The Bet (Just The Way You Are)

The Bet *Confidant

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Chapter 55 Part 1 *Confidant*

~Drake

“It's time for the revelation, don't you think?”

I’m not sure if this is the right moment to tell Andre what happened between Pie and I. There are a lot of things going on, and although Andre is my best friend, there's a part of me that can't spill my problems.

Tell him, my voice suggests.

Why?

Because he can help you be with Sophia.

I ponder that possibility for a minute. My voice has a point. Andre is intelligent—

“Drake!” Andre yells near my ear.

“What?” I scold.

“I was talking and you suddenly stared into space.”

“I was just thinking,” I mutter.

When I drove Pie to their house earlier, we didn't talk. She didn't even acknowledge my presence. It's as if I was not in the car with her. We were so quiet, the air around the car was suffocating, it was hard to breathe. I didn't want to go home after that so I decided to stay at Andre's. I already told him and Driana that I found Pie, and that she's okay. I'm glad they didn't ask a lot of questions about that.

“Sophia really got a hold on you,” Andre says matter-of-factly.

“What do you mean?”

“You acquired some of her. . .” He pauses and frowns.  “I don’t know. . . Are they traits? Behavior? Something like that.”

“I did?” I ask incredulously.

“Yeah. Like, for example, daydreaming.”

“Shut up!”

He grins. “Drake, you can tell me. We’ve been best friends for years. I know in just a matter of weeks we’ll fall in love and be called lovers—"

“Andre!” I say, hitting him at the back of his head. It’s not the time to joke around.

“Really,” he says, changing into his serious mode. “I know there’s something going on between you two. What is it? Before, you were always together. When I was looking for you, you were with Sophia. Now I haven't seen you with her lately. So don't tell me everything's okay!”

“Pie knows about the bet,” I admit.

“Excuse me?” he says, frowning. “I did not hear you.”

“Sophia found out that it was all a bet,” I say slowly, as if I’m talking to a child.

He looks confused for a second and then like a bulb lights in his head, his eyes slowly widens until they almost pop out of their sockets.

To my disbelief, he punches me on the shoulder. I grunt under my breath, surprised at the sudden contact. That hurts!

“What was that for?” I ask, glaring at him.

“Why are you lying?” he asks, ignoring my expression.

“I hope I’m lying,” I mutter, “But I’m not.”

His mouth drops open in shock. “So it’s true?”

“Yeah.”

“How?” he wonders aloud.

“Remember my nightmare about her finding out about our deal?” I say. “She heard us talking about it.”

“Impossible.”

I wait for Andre to process the whole information.

“She knew that long?” he says after a few minutes. "Insane!”

“Me neither.” I sigh, and push my hair away from my face.

I’ve been hollow lately, not getting enough sleep, and I don’t have appetite to eat. No wonder I’m losing weight.

“So how did you find out that she knows?” he asks finally. I’m sure it’s the most important question of all.

Then I tell Andre everything. That Pie wanted revenge so she reversed our bet. That she wanted me to fall in love with her. Finding out that what she did and said to me was heart shattering.

Fortunately, my voice continually assures me that Pie have feelings for me as well. She’s just a good actress for hiding it.  I also tell Andre about our fight. How Pie accused me of playing her heart, and that she didn’t believe that I cancelled the bet. I start to choke when I’m talking about the part where she said she didn’t want to see me again, so I stop.

Andre is silent. He’s staring at something only he can see. “You really love her,” he states, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

I don’t answer because what else is there to say? I screwed up and now karma is doing its thing.

“If I were you, I won’t give up,” he says, a glint in his eyes.

“I’m not planning to,” I say automatically.

“Good," he replies, rubbing his palms together, "Because I have an idea to make Sophia realize that what you feel for her is real. That you really love her.”

A grin makes its way onto my face. “Let’s hear it,” I say, excited to know his plan.

I can’t wait to be with Pie again. If she thinks that I’m giving up, she’s wrong. And I’ll prove to her how much she means to me. What I told her in the woods was true— that I won’t talk to her, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do anything to change her heart and mind.

I feel clever for thinking that plan. Well, it’s Andre’s idea but I changed some of it. I hope her anger for me will vanish when I take it into action.

Falling in love with Pie is the best thing I’ve ever done. If only she’ll return it, I’ll be the luckiest guy on earth.

*****

Hello! I hope you liked it ♥ (Even though it’s very short. This is just a teaser).

The song is I Won’t Give Up On Us by Jason Mraz. Banner by TheSuperGirl.

I graduated last Friday! :) Whoop! I finally got my College diploma after fifteen years of studying :D

Thank you so much everyone! ♥ :)