"Is this too slutty?" Lindsay asks as she turns around to show off the short, tight black dress that dips down low over her chest.
Natalie shakes her head. "No, you look great, Linds."
"Calum's gonna love it," she adds with a smirk.
Lindsay rolls her eyes, throwing at sock at her. "For the last time, Calum and I aren't together."
"You just had sex," I tease. "Multiple times."
"You can't prove that," Lindsay says, pointing a finger at me.
"Please, we all know what happened," I say as I go through her closet for something that offers a little more coverage. I pull out a white tank top, searching for a bottom.
Lindsay reaches over and hands me a sequined skirt, continuing our staggered conversation. "How would you know?"
"You like sex, he likes sex," Natalie says simply. "You like him, he likes you. It's not that hard."
Lindsay rolls her eyes. "Does that mean that the only thing stopping you from having sex with Michael is that you haven't had sex before?"
Natalie shuts up, blushing.
I scowl at Lindsay. "Oh, leave her alone."
"Right, because you've been seeing Luke for weeks and just had sex for the first time, where as he's had sex with every other girl he's ever met within thirty minutes," Lindsay says, fixing her makeup in the mirror.
I roll my eyes, ignoring her jab.
"So when are you going to ask Calum out?" I say, flopping onto her bed. "We all know that he's not the one with the issue about going official."
"I'm not really looking for a boyfriend," Lindsay says, setting her mascara down. "The last one I had did drugs so much that he cared more about the cocaine than me."
Turning to us, she claps her hands together. "All right, bitches, let's get this show on the road. Is that hunky boyfriend of yours giving us a ride there, Em?"
I check my phone to see a text from Luke already waiting. "Yep. He's outside."
Luke's leaning against the hood of an unfamiliar car, the keys clutched in his hand. He glances up as we walk down the stairs, his face breaking into a grin.
"Hey, babe," he greets as I reach him, pulling me in for a slow kiss. "You look amazing," he breathes, his eyes taking in the outfit.
I smile as I slip my hand into his. "Thanks."
Natalie and Lindsay hop into the back as I slide into the front.
"Who's car is this?" I ask as he starts backing out of the driveway.
"It's my mom's," Luke replies as he pulls out of the subdivision. "Try not to get vomit in it later, I'm the one that has to clean it up."
"You're no fun," Lindsay pouts.
The party's already in full swing when we pull up, the boys saying they were gonna get a ride from Calum's friend to help set up early. Luke didn't want to go near the drugs and the alcohol so he gladly volunteered to drive us.
"There you guys are!" Calum exclaims when we walk through the door. He brushes his dark hair out of his eyes as he turns his smile on Lindsay.
"You look freaking awesome, by the way," he says as he leads her into the kitchen to get started on all of the alcohol they plan on drinking.
Michael appears from another room, Ashton right behind him.
"Hey, Nat," Mikey says shyly. "They're playing pool in the other room - do you wanna be on my team?"
"Sure," she says, slipping her hand into his as he leads the way.
Ashton just smiles at me and Luke as he throws an arm around our necks, leading us into the house. "As for you two, try not to get into too much trouble," he says with a crooked grin.
Luke rolls his eyes at Ash. "It's you we should be worried about."
"What can I say? We'll never be as young as we are now."
Ashton flashes us a wink as he disappears into the crowd to join the people dancing to the music pounding through the speakers on full volume.
Luke smiles to himself as he shakes his head back and forth.
"I'm gonna go get some water, you want anything?" he says, his blue eyes a familiar comfort among all of the people pushing up against us.
I shake my head, watching him fight his way to the kitchen.
It's hard to believe that there was a time when I didn't know him, truly know him. He was just Luke Hemmings, the senior that everyone knew. He was the guy all the girls were trying to catch the attention of. The guy that had the record for the number of tequila shots in a row. But it's easy to see now where the real Luke starts and where the act he puts on for everyone else ends.
I move away from the center of the crowds, leaning up against the wall as I nod my head to the beat of the music. It's a mindless pop tune and I pick up the lyrics quickly, singing under my breath.
A tall girl with curly auburn hair bumps into me, whirling to apologize. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she exclaims. "I'm so clumsy!"
"It's fine," I say with a smile.
She starts to walk away, but something makes her tilt her head to the side and look at me again.
"Hey, I know you from somewhere," she says in that sweet, perky voice. "Oh! You're Luke Hemmings's girlfriend, right? Emma?"
"Emmy," I correct. "And yeah, that's me."
"It's so nice to finally meet you!" the girl says with feeling. "I'm Maddie, by the way," she adds, holding out her hand to me.
I shake it gently.
"We have so much to talk about!" Maddie gushes, her dark green eyes bright.
Frowning at my confused look, she asks, "Did the boys not mention me?"
"Should they have?" I say.
She just smiles. "I'm Ashton's ex girlfriend. They didn't tell you what happened?"
