, which I shake, "Any friend of Ian's is a friend of mine. Don't worry about the ladder Vee, it's sturdier than the Empire State Building. Good luck." 
                          
I smile at him, "Thanks." He jogs away.
                          
Before I can ask Ian where Jason's going he begins to speak, "Jason is going to hold the other side of the ladder, just like what you wanted, although you don't need it. Vee, press accept then I need you to go. I'll take the video, but remember you only have two minutes between pressing Accept and starting. You don't get much time to think, so don't." 
                          
My hands shake as I pull out my phone. I open it up and press accept. The small two minutes in the corner begin to count down. Ian takes my phone, but gives my hand a squeeze before pulling away. 
                          
Ian puts his feet on the ladder, while holding my phone. I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans and step over the bar. I hold onto it, with my toes still on the cement ledge. Ian's face is only inches from mine. I look below me. It looks like a lot more than thirty feet down. I feel my pulse throbbing in my chest, through my wrists, and in my ears. 
                          
I look back up to him as my breath hitches in my throat, "Ian, I don't think I can do this."
                          
Ian smiles warmly at me, it's a calming thing- comforting, "Yes you can." 
                          
"What if I slip, and fall?" 
                          
"You won't," Ian's deep voice is deceivingly calming. I dislike it. It sounds too good, too comforting. Too sexy... wait what? Scratch that last one...
                          
He snaps me out of my thoughts when he gestures to my phone, "Ten seconds, Vee. You've got this." 
                          
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open them and turn around. One foot in front of the other. Only one at a time... I try to inhale slow and calm, but it comes out shaky and rugged. 
                          
First step... I hold out my arms to balance myself. I tune out the noise around me to silence.. Second step... Third.. Fourth... and counting... I switch my eyes between the ladder and the end. 
                          
"Breathe Vee, breathe." I mumble to myself. 
                          
One step away, and I risk it. I throw myself to the railing and grip on for dear life. A smile spreads across my face. I hear cheering, and clapping. I look down to see the crowd raising their glasses, clapping, and cheering. I look to Jason confused. He laughs, "They're cheering for you, Vee. You made it!" 
                          
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "I did it." 
                          
The smile on my face widens as I pump my fist in the air. I shout down to the crowd, "I did it!"
                          
The hordes below whoop and hollar up to me. I pull myself back over the railing in a breeze. 
                          
I look at Jason with excitement, "I can't believe I did it." I jump excited then calm down a bit when reality hits me, "I cannot believe I just did that... I can't believe I didn't die!" I laugh nervously on the end sentence. 
                          
I start bouncing again with a squeal, "I made it." 
                          
Jason laughs, "Yes you did, and you didn't fall. See? Sturdiest thing out there." 
                          
Ian runs around the corner to us. I smile brightly at him and without thinking I throw my arms around his body, "I didn't die!" I squeal with an excited smile. I can feel the hesitance in his arms, but he wraps them around my waist. I let go quickly, realising what I just did. I pat his chest, with a nervous smile, "Sorry..I uh.." 
                          
He laughs, "It's fine, Vee.. You did it. I told you, you'd be fine." 
                          
I nod, "Yeah... thanks." 
                          
Ian holds out my phone, "You did good." 
                          
I read the words on the screen with a smile. 
                          
Dare complete. Case amount $500