I Dare You

By Sophie Turrill

Lauren Fleming lives a life away from the celebrity lifestyle up in Scotland. She's just a regular eighteen year old who enjoys spending time with her friends, sitting on the sofa and snacking on things she probably shouldn't be eating. Meet her dad Graham, he drags her down to a football game even though she hates the sport.

Only what Lauren doesn't know is that one fifth of global hit boy band Doug Dares, George Summers is going to be at the game as well. She is thrown into a world of first love, second chances and a bit more than three minutes of fame!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291787467

Book preview

I Dare You

I DARE YOU…

Acknowledgements:

To the five boys who inspired me to write, you know who you are. I also want to thank my mum and dad for everything, thank you for all the support. This one is to everyone who’s ever dared to do something they’ve never done before. Sophie x

Chapter 1

Dad! Do I really have to go? You know how much I hate football! I complained sitting on the leather sofa, I was quite happy just sat here on my IPod listening to music while chatting to my friend's online, but no! Much to my dismay dad had told me he wanted me to go to a football game with him.

Lauren come on. You've been sat on that sofa all day, you need to do something productive so you're coming with me. By the tone in his voice I knew no matter how hard I tried I wasn't going to get out of this one. I huffed and rolled my eyes as he left the room, telling me I had half an hour before we were leaving, since it would take us a while to get there.

Don't get me wrong dad and I got along like two peas in a pod, but when it came down to football - or even the mention of football - I either got annoyed or just tuned out completely. Maybe it was because he went on about it so much, or maybe it was because I was bought up with a family that played the sport that I constantly heard about it, but the thing I did know was I hated it with a passion. I trekked up to my room and brushed my brown hair, it fell to just below my shoulder and had a few blonde highlights, mum had said they made my facial features stand out - whatever that meant! I quickly changed into something warmer and more suitable for a football match, taking as much time as I needed, before grabbing my bag and walking back down the stairs. Dad, in his usual black jeans and light blue top, was ready and waiting for me. Telling mum we were leaving, she told me to have fun with a weird expression on her face. It was one of those rare moments that I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, which was unusual because we were normally so close I could read her like an open book. After that slightly weird goodbye we hopped into our grey BMW and began to drive.

It was going to be a long journey to the game; we lived in Scotland and dad's boss Harry had given him two free tickets to see a Manchester derby at Old Trafford (Manchester United against Manchester City). According to dad it was going to be an 'exciting' game as it was for a tournament or something. This was where I hated being an only child, if I had a brother I would have probably got away with not going to watch it, but seeing as he had no-one else to go with, he was stuck with me. I wasn't that much of good company when it came to football either; I'm not entirely sure why he didn't take mum because he knew I usually just tuned everything out completely, maybe it was a father/daughter bonding experience.

I shoved my headphones in my ears and let my life become a music video for my latest music obsession who went by the name of Imagine Dragons, as the miles of roads and cities passed.

~

Finally after six hours of driving in an uncomfortable position we eventually arrived in Manchester. To me it seemed like a waste of petrol just to come all this way, but what could I say? If it was for a concert I'm sure I'd make dad taxi me this far. I'd had a disagreement with dad not long ago when I tried to argue that going to a football match was just the male version of a teenage girl going to a concert; I mean they shouted, got excited about seeing a bunch of guys, just like girls do. He failed to see the comparison though.

If you see a parking space let me know dad said as he concentrated on driving around the stadium looking for somewhere to park, I nodded and glanced out the window. It really was busy, I mean I knew it was a big game and everything but the amount of people here was utterly ridiculous. Men always got carried away when it came down to the sport, it's like they all become the same unnatural person as soon as the ball had been kicked across the field, it couldn’t be healthy right?

Dad there I pointed to a spot pretty close to the grounds. Someone was just pulling out so dad indicated to signal he would be going in it. A minute later and we were both climbing out of the car making our way into the stadium, I made sure I had my bag which had all the essentials such as phone, IPod, headphones, sweets that I could make last for at least four football games if I really wanted, and a magazine in-case I died of boredom - because let’s face it you never know. Let's go! Dad exclaimed rather excited about what we were about to watch. Such fun.

Okay, okay I chuckled following him into the crowd of eager football fans. I'm not sure which side dad was going to support since I didn’t know who he preferred, I mean we were from Scotland. But I guess he would make his mind up when he got there. They were both teams from Manchester, so really what was the difference?

We made it to the queue and I found myself surrounded by men and boys of all ages, there weren't many girls apart from the odd one who looked like they had been dragged here just like me. The eager crowd began to disperse as they entered the stadium to find their seats. As we got closer, I could see dad gripping the tickets like he was holding them for dear life. I shook my head, what was I getting myself into?

Tickets please A bald man with a yellow fluorescent jacket shouted looking rather bored; he really knew how to make you feel enthusiastic about the game. Not. Dad handed him the tickets and as the man scanned, raising his eyebrows, looked at us like we were beggars in a rich man’s land.

You're in a private box. If you would follow Jim over there he will direct you to your seats the worker muttered pointing at someone who looked just as bored as him. After dad thanked him we walked up to Jim who smiled and began to lead us to our seats, they’d better be good I thought after hearing that they were private, though I didn’t raise my hopes too much.

Eventually after tracking virtually halfway around the stadium we made it to the private box, I could see why the worker raised his eyebrows when he saw the tickets, and I was pleasantly surprised. The seats weren't in the stands like I had expected, but instead in a glass box looking out over the stadium, it was pretty high up so you could see everything that was happening without dealing with men shouting and chanting in your ears at the players. Dad's boss must have been pretty wealthy to have a private box, and give us the tickets for free.

