This is my first fanfic ever so please R&R

EDIT: 2014

So, hi, here I am, almost at the end of this super long journey. (Just a fair warning for the entire fic, I have outrageously long Authors Notes, so just be warned, I'm trying to cut back). I started this in 2011 and my writing has grown SO much since then. I'm not going to revise this fic for reasons you can read about in the Chapter 26 A/N, but I just want to say, STICK WITH THIS FIC. The writing improves as you read, I promise, and there really is a plot going later on :)

Chapter 1

"Fiveminutes." Drake Merwin was sure of himself; sure he would beat Ladris at her own game.

"Ten," Diana smirked at him. "You can't do it in five minutes."

Drake growled under his breath. What a witch. He could hardly stand not attacking her right now with the knife he always kept in his pocket. And then her pretty face would be all covered in crimson... But he snapped out of his daydreaming, he had to focus right now.

"I can do it in five," he said confidently.

Diana shook her head at him, "There is no way you can do it in five, my bet's ten. And if I win...if I win, you have to cook me dinner tonight. And dress up like a waiter."

Drake flinched, cook for Ladris? Yeah right. That would be torture. So he would have to think of something worse for his side of the bet.

"If I win," he started, and then a perfect idea came to him. "You have to cook yourself dinner, and then you have to eat it. With Caine. Alone. Just a romantic dinner for two."

Diana narrowed her eyes and Drake grinned, knowing this would be the perfect punishment.

"Drake Merwin?" The psychiatrist's door opened and the new therapist peeked out tentatively.

Drake got up and went into the door, grinning and mouthing 'Five Minutes' as he went.

Diana rolled her eyes; no way could he do it in five minutes. She sat alone in the hard backed chair, watching the clock intently.

One minute had passed, then two and three. She reached into her bag and pulled out her lip gloss, spreading it on as the clock showed that now four minutes had passed. The second hand grew closer and closer to the five minute mark, and Diana held her breath as the final seconds ticked down...and then she grinned. He had lost; it was taking him more than five minutes. In fact, it wasn't until one minute later when the therapist ran out of the room, screaming, with Drake following close behind, walking slowly with a twisted smile on his face.

Diana strolled up to him, "I won."

His grin immediately disappeared. "No way."

"Yeah, it took you six minutes, and you said it would only take you five."

Drake took a step back, seeming to want to size up the situation. "Well, that doesn't mean you win! You said it would take me ten minutes, and it only took me six!"

Diana thought hard about what she should do here. Drake was right, not that she would ever tell him that, but she wouldn't just let him win completely. There was no way she was being forced into a dinner with Caine without at least putting up a fight.

Suddenly she heard the voices of the principal and an extremely frightened therapist coming down the hall.

"Come on, unless you want to get us both detention," she told him, motioning to go the other way. "What did you do to the therapist anyway?"

Drake grinned, and Diana mentally shuddered when she saw the look on his face, "Let's just say he will never think of paperclips, peanut butter, and kittens in the same way again."

When they were to a safer spot, Diana finally said, "You still have to cook me dinner, because I didn't completely lose the bet."

Drake smiled, "Fine, but you still have to eat with Caine."

Diana turned red with anger, "Fine."

He gave her a Cheshire Cat-like grin, "Fine."

She turned and stalked off, and was halfway down the hall when she heard Drake call, "Oh, and Ladris?"

"What?" she spat, tired of talking with him.

"You have to tell Caine. I'm sure he'd love you asking him to dinner."

Diana needed to think. She needed to plot, more specifically. How would she ask Caine to dinner with her? She knew if she asked him then he would totally take it the wrong way, and he would think she actually wanted to have a romantic dinner with him. As if.

She sat down on her bed, deep in thought, when her annoying roommate, Taylor, came into the room happily, probably relishing in the latest piece of gossip she had heard. Suddenly, the perfect way to ask Caine became clear in Diana's mind; Taylor. That girl couldn't resist spreading gossip around. It would be perfect. She could make Caine feel awkward and end up asking her, while still accomplishing her half of the bet.

