01. The Deal

"I'm sorry, Sage, you're going to have to retake the subject."

I held my breath, trying my hardest to hold back a deep sigh. Or maybe a scoff. All I knew was that I had to contain myself before I started yelling in this man's face.

"Mr Graham," I began slowly, attempting to keep my voice level like the professional university student I was. "I don't think you understand. I was under... exceptional circumstances. I wasn't able to perform to my best standard. I did well in all my other assessments this term, sir."

Exceptional circumstances my arse. But Mr Graham didn't need to know the exact details.

"I can see that you're a high-achieving student, Sage, however this decision isn't up to me," he said in his stupid, authoritative voice. He leaned forward on his stupid, ancient-looking desk and gave me a stupid, pointed look. "Your Physics final is a must-pass exam, and the university employs a fit to sit rule. You sat the exam, and therefore you agreed that you were fit to complete the assessment."

"Well, I didn't realise that was a stupid rule," I muttered under my breath.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. "I just—isn't there anything else I can do? This could delay my graduation, couldn't it?"

"If you play your cards right and pass this semester, you'll be fine," he said. He paused for a moment before sighing and adding, "Sage, I understand that sometimes things happen that are out of our control, but I can see your grades. You can pass this subject. Just take it easy this semester, retake the subject and come back ready and reenergised for next semester. Okay?"

I nodded.

Take it easy.

That was easier said than done. Especially coming from him. He wasn't the one who had to deal with knowing that all of this could've been avoided if it wasn't for Dylan.

Dylan, of all people.

How many months of my life had I wasted being with him? Trusting him? All for him to dump me like I meant nothing, less than a week before my finals.

I had never failed anything before in my life. And now this would permanently be on my academic transcript.

All. Because. Of. Dylan.

Take it easy? As long as Dylan still stood, this semester would be anything but easy.

It was almost impossible to avoid him. In the two weeks we'd been over, I felt like I saw him around every corner, waiting for me.

It wasn't intentional. At least, not on my part, and not since the break-up.

Before the break-up, however, we'd chosen dorms intentionally near each other so that we could walk to class together. We'd chosen classes that started at the same time, so we could leave together. And we'd chosen the dorms near the footy field, so I could watch him practice.

And it had all worked out perfectly, until that day.

"We're done, Sage."

Those had been his words. Three simple words. I'll be honest, not the words I was expecting to hear, especially after what I personally thought was a pretty good date.

We were still standing outside the restaurant. Not only had we just had a date, but we were still in public.

At the time, I couldn't care less about the people around me when Dylan said those fateful words, but by the time I was curled up in bed, the tears flowing freely from my eyes, it was all I could think about.

He couldn't wait until my exam was over? He couldn't wait until we were in private?

Had our year together meant nothing to him?

I had blinked up at Dylan, half-expecting him to begin laughing in my face and play it off like some terrible prank. When he didn't, my frown only deepened.

"Sorry, what? I think I just hallucinated for a second."

His smile finally appeared but it was pursed and more of an exasperated look than one of happiness.

"The spark just went out," he continued, shrugging. "Maybe what we had was destined to stay in high school."

"High school?" I echoed, my voice sounding hollow to my own ears. "I don't think I understand. We just went out for dinner. You said you loved me, like, this morning."

He shuffled on his feet, like he was the one uncomfortable with the idea of him being unnecessarily cruel. Like he was the one being blindsided by all of this.

"Well, I didn't want to ruin your day."

"So, you thought you'd just ruin my night? My week?" My throat had turned dry and scratchy. I scoffed. My eyes began to burn with the threat of tears, but I held them back, clinging desperately to the anger that had begun to blossom.

"I have my physics final on Monday, Dylan! You couldn't wait, what? Two more nights?"

"Sage," he began.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted, swatting his arm away.

It was a blur after that.

I think he said something else to me. I don't know. All I know is that I sprinted—yes, sprinted—back to my dorm on the other side of campus.

I didn't start crying until hours later.

I stood from my seat, sucking in a tight breath.

"Thank you," I said to Mr Graham. For nothing. Slowly, I turned, and walked out of the room.

I would have to retake the entire subject. A whole unit of this semester taken up by this stupid subject. That would be five hours of classes per week that could have been spent on a different subject.

Stupid Dylan.

Stupid university.

Stupid everything.

I stomped my way across the campus, letting the cold evening air dry the tears that threatened to reemerge. I thought I'd cried it all out a week ago, but I was wrong. Thinking about my failed final only reignited my heartbreak.

