I've been wanting to write this for a long time. Unfortunately,I was swamped with Pokemon stories,videos to make,and other Beyblade story ideas.

Quick reminder: Mariah doesn't love Rei,as in she doesn't want to marry him and stuff like that. If you want those kinds of stories,search elsewere. I just wrote this for laughs,since in most of the fics I read,she's usually shown as a pretty lovesick person. Well,that's it,so sit back,enjoy,and don't forget to review!

Chapter 1: The Bet

What do people find so fascinating about romance? And why did I waste my money on the latest issue of School Rumble? These questions nagged me as I walked down the empty hall. Didn't I need that money for something else? I can't quite remember.

I have a passion for manga and anime. Well,an obsession,really. And School Rumble didn't look much different from Azumanga Daioh. But when you actually started reading it,it was another one of those stupid,crappy romance manga titles. The ones I really hated.

Not nearly as interesting as Negima, not as funny as Azumanga Daioh. Just an idiotic scam to make money. And worst of all,the shop didn't except refunds.

Tala leaned against the wall,watching me. Weird,what's he want,anyway?

He snapped his fingers at me."Hey,kid! Where's the 30 bucks you owe me?"

Thirty bucks? Oh,that's right,he upgraded Galux for me last week,at a cost of 30. That was before I discovered this site where you could upgrade your blade for free.

Oh,shit! I knew I needed that money for something besides comics!

"Ummm,would it be alright if pay you on Friday? I'm broke now."

He narrowed his eyes at me. Damn,he's so creepy!

"All right,two more days. But if I don't see the dough by Friday,Galux is roadkill.". He calmly walked away.

2:30. Time to get back to my room. It's not that I'm afraid of Tala,it's just that he's bigger than me. And stronger than me. And I made a cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die promise. Those are not the kind of promises you want to break.

Now all I had to do was find a way to get a decent sum of money by Friday. I narrowed down the sorces.

Lee?No,I borrowed money from him way to many times. If I ask him again he'll probably throw a book at me and tell me to "shut the hell up.". Gary?Possibly.Rei? Nah,he's probably broke too. Kevin? Yes,that's it! He rarely spends his money,anyways.

I fished the keys out of my bag and opened the door. Lee was sitting at the table,twisting and rearanging his blade. He suddenly slammed it on the table and glared at me. "Riah,where the hell have you been! You said you would be here half an hour ago!" I set down a bag of groceries. "Stop worrying about me,I can take care of myself,for God's sake,I'm 14.".

Raw,uncontrollable male anger.I've got three other teammates with the same problem. Sadly,I'm the only girl in the whole team."By the way,have you seen Kevin?". He continued fixing it,barely looking up. "Yeah,he's probably on the computer,again.".

Typycal Kevin,killing time on the computer. I walked into the computer room,only to find him staring at a glowing PC screen,just like Lee said. He seemed to be working on something.

"Hi Kev !". He jumped a mile and immediantly covered the screen with his hands. Weird. "Ummm,oh,hi Mariah,l-listen,could you come later,I'm kinda busy right now.".

Waking up to the screen,I noticed he also had a very worried look on his face."Let me guess,you're on a dirty website." "N-no." "You're doing something top-secret and you don't want me to see?" "Uh,yeah-er I mean no!" "You screwed up one of the drives?" "No." "I give up." I said,prying his hands off the monitor.

Apparently he had done something on Paint he didn't want me to see. He took a picture of a newlywed couple in eachother's arms and pasted me and Rei's faces in the place of their's. I sucked in my cheeks.

"Isn't this joke getting a little stale? You haven't stopped teasing us since I visited him in the hospital last year."

"But I can see it in your eyes,you're definitely in love. Don't try to deny it."

I rolled my eyes."You can't let Fruits Basket warp your mind. Just because I value his life doesn't mean I love him. I mean,what if someone teased us?"

"That's different,you're older than me."

"But-,oh,forget it,I came here to ask you a favor."

"What?"

"Could I borrow 30 bucks? Please?"

"Well,alright,but it'll cost you."

"What do you mean 'cost me'?"

He grinned like he'd just won the lottery. "I need you to tell Rei that you love him. Not as a friend,but that you want to be his loveslave for all eternity."

"WHAT!" I screamed. "ARE YOU CRAZY!"

"Nope,all you have to do is tell him that your heart is his,and the thirty bucks is yours."

I wanted to slap him across the face for suggesting something so sick. But my deadline was shrinking by the minute. And when you made a deal with a kid who's part of a team not much more forgiving than the Russian mafia,you really don't have much of a choice.

"So,all I have to do is fake it to Rei that I love him,and you'll pay me?"

"Yup."

That didn't sound so bad. At least he didn't suggest something sicker,like kissing or necking with him.

I stuck my hand out. "Deal."

"Good,we'll discuss exactly what you have to do,how much you have to tell him later. Remember,this is between me and you."

Fine,I can't imagine what Lee would say if he found out I was gambling. Not that I give a rat's ass about what he thinks.

I felt like driving my head through the glass window. Great,I'd just sold my soul to the Devil.

It doesn't matter what people believe,I know the Devil. He has green hair,violet eyes,and likes One Piece.

His name is Kevin Ki.

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Whew! That took quite a while. I had to edit a lot of stuff. I hope I can start writing the next chapter by tommorow. I have a mild fever,so I'm lucky my mom let me get on the computer today.

Let me know what you think and please review!