binded

zane ; the bet

"You're going to Gracelyn Russell's house?" Axel snickers, not bothering to pay an ounce of his attention to our astronomy assignment, "If you're trying to get into her pants, there is no way possible that'll work."

"You think that I don't know that?" I ask, one eyebrow higher than the other, "It doesn't have to work yet. I just need to get her to trust me."

From what Axel and I have discussed, his intention is to hook up with a junior, Juliet Daniels. I remember her from psychology and have even seen her walking beside Grace in the halls. He assumed that my night with Grace nearly led to more (so what if he thinks we made out in the back seat of my mustang? He promised not to tell) and a bet began between us.

Axel claimed that if he slept with Juliet before fall break, I would owe him $100 and the same if I slept with Grace. I may know Axel as a womanizer, but he's no magician. He can't pull out a deck of cards and reveal whatever card she desires. Maybe he's magic in bed, but from the way that Grace acts, her friends won't be any easier.

"Well fall break is in October and it is nearing the end of the second week of school. You have about eight weeks left to seal the deal."

The bell rings, cutting off our conversation about the bet. Axel stands up and walks through the aisle of desks, "Also, there is gonna be a party Friday night. You should go, maybe bring little miss perfect along for the ride."

While walking to my second period class, I begin to contemplate actually inviting Grace to the party or just ditching it to spend time with her. Either way, I want to be around her. The bet between Axel and I is just a good excuse to get to know her better, but that could also mean exposing myself to her.

And that is something that I'm not ready to do.

When I leave spanish on Thursday, I am puzzled to see Grace standing nearby my locker with her backpack on her shoulder and her lips pursed together as she frantically scatters her thumbs across her phone. Whatever she is texting about seems to be important.

"Hey, I thought that you have math next period." I say, twisting in my combination and opening my locker up, "You can't be ditching again."

Grace shrugs her shoulders, "I'm not, we have a substitute today. Apparently all we are doing is practice problems. My mom called me out so I could go home and study."

Something about the emphasis leaves me slightly confused. However, I shake it off and grab my belongings, "Are we driving separately?"

"Nope, my car is getting fixed in the shop." she shakes her head, finally tucking her phone into her back pocket, "But you can stay at my place until around 8:15."

"Is everything okay?" I question, noticing her moody behavior, "You look pretty pissed off."

"I'm fine, let's just go." she insists, walking past me.