All Chapters of The School Heartthrob Used Me for a Bet: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Hal Chilton replied the second my message went through: [It's a deal. No backing out.]It was followed by a head-pat emoji.Half an hour ago, I probably would have stared at his message for a long time. Now, it only made my stomach churn.Behind the door, the group was still laughing and chatting."Hal, she hasn't actually fallen for you, has she?""Do you even need to ask? Hal's been bringing her breakfast for three months. The way she looks at him now, she's practically melting."Someone whispered, "I heard she's got some kind of social disorder. When she finds out the truth in front of everyone tomorrow, she's not going to have a breakdown right there, is she?"After a brief silence, Hal spoke up casually, "It's not that serious. Besides, it's just a joke. If she really can't handle it, I'll sweet-talk her a little and she'll be fine."Everyone burst out laughing.I stood at the corner of the stairwell, the edge of my phone digging painfully into my palm.So it had all bee

The graduation gala started at seven.At six-thirty, Melissa posted a photo in the class group chat.An over-the-top bouquet of red roses sat in the center of the auditorium, and the big screen read: [Hal Chilton's Graduation Confession.]The chat quickly filled with people egging it on.[Is the Mask Freak really going to take it off?][Hal's sacrificing so much. Shouldn't someone give him a humanitarian award?]Melissa opened a betting pool on how many seconds Hal could keep a straight face once I took off my mask.In less than ten minutes, the pot passed fourteen hundred dollars.Hal put in four hundred, betting he could hold out for a full minute.Then he messaged me privately: [Where are you? Don't back out at the last minute.]Standing outside the auditorium's side door, I replied: [I'm already here.]Inside, Melissa was handing him a gift box.In the box was a mirror, with a note taped to the back: [Ugly people need to face reality too.]Someone laughed and asked, "O

At the same moment, the big screen lit up.[Gorham High School Graduation Tribute: Youth Without Limits.]The emcee picked up the microphone. "A special thank-you to Gina McCann from Class 12A for starring in this year's graduation promotional video."The whole auditorium broke into an uproar.Melissa whipped her head around. "Gina? She doesn't even have the guts to show her face. How could she possibly be in a promo video?"On screen, early morning sunlight streamed through the library.A girl in a white dress stood by the window, her slender back to the camera.The camera slowly moved closer.Hearing someone call out, the girl turned around. Her black hair slid off her shoulders, revealing a face with nothing covering it at all.Her features were cool and refined, her nose delicate, and the faint beauty mark at the outer corner of her eye stood out in the sunlight.A wave of gasps swept through the auditorium."She's so pretty...""Who is that?""The emcee just said it's

After the investigation results came out, Melissa's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, showed up at my house.They brought gifts and a lawyer, and they stood outside our door for two hours."It was just kids messing around. There's no need to ruin her future over it." As she spoke, Mrs. Bennett tried to press a bank card into my mom's hand."There's twenty-eight thousand dollars on this. All Gina has to do is put out a statement saying those videos were a rehearsal..."Mom tossed the card straight out the door. "Your daughter's future matters, but my daughter's three years don't?"It went quiet outside the door for a moment.Then Melissa suddenly burst in. "Gina, isn't winning enough for you? My guaranteed admission has already been revoked, and the school is still going to punish me. Are you not going to be satisfied until you kill me?"I started recording on my phone. "Want me to hand that line over to the school too?"She shut her mouth immediately.Mr. Bennett shot her a furio

In September, I started at Carrigan University.On move-in day, the campus was full of freshmen snapping photos on their phones.The sea of cameras still made me tense up on instinct.I put on my mask and stood rooted to the spot for a long time.A guy suddenly walked over and blocked the cameras on one side of me. "Hey, are you feeling okay?"I shook my head.He didn't ask about my face, and he didn't take it upon himself to do anything for me.He just stepped back half a pace, leaving me plenty of space. "The School of Psychology is to the east. If you're headed the same way, we can walk together."Later, I found out his name was Ben Gayle, an upperclassman one year ahead of me.He'd recognized me from the internet but had never mentioned it to anyone.He never said things like "You should be a little braver," and he never pushed me to take off my mask.When it got crowded, he would ask first, "Do you want me to stay with you, or would you rather be alone?"My treatment w