"Hey man. How's it going?" Oliver asked Kevin.
Kevin managed a grin and he said, "Pretty good." Kevin slid into the seat next to Charlie and Oliver said, "Anyways, I should probably get going."
Charlie glared at him, "Oliver, shut up and sit the fuck down."
Oliver chuckled, sitting down across from the two.
Kevin, trying to start the conversation, said to Oliver, "So, Oliver, how did you and Charlie meet?"
Charlie blushed. Kevin raised an eyebrow.
Oliver smirked, "I saw her crying once in the hallway. She was such a mess, bro."
Charlie glared at him, but resigned, "That's true." She mumbled.
"Yeah." Oliver continued, "So I led her to a spot where I tried to seduce her." He joked.
Kevin whistled, unsure of what was going on. Charlie smacked him, "Oh shut up. You're too goody-goody for that. He just stayed with me for a while. He was so nice."
Kevin nodded, and Oliver took it away, "How about you? How did you guys meet?"
Charlie barked out a laugh, "He forced me to go on a date with him!"
Oliver raised his eyebrows and Kevin rolled his eyes, "You're such a drama queen, Char. We made a bet, that's all."
"A bet?" Oliver asked slowly.
Charlie coughed, "That's not... not that kind of a beg, Oli. That was a bad choice of words."
"Huh?" A lost Kevin piped in.
"You didn't tell him?" Oliver asked quietly, referring to the Virginity Bet.
"Tell me what?" Kevin asked, growing worried.
Charlie shook her head, "It's nothing, really." She shot Oliver a look to shut him up.
A waitress appeared before the table could get more tense. "What can I get you all, today?" She said sweetly, eyeing Kevin and Oliver while licking her lips.
"I'll have just a decaf coffee with a blueberry muffin." Charlie mumbled.
"I'll take a regular coffee." Kevin added.
The girl turned to Oliver with flirty eyes, "And what can I get you, sir?"
Oliver coughed, "Actually, I was just leaving."
"Oliver." Charlie protested, but he shook it off and walked away.
The waitress nodded and walked away, "I'll be back with your order in just a few minutes."
"What was that about?" Kevin asked curiously.
"Do we have to talk about this now, Kevin?" Charlie sighed, a hand coming up to scratch the back of her neck.
"Just tell me, Charlie. Stop pushing me away, god." He said sharply.
Charlie felt tears stinging at the back of her eyes. She swallowed them away, "It's crazy, Kevin. You don't want to know all this shit, okay?"
"But I do." He reached under the table and grabbed her hand, "I do."
Charlie sighed, "In high school, there was a bet. To see...who could get me to have sex with them first."
"That's it?" Kevin asked. He smiled, "That's nothing, Char. I thought you were gonna say something much worse."
Charlie frowned at him, "That's it?" She repeated.
Kevin shook his head, realizing he said something wrong, "Not like that, babe. I know that must have been... sad? For you?" He asked.
Charlie stared mouth agape at him, "Do you not get it?!" She spat.
The waitress came back, and set down the food, quickly walking away and leaving the couple to their argument.
"I just... what's so bad about that, Charlie? I bet it was nice, having every guy helplessly in love with you." He scratched his head.
Charlie gritted her teeth, "Not when you actually fell in love with the guy who scammed you. He pretended he loved me just to sleep with me. Just so he could win five hundred bucks. I'm worth five hundred bucks to everyone, Kevin. See, this is why I didn't want to tell you. Because of course a preppy little boy like you wouldn't understand. That's what you do after all, right? Break people's hearts? I fell in love with him, Kevin, and you know what he did? He tricked me into having sex with him, recorded it, and then showed it to the whole school. He broke my heart. Do you still not get it?!"
Kevin gulped, "Oh, Charlie. I didn't know... that you actually had sex with the guy..." He was at a loss for words.
Charlie stepped out of the booth, "You're no better than them, are you?" She spat, walking away.
"Wait, Charlie!" He called out. Kevin was stopped by a woman saying, "Sir... you need to pay the bill."
Charlie took the opportunity to call for a taxi. Once she got one, she stepped in and told them her dorm address.
-----
When she ran up the steps with tears in her eyes, she ran up the final set of stairs and into her hallway. She froze as she saw Kevin standing outside of her door with a bouquet of flowers.
"How did you get here before me?" Charlie said quietly.
Kevin sighed, "I owe you an apology."
"It doesn't matter, Kevin. Just move away from the door." She tried to push past him, but he blocked her.
"I owe you an apology, Charlie." He said more forcefully this time.
Charlie noticed people on the ends of the hallway had stopped and was watching their encounter.
Charlie said in a hushed voice through gritted teeth, "People are watching, Kevin."
"I don't care!" He shouted, "I don't care, Charlie! Let them watch! Because I promised you I wouldn't hurt you, and I'm an idiot. For hurting you. I'm sorry, Charlie. I'm sorry that we come from completely different parts of the world and I'm sorry that I can't be more understanding. I'm sorry that I'm helplessly in love with you. I will always come back to this spot in this hallway. I want to make it up to you. I'm an idiot, Charlie. Those guys hurt you. I know they did. And I know I did too. So I'm here to understand." He paused and looked around at the hallway, which was suddenly crowded with people watching.
"You hear that?!" He shouted to them, "I'm in love with this girl!" A few people whistled and some hooted and cheered.
Charlie blushed, she was at a loss for words.
"You don't have to say anything." Kevin assured her. He said, "Just kiss me, Charlie Harper!"
Charlie leaned into Kevin and smashed her own lips against his. She could hear the background noise of people clapping and cheering and even the flash of a few recording camera phones. All Charlie could focus on was the loud beating of her heart. All she could think about was the fact that she, too, was slowly but surely falling in love with Kevin Daniels.
As much as she hated to say it, she could feel it. She could hear the thwacking of the flowers hitting the floor. She could hear footsteps fading away from the two. She could hear Kevin moaning slowly as she kissed him in all the right spots.
And she loved it.