Popped

by Elizabeth Stevens

  After looking over it about a million times, I called Georgie and Mia and we spent all weekend trying to work out what it all meant. I mean, we all got he seemed to be saying he actually liked me – and hence I wasn’t just a bet after all. But it took us forever to work out what the whole losing the glasses and tattoos was.

  Finally, I’d realised the glasses and tattoos were…armour.

  It symbolised armour that I’d lost because of Bash. Armour I’d used to keep guys at bay so I didn’t get hurt. And that realisation had forced me to take a long hard look at myself.

  I’d thought I was above it all, I’d thought I was the victim of a long string of guys who treated girls like shit. But it turned out I was the heartbreaker. I gave guys hope, I used sex – or lack of – as power over them to make them want me, then I dumped them all under the illusion they’d let me down when in reality I hadn’t even given them a chance.

  I’d been so scared no one might want the real me that I’d only seen what had supported my belief. I’d refused to let anyone get close enough to me to give them a chance to hurt me.

  Really, I should have seen it all before; the bet I’d made with the girls about Bash had been a massive red flag. How did I not see that ‘get a guy to fall in love with you so you can break his heart’ had all the signs of heartbreaker?

  In my grand indignation about the way guys treated girls, I’d become the very thing I was angry about. I’d become worse even because it made me a hypocrite.

  And, with the one guy who’d slipped past my defences, I’d done it again; I’d turned on him as soon as I’d found a reason to. Instead of talking to him and admitting my equally as large faults, I’d accused him of treating me poorly with no thought as to how I’d treated him.

  And yet… He was the one sending me the proverbial olive branch.

  The aim of the bet might have been to pop Bash’s ego, but he’d well and truly popped mine. My ego and my pride.

  So, I swallowed my popped pride on the first Monday back in our free and went over to him.

  “What’s this?” I asked him, waving the page at him.

  Despite how we’d left the last time we’d spoken, he was his usual self as he shrugged. “It’s me deciding fuck it.”

  “What?”

  “We both made bets, we both won those bets. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t win something else along the way. So, I’m saying fuck it.”

  “You’re saying–”

  “Fuck it.”

  “No. I get it. I’m just…” I breathed out and looked at the page again. “I’m sorry, Bash.”

  I looked up just in time to see his face fall from all the usual cockiness it wore. All masks were gone now and he just looked confused, stunned, and prepared for more hurt.

  I waved the page about uselessly and dropped my arm by my side. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. It was armour. I… I’m no better than I thought you were. I just do it with emotions instead of sex.”

  “We’ve all got flaws, princess,” he said softly, a small smile hinting at his adorably sexy mouth.

  I sighed again. “At least you know what yours are.”

  His smile was growing a little cockier. “I’d be more than happy to explore you extensively and help you find every single one of them.”

  I bit my lip. “You know that’s an attractive offer, Bash. But are we just going to forget how we got here?”

  He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “I couldn’t care less how we got here if it’s real.”

  My heart skipped and tripped and I got that zingy tingle in my chest. “As nice as this,” I held up the page in my hand for a moment, “is, it doesn’t negate the fact you were using me.”

  “Your intentions weren’t exactly pure, princess.”

  Oh, I’d missed him calling me that. Even wrapped up in its tinge of sarcasm, when it was said with that earnest sincerity, I melted for him.

  I took a breath and nodded. “No. True. And I don’t expect you to forgive–”

  “I do.”

  “What?”

  “I forgive you.”

  “Just like that?”

  “No just like about it. I agonised over how I felt about you and what it meant for the bet with the boys. I fucking freaked about how the bet was going to mess up how I thought you felt about me. But I was intending to tell you about it before it went any further. You became far more than a bet to me pretty damned quickly, it just took my pride a little while to sort out its priorities.”

  “So just like that then?” I laughed humourlessly.

  He leant on the desk and looked me dead in the eye. “Paige, I fell for you while I was in the middle of trying to win a bet. I figured – with a little help – it wasn’t too far-fetched you might have done the same. And to be honest, my pride kinda hinged on it.”

  I was nodding before I realised what I was going to say. “I did. I mean, me too. I did that, too.”

  “Figured the same thing happened to me?” His mouth quirked into that half-smirk and I felt myself smile.

  “Ah, not that. No. I… You weren’t just a bet to me,” I gave another humourless laugh. “I was trying to work out how to weasel out of the bet with the least amount of embarrassment when I overheard the boys. I…was a little irrational.”

  He chuckled. “You weren’t the only one.”

  “I’m sorry I lost it.”

  He pushed himself up from his chair slowly and sauntered towards me. “I’m also sorry I lost it. I’m sorry I said the things I did. And I’m sorry I’m a bit shit.”

  I laughed, feeling like I was about to cry in relief. “You’re not a bit shit.”

