Summary: Lizzie doesn't believe in love, but when Edwin bets her that he can make her fall for him by the end of the month, will she see differently?

Disclaimer: Don't own Life With Derek. 'Nuff said.

Author's Note: The idea for this fic came to me last week, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since. So… I've decided to write it.

Enjoy!

X

Wagering Love
Ice Queen

X

12:10 PM.

Lunch.

At Thompson High, the cafeteria is filled to the brim with students, but that's nothing new. Laughter and endless chatter meld together, creating a cluster of indistinguishable noise and making it impossible to tell who from who. Amidst all of this chaos, a boy with chestnut hair trembles uncontrollably as he makes his way towards the girl who has unknowingly captured his heart, a love letter in hand. Immediately, his fellow peers take notice; a small crowd gathers and watches with pity in their eyes, for they all know what will be the outcome. His friends try to stop him, but despite his nerves, he's determined.

When he reaches her table, he taps her on the shoulder. She stops talking to her soccer teammates and swivels around; her face lights up as soon as she sees him, and a smile spreads across her face like wildfire.

"Oh, hey Nick!" She greets him cheerfully. "What -"

"Will you go out with me?" He blurts, cutting her off.

Her smile fades instantly, but a blush rises to her cheeks so he's still hopeful. Behind her, her friends become giddy and begin whispering amongst themselves, but he keeps his attention focused on her the entire time. Finally, she looks away, and he gets a sinking feeling in his stomach because he now knows that she's avoiding eye contact on purpose.

"I'm sorry… I can't."

The boy -- Nick -- is crushed. She may be angelic and pure in every sense imaginable, but her words are like poisonous daggers that rip through his chest, gutting him like a fish until there's nothing left.

"Why?" He cries desperately, gripping the envelope in his hands tightly.

"Because… I only see you as a friend." She replies, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "I'm really sorry, Nick. Please don't hate me."

Hate her? That was absurd. He could never… not her. Even if she had just shattered his heart into a million pieces, he could never hate her… he loved her too much to do that.

So instead, he sulks, retreating back to his own lunch table where his friends are quick to comfort him. For a moment, the rest of the cafeteria sympathizes with him as well, for they've seen it all before, time and time again. Then they return to their previous conversations, dismissing the boy from their thoughts because now he's just another broken heart on her ever-growing list.

The notorious "Ice Queen" strikes again…

x

"You are horrible."

Tearing her gaze away from the miserable teen currently moping in the back of the cafeteria, sixteen-year-old Lizzie McDonald turned and stared at her best friend, raising an eyebrow.

"Charlotte, do explain how exactly I'm 'horrible', as you so eloquently put it." She said, pulling out some of her sister's vocabulary.

The blonde across from her flipped her hair over her shoulder and huffed.

"You don't get it, do you?" She asked incredulously. "You might've just destroyed that poor kid. He'll probably never ask anyone out ever again, thanks to you!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" Lizzie snapped. "It wasn't like I flat out rejected him. I was nice!"

"That's the problem!" Rebecca, her other best friend, interjected from beside her. "At least if you were a complete bitch, he'd eventually get over it, but because you were so sweet about it…"

"Not a chance." Charlotte sighed, shaking her head sadly.

"I fail to see how that makes any sense!"

"That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"Why won't you date anyone, Liz?" Rebecca whined, changing the subject entirely. "I mean, you have guys flocking to you, begging you to go out with them. Most girls would kill to be in your shoes, and yet you turn down every potential boyfriend? Why?"

The McDonald girl scrunched up her nose.

"I've told you before." She said simply. "High School boys aren't worth it. I mean… just look at them. They're so… ugh, immature. And they're pigs. Remember what happened to Amanda last year? The sophomore she was out with tried to feel her up on the first date. Who does that? Oh, and let's not forget the scumbag you went out with last year, Charlotte. He videotaped you guys doing it and posted it on the school website." She took a sip of her water before continuing. "All I'm saying is that in high school, the only thing boys care about is sex. I'd rather wait until university before I start seeing anyone. At least there, the guys have other things on their mind besides getting into our pants -- like their future."

"But what about Gabby and Jason? They've been going out since grade eight and Jason hasn't tried anything she didn't want." Rebecca argued.

"Jason's the exception, then." Lizzie replied. "But most guys right now, are like that."

She jerked her head to the right -- in the direction of a group of Sci-Fi fanatics having a belching contest. Her eyes landed on a familiar dark-haired boy in particular, who was currently "winning" if the dorky grin on his face was any indication. When she heard Charlotte and Rebecca gag, she smirked and glanced back.

"See?" She said. "Would you really want to throw yourselves into a relationship with guys like that?"

Charlotte cringed and shuddered, while Rebecca shook her head frantically, auburn curls bouncing around.

"Ew, gross! No!"

"I'd rather be dead than… ugh, nasty thoughts…" The blonde girl squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to get rid of them. Once she was done, she peered back at Lizzie. "I can't believe you guys are like… related."

"We're not." Lizzie replied dully. "Thank God." She cast another glance in said boy's direction before sighing. "Disgusting… he's a disgrace to the human evolution…"

"You said it." Rebecca agreed.

x

Needless to say, Lizzie was relieved to get home.

After the little guilt trip her so-called "best friends" had put her through at lunch, followed by the accusing looks her classmates proceeded to shoot her for the remainder of the day, she was tired. All she wanted to do was sit back and watch some TV, and ultimately take her mind off of recent events.

Tossing her backpack onto the floor, she made her way into the kitchen and began digging through the pantry for a snack. Her mom and step-dad wouldn't be home for a few more hours, and she was starving. She ended up spotting a granola bar and settled on that, but as she started to unwrap it she heard someone chuckle from behind her and felt her jaw tighten.

