XashXdawnX - Here's a new chapter, hope you all enjoy.

Last Time:

She was in trouble. This wasn't suppose to happen. It was suppose to end here after this movie. She should be getting taken back to the school so she can go home, but instead she was going to play lazer tag.

As she climbed into Gary's car an idea struck her.

I can use this to my advantage. I can possibly trick him and make him lose the bet...I can still win this. I just have to pretend...

As Gary drove towards the lazer tag place, Leaf was deep in thought.

How can I trick him? Should I trick him?

Leaf pinched her arm.

Snap out of it Leaf. Of course you need to trick him. You have to win. Use this to your advantage..make him think he's breaking you and then he'll lose. You can't care about him...you can't care if you hurt him.

"Leaf?"

Leaf shook her head, breaking from her thoughts and looked at Gary.

"You okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I was just thinking." she replied.

"We don't have to go play lazer tag. I can take you home."

"No!" Leaf cried, startling Gary with her outburst.

"No. I want to go play. Just like old times, right?"

Gary didn't reply.

Leaf looked over at him and he seemed wary of her actions. Leaf needed to step up her game, he was wary of how she was acting. She needed to get him comfortable.

"I'm okay, Oak. I promise,"

"If you say so." he muttered as he turned at a traffic light.

I need to step it up. I can't lose this bet. I need to trick him.

"We're here," Gary said, breaking Leaf from her thoughts.

"Awesome!" she cried, smiling over at Gary and climbing out of the car.

She bounced on her feet as she waited for Gary. She was trying to act how she used to act when they had been best friends. But it was better said than done. Acting like she used to meant she had to be vulnerable and let her walls down. Could she do that?

I have to if I want to win this bet.

"Same team or different team?" Gary asked as they walked into the building.

"Same team, of course." Leaf replied.

Leaf laughed and ran behind a wall. She was panting and trying to catch her breath.

"I say we make quite the team, Leafy." Gary said from beside her.

"That we do. I think we're the leading players right now."

"I'm glad you convinced me to come." Leaf said after a moment.

"Well you had a bad day and I wanted to cheer you up. Plus, we can do this without Ash and Dawn."

Leaf laughed.

"Leaf?"

Leaf looked at Gary, confused.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking."

Thinking of the last game of lazer tag we played. You had taken me to cheer me up.

"Okay, if you say so."

Leaf stuck her hand under the glass so it could get stamped.

"We're on the blue team." Gary said as they walked to get the vest and gun.

... ... ...

Leaf walked out of the building following behind Gary, laughing and smiling. She hadn't had that much fun in a long time.

"I honestly forgot how fun lazer tag is." she commented as she opened his car door and climbed in.

Gary chuckled. "When was the last time you went?"

Leaf tapped her chin as she thought. "Probably whenever we went together last time. It's not something me and my friends usually do nowadays."

"Seriously?"

"Serena and the others...they aren't into getting down and dirty. I've always been an oddball when it comes to fashion and shit like that."

"She's still there." Gary muttered.

"No, that Leaf is gone. Remember that, Oak. I know fashion now...somewhat anyways. But I still hate certain things and fashion is still high on the list...I just tolerate it more now."

"Like how you tolerated it with Dawn?"

Leaf bit her lip to keep from intaking a sharp breath. Dawn...her best girlfriend before everything changed. Dawn had been her go to friend for everything. When she had a date...she would call Dawn for advice on what to wear, trusting her sense of fashion. Honestly, Dawn's fashion sense and style was way better than any of the friends Leaf had now. But Dawn had always been there. They had become instant friends. Sleepovers almost every weekend. Shopping sprees much to Leaf's dismay, but Dawn always brought her a smoothie and bribed her with food so she would agree. So many pictures taken in the mall photo booths...pictures that Leaf still had, but kept hidden in her room.

"She bribed me with food, that's the only reason I agreed to participate in her fashion shenanigans." Leaf replied.

"Yet, she was who you ran to for any fashion advice or any fashion disaster. Who is your go to now?"

Leaf didn't really have a go to anymore. She dealt with any fashion problems by herself. If worse came to worse she would use the internet to find the answer. But she couldn't tell Gary this.

"Serena's my go to now."

"Whatever you say."

He didn't buy it.

"Believe what you want, Oak."

"So where to now?" he asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Pizza?" Leaf asked, since she was hungry and a pizza joint wasn't far from here.

"Sounds good to me and it'll be like old times."

Leaf just nodded her head as her mind wondered back to the times they had gotten pizza together.

"So how did your date with Gary go?" Serena asked as she linked her arm through Leaf's the next morning in the hallway.

"Thanks for ditching me." Leaf replied.

"I'm sorry about that. You two were fighting so I had to help you out."

"I don't need you meddling in my relationship."

"I was just trying to help."

"Well don't."

Leaf jerked her arm away and continued to her locker by herself. Gary was leaning against the lockers beside her own locker waiting for her.

"Everything okay?" he asked, since he saw the exchange.

"Yep, she's just too much right now." Leaf replied as she yanked her locker opened.

"You seem extra fiesty today."

"Bad morning,"

Leaf shut her locker and looked at him. "Why are you even here?"

Gary held out a to-go cup from Java Paradise.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Mocha with extra chocolate drizzle."