  He cocked his head. “Nah. You’re right. I’m very shit.”

  I shook my head as we walked towards each other. “You’re not shit.”

  “I am shit, or I would have told you last week what you meant to me. I would have told you about the bet before I slept with you and given you the choice to walk away. I stupidly – arrogantly – thought I could have everything.”

  I nodded and looked down. “Me, too.”

  We stopped just shy of our jumpers brushing. He gently touched a finger under my chin and tilted my face to look at him.

  “We can still have everything.”

  “Can we?”

  He nodded. “I fucking hope so. I’m not sure what I’m gonna do if this doesn’t work.”

  “If what doesn’t work?”

  “My grand gesture.”

  I grinned. “Oh, is that what it was?”

  He groaned as he leant his head back. “Fuck, yes. Tease me, princess,” he breathed happily.

  “Calm down. As far as gestures go, it was…okay, Casanova,” I joked.

  “Just okay?” he asked and I nodded. “Maybe I should’a gone with Roof’s idea,” he muttered, looking aside.

  “Roof’s idea?” I laughed. “What was Roof’s idea?”

  Bash waggled his head. “There was this whole deal with the formal and our eyes locking across a crowded room, I stole you from Longford or some shit–”

  I snorted. “That sounds terribly romantic.”

  “Would you have preferred it?”

  I looked at the page in my hand and my smile softened. I shook my head. “No. This was perfect.”

  “You’re perfect.”

  I bit my lip to stop myself laughing. “Are you going to go all mushy on me now you’ve discovered emotions?

  His grin gave me a whole new kind of armour – one I didn’t hide behind, but one I’d use to face the world.

  “I might. I’ve never done this whole boyfriend thing before.”

  “Oh, you fancy yourself my boyfriend now?”

  “Aren’t I?”

  “I think you need to take this one step at a time, Casanova.”

  He shook his head as he wrapped his arms around my waist. “I’m gonna need the boys to work out how to pass my reputation ont
o Mr Trombone after all.”

  “Who is Mr Trombone?” I laughed as my arms went around his neck like they knew they belonged there. “And why are you passing him your reputation?”

  “If I lost the bet, I was supposed to pass the Casanova name down to that nerdy band geek in the year below us,” Bash said as though that explained the whole thing.

  I frowned as I thought about who he could mean. Mia’s cousin played trombone in the school band. He was also in the year below us.

  “Arthur?” I asked.

  Bash seemed to think for a moment, then nodded. “That could be his actual name.”

  I snorted, thinking that was hilariously coincidental.

  “What?”

  “If I lost, I was supposed to give him his first French kiss.”

  Bash seemed to find that a little less hilarious than I did. “Please tell me how aware you are that you won.”

  I shrugged cheekily. “I mean… It could kind of go either way…?”

  “Oh, my God,” he laughed. “No. No kissing Mr Trombone!”

  “Oh! Are you jealous, baby?” I teased.

  He nodded. “Yes. I have absolutely no shame admitting I want you all to myself.”

  “Only as long as I have you all to myself?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  His smile warmed me up inside and out. “Tease me, princess.”

  I smiled at him in happiness and a challenge. “Please me, Casanova.”

  And boy, did he please me.

  Epilogue: Paige

  We had actually made it to Muck Up Day. Our final official day of school was actually here and we were ready for it.

  And every single one of the matrics had joined in on one last tradition; the ritual destruction of their uniforms. Girls and guys alike had butchered their summer uniforms with varying degrees of expertise and effort. One of the boys had tried to get away with turning his school trousers into cowboy chaps – assless of course – and had made it through a full hour of school before Mrs Hogan had managed to reprimand him. Four of the girls had come dressed up as fairies, each in a different school house colour. There were poms-poms and sequins and lace and a lot of dye going around. It put both Sports’ Days to shame.

  The girls and I had kept it relatively simple, deciding to turn our summer dresses into skirts and vests. The skirts had and under layer of tulle in our house colours and we’d dyed one of our winter shirts to match. Then we’d put the vests over the top and worn our ties loose. We all had our hair in teased high pig tails with coloured scrunchies and bright lipstick in our respective colour. We finished the look off with coloured fishnets under our winter socks and our school shoes.

  As we walked through the front doors for what felt like the last real time – we’d decided long ago that exams didn’t count – I took a slow look around the place I’d soon leave forever.

  People said hi to us as we passed, complementing our outfits and wishing us luck, and telling us to save a spot on our uniforms for them to sign later.

  “Triad bringing the school pride!” someone cheered as they passed and I tried to smile at them.

  “Do you think the boys dressed up?” Mia asked, looping her arm with mine.

  “Rufio, yes,” Georgie answered with a smile in her voice. “Bash, maybe. Jendo, no.”

