My heart thudded and all I could do was stare.

Griffin had his back to me but I could see his hands entangled in the girl's dark hair. The longer I watched, the more passionate the kiss seemed to get. This was definitely not one sided. And he was definitely not pushing her away.

A knot formed in my throat. It was like the Brittney situation but ten times worse. I felt like I was being punched in the gut.

Griffin was kissing another girl.

The people around me began to blur and a roaring filled my ears. I wanted to look away. I wanted to vanish. But I couldn't. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them.

I felt like I could throw up.

He was kissing another girl.

The thought played on repeat in my head and I felt dizzy. Somebody jostled into me, pulling me back to the world. I stumbled back into the crowd, letting it swallow me up.

How could he do that? How could he do that to me?

I needed to get out of here.

Somehow I managed to make it back to the door, almost crashing into Oscar.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern written on his face.

"I'm fine," I breathed. I could not let Griffin or any of his friends know how much this hurt me. I would not look like a fool in front of them.

"I'm guessing you just saw Griffin and Riley." Oscar smiled, an edge to his expression. "He wanted me to let you know the updated score. 6:8 to him. I hope you didn't think he actually liked you."

The full weight of his words hit me in a tidal wave. Griffin confessing his feelings was only another prank. I felt my heart shatter inside but I refused to let Oscar see me break. I took a deep breath, plastered a smile on my face, and began lying through my teeth. "It's a shame he said those words first. I was waiting till midnight to tell him that, to make it a bit more dramatic you know."

Oscar threw his head back and laughed. "Maybe Griffin did finally find a pranking match. Someone just as cold hearted as him."

"Maybe," I said, trying to hide my trembling legs.

"Good luck trying to make a comeback in only a day," Oscar said, then added, "you never were going to win."

I smiled tightly and made my way past him and out into the quiet of the hallway. As I walked down the corridors back to my dorm room, I sent a quick text to the others letting them know I was feeling sick but to continue the prank without me. I then managed to maintain my composure as I passed people walking about, but the moment I reached my empty dorm room, my strong demeanour collapsed and I broke apart.

Sobs wracked my body as I fell to the floor.

How could he? How could he kiss another girl?

Because he is a player and never cared about you. The reality of the situation hit me like a bucket of cold ice. I'd been living too much of the fictional life, when in fact, this was real life.

I'd trusted him. And he'd taken my trust and shredded it up leaving nothing but an empty, gaping hole.

Another wave of slicing pain tore through my chest. It had all been fake. Fake when we'd shared laughs in chemistry. Fake when he'd pulled me into the cupboard with him, saving me from getting caught. Fake when we'd rolled about laughing in our sumo suits, the first time I truly realised that I actually enjoyed being around him. Fake when he'd held me on the island, whispering soothing words to calm me down. Fake when he'd confessed his feelings and kissed me in the cottage. Fake when we danced only hours ago. He'd convinced me that all his feelings were real.

And I'd fallen for it all.

I'd fallen for the prank.

I'd fallen for him.

I'd fallen in love with the lies.

My hands clenched as tears continued to pour from my eyes. Everything was so blurred; the world, his words, my emotions towards him. Eventually the pain evolved into anger. Anger at him for betraying me. Anger at myself for falling for the player.

How could I have been so dumb?

My life wasn't a romance novel.

I almost laugh at the irony of the situation. I'd quite literally just lived out the classic stereotype of the nerd falling for a player who had 'changed.' If this was a book though, the player would have actually changed and the kiss I'd just witnessed would just be some huge misunderstanding that could easily be solved if the two characters decided to talk.

My mind stopped racing for a few seconds. Had I just done exactly what I always despised? I hated when characters ran off without hearing the full explanation first. Maybe Riley had actually just pulled a Brittney and Griffin hadn't actually wanted to kiss her.

No. This is real life.

I had seen the way he'd touched her. The way his hand had been woven through her hair. It had not been one sided. But what if it was? A small voice prodded. I could be blowing this way out of proportion. I had only seen them at a distance and I know as well as anyone that the mind loves to play tricks.

No. This is real life.

Griffin was a player. He'd told me countless times he wouldn't date anyone anymore, why would I be any different? All I had done was play right into his prank. I took a deep breath. Tomorrow I wouldn't let him see that this had affected me. I wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of breaking my heart.

I stood up off the floor, and wiped away my tears. "The prank war is over."