Truth or Dare

Two very different friends learn about themselves and each other, weathering their relationship through hard times through the lens of childhood game Truth or Dare.

Notes: Genders do not matter for casting. Names are here to distinguish lines and directions, but also do not matter. Grammatical errors in lines are intentional. The characters are best friends, no romantic tension should be attempted. When AL reveals that the person they like is CHASE, CHASE may be confused, but the actor playing AL should not cause the audience to misinterpret their meaning.

Props: Two books. Two pieces of paper. Two pens. Two wine glasses.

Set: Two desks. Two chairs. A couch. A bed.

AL is a bookish, serious individual with a soft side. They like pop science TV shows and obscure animal facts. They don’t have many friends. As a child, they’re a bit silly, but entirely unaware of this, fully believing they’re taken completely seriously by everyone. As a teen, they’re entirely focused on being the best and smartest. As an adult, though they let loose a little around Chase, they’ve better learned to project actual seriousness. They’re typically unsentimental and never want to settle down or get married or start a family, but they love Chase more than anyone in the world.

CHASE is a goofy, attention-loving adventure seeker, always ready with a quip or joke, but there are things in life they take seriously. Well, people. One specific person. They like loud music, Warrior Cats, and playing Truth Or Dare even long past the normal expiration of the game. As a child, they march to their own drum, speaking without much care for grammar and acting without care for what other people think of them, but they’re enthralled by AL. As a teen, they’re exhausted by expectations and really only stay in school for AL. As an adult, though the problems of the world have started to weigh on them, they continue to project silly nonchalance. They love AL more than anyone in the world.

Scene 1

(A child, AL, is sitting and reading a book. Another child, CHASE, ambles over and plops down.)

CHASE
Truth or dare. Truth. Whatcha reading?

AL
I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to play that.

CHASE
It’s how I play it. Everybody always wants to get dared so I have to make sure I can ask questions.

AL
You could just ask.

CHASE
But then it’s a conversation and not a game and I like games. Also you have to answer the question if it’s a truth or dare. Unless it’s a bad question. Or if you get suddenly heart attacked or something. But my questions are good and I’ve never seen no one get heart attacked.

(Beat)

AL
I’m reading about snakes.

CHASE
Truth or dare. Truth. What kind of snakes?

AL
Good snakes. Did you know that snakes can drink water without lips?

CHASE
So can I! Watch!

(They attempt to pour water directly down their face hole.)

Never mind, my water’s empty. I’ll show you later.

AL
Why are you on the reading carpet?

CHASE
I’ll say it if you make it like a truth or dare.

AL
Ok. Truth or dare?

CHASE
Dare. Ha, gotcha!

AL
I dare you to tell me why you’re on the reading carpet.

(Beat.)

CHASE
You’re really smart.

AL
I watch a lot of Brain Games on TV.

CHASE
Oh. Well I got in trouble for drawing a dragon on the board. And a lightning storm. And a warrior cat. I don’t know what a permanent marker is but I guess it’s bad, so I’m here instead of recess. Did you read warrior cats?

AL
No. Did you know a caracal is the cat that can jump the highest? It eats birds out of the sky. I named my cat Carrie because I wanted her to be a caracal but she isn’t.

CHASE
Sorry.

AL
It’s ok.

(Beat. AL puts their book away.)

I’m okay with not being dared.

CHASE
Huh?

AL
If you wanna play with me. I don’t play with a lot of people but since you don’t have recess you can truth or dare me and I’ll pick with a even distribution. So you don’t have to answer your own questions.

CHASE
Ok. Truth or dare.

AL
Truth.

CHASE
If you were a poisonous snake-

AL
There aren’t any poisonous snakes.

CHASE
Yuh huh? Like a rattlesnake. Or a black mamba.

AL
Those are venomous. Poisonous is like when you eat it. I have a peanut allergy so basically peanut butter is poisonous. Not a snake. Rattlesnakes are venomous.

CHASE
If you were a venomous snake, which one would you be?

AL
Hmmm…

(Fade to blackout.)