She made her face downcast, and nervously rung her fingers as Taylor sat down on her bed.

"Taylor?" she asked, making her voice higher pitched and more nervous sounding than usual. "If I told you something, would you promise not to tell anyone?"

Taylor's eyes immediately lit up, and she went and sat down next to Diana on her bed, surprised that Diana was actually talking to her, and excited for a new piece of gossip. "Of...of course Diana," she said. "What is it?"

"Well," Diana hesitated, and leaned in to Taylor like she was telling her deepest secret. "You know Caine Soren?"

Cainedidn't consider himself to be a gossip girl. He never really gossiped much, although he knew he got gossiped about. And he wasn't a girl, so he didn't really fit that part of the description either. But even though he didn't know much gossip, he wasn't completely out of the loop, and the entire school knew the gossip right now; that Diana wanted to ask him out to dinner tonight.

He was in math class right now, the only class they had together, and he wondered if she would ask him now, or if she would be too scared. No, she wouldn't be scared. Diana was never scared. But he was scared. What would he say?

He had always been fearless, never nervous, never scared. But she was the only one who completely destroyed that, broke him down and shattered the pieces. When he was with her, it was like he couldn't think, almost couldn't breathe. But what if the rumors were wrong? And he ending up looking like a fool?

There was a murmur in class then, and Caine snapped out of his thoughts to see her strolling into the classroom as the bell rang, her hair swishing from side to side as she walked. He loved how her hair swished.

She came and took her seat beside him, and he watched her to see any sign of nervousness, and got nothing but a glare in response.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked, more cruel than usual. She must have been having a bad day.

Caine realized his mouth had dropped open and quickly closed it, only to open it again to say something and close it once more, forgetting what he was going to say.

Diana rolled her eyes, "Nice fish out of water look, it really suits you."

Caine blushed and looked down at his paper, pretending to work on some problems. He waited for the rest of class for her to say something to him, for her to ask him something, maybe even glance in his direction, but for the entire class she barely even looked at him. Should he ask her if the rumors were true? What would she say?

He glanced at the clock, the bell was about to ring, and he wouldn't see Diana again until dinner. And then it would be too late.

He said it before he had time to chicken out, "Ummm, Diana, did you hear the rumors going around?"

She turned and gave him an innocent look, "What rumors?"

He knew this had been a bad idea. "Oh, nothing, just that you were going to ask me..." he trailed off, mumbling.

"Ask you what?"

"Ask me to dinner. With you. Alone. I mean, well, with the two of us, we wouldn't be alone alone, like just one person, that would be awkward of course. Hard to have a romantic dinner for two with one person. Not that it would be romantic! Of course, it would just be as friends. So yeah. Just like, to umm eat dinner. Yeah, tonight," he realized that he was rambling and quickly stopped talking.

She looked at him in confusion, "Oh, I hadn't heard that rumor."

"Oh." He was officially out of things to say.

"Yeah, I guess I was just planning on eating in the Cafeteria tonight." She sighed and suddenly it came to Caine.

"Well, you know, we could always eat dinner in my dorm. You know, just the two of us. We could sneak up food. I mean, if you want to." He held his breath.

Diana's eyes lit up, "That sounds like fun! And I know Drake has been longing to cook in the kitchen, so that would work out perfect!"

Drake longing to cook for Diana? Something was wrong here, but Caine didn't care. In fact, he felt on top of the world!

"So tonight? At five?" she said, getting up from her seat as the bell rang.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds perfect," he said, his voice giddy from happiness.

She gave him a 1,000 watt smile and walked away, leaving him feeling as happy as he would ever be. Diana smiled to herself as she entered the hall, he didn't have to know that she hadn't wanted to go to dinner with him in the first place, or that she had been forced to ask him, or make him ask her. That was unnecessary information.