_______________
"Hello?" Lance asked into his cordless phone.
"Hey Lance, it's Raven", she happily greeted. Lance leaned back against the headboard on
his king sized bed, grabbed the remote to the TV and put it on mute.
"Hi, what's up?" he warmly asked, eager to her the sound of her voice. She paused.
"Oh..er...I just called to..say hi", she lied. Lance laughed.
"You're a totally unbelievable liar, you know that?" he teased. Raven laughed.
"I know. I'm just new at this whole..infatuation thing", she explained. He smiled, even
though she couldn't see him.
"I could tell. So, then what's the real reason why you called?" he questioned.
"I wanted to hear the sound of your voice. I mean, after that unexpected kiss, I must
admit, I've finally fallen", Raven solemnly admitted. Lance chuckled softly.
"Aw stop, you're making me blush", he joked. Raven laughed.
"Yeah, well don't get used to it..unless it's for a verbal assault", she warned flirtatiously.
The smile on Lance's face widened into a grin. Even if she was caught up in romance,
Raven wouldn't let a sentimental moment be. They were silent for a moment, until Raven
cleared her throat.
"Uh, can I ask you something?" she nervously asked.
"Yeah", Lance replied, preparing for the worst.
"Well, I might be acting paranoid but you did kiss me because you like me, right? It wasn't
a joke?" she hopefully demanded.
Lance bit his bottom lip, letting the silence grow. He did kiss her because he really wanted
to but she would never believe him if she found out about the bet. In fact, knowing her,
she would probably ignore him for the rest of the school year. But if he kept the truth
quiet, then there was still the large chance that Justin or anyone else that was in on the bet
would spill the beans. So either way, she'd be furious.
{Damn. Both options don't have happy results...but maybe, if I end the bet now, she'll
never know...}
"Lance, are you there?" Raven anxiously asked.
"Yeah, sorry. My mom was uh..trying to tell me something", he lied.
"Oh."
"But to answer your question, yes, I do like you. Alot. Nobody was forcing me to; I made
the decision by myself. I kissed you because I wanted to; always remember that, ok?"
Lance honestly replied.
And suddenly, Lance knew what he had to do.
-Your face
Holds me over
Your face
It wipes away the rain
Like a hundred summer skies
And every time I talk to you
It's like I'm all right
And every time I talk to you
I get a little closer to light- Mandy Moore, 'Your Face'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, immediately after football practice had ended and the whole team was
dawdling to the locker room, Lance hesitantly approached Justin.
"Uh, Justin, I need to talk to you", Lance hissed, walking in step with his friend. Justin
gave him a puzzled expression.
"What's with the double-oh-seven routine?" Justin jokingly questioned. Lance rolled his
eyes.
"It involves, the er-bet", he explained, hoping no one was paying attention to them. The
light dawned in Justin's eyes and gave Lance an exceedingly sly grin.
"What about it? From that little showing of PDA yesterday, I'd say it was going more than
good", Justin teased. Lance threw Justin a smoldering glare.
"How'd you find out about that? Were you spying in the bushes or something?" he sharply
demanded. Justin laughed.
"Calm down; fortunately for you I wasn't there. But you wouldn't believe how fast good
news travels. Apparently, during lunch, one of Adrienne's friends had to get her mascara
from her car and guess who she happened to see lip-locking out in the open?" Justin
hinted.
The fiery look Lance carried before cooled down a little; more worried than angry.
"Shit. How many people did she tell?" Lance brusquely asked. Justin shrugged.
"Let's just say if today, someone said it over the intercom, it'd be old news." Lance sighed.
"Does Amber know?" he curiously asked.
"Of course Amber knows. And I don't think she was too happy about it either", Justin
informed.
"That's just great", Lance snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Justin laughed.
"Yeah, isn't it? So what's the problem you wanted to discuss?" he questioned. Lance lost
in thought for a moment.
"Oh! That. Yeah...see, I was thinking and I think it'd be a good idea if we ended the bet",
Lance confessed. Justin stared at him in shock.
"End the bet? End the bet! Are you insane? Why would you want to end it now, after how
far we've gotten?" Justin cried. Lance shrugged in discomfiture, his eyes darting around.
"Well..uh...I...well the consequences aren't really fair. I mean, your prize is my Mercedes.
If I win, you cleaning my car and doing my homework is the same as getting a loaf of
bread. Besides, you can't even keep a gerbil cage clean, let alone an actual car", Lance
explained, fumbling for words. Justin was silent and looked inquiringly at Lance.
After a few minutes, his lips curved into a wide grin.
"I should have known this was going to happen", he replied, with a sad shake of his curly
head.
"Should have known what?" Lance asked with confusion.
"That you've fallen for Raven!" Justin exclaimed. Lance reddened and heated up.
"What? No I haven't", he quickly disagreed. Justin let out a roar of laughter.
"Uh huh, sure. That's why you left flowers in her locker, bought her a car with your own
money and then made out with her in the public eye", Justin sarcastically responded.
"Look, so what if I like her? I don't give a flying fuck what everyone else thinks! All I'm
saying is, let's stop this whole bet before it gets way out of hand", Lance sharply argued.
Justin shook his head again, laughing and halted where he stood.
"I don't believe it! What's wrong with you? Are you seriously considering giving up your
popularity, your reputation all for some psychotic freak? Are you willing to throw away
four years of all that just to have a little fling that will probably only last two, three days at
the most?" Justin challenged. Lance was silent, his icy stare unable to hide his thoughts to
Justin's comment.
"Uh huh, that's what I thought. No girl is worth all that trouble. Besides, I know you were
just kidding when you said you actually like her, right? I mean, what kind of blinded,
socially challenged chump would like someone like her?" Justin replied with a snort. Lance
stiffly walked past him, shoving him aside with all the weight behind his shoulder, which
sent Justin stumbling a foot backward.
Justin stared at him in shock as Lance continued to the locker room and icily called over
his shoulder:
"I think the answer to your question is walking right past you."
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