Chapter 3: Fake it till you make it
1540 Words
Chapter 3: Fake It Till You Make It
The next morning, Lily walked into school feeling like she’d signed a contract with the devil. Sure, Ryan had promised to keep things simple, but nothing about pretending to date the most popular guy in school was going to be simple.
She had barely stepped into the hallway when Emma came bounding up to her, grinning like a maniac.
“So, how does it feel to be Ryan Carter’s fake girlfriend?” Emma teased, slinging an arm around Lily’s shoulders.
“It feels like I made the worst decision of my life,” Lily muttered. “Why are you so excited about this? It’s fake. FAKE.”
“Fake or not, everyone’s going to be talking about it,” Emma said, practically bouncing on her toes. “You’re officially in the spotlight now, girl.”
“That’s exactly what I didn’t want,” Lily grumbled.
Before Emma could respond, a familiar voice rang out behind them.
“There you are!”
Lily turned to see Ryan striding down the hallway, waving dramatically. Her stomach sank.
“Let the nightmare begin,” she mumbled under her breath.
Ryan stopped in front of her, grinning like they were starring in a rom-com montage. “Hey, babe.”
“Babe?” Lily said, raising an eyebrow.
“You’ve got to sell it,” Ryan whispered, winking. “People are watching.”
Lily sighed. “Fine. Hey... uh... sweetie?”
Emma burst out laughing. “Oh, this is going to be gold.”
Ryan wrapped an arm around Lily’s shoulders and steered her down the hallway. She could feel the stares and hear the whispers as they passed.
“Is that Lily?”
“Are they... together?”
“No way!”
Lily felt her cheeks burning, but Ryan didn’t seem fazed at all. He leaned down and whispered, “You’re doing great.”
“I feel like I’m going to throw up,” she whispered back.
“Don’t worry,” Ryan said. “You’ll get used to it.”
---
By lunchtime, the rumor mill was in full swing. Everywhere Lily went, people were staring, whispering, and occasionally pointing.
At their usual table, Emma was scrolling through her phone, cackling. “You’re already trending on the school’s meme page.”
Lily groaned. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“Nope,” Emma said, holding up her phone. There, on the screen, was a blurry photo of Ryan with his arm around Lily, captioned: When the Love Guru takes her own advice.
“I hate this,” Lily muttered, burying her face in her hands.
Ryan appeared a moment later, sliding into the seat next to her like he owned the place. “I’d say it’s going pretty well.”
Lily glared at him. “Define ‘well.’”
“People are buying it,” Ryan said, helping himself to a fry from her tray. “Chloe’s already looking over here. Don’t look now, but she’s totally noticing us.”
Naturally, Lily looked. Sure enough, Chloe was sitting at her table, glancing in their direction with an unreadable expression.
“She’s not noticing us,” Lily said. “She’s probably wondering why you’re hanging out with me instead of your usual crowd.”
“Either way, it’s progress,” Ryan said confidently.
“Or a disaster waiting to happen,” Lily muttered.
“Same thing,” Ryan said with a grin.
---
The rest of the day passed in a blur of awkward encounters and whispered conversations. By the time the final bell rang, Lily was more than ready to go home and pretend the entire day hadn’t happened.
Unfortunately, Ryan had other plans.
“Hey, babe!” he called, jogging up to her in the parking lot.
Lily turned slowly, glaring at him. “You have got to stop calling me that.”
“Why? It’s cute,” Ryan said, falling into step beside her.
“It’s nauseating,” Lily shot back.
Ryan laughed. “Anyway, I was thinking we should hang out this weekend. You know, for the sake of the plan.”
“Hang out? As in, a fake date?” Lily asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Exactly,” Ryan said, flashing his best smile. “What do you say, Love Guru?”
Lily sighed. “I say this is a terrible idea.”
“Great! I’ll pick you up at noon on Saturday,” Ryan said, ignoring her protests.
As he walked away, Lily shook her head, muttering, “What have I gotten myself into?”