Scene 2

(Fade in. AL and CHASE sitting at desks and theoretically studying. AL is working studiously on a college essay, CHASE is doodling on their hand.CHASE makes one of those hand monsters but AL doesn’t notice, so CHASE scribbles down “truth or dare” on their paper and shoves it at AL.)

AL
Is this how you're planning on getting into college?

CHASE
Nah. Too cool for school and you know it. I’m gonna start a band, get wildly famous, and retire with the riches when our lead singer dies tragically. It’s always the lead singers. That’s why I’m learning to drum. Answer the question.

AL
Some of us have important things to do.

CHASE
It’s a one word answer.

AL
Fine. Dare.

CHASE
Make a mistake.

AL
Huh?

CHASE
In your essay. You know you want to. Spell a word wrong. Splice a comma. Stick it to the man!

AL
You know I can’t.

CHASE
That’s not the spirit.

AL
I’ve got to look polished!

CHASE
You’re a teenager, not a pair of shoes in the …1920s or something.

AL
People still polish nice shoes, you know.

CHASE
Only squares who carry spreadsheets. Do it.

AL
You know mistakes have consequences, right?

CHASE
Yeah, the consequence of living a little! I’m not telling you to do drugs, and you picked dare.

AL
Because last time I picked truth, you made me give you homework answers.

CHASE
Oh tish tosh! I would never violate academic integrity! Come on. Misplace a semicolon, your GPA will be equally as impossible either way. Zoology will literally die if it can’t have you, so-

AL
(suddenly very serious)

I can't, okay? I literally can't. So stop.

CHASE
(backing off)

Sheesh.

(Beat. AL softens.)

AL
I pick truth. Ask me something interesting; this essay will turn out quite boring if I don’t show some personality. You’ve got more than me, at any rate.

CHASE
Rubbish! You ooze personality. Nobody else in the world has ever written an opera about beetles.

AL
(lighthearted)

Hey! We agreed not to speak of that.

CHASE
(equally lighthearted)

Fine. Be that way.

AL
Ask the question.

CHASE
Ok.

(Beat.)

Who do you like?

AL
Are you five years old?

CHASE
Maybe. Go on then, answer.

AL
I don’t know, no one?

CHASE
Boooooring. Try again.

AL
Umm… that guy from that one episode of Brain Games. In the hat.

CHASE
Nope. Who do you like? And don’t pull deception specialist Apollo Robbins out of your a*s like that, he deserves better.

AL
Listen, I literally have no idea, and even if I did, what kind of a question is that?

CHASE
The one and only question of all time. The supreme ruler of all truth or dare questions.

AL
I don't have time for this.

CHASE
You invited me over.

AL
I’ve got an essay to work on.

CHASE
Who catches your fancy?

AL
Shut up.

CHASE
Who's the apple of your eye?

AL
Nobody says that.

CHASE
Come on!

AL
(Suddenly very serious, annoyed into baring their soul)

Fine! You, I guess. Happy?

(Long beat.)

Don’t look at me like that, you know I don’t mean it that way.

CHASE
I don’t know how else you can mean that.

AL
Look, I don’t want to marry your sorry a*s, or anyone’s sorry a*s believe it or not, so don’t you start. You asked the question.

CHASE
And you answered.

AL
It’s just, who else is going to sit here with me writing the most boring essay of all time? Nobody. Nobody else in my entire life gives a damn about the f*****g, beetle opera, or remembers the name of the stupid Brain Games magician, or, or, or cares about my answers to stupid questions, okay? I don’t want some, some boyfriend or girlfriend, and it’s not like I could get one anyway, but I couldn’t get rid of you if I tried. And I don’t want to, so, yeah. That’s all I mean.

(Beat.)

CHASE
Can you pick dare again?

AL
(angry)

What is your problem?

CHASE
No, you’re, you’re good. But I have a different dare.

AL
Whatever.

CHASE
Say dare.

AL
Just tell me what you want to tell me.

CHASE
It doesn’t count if you don’t say dare.

AL
Seriously? This has got to be a violation of the rules.

CHASE
Please?

AL
…Dare.

