dedicated to eatmyshorts- for the lovely cover shown above!

Establishing the fact that she was going on a date with Ashton to the rest of the student body had been one thing. Climbing into his car had been another. But now, sitting beside a boy who she barely knew, in his car that was too loud when he fired off of the lights, Willa was starting to wonder exactly what she'd been thinking.

"So since I'm deciding where we're going," Ashton said, "Let's get ice cream."

Willa tried to emphasize the raindrops spraying down her window by holding her hand out in an obvious gesture. She was sure her body temperature was already way below normal with the way her knees were knocking together. "Ice-cream? Today?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" he asked, his face neutral.

"No," she said after a moment. She knew complaining could give him reason to decide that she was getting on his nerves.

To Willa's frustration, Ashton pulled into the first free park he spotted by the shop fronts dotted along main street, despite its distance to the nearest ice-cream parlor. It was like he was testing her as he watched her expression darken in annoyance.

"It's pouring outside," she said, the rain hammering on the windscreen proving her point.

"So?" he said, shrugging and taking the keys from the ignition. "We can just jog through it."

"Jog through it?" Willa asked, looking from his entertained expression to the black leather ankle boots at her feet, which featured a hefty heel that was most certainly not ideal for jogging.

But without another word, he opened the door and stepped out of the car. For a moment she simply sat there, her expression fixed stubbornly ahead as he shut the door behind him. After a moment, her own door opened, and an already dampened Ashton - who had slightly dried during the car ride with the air conditioning - looked at her expectantly.

"Are you getting out of the car or not?"

With a dark look, and some overly-dramatic shivering, Willa got out of the car, wrapping her arms around herself, the damp wool of her V-neck scratching her skin and her boots landing in a puddle.

Her first date with Declan had been everything an awkward first date should have been. It was filled with a nervous tension and the giddiness of butterflies and flushed cheeks. It had involved cringe-worthy kissing in a darkened cinema and whispered flirting in each other's ears. She pretended that it didn't compare to wandering towards the busy ice-cream shop on a freezing cold day, in a school skirt that was too short for the temperature.

"Why exactly do you want ice-cream anyway?" she asked through chattering teeth when they'd finally made it through the heavy glass door of the blue-painted parlor. Ashton was much taller than her, and keeping up with his pace had left her in hurried breaths.

As an answer, he shot her the same arrogant look he'd harbored throughout the drive, just as the voice behind the counter echoed through the chatter of customers.

"What are you doing here on a Tuesday, bro?"

Her attention drifted from Ashton's infuriatingly indifferent expression to the familiar voice. Ben Hartford was standing behind the glass counter displaying different ice-cream flavors, a wide grin on his face. For someone related to Ashton - who was broad and filled in ways that were a little too perfectly proportionate - Ben was bony and thin, as if he had grown tall before having time to fill out.

"Needed moral support," Ashton replied, not hiding the way his eyes darted sideways in Willa's direction. She folded her arms in front of her chest defensively.

When Ben noticed her, his attention took a dramatic turn. "Oh, Willa! Your girlfriend."

The customer he'd been serving cleared their throat impatiently, and Ben shook his head before continuing to serve them.

"Really? Taking me to see your brother work?" Willa asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Moral support," he repeated. "Anyway, ice-cream on me, what would you like?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, his kindness feeling a little unnatural - she had the feeling Ashton Hartford didn't like her all that much - before moving her attention to the menu. To her delight, she spotted hot drinks and coffee. She felt her chest warming already. "I'll have a hot chocolate."

As Ashton headed to line up, she spotted a lone booth by the window, the glass covered in splatters of raindrops. It gave the perfect view for watching the afternoon traffic roll through the puddles, and small groups of people run for shelter - umbrellas above them, or jackets held over their heads. She took off her saturated V-neck, and even the white blouse she was wearing underneath was damp.

Something about the weather made her feel a little down. Even though she had made the internal agreement with herself to finish mourning Declan, it was much easier said than done.

Ashton returned with a table number and a shallow smile, and she wondered just how far he'd humor the game. Just how long it would take him to crack.

"I heard we're getting rules," he said, sitting across from Willa, their knees brushing under the small table.

