Chapter 34

Xavier's POV

I watched the color drain from Natalie's face and felt guilty knowing that was my fault. She struggled for some time to say something and when she did I could tell she was still finding it hard to believe.”

“What the hell did you just say?” She asked and I swear I wanted to swallow back my words. But I already make the decision and whether I like it or not, I had to go through with it. I inhaled and said it again.

"I want to cancel the bet. It's not happening anymore.” Damn it! I hate the fact that I sounded so natural like I was cool with it.

“Wow.....” She trailed off, disbelief still evident in her voice. “Just wow.” She muttered again.

“Once again, I'm sorry,” I said and made to leave but she stopped me.

“What about the scandal? The stuff going in between you and your brother? What about that?” She asked, turning to face me.

“We'll find a way around that,” I said.

“Oh really? You'll find a way around that. Well, it's been two years and you're yet to. How am I so sure that it's ever going to happen.”

“Look, I know you're concerned about this but the last thing I want is to drag you right in the middle. You have to understand that.”

“Look, I understand that, what I don't understand is this!! Why do you suddenly want to back out from everything... Or why you want me to back out as well "

Because I love you! I almost yelled but I swallowed it in. I love you so much I don't want to lose you, especially to Xander. She doesn't have to know that, at least not now. So I stared at her instead.

“Wait a sec... Why am I even overreacting? If that's what you want, then fine. I'll back out.” She said simply. I shrugged and rubbed my temples together. After what seemed like forever, I finally said something.

”Fine... So does that mean we're cool?” I asked.

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Natalie's POV

Cool? We're not cool at all! I'm not cool with this! My subconscious yelled but instead, I said.

”Yeah, we're cool. Totally.” And as if to reinforce my statement, smiled stiffly.

”Yeah... Okay. I'll leave now. Good night.” He said and walked away, not looking back. I watched him go. I couldn't move, my legs wouldn't cooperate with me. It was too strange to believe. It felt like a breakup, and we weren't even dating! How stupid is that?? The cold air reminded me that I was still standing there if I stayed there much longer, I'll have hypothermia. That's when I finally left. 

Don't cry, don't cry, I chanted as I walked home. At one point I felt so heavy I couldn't even move. Please Natalie don't tell me you're crying. Deep breaths, I stood up and continued walking home. Heavy with sadness, I slowly made my way up the stairs into my room and ignoring Ari, dropped on the bed, concealing my face with a pillow. Ari stopped and looked at me.

”Hey... What's wrong?” She asked as she came closer to me. Then turning me over pulled my cheeks. “What happened?” She repeated. I heaved a sigh.

”Xavier called off the bet,” I said, my voice slightly hoarse.

“That's why you look all beaten up?” She asked, and I glared at her. She sobered up quickly.

”Sorry, my bad. But don't you see it as a good thing?” She asked instead.

”Is calling off the bet a good thing?” I asked. She shrugged.

”Well... In a way. It means you don't have to lose your virginity stupidly.” She answered.

”Shut up.” I drawled. Then looking away I added, “I don't know why, but I didn't want him to call it off.” I said sincerely.

“Maybe you have feelings for him?”

“Is that what it's called?”

“Come on Natalie, what else would you want it to be called? You're head over heels for him!” She exclaimed.

“I'm pretty sure it hasn't gotten to that point,” I stated. “Also, he wants me to not be involved in what happened between him and his brother,” I said sitting up, 

“And why would he want that?” I shrugged... “I don't know,” I replied. 

“Maybe...... He has feelings for you and doesn't want you to get hurt?” She suggested.

“No, I don't think so..... Wait a sec?!” I stopped, widening my eyes. Ariana looked at me and then screamed, running around the room. 

“My best friend is in love!” She yelled dancing around the room. This is why I hate and love having her around. Then stopped as if remembering something. 

“But if he's called off the bet, how the hell are we going to know if he has feelings for you?” She asked. I pondered on it for a while and that's when I smirked.

“Just because a player quits doesn't mean the game's over,” I said and stared ahead. Ariana watched me keenly. “And what do you have in mind?” She asked menacingly. I chuckled.

"It's a game right?”

“Right.”

“Then we keep on playing....” I said and glanced at her. She grinned wildly and hugged me tightly.

”That's why I love you, Natalie!” She said and we fell on the bed chuckling. 

“We keep on playing.....”

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Xander's POV

 I was at home watching TV when I saw Xavier arrive home. We didn't greet each other, and he went up straight to the bar and poured himself a drink. That's when I knew something was up. I stared at him 

“What's going on?” I asked, “why are you drinking?”

“Isn't it obvious? I'm not in a good mood.” He answered and took a sip. 

”Yeah, I know that. But what happened, you were fine when you left.” I said.

He didn't look like he wanted to answer and just when. I wanted to give up he turned to me.

”I called off the bet.” He blurted. I didn't understand at first but when I did, it left me stunned.

”You did WHAT!?” I called out and walked up to him.

