Never Have I Ever (One Last Time # 1) (Wattys2017)

The Queen Of Hearts And Ace Of Spades

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Standing in the middle of the mall food court kind of reminded me of some Cheetah documentary I watched with Jeremy a few days ago.

All of the prey, unaware that they were about to be attacked, sat with their backs to us, the predators. Abel stood beside me, perched on the edge of the table like a hawk, his green eyes roaming the crowd of thousands of innocent girls that were about to experience something they'd never forget.

"You find anyone yet?" Abel's voice was quiet, almost as if he spoke to loud the people around us would scurry away like mice.

"Hmm?" I sent him a quick glance over my shoulder, "No, I haven't. I'm not you. I can't just talk to any random guy and do this stupid Ring Pop thing."

"It's not stupid and that's exactly why we're doing this. You can't hide behind Oli and me forever, Liv." Before I could respond Abel grabbed my arm and gave me a gentle push forward.

"Now go find someone. I don't care if it's a girl, it's the twenty first century." I bit the inside of my upper lip so I wouldn't snap at him and walked into the crowd of prey that awaited me.

I scanned the room, letting my eyes fall on to the different teenagers that sat in groups talking like they weren't ever going to see each other again. I recognized a few people from graduation, one being Annabel White, one of the poor girls that had fallen victim to my brother's charm during our Freshman year and hadn't ever really recovered.

"Olivia." I looked back at Abel to find him gesturing toward his wrist despite their being no watch. I stuck my tongue out childishly before taking a deep breath and continuing to walk.

This can't be that bad. All I have to do is talk someone into accepting the Ring Pop. The worse that could happen was them saying no, right?

"Livvy!" Abel called out in a sing-song voice. I shook my head and did the only thing that came to my mind in that moment.

I went to the only guy here that didn't look like he wanted to be.

He was probably a year or so younger then me, his face illuminated by the bluish-white light from his laptop as his fingertips danced across the keys.

"Hi." I whispered, sending him out of his seat and on to the ground, his eyes widening a fraction.

"I. . . uh. . . Mary isn't here." He blurted, pulling himself back up. I smiled, shaking my head in confusion.

"Who's Mary?" I asked.

"Aren't you here for my sister? I mean, no girl that looks like you would ever want to talk to someone like me." He responded, his surprised look turning into a glare.

"Actually, I came to talk to you." I sat in the seat across from him, gently pushing his laptop shut. "I need your help." He blinked in surprise, his lips parting.

"Do I know you?" He sat down, his eyes flickering with a mixture of shock and curiosity.

"No. My name is Olivia Scott-"

"Scott? You mean you're that douche bag's sister?" He snarled, earning a wince out of me.

Out of all the people I could of chose, I chose the one that had a personal grudge against my brother.

I don't know why I'm still affected by these kinds of comments. My brother was a douche, he was a dick, he was a piece of crap. But he was still my twin brother, one of my best friends, and no matter how bad he got, I still had to defend him.

"Look, kid. I really need your help." I threw my thumb over my shoulder with a smile, "You see that guy over there? That's Abel Hendricks and I'm doing this crazy bucket list thing over the summer and this is the first thing on the list." I think I confused the guy even more, his dark brown eyes were still squinting across the table at me.

"What?" He muttered, shaking his head, "What bucket list thing?"

"I need to propose to you with this Ring Pop," I pulled the small package out of my purse, "And the only way I can beat him at this, or at least make it a tie, is if you accept my proposal." The boy ran a hand through his dark hair, making it appear even messier then before.

"What do I get out of this? Why should I help you?" He whispered. I sighed, starting to stand up. This kid obviously wasn't going to budge.

"Never mind. For-"

"No, I'll do it." He stood up, holding his hand out. I felt a tidal wave of relief was over me as I opened the package and got down on one knee. I felt about ready to sink into the ground in embarrassment when I realized that more then half of the food court was watching us.

"What's your name?" I mumbled, my cheeks starting to flush. He smiled, shrugging.

"Alex." I mouthed a 'thank you' before grabbing his hand.

"Alex, I have only known you for about three minutes, but I feel like we have a special connection that no one could ever change. Will you marry me?" I heard laughs, snorts, and an occasional whistle as I waited for the boy in front of me to respond. He finally took the Ring Pop after a second and helped me back on to my feet.

"Thank you." I said, starting to back away.

"Sure. And Olivia?" He called after me, his eyes meeting mine.

"Yeah?"

"Goodluck with this bucket list thing. I'd love to see Hendricks lose." He responded. As I bowed my head and headed back toward Abel, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in my stomach.

Abel hadn't always been a cold-hearted jerk, there had been a time when he was the sweetest person in the world, when he thought that nothing could take that away. He didn't think that one thing could pull that all from the underneath him and throw his life off the edge of a cliff like it was nothing.

And I would never be able to forgive myself for being that one thing that ruined his life.

****AN***

Not edited

I hope you enjoyed!

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~ChasingMadness24