The Boyfriend Bet Read online

  I wasn’t sure if I was all that bothered what nasty thing Sam might have said to Jay, I was more interested in the bickering over me, but I dutifully said, “What did he say?”

  “Um....he kind of said that you were easy anyway....”

  “What?” I spat. I was aware that Bex had now finally joined us (hopefully she hadn’t found Sam and had calmed down).

  “He said that all anyone would have to do is tell Charley Wallis that they loved her and then she would sleep with them, ‘cos that’s all he had to do. And then Jay smacked him right in the mouth!” Sarah said at a hundred miles an hour.

  “And that’s how the fight broke out.” Bex interrupted. I stared at her. I felt like I was the one who had been smacked in the mouth.

  “Don’t worry, I told everyone who was watching that he was completely lying. I said Charley is not that stupid!” Sarah sniggered and when she saw my face she slowly stopped. “Oh my god, don’t tell me you were that stupid?”

  “Sarah!” Bex exclaimed.

  “God Charley, do you just lead this whole other life that you keep a secret?” Sarah snapped at me.

  “Sorry,” I muttered. It was all I seemed to be saying lately.

  “I don’t care if you’ve slept with him,” Sarah spat. “You could have slept with tons of guys for all I care!”

  “I haven’t, just him,” I barely whispered. I felt like a complete fool.

  “All I care about is that you didn’t tell me. I thought we were best mates, I thought we told each other everything!” Sarah looked genuinely hurt and I felt like shit. Sarah turned around and started to walk across the field on her own. Bex looked at Sarah and then at me: she looked torn.

  “Go with her,” I said. “She looks upset.”

  “So are you,” Bex replied.

  “But it’s my fault, go.” I told Bex, she nodded and then ran after Sarah.

  I didn’t know how to put everything right or even make sense of my life. I stood in the middle of the open field, the cold wind whipping around me. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the fight story was all around the school (it was probably all over Facebook by now) and all the girls would hear about what a gullible idiot I am. Meanwhile the boys would hear about what a legend Sam is. Aha, I would be the laughing stock of school again.

  I’ve heard about people who lose it, who no longer care anymore. I’ve always thought it would be oddly brilliant to not care about anything. Well that’s how I kind of felt, standing alone in the middle of the cold and bleak school field. It isn’t as if I’ve never experienced people laughing, talking or judging me before, is it?

  I am done with all the bitchiness, I am done with all the games and I am done with worrying what people think of me. I am ME, and if people don’t like the real me then I have decided it is their problem, not mine.

  Saying it like it is!

  I walked around aimlessly for ages before I decided there was nothing else for it but to go home. I trudged down my road as slowly as humanly possible. I knew Ella was more than likely to be getting ready for the party already - that’s if she’d managed to stop chucking up!

  I didn’t know what to do about this damn party thing. I didn’t want it but I didn’t exactly have anywhere to escape to either. I couldn’t even face going inside when I got home, I could hear music filtering out from our house and when I looked up at our bedroom window, I could see Ella holding a dress up against herself and Aimie offering some sort of opinion. I just sat down on the cold, damp doorstep. I couldn’t handle this at all.

  I don’t know how long I just sat there watching my warm breath hit the cool air. I was exhausted – mentally exhausted. I realised I didn’t even know Sam at all. What was I - nothing more than a conquest? It was nearly as bad as a bet and that thought made me feel even more depressed. I was completely lost in thought until I heard next door’s garden gate creak open. I desperately hoped people hadn’t started coming over already.

  There had been people coming and going to the parent free zone ever since my Mum had left with Simon on Friday night. I didn’t want to have another crappy ‘flirty’ chat with Riley or one of his stupid mates who thought I was ‘well fit’ apparently. Eventually I bothered to look up and I was relieved to see it wasn’t Riley or one of his stupid mates or even one of the dumb giggly girls who laughed at everything he said.

  “Hey!” I said as I stood up. I was making an effort for once and I felt awkward.

