Six weeks after the breakup, Asher made a decision.
He was going to transfer schools.
The pregnancy was starting to show—just barely, but enough that his clothes felt tight. The morning sickness was relentless. And every day at Silvercrest was another reminder of Kael's rejection.
"I think it's the right choice," Elliot said, helping Asher pack up his locker during lunch. "Fresh start. New people who don't know about... everything."
"Yeah." Asher carefully placed his textbooks in a box. "Westbrook starts accepting me next week. I'll finish out this semester from home and start there in January."
"What about the baby?"
Asher's hand moved unconsciously to his stomach. "I'll take online classes when it gets closer. My parents said they'll help with childcare so I can finish high school."
"Have you thought about... telling him?" Elliot asked carefully.
"No. And I'm not going to."
"Ash, he's the father—"
"He's nothing." Asher's voice was harder than he intended. "He made it very clear he wants nothing to do with me. I'm not going to force a baby on someone who can't even stand to look at me."
Elliot wanted to argue—Asher could see it on his face—but he didn't. Instead, he just pulled Asher into a hug.
"You're going to be an amazing parent."
"I hope so."
They finished packing just as the lunch bell rang. Asher had one more class to get through—AP Literature, which he unfortunately still shared with Kael.
Just one more hour, he told himself. Then I can go home and never see him again.
He slipped into class late, taking his usual seat in the front. Kael was in the back as always, probably scrolling through Instagram instead of paying attention.
Asher pulled out his copy of The Great Gatsby—bittersweet now, full of memories of tutoring sessions and laughter and a time when he'd been foolish enough to believe in love.
The teacher droned on about symbolism and the American Dream. Asher took notes mechanically, trying to ignore the occasional burst of laughter from the back where Kael sat with his friends.
Class ended. Asher gathered his things quickly, wanting to escape before—
"Asher, can you stay for a moment?" Mrs. Chen asked.
No. Please no.
"I have to—"
"It will just take a minute."
Asher watched as everyone filed out, including Kael, who didn't even glance his direction. When the room was empty, Mrs. Chen smiled kindly.
"I heard you're transferring to Westbrook."
"Yes, ma'am. Next week."
"I'm sorry to lose you. You're one of my best students." She paused. "Is everything alright? You've seemed... troubled lately."
"I'm fine. Just ready for a change."
Mrs. Chen didn't look convinced, but she nodded. "Well, if you ever need to talk, my door is always open. And Asher? Whatever you're going through—it gets better. I promise."
If only she knew.
"Thank you, Mrs. Chen."
Asher left the classroom, emotionally exhausted. He just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and—
He heard voices.
Familiar voices, coming from the stairwell around the corner.
Kael's voice. Jax. River.
Asher should have kept walking. Should have gone the other direction.
But something made him stop. Made him lean against the wall, just out of sight, and listen.
"—can't believe it's already been six weeks," River was saying. "Time flies when you're not thinking about your mistakes."
"Shut up," Kael muttered.
"Aw, is someone still feeling guilty?" Jax's voice was mocking. "Come on, man. You won. Fair and square. You got the nerd in bed first. We paid for Bali. It's over."
Asher's blood ran cold.
Got the nerd in bed first. We paid for Bali.
No. No, that couldn't mean—
"I said shut up about it," Kael snapped.
"Why? It's not like Quinn can hear us. He's probably off crying somewhere about how the big bad basketball star broke his heart." River laughed. "Honestly, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd actually go through with it."
"The bet was your idea," Kael said
"Yeah, but you're the one who executed it perfectly. Three months of playing the perfect boyfriend, making him fall in love with you, then sealing the deal and dumping him." Jax whistled. "Cold-blooded, man. Respect."
Asher's legs went weak. He pressed his back against the wall, his vision swimming.
A bet. It was all a bet. Every moment. Every kiss. Every word.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Kael said.
"Why not? You won! You should be celebrating!" River's voice was gleeful. "The look on his face when you dumped him in the hallway—classic. I got it on video, by the way. Want me to send it to you?"
"You recorded that?" Kael sounded horrified.
"Of course! It's comedy gold. Poor little nerd thought you actually loved him—"
"I said I don't want to talk about it!"
"Geez, touchy. You've been weird about this for weeks. It was just a game, Kael. Quinn was just a conquest. Why are you acting like you actually cared?"
Silence.
Then, so quietly Asher almost didn't hear it: "Maybe I did."
"What?"
"Nothing. Forget it."
"No, what did you just say? Did you seriously just admit you caught feelings for the nerd?"
"I said forget it."