---
Sorry about that! Here's the full continuation of Chapter 3 before moving to Chapter 4:
---
Chapter 3: Fake It Till You Make It
Saturday arrived far too quickly for Lily’s liking. She sat in front of her mirror, staring at her reflection with a mix of dread and annoyance.
“Why am I even putting effort into this?” she muttered, tugging at her sweater.
Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen to see a text from Ryan.
Ryan: “I’m outside. Ready to sweep the town with my fake girlfriend?”
Lily: “This is your only chance to back out.”
Ryan: “Not happening. Let’s go, Love Guru.”
Groaning, Lily grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. Her mom, sitting on the couch with a cup of tea, raised an eyebrow as Lily passed.
“Going somewhere?”
“Uh, just hanging out with Emma,” Lily lied quickly.
Her mom’s eyebrow arched higher, but she didn’t press the issue. “Alright, be back by dinner.”
Lily bolted out the door before her mom could ask more questions. She spotted Ryan leaning against his car, looking infuriatingly cool in a leather jacket.
“Nice sweater,” he said with a teasing grin. “Very grandma chic.”
“Shut up,” Lily snapped, climbing into the passenger seat. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Ryan laughed as he got in and started the car. “Relax, Lily. This is supposed to be fun.”
“Fun for you, maybe,” Lily muttered.
---
Ryan’s idea of a date turned out to be a trip to the mall, which, in hindsight, was a terrible choice. Within five minutes of arriving, they ran into half the school.
“Ryan! Hey, man!” someone called, jogging over. It was Kyle, one of Ryan’s football teammates.
Kyle’s eyes flicked to Lily, and his grin widened. “Wait, is this—”
“Yup,” Ryan said, throwing an arm around Lily’s shoulders. “This is my girlfriend, Lily.”
Lily plastered on a smile, even as her insides twisted with discomfort. “Hi.”
Kyle looked between them, clearly trying to process the situation. “Wow, didn’t see this coming. You guys are... cute together.”
“Thanks, man,” Ryan said, like this wasn’t the most awkward thing ever. “Anyway, we’ve got to run. Big date plans.”
“Catch you later,” Kyle said, still looking bewildered as they walked away.
Once they were out of earshot, Lily glared at Ryan. “Big date plans? Seriously?”
“Hey, it worked,” Ryan said, smirking. “Kyle’s going to tell everyone he saw us. Chloe’s bound to hear about it.”
Lily sighed. “I’m starting to think you enjoy making my life difficult.”
“Only a little,” Ryan admitted, winking.
---
After a few hours of wandering around the mall, pretending to be a couple, and dodging more classmates than Lily cared to count, they finally sat down at the food court.
“Okay, so what’s the next step in your brilliant plan?” Lily asked, sipping her soda.
Ryan leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. “I think we should do something big. Something that really gets Chloe’s attention.”
“Like what?”
Ryan’s eyes lit up. “Like a grand romantic gesture. You know, something public.”
Lily nearly choked on her drink. “Public? Are you insane?”
“Come on, it’s perfect,” Ryan said. “Chloe loves that kind of stuff. It’ll totally work.”
Lily shook her head. “No way. I draw the line at public humiliation.”
Ryan leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. “You’re no fun, Love Guru.”
“And you’re impossible,” Lily shot back.
Despite her annoyance, she couldn’t help but notice the way Ryan’s eyes sparkled when he was excited. It was... distracting.
She shook the thought away. This wasn’t real. None of it was real.
---
By the time Ryan dropped her off at home, Lily was exhausted.
“Well, that was fun,” Ryan said, grinning as she climbed out of the car.
“For you, maybe,” Lily said, shutting the door.
Ryan rolled down the window. “Hey, don’t forget—we’ve got to keep this up on Monday. The plan’s working.”
“Sure, whatever,” Lily said, waving him off.
As she walked up to her house, she realized something troubling: for all her complaints, she hadn’t actually hated spending time with Ryan.
And that was a problem.
-
- Writer
