Chapter Fourteen
1701 Words
Cole’s POV
Emelia.
The one variable responsible for altering my entire system. And somehow, even after everything, I still couldn’t bring myself to hate her. I glanced at Riley, who stared back at me innocently, her lips pressed into a thin line while curiosity gleamed openly in her eyes.
“You don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to,” she offered softly when my silence stretched too long.
“I wasn’t planning to,” I muttered, turning back toward my screens.
“Right.”
She looked around the lab with visible boredom before pulling out her phone. And within seconds, music blasted through her phone at full volume. Several heads snapped toward us immediately.
Annoyed and offended. One guy nearly dropped his headset.
“s**t,” Riley whispered quickly before fumbling to turn it off. “I’m sorry.”
The lab fell quiet again, though now every pair of eyes seemed locked onto us. Riley leaned closer toward me, lowering her voice conspiratorially, and my breath caught for a brief second.
I could smell her perfume. Something soft underneath it too. Maybe shampoo.
“How long do I have to stay here for?” she whispered dramatically. “This is actual torture.”
A small smirk tugged at my lips before I could stop it.
“I seem to recall you saying this was a challenge,” I murmured back. “Walk in each other’s lives. Get to know each other better.”
“This isn’t what I meant,” she hissed quietly. “It’s not what I expected.”
“Really?” I asked lightly. “What exactly were you expecting?”
“Well…”
She raised her head to answer properly and froze the second our eyes met. Our faces were suddenly too close. Close enough for me to notice the tiny freckles hidden beneath her makeup. Close enough to hear her breathing hitch.
“Uhm…” she stammered, immediately pulling back. “I mean… this isn’t helping me get to know you better.”
Her fingers instinctively curled around a strand of her auburn hair.
“Right.”
Her phone rang suddenly, making her jump slightly in her seat. And apparently, that was our cue to leave. Turns out, her presence was urgently needed at the theatre hall.
“You’re coming with me,” she announced while already getting to her feet, looking entirely too relieved to escape the lab. “You know that, right?”
“Do I have another choice?” I asked, glancing reluctantly at my unfinished work.
She smiled.
“It’s time to put on a show.”
We stepped out of the lab together, and almost immediately, Riley slipped her hand into mine. Her fingers wrapped around mine naturally, warm and surprisingly soft. I frowned down at her.
“Isn’t this a bit excessive? Nobody’s going to believe this.”
“What do you mean?” she laughed lightly. “Have you seriously never had a girlfriend before, genius?”
I ignored the question entirely.
“It’s too out of character,” I said instead.
That only made her laugh harder.
“There’s no such thing as out of character when you’re in love.”
“Love is overrated,” I replied flatly. “Just another messy, irrational variable that turns humans brainless.”
“Your logic is overrated,” she shot back immediately. “You should learn to live a little. You’d find love in the tiny things your precious logic can’t explain.”
For a second, her words cracked against something inside me. Something uncomfortable. Something I immediately shoved down. I tightened my fingers slightly. Feelings disrupted logic. Logic was safer. It always had been.
“And isn’t that exactly why you’re stuck in this situation with me?” I said quietly. “Because of love.”
The shift in her expression was immediate. Subtle, but there. Pain flickered through her eyes before she masked it.
“If love was really that special,” I continued, “it shouldn’t hurt this much. And it definitely shouldn’t ruin your life.”
I walked ahead before she could answer. The silence between us stretched the rest of the way to the theatre hall. The moment we stepped inside, warmth and noise crashed into me all at once.
The theatre department was the complete opposite of the lab.
Bright overhead lights flooded the room. Music echoed faintly from speakers somewhere backstage. Students moved around carrying costumes, scripts, props, coffee cups, and half-finished conversations. The air smelled faintly like dust, paint, perfume, and stage makeup.
Chaotic, loud, disorganized.
I immediately spotted Tyler sitting near the far side of the hall. Quietly. Which alone was concerning. His entire attention was fixed on someone across the room. I followed his gaze.
A petite brunette stood near the stage speaking animatedly to a small group of students. Her wavy hair framed her face softly, and every time she smiled, dimples appeared in her cheeks.
