Reggie was the new kid at Northridge High. Something he always hated. But he had three seriously amazing friends that already went here, and he wouldn’t trade Julie, Alex, and Flynn for anything. His family had always been close with each of theirs, even during the time he was sent to a private school. He knew they had his back, just like he always had theirs. They knew everything about each other. Unfortunately, that also meant that they knew about the rapidly developing crush he had on the captain of school’s lacrosse team.
Nick was popular, not that he did much to be popular. He was good at projecting a fake confidence. He only had a few close friends. Luke, Carrie, and Willie were his island in a sea of other students. People always wanted to be friends with him cause he was the star of the school team, but he was too humble to think of it like that, always calling it a team effort. There was only one group that didn’t try to be his friend, which is what sparked his interest in the crush he had. The group came to every game, and he hoped it wasn’t only because two of them were on the cheer squad. His friends were the only ones that knew about his crush, cause they were the only ones that knew his secret. The secret was why he and Carrie had dated so long when they both knew they didn’t like each other romantically, and it was why Carrie was harsh to people outside of their group. It wasn’t so much a secret really, but the girls around that vied for his attention didn’t care. Nick was gay, and a certain dark haired new kid was the only person he had his eye on.
Nick was sitting in the school’s courtyard with Luke and Willie when Carrie joined them. “What are we talking about, guys?” She grinned as she sat beside them.
“Luke thinks he has game.” Willie laughed.
“Oh, honey, no.” Carrie grimaced, “You know we love you, Luke, but no.”
“I am not that bad!” Luke protested. “I can get a date!”
“A date? Maybe.” Nick countered. “But when it comes to someone you actually like, you have no game.”
“I bet I could.” As soon as Luke said it, he knew it was a bad move. He saw the fire that was lit in Carrie’s eyes. She never turned down a challenge.
“Okay.” She gave a sly smile, “How about a friendly wager?”
Nick grew concerned as well. “What are the terms?”
“Whoever can get a kiss from their crush first wins.” She glanced over to where they sat together under a tree on the other side of the courtyard, “But there will be rules.”
“But of course.” Willie said in a sarcastic scandalous voice. Carrie glared at him half heartedly.
“Come on, I’m betting twenty bucks.” She threw the money on the table.
“Yeah, fine.” Willie agreed, adding his own twenty.
“Why are we doing this?” Nick asked as he added to the pile.
“Who’s gonna hold the money?” Luke asked as he threw his on top.
“Carrie.” Willie and Nick answered together.
“Fair.” Luke answered the echo. “What are the rules?”
Carrie looked thoughtful. “You can flirt all you want, but you can’t kiss them first. You cannot ask them out. You cannot mention the bet. And you cannot sabotage each other. At least not on purpose. They’re all friends so it may end up happening, but we can go out of your way to screw up someone else’s chance. No interference allowed.”
“I’m assuming a kiss on the cheek won’t work?” Willie asked with a grin.
“Nope.” Carried answered, popping the p.
Nick looked at Luke, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”
Luke and Nick definitely did not think this bet through. Sure, they had crushes on Julie and Reggie respectively, but they didn’t even feel close to their league. Julie was from a family with a hardworking single father, who brought life and joy to everyone she could. Reggie was from a pretty well off family, like Carrie’s, but he was a down to earth guy that just wanted to make people happy and make music. Julie and Reggie had been friends for years, like Nick and his friends. But they watched each other’s backs like we’re waiting for something to attack. Still, these boys couldn’t deny that the more they learned about them, the more they liked them. Luke and Nick had English class with Julie and Reggie, and when class let out, Nick gathered up all his fake confidence and took a chance. He slid up to Reggie just after the stepped out of the classroom door.
“Hey, cutie.” He grinned. Julie was about to retort before she noticed he was looking at Reggie. Reggie blushed, looking over at Julie, who just smiled and stepped over to her locker. Reggie mentally cursed her, but then immediately felt guilty because she knew this could his chance to talk to his crush. “What’s a beautiful guy like you doing all alone?”
“I-uh-moved. Pennsylvania.”
“So they hide the cute ones in Pennsylvania now? That’s a deep shame. But I’m glad you made your way here.” Reggie’s brain wasn’t working. Nick had called him attractive too many times now. But something in his mind was bothered, he’s seen Nick do a lot of things since he started at this school. He’s seen Nick act a lot of ways, goofy with his friends, brave when he got injured on the field, smart in class, but he’d never seen him act like this. “I gotta get to my next class.” Nick said suddenly, “But I hope to see you around more.” Reggie was still blushing when he felt a weight drop onto his shoulders over his flannel. As he looked, he caught sight of the colors of Nick’s letterman jacket. “Just to send a message to the others.” Nick winked before turning on his heel and walking down the hall. Reggie was still processing the encounter when he heard Julie talking to someone.
“What? You think just because you have nice arms and a perfect smile, I’m just gonna fall for you? You’re gonna have to try harder than that.” He turned to see Luke Patterson, the guy Julie’s been fawning over since he first performed in their music class. And she was turning him down? Reggie was sure he entered a parallel universe.
Nick’s heart rate hadn’t slowed down by the time he slumped into his seat in his next class. One he shared with Willie and Carrie. They appeared in the seats beside him with big grins on their faces. Carrie spoke first. “Nice moves with the jacket, Carlson. Though poor Reginald looked close to having a stroke.”
“He hates being called Reginald.” Nick responded before he could think. He felt his cheeks heat up more than they already were after actually talking to Reggie. “So, what did you guys do?”
Willie shrugged, “I’m waiting for a bit. They’ll think this a complete game if we all approach them at the same time.” Nick nodded at that. Because yeah, it was a bet. But they really did like them. He turned to Carrie who gave the same answer. But she smirked and added one thing.
“This bet is just a way to get you moving. Luke would’ve done something eventually, but we had to light a fire under you.”
Sometimes Nick really hated his friends.