CHASE
I dare you to give me a hug, you cheesy-a*s nerd.

(They hug. Fade out.)

Scene 3

(Fade in. AL is standing in a room we imagine to be mildly crowded, despite the lack of other actors. CHASE enters in a hurry, pushing past and looking for AL, and finally notices them. Relief. But CHASE remains agitated while AL is pretty chill.)

CHASE
Oh thank god. I knew you’d be here.

AL
Well, you came to my conference on groundhog anatomy, so I couldn’t miss this.

CHASE
Yes. College nerds in suits. Anatomy. Groundhogs. I need to ask you a question.

AL
Let me guess, truth or da-

CHASE
Not this time. Actually, wait, yeah. But you have to pick dare.

AL
That’s not very sportsmanlike-

CHASE
I have 3 minutes before the concert starts, please just say dare.

AL
You’re lucky I trust you, you lunatic. Dare.

CHASE
You have to come on stage with me.

AL
What?!

CHASE
Please.

AL
Why on earth would I - ?

CHASE
Listen, I’m not kidding. I need you right now. That’s what I’m telling you, to your face. I need you. You are bookish and nerdy and the exact opposite of rock and roll and I need you up there so much.

AL
…You know I get terrible stage fright.

CHASE
Wrong. You only think you do. Groundhog conference went off without a hitch.

AL
Your concert is quantitatively different from my extracurricular-!

CHASE
Please. You won’t regret it. I can’t play drums for this song without you up there. You don’t have to do it but I won’t be able to play without you.

AL
You’ve always been able to do your crazy thing without me, I just kinda… watch.

CHASE
Lies. You're critical to the whole operation. Plus it’s the song I helped write, it may or may not be heavily influenced by how cool you are, it might be called Truth or Dare, and I’m telling you I cannot play it if you don’t bring your nerdy little self on stage. It’s barely a concert anyway. You can look at the empty seats if it helps.

AL
I-

CHASE
Please. I technically dared you.

AL
Well-

CHASE
You don’t have to be scared, I’m there the whole time. You can pretend I’m a groundhog. Or Bill Nye or your cat or something.

AL
…You’re lucky I love you.

CHASE
So you’ll come on stage?

AL
I will be hiding firmly behind the drum set.

CHASE
Hey, I love you too. Don’t forget. Holy S**T we’re late, come on!

(CHASE rushes off, AL in tow by their linked hands. Fade out.)

Scene 4

(Fade in. Both are sitting on a couch, possibly drinking wine or something. They are celebrating, but only CHASE is acting like it. Their arm is probably around AL. AL’s first few lines should be totally devoid of excitement, lowkey depressing. )

CHASE
I can’t believe my best friend is a doctor. A doctor! I’ve got three broken-up rock bands, a moderately successful Warrior Cats fanfic, and an ability to tell left from right that works on weekends and birthdays - and you just got a PhD! Unreal.

AL
Very real, actually.

CHASE
Well what are you gonna do about it? Become a millionaire? Finally meet Bill Nye? Become the next Bill Nye?

AL
I don’t think any of those things are as plausible as we all wish they were.

CHASE
Anything is possible with the degree of all degrees!

AL
Not a perpetual motion machine. Or faster-than-light travel. Or genuinely believing that a PhD in zoology makes one a celebrity.

CHASE
You’ll always be a celebrity to me. Plus, we did technically meet David Bowie’s cousin that one time, which counts.

AL
If you say so.

(Beat.)

CHASE
Why are you so down about it?

AL
(obviously a terrible liar)

Do I look down to you? This is just the natural relaxation of my face muscles.

CHASE
No, it’s not the smolder. You just don’t seem very excited.

(Beat. AL considers sharing what’s on their mind but can't quite do it. Another beat.)

AL
This is gonna sound stupid, but I need you to ask me something. There’s no other way for me to - I don’t know how else I can - look, can you… for old times sake, you know…

CHASE
I do. Truth or dare.

AL
Truth.

CHASE
What’s wrong?

AL
Me. Science. The universe at large. If there’s a God, him too.

CHASE
I don’t…

AL
No, listen… I’m the wrong kind of doctor.