It was stupid. Dylan and I were never even supposed to be together. It happened by accident.

He accidentally came late to English class one day and our teacher paired us together for an assignment.

He was a bit of an arse at first, showing up to our meetings late and not really doing any work. He would only ever talk about footy and how he wanted to be a professional rugby player.

And then he asked me out.

It was completely out of nowhere, but I said yes. I mean, it was our last year of high school, and I never had a serious relationship. Dylan was tall, cute and on the footy team, and I wanted to experience something before I graduated.

What an experience that was.

I should have known.

Georgie had warned me. She had told me that out of all the sports teams at out high school, it was the rugby team to avoid the most. Not one decent guy was on that team. I thought Dylan was the exception.

At least when I woke her up crying at one in the morning, she didn't say "I told you so."

Georgie could be nice like that when she wanted to. At least, to me. That was one of the perks of having her as a best friend for almost a decade; I got special treatment.

I turned the corner to my street when the footy field came into view.

My heart stuttered to a stop.

Someone was practicing this late on a Saturday? I watched as he lined up the ball, took a few steps back, then kicked it perfectly through the posts.

Dylan? I thought. It was hard to see him from here, with the floodlights blinding my eyes and almost silhouetting him against the darkness of the sky.

He jogged forward, collecting the ball from the grass with an easy swoop.

Maybe that was it. His final kick for the night, and then he'd turn and go home before I ever had to speak to him.

Except, no. He lined the ball up once more, this time from a harder angle, and gave it another kick.

There was no avoiding it, then. I had to pass the field to get to my dorm. I walked quickly, hoping against all odds that he wouldn't turn around.

He did, obviously, because the universe can't give me a break.

Except, it wasn't Dylan who stood there, in the middle of the field.

It was Corey Bishop.

Corey was Eastview University's team captain, which is kind of incredible because he's only been on the team for a less than a year. He was team captain at our high school too, so I, of course, knew all about him.

Dylan would never shut up about him. About how Corey was the best player on the team; about how Dylan wished he could be captain one day.

Even now, in university, it was the same story. Or at least it was, until he broke up with me.

Corey's eyes met mine and I froze.

His lips twitched and I watched in fear as he walked towards me. Even the way he walked pissed me off, like he had all the time in the world. Who cared about the fact that it was getting darker and windier, and I was standing here in a t-shirt and shorts?

Not him.

"Ah, Sage Le," he said.

The way he said my name irritated me. Not because he said it in any special way, but because of the way he said it the first time, when Dylan first introduced me to the team.

The team had huddled around, eager to take a look at Dylan's new girlfriend. Everyone except Corey.

Corey stayed on the bench, barely glancing up from his phone.

"Sage Le?" he had said. Everyone watched him, waiting for his reaction, because apparently his opinion was the one that mattered most. "Is that a name or an adverb?"

The whole team laughed, as if they actually knew what an adverb was.

Even Dylan laughed, now that I thought about it. We had just handed in our English assignment at the time, and he definitely didn't know what an adverb was.

And that was how I heard my name now. Sage Le. Whether he intended it or not, that was how I permanently heard the way he spoke my full name. The words blending together into one. I could still hear the laughter of his teammates. Sagely.

So original. So funny.

"Corey," I replied, thinking this would be one of those small talk situations you encounter in university, when you pass an old high school classmate.

You know, the hey, how are you? Class going alright? See you around.

Corey was never one for small talk.

"I heard Dylan dumped you," he said, getting straight to the point.

A new pang of anger hit me.

What an arse.

Here's the thing. I could cope with jerks. I liked to think of myself as resilient. When you're a girl pursuing aeronautical engineering as a career, you kind of have to be resilient.

But Corey wasn't just a jerk. He was a hot jerk. A hot jerk who managed to get whatever he wanted, even if what he wanted was team captain as the new player on the team.

Why couldn't he at least be a failure? Or at least, slightly less hot than Dylan? Was that so much to ask for?

Despite the overwhelming urge to sock him in the face, I reeled my anger in. He didn't need to know that his words had fazed me. He especially didn't need to go tell Dylan that.

"He did," I said simply, keeping my words neutral. Purely factual.

"I never thought you two would last more than a week," he said.

I frowned. He didn't say it with any sort of vindication. If anything, his voice sounded far away, as if he was remembering that day Dylan introduced us.

"That explains a lot," I said, turning. I lifted a hand as a sort of wave but had no energy to actually wave it. "See you, Corey."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

I ignored him, continuing to walk in the direction of my dorm. I was already thinking about a warm shower and my bed. It wasn't like anything I said would change Corey Bishop's mind about me as a person.

