Gray and Allison

Totally not Terrible

Okay, I'll admit it. Gray had surprised me. I fully expected him to crack by lunch, to throw out at least one cheesy line or some cringy joke, but somehow, he managed to keep it together. And the weirdest part?

It wasn't awful.

When he wasn't trying so hard to flirt, he was actually kind of... fun? We talked about random stuff—nothing serious, nothing embarrassing—and it was nice. Relaxing, even. Maybe Rachel was right. Maybe Gray had some kind of actual personality buried underneath all those pick-up lines.

Not that I'd ever admit that to him.

After lunch, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Every time I replayed our conversation in my head, I found myself smiling, and it was really annoying. I wasn't supposed to be thinking about Gray Dawson like this. He was the class clown, the guy who couldn't go five minutes without trying to flirt with every girl in a five-foot radius. He wasn't supposed to get under my skin.

But here I was, standing outside my next class, replaying the way he looked at me when I told him I was impressed. The way his eyes lit up, like he couldn't believe what I'd said.

I shook my head, trying to focus as I walked into class. Get it together, Allison.

The rest of the day dragged. I kept expecting Gray to show up in the hallway and ruin his streak with some ridiculous line, but every time I saw him, he just smiled—no winks, no jokes. Just... smiled. It was unsettling. I didn't know how to deal with a version of Gray that wasn't trying to be over the top.

By the time the final bell rang, I was almost nervous to see him again. I told myself it was just curiosity. I was curious to see if he'd keep it up until the end of the day. That was all. Totally normal, right?

I was standing at my locker, gathering my stuff, when I felt someone behind me. I turned, half-expecting Gray to be there with some dramatic entrance, but he was just leaning against the lockers, hands in his pockets, smiling like a normal person.

"Hey," he said, his voice casual.

"Hey." I closed my locker, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. "So... looks like you made it through the day without a single cheesy line. I'm impressed."

He grinned, his face lighting up like I'd just handed him a trophy. "Told you I could do it. It was torture, but I survived."

I raised an eyebrow. "Torture?"

"Yeah, torture," he said, leaning in a little. "Do you know how hard it was not to say, 'Are you a parking ticket? Because you've got fine written all over you,' when you walked into class this morning?"

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up. "Wow, that was... even worse than usual."

"Hey, you're lucky I didn't say it," he teased, nudging me with his elbow. "I'm basically a hero for holding back."

I laughed again, shaking my head. He was impossible, but... in a good way. Wait, did I just think that?

"So," he said, shifting from one foot to the other, looking a little nervous. "Since I kept my end of the deal, does that mean you'll keep yours?"

I blinked. "My end of the deal?"

He nodded. "You know... the whole 'maybe I'll let you take me out' thing?"

Oh. Right. That.

I didn't think he'd actually follow through on the challenge, but here we were. I had to admit, a part of me was impressed he'd made it this far. And, okay, maybe I was curious to see what a date with a non-cringy version of Gray would be like.

I glanced at him, his face hopeful but also nervous, like he wasn't sure how this would play out. I could feel my resolve slipping.

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms. "But it's not an actual date. It's just... hanging out. No pressure, no labels."

His grin stretched across his face. "Hanging out? Yeah, I can work with that."

"But," I added, holding up a finger, "if you slip up and hit me with one of your pick-up lines, it's over. Got it?"

He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Got it. No lines, just Gray."

"Good." I couldn't help but smile. "So... when are we doing this?"

He looked almost shocked that I'd agreed, like he hadn't expected to get this far. "How about Friday? After your game?"

I thought about it for a second. We had the semifinals on Friday, and if we won, I'd be in a good mood. If we lost... well, I didn't want to think about that. But Gray had been good company so far, and maybe it wouldn't be so bad to hang out with him.

"Alright, Friday it is," I said, adjusting my backpack. "But remember—no lines."

He nodded, looking serious for a second. "No lines. I promise."

As I walked away, I could feel his eyes on me, and for the first time, it didn't feel weird. It felt... nice.

I wasn't sure what was happening, but something about this whole situation had changed. Maybe Gray wasn't just the class clown anymore. Maybe there was more to him than I'd thought.

And I was about to find out.

Thx for reading my cringy book lol i feel i owe you financial compensation for reading this