“Isn't that what you wanted... Well, at least you've got it now. I hope you're happy now.” He said and took a swig from the bottle. I stared at him in disbelief, then scoffed.

”That is not what I want Xavier. You don't know what I want.”

“Then what did you want?? Isn't it revenge? To get back at me? Well, you have it now, Natalie's all yours...” He continued saying but I cut him off.

”I don't want Natalie! “I yelled; he froze. “Wait why did you call off the bet in the first place... Without telling me?” I asked but Xavier wouldn't give any tangible answer. “Why did you do it?”

“Because I love her!! Okay? I did it because I loved her... And I didn't know what else to do. It was supposed to be just an ordinary bet but suddenly I had feelings and it couldn't just work out....”

”Wait a minute... You're in love, with Natalie?”

”Well, you heard me. "

”And does Natalie know about this?” I asked. 

”She doesn't need to know about that...” He muttered. I snickered.

“You don't have feelings for someone and keep it to yourself... You tell them.”

”Well, at least you know. Do something about it..” he said and picked up his car keys.

“And where do you think you're going?” I asked as he made it to the door.

“Anywhere... That's far away from here.”

“Xavier... Wait...” But he was long gone. I ran my hands through my hair and huffed. What the hell is going on??

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Natalie's POV

 Watching Ariana sing on our way to school and I made a mental note never to allow us to take the same car in the morning. Gosh, she can be so loud. We arrived at the entrance and of course, the driver stopped. She stopped singing and looked out the window.

“Are we there yet?” She asked. I scoffed and shook my head. 

“No. We just got started. Get out of the car.” I said and came out, she came out as well and bade the driver goodbye, adding kisses and cherry on top. Then turned around and stared at the school.

“Woah... If I knew this school would be this fancy, I'd have reduced my skirt up an inch.” She muttered and I glared at her. “Just saying though... It's not happening.”

“Your skirt is short enough Ari, “I muttered and held his hand, dragging her in. “It's not as short as the cheerleader's skirt.” She whined and pouted. I made my way to my locker amidst the stares and glares. Ari of course loved it since she always liked being the center of attention... And her purple hair wasn't helping matters.

“Here...” I handed her my bag. “We'll be sharing a locker. Since you'll only be here for a few weeks, we don't want you to get too attached.” I said but she wasn't listening, she was googling at a cute boy beside her.

”Sorry, did you say something?” She asked when she noticed I was quiet. I rolled my eyes and sighed in exasperation. “Let's just go,” I muttered and dragged her with me.

As usual, when I got to the locker, Mira was already there, and she was staring at her phone and smiling. She looked and when she saw me, waved. I waved back.

”Hi, Natty. Good morning.” She greeted cheerfully.

“Good morning. How are you?”

”Great. Wonderful actually...” Then saw the stranger at her side. “Who's this?”

“Oh... She's my other best friend, Ariana Campbell, the one I told you about.” I hurriedly said.

“Oh... Hi, I'm Mira. Mira song.” She greeted and stretched her hand for a handshake. Ari took it.

“Hi Mira, am Ari and Natty has told me so much about you. Gosh, you're pretty!”

 ”Natalie has told me a lot about you too,” Mira said somewhat strangely. I smiled.

“Don't worry, you are still my best friend,” I whispered to which she nodded. Then I glanced at her.

“Hmm... Something about you looks different today. What is it?” I asked.

“Is it the necklace... It kind of looks like a couple's necklace.” Ari pointed out and once again and I glared at her. 

“Ari....”

“What? It's the truth! I know a couple's necklace when I see one.” Mira widened her eyes, surprised.

“Ari's correct. It is a.....”

“Hey, girlfriend...” Someone called from behind, Interrupting us. Mira swung around. It was Darren and he was smiling at her and around his neck was the other half of the necklace..... Wait, are they dating??

“Hi... Good morning.” Mira greeted sweetly. He kissed her forehead before turning to us, I raised my brows.

“Hi, Natalie..... Ariana!?” He squeaked, his eyes almost coming out of his sockets, I almost chuckled.

“Damn Darren... I didn't know you had such good taste in girls! Middesville sure changed you.” Darren still hadn't recovered from the shock.

“What are you doing here? In Ambrose high??”

"I invited her over and She'll be here for a few weeks. "

I said. Darren stared at me.

”You know her?” Mira asked, looking at him. He struggled for words.

“As a matter of fact, I do....”

 ”Don't worry, we never dated. He's all yours.” Ari chipped in.

“Oh..... That's cool then. Well, he's my boyfriend.” Mira announced. 

“How much I love relationships! Too bad I'm not in one.” Ariana added.

 ”The boyfriend thing... When did that happen?” I asked Mira.

 ”Sometime in the weekend,” Mira said.

 ”Well, I'm happy for you. You had better luck than I did.” I said and sighed despondently.

 ”Hey, is everything okay?” Mira asked, peering at me.

“Yeah sure. Everything is fine.” I answered.

 ”Well... I'll be leaving now. You two have fun.” She said and began walking away with Darren. I chuckled.