Hell, now that Dylan had ended things, I probably would never speak to Corey again outside of passing hellos and goodbyes. Maybe a ten-year class reunion. But that was it.

"Sage," he said, beginning to walk with me. "How does that explain a lot?"

"Oh, you know. The way you acted around me for this past year."

It didn't matter what I said anymore. Dylan and I were over, so this tepid acquaintanceship between Corey and I was over too. Might as well air it all out.

"You never spoke to me unless it was to make fun of Dylan and me," I continued. "When I entered the room, suddenly you always had somewhere better to be."

Corey said nothing. He didn't even try to deny it because it was true. And he didn't try to apologise because he wasn't sorry.

Maybe he had come to the same conclusion I had. That we would never have to see each other again, so why should we make nice all of a sudden?

We walked together in silence for a few more metres.

"I just didn't think you and Dylan were a good match," he said finally.

"Well, I guess you were right," I replied. "Congratulations."

"So, what? That's it? You're just gonna let Dylan run off with that Instagram model and call it a day?"

His words rang through my ears. I stopped so abruptly that it took him a second to realise I wasn't walking with him anymore.

"Instagram model?" I repeated.

"You didn't know?" He seemed genuinely surprised. "Shit, sorry. I mean, I guess you were bound to find out somehow."

"Yeah, guess so, huh." I thought for a moment, twisting my lips. "What did Dylan tell the team about me?"

"What, like about the break-up?" I nodded. "Nothing. He just showed up with that girl at practice a month ago and she never left. What was her name... Celeste something?"

"A month ago?" I asked, mentally counting back the weeks. That didn't make sense. Dylan broke up with me less than three weeks ago. "Do you remember the date?"

"No, I don't remember the date Sagely," he said, scoffing like the idea of remembering dates was absurd. It probably was for someone like Corey Bishop. He probably had someone who remembered all of his dates for him.

He paused. "It was the day that you went to the movies, though. For the Mean Girls screening?"

Dylan hadn't wanted to go. Something about how the movie wasn't funny and it was made for girls. I went with Georgie instead.

He was right, that was a month ago. Two weeks before he broke up with me, to be exact.

"That fucker cheated on me," I whispered.

My eyes burned for a moment, and I thought I might start crying right there and then, but the anger won. My whole body felt hot.

I couldn't believe it. Not only had he dumped me publicly, three days before my final, but he had cheated on me too.

Had his goal been to humiliate me? Because it was working. I wanted to cry out of pure embarrassment.

Georgie was right all along. There were no decent guys on the footy team.

Corey shuffled on his feet, and I blinked, remembering he was still stood in front of me. The sun had long set by now, but the footy field was still bright with floodlights. I could see the dirt stuck to Corey's tanned skin. How long had he been out here, practising?

Practice on Saturdays started in the morning. He hadn't been here all day, had he?

He watched me with careful brown eyes, and I shrunk into myself, the humiliation multiplying.

He probably figured it out by now; that Dylan had cheated on me. That he'd flaunted his side chick in front of the whole team while leading me on. Or was she the main chick? Had I been the side piece all along?

For some reason, the way he stared at me pissed me off.

"Well," I started, cringing when my voice came out strangled. "I'm sure you're glad. You won't have to put up with me at practice anymore. Go Wolves."

I started walking again.

"Go Wolves," Corey called out from behind me.

It was probably better that I found out now, about Dylan's new and improved girlfriend. Better than bumping into the two of them on campus or something.

I kicked the grass under my shoes, huffing loudly.

Fucking Dylan.

This was all Dylan's fault.

Not only had he gone and dumped me publicly, three days before my exam, but he'd gone and cheated on me as well. He hadn't even tried to hide it. He took her to his footy practice! He introduced her to the team!

I wondered what he introduced her as. Side chick? Girlfriend? Cousin from out of town?

I kicked the grass again.

And now I had to pick up the pieces. I had to repeat my subject. I had to retake my exam. I had to break the news to all of my friends that it was over. I had to live with the fact that he'd cheated on me.

And what did he have to do? Go and enjoy life with his new girl? Enjoy his position on the university rugby team? Potentially take Corey's spot as captain?

That didn't sound fair.

A thought occurred to me.

I came to a sudden stop, spinning on my heel to face the football field.

Corey had gone back to kicking that stupid ball over and over again from different angles.

I watched him for a moment, the way he carried himself. Corey had always had this air about him that regular people like me didn't want to get sucked into. It was the way he looked (read: too attractive for his own good) and the way he carried himself (read: like he was always the most important person in the room).

