A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! Hopefully this last chapter will make up for it! More at the end...

...

So they're actually dating now. Not for a bet, not for any reason; they actually want to be in a real relationship.

Don's loving it, and he's sure that Lizzie is too. Even though there's only a week and a half left of school, they make the most of it by seeing each other every day whenever they can; unashamedly sitting with each other alone during lunchtime and hanging out after school (they even kiss in public now!).

Audrey, clearly still upset about being abandoning her on prom night, isn't too happy to hear that Lizzie and Don are officially dating and is even more displeased after walking past them in the hallway as they kiss after class one afternoon.

Don's pretty sure the rest of the school has got the point that he's over Audrey, but it doesn't matter to him anymore, because he has Lizzie and that matters.

If only for eight more days.

Don wants to confront Tom about what he did (and was planning to do) on prom night to Lizzie, but Lizzie insists that he shouldn't and leave it at that.

Besides, Tom hasn't been at school for the past two days or so and Lizzie is starting to worry that she may have actually harmed Tom (Don tells her not to worry and that it was an act of self-defense).

But then when Don and Lizzie walk into school the next day, they are greeted by a swollen-eyed and bespectacled Tom Keen.

Tom Keen, the guy who claimed himself to be a 'class act' when it comes to appearances and vowed that he'd never wear any type of eyewear besides Ray-Bans, was wearing glasses.

"Oh, crap." he hears Lizzie mutter as Tom stumbles to get to where they're standing by Don's locker, clearly a little bit disorientated.

People whisper and raise eyebrows at the sight of Tom, but he pretends to not notice as he continues to walk unsteadily towards Lizzie and Don, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Don can't help but feel sorry for the guy; he looks pretty uncomfortable with his eyes swollen behind his glasses and his face red.

When he finally reaches them, he does his best to shoot them a fake-smile but stops immediately, cringing in pain.

"Oh hey guys," Tom says stiffly, his voice sore and weak, but there is still a little bit of his signature snark and smugness in his tone. "Glad to see you two made it through prom night. In fact, it certainly seems a whole lot more than that. . ." he adds, noticing how close Lizzie is standing to Don.

"Hey, Tom." Don answers cautiously, torn between whether to feel bad for him or to punch him in the face (because he sort of deserves it). "You good?"

"If you really care to know, the doctor says I'll be fine." Tom replies, shifting his eyes to a petrified Lizzie for a second. "I was lucky. When your girlfriend caught me by surprise and sprayed me in the face she missed and only got my eyes for a second. The effects aren't permanent, but it still hurts like hell. My vision wasn't affected, but my parents are making me wear these damn glasses all the time now so I won't get pepper sprayed again - they are so paranoid. Anyways-" he pauses to carefully narrow his eyes at Lizzie accusingly. "-I should be completely recovered before I head off to Harvard in the fall."

Both Don and especially Lizzie know that Tom is trying to act like his normal self with the usual pretentious remarks, but he's obviously suffering quite a bit.

Tom stands there for a minute more pursing his lips and observing Lizzie and Don expectantly, but neither of them say anything.

"Well then, I'll leave you two alone so you can suck each other's faces without me standing here as your third wheel," Tom says bitterly, walking away with his shoulders slumped.

Lizzie turns to Don, her expression guilty and eyes wide, and he knows exactly what she's thinking.

I went too far, didn't I?

He shakes his head. You did what you had to do in self defense. Besides, he was trying to get into your pants.

Plus, Don still doesn't trust Tom. The guy's just looking for sympathy.

But she keeps on looking at him in that way, that look she has when she knows she's done something wrong and she's got to face it.

"Tom!" Lizzie calls out before Don can say anything. "Wait, please!"

She rushes up to Tom, leaving Don at the same spot.