CHASE
Are you kidding? Nobody loves animals more than you -

AL
No. I mean. I’m not. Ugh.

(softly)

Can you do it again?

CHASE
Truth or dare.

AL
Truth.

CHASE
What do you mean, wrong kind of doctor?

AL
I’m not …the kind of doctor that can fix myself.

CHASE
Fix yourself?

AL
I’m sick. Sick in a way that means dead with extra steps. And groundhog anatomy won’t do s**t about it. Malignant neoplasm.

CHASE
I don’t…

AL
Cancer. A malignant neoplasm is what most people would call cancer. Something about the scientific term just… it’s easier for me to say.

(Beat.)

I know you want to ask me how long. They don’t know. Years, maybe. But I won’t be able to be independent for most of that. I don’t know why I’m telling you now. We’re supposed to be celebrating…

(CHASE hugs AL tightly. Long beat.)

CHASE
God, I can’t believe it.

AL
I know.

CHASE
I’ll be here every step of the way, you know.

AL
I know.

CHASE
Anything you need.

AL
Of course. That’s the thing, though. Doctors…you know, the medical doctors, they said I shouldn’t live alone, and most people get a spouse or a child to take care of them, and, well… those things were never my speed really, and I know you have a life and a job, but, but I can’t do it by myself, and I know it’s the most selfish thing to ask you, but-

CHASE
Of course. Of course I’ll live with you. Imagine the parties we could get up to. The Brain Games marathons. The sheer quantity of Pictionary games. I can see Carrie the cat for the first time since high school!

AL
…Y'know, Carrie’s going to outlive me.

(Small beat.)

She’s already at 150% the average life expectancy of a housecat and I’ll get, what, 40% of mine? It’s all in the numbers.

CHASE
That’s where you’re wrong. Numbers are bullshit. It’s people that count. I dare you to get that into your head, you wonderful, wonderful nerd.

AL
I guess. Thank you.

CHASE
Don’t even mention it, Doctor. Did I mention you’re a f*****g Doctor? Capital D! The achievement of a lifetime!

AL
(distinctly aware of the irony)

Yeah. A lifetime.

(Fade out.)

Scene 5

(Fade in. AL is propped up on a bed, awake but stagnant. Their lines should be delivered with some effort - not cartoonish, but mildly labored. CHASE enters at the speed of sound and places a book on the table next to AL’s bed before immediately busying themselves.)

CHASE
Hey, I brought you something. A book. I know you love those. Snakes of America, and it’s illustrated - very well, might I add. Sure, I may have only had so many colored pencils, and the margins on these things are not nearly big enough for scaled drawings, but ya know. I also got bored and drew a warrior cat. And a lightning storm. And a dragon, but that’s basically a form of snake. Scale of 1 to 10 today?

(AL holds up 6 fingers.)

Alright, look at you! Up for pictionary?

(AL shakes head.)

Ok, fair enough, we know I would win. Bill Nye marathon?

(AL shakes head.)

Oh, don’t tell me that’s getting old already, Bill Nye is timeless! Brain Games, but I’ll skip to the bits with Apollo Robbins?

(AL looks over at Chase. They know what they want to do.)

Oh, fine. Truth or dare.

AL
(smiling)

Dare.

CHASE
I dare you to Uber Eats us a pizza.

(AL laughs but pulls out their phone to do it.)

That’s right, I went there. Your turn. I pick truth.

AL
Did you get any sleep last night?

CHASE
Killjoy question! Technically, yes, but in the spirit of honesty, it was about forty minutes, and those minutes were not consecutive.

AL
You should sleep.

CHASE
Nonsense! I’m go-go-go all the time, baby! Plus I gotta be ready for anything. I feel like James Bond.

You better be ordering that pizza.

(AL puts down their phone to cough, but the coughing is a little more violent than they expected. CHASE visibly panics, dropping their ruse of silly nonchalance instantly. Beat. AL stops coughing.)

AL
I’m fine. This is why you don’t sleep. Worry.

(CHASE’S ruse slides right back up.)

