THE BET

THE BET

(BY AAYUSHI BAKSHI)

The sunlight falls on my face and I realize it's already day 5 of me crying continuously but my heart still aches from all the lies I've been told in the last few months, it still aches from the love and trust I invested in him.

This is a story you've heard before but the only difference is this isn't that story. This may be a rather pretentious way to start our story but I've always had a flair for the dramatic you see.

It was the first day of college and the excitement was clear on my face just like the nervousness on my mother's face. "Have you kept your dryer?" "Have you kept the flashlight?"

As if I was going on a camping trip in middle school

"Yes mom I have everything relax, will you?" I told her

"I'm okay but I'm just worried how will you manage on your own? The house will be so empty without you my baby, you've grown so much" her voice cracking as if she was going to cry

I hug her and try to comfort her

"I will be okay mom and I will be visiting you on all the holidays so don't worry and don't cry"

By the time I reach my college, she is the strong woman I know is acting as if she was wasn't the lady earlier that morning.

As we get to my dorm room she places my bag and leaves after saying goodbye to me.

As she leaves I feel free from the bond of my oppressive parent for the first time.

My roommate Emily seems really cool though my mother doesn't like her I feel like I would have a great bond with her.

As I settle down and arrange my things I quickly shower and remember I forgot my clothes in my room, I rush back to my dorm and open my closet to change into a fresh pair of clothes where I see him, for the first time, the rude guy who was going to change my life forever from this moment on, holding my copy of "The Great Gatsby" in his hands I get startled and say

"Excuse me? You're in the wrong room"

"I'm in the right room" he replies rudely without even looking up from the book, showing me the room keys in his hands.

"I'm in the right room" he replies rudely without even looking up from the book and showing me the keys in his hands.

"Umm okay, but can you go so I can change?"

"Don't flatter yourself I'm not looking" he replied just seconds after Emily enters and sits on the bed next to him.

"Hi beck," she says being cheerful as always

Hi umm, can you ask your boyfriend to leave so that I can change?" I say in a confused voice.

'HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND" Emily screams at me

"What did you tell her Will?" she says laughing

And without even realizing I smile when I hear his name for the first time but then I come to my senses

"Okay well whoever he is can you please go out while I change," I say and they both get up to leave the room

Just when I turn around I hear will’s voice

“The Great Gatsby, beautiful book, Hate to spoil it but it was all a dream,” he says sarcastically as though I never read it

And before I know it I reply

“Umm actually I was all a lie”

He smirks at me and leaves

The next day I had my first day at school and it went great but I was so tired I slept as soon as I came back to the dorm room

the next day I go and sit in the library to get some homework done when I see a cute guy sitting next to me and he gives me a warm smile and says” Hi I'm Clyde” and brings his hand forward as a handshaking gesture which I return obviously by shaking hands and introducing myself.

We then talk about our majors and how he is a freshman too. I really start to think that maybe I’ve made my second friend.

After I start to study I hear Emily whispers from the back” we are going to a party tonight” and since I don’t like crowded places I say

”umm yeah I don’t know” with a grin on my face which she seems to get but still tries to persuade me finally getting me to collect my things and get ready to go.

I choose a red dress with a net on the arms and it sticking to my body showing my curves. Emma seems to not like it at first but I say "you said to be myself"

She smiles brightly and says,

“It’s perfect beck” I smile back returning the gesture and exit the dorm room.

When I reach the frat house I almost faint after seeing the crowd there but Emma pulls me and takes me to her friend's group before I could even do anything.

"This is my new roommate beck "she introduces me to her friends and I see the rude handsome guy will sit there with a blue-haired girl who looks kind of weird

Once I sit down they all start to play truth and dare which starts with me of course the newcomer.

The blue-haired girl asks in her mean voice “truth or dare Becky was it?”

I get pissed by the way she says my name wrong even though I know she remembers it I reply” its beck and dare”

she smirks and says” I dare you to kiss Will” and even before I can process it Will starts walking towards me and I hear voices from behind saying “she won’t do it” I get so angry I walk towards will too and just when he is about to kiss me I say in his ears” I'm done playing this game.”

Everybody cheers for me like I am some star as I exit the frat house and leave.

the next day I order coffee and sit in the cafe to get some school work done when I see him again, Will, in his black t-shirt and black jeans looking flawless as ever with his piercings, tattoos, and his muscles being visible even with the T-shirt.

