"Here he is, the man of the hour!" Louis raises a hand as Hardin's car pulls into the parking lot. 

Hardin gets out of his car and looks at his friends with a sheepish smile. 

"Have you finally done it?" Louis asks him immediately. "I know that look, that's someone who has had a good fuck!"

"Finally!" interjects Jace. "Took you fucking long enough!"

Molly scowls, "How can it have been good? She would have no idea what she's doing," she huffs. 

Hardin's eyes narrow as he looks at Molly. "Shut the fuck up!" he replies harshly. 

Zayn looks angry. "Well I don't believe you. I am not giving you five hundred dollars without proof!" 

Hardin reaches into his pocket and pulls out a condom, the packet open. 

"Do NOT get that out, the last thing I want to see is your cum," Louis says quickly, backing off a little. 

Jace laughs. "That's not proof! That could be from any chick, fuck it could even just be you by yourself."

Hardin scowls at him and flips him off. "Well I don't see how else I can prove it. I already told you, no more videos," he snaps.  

He didn't want to be here, didn't want to be telling them any of this. He just wanted the bet to be over and everyone to shut the fuck up about it. It was taking a lot of control to keep his temper but he was trying really hard, for her. She always looked so pissed and disappointed when he got in fights. Although watching her care for him afterwards wasn't the worst. 

"So?! Fill us in, what happened?" Jace demands. 

Hardin was trying to keep what happened to himself as much as he could. "What is there to tell? I went over to her dorm yesterday and we got it on." 

"You're kidding right? That's all? What about the details? Was she ti-"

"Fuck off man!" Hardin snarled aggressively

There was no way he was going to admit to them how much it had meant to him. She was completely different to any girl he had ever met and far from scratching the itch and getting it out of his system, sleeping with her had made it worse. He couldn't stop thinking about her, her face, her body, the way she laughed, the way she had moved beneath him. He had it bad, he knew it and just didn't want to admit it. 

He started to walk away from them round the car, wanting to get a clean shirt out of the trunk. It was really an excuse to turn away and take some deep, steadying breaths before he completely lost it. He just needed to get this over with. He was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice Jace walking just behind him. As he popped the trunk Jace caught sight of the white bundle and made a grab for it before Hardin could stop him. 

He darted away from Hardin. "What is this?!" he called over. He grabbed a corner and shook, revealing a bed sheet with a bloody stain in the middle. All of them stared open-mouthed at the sheet that Jace was holding. Hardin froze, halfway through changing his shirt. His mind went blank, he had no idea what to say or how to fix this. 

"Is this what I think it is?! You've been holding out on us you prick! Fuck me, the actual virgin sheets!" he shouted. "Well that's proof alright! And here was me thinking that you were turning into a pussy!" He gave Hardin a celebratory slap on the back. 

Hardin had never actually intended to show them something that private. He had honestly meant to toss them and had just forgotten. And now everyone had seen them. How the fuck was he going to keep this from getting back to Tessa? Just when he thought he was free of this stupid, fucking bet. He wished for the hundredth time that he had never suggested it. 

"Well, a bet is a bet. Pay the man!" Jace looked round at the others and smirked at Zayn who was looking seriously pissed off. 

They each took their phones out, transferring money to Hardin's account. Hardin couldn't watch, what the hell was he going to do with the money? He just had to get out of here, saving face as much as possible. He grabbed the sheet back off Jace and stuffed it back into the trunk, locking it to make sure no-one else could take it. 

"Later," he said and jumped into the driver's seat, gunning the engine before anyone could argue or ask where he was going. 

He sped out of the parking lot in a shower of gravel and headed for the freeway. He just needed to drive and clear his head. Thank fuck it was over. But what if she found out? Hardin knew that Tessa would hate him and he understood why. But what his friends didn't know was that he actually loved her. Really loved her. He would just have to show her. Maybe that's what he should spend the money on, something for her. A big gesture, one that would show her how he felt. He started imagining her being his girlfriend and how amazing it would be for it to be just them. And then he had it, he knew what to do. 

They would move in together. He would use the money for a deposit on an apartment. He would make sure they both signed the lease. She couldn't leave him, she would have to stay. When the time was right he would tell her about the bet but it wouldn't matter anymore because she would see how much he loved her. It would get her away from that bitch Steph as well, an added bonus. He was terrified that she would open her big mouth any day now. He would just have to make sure that none of them told her. His conscience needled him for his manipulative behaviour but he ignored it. It was going to be fine, he had a plan.