The Player and the Played

16. Stay With Me

So, dear reader, take a minute. Stop. Get some popcorn. Get comfortable. Most importantly, pay attention. Because I'm telling you a story. It's not my favourite story but it's pretty important. Don't expect a happy ending. That never happens in real life.

There was a little girl named Hailey who loved basketball and joined her new school's team when she was in the third grade. There was a little boy named Reece on the team who hated Hailey at first. Hailey hated Reece too. However, after they became partners for a project and got to know each other, they became the best of friends. The sad thing was when Hailey and Reece developed that naive little fourth grade crush on each other. Hailey kissed Reece as a dare and he asked her out. It was a fourth grade relationship. It was bound to fail. They decided Togo back to being friends.

That's where it all went downhill. In freshman year, Reece got popular and became the typical player. Hailey stayed his best friend. A few months later Reece told Hailey he had always liked her and that the other girls would never be as good as her. Stupid Hailey believed it and they dated (again, but the first one doesn't really count). Almost a year later, Hailey heard Reece telling all his friends how he won their bet by sleeping with Hailey. Hailey was heartbroken. She broke up with Reece but still loved him or rather, who he used to be.

And right now in front of me, the same Hailey stood the same Reece.

"Hails! You broke tradition!" Reece said, pouting. We had a tradition of never dressing up on Halloween.

Piss off, Reece, I don't want to see your face, I tried to say. However because I was drunk, it came out like:

"Kiss-Reece-your-face," I said, widening his smirk.

"I want to kiss you too. It's all I've ever wanted to do since you left," he lied.

I'm pretty sure you were happy with your whores, I tried saying but all that came out was, " You whore."

I felt someone's tight grip on my wrist. Reece led me into a corner.

"I'm not a whore. After all those years of friendship is that really what you think of me?" he asked.

"I was a bet to you. Don't lecture me on 'after all those years of friendship'", I spat out, somehow forming a coherent sentence in my bitterness.

"You were never just a bet to me,"he said, crashing his lips on mine.

***

Tyler's POV

"Hailey?" I called out, not seeing her where I left her. Maybe she was with some other guy. That thought made me feel a pang of jealousy.

"Hey, Tyler!" Lana said, coming towards me on her skimpy bikini. What was she again?

"Hey, Lana. Have you seen Hailey?" She pouted at that.

"No, but why don't the two of us have some fun," she said, stressing the 'fun'.

"I'm not in the mood. I need to find Hailey."

"But why? I'm right here."

"Maybe some other time. I saw you talking to Hailey when I left. Where is she?" I was pretty worried by now. I really hoped that she was alright.

"She went off with some guy from some other school. I'm pretty sure she's okay."

"Thanks, Lana," I said, taking off.

"Okay. Um...call me!" That's one thing I definitely didn't want to do.

I searched all the rooms but didn't find Hailey. Then I heard a familiar voice saying something like, "Don't lecture on 'after all those years of friendship'."