The Exchange Dare

Chapter One: Time For Some Damage Control

A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been forever since my last upload but that was only because I got caught up with my exams and everything. I hope you like the new chapter. It is a bit of a twist but you'll know what I'm heading for. VOTE/COMMENT!

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We all know how the cliché goes. The good girl falls for the bad boy, changes him for the better, and they have a happy-ever-after.

Correction: No, they don't. 

Because if they did, Nate here wouldn't have been so devastated over his ex, Nicole. 

The cliché was a little tweaked in their case. Nate was the good guy. Nicky was the bad girl. Nate thought he saw her for something else and decided it was his responsibility to fix her. Nicky thought she wasn't getting laid enough, so she went and cheated on him.

Nate was miserable when he heard the news. Frankly, I wasn't all that surprised. You can only expect so much from a person like Nicky.

Being the overly kind and frankly gullible guy that Nate is, he was now hung up on her. Not just that, he was also terribly hungover. 

"I can't believe she did that," he sulked in the cafeteria. 

We were having lunch in a corner of the room. He had developed a slight stubble that would be attractive, sexy even, if only it were intentional.

"...she did him," Jake added with a snicker, pointing to the underclassmen who Nicky was caught blowing by the quad. Nate's face contorted into an ugly scowl.

"Get over it, man!" Jake retorted, slapping his hand on Nate's back. 

It had been two weeks since the break-up, and since school started, but all we ever heard of was Nate's tragic love story and him ranting about how she betrayed him.

Nate sneered. "You didn't have your heart broken recently, did you?"

Jake was ready to reply back, with some sort of snide remark no doubt, but I thought it wise to intervene.

"That's enough, boys!" I announced, deciding to lay out some ground rules. I wasn't going to let Nate drown himself in his little pity party, over Nicky of all people. Still, Jake was being a little insensitive about the break-up.

Shifting my gaze towards Jake, I ordered, "Lay off him, will you? He is obviously hurt, and he sure as hell doesn't need you to pester him."

He simply rolled his eyes.

Jake had, and I quote "given up on the institution of marriage, and as a consequence, on love". People deal with circumstances differently. When my mom signed off on her divorce, it didn't shake me up since I was already used to not having my dad around. The papers just made it official. Jake's parents, on the other hand, kept it from him till the very last minute so it seemed very out of the blue to him. 

Evidently, it had shaken him up pretty bad. Jake, being Jake, was dealing with it with much bitterness and solitude.

Turning to Nathaniel, I tried to sound as gentle as I could.

"Nate, sober up. I really am sorry about what happened with Nicky the bitch." I emphasized on bitch since it was crucial for him to register that she was never a nice person to begin with.

"I know it hurts you a lot but I assure you that she isn't hurting as much." I continued, "Life is unfair, and sometimes, you lose. But it's okay to lose. It helps you see what you need through a much clearer pair of eyes."