♡ Gamblers to lovers♡ (Mary Saotome x reader)

Chapter 8

«This is my chance», thought Mary before the beginning of the game. It really was her chance. Especially having you in the crowd, she knew she couldn't lose. Her confidence was over the sky, and her excitement started to grow with the first game.
They both started with 120 chips, which was equal to one million two hundred thousand yen. That's what they were going to bet with: chips.

—I think two chips will be fine for the first game —Yumeko said with a thoughtful face —. What do you think?

—Fair enough.

And so the first game started. Mary knew that two chips weren't going to make a big difference, and she also knew that looking suspicious was the worst thing that could happen to her. Therefore, she went easy on Yumeko. She thought that, if she let her win some minor games, she could get away without Yumeko noticing she was cheating.
Yumeko played rock, and Mary played scissors.

—Oh! —Mary exclaimed —. How unfortunate! Maybe you should bet higher the next time.
Yumeko said nothing for a long time. She just kept smiling.

—Well, what about fifty chips?

—Fine! I like your choice. I really like your choice.

This time, it wasn't a minor bet. Fifty chips were already something. It was the equivalent of five hundred thousand yen, a debt that Mary couldn't allow herself to have. Deeming this information, she did what she had to do.
Yumeko played rock, and so did Mary. It was a draw.

—Okay —Yumeko exclaimed —. Let's go again then.

This time, Yumeko went with scissors, and Mary played with rock again.

—Well, it looks like I was lucky this time —Mary said —. Don't worry though, you still have more chances.

—I know. Let's just move on. What about a bet of two chips again?

—If you want to go with the safe bet —Mary sighed as a signal of boredom after she said that —. It's fine.

«Another small bet, huh? —Mary thought —. Anyway, that doesn't intimidate me. I won't get intimidated by a girl like this. I need to level her humbleness for once».
As expected, Mary lost this game, without losing her conviction at all. In fact, she was more confident than ever.

—Well —Mary said —, how much would you like to bet now?

—Fifty chips would be fine.

—Trying to recover what you lost. I see.

The fourth game was no different from the second one. First, both of them had paper, forcing the draw. Then Mary won by playing paper again, beating Yumeko's rock.
At that point, Yumeko had only 24 chips. She had lost over one million yen. However, she seemed happy. An average person would think that her smile would have been totally erased from her face. But that wasn't the case.
And her face didn't change when she lost the next game. And the next one. And the next one. And... She had no chips anymore. Everyone, including Mary, thought that it was over. Of course they would think it was over! However, Yumeko was saving her best move in her sleeve.

—Can I take some additional chips? —Yumeko gently asked —. You know, because I'm having so much fun, and I don't really want this to end.

—Yes, I guess there is no problem with that —Mary was actually happy to hear Yumeko's request —. How many chips are you going to take though?

—A thousand of them.

—What? Are you serious? —Mary said with anger —. How am I going to accept that?

Yumeko showed her an insane amount of banknotes she was saving in her purse.

—Don't tell me you're gonna be a coward this time —Yumeko said, almost laughing.

«What do I do now? —Mary said in her insides —. If I refuse, I might get the reputation of being a coward in the whole school. Even if there aren't many people seeing this, everyone will get the hearsay. But if I lose, the whole school will know me in a different way: Mary, "the scholarship girl who lost in a game she rigged". I could never stand that».

—So...? — Yumeko was going to ask something again.

—Fine. Let's do that.

The last game began. And Yumeko's smile was still there. In just a few seconds, everything was going to end. Maybe in a good way for her, maybe not. But she was still smiling.

—Did you choose your move yet —Yumeko asked.

—Yes, I'm done.

—Fine —Yumeko said —. Are you sure you don't have anything else to say?

—Shut up and let's finish this already.

—Okay! Don't say I didn't warn you.

Mary chose paper. She showed her choice slowly, trying to close her eyes not to see Yumeko's card. But she had to open them eventually. When she opened her eyes, she was finally able to see the results.
Yumeko had chosen rock.
Mary felt defeated after that. Yumeko told Mary how she didn't have to pay her debt, since Yumeko had had so much fun. Mary's sense of disappointment was still so big that she couldn't remember what happened next. Probably Yumeko kept teasing her a little bit.
The only thing she remembers happened a long time after that game, when she was able to comprehend something. It was your voice.

—Saotome! Are you fine?

Mary didn't reply. She felt unable to look at your eyes after that loss, so she was laying her head on the table looking down.

—Saotome —you remarked sweetly —, I don't care if you lost the game. It was so much fun to see you gambling again. I don't really care about the results, I don't even care if you cheated. I'm still on your side.

—I'm sorry I couldn't prove my greatness —Mary said, with a voice that sounded dead.

—What? What do you mean? You don't have to prove anything. To me, you proved everything you had to prove. I told you about my good memory, right? —you actually didn't tell her anything about that. But this was the best chance to come up with it
—. Well, with this memory I have, I could never forget what you did so far. Especially the first time we met... Why do you think I kept hanging out with you after that?
Mary was still confused. Why was (Y/N) trying to cheer her up? Was that a hallucination? She was sure it was real, but reality was always strange to her.

—Look, I have an idea —you stated with excitement —. You'll get out of this. Or, maybe I should say, we'll get out of this. Together. From now on, we'll be a team, and I'll help you out to surpass every situation that can cause any kind of trouble to you! And you'll help me out too, although that's needless; being able to gamble with you is more than enough for me.
Mary was even more confused after that. And her heart started beating faster. She thought she was lucky that she wasn't looking at you, since her face looked probably like an absolute mess. A red-colored mess.

—D-do you mean it? —Mary asked slowly.

—Of course!

Mary suddenly stood up. It was like waking up from a bad dream. She felt revitalized by your words, and needed to start working as soon as possible. Even with the weight of the defeat, she was happy that there was somebody there. Somebody who cared. Somebody who could support her as an equal. She looked at your eyes like she's never done it before, and, without realizing, she turned your face a red-colored mess as well.

—Fine —she said —. We'll get out of this. Together. As... —
when she realized how out of her mind she was, she changed the direction of her eyes, staring at the floor again. She didn't regret what she had just said, she just felt embarrassed, aware that it didn't match her attitude at all
— what was that word again?
You jumped.

—F-friends? —she said. Saying that word again felt like a heart-shaped dream world to her.
Mary nodded shyly, without taking her eyes out of the floor.