The Virginity Bet [#Wattys 2015]

Chapter 16

"Where are you taking me?" Charlie asked as he pulled her arm gently through the empty hallway. She wiped her eyes off once again.

"Well first the bathroom, so you can clean up, and then I'm taking you somewhere special." He smiled.

She gaped, "Is that code for a secluded area where you may or may not turn out to be an axe murderer that's just looking for a quiet place to kill your newest victim." She half-joked, sincerely a bit scared, considering she didn't know who this boy was.

He chuckled, "I promise I'm not an axe murderer, Charlie."

She snatched her hand back, crossing her arms over her chest and she huffed. But she continued to follow him. "How can I be sure? I don't even know your name!" She pouted.

He rolled his eyes, "Oliver."

She smiled, "I actually like your name, a lot." It's  like an olive..."

"Yeah. I'd say the same, but you have a dudes name." He said, winking.

She smacked his arm, "Says the guy whose named after an olive."

"Whatever." He grinned, looking back at her. He suddenly stopped striding, and Charlie faceplanted into his back. She stumbled back, and fell on her butt. He looked concerned for a second, then he burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach with one hand, and smacking his leg with the other.

She glared at him, "I'm glad you find my pain so amusing, you jerk!"

He laughed for a long time. She got up and straightened her skirt, a glare still on her face. She saw the reason he had stopped was because there was a bathroom in front of the two, and she started to walk in. "You better not follow me in, perv." She muttered, walking in.

Charlie took a good look at herself in the bathroom mirror and saw that her face indeed looked like crap. She got a few paper towels, wet them, and cleaned off her face. Once the makeup was fully removed, Charlie felt too tired and exhausted from the day's events to re-apply the makeup, so she simply decided one day without it wouldn't hurt her.

Oliver was waiting for her when she got out. He nodded in her direction, telling her to follow. She was glad he had gotten his laughs out, when they walked out of the school through a back exit. She groaned, "You really are going to murder me, aren't you?!"

He looked back at her, finally taking in her appearance. He observed that she looked even better without makeup. He didn't know why she wore it.

He couldn't help himself when he said, "You know, you're actually really beautiful."

She stopped in her tracks, staring at him. He mentally hit himself. He thought, she probably had guys falling all over her every day, and was annoyed that he was just doing the same thing again.

He quickly added to cover up for slip-up, "When you haven't been looking like shit crying and your make-up isn't smearing all over your face."

She glared, "Gee, thanks, Olive."

He glared back at her, "Don't call me that!"

She smirked, "Why shouldn't I?"

He wanted so badly to get close to her. To kiss her. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "You may be cute sometimes, but we both know I'm totally cute all the time, and I don't look like an olive, so cut that out." He pulled away, enjoying the appearance of her flushed cheeks.

She smirked once again, "Calling me beautiful and cute, Olive? Are you trying to flirt with me?! Because you do know... I have a boyfriend, right?" She winked.

He stuck his tongue out at her, "No! I was just explaining why you shouldn't call me olive. You're so evil, twisting my words around."

She grumbled, "Yeah well I still think you look like an olive."

He glared at her, and she matched the glare back. After a minute, both of them laughed, shaking their heads.

"You definitely bring out the best in me, Harper!"

She smirked, "Stop flirting with me, Olive! Geez. I think I need to get my boyfriend to kick your ass."

He rolled his eyes and stopped at a clearing behind the school.

Charlie looked around, "What are we doing here?"

He smiled and grabbed her hand. He tugged on it lightly and pulled her through a small forest. Once he spotted a familiar log, he walked over to it. There were two big canopy trees surrounding a thin log, planted in the ground.

He let go of Charlie's hat and sat on the log, with his foot facing one tree and his head facing the other. She sat across from him, doing the same. They sat there in silence for a few minutes and Charlie looked up at the shades of orange and red circling around the clouds in the sky, "This place is beautiful. How'd you ever find it?"

Oliver looked down with a pained look on his face. A pang stabbed at his heart.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" Charlie asked innocently.

Oliver stared into her green eyes, still swollen from crying. Then he stared at her soft, pinkish lips. Then, although he wouldn't admit it, he snuck a glance at her boobs. It's not like they were huge or anything. They were a nice size.

He quickly looked back up at her eyes, afraid that she might have seen him looking at her breasts, but she was just looking up at the sky again. A look of sadness washed over her. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt the urge to tell her about the dumb bet the guys had. As he was about to open his mouth, she looked down at him, and stopped him in his tracks. He realized how much it would crush her. He realized that it was best if she didn't know. If she did, who knew how she would react...

"No." He said. "You didn't say anything wrong."

She smiled, but it never reached her eyes. "Thanks for bringing me here, Oliver."

He looked up at the colorful sky, "My old girlfriend... she showed me this place."

Charlie stared at him. She was surprised he would be talking about another girl. If any other guy in school had brought her here, they would be flirting their butts off and not actually being real. Is this guy opening up to me? She thought. She barely even knew him.

"Did you guys break up?" She asked. When he didn't answer right away, she added, "You don't have to tell me anything, we just met, I know-"

He cut her off, "She died. A few years ago."

Charlie's jaw dropped slightly. "I'm sorry..." She whispered.

He looked back at her, noticing her genuine expression of concern. He smiled, "It's alright."

"How are you?" She asked softly, playing with the hem of her shirt, afraid to look him in the eyes, afraid that he might see right through Charlie. Right past the disguise she puts up.

"I'm good. But the question is... how are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She lied, evenly looking at him in the eye. She was so used to this lie that it easily slipped out of her mouth. She was used to telling people she was okay when she wasn't. She had been doing it for 3 years, after all. In fact, she was so used to living the lie, she started to believe it for a while.

"But you're not fine, Charlie. Anyone with half a brain can see that."

"And how would you know, Oliver?"

He stared deeper into her eyes. So deep that he got lost in them for a while. When he snapped back into reality, he realized she was still looking at him. And he answered, "Because I used to be just like you, Charlie."