dedicated to inkblack for allowing me to send her loads of hysterical messages about plots that constantly change and offering me the moral support and sanity i cannot find on my own 💕

The founders of the breakup game were an odd pair, drawn together under circumstances that would have repelled anyone else. It all started with Hugo Reed, a self-proclaimed womanizer and also a regular acquaintance of Declan.

When Hugo tricked Florence Eastaughffe, the new girl, into believing he was both single and completely enthralled by her, he expected her to keep silent when she eventually discovered that he had a girlfriend. Especially when that girlfriend happened to be the intimidating head cheerleader, Kelsey Webster.

But, Florence had not kept quiet. In fact, in all her bravery, she confronted Kelsey and told her everything. And instead of biting her head off, Kelsey had directed all of her rage towards Hugo. The two girls became a force to be reckoned with.

And then, at a party shortly after their alliance, when all of their relationship-hating rage was at its peak, they started it all. With Kelsey's popularity and Florence's attention from being the new girl, everyone got involved.

Who knew it would have carried into senior year.

Willa navigated her way to her locker on Tuesday morning through the sea of chatting students. Her mind was so busy circulating around the terrifying idea of seeing Ashton, her supposed boyfriend, that she almost jumped out of her skin when she was Florence waiting for her, her head turned to the grey metal door.

And as she grew closer, she noticed it wasn't the door she was looking at. It was the red-coloured paper stuck to it.

In the past, she might have expected something like this from Declan, a red envelope containing a Valentine's Day card, or a single rose poking from the ventilation holes on their anniversary. But she knew he wouldn't have dared, not anymore.

Willa decided to address Florence first, her fair brows pulled in a frown as she did her best to ignore the object screaming her name. "Um, hey, Flo."

The tall girl smiled in her direction. "Hi, Willa. Looks like your boyfriend's a keeper. This is just so sweet."

Willa's jaw fell agape, and she was sure her face paled as she identified it as a maroon coloured love heart, held in place by a golden ribbon.

"I actually have to get to class, but I wanted to talk to you first."

Willa, still not recovered, turned back to see Flo's dark eyes searching her face in amusement. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"It's about the Game," she said, as if that was enough to convey whatever she was about to say. "It's obviously still on. We checked Ashton out, and his brother's right. He's still in it. It was our slip up."

"Great," Willa replied, her voice distant.

"I mean, you clearly already have a plan..." Flo said, her eyes drifting to the heart once more, "But we're going to revise some new rules. I mean, we didn't anticipate this situation."

Willa gulped, and then gave a tight smile. "What if we're doing this out of love?"

Flo looked her up and down and smirked. Her dark skin contrasted the fuchsia tone on her lips, and Willa wondered if she'd purposely matched the pink shade to the color of her uniform-violating pumps. "You're not. But a relationship's a relationship, I guess."

And with a shrug and a small wave, Florence walked away, leaving Willa with the paranoia that she'd made this all a lot harder on herself than it could have been if she'd just quietly admitted defeat.

Before anyone else could gawk at her locker, Willa pulled the heart down, turning it over to reveal a lighter colored back which had been scrawled upon with black ink.

Usually I give a girl my number before I become her boyfriend. But hey, I can't give you any excuse for being a crappy boyfriend. I guess we're going in reverse.

Her heart stilled a little. She pulled out her phone and saved the number written at the bottom under Ashton, tucking the ends of her blonde hair behind her ears self-consciously, as if he were somehow looking. She had no idea where he was, but it felt as if someone was watching her, and not just another spectator in The Breakup Game.

And, like usual, Willa's gut feeling was proven right when she noticed Declan's tall figure in her peripheral vision, amber hair brushed haphazardly from his face from the wind. She didn't turn any further. Instead, she tried to let her flustered red cheeks pass for a girlishly love-struck flush and opened her locker to fish out her chemistry textbook.

By her morning free period, the only one she didn't share with Aubrey and her other friends, Willa began to feel paranoid that Declan would realize that the date wasn't actually happening. The latest addition to her contacts was burning a hole through the pocket of her plaid school skirt.

So she sent a text.

Hi, it's Willa. Um, maybe we should meet up and discuss things.

Willa was sure that she didn't release her breath until her phone buzzed twice against the wooden library table barely half a minute later.

Hey. I mean, I expected at least a few kisses, but whatever. I can deal. How's now?

She frowned, ignoring the heat arising to the surface of her skin. She had an odd period because she'd taken English in the summer in order to take on an extra science class this year. She didn't know any other seniors with the same free space on their timetable.

Sure. Where are you?

The quad. On the stairs leading up to the assembly hall.

Willa packed up the books she'd just spread around her. The library, though devoid of people in her year, was still busy with juniors, and she didn't miss the way their heads turned when she rose from her seat, her clambering hands dropping her pens everywhere in her haste.

For some reason, meeting with Ashton Hartford, her newly appointed boyfriend, had her terrified. She didn't know where the confident Willa who'd guided her through yesterday had disappeared to, but she willed her to return, to at least give her insides a barrier to hide behind, so she could keep her feelings to herself.