He was tall, and handsome, and the youngest person to make team captain at Eastview University. Rumour had it that the national rugby team was trying to sign him too.

Dylan spoke about Corey with admiration, but I could see through all of that.

He hated him. He envied him. He wanted what Corey had.

Well, if Dylan thought he was moving up in the world, two could play at that game.

I stormed across the grass field.

"Corey!" I shouted. He turned. "I have a proposition."

"I'm good, thanks," he said warily.

"Just hear me out," I said, huffing. "God, this is a big field, isn't it?"

He didn't reply, only stared at me, waiting. I took a deep breath and made a fleeting wish that I wasn't just about to embarrass myself in front of Corey Bishop.

I wasn't sure how much more embarrassment I could take this month.

"I have an idea," I began slowly. When he didn't immediately blow me off, I added, "I want you to go out with me."

He snorted, rolling his eyes, and turning back to his football. "Yeah, alright. Go get some sleep, Sage."

"No, listen! It won't be, like, for real. It would be just for appearances," I explained. "We just tell everyone that we're dating. Go to some matches together, I come to your practice. That sort of stuff."

"What, like a fake relationship?"

"Exactly."

It wasn't one of my best ideas, but I could see it now—Dylan's face when he realised Corey and I were dating.

Me and Corey. The team captain. The guy Dylan had spent his entire high school career admiring. The guy Dylan wanted to be.

And I would be dating him.

Well, that would be 'dating', in heavy quotation marks. Either way, he'd be crushed. He just had to believe it first.

"What, you want to make Dylan jealous?" Corey asked, his eyebrow quirking. "With me?"

That was a good sign. He was interested.

I nodded, smiling. Might as well play into his ego a little bit.

I was choosing him to make Dylan jealous, and he knew it would work. He knew his strengths. Sure, maybe some other guy could make Dylan glance our way, but Corey? Dylan would probably froth at the mouth once he found out.

"Jealous," I agreed. "Distracted. All of the above."

"Alright," he said, stepping closer. "And what's in it for me?"

I swallowed hard. That was the weak part of the idea. Inflating his ego a little bit wasn't enough. I needed to sound convincing. He needed a stake in all of this. Folding my arms over my chest, I met his eye.

"Dylan wants your spot as captain," I said. It wasn't entirely a lie. I had simply extrapolated from Dylan's conversations with me. That's all.

"I know."

I blinked. "You know?"

"I know," he confirmed. "Dylan has never been one for subtlety. You think he'll take my spot, then?"

I hesitated. Corey was the best player on the team. He'd gotten captain for a reason. Dylan had just made it off the bench.

"I think," I began, "that he's improved in the past few years and he's starting to get a big head about it."

Corey nodded slowly, agreeing. "He'll never get captain while I'm around, but he needs to remember his place. The bench."

"So?" I asked. "Does that mean you'll do it?"

He hummed. "It would be nice to see Dylan's face when I show up to next week's game with you on my arm."

I snorted and quickly covered my mouth, embarrassed that I'd displayed any sort of amiable emotion in front of Corey.

"Alright," he said. He tucked his football under one arm and held a hand to me. "What do you think? Is it a deal?"

I hesitated for a moment.

It had been my idea, but now that he stood here, actually agreeing to fake date me...

Corey Bishop had never been nice to me. Not in high school, and certainly not in university. I had never thought of him as one to be trusted.

But my past judgement wasn't something to be trusted in either, considering the trainwreck that had been my relationship with Dylan.

And I had to admit, I wanted my revenge. I really, really did.

I glanced down at his hand.

I could put up with Corey for a little while. I was resilient, and it would be for a good cause; Dylan's downfall. It would be worth it in the end.

Besides, what really entailed a fake relationship? Holding hands? Posting Instagram photos together?

How hard could it really be?

I slapped my hand into his. I had never and would never be considered petite, but his hand almost enveloped mine, his fingertips reaching all the way past my wrist.

I mustered up my best smile and gave his hand a firm shake.

"It's a deal."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

Welcome to Call It a Favour!

I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter! This story is my attempt at 'pantsing', aka not plotting anything out and just writing, which is very different from my usual style! I'll be posting as I write so keep an eye out for random updates! x

Also, yes, this story is set in Australia. Eastview University is made up, and so are the Wolves. Footy = rugby. You don't need to know anything about rugby or Australian rules to read this story (mostly bc I know the bare minimum also teehee)

Anddd while I have y'all here, go Bulldogs!