Interesting. I smirked slowly. Gotcha.
“Stacy!” Riley called from behind me.
The girl turned immediately, smiling brightly. And just like that, Tyler snapped out of whatever trance he’d been lost in. His easy grin returned instantly the moment his eyes met mine.
“My brother!” he hollered dramatically across the room before jogging toward me.
Riley had already crossed over to Stacy, visibly more relaxed now that she was back in her element. Her posture loosened. Her smile came easier. Confidence settled naturally into her movements.
By the time Tyler reached me, he threw an arm over my shoulder.
“So,” he grinned wickedly, “how was your date with my sister-in-law?”
I rolled my eyes and shoved his arm off.
“It wasn’t a date. And she’s definitely not your sister-in-law. This is nothing more than a contractual—”
“Arrangement. Blah blah blah,” Tyler mocked. “You’ve repeated that speech like fifty times already.”
My smirk returned.
“I found your little crush though.”
Tyler nearly choked on air.
“What?!” He coughed. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
Even while denying it, his eyes drifted toward Stacy again. Yeah. Caught red-handed.
“Right,” I drawled.
“Why is it suddenly so hot in here?”
“Is it?” I asked innocently. “You’re an actor. Shouldn’t you be better at hiding your feelings?”
He shoved me lightly.
“Get out of my business, man.”
“Tyler!”
Stacy’s voice cut through the room. He froze for half a second before his grin snapped perfectly back into place.
“Can you come over here for a minute?”
“Sure,” he answered instantly.
Before leaving, he shot me a glare that clearly translated to:
Shut up or die. I only smirked harder. Riley, who’d been standing beside Stacy, avoided looking directly at me. But when Tyler reached them, she greeted him with a quick hug.
Was I too harsh earlier? No. I’d only stated facts. Love complicated things. And I wanted absolutely no part in it.
Only then did I realize nearly half the theatre department was staring at me. Whispering, watching, judging. Weird.
Then again…
This was probably exactly how Riley felt inside the engineering lab earlier. I looked around the theatre hall again. The loud energy. The emotions. The chaos. And somewhere in the middle of it all stood Riley, fitting into it effortlessly.
Maybe theatre required more precision than I initially assumed.
Still… I intended to win it. After all, theatre was just pretending. And pretending was something anyone could learn.
Riley, Tyler and Stacy exchanged a few words I couldn’t hear from where I stood near the back of the hall.
Then suddenly Tyler groaned.
“No. Absolutely not. I refuse to do this scene again.”
“You literally forgot your lines halfway through it yesterday,” Stacy deadpanned, adjusting her glasses.
“That was one time.”
“It was three times.” Riley corrected.
Tyler placed a hand over his chest like he’d just been betrayed. “Wow. The disrespect in this department is actually insane. My co-star was terrible and it affected my acting.”
A few students nearby laughed while space was cleared near the center of the hall. Someone dimmed the overhead lights slightly, while another adjusted the backdrop behind them.
“Well good thing we’ve switched them up. Your chemistry with Riley is always on point.” Stacy added, while he rolled his eyes smiling.
“Yeah, whatever.”
Then the rehearsal started. And Riley changed instantly.
One second, she was rolling her eyes at Tyler, and the next, her entire expression shifted. Her posture softened, her eyes shimmered with emotion, and even her voice sounded different.
It was almost calculated, controlled, and precise.
“You left.” Riley’s voice trembled slightly as she looked at Tyler. “You promised me you wouldn’t.”
Tyler stepped toward her slowly, equally serious now. “Because staying was destroying me.”
The room went quiet. No interruptions. No whispers. Everyone watched them.
Riley laughed bitterly, folding her arms tightly around herself. “Funny. Losing you destroyed me first.”
A few people nearby muttered soft reactions under their breath. Interesting. They were reacting emotionally to words they knew were fictional.
Tyler reached for Riley’s hand as part of the act. “If I came back… would you still choose me?”
Riley looked at him for a long moment before answering quietly.
“That’s the problem. I always would.”
The room burst into applause immediately. Tyler grinned and bowed while Riley shoved him away, laughing as she broke character.
“You’re insufferable.”
“And yet, