"Where were you?" Viktor asked me as soon as I opened the door to my dorm room.

"I was in class. This is college, and I'm actually here to learn a thing or two," I said.

"Before that?"

"I was with Caroline and Drew."

"Before that?"

"I was with Diego."

"Before that?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, dude. I was with you before that." I ran my hand through my hair. "Is there an issue here?"

Viktor's eyes softened. "You just weren't there when I woke up this morning, and neither was Diego. I was a little scared for you, that's all. You didn't answer when I called you, either."

"Am I not allowed to do anything without you?" I asked.

"That's not what I said. I woke up, and you weren't there. I was worried. Is that a bad thing?"

"Why the hell are you even in here?" I asked, gesturing vaguely around my room.

"Jackie let me in earlier. She was concerned too, because she hadn't heard anything from you either. You're doing that thing again, aren't you?"

"What thing?"

"That thing when you just don't tell anyone what you're doing."

I scoffed. "No."

It pissed me off that he knew me so well. He didn't even have to try to figure me out, because it just came naturally.

I took a deep breath, then rephrased my statement. "Okay, I'm doing something, but I promise it's nothing sketchy. I'm just trying to figure out what's happening with Caroline and the Jardetzky twins. That's all."

"It's not your business, Amanda. Just let it go," Viktor replied.

"It's kind of my business. If they got caught, it reflects badly on Winterview, which in turn reflects badly on you. You already have the injury, and I'm not sure we can recover from another thing that goes wrong."

Viktor thought for a second. "You can't control any of that, though."

"That's true, but I'd like to get started on some damage control if you need it," I said.

He took my hand, then pulled me closer to him. "There's nothing we can do anymore. It's out of our control. Just let this play out and try not to worry about it."

I forced a smile and shook my head, and my stomach quickly got all pissed off again. "I'd rather worry about this than what I'm going to tell Blaine."

"You don't owe him anything, Amanda. You've moved on, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"But he never did anything wrong, and that's what's bothering me. He was nothing but good to me, and I'm afraid that—"

Viktor cut me off. "You shouldn't let this stress you out."

"Holy fucking shit, I'm cured. A fucking miracle. You very well may be the second coming of Christ," I said.

He frowned. "You don't have to tell him anything. He broke up with you, and he has to deal with the consequences of it. It's not your fault."

"Right, it's not my fault that the second he and I went our separate ways that I fell hard for you. It kills me that I did that to him." My voice shook as I spoke, and I took in a sharp breath, trying to keep myself composed.

Blaine never meant to hurt me, and the moment he turned around, I just stabbed him in the back. I loved Blaine the same way I always had, but I loved Viktor in a completely new way, something that made me feel things I never imagined I could. I didn't know how to stop it or the guilt that ate away my insides.

He was going to transfer schools for God's sake, and I replaced him like he never meant anything to me, when that couldn't be further from the truth.

If I were him, I would have undoubtedly hated me.

"Viktor, I just—" I bit down on my cheek. "I hate myself. I really, really do."

Viktor kissed my cheek. "You don't hate yourself. You just feel guilty, which you shouldn't."

He ran his fingertips up and down my arms, and like an innate response, I tilted my head up and let him kiss me, and I loved every second of it.

I couldn't control some things, and whatever I felt for Viktor was just one of those.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you something," I said.

"What?"

"Happy Valentine's Day."

He smiled and looked down. "I thought that was too cheesy for you."

"That kind of shit is right up Candy Cane's alley," I said with a laugh.

"Then while we're on that track," he said, tugging at my hips until he sat in a chair with me on top of him, "tell me something else that's cheesy."

"Sorry. I'm all out of cutesy things to say. That's pretty much the best you'll ever get from me."

"Then I'll tell you something cute," he said.

"Everything you say is automatically cute. That's not even my opinion. It's a fact."

He smiled. "See? That was cheesy. I knew you had it in you, Candy Cane."

I shook my head and smiled back at him. "Okay, okay. God, I'm getting a toothache because it's too goddamn sweet in here."

He brushed my hair out of my face, then pressed a kiss to my lips. "Can I tell you something?"

"Um, sure, as long as it's not too romantic," I replied.

"I've never been happier in my life."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I've been all around the world and talked to so many different people. I've been on lots of winning teams for hockey, and that's fun, but you're different. You started off as the other team for me, then turned into my coach, and now, you're my favorite teammate I've ever had."

A small smile tugged on my lips. "Was I a good opponent?"

"You seemed more into the game than I ever was." He laughed. "You antagonized me more than I ever had been before. I really took a step back and wondered if you were right."

My eyes widened. "Oh, no. Fuck no. I was so wrong."

"Were you? You told me that I was selfish, that I couldn't get anywhere just with talent, and that I barged right into your life when I shouldn't have. You were right."

I stared at him. I had never really heard his side of the feud.

"You could have tried to fix me in a better way, but that's not you, and I guess that's not what I needed. I needed you and your harsh truths," he said.

"Did you ever hate me?"

He thought for a moment. "Not really. I just wanted to get along with you, but that's not what happened, and that was really frustrating for me. Like you said, I was nothing but change for you. It's hard to accept that, so I at least understood your side."