See it's not that bad is it? Dad asked sitting down in a chair that looked rather comfy, compared to the normal plastic ones which made you feel numb after sitting down for so long. No, but I'm waiting for a catch I urged, there had to be one, I mean why would dad get given two free tickets to one of the biggest games in football if there wasn't a catch! He raised his eyebrows before answering, I knew him too well.

Well there is one thing, you know Harry Summers my boss right? he asked. I'd met him a few times before, but knew nothing else about him except he was dad's boss and he owned a private insurance company that did pretty well for itself, hence the reason I had no idea he could afford this. He has a son, you might have heard of him, George Summers? he carried on looking at me with a rather hopeful expression.

I might have, although I can't put my finger on where I've heard it I replied honestly, I'm sure I'd heard the name from somewhere and my immediate thought was that my cousin Megan had mentioned someone with that name - although I couldn't be too sure.

Well he's in a pretty successful band called Doug Dares, ring any bells now? he asked. I'd heard of them, my initial thoughts were right as Megan was a pretty big fan of them, okay cancel that, a really big fan of them. As far as I was aware I'd never heard one of their songs, unless it was on the radio and I hadn't realised. I'd never really got around to purposely listening to any of their hits, much to Megan's disapproval. She didn’t get h­­ow I hadn’t become obsessed with them; I tried to avoid anything too mainstream and they just happened to fit in the criteria.

Yeah I know who they are I think I muttered, although if they were stood in front of me I probably wouldn't recognise any of them. But what has that got to do with anything? I asked again, this had something to do with the catch, I was pretty sure of it. Though I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to know or not.

Well Harry thought it would be a good idea if you got to know George, because he gave me a promotion he hesitated before continuing. It means we will be moving to live in London in a few weeks. It will be a good idea if you know someone around your own age that already lives down there he watched me waiting for a reaction. This was all new to me, I had no idea he had got a promotion, let alone we were going to move to London in a matter of weeks. Well, um, congrats I guess I smiled not really sure what to make of it. Though it would be a great opportunity for dad and I'd always wanted to go to London for the experience, living there and leaving my friends, house, and memories in Scotland, I wasn't so sure about.

We'll talk about it properly when we get home he added as I nodded, it wasn't really the place to have this kind of conversation. He looked up over my shoulder and stood up smiling. I grew slightly confused for a second or two before he began talking. George, it's great to see you again! dad exclaimed walking over and giving the boy one of those pat on the back - hug things that only men do, I don't think I would ever understand why they did it. I hadn’t even realised dad had met George before, but I guess it was because when he usually talked about work I found it boring and tuned out.

You too Mr Fleming George replied in a husky Yorkshire accent, I hadn't seen him properly yet so I didn’t know what he looked like, as dad was blocking the view. I stood up walking around him so I could see George more clearly, my stomach flipped at the first glance of the famous George Summers; I don't really know what I was expecting, maybe someone who used their fame and sported a cocky attitude. But in looks he was pretty cute, okay cancel that, really cute!

He looked only a few years older than me, he had chestnut brown hair, green eyes and he wore a red baseball cap, white shirt, black jacket and blue trousers. His piercing green eyes met my plain blue ones and he smiled, white teeth and all on show making me blush slightly, I could now see why Megan spent all those hours gushing at how handsome they were, if only I'd paid more attention back then!

Hello you must be Lauren, I'm George. Nice to meet you he smiled greeting me while walking over and pulling me into a hug. I froze slightly for a minute not expecting the sudden gesture, before loosening up and returning the hug back to him - he smelt pretty good- I cut my thoughts short as he pulled back still smiling. Well that was one way to meet someone for the first time! What were the chances of my first friend in London being one member of a hit band?! It was like some sort of fiction or fairy tale film!

Yeah great to meet you too I smiled before sitting down. George still had a grin tugging at his lips, (though I’m not sure why) as he took the spare seat beside me. I looked at him out the corner of my eye as he took off his jacket; it was kind of hard not to look to be fair, when you had one fine male specimen sat inches away, you had to sneak a glance. Luckily he didn’t notice me staring at him thank goodness! I didn’t want him to get the wrong impression of me.

Settling down in the comfy seat I was ready for kick off which was about to begin. George made no hesitation in starting a conversation about the line-up, sighing I rolled my eyes in amusement and pulled out a bag of Skittles, everyone loved them. I popped one of the colourful sweets into my mouth and one by one watched them disappear until the conversation about the players finished.

The two opposing captains made their way to the middle starting line, after a coin flip and the whistle being blown by the referee, the ball was kicked as the match began.

What I didn't know at that point however, was just being at that football match was going to change the rest of my life.

Chapter 2

I can't believe we're winning! George exclaimed bounding up and down in his seat excitedly like a little boy. I'd learnt in just five minutes how much of a Manchester United supporter he was. His face lit up when the players had first walked onto the pitch and the smile still hadn't disappeared off his face since, it was kind of cute just how much he admired them, though some might say it was borderline obsessive.

Get in there son! Dad yelled at one of the players, I had no idea who since they all looked the same to me, but it wasn't like they could hear him in the first place. He was supporting Manchester United like George - If he supported the other team I'm not sure George and dad would be getting on so well! Yay I muttered with as much enthusiasm as I could muster up while watching a football match- which to be honest wasn't a great deal!

You're really not into this are you? George noted pointing out the obvious fact as he turned his attention away from the match for a few minutes. Nope. I mean I just don't see why there's a need to kick a ball from one end of a field to another, they're both Manchester teams anyway so what's the difference?