"That's what Flo said." She folded her hands awkwardly. Now that they were face to face, his features illuminated next to the window and his hauntingly good looks making her flushed with their proximity in the small booth, she was starting to feel a little nervous. His hair was mussed from the rain, and his scent was clean and warm even in the cold air.

"We should make an agreement then," he said, interrupting her embarrassing thoughts. "Not to dump each other until they've said something. A practice run for now."

"That's probably fair," she agreed. She was suddenly self-conscious of the way her hair fell in wet locks and the possibility of her blouse turning see-through and revealing the lacy bra she'd thrown on that morning.

As if sensing her thoughts, his eyes drifted to her chest ever so slightly, making her scowl and cross her arms over her chest. She didn't think it was that obvious.

"So I don't know much about you," he said, tapping his thumbs as if searching for conversation to fill the strange dynamics developing between them. "All I know is that you were riding on the arm of that jock for all of high school and you're bold enough to ask out a stranger in public. Enticing."

"Thanks," she said, ignoring the edge to his tone that suggested he was making fun of her. "I don't know much about you either, except that you think that you and you're little group of friends are too good for all the rest of us."

If she was being honest, his group of friends wasn't little, they had just all graduated last year. Which probably did give him every right to think that their cohort was childish and silly - which made her feel even more self-conscious.

"Just not one to get involved in games like this," he said, sighing. "But here I am. I mean, I guess it's a good way to pass the time. Entertainment. Like, reality TV."

"You probably shouldn't tell your girlfriend that she's just a good way to pass the time," Willa noted.

Just as she'd finished speaking, Ben rounded the side of the booth. He was wearing his slacks from school with a buttoned shirt embellished with the logo for Dream Cream, which she thought was a terrible name for an ice-cream shop.

"You know, I think this is just great," Ben said, as he set down a hot chocolate and what looked to be a large sundae. He was half way through placing it in front of Ashton, when he slyly put it in the middle instead, placing two spoons down on either side of it.

"Of course you do," Ashton said, shooting his little brother a displeased glance. "How much money do you have riding on this again?"

"Hey! It wasn't me who started this, it was my competitive gene. Mason bet Willa would win, so I had to oppose him. I mean, there's money up for grabs." He shrugged, as if betting on relationships was completely normal. "Besides, you have the gene too. You agreed for a reason right?"

"I agreed because this whole thing is stupid," he mumbled.

"Oh, not because you genuinely like me?" Willa interrupted, bothered that she was being spoken about without acknowledgement. She feigned hurt. "Here I was thinking you actually had feelings."

"You're wrong there, Willa," Ben said, "Just don't dump him. I don't want to lose twenty-bucks."

"Twenty-bucks? That was all it was worth for you to out the fact that I was still in this stupid thing?" Ashton said with a groan.

"Hey, money is money. Speaking of such, I better get back to work. You two lovebirds enjoy your date."

Willa busied herself with blowing on the surface of her hot chocolate, not wanting to burn her tongue, even if she was desperate to warm up.

"So we really don't know each other," he said after a few moments.

"Are you suggesting you would like to get to know me?" she hinted, bopping the marshmallow in her drink with her spoon. Between them, the sundae went untouched.

"I'm suggesting we don't fill this... date, with empty silence."

"Okay," she said, gingerly sipping her drink. "No empty silence then. Let's get to know each other. What do you do in your spare time?"

He thought for a moment, looking out at the street. She studied the planes of his jaw, and decided that she shouldn't let his good looks delude her into thinking this wasn't more than a game. Even if they were both stalling now, she needed to start thinking about her strategy.

"Study, I guess. Parties. Catching up on class."

"So you're not in school often?" she asked, genuinely curious as to why he was so absent in the hallways.

"It's just not my thing," he said curtly. "What about you?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it again and took a drink. She used to spend her free time doing things with Declan, or at least orientating everything she did around him. She shook her head, hoping to shake away the thoughts. "Not much. Just, friends, I guess."

"What about your family?" he asked, sensing her withdrawal. "Only child?"

"Yes," she said, then paused. She didn't know why she let herself continue to speak. "I mean, I have a half-sister on the East Coast somewhere but... I've never met her before."