  “Hey,” Jay nodded, a little less enthusiastically than me. He had his footy bag slung over his shoulder. I guess he hadn’t been in a rush to get home either. He had his custom messy hair sticking up all over the place and then I saw the fresh bruise appearing on his cheekbone and a swollen lip.

  “Thanks,” I finally brought myself to say what I had been thinking, as I looked at his bruised face. What exactly are you supposed to say in this situation?

  “What for?” Jay said in the same tone as before. He really was being hard work. I wondered if I was imagining it but I still thought he was looking at me in disappointment and I hated it.

  “Sticking up for me.... I guess?”

  “He’s had it coming for a long time....it was nothing,” Jay shrugged as if it really did mean nothing. I desperately wanted him to say more, after all of this time trying to avoid him. I was suddenly desperate for him to be nice to me - to be warm, not all cold and uncaring.

  “Charley?”

  I looked at him in hope. He was going to say more. He didn’t really think so little of me, he couldn’t. “Yeah?”

  “Can you do me a favour?” Jay said, as though he didn’t really want to be asking anything of me at all.

  “Sure,” I said. Of course I would do him a favour, it was the least I owed him, right?

  “Can you get Sarah round here early?”

  “Sarah?....Oh.” I couldn’t hide my surprise or maybe it was disappointment. What did he want Sarah for? She is SO not his type.

  “I’ll try.” I finally answered. That was if Sarah was ever going to speak to me again but I didn’t say that. I didn’t want Jay to think I’m an absolute bitch to everyone.

  “Cheers,” Jay muttered and let himself in. All at once I felt really cold, I was actually freezing. I shivered and then I finally opened my front door.

  I sat at the bottom of the stairs and took a huge deep breath. How was I going to make everything right? I pulled my mobile out of my pocket and scrolled down to Sarah’s name. I wondered if Sarah would even bother to answer. She had looked pretty upset earlier and could I blame her? We’d always told each other everything since forever and I hadn’t told her one of the major things in my life.

  “Hello,” Sarah finally replied. She still sounded put out.

  “Sarah, I’m sorry!” I said quickly, I heard Sarah huff but I carried on anyway, “I didn’t tell you right away because after ‘it’ had happened, I didn’t hear from Sam all weekend and I knew what you and Bex would have said about him...”

  “We’d have been right!” Sarah butted in, even though I was trying to explain to her at about a million miles an hour.

  “....and then I hardly heard from him all week....and....”

  “And then he moved onto your sister.” Sarah finished off the sentence for me.

  “Well....yeah,” I sighed.

  “He’s scum Charley, I’m furious....”

  “I’m so sorry....”

  “I’m furious with him, not you. I never could stay mad at you for long, could I?” Sarah’s voice had softened towards me and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  “Come over then....someone’s been asking for you.”

  “Who?” Sarah said. She sounded totally confused.

  “Ah, you’ll have to come over, but he asked me to get you over here early.”

  “Who is it? Please tell me it’s someone half decent!” Sarah sounded excited now as she giggled down the other end of the phone.

  “You could say that,” I said sadly, but Sarah was too busy s
quealing in excitement to Bex, so I said my goodbyes and then headed upstairs to tackle my next challenge.

  “Ella, can I talk to you for a sec?” I interrupted Ella and Aimie’s pre-party preparations and they didn’t look too pleased about it. In fact they just stared at me as if I was a complete inconvenience by taking up their precious time which they could have used to apply even more layers of make-up.

  “What?” Ella snapped as she stepped into the hallway.

  “It’s about this dumb bet....”I started.

  “Ha! You know you can’t do it! That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve finally realised that someone like you could never get someone like Riley to like you!” Ella was prodding me in the shoulder and it took all of my strength to not slap her and swallow what I was about to say and carry on with the stupid bet just to prove to Ella she was wrong! But I knew I couldn’t and I shouldn’t and I really didn’t want to, it wasn’t right (even if Jay was right and Riley was a creep).

  “Um....I don’t like Riley anymore, so I want out of this stupid bet.” I chewed my lip as I watched Ella throw back her head and roar with laughter.

