A part of me hated myself for what I would do, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice. Sometimes you had to lose for the bigger picture, and this was one of those times. Although, I wondered what the bigger picture was in my case.

"Are you sure?" Hannah asked nervously. "Those jerks don't deserve it."

"They don't," I agreed. "But I don't see a better option."

Hannah huffed and I gave her a small smile, touched by her anger. She had grown annoyed of our peers because of their treatment of me and now she thought The Kissing Game was stupid. That seemed to be the only good thing to come out of this so far.

"Okay." I sighed, suddenly nervous. "It's time."

"I hope everything turns out good for you," Hannah said quietly.

Looking around the crowded cafeteria, I took a deep breath in and knew that it was time. It was time to tell my classmates how things involving the game would work.

So standing up, I climbed on top of our lunch table. That caught a few people's attention and cupping my mouth with my hands, I knew that this was it.

"Hey!" I shouted. "I have something to say!"

The cafeteria went quiet and everyone's eyes were on me. My grade mostly occupied the cafeteria, but there were eyes of the younger grades on me as well. I didn't mind that because I had something to say.

"You guys win," I said, shrugging. "I can't keep going on like this."

A few people smiled and murmurs traveled across the room, which ignited a flare of annoyance. But, I didn't react. I didn't say anything to it because in the end, we would both end up as winners.

"Your bullying has tired me out and I've decided that I won't be keeping the kiss for forever," I continued, earning grins. "But-"

Everyone began to groan suddenly and I sighed. I had no idea how I dealt with them for the past three years.

"But." I placed my hands on my hips. "I will only be passing the kiss to whoever makes me fall in love with them. That's the only rule I have."

The crowd began to erupt with chatter and I saw that a lot of people looked unhappy. There were mutters and furrowed eyebrows, and I watched my peers, hoping they would let this go. I didn't want to deal with anymore bullying, but I didn't want to give up my morals. This was the most I could do.

"But you don't love," one guy suddenly shouted. "You hate everyone."

"Don't I have a good reason to?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. "I mean, having people call you a bitch isn't pleasant."

"Your attitude isn't pleasant," someone else muttered, earning a few laughs.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything to it. Tiredly I crossed my arms over my chest and hoped they could just agree to my negotiation.

"What if this is a trick!" A girl shouted. "What if you won't fall for anyone?"

"Yes, there's a possibility I won't," I answered honestly. "But, I'm opening up my heart this one time. I won't go into this with a close mind. I'm not against love, it's just that I haven't found anyone. Maybe I'll find someone from this and it'll be a win-win situation for all of us."

The crowd went silent as they seemed to question my offer. I watched and glanced at Hannah, who still looked nervous. I then looked at the clock and saw that lunch was almost over, and my heart tightened. There was something I had to do and time was ticking.

"Look guys," I said, sighing. "It's either this or me keeping the kiss forever. What's better?"

People groaned, but I heard people also shout fine, which brought immediate relief to me. As they began to grumble and go back to their own lives, I hopped off the table and looked for Axel quickly. He wasn't there, saddening me, but I had a feeling I knew where to find him.

"Are you happy?" Hannah asked, giving me a smile. "It worked."

"I don't think I'll ever be happy with the fact that I had to give in a bit, but it's better than the alternative," I answered. "Look, I have to go. See you in class."

"Where are you going?" she asked as I began to walk off.

I pretended not to hear her, feeling awkward about the answer. She had been right, however. I definitely didn't hate him.

Rushing to my locker, I quickly grabbed his jacket and then rushed outside. Remembering where we once sat, I went to that spot and to my utter surprise, I saw Axel sitting there. His back was pressed against the wall and his knees were bent up. He had his arms propped on his knees and his head was tilted back as he kept his eyes closed.

I stood a meter away from him, admiring how he looked. He looked peaceful, yet tired. Vulnerable in a way I had never seen him look and his hair shone beautifully. Noticing his hair had fallen across his forehead, I had to fight off an urge to brush his hair back.

Suddenly, his eyes flew open and they went to me immediately. He looked surprised, but his eyes grew gentle as he stared at me. It made me feel self conscious and remembering the reason I was there, I stepped towards him, holding out his jacket.

"Here," I said awkwardly, standing in front of him. "Um, thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, taking the jacket and putting it to his side.

Silence overlapped us and I stared at Axel who stared back at me. His eyes seemed to shimmer in the sunlight and the freckles on his nose were noticeable, and I gulped. There was something beautiful about his features and I hated myself for being so aware of them.

Wanting to kill the moment, I blurted out, "Did you hear?"

"About your negotiation?" he asked, the corner of his lip turning up. "Of course. I know you'll only pass the kiss to whoever makes you fall in love with them."

"And?" The words flew out and I wondered why I cared so much about his opinion.

"I'll be the winner." He shrugged. "You'll be in love with me by the end of this year."

I rolled my eyes. "Please. You wish."

But even as I pretended to be annoyed, my heart skipped a beat. Blood rushed to my cheeks and I internally groaned. Something was seriously wrong with me and it was Axel who had caused it. This was why he was infuriating.

"My name will be your favourite word soon." He grinned. "It'll be like a prayer to you soon."

"You really think you'll win my heart like this." I raised my eyebrows. "Good luck."

"I don't need it."

I shook my head, but became surprised to hear him chuckle. The sound was lovely to me and groaning, I realized this negotiation might've been a bad idea. At this rate, I seemed on the way to losing.