Okay, so apparently she wasn't going to have the entire house to herself.

With a loud sigh, Lizzie turned, and wasn't at all surprised when she found her step-brother standing on the other side of the island, elbows propped up on the countertop and chin resting on his knuckles, smiling at her knowingly.

She promptly crumpled up her wrapper and threw it at him, but he dodged it and frowned at her, wagging his forefinger in disapproval.

"Now, Liz, is that any way to treat your favorite step-brother?" He chided.

"You're delusional, Ed." She scoffed.

"And you're a bitch." He countered. "Or so I've heard."

Lizzie rolled her eyes and leaned back against the sink, staring at him expectantly. "What do you want, Edwin? I'm not gonna lend you more money, if that's what -"

"You know…" Edwin interrupted, straightening his posture and shuffling across the kitchen floor to join her. "I have to commend you for the way you brutally rejected Nick in front of everyone at lunch today. Hilarious."

"I'd rather not think about it, thank you very much." Lizzie muttered, but her step-brother ignored her and went on.

"People are talking, and rumor has it that you're batting for the other team." His dark eyes glistened. "Is it true, Liz? Are you a lesbian?"

"No." She snapped. "Did Tanya tell you that?"

"Tanya didn't have to. Everyone's been saying it lately."

Lizzie groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose irritably. "Great. Just great."

Edwin stuck out his bottom lip in mock sympathy. When he tried to feign consolation by rubbing her shoulders, however, she smacked his hand away. He laughed nervously and took a step back before speaking once more.

"So if you're not into girls, then why won't you go out with any of the guys that ask you out?" He inquired.

"You know, that's the second time somebody's asked me that today alone and to be honest, it's getting kind of annoying." Lizzie growled. When her step-brother tilted his head to the side and waited for her 'answer', she crossed her arms and averted her gaze stubbornly. "None of your business."

"C'mon, Liz…" Edwin pressed. "As your step-brother, I think you have an obligation to at least tell me. Since we've been through so much together and all…"

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything." Lizzie retorted, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "But I know you, and I know that you won't stop bugging me until I do, so I guess I don't really have much of a choice."

Edwin smirked.

"Nope."

"Hmph. Jerk."

"But you love me for it…"

"In your dreams, Venturi!"

"Every night."

"You're repulsive."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Ugh! Do you want to know or not?"

Immediately, the dark-haired boy went silent. Lizzie took a deep breath to calm herself and regain her composure before she began.

"High School relationships are meaningless." She said. "Everyone makes such a big deal out of them when really… what's the point? It's not like any of them actually last, and the ones that do are rare. I think it's stupid when two teenagers hook up and within a week, start claiming to love each other when in reality, what they supposedly feel is nothing more than infatuation -- and a dose of hormones."

She paused to lift herself up onto the counter before continuing, "I don't date because I don't want to have to say 'I love you' to a guy that I've been with for a couple of weeks, but I'll be forced to because everyone will expect that sort of thing, even though it's impossible for someone our age to actually fall in love. So, my best bet is just to avoid relationships altogether. Besides, I can think of much more productive ways to spend my time other than thinking about how to 'please my man'." She rounded on him. "Does that answer your question, Ed?"

Edwin remained mute for about a minute or so, trying to absorb her words carefully and make sense of them. As the gears churned in his head, Lizzie slipped down from her temporary seat and adjusted her clothes.

"You really think it's impossible to fall in love at our age?"

She peered over at him and nodded.

"Yeah. I do." She said honestly.

Edwin's lips curved upward, and Lizzie knew it wasn't a good thing.

"Want to bet on that?" He challenged. When his step-sister waved her hand for him to continue, he obeyed. "I bet you… that I can make you fall in love me by the end of the month."

Lizzie arched an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

Edwin shook his head, still smirking.

"I'm dead serious." He told her. "Well? Do we have a deal?"

"No way." She said.

"Why? Afraid you might actually fall for my irresistible Venturi charm?" He taunted.

Lizzie snorted.

"Me? Fall in love with you? As if."

"How 'bout this: if you win, I'll be your servant for the rest of the year." He said. "That includes doing all of your chores, going to all of your Animal Rights campaigns, and pretty much anything else you want me to do. Even your homework -- specifically Science, which I happen to know for a fact you're struggling with."

Lizzie stiffened, her eyes widening in fear. "How did you…?"

"I hacked into Mrs. Pummelman's computer about a week ago when I was bored." Edwin shrugged. "I could probably change your grade for you. At least then you could show Nora an A- instead of that ugly C. What do you say, Liz? All of my genius will be at your disposal if you win the bet."

Lizzie bit the side of her thumb nervously. She couldn't believe he'd actually played the grade card -- on one hand, she was downright furious that he would sink so low, but on the other hand… she needed it. Science was dragging her entire average down, and if she had to sit through another one of her mom's lectures and be compared to her older sister, she was going to crack. As much she hated to admit it, she really needed all the help she could get. Even if it was technically cheating and went against her morals.

Letting her arm fall to her side, she looked up at him again.

"What do you get out of this?" She questioned. "If you win, that is."

"The satisfaction of finally beating you." Edwin replied, as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"That's it?" She said, her tone doing little to hide the suspicion she was harboring.

"That's it." Her step-brother assured her. "Scout's Honor."

"Well then…" Lizzie cleared her throat and extended her hand. "You've got yourself a deal, Edwin Venturi."

X

And that's the end of the first chapter. I hope it was enjoyable enough.

On a side note, Lizzie's friends (Rebecca, Gabby, Amanda, Charlotte) are actual characters. They have been mentioned in various episodes. Nick, on the other hand... was made up. However, for the purpose of this fic, he shall be Noel's younger brother. Don't you love how unrequited love repeats itself?

Anyway, please REVIEW!

-Lady Azura-