Regret
"How's it going, Ratty? He driven you mad yet?" Sanjeev Parker and his cronies had cornered Lister for the fifth time that week, this time in the toilets. Lister was damned fed up of it by now. "Look, he'll figure out that we have a bet if you keep talking to me. Idiots!"
"We're just checking on your progress," said Stinky.
"And drowning Spotty again," Parker laughed, knocking a stall with his foot. "You alright in there, Spotty?" There was a subdued gurgle. Lister's fists clenched as they all howled with laughter at their wicked deed of the day. "Look, we're obviously mates now. So gimme my coke."
"Nuh-uh, Rattail-head. He's got to actually say it."
"What! That wasn't the deal!"
"He's got to say, within our hearing range, that you two are friends. You can't ask, and have him go 'yes' or 'of course we are'. We want the word 'friends' to be said." Lister punched the wall close to Parker's head. "You're smegging joking. You better be smegging joking."
"No. And if he doesn't say it by tomorrow afternoon, you'll both get it." Lister's fist quivered in anticipation but it was lowered to his side and kept there, biding its time. "You try anything on me, or Rimmer, and I promise you pal - I won't go down easily." Lister walked out, his body screaming for a fight. But Lister knew the Queensbury rules of school. Fighting was always punishable, but he had to throw the second punch to be in favour with the headmaster. He couldn't let Parker get to him. For now, he had to concentrate on winning the bet. A bet which was already tearing him up inside.
Lister liked Rimmer. He couldn't help it. He understood why others didn't: Rimmer's organ music was grating, his taste in films was peculiar and the less said about his fetish for war leaders the better. But between all this, Rimmer had a rapier wit which he used to full extent once he was comfortable with people. Lister hadn't quite believed Porky when he'd said that Rimmer was a laugh sometimes. But he had Lister in stitches with his impersonations of classmates, and Lister made Rimmer laugh too. Proper laughter. People kept looking over at them because they thought Rimmer was having epileptic fits.
They really were friends, as Lister had wanted. But he knew if Rimmer found out about the bet, he'd never believe Lister if he told him that it was just concurrent. He had to win the bet and get it out of the way before Rimmer found out. He just had to.