The Player's Game {Book #1 of the Popular Boys series}

18: Pandora's Advice

Voters appreciation goes to Wolffang99 . I know I change the name of it every time but oh well. Thank you to everyone who voted:)

After this book is finished there is actually going to be a book coming out called The Bad Girls Baddest Boy. And I am telling you this because there are some characters in this chapter from that book. Comment Jadora when you spot them if you read this. Also cover on the side.

Looking back I feel stupid and fragile about the whole situation especially the next part I have yet to tell you but at the time it felt right and I no longer had to put up with seeing his obnoxious face again. The idea was crazy to say the least but I guess everyone goes a little crazy.

I was so used to being in control of my feelings and my life that when a guy came and turned upside down I couldn't deal with it. I felt like he cared and for me that was a first. I know my friends care about me but they all have their own person that takes up most of their life for example Holly and Oliver and Charlie and Samuel. And I know my mum cares about me but she is never there with her job and everything. So that just leaves me.

So when I finally had someone who made me feel like I was their most important, even just for a game, I became naive and incredibly fragile. That is why it happened.

It was a Monday, the worst day of the week and I couldn't deal with seeing his stupidly, amazing face, so I went on a walk. A long walk. A walk out of the town I lived in, along a short road and into the woods to clear my head. It was reckless, really reckless but I need to think clearly without any interferences. As I walked through the bright green trees, I spotted a small, sparkling pond surround in reeds and small boulder sat next to it like it was supposed to be found.

I cleared a small circle on the rock just so I could sit on it and think. It was ten o'clock and I had hours to think about life in general. Where I was going to university, Hunter, what I wanted to do, Hunter and everything in between, including how I was supposed to move somewhere without my mum, childish I know but even though I didn't see her often it's nice to know she will always be there.

I thought about what if I just kept walking down the road out of the town I have lived in my entire life, what if I carried on until I got to another town and stay there. Change my name to Pablo, maybe not but Lynx is a nice name. So that's what I did, I set off briskly walking down the Tarmac road. I felt saddened to be leaving the beautiful scenery but I had to find a Bed and Breakfast or something for the night.

I had spent five hours at the rock and I just didn't want to go home, my phone had been ringing constantly. Holly then Charlie then Samuel, then Holly on Oliver's phone I presume. I had been texted and Snapchat-ed and messages on every other social media app they could think of. I just didn't want to reply, I wanted some alone time.

I got to a town called Foxholes, it was small and cute and had everything you would need. I stopped off at a tiny hotel called Flagginton's. As I walked into the lobby, walked over to the person behind the desk.

"Room for one please." I muttered getting out my purse.

"Sure. One night I presume?" I nodded slightly. "Okay here's your key and you can pay when you leave. In your room there will be a phone, if you dial 111 you should get room service but some of the phones have been going a bit faulty recently. There is a lift just around the corner if you want to go to your room straight away and a restaurant just along the corridor if you are hungry. Have a nice night."

She smiled at me and I returned it whilst I walked away. I didn't get far before I bumped into a smallish brunette. "Sorry." I muttered quietly.

"No problem." She chirped. "I'm Pandora and this is Lola and Jace. This is our first stop on our road trip."

I nodded politely and stepped in the direction of the lifts but she caught my arm and looked into my eyes. "Hey, you look sad. Come to the restaurant with us and you can tell us all about it."

She left no room for argument and because I had no energy I just followed. It sounded like a decent idea to talk to someone who couldn't be biased because they didn't know me or Hunter. I walked next to Lola and whispered in her ear. "Is she always like this?" To which she replied with a tired nod.

Once we had a table of four and sat down with out drinks Pandora shushed up Jace who was trying to talk to her and stared at me with a half encouragingly half I'll-kill-you-if-you-don't-tell-me look. "Story time!"

"Okay. It all started half way through the year, Holly - my best friend forced me to make a bet with the player of the school Hunter with the prize of Hailey Marks, the one girl he couldn't get..." So instead of complaining and refusing I spilled everything from where I went from hating him to not minding him to suddenly feeling the way I was feeling to Hailey and him.

"... And here we are now I guess." I mumbled finally looking up at their blank faces until Pandora grinned.

"So here's an idea! Jace can tell you what he thinks and then me and then Lola, okay?" I knew it was a rhetorical question so I stayed silent. "Jace, take the stage."

"To be perfectly honest it sounds like he kind of likes you. Now here me out. He's a player, right? So that means all he has ever done is breaking hearts. That's the only thing he will know how to do, hurt girls. I mean, he probably hasn't had a girlfriend before so he doesn't know anything about relationships and everything." Jace explained, as much as I wanted to believe him, I couldn't.

"My turn!" Pandora squealed. "Okay, so you obviously like him, like Lola likes Cole-"

"For gods sake Dora! I do not like Cole! Stop forcing me into eventual heartbreak!" Lola exclaimed, obviously having had this conversation before.

"-and some people, not naming names, Lola, doesn't have the guts to go up to him and tell him that you like him." Pandora received a glare from the side of her head but she carried on and didn't notice the heated glare. "So, well done to you on that, but if he won't admit it he just isn't the one for you and you don't need a guy who can't admit his feelings or be proud to like the girl he does."

Lola mumbled a Jace under her breath and I had a feeling I was the only who could hear her or the other two couldn't care less about what she said. "Okay, I guess it's my go for the wisdom talk. Number one, if he kisses another girl and you go off crying or whatever, he knows you care and he has you wrapped round his little finger, so when he's ready for a relationship you're there. When you go back to school and you see him grab a random guy and kiss the life out of him, jealousy is the key to seeing whether he cares. Make sure it seems like it hasn't affected you in the slightest. Number two, optional, kick him where the sun doesn't shine. Number three, call your fucking friends back! They will be worried sick."

I nodded taking in all the advice and grabbed my phone. "I'll be in the loos." I said gesturing to my phone and hurrying towards the toilets. I suddenly felt guilty for leaving my friends to worry about me whilst I was off playing in the woods.

I clicked on Holly's contact first and not even after one full dial she picked up. "Where the bleeding hell are you?! This excuse better be really freaking good because I will murder you with my bare hands for making me worry that much. We've been calling all day. The least you could have done is pick up!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I needed some alone time. I've talked to some people and I have a plan for going back and it's going to be good." I said guilt trickling into my voice.

"A plan? Is it good? Oh, tell me tomorrow I like a surprise! Also you better be glad your mum rang me when she couldn't get to you. I said you were sleeping at mine tonight for a movie night and your phone was dead. Also you couldn't talk to her because you were having a poo." I stopped breathing when she said that. "What? I had to have an excuse why you couldn't speak to her for a little bit. PS I think you're going to have fruit and veg forced onto you now. Oops."

I told her to tell Samuel and Charlie that I was perfectly fine and I would see them in the morning. I shut off my phone and went to see Pandora, Jace and Lola.

Hunter Matthews, bring it on!