 ”Hey, Darren! You had better carry your bug repellant. Cause I'm coming with lots of bugs and snakes.” Ariana said as they were walking away.

 ”You wouldn't even dare!” He threatened and holding Mira's hand ran away. We both laughed and I looked at Ari.

 ”Seriously? Bugs? He has a girlfriend.”

 ”Girlfriend or no girlfriend, I'm still going to have fun.” She said and we both chuckled.

 ”Now where are the Anderson brothers... I haven't seen them all morning.” She muttered as we were leaving for our first class.

 ”You'll see them soon. They have to be around somewhere.” I said. Just then, Xander came rushing towards us, as if he was in a hurry.

 ”Hi, Natalie. Good morning.” He greeted. Ariana squeaked behind me.

“Good morning.” I answered, then looking around him, I asked “where's Xavier?”

 ”Isn't here..... Look I heard about what happened and I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I had no idea.....”

 ”Wait, wait, wait. Let me introduce you to someone first.” I interrupted him and brought Ari forward. “Xander, meet Ariana. She's a good friend of mine.” I said.

”Hi... It's nice to see you.” He said politely.

“Even more wonderful to see you.” She whispered and was staring sweetly at him. "Mind if we take a selfie?” She suddenly asked bringing out her phone.

“Later Ari... As you can see we are talking. Just head straight to class, I'll join you in a bit.” She pouted but I hit her playfully on the cheek and Xander and I went to a more secluded place to talk.

”You were saying something?” I reminded and he straightened up.

"As I said before, I'm sorry and I had no idea what it was that was going on in Xavier's mind....”

”No, it's okay. If he wants me to back out then I will. At least it's for the good of everyone.” I muttered. He stared at me, surprised at what I said.

“You are going to back out?”

“I guess so.”

 We stayed like that for a while, each of us lost in our thoughts.

 ”I have something to tell you....”

“I have something to ask you....” We both said at the same time. He sighed and said. “You first...”

“I know this sounds crazy and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. But, this Lucy... Do you still like her?” He stared at me and fidgeted a bit.

“No, it's okay....” I said. “You don't have to answer if you want to,” I said but he was already speaking.

“Well, I don't know if I still like her or not. It's been two years since I've last seen her, and I don't know how she's faring. Plus, we didn't officially break up so I guess that can make us still in a relationship right?”

I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah... Right.” I took in a deep breath asked him what he wanted to tell me earlier.

“Nevermind. I'll just leave that to later. See you later.”

“See you later.”. I watched him walk away and I sighed and entered the class.

With the help of Mira, Ariana had already found herself a seat beside us. I made my way to my seat and dropped on my bed, sighing.

“Girl... What took you so long? Were you two making out?”

”Seriously Ari, one more dirty word, and I swear I'll shove my fists down your throat,” I warned. But of course, she just chuckled, I should be immune to it by now.

“Oh I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to speak dirty beside the virgin Natalie.” She taunted and I scoffed. Mira chuckled.

”I'm pretty sure she doesn't mean any harm. She's just like that.” Mira piped in.

“You know Mira..... I'm surprised you aren't by affected it” I said as I brought out my books.

“She isn't affected by it because unlike you, she's been into some serious activity lately.”

 ”What activity???” I asked, peering at Mira 

 Mira stuttered but didn't get to say anything as some people interrupted us. Of course, it's the trio. And, strangely, I've not heard any activity from them except the last stunt Celine pulled and I haven't had time to address that yet.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here... Another new student.” Tricia drawled and folded her hands. I scoffed, Mira looked away and we just left Ari to do her thing.

“Oh hi... My name is Ariana...” She said cheerfully. “And you must be the three bitches of Ambrose high. It's so nice to finally meet you. Natalie has told me so much about you.”

”What the hell did you call us???” Tricia asked.

“I'm pretty sure you heard me well. I called you guys bitches. You know I'm a bit of a bitch myself and as the saying goes, only bitches know bitches right??”

”Well, I'm warning you bitch.....” Tricia glowered, “don't you dare cross my path, or you won't like where you'll get bitten.” She warned. Ari just chuckled.

”Don't hype yourself too much baby girl. We'll talk about you when you leave... Won't we?” She said simply. The whole class exclaimed. This showdown was way better than the one I put up. Tricia raised her hand to hit her, but I stopped her midway.

”You aren't trying to hit her, are you? Because the last time I checked, we are evenly matched...” Then whispered. “We'll make quite a scene.”

Tricia looked as if she wanted to strangle me but dropped her hands and walked away with her crew.

“Bye bitch.... We'll talk later!” Ari called behind her giggled. Mira just stared.

“Seriously girl? We'll talk about Tricia when she leaves??” Mira asked.

”Aren't we doing it now?” We all exchanged glances and chuckled. Then Ari sighed and put her face on her hands.

”Oh my... I think I'm going to love this school...” She muttered. 

I just shook my head, the trio ain't seen nothing yet.