A Betting Game

13. Regrets by the dozen.

Maths was a stupid subject.

On the page in front of me, there was a mass amount of what could only be described as alphabet soup, along with the odd number. The lazy scrawl decorated the page, most questions left unfinished.

I guess I could be considered a smart guy; mostly A's and B's in my AS, and looking to go to semi-decent uni's. But maths? I worked my ass off to get that C last year.

And clearly, the same could not be said about this year.

Turning eighteen leads to all sorts of new past times, which get in the way of usual schooling activities, such as actually showing up.

Even so, something about the mixture of numbers, letters, and symbols, just turned my brain to mush.

So, in short, I was unlikely to become a maths teacher.

From across the room, a small red-headed girl raised her head, and turned it so that her eyes briefly met mine. Her already pale face completely lost its colour as she looked back down at her note pad, her pen meeting the paper almost as soon as she turned away.

It had been three days since the party, and two days since I had woken up to find that Olivia had left whilst I slept.

Obviously, she hadn't so much as said 'hello' in the corridors.

As for Jace?

The bastard hadn't even showed up to school.

Not that I wanted to talk to him, of course, but the fact that he hadn't bothered to apologise to either Olivia, or myself; heck, he was hiding from the both of us.

As far as I knew, anyway.

"You have a face like a slapped arse again, Nathan," Turning to Logan, I sighed, running a hand through my uncombed hair. "Come on, I've had to put up with this pity party for ages now,"

"It isn't a pity party," I muttered, looking down at my book.

"Yeah?" He asked, his lanky legs jittering under the table so that the wood bounced slightly. "It sure fucking seems like it,"

For a few moments I was silent, vaguely tuned in to the painful droning of our teacher who was stood at the front of the room. "Why doesn't she talk to me?" I whined eventually, slamming my head into the desk. A girl on the table besides us jumped slightly, cursing under her breath.

"Oh, I don't know..." The sound of Logan grinding his teeth out of habit came from besides me. "Maybe because you two spent the night snuggling like cretins?"

"It wasn't like that," I snapped, apologising when the teacher shouted at us to be quiet. After waiting for him to get back into his teaching, I turned to Logan, biting my lip slightly. "It wasn't like that," I repeated, this time more quietly.

"Sure," Even though I still faced the front I knew that Logan's signature grin would be plastered across his features. "Look, it's just a bit of banter mate... I know you like her; I'm not blind,"

Eventually I turned to look at him, pulling a face.

"I just..." Swallowing slightly, I felt myself blush. "I wish I hadn't agreed to that bet - she must think I'm a right dick,"

"Well, she's not wrong really," After I snorted, he continued, tapping his leg against the carpet. "We all are, especially Jace... I don't know what the fuck he was thinking, but that was beyond out of order."

"Preach," I sighed, leaning on my hand, my elbow against the desk. "Lets be honest; it was a stupid idea anyway,"

"Yeah, cause you two were basically going to lose, regardless," After shooting him a look, Logan closed his mouth, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I forget about tact," 

"Clearly," 

Despite myself, I found my lips forming a smile.

******

Olivia's P.O.V.

Just talk to him.

Rounding the corner of the street, I felt my legs move faster, forcing my body further.

A mop of jet coloured hair bounced, as a tall boy made his way into a drive to the right of the pavement. As he turned, I noticed a distinct sadness in his features, hidden by that forced smile that plastered onto his face as a middle aged woman with similar coloured hair walked down the drive.

They exchanged greetings, as the mother wrapped an arm around her son, a sad smile on her face. From where I stood - hidden behind shrubbery by the corner of the street - I couldn't see what she said, but the boy seemed to slump beside her, his strong façade finally dropping.

My heart broke for him.

It killed me.

Dancing ribbons and slices of pain were nothing compared to watching a person, I actually cared for just, fall apart. It was as if he were made of sand and water, and the sun was coming out after a long spell of calm.

No one should feel that way.

My stomach churned, as I watched him walk forwards, his mother opening the door to the house.

Just before he stepped into the large building, his head turned, and his eyes fixed directly on my own. The sea stared back at me, asking me so many questions that I had no idea how to answer.

Eventually, he turned back to the house, the door closing behind him with an inaudible thud.

My mouth formed words, but no sound came out.

Fix this.

Author's Note:

I'VE BEEN SO BAD AT UPDATING I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON OH MY GOD.

Anywhoooorreee, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter; took me long enough, ay?

<3