Nick let out a silent thanks when none of his friends made a comment about the bet when Reggie pulled away. He didn’t think they would do it in front of Reggie, but he was still thankful. But that doesn’t mean Luke let the moment go unnoticed. “Yeah, Nicky, get it!” Nick pulled back enough to swing at Luke, who just laughed and ran toward the front doors as the principal unlocked them. Nick heaved a sigh.
“I’m sorry about him.” Nick muttered to Reggie, taking his hand again.
“It’s okay.” Reggie grinned, but it fell after a second, “I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to do that in front of them.”
“What?” Nick said quickly, turning to look into Reggie’s face as their friends headed into the building. “No, no, Reg, it’s okay. I’m glad you did it.”
“Yeah?” Reggie brightened.
“Yeah.” Nick confirmed. “Mind if I kiss you again before we head to class?” He ducked his head, like Reggie would reject him this time. Reggie chuckled, nudging Nick’s chin to get him to look up. When he did, Reggie leaned into the shorter boy, kissing him soundly as their classmates stopped to stare. As Reggie pulled away, he cleared his throat.
“Uh, I hope you weren’t in the closet.”
Nick shook his head, “I wasn’t out, but I wasn’t keeping it a secret. You?”
Reggie suppressed a laugh, “I’ve been out as bi since before I got sent to private school.” Reggie squeezed Nick’s hand, pulling him toward the doors. Nick felt like today would be a really good day.
That day, as it turned out, was very bad.
Nick came out of his last class before lunch, Carrie fell into step beside him, as she usually did. But this time, she held out the money they had bet a week ago. “As promised, Nick. I really thought it would take you longer.” He pulled at the sleeves to his shirt, missing the warmth of Reggie’s jacket that was sitting in his locker.
“That wasn’t even the first kiss.” Nick told her. He didn’t want to tell her, but it slipped out.
“Well, you won the bet. You got the first kiss.” Carrie grinned, putting the money in Nick’s pocket.
“Bet?” They heard behind them and Nick felt his heart shatter. He turned slowly, praying he was wrong, but he was greeted with a devastated expression on Reggie’s face. “I was a bet?”
“Reg, it’s not-“
“What? It’s not what I think? Are you seriously about to say that?” Reggie’s voice didn’t even sound angry. He just sounded hurt, and that was worse. Nick never wanted to hurt him. “When did you make the bet?”
“Reg-“
“No, please, just tell me. When did you make the bet?”
“The day I gave you my jacket.” Nick’s voice cracked. He didn’t like this one bit. One of the things he’s learned about Reggie in the last week was that he didn’t take it well if you broke his trust.
“The day-“ Reggie’s voice broke, and as the students stopped to stare at what was happening, Nick saw Julie and Flynn speeding over. “Great. Just great.” Reggie turned and walked away, his head hanging.
“Reggie, please-“ Nick started to follow, but Flynn stopped him.
“I think you and your friends have done enough.” She snapped, turning and running after her friends.
“Nick, I am- I am so sorry.” Carrie whispered.
“It doesn’t matter.” Nick answered, stalking off the other direction. Carrie followed, of course she did. She just broke her best friend’s heart. She texted Willie and Luke on the way, alerting them of an emergency meeting.
As she suspected, Nick walked to the bleachers next to the lacrosse field, where he usually went to clear his head. He didn’t flinch at the biting wind even though he only had a thin sleeved shirt on. Carrie was pissed at herself. She only made the bet so Nick would make a move, and she ended up causing him pain. “It’ll-it’ll be okay.” Carrie tried, “He’ll talk to you again eventually.” A thought struck Carrie, she would admit it wasn’t a good one, but she had the thought all the same. Sticking her hands into her pockets, she turned to face Nick. “When did you realize you liked him?”
”What?” Nick asked weakly.
”Just, humor me. Please. Tell me.” Nick barely lifted his head, taking in Carrie’s pleading look.
Nick sighed. “When I was twelve.”
”Twelve?” Carrie’s eyes widened.
”Yeah. He used to go here, you know. Before he was sent to private school. I didn’t realize it was the same kid at first. But yeah, when I was twelve. How could I not? Especially when he came back?” Nick smiled sadly, “Reggie is absolutely amazing. He’s open and genuine and funny. He’s shy but he’s passionate and it’s amazing. His smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And I know what my parents would say if they heard me. They would tell me that we’re only seventeen, so why am I getting so stuck on a boy I’ll probably never see again after graduation. But I can’t help it. Even before I actually talked to him, if I pictured the future, I saw Reggie’s face in it.” Nick didn’t realize he was crying until the tears dropped to his hands. “I’m falling in love with him, Carrie. And now I’ve ruined it.”
”What? No, Nick. You didn’t ruin anything.” Carrie sniffled back her own tears. “This is all my fault. I made that bet just to get you to do something about your crush. I never meant for you to get hurt, or for anyone to get hurt.”
”Yeah, I bet Flynn won’t be too happy with you now.” Nick attempted at a bad joke, but it just made them both hurt more. Luke and Willie ran up, asking what happened. Carrie filled them in, and they all wrapped their arms around Nick. Sure, the bet hurt all of them. But Nick was the only one that actually made any progress, and he’d have the most work to fix it. If it could even be fixed.