Just when he sees me I look away but I can feel his eyes on me, walking towards me,

As he approaches me I look at him and realize he looks even more beautiful up close and then I’ve never noticed him so closely before but my thoughts are destroyed when he says,

“I am sorry for yesterday but can we start again and be friends?” with a smile on his face which makes me blush a little but then I quickly reply so that he does not notice the redness on my cheeks and say” really do you want that? I would love that but I think we should keep our distance from each other” fighting myself that I made the right decision by saying this but just then he takes two steps back and says” would this much distance be enough” after which I can’t control my giggles and nod in agreement

he then takes my hand and says” I want to take you somewhere, follow me” and I do as he says.

He stops the car at a beautiful place with a lake right after a lighthouse.

“Welcome to my favorite place,” he says with excitement clear on his face which gives me butterflies in my stomach.

 and he then removes his shirt and indicates me to swim with him to which I move my head to say no but then he makes the most adorable face to convince me which I can’t say no to

he then says” you can wear my shirt.”

And I blush a little but then he turns around and I quickly change into his T-shirt and jump into the water.

We swim for a while and talk about my family and our majors which seems nice to talk about and just when I was about to, go he pulls me towards him and his lips meet mine and the passion is clear between us the distance seems to close as he slides his tongue into my mouth and I taste the metal flavor of his lip ring in my mouth and before I knew I was kissing him back.

After we get out to the lake he starts to touch me in the intensity of the moment and I feel chills down my spine and he realizes it too because he asks in his thick British accent” have you never been touched before” to which I say “no”

and then he stops suddenly and my heart races from the thought to him being disgusted about this fact, I look at him with desperation in my eyes and ask” why’d you stop?”

and to my surprise, he replies” we’ve got time” and I smile.

Days pass and we become closer and closer to each other and spend almost all the time we have together and every day going to libraries I was grateful for him but little did I know what awaited me, the pleasure of this moment was going to be the pain of the future.

We even decided to move in together for which we were looking for a house till late and decided that I will stay at the frat house with Will.

He was in the washroom when his phone starts to buss off continuously and even though I never doubted him I started to suspect something was off as he was behaving weirdly since morning too so I decided to check his phone or even a peek will work, and that is the moment I am left speechless when I see the blue-haired girl Jane had messaged him, and the texts said” tell her the truth”

“Meet me at the cafe” “I miss you”

I was beyond pissed at Will but waited for him to come back and explain everything to me but when he came out he checked his phone and immediately said he was going to be out late and stormed out of the frat house. I could not stop myself from following him after reading Jane’s texts to him.

I grabbed my car keys and went to the cafe Will was supposed to meet Jane, only to see the whole group sitting there including Emily and I could see through the glass, the expression on Will’s face, his anger and as I entered the cafe I saw that expression change to worry in a second. Everyone was surprised and shocked to see me there except Jane of course and she said” Oh my god look who decided to show up if not our queen Beck” with a smirk on her face. I wanted to smash her face for sending Will those texts as much as I wanted to know the truth about those texts.

I say” Can you please tell me what is going on here Will” He doesn't say anything and just looks down with tears about to fall from his beautiful eyes.

Even if he tells me the truth now I will forgive him. I say to myself because there is no way it would be a deal-breaker for Will and me, my first true love, the person who has bewitched me, body and soul as Mr. Darcy would say.

I am distracted from my thoughts when Jane puts her phone in my hand with a video playing on it, the video of the frat house party day, the day when I refused Will a dare. It shows how I refused to do the dare and exit with people screaming my name and Jane saying

"Looks like Will Scott got his first rejection"

To which will smirk and says "I will make this girl fall in love with me and leave her like just when she is head over heels for me"

seeing him say this breaks my heart into a hundred pieces. The first guy I ever loved, I gave my everything to, did this to me.

I am too ashamed to even look at anyone after this video, I hand the phone back to Jane and storm out of the cafe.

I hear Emily and Will screaming behind my back and begging me to come back, as I am about to open the door I stop when Will's warm skin brushes against my hand and it gives me a tingling sensation but I resist the attraction of his touch and run to my car.

He stands there as if waiting for me to come out of the car and hug him but as I pass the parking lot in my car I see the disappointment in his look, the tears in his eyes, he's kneeling down on the ground with guilt clear on his face. But I leave even after all this because I know even if he has broken my heart, it is he who is shattered by his deceit and I know deep down that all that he did was real and he loves me and even if we are made for each other this lie will not let us be together.

(INSPIRED BY ANNA TODD’S NOVEL AFTER)

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