  “You don’t like Riley? As if Charley! Just because you’ve come to your senses and you’ve realised you don’t stand a chance, you want out of the bet.” Ella was shaking her head in disbelief. “We shook on it and a bet is a bet!” And then she just barged past me back into the bedroom, “You’re such a loser, Charley!” she said as she turned and slammed our bedroom door in my face.

  Realistically it went as well as I could have expected. As if someone as shallow as Ella would understand? I knew there was only one thing I could do now that would stop anymore bitchiness over the stupid bet, but that would have to wait.

  Obviously I wasn’t even welcome in my own room, so I ran downstairs to the kitchen and hoped I was right in thinking my favourite skinny jeans and top were in the tumble dryer. For once my luck was in. No need to barge my way into Aimie and Ella’s make shift beauty salon. I got changed in the downstairs loo away from the witches upstairs.

  I retrieved my make-up from my bag and did it the way I always liked it and I felt great that I actually looked like me again and not like the ‘someone’ I was pretending to be, the person that Riley liked.

  “You’re wearing that for the party?” Sarah asked me when they’d finally made it over.

  “It’s very you,” Bex smiled at me. She gets it, she totally gets it and I think maybe Sarah was beginning to get it too as she nodded at me.

  “You look nice,” I smile at Sarah. I can tell she’s made a massive effort.

  “Now tell me who has been asking for me!”

  “Let’s go and find out,” I said as I slipped on my leather jacket and put an arm around Sarah. I’m so glad she’s not still mad at me. She wriggles away because I’m obviously messing her hair up that she’s spent hours on but that’s just her! “Never change,” I laugh at her.

  “You neither,” Sarah replies and I smile because I’m never going to change for anyone ever again.

  When I got to next door I didn’t even bother to knock, I just pushed the front door open. I could hear that there were a few people already there. I was right - I saw Riley’s stupid mates already drinking but I didn’t see Jay. I pushed past them. They seemed to have taken a liking to Sarah now, but I just carried on towards the kitchen.

  “Hey,” I said as I spotted Jay raiding the fridge with Luke. Jay looked up at me expectantly.

  “She’s here,” I muttered and signalled behind me, Sarah was just following me in. She started chatting to the boys and I helped myself to a drink with Bex. It wasn’t long before the noise level began to rise and I knew more and more people were turning up to take advantage of the parent-free house. I had an overwhelming urge to leave because I so didn’t want to be here.

  “Don’t go....yet!” Bex grabbed my arm as I’d already made my way into the lounge.

  “Ok....for a little while.” I nodded, I only agreed because Bex looked so horrified at the thought of me leaving her here on her own.

  Riley was already in his element in the centre of his dumb mates, swigging cans of lager and laughing too loudly. Bloody idiots, they didn’t seem to have noticed me tonight, now that I didn’t have a tiny and revealing dress on. They were all too busy leering over Zoe Ryan who had successfully managed to wear less clothes than anyone else in the room, she was with her little entourage, all faffing about round her.

  I hadn’t seen Zoe this week at dance and she had been missing from classes over the last couple of weeks. Even when she had been there she seemed preoccupied and her usually gossipy conversation with some of the bitchier girls had always been about Sam. Every time she’d mentioned his name, I’d seen her shoot a dirty look in my direction.

  I tapped my glass as I watched Zoe constantly check her phone and she kept looking towards the door. I hoped Bex didn’t want to stay too long, I didn’t know if I had the strength to endure this party.

  “There you are babe!” Riley smiled a dazzling smile and strode over to me, “Haven’t you been home yet?” Riley looked at my clothes. Obviously he’d been hoping for an outfit repeat of yesterday. I didn’t know what to be more annoyed about - that he’d called me ‘babe’ or the fact that he was obviously dissing my clothes!

  I barely managed a smile, this was awkward and all his mates were watching too. “Do you wanna take this party somewhere else?” Riley smiled confidently.

  “Like where? I played dumb.

  “Like, my room?” Riley grinned and one of his mates slapped him on the back in approval.

  “Nah, not really,” I said without even a hint of a smile.