  “I heard they were all doing a thing,” I said.

  “Did Bash tell you this? Or have you got proof?” Georgie asked, sounding slightly less disbelieving now.

  “I only heard.”

  “What did he say?”

  “I was buying the dyes and Bash said he may as well get some because he and the boys were actually doing something as well.”

  Georgie scoffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  And we didn’t have to wait too long to see it. By the time we got to the Common Room, it was obvious there was a commotion of some sort going on. And the cause of it was the Baker Boys.

  “Oi, Paige!” Willis called, finding me over the heads of the gathered crowd. “Get a look at your boyfriend!”

  “Why?” I laughed. “What’s he done now?”

  “Begging to be stolen, is what,” Willis replied as the crowd parted.

  And we saw the Baker Boys in all their glory.

  Almost.

  The three of them were standing there and I had to say they’d gone above and beyond. They were also lucky it was warm, otherwise they’d be frozen.

  “Have they…?” Georgie breathed, sounding like she was at a loss for words or a clean thought.

  I nodded. “I think they have.”

  “They look amazing!” Mia cried.

  And they did. They’d turned winter skirts into kilts, complete with the sash that went across their torsos. Their naked torsos. Their fairly impressive naked torsos. They wore girl’s winter socks that were dyed in their house colours with their school shoes. As much as I knew about kilts, they looked pretty good. Or it could have been all that sexy skin on show.

  “You got yourself a kilt,” I said to Bash as I walked over to him, smiling at my peers as I went.

  He grinned as he sucked his teeth. “I did.”

  I shrugged. “And here I don’t have glasses or tattoos.”

  “Both are fixable if you want,” he replied.

  I nodded. “True. True.” I stopped in front of them and looked them all over. “This is dedication, boys.”

  “You look great,” Mia told them.

  “Let me guess,” Georgie said. “Kilts are big in romance novels.”

  “Highlanders,” Jendo corrected her. “And…yes.”

  Georgie nodded as she dragged her eyes down and up Jendo’s body slowly. Then she shrugged. “I guess I can get down with that.”

  Jendo nodded smugly, crossing his arms. As he opened his mouth, Bash whacked him.

  “Maybe keep that to yourself, mate,” Bash suggested and Jendo snapped his mouth shut very quickly.

  “Have you gone fully traditional, though?” Mia asked and we all looked at her. She shrugged unapologetically. “What? I read…some things.”

  I snorted. “Okay. So, what’s fully traditional?”

  “Free-balling,” she replied matter-of-fact.

  I looked back at the boys and mine weren’t the only eyes to look at the crotches. “Are you?”

  Bash’s rough chuckle had me looking up and I couldn’t help myself answering the smile on his face.

  “So, what do you say, princess?” he asked. “Does he think she’s in love with him? Or is she really in love with him?

  I looked him over again. “Does he love her?”

  “He’s pretty sure he does.”

  I nodded. “She’s pretty sure the feeling’s mutual.”

  He gave me one of his cheeky half-smirks and pulled me to him. He shook his head before he kissed me in front of everyone, to great whooping applause.

  POPPED

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  Thanks

  I first need to give a huge shout-out to the beta team for this one. I threw a multitude of things at you all at once and you all navigated my mess perfectly. Thanks to all of you who provided feedback, however you chose to do so. As usual, it was invaluable
and, even though I didn’t make all the suggested changes, I appreciate the time you took out of your lives to help me out.

  I’m also very grateful to the characters for being so easy to write, especially on that final stretch. Editing was made incredibly difficult because I felt like everything was perfect and I was super paranoid that I’d risk ruining it. But hopefully, we did all right in the end.

  Thanks too go to all those of you who got excited about this new book – it’s always so lovely to know there are people waiting for my next book. Every time feels like the first time all over again, and every time renews my faith in myself and my work. Without you, there might not be a next book.

  My family, as always – both blood and not – thank you for sticking by me unwaveringly, being proud of me even if you are totally surprised by my awesomeness, and for loving me just the way I am. I will always be eternally grateful for the chance to just be me.

  My Books

  You can find where to buy all my books in print and ebook at my website;

  www.elizabethstevens.com.au/YoungAdultBooks.

  About the Author

  Writer. Reader. Perpetual student. Nerd.

  Born in New Zealand to a Brit and an Australian, I am a writer with a passion for all things storytelling. I love reading, writing, TV and movies, gaming, and spending time with family and friends. I am an avid fan of British comedy, superheroes, and SuperWhoLock. I have too many favourite books, but I fell in love with reading after Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn. I am obsessed with all things mythological – my current focus being old-style Irish faeries. I live in Adelaide (South Australia) with my long-suffering husband, delirious dog, mad cat, two chickens, and a lazy turtle.