Outside, above the patch of lawn separating the four main buildings of Richmond Prep, the sky was a murky grey, heavy with moisture as if it were about to unleash its wrath. She eyed it warily, aware that all it would take was one drop of rain and her neatly styled hair would transform into a bird's nest-like mess of curls.

Beneath the grand assembly hall, leaning against a black backpack and balancing a laptop on his lap, was Ashton Hartford, lopsided smile ready when he noticed Willa approaching.

"Hey, babe."

She almost spat out her lungs as her breath caught painfully in her throat. He found this incredibly amusing, his smile only furthering. In return, she glared, climbing up so she was two stairs above him and dropping her bag to her feet.

"If we're going to do this, we need to do this seriously," she said, her voice firm and her expression guarded. She did not want him to know how painful it was to think about Declan, or for him to realise that her need for him stemmed much deeper than her desire to win the game. She wanted him for revenge too.

"By all means," he said, his dark eyes studying her carefully, in a way that taunted her. It made her feel small.

"I'd like it if we could hang out after school today," she continued, hoping that if she kept her tone confident then he wouldn't take her request too intimately.

He raised his eyebrows, his arrogant smile turning a little more genuine. "It's nice to know that you're interested in my time. I'll consider."

Her mouth fell agape. "You'll consider?"

He shrugged, and his attention returned to his laptop.

Willa shook the scowl from her face, manipulating her features into a sweet smile instead. "You wouldn't want to neglect your girlfriend. I mean, putting her second might make her feel lonely. That would be a good excuse to dump someone, don't you think?"

His eyes slowly found their way back to hers, their warmth making pressure pool in her chest. "So you're going to play it like this, huh?"

Her expression didn't falter.

A glimmer shone in his eyes, and he scraped his teeth against his lower lip, as if biting back a chuckle. "Fine. It's like that, then. We'll hang out after school. I'll take you on a date, as if you're my real girlfriend."

"I am your real girlfriend."

"Right," he said, amused. The boy always seemed to be amused, always nonchalant. Willa wondered why he was skipping class, and why he was doing it in the open area of the quad, beneath a sky that dared to rain at any minute.

"You have a car, right?" she asked, glad that being a stair above made her look down upon him. He shrugged. "Great. I'll meet you in the parking lot at three-thirty."

By three-thirty, the sky had decided it had had enough of the bustling drama of Richmond Prep, and had begun bucketing down its contents onto the students. This not only made Willa's hair erupt into a golden cloud of frizz, but also made it exceptionally hard to catch Declan's attention as she paced in the general vicinity of his Jeep.

She didn't know what car Ashton drove, or where he'd parked, but what she needed was to make sure that Declan saw her before she went off on whatever horrific date would ensue. She wanted him to at least care enough to be hurt by seeing her with someone else, just like she'd been hurt when he did the same.

When he did round the corner, he was with a small pack of football friends, and he didn't spare one glance to where Willa stood in the rain. It was like he never called her last night at all. His attention didn't even catch hers for a beat.

She knew he must have seen her though. She was clearly in his view, and the group of students murmuring around her as they made their way to their cars made it clear she was a spectacle.

Her brows were furrowed in frustration when Ashton's figure appeared in the crowd flooding towards the cars. He was a little shorter than Declan, by maybe an inch, and his features were much darker. And though he too stood with a small circle of friends, they split off after he acknowledged her with a nod, changing his pace to walk in her direction.

"Hey, honey," he said casually as he approached, pulling a set of keys from the pocket of his pants. Like some of the other students, Willa included, he'd loosened his tie and undid the top button in correspondence with the final bell.

She didn't respond to the honey comment, aware of the sarcasm dripping from his tone as he hit a button on his keys, a jet black sedan's headlights flashing in the front row.

"Nice park," she said, suddenly feeling nervous at the idea of climbing into Ashton Hartford's car.

"Perks of getting to school early," he replied.

Her thighs, wet from the rain, felt cold against the smooth leather interior. When they were both inside, doors shut and the smooth hammering of rain the only noise between them, Willa realized that dating Ashton might not have been as easy as she'd thought.

"So, where to?" he asked. The nonchalance of his tone had diminished slightly, and his voice was quieter. Perhaps more genuine.

"You're the boyfriend, right?" she asked, fumbling with the strap of her bag. She'd texted her mother earlier telling her she was hanging out with Aubrey after school, and that there was no need to pick her up.

"Oh, you're conforming to gender roles are you?" he asked, running a hand through his mussed hair, a few drops of water falling onto Willa's forearm.

"Yep," she said, her tone clipped. "If you don't like it, dump me."

"Here I was thinking you wanted to win," he mused, shifting the car into gear and flicking on the windscreen wipers.

That was part of the reason. But in that moment, with Declan's apparent lack of care towards her so-called relationship with Ashton, she felt incredibly stupid for even humoring the game to begin with.

"And that's what you want?" she asked. His hand was draped casually over the wheel, as if he were driving without a care in the world.

"Willa," he said, as if it were the name of a friend that he'd been uttering his whole life, "I just want this game done with."