"And then you and Mom sabotaged me into liking you with that dumb exchange and that stupid list."

Viktor laughed. "We didn't sabotage you. We just showed you another side of me that maybe you'd like better."

"I don't know, I guess the whole reason we can do this now," I ran my finger along his jaw, "is because we've already seen the worst of each other."

"Was that really your worst?"

"I'd like to think so. You give me a reason to believe in a different Amanda. One that can be firm but kind. Strong but gentle," I said.

"And the opposite goes for me. I was always kind, but you taught me that it's okay to have a backbone. I always believed in others, but you taught me to believe in myself too."

"We've just—" I swallowed a sob that tried to crawl its way up my throat. "We've overcome a lot together."

He nodded. "And when things get tough, there's no one I'd rather have by my side."

Viktor's jersey number was fifty, and I knew that it was a reference to my list of things I could tolerate about him, but now it just felt incomplete.

51. I'm not perfect, you're not perfect, but damn, we're perfect together. I'll never be the perfect girl that tells you whatever you want to hear, but I'll tell you what you need to hear. I'll never be the perfect girl who keeps you up all night long, but I'll keep by your side as long as you want me. I think you put it best: we're just a great freaking team.

I smiled. Maybe I'd write that out with a pretty pen on some cute paper and put it in that scrapbook Mom made for our wedding.

I really needed to calm the fuck down.

"Viktor," I said.

He looked up at me.

I wondered what he was thinking. Not feeling, because I was pretty sure I felt the same thing, but his thoughts were so different, so beautiful.

"When did you fall in love with me?" I asked.

"You're not screwing around with the questions, huh?" He smiled. "It was during one of our training sessions, and you were yelling at me for messing something up. You paused for a moment, and the way your eyes became kinder made my breathing stop for a second. And then you asked me, 'What aren't you getting?' and all I could think was, 'I don't get what is going on in my heart.' It was weird, because the training seemed like a chore to you, but in that moment, it felt like you really cared, and then I just wanted to kiss you and stuff."

"Oh, shit," I mumbled.

"But now, I can have all the kisses I want, so it was worth every second."

I smiled as I leaned in for one of those.

"Now you have to tell yours," Viktor said, and when I shot him a glare, he added, "It's only fair."

"Well," I began, "there's not a single moment for me. It was a long, painstaking process. And I guess the realization just hit me when I kissed you. Of course, I panicked about it, because that's just what I do, but when I put some rational thought into it, it made sense. We complement each other. Why should I deprive myself of it?"

"That's sweet," he said, and this time, he didn't interrupt me when I tried to kiss him.

"Are you hungry? I have a shit ton of peanut butter cookies that I don't know what to do with," I said.

"How'd you get those?"

"Drew made them for me. I didn't have the heart to tell her I'm allergic."

He stared at me wordlessly.

"Contrary to popular belief, I do actually have a soul," I said.

He smiled. "Sure, I'll have the cookies. Just don't do something like that again. Your allergies aren't something you should take lightly."

"They haven't killed me yet, have they?"

"If you keep up that attitude, you'll be lucky to live to be twenty-five."

I laughed. While I certainly wasn't a quitter, I didn't mind Viktor giving me a little more motivation to make it that long.

***

I never thought that the dating life would be for me, but Viktor insisted that we do things that normal couples would, even though we already knew each other a little too well for my own comfort sometimes.

He liked the class of it, I imagined. And he also made it known that he liked it when I looked all pretty.

I didn't want to deprive him of the simple pleasures of life.

I was pretty sure the idea for that night was dinner and Winterview's final home hockey game of the season, but before I went and had a good time, I had an obligation to fulfill.

Blaine was a damn good person who deserved at least an explanation from me.

I was a woman of honor.

I pressed the FaceTime call button by his contact.

Fuck, ckuf, ukcf, kfcu.

He answered quickly. "Oh, thank God. Please distract me from this stupid ass paper I'm supposed to be writing."

"What's it about?" I asked.

"I don't even know. So far, I have two and a half pages of pure bullshit. I even included a recipe for cheesecake. Wait, could you make that for me?"

I forced a smile. "Sure. I'll make it for you during spring break."

"Oh, I got your text about that. Yeah, those two can come with us. Honestly, I put the whole thing together for you—holy shit."

"What?"

"You look like a Snapchat filter."

I laughed. "It's called makeup."

"I know that, smart ass. Who are you looking all cute for? You have a hot date?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Wait, do you actually?" Blaine asked.

I nodded.

"Amanda, please tell me you're just fucking with me."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. It's nothing you did. The past few years have caught up to me, and things are just different between Viktor and me now. I'm sorry. You don't deserve this, and—"

"Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good," he said.

"For fuck's sake, Blaine, don't start with this—"

"I don't want to go! I don't want to go!"

FaceTime ended.

His reaction seemed about right, a nerdy reference to cover up the fact that he was refusing to accept a new reality.

Same, Blaine, same.

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Good morning/afternoon/evening/night everyone. Thank you for reading!

Out of everyone in The Exchange and The Score, who's your favorite character, and who is your least favorite?