It Started with a Bet... (Watty Awards 2011)

"You know there's a rule against dating your friend's ex, right?"

37: "You know there's a rule against dating your friend's ex, right?"

"Woah, the group's grown a bit," Spike says in surprise when we all meet at the theater. I decide not to remind him of his "I invited the guys but they didn't want to come" lie.

"Well, Janice was bringing Steve so I couldn't exactly come by myself," I explain.

"It's not like a group date or anything," Janice says, rolling her eyes. There's a chorus of "well, yeah, I mean, duh"s as everyone tries to avoid the term date.

“All right, I'll go get the tickets," Spike says. Janice and I hand him money, but no one else does.

"I hit Trevor's TV, so I have to buy his ticket," I explain to Spike when he looks at Trevor in surprise.

"And I'm buying Steve's ticket," Janice says loudly. Steve shifts uncomfortably. We all pretend to ignore it. Trevor and Spike exchange confused glances and I realize that they don't know who Steve is.

"Um, Steve, this is Spike and Trevor, they're our friends. Guys, this is Steve, he's Janice's friend," I say, sharing a glance with Clarice.

"Butler, actually," Janice says, slipping her arm through Steve's. He doesn't look happy.

"Why don’t you go buy those tickets," I say, pushing Clarice and Spike towards the booth. “We’ll go get popcorn and stuff.” I drag Trevor towards the popcorn stand, leaving Janice and Steve to glare at one another in peace.

As we slide into the theater, I grab Janice and Trevor's arms. Spike and Clarice have already sat down. Janice rolls her eyes.

"Again?" she asks.

I nod. We did the same thing last time Spike took me, Janice, and Clarice to the movies. We sit a row behind them and a bit to the side.

"You're setting them up?" Trevor asks in amusement. He tousles my hair. "You're such a girl." I stick my tongue out at him. "I wonder what Matt'll say," he muses.

"He won't mind too much, will he?" I ask, worried.

"You know there's a rule against dating your friend's ex, right?"

I gape at him then turn to Janice.

"For reals?"

She shrugs.

"I don't know. I'm not one to play by the rules anyway."

Steve mutters something under his breath and she whips around to glare at him.

"What did you just call me?"

"A slut," he says evenly. Her face turns red and she stands up. She flips him off, scoots past me and Trevor and leaves. Steve sits in silence for a moment, then rubs his hands over his face in frustration.

"God dammit!" His accent would make it funny if it weren't for the look of self-disgust on his face. "Enjoy the movie, mates." He pushes past us and all but runs out of the theater. Trevor puts his arm around me, and I realize that we're pretty much alone.

"So why did she bring her butler along?" Trevor asks.

"Clarice thinks they both have a thing for one another."

Trevor laughs.

"Sure looks like it," he says sarcastically. I frown thoughtfully.

"Well, if you had seen the way he took care of her when she was drunk, you'd probably agree."

Trevor looks at me.

"Oh?"

I sigh and lean back against his arm.

"They're just a messed up almost-couple, I guess."

"There seems to be too many of those lately,” he notes. I look down at Clarice and Spike.

"Yeah."

Trevor follows my gaze and swallows hard.

"I wasn't talking about them." He begins slowly. If this were a proper sappy 'Whispers in the Snow' type movie, he would say he was talking about us. And that's the last thing I want hear right now.

"Oh, crap!" I say suddenly, in order to cut him off.

"What?" Trevor asks.

"Who picked the movie?" He shrugs.

"We all paid Spike and he got all the tickets. He still has them, I think." I lean over and poke Spike.

"Spike, what are we watching?" He shrugs.

"You picked the movie last time, so this time it's Clarice's turn. She said it would be a surprise." Clarice smiles innocently and hands me a ticket.

Confessions in the Wind.

"NOOOOOOOO!" I yell, loud enough for the entire theater to hear. Thankfully it's only the previews. I grab Trevor by the arm. "Let's go, big guy." He looks at me quizzically.

"Which movie is it?" He asks in amusement.

"Some romantic tragedy involving a cowboy and tuberculosis." Trevor's face pales visibly.

"Let's go." He grabs my hand, waves to a confused Spike, and we all but run out of there.

"So now what?" I ask. Trevor's still holding my hand and when I try to tug away, he holds it tighter.

"Well, the plan was dinner and a movie, so..." he scratches the back of his neck. I feel my heart pound at the idea of a real date with Trevor. But then Trina's excited face when I was going out with Nick for the first time pops into my head and I feel sick. I pull away from Trevor quickly.

"Let's go home," I say quietly.

"You're doing it again," he says in thinly veiled frustration.

I look up at him, confused. “Doing what?”

"Every time you’re about to have a little fun you get this guilty look on your face and freeze up. What are you feeling so guilty about? What happened with Trina was not your fault.”

"It's not that," I say slowly. "I just don't find these kinds of things fun." He looks at me.

"Liar."

And it’s weird because I’ve never seen it like that. I’ve never thought of it that way. And yet when Trevor says it’s because of Trina, when he says I’m doing it to myself, it feels like he’s telling the truth. My brain suddenly agrees with him. But how could he know that? How does he know I’m feeling guilty when I don’t even know it myself? And why? The thoughts bombard me like a stoning and I find myself sitting on the floor.

"I don't know!" I say finally. "I don't know why I feel so guilty. Maybe because everyone else is having so much fun?" But there's something else, too. I can feel it in my gut but I can't for the life of me put my finger on it.

"Don't worry about it," he says, pulling me up. He's unusually calm about this. Most guys would be scared I'd start to cry. Then again, he knows I don't cry. "Let's go home," he says with a reassuring smile. He tosses me the keys. "You want to drive?" He knows I love driving his car. I find it a great stress reliever.

"Thanks."

***
"Haley, honey?"

I'm sitting watching the second season of My Wife and Kids. Mom comes and sits next to me. Dad, who is sitting in the easy chair and chuckling with me, pauses the DVD.

"You've been talking to Trevor, haven't you?" I ask. I can tell by her face that she’s worried. She nods and takes one of my hands.

"Haley, I have to tell you something." She looks down. Dad shuts off the TV and moves to sit next to her. "Trevor almost had an older brother." I look at her.

"It was a miscarriage. Died at birth. The umbilical cord wrapped around its neck and..." she trails off. Dad rubs her arm.

"I know what it feels like. Why was it them? Why didn't God just take you instead? Why-" her voice cracks a little. Dad holds her close. Now I know why she seemed to understand me that day.

"The thing is, though, Haley," she continues, wiping her misty eyes. "Is that you're alive. You have to keep living. It's not your fault. Your friend would want you to be happy. Just because you don't think about them all the time doesn't mean you forgot them. Those who you love will live with you forever, but you can't live like you want to die with them." She squeezes my hand. "Okay?" Something nags at me, but I still feel better. I lean forward to give her a hug, then turn to Dad.

"Thanks, guys."

As I hug Dad I see Trevor standing there, watching us. I stand in front of him awkwardly.

"Thank you,” I mutter. He opens his arms.

"What? No hug for me?" I lean forward and hug him tentatively.

"You're welcome," he says with a smile.

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Unfortunately, we didn't get enough votes for two chapters. :( But that's okay! We still have next time, right? So let's try this again. 150 by tomorrow and I'll post tomorrow. Sound good? Don't leave the voting to someone else! As this past attempt shows, they won't do it.

Also, take a look at the new book cover I got! Shoutout to ILOVEYOU4EVA for making it for me :)