  “Why are you playing so hard to get?” Riley looked put out, “We both know you like me.” He was back to his cocky self in a matter of 0.5 seconds!

  “Not anymore.” I said and even Bex had her eyebrows raised. I sensed people were trying to listen. Was this a momentous event not to be missed, a girl turning down Riley Jackson? I could see Zoe was glancing over in disbelief and I could hear Riley’s mates yelling stuff to Riley like ‘crashed and burned’ and ‘been shot down mate?’

  Riley did actually look really pissed off and I felt awkward because this should really be a private conversation and it was all so very public. Even Jay was watching from the doorway, as were Luke and Sarah.

  “Everyone, Riley’s just been turned down by a Year Eleven!” one of boys shouted. I felt my face burn because if anyone had been oblivious to it, they obviously weren’t now. “Found a better bloke, have you?” The vile boy leered at me.

  “As if!” Riley nudged his mate but not in an aggressive way like he’d done to Jay last night, but more in a male camaraderie sort of way.

  “I‘m sorry, I like someone else.” I said, mainly because I couldn’t bear to watch anymore of the male bonding as they all laughed and swayed into each other, spilling booze all over Simon’s carpet.

  “What?” Riley had stopped joking around and he looked really pissed off. “God, I thought you were fun. I didn’t want anything serious. I didn’t want to marry you or anything!” Riley spat, rejection obviously didn’t suit him. “I didn’t even want you to be my girlfriend!” Riley carried on his bitter defence. So that’s how Riley Jackson behaved when his giant ego was hurt and it wasn’t nice. Actually it was pretty embarrassing.

  “Whatever you say Riley,” I said in a very calm voice considering the situation. “Then we’re good, we both don’t want anything from each other.” That shut him up and as they all stared at me, I pushed my way past. It really was time to leave.

  “Oi!” Someone had grabbed my arm aggressively, I turned around to see a sneering Zoe, still holding on to my arm.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “It had better not be my Sam you like!”

  “Your Sam?” I asked. I couldn’t believe her sometimes.

  “Yeah that’s right, he’s mine. We’ve been seeing each other for two weeks! Admit it you’re after my Sam, aren’t you?�
�� Zoe was shrieking. I wanted to laugh so hard. So Sam was up to his old tricks already! He was seeing Zoe and all along he’d been sending me flirty texts.

  “I promise you it definitely is not him! In fact you’re welcome to him. I’ve never met two people so well suited!” I said as I roughly pulled my arm away from her grasp. Zoe gasped as I pushed past them and strode towards the door.

  I was so close when someone else had grabbed my arm, “Hey wait up!”

  “What?” I sighed as I began to wonder if I’d ever be allowed to escape the madness but when I turned around, I was shocked to see it was Jay smiling at me.

  “Take it this aint really your thing?” Jay laughed.

  “You could say that!” I grinned. I just felt a huge wave of relief that Jay wasn’t annoyed with me anymore. “Where’s Sarah?” I asked.

  “Erm...last time I checked she had her tongue stuck down Luke’s throat.”

  “Ewwww!” I giggled and I even surprised myself with how relieved I felt that Sarah was snogging the face off Luke and not Jay.

  “Well, thank god for that. Luke’s been pestering me all day about getting Sarah round here. He’s well into her.” Jay shook his head. Well that explained earlier then. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Jay grabbed my hand as he opened the front door.

  “Better not let Molly Andrews see me sneaking out with you!” I teased.

  “Yeah....I don’t think she’ll be too bothered.” Jay smirked as he pointed back towards the lounge. I took a step back and peered through the door. Molly Andrews was on one end of the sofa and practically eating some poor boy’s face.

  “Oh!” I whispered and I couldn’t tear my eyes away, “Who is the lucky guy?” I asked and I watched until Molly finally let the poor boy up for air. William Sheldon-Harvey sat there, firmly held by Molly’s man eating claws. He looked dazed (like he’d been hit by a bus) and I wasn’t sure if he was a willing part in this or a victim!

  “Oh my god!” I said in disbelief. “Who the hell invited him?”