A/N: I have absolutely no excuse for posting this so late. I'm going to keep trucking. Please leave some reviews if you like it. They really encourage me to keep going with this.

Summary: The most popular boy in school has placed a bet with his best friend that he can get the new girl into bed before the class trip, but she ends up being more feisty, and having more depth, than he anticipated.

Gamble
Chapter One
By Melissa Moore

Usagi's eyes shifted behind her eyelids as she became increasingly aware of the light trying to invade her corneas. She stirred, running her hand along the silky top of the blanket, noting with a vague sense of alarm that it didn't feel like her comforter at home. She kept reaching, trying to find her pillow, and instead her hand connected with a head full of soft, silky hair. With a gasp, she jerked her hand back and sat up, her eyes popping open.

Immediately her eyeballs screeched at her and she winced. As her eyes slowly adjusted, she glanced around the foreign room. A bowl of chips and a couple red plastic cups sat on the nightstand, and she turned her gaze to where the hair had been.

The brightness of the room suddenly came in second to what she saw before her.

"AHHHHHHH!" she screamed, scrambling across the top of the bed until her back was against the wall.

Mamoru awoke with a roar, his hair unkempt and his shirt rumpled. They stood there and stared at each other for a moment, Usagi with a look of revulsion and Mamoru with one of confusion.

"What the hell are you doing in here, Chiba?" Usagi cried, crossing her arms in front of her protectively. "Please, for the love of God, tell me we didn't-"

He followed her train of thought immediately and held up a hand. "NO. No way."

Although Usagi was relieved, she couldn't help but feel a slight stab to her pride. "What happened?"

Mamoru walked over to the mirror situated above the dresser, running a hand through his hair in a failed attempt to put it back where it belonged. "You got pretty drunk last night."

Usagi blinked. "Is that why my head feels like it's full of cotton?"

Mamoru smirked. "Most likely. I can help you with that, though. I'll be right back."

He left the room and Usagi stood immediately on unsteady legs, ambling over to the dresser. She was shocked at what she saw, and absolutely mortified. Mamoru had seen her like this. Granted, he wasn't her absolute favorite in the world, but she still had an image she wanted to maintain around him. Cool, calm, collected, and certainly not prone to tomfoolery. But the girl staring back at her in the mirror looked like she lived for tomfoolery.

Her hair was half down and half up. Her eyes were slightly red-rimmed and her eyeliner had been smudged. Good lord, who was this creature? She went to the connected bathroom and grabbed a paper towel off of the roll, using it to fix her smudged eyeliner. Then she began the arduous task of taking down the other side of her hair.

Mamoru knocked and then re-entered the room. "Tsukino-san?"

"I'm in the bathroom," she called, using her fingers to comb out the golden mess on her head. Once she was finished, she exited, seeing Mamoru standing in the mirror, trying once again to fix his hair.

As their gazes connected, Mamoru's mouth fell open slightly. His gaze traveled the length of her body up and down with an intensity that made Usagi shiver. He visibly swallowed and tried to keep his voice casual. "Wow. You have a lot of hair."

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she flushed and put her hands behind her, gathering up the golden mass with her hands and pulling the length into a messy bun at the nape of her neck. "It took forever to grow so I'm reluctant to cut any significant amount off."

"You should leave it down more often," he blurted, causing Usagi to glance up in surprise. He averted his gaze and cleared his throat. "I mean, with your hair down you actually look like a semi-decent human being, not with those weird meatballs on top of your head."

The deafening silence caused him to sneak a peek at her and suddenly wished he hadn't. Her eyes flashed with barely contained rage as she leaned down to grab the clutch that had fallen on the floor the night previously. "Thanks. I appreciate your valuable input. Next time I need hair advice I'll go straight to you. Most of the best hairdressers are gay, after all." With that scathing remark, she stomped around him, determined to get out of this house and his presence. This whole thing had been a mistake.

He caught her by her arm as she passed and glared down at her. "So I'm gay now?"

She put her index finger to her mouth and pretended to think long and hard about her answer. "I knew there was some reason you liked to hang out with Furuhata-san. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it. And maybe that would also be the reason why you flirt shamelessly with any girl that crosses your path. Are you trying to cover something up?"

Mamoru's jaw tightened as he stared down into her eyes. Tension crackled in the air between them, and with a smirk Mamoru jerked on her arm and brought her closer to him. She stumbled a bit unsteadily and fell even further into his arms, which pleased him immensely.

"What are you-"

She never got to finish the sentence. Mamoru's hands had come up to cup her face, his thumbs lightly skimming her cheekbones as his mouth descended on hers. It wasn't a rough kiss, but it wasn't gentle either. The contact of his lips against hers had sent Usagi's knees into full-failure mode and she had to clutch onto his forearm to keep from falling down into a puddle at his feet. Her eyes fluttered closed of their own volition and suddenly she was matching him, kiss for kiss, their lips tasting and teasing each other.

Mamoru slid his hand around the back of her neck and yanked roughly on the tie she had used to hold up her hair, sending it cascading down around her shoulders. He dug his fingers into it as he nudged her lips open, praying she wouldn't reject him. He didn't think he could handle it. She was like warm honey and tasted just as good. He had the unnerving thought that their lips were made for each other's. They fit together so well.

She stiffened momentarily and then opened her mouth slightly, granting him access. He took advantage, bringing his arms down around her waist and crushing her to him, sliding his tongue into her mouth with an almost possessive quality.

Usagi had never been kissed like this before. Usagi had never been kissed period. Her body felt like it was on fire. Her face was flushed and she was sure her palms were sweating. Tiny shivers traveled up and down her back. She didn't think it could get any better, but as his tongue flicked gently against hers and she tentatively responded in kind, Mamoru's resounding groan caused a weird feeling in her stomach. Soon she was following his lead, caressing his tongue with hers match for match, the pounding of her heart and the roaring in her ears getting louder by the second.

"Ahem."

Mamoru pulled away from her almost sluggishly, staring down into her eyes with an odd expression of vulnerability and emotion. A second later though, his eyes shuttered and he pulled away, leaving her shivering and wanting.

"Sorry to interrupt guys. I didn't realize," Motoki said with an amused tone to his voice, looking back and forth between the two.

Usagi's face was on fire, she was sure of it. Not only had she been making out with the guy she claimed she hated more than anyone, but they were caught. She was ashamed. What in the world had made her respond like that?

"It's okay, man. No interruption here. I was just proving a point here to Tsukino-san. She said I was gay so I had to set the record straight, that's all." He laughed it off.

Usagi froze, raising her head to look at him. His closed off expression and the casual way he was standing with his hands in his pockets – as if he didn't have a care in the world, as if he hadn't just turned her world upside down – infuriated her. She had never been so angry in her entire life. Before she knew it, her hand shot out and met his cheek with a satisfying crack.

He didn't seem shocked. Instead he kept his face turned to the side, the area over his cheekbone growing more red by the second.

Without a word, she swept past him and past a shocked Motoki with a mumble of "Thanks for the invite."

She had no idea that a pair of cobalt eyes followed her retreat from the room thoughtfully.