CHASE
Nah, I just have so many hypothetical Seinfeld plots floating around my head that sleep eludes me.

AL
You know that’s not true.

CHASE
Truth or dare.

AL
Truth.

CHASE
How much sleep did you get?

AL
…Enough.

CHASE
Right. That’s what I thought. Pot calling kettle black, huh?

AL
I have a medical exemption.

CHASE
You gonna pull doctor’s note privilege on me? Nuh-uh.

AL
Truth or dare.

CHASE
How long will this stay fun for you?

AL
I don’t have enough time left for it to get boring.

CHASE
(mildly agitated by that comment)

Shut up. Positive vibes only.

AL
I am dying, you know.

CHASE
Yeah, and it’s ruining my vibes. Dare.

AL
I dare you to pay for the pizza I ordered, plus tip.

CHASE
You scoundrel!

(They laugh.)

AL
That I am.

CHASE
After pizza, we should both sleep. Not because I need to, but I'm such a good friend that I’ll gladly support you in the endeavor.

AL
And when you wake up, you’ll get the fun game of checking whether I’ve died yet.

CHASE
(suddenly dead serious, but with no other way to express the emotions that came from that comment)

Truth or dare.

AL
Truth.

CHASE
Why do you think it’s okay to say things like that to me?

AL
I don’t know. They’re true.

CHASE
Scientifically, maybe. Look, I don’t know if you’re excited about, I dunno, dying, but I’m not ready for you to leave me, you know? I’m not going to have a witty quip when the moment comes, and even if I did, who would be there to care? I get that you’re the one dying here, but for one damn second, can you please, for the love of god, let me appreciate the moment? I don’t want the moment to be over, and that’s the truest thing I can think of, no science necessary.

(Long beat. CHASE is bordering on tears. AL doesn't feel that they can comfort CHASE in the face of their own death. )

AL
Well… it will be over. I can't stop that.

Can you love me anyway? That’s all I need. For you to love me anyway.

(Beat. Nothing has changed, but something ephemeral has softened. CHASE can't be angry anymore.)

CHASE
Yeah, yeah, of course. To the moon and back. C’mere.

(CHASE leans over and hugs AL. Fade out on them hugging. )

Fin

Author's Note

Please review this if you like it; I know it's harder to review longer works, but a) it gives you points, and b) some feedback would be really meaningful to me. I haven't ever put anything I've written on the internet before.

I've never written a play in my life. I had insomnia and cranked this out at 2am and was surprised in the morning that I didn't hate it. That in mind, I do want thoughtful feedback, but this is not trying to be a masterpiece.

Also, formatting didn't copy over from the Google Doc I wrote this in. Stage directions should still be clear without the italics, but things are not correctly centered and some lines originally had italicized words, not to mention indents and line spacing entirely destroyed. Please focus on content itself.

Reviews

[hazy]

This is really awesome. Seeing such a strong platonic bond in fiction is rare, to say the least, and the love these two have for eachother is very evident. I was hesitant about reading a longer work—I generally go for poetry on here—but consider me floored.
The story you write here is perfectly paced, and I found myself very emotional by the end. Both characters are engaging, entertaining, and have great banter that stays excellently in character. This is one of the sweetest stories I’ve had the pleasure of reading, even if the end is solemn.
Although life has gotten dim, I appreciate Chase’s readiness to be there for Al through it all.

Truly wonderfully written, and will stick with me for a long time. Thanks for sharing.

[A Decent Playwright]

Thank you, genuinely a huge thank you.

I like the poetry on here, but I didnt realize it was primarily a poetry site until after this work was posted, and the reason I even created an account was to post this, so I'm thrilled it was discovered by someone who got something out of it.

The most important thing to me when writing this was to portray the depth of the platonic bonds that permeate my life in the place that most people think should be reserved for romantic interests, especially since I, like Al, am simply not interested in that sort of thing. I am glad that fullness of care and love came through. Frankly, I'm unused to my work inspiring emotion in other people, much less sticking with them, so I am incredibly honored that this short play has affected you in the way it has. It was cathartic for me to write as well.

Much love, and thank you again for reviewing.