"Oh," he said. "That's interesting."

She shrugged. Her mom had fallen pregnant when she was young, and explained to her that at the time it was best for her to leave her older sister with a well off family who could look after her. She didn't speak about it often but... it was something that always lingered in her mind. She blushed, feeling silly for bringing it up.

Willa's family was not wealthy by any means - especially in comparison to the other kids at Richmond Prep. It was a lucky scholarship, good grades, and a knack for op-shopping that kept her position in the school. And dating someone popular had helped her keep her ground too... now she guessed it was just the hype of The Breakup Game.

"How about you?" she asked. "Is Ben your only sibling?"

"Yep," he said. "He drives me crazy, but someone needs to do it, I guess."

Ben was such a contrast to Ashton. While Ben was energy and light-hearted fun, Ashton was quiet and thoughtful, possibly snide and even coming across as snobby. She would have liked to think he was just unapproachable. At least that would make him easier to deal with until this was over.

"Want some of this?" he asked, nodding to the ice-cream. "Ben made it double."

After a few gulps of hot chocolate, she was slowly warming up. But that didn't mean she was going to indulge in the ice-cream-sharing-cliché. "No thanks."

"I didn't want it either," he said. "I hate ice-cream. I only thought it was a good idea to come here because of Ben."

She sighed. "Well, that's just great. But if it helps, I guess I just wanted you to take me somewhere so it looked like we were serious."

"Everyone knows we're not serious," he said.

"Well, maybe it would be good to make it at least convincing," she said quietly. Maybe it would be good to make at least one person believe. Then she remembered his show that morning. "And if you didn't care about making a scene, you wouldn't have left that heart on my locker this morning."

"Well, maybe you're right," he said. "Maybe it's worth being somewhat convincing."

They fell into silence again, and Willa's phone buzzed with her mom asking if she'd be home for dinner. She was slowly starting to feel the sickening feeling of heartbreak again, and longed to climb into her bed and forget about her complicated love life.

"Maybe we should finish up then," he said, echoing her thoughts. "While there's a break in the rain."

She nodded, glancing to the clouded sky. "Good thinking."

Ben looked reluctant to farewell them, especially with the un-touched ice-cream sitting on the counter. It made Willa feel a little better when Ashton told him he could have it, resulting in a nonchalant shrug from Ben which was definitely hiding his secret glee.

They walked back to his car in silence, and Willa was glad she at least didn't have to worry about keeping with his stride. She wondered if Declan would call again, and what exactly she'd say to him on the phone, how she could make it sound as if she'd had a fantastic date, a whirlwind romance beneath the pouring rain.

After giving him her address, Ashton dropped her at Aubrey's. Even though she wasn't exactly hiding it, she didn't want him to judge her if she told him what neighborhood she was really from.

Aubrey opened the door with a knowing smile, peeping her head out at the black sedan pulling off of the curb. "Interesting," was all she said.

When Willa got home, she made sure to turn her phone off of silent and waited anxiously for it to buzz. She wasn't sure whether she was excited for the call, or dreading it. But it never came. He didn't call. And it left her thoughts more turbulent than ever.

The following morning, Florence was again waiting by her locker. The change in weather, and bright sun, had meant most of the girls were wearing bare legs and strappy heels, and Flo stood tall and beautiful, her legs never ending. Willa, barely five-foot-six, felt a little intimidated walking up to greet the girl.

"Morning," Flo said cheerily. "We've worked something out."

"Great," Willa said, smiling tightly. A sleepless night had left her in a touchy mood, and the fact she wasn't a morning person to begin with didn't help.

"Here," Flo said, handing her a piece of paper. "The rules. Share them with Ashton."

"Thanks," she muttered, taking it and shoving it in her pocket. She'd look at it during her first class - which she was going to be late for if she lingered any longer. "I'll see you later."

"Willa?" Flo asked.

Willa had gone into school-mode, a robot designed for processing information and making it on time to her lessons. She turned to the girl, her eyebrows raised curiously.

"You have a week," she said. "Seven days to try things out before you can make a move."

AN: who do you want to win? Willa or Ashton? 💕