"Oh my god, you did! You actually fell for him!" Jax's laughter was cruel. "That's hilarious. Kael Everhart, brought down by a scholarship kid with glasses. The irony is beautiful."
"Fuck off."
"Does he know? About the bet? Or did you let him think it was real the whole time?"
"He doesn't know."
"And you're just going to let him keep thinking he did something wrong? Man, that's even colder than I thought you were capable of."
"I'm handling it my way."
"Your way is being a coward," River said bluntly. "Either tell him the truth or move on. This moping around guilt-trip thing is pathetic."
"I can't tell him. It would destroy him."
"Newsflash: you already destroyed him. At least being honest would give him closure."
"Closure? What closure is there in knowing the person you loved was using you for a bet? That every moment you thought was real was actually just part of a game?"
Asher's hand flew to his mouth, suppressing a sob.
Every moment. Every single moment was a lie.
"That's his problem, not yours," Jax said dismissively. "You won the bet. You moved on. He'll get over it eventually. Everyone does."
"Will he though?" Kael's voice cracked. "Because every time I see him in the hallway, getting thinner and sadder, barely speaking to anyone—I did that. I broke him."
"Then maybe stop looking. Problem solved."
Asher couldn't listen anymore. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
He turned and ran.
Behind him, he heard Kael's voice: "Wait, did you hear something—"
But Asher was already gone, running through the hallways, past the stares and whispers, out the front doors of Silvercrest High.
He ran until his lungs burned and his legs gave out. Found himself in the park where he and Kael had shared ice cream and talked about art and futures that would never exist.
A bet. It was all a bet. They made a bet about who could sleep with me first.
And he'd believed it. He'd given Kael everything—his heart, his trust, his body, his virginity—and it had meant nothing.
It had been a conquest. A joke. A story for Kael and his friends to laugh about.
Asher's hands shook as he pulled out his phone. His vision was blurry with tears, but he managed to navigate to his call log.
The phone rang once. Twice.
"Ash? What's wrong? You sound—"
"I need you," Asher choked out. "Elliot, I need you. Please. The park near school. Please."
"I'm on my way. Stay right there."
Asher hung up and curled into himself on the bench, one hand pressed protectively over his stomach where Kael's baby was growing.
He doesn't deserve to know, Asher thought through his tears. He doesn't deserve anything from me. Not after this.
A baby conceived during a bet. A child created out of lies and manipulation.
But still his child. Still precious.
Still loved.
Even if its other parent had never loved Asher at all.
Elliot found him twenty minutes later, still crying on the bench.
"Oh, Ash." Elliot pulled him into a fierce hug. "What happened?"
Through broken sobs, Asher told him everything. About overhearing the conversation. About the bet. About how it had all been a game from the very beginning.
"I'm going to kill him," Elliot said, his voice shaking with rage. "I'm actually going to kill him. All of them."
"Don't. They're not worth it."
"You're worth it. You're worth burning their entire world down."
"I just want to disappear. I want to transfer schools and never see any of them again and pretend this never happened."
"What about the baby? What about—"
"He doesn't get to know." Asher's voice was hard, final. "Not now. Not ever. He made me part of a bet. He used me. He destroyed me. He doesn't get to be a father."
"Ash, I understand you're hurt, but—"
"No buts. Promise me, El. Promise me you won't tell him. No one can know. Not him, not anyone at this school."
Elliot looked conflicted, but finally nodded. "Okay. I promise. Your secret is safe with me."
They sat together on the bench as the sun set, Asher crying out weeks of pain and betrayal while Elliot held him.
Across town, Kael was in his car, his hands shaking on the steering wheel.
He'd heard something in the hallway. A gasp. The sound of running footsteps.
Someone was listening.
Please, god, don't let it have been Asher.
But deep down, Kael knew.
Of course it was Asher.
Kael pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling as he typed.
KAEL: Asher, if you're reading this, please
KAEL: Let me explain
KAEL: It's not what you think
But even as he sent the messages, he knew the truth.
It was exactly what Asher thought.
And there was no explaining away that kind of betrayal.
The messages showed as delivered but not read.
Then, one by one, they failed to deliver at all.
Asher had blocked him.
Again.
This time, Kael knew, it was forever.
He'd lost him.
And he had no one to blame but himself.
Author's Note: THE TRUTH IS OUT. Asher knows everything and it's even worse than he imagined. The way he found out—overhearing them LAUGHING about it—is so much more devastating than a confession would have been. And he's pregnant with the baby of someone who used him as a bet. My heart is SHATTERED. 💔 Next chapter.Comment your feelings!
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