"...You remember my favorite drink?"

"Well you love anything chocolate related."

Leaf snickered and took the cup. "Thanks, I guess. But why did you get me coffee?"

"Knowing you, you were up all night working on the Global History paper that was today. Hence, the reason you're in a bad mood."

Leaf took a sip of the coffee and pondered his response. He wasn't wrong.

"How do you remember these things?" she asked.

"You were one of my best friends for years, Leaf. These things, I won't ever forget."

Leaf just nodded her head. A small part of her felt touched by the fact that he still remembered these things, but the new her just shrugged it off. She couldn't allow herself to ever consider allowing him back to being close to her...if she did that it wouldn't end well for her. She would lose the bet. She couldn't allow that. She had to make him fall for her...but to do that...he had to get close.

She mentally sighed. She was in a win-lose situation. Allowing him to get close to her again would help her, but at the same time there would be the temptation...longing for what used to be.

"Fuck..." she cursed, shaking her head and ridding the thoughts.

"See you later, Oak." she muttered going to walk off, but Gary stopped her.

"Later, Leafy." he said, pecking her cheek and walking off.

Leaf felt her cheeks flush and shook her head. She needed to stop blushing every time he kissed her cheek.

"Two can play at this game, Oak." she muttered as she headed towards her class.

"So how's the bet going?" Ash asked, Gary at lunch.

"It's slow work. We went to the movies, lazer tag, and then went for pizza Friday night." Gary replied.

"Wait, you two did something that we all did when we were friends?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, she was acting a little like her old self."

"But not a lot?"

"No...she's there though. I can see it breakthrough at times, but then it's gone as quick as it came. The facade goes back up as quick as it went down. I just want to know why she changed."

"Is that one of the reasons you're doing this?" Ash questioned.

"One of the reasons. The other is I miss her being our friend. Dawn, don't you miss your girlfriend?" Gary asked, looking at her.

"I do, but I have other friends now."

"But none as close as the four of us were. No one has taken Leaf's place." Ash noted.

"That's true. But she obviously replaced us all."

"She said Serena was her go to for fashion now, but I don't buy it. I don't see her being able to stand her for long periods of time...let alone taking her advice." Gary said.

"Who knows..."

"So it seems you two made up. I saw Gary at your locker this morning. He gave you coffee and a kiss before leaving for class. So sweet!" Serena cried.

"Stalker much?" Leaf asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ha ha...you're a comedian Leaf."

"Totally, come to my show at ten tonight."

Serena rolled her eyes. "But you two made up, right?"

Leaf nodded her head.

"I still don't get how you two got together. You never told me. It was just announced one morning at school because of Red's mouth."

Leaf froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. They hadn't discussed this. What was the story of how they got together and why hadn't they announced it when it did happen?

"Oh...you know it's nothing really." Leaf said, trying to shrug it off as no big deal.

"But you're Leaf. You never date anyone for a long time. Yet, here you are with Gary going on...a month, I believe?"

Leaf didn't know what to do. Her confidence was failing her right now and her wittiness to come up with lies was failing her. Why was it failing her when she needed it the most?

"Yeah, Leaf. We've never been told the story. Has it really been going on a month...or has it been longer?" Shauna asked.

Leaf felt a hand on her shoulder and she glanced up to see Gary, looking down at her. She had never been happier to see him.

"Mind if I steal her away from you guys?" he asked, flashing a charming smile at her friends.

"Awww...poo we were about to hear a story." Serena said, frowning.

"But, I guess you can. A make out session before the bell?" Shauna asked.

Gary just smirked at them and Leaf hopped up.

... ...

"You looked like you could use some help." Gary said once they were outside the cafeteria.

"Yeah...thanks for that." Leaf replied.

"What were they asking you that made you so uncomfortable?"

"They wanted to know how we got together. We never came up with a story in case someone asked us. You know this has been going on for almost a month?"

Gary stopped walking and looked at her.

"Really a month?"

"Yeah, I was shocked when they told me."

"Wow...the longest relationship Leaf Green has is a fake one." Gary commented.

"A bet, at that." Leaf chuckled.

Gary sat down in the grass.

"So our story?" Leaf asked as she sat down.

"Right..."

A silence passed between the two as they both thought.

"What if we say it just happened?" Leaf asked.

"It just happened? Please do explain." Gary said.

"Well it happened at school. We were in a hallway and just...it happened."

"Your friends would never believe that. Do they know our history?"

"History?"

"How we used to be best friends and then just stopped?"

"Well yeah...I mean everyone does." Leaf replied with a shrug.

"How about this? You had to be tutored in Global History right?" Gary asked.

"Well yeah, but my tutor sucked. Hence why I'm struggling with it now."

"How about I started tutoring you after you approached me for help. We were meeting up a few days after school and on the weekends. Eventually, old feelings came back and I asked you out. You decided to keep it a secret from everyone to make sure things were more serious than other 'relationships' you've had. Then Red made a move on you...and well the rest..."

Leaf thought for a few moments.

"That works, but you better help me get my history grade up or else it won't seem believable." Leaf said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm? Nah, it's believable. Just tell them you spend more time..." Gary trailed, leaning close to Leaf. "-Kissing than actually studying..." With that he pulled away from her.

Please R&R