"No," I say, shaking my head.
I've heard about Ashton's ex and how crazy she is, but the girl in front of me seemed completely normal. She seemed nice.
"Oh, well, it doesn't matter anymore," she says with a wave of her hand. "The past is in the past, as they say."
Biting her lip, she adds, "So if they didn't tell you about me, they definitely didn't tell you about the bet, did they?"
I frown. "What bet?"
Maddie gives me a sympathetic look. "Oh, honey."
She steps closer, giving me a whiff of her scented perfume. "See, they have this tradition where when one of them gets their heart broken, they start a bet between the four of them. You're the latest bet, Emmy."
My head is spinning. "What?"
"You see, poor Michael ruined everything with Cora when he hooked up with her sister. So they started their tradition; see which one of them can hook up with the most girls in a month. But you..."
She shakes her head. "You were different. That night at the party when you met them, you weren't interested in any of them. So they made a new bet."
Maddie leans in closer, her cherry red lipstick curved upward into a sickly sweet smile. "Luke had one month to get you to hook up with him."
Nausea twists my stomach. They had never mentioned anything about a bet.
That party... One month...
"I feel sick," I mutter, leaning against the wall for support.
"Month's up, Emmy," Maddie says cheerfully. "Luke never cared about you. It was all a game. You were just a bet. You didn't think it meant anything, did you?"
"Excuse me, I need some air," I murmur, pushing past Maddie.
If she was telling the truth...
No, she couldn't be. But it didn't add up. Why would anyone like Luke be interested in me?
And I had stupidly fallen into his trap like all the other girls. I had fallen for Luke Hemmings and he had flashed that smile at me and ruined my life. Why had I been such an idiot? I'd given him everything and he'd betrayed me.
It couldn't be true.
"Em?"
I whirl to see Luke standing behind me, a concerned look on his face. The disbelief fades into anger.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I hiss, furious now.
"What are you talking about?" he asks.
"Why didn't you tell me about the bet?" I demand, shoving at his chest.
He stumbles backward in surprise, all the blood draining from his face. "How'd you know about that?" he whispers.
"How long were you planning to stick around now that your month is up?" I seethe. "You've already won. Are you happy now?!"
Luke tries to take my hands in his, but I yank them back.
"Emmy, please," he begs. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but-"
"Save it. I don't want to hear anymore of your lies," I snap. "How could you do this to me? You know what it meant to me! I told you everything!"
Finally, the tears I'd been holding back stream down my face.
"You know, the worst part is that I still love you," I say my voice strangled by my tears.
Luke's blue eyes swim with tears as they meet mine. "I didn't think it would go this far," he croaks.
"How could you?" I whisper.
Luke says nothing, looking down, ashamed. It's all the admittance I need.
"Stay the hell away from me," I say angrily as I stalk past him, searching for a familiar face.
I find Natalie watching Michael line up a shot by the pool table, Ashton and Calum playing against them.
"Emmy? What's wrong?" Natalie asks as soon as she sees me.
At the concern in her voice, everyone turns.
But I can't bring myself to say it. Everything was a lie. Luke doesn't love me, he never did.
My gaze lands on the three boys looking at me with worried expressions. "Why didn't you tell me?" I nearly scream. "Why didn't you warn me about the bet?"
Ashton's pool stick falls to the floor with a clatter as Calum pales beside him. Regret and horror flash across Michael's face.
"You knew this entire time," I sob, not bothering to try to hold myself together. I'm already broken beyond repair. "You knew. And you didn't tell me."
"Emmy-" Calum starts, reaching out a hand to me.
I shake my head. "There's nothing you can say. You knew this would happen. I thought you were my friends!"
"We are your friends," Ashton says, almost pleading.
"My friends wouldn't have let me fall for the boy they knew was playing me," I say, looking at them without recognition. "You're not my friends."
Michael hangs his head. "We never meant for any of this to happen."
"Well it did," I say, not even caring about the tears that stream down my cheeks. "And you won. Tell me, is this what you wanted?"
Natalie stares at Michael in incredulity, no softness lingering in her gaze.
"Nat, please," Michael whispers, starting towards her.
She clenches her jaw as she turns her back on him, gently leading me out of the room.
"I'm calling an Uber," she says, right to the point. "Lindsay's completely wasted and I'm not riding in a car with any of those assholes."
Natalie sits me down on the porch, letting me bury my face in her shoulder and cry like a little baby.
I should have known better. Their names were infamous around school and not for a good reason. But I'd allowed those ocean blue eyes to trick me, allowed myself to fall into them. And now I was drowning.
It had felt so real when he'd kissed me, his lips molding to mine like they'd been made to.
How could it all have been a bet?
A/N:
Whoop there it is
What do you think now that everyone knows about the bet? :)
Vote and comment, please!!! <33
- A