"Look, I'm sorry." Lizzie says, looking sympathetically into his eyes. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt like, um, this." she motions to his face, making Tom consciously blink a bit. "Don and I, we don't want you to feel like this-"

"Yeah well that's just great, Lizzie," Tom interrupts rudely, leaning in closer to Lizzie. "It's great to know that you care about me, but seeing that you are the reason why half of my face is swollen and my throat is burning, I'm not so sure if I want to trust your word anymore. You're pretty damn lucky I haven't told anyone about it."

She stands there, clearly taken aback, and Tom takes advantage of this. "See, for a while I was actually interested in you because I thought you were cool and nice, but after this, I guess I couldn't have been more wrong."

Lizzie's eyes well up a little bit. "I was just trying to-"

Tom doesn't even let her finish because he continues, his voice becoming more hoarse and rough. "Maybe that's why Ressler's into you so much. He's a strange guy. Hell, after dating Audrey Bidwell and now you, you can tell he goes for a certain type of girl; the bitchy ones."

Tom purposely raises his voice when he says the last word so Don can hear, and sure enough, Don shuts his locker door with a loud slam and rushes over.

"Tom, please, leave." Lizzie says quietly, on the verge of tears. By then most of the hall has cleared and headed to class so it is only just the three of them.

"Keen, get out of here before I kick your ass and make that face a whole lot worse than it already is." Don hisses, stepping in front of Lizzie protectively.

Tom puts his hands up in the air and inhales sharply in pain after blinking too roughly. "Alright, good to know your knight in shining armor has arrived and he's going to save your back. I'm glad I won't be seeing you two ever again after school's finally ended. See you."

He backs away and to walk down the stairs, but stops abruptly. "Oh, and Lizzie?"

She barely glances up.

"Try not to attack your future suitors with pepper spray. That's a major turn-off." And with that, he walks down the stairs without taking a second look back.

That leaves Don and Lizzie standing alone in the empty hallway.

"He's a jerk. Ignore it, alright?" Don comforts, embracing Lizzie as she cries silently.

"Y-Yeah, but what if he has a p-point, you know?" she sniffs a bit. "What if he's r-right?"

"Don sighs, holding her tighter. Tom Keen is going to be who he's going to be, and that won't change. "He was going to sleep with you, Lizzie. You did what you had to do to save yourself. Pepper spray may have been sort of harsh, but Tom needed that. He needed that harshness to remind him of who he is. It may not seem like it, but you did him a favour. But who knows, maybe he can rediscover himself at Harvard."

She laughs then, at his impression of Tom, and he puts his arm around her.

"Come on, Mr. Reddington's going to murder us if we're another minute late."

Lizzie nods with a small smile, and they walk to class together.

Everything will be okay.

….

"Hey, man! Wait up!" Pete calls after Don the following day as he is about to walk out of the school.

"Yeah, Pete, what's up?" Don slows down so Pete can catch up to him and they walk over to the corner.

"About the bet," Pete says breathlessly. "I never got a chance to talk to you-"

Don closes his eyes and nods. "Don't worry, I'll bring the money tomorrow."

He's actually prepared to give Pete the money; he's even made an excuse about it to his parents (who didn't even know about the bet.)

"No no, don't." Pete quickly interrupts him. "That's actually what I was going to talk to you about. I know that the bet hurt a lot of people and I take full responsibility. So seriously, Don, you don't have to give me the money. It was just a stupid bet anyway."

Don raises his eyebrows, surprised. "Are you sure? I mean dude, you won fair and square-"

"No, you won, so I'm going to give you the money. I mean, who cares that Lizzie Scott didn't win prom queen because it was pretty damn close, and besides," he adds with a knowing grin. "She's totally into you now."

Don laughs a bit, and slaps Pete good-naturedly on the back. "Thanks, man, but how am I supposed to know if you aren't pulling my leg or something?"

Pete scoffs with a half-smile. "I don't know, you seem pretty happy with Lizzie Scott as your lady now, and that was sort of the point of the bet, to get her to like you. So I guess you won."

Don shakes his head in disbelief. "Thank you Pete, but you don't have to give me the money-"

"Too late, Ressler." Pete zips open his backpack and hands him an envelope. Don opens it with uncertainty and finds five twenty-dollar bills inside.

Don looks down at the money, then back up at Pete in disbelief. "Pete, this is-"

"-so unlike me, yeah, yeah, I know. But don't get too emotional yet because there's a catch. My parents started this new thing about the family 'being honest' with each other after going to some peace convention a few weeks ago, so they found out about the parties, and the late nights I spend on the beach with Sarah, and of course the bet. Especially the bet, so they kind of forced me to cough up a hundred dollars, but obviously I too felt obligated that I owe you, so yeah, here it is. Don't worry," he adds, noticing Don's puzzled expression. "I'm not broke now or anything. I'm sorry, Don. I really am. So take the money, and please shut up."

Don contemplates for a second. Just take it.

Screw it. He might as well.

Don grins without saying a word and slaps Pete on the shoulder, shoving the envelope in his bag and heads into the parking lot.

He knows exactly what to do with the money.

Once he gets home, he dials the local hospital - the one that Lizzie's mother was treated at, glancing down at the money in his hand.

It may not be much for a donation, but at least it's something.

…

The days that remain before graduation pass in a blur, and both Don and Lizzie make the most of what they have left.

Tom and Audrey aren't a problem anymore; Tom has made a point to completely avoid them (and has surprisingly kept quiet about the pepper spray incident, making up a lie about a 'cooking accident' to tell everyone instead. Maybe Don is right; maybe he can have a change of heart) and Audrey has resorted to smoking and hanging with a different and darker crowd, clearly not giving a damn about anything anymore because only half the school voted for her.

So for Lizzie and Don, those last few days are the best out of the entire school year.

Maybe even for Aram and Samar as well, who have started dating (to nobody's surprise. "I would have bet on it," Lizzie had said with a knowing grin. "but, well, you know what can happen.").

All is well.

Well, almost everything. For Don, there's just one more thing.

…

Graduation day finally arrives, and it's the perfect day. Clear and sunny skies, a gentle breeze, nothing could be better.

They've turned the football field into a makeshift stage and have set up rows of chairs in front of it. Everyone's wearing their gown and cap, and as dumb as it may look, Don's actually enjoying the day.

Lizzie is the valedictorian and delivers her speech flawlessly in Don's opinion, even mentioning something about a little 'bet' with a knowing wink in Don's direction.

Everyone (mostly) goes up on the stage to accept their diploma from Mr. Reddington, from a sulking Audrey Bidwell to a slowly recovering but still unsteady Tom Keen ("I don't plan on seeing any of you at Harvard," Tom adds confidently. "but if I do, it'll be nice to see a familiar face.").

Don goes before Lizzie and accepts his diploma, shaking hands with Mr. Reddington and smiling wide directly at Lizzie, who blushes and gives her a thumbs-up.

Then Lizzie is called onto the stage and she shakes hands with a proud Mr. Reddington as well, and stands beside Don, who takes her completely by surprise and kisses her passionately in front of the dozens of rows of their peers, who whistle and whoop and clap enthusiastically, especially Aram and Samar. Even Tom cracks a tiny smile.

The ceremony is over quite quickly, and the graduating class throw their caps up in the air and cheer, and Don has never felt happier, standing next to Lizzie, his girlfriend.

When mostly everyone has gone home with their parents, Don and Lizzie decide to stay back, helping Aram and Samar and the others stack up the chairs, but after stacking only a dozen they sneak off behind the stage and go to sit by the bleachers.

Once they've made it to the top row, Lizzie laughs. "We are so going to get caught for this!"

Don shrugs it off with a dopey grin. "Who cares. I'm tired of stacking chairs. School's basically over now."

"True." Lizzie nods with a smile, taking off her graduation cap and sighing a bit. "So, uh, I'm not sure if I've told you yet but my dad and I learned that someone had anonymously made a donation to the local hospital in my mother's name. It's a really nice thing to do, but-" She stares at him, sensing that he knows something. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with it, would you?"

"Me? No." Don is quick to answer but is clearly unconvincing, because she just looks at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Don," Lizzie says slowly. "Thank you, but you really didn't have to, you won it from that bet, it's your money-"

"Lizzie, I love you." he blurts out without even thinking about it, but it feels right. He has to say it.

She freezes, looking at him with wide eyes, and he hopes he hasn't said it too soon, but he continues.

"I love you." He says it again with more passion, because he's never been more sure of something in his life. "That's why did it. And I owe you and your family that much."

"I love you too." Lizzie says genuinely, and he's relieved that she actually feels the same way.

She leans in and kisses him gently, and in that moment there are no more doubts they have of each other, it is all real; this is real.

They finally pull away, and sit in silence, watching Aram and Samar almost fall over back on the field, trying to move a stack of chairs.

"You think they were watching?" Lizzie asks shyly.

Don shrugs with a smirk. "Who cares if anyone was. That was hot."

She laughs, playfully hitting him on the shoulder.

"So," Don begins more seriously. "What's next for us?"

"I don't know." Lizzie continues to gaze into the distance absentmindedly. "Do you think we can handle this long-distance thing?"

They've barely talked about it, but it's been on both of their minds since they started dating.

"We handled a high school bet already, I'm sure we can face anything now." He says jokingly, and Lizzie glances at him.

"I mean it. Like, do you actually think we can do it?"

"Yeah." Don answers confidently. "We're going to do it. I mean, how far is Washington D.C. from New York City anyway?" The funny part is, both Lizzie and Don are aiming to get a job in law enforcement; Lizzie a profiler and Don an FBI special agent.

Lizzie shakes her head, laughing. "Alright, alright. But that's like a four hour drive!"

"Don't you start having doubts about this, Lizzie Scott, because I know you are." Don says earnestly, taking her hand. "You're always going to be my girlfriend, the only girlfriend that ever mattered, whether we're a couple living in two separate states or in the same room, you're always going to be the one for me."

She smiles and kisses him again, with more urgency, and he pulls her in closer.

"Hey, you two!" a loud voice interrupts through the speakers, startling Lizzie and Don as they quickly pull away. It's Aram with a microphone, standing in the middle of the field. "Try to pull yourselves off each other for just a few more hours. We're finished here, so you can go home now. . . um, if you want."

He walks off the stage, chuckling, and Lizzie turns back to Don, her face bright red. "I'm going to have to talk to Aram about that later."

Don laughs it off, helping Lizzie up. "Don't worry about it. That's all the embarrassment you'll get from me. No more making out in football fields."

Lizzie scoffs with a smile as they walk down the bleachers together.

"You know," Lizzie says with a playful grin, her eyes twinkling. "come to think of it I wouldn't be surprised if our relationship does go the distance. Like, after all that's happened over the past month or so, something's got to give. I mean, it would be perfect if we both made it into Quantico. We'd be like an FBI power couple!"

"Yeah. I like that." Don pauses thoughtfully, suddenly realizing something. "But the thing is, I'm not smart enough to get into Quantico."

"Of course you are! You've graduated high school with an average of eighty-eight percent."

"But Lizzie, this is Quantico we're talking about." Don says, grinning at his girlfriend's newfound confidence. "You're going to get in, that's a given. But me? There's skill involved, and thinking; two things you know I lack."

She raises an eyebrow, playfully challenging him. "Wanna bet?"

THE END

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A/N2: And that's a wrap on 'Not Just A Bet'! Thank you so much to everyone who read this story until the very end! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I do plan on starting another multi-chapter fic in the next few days or so, so please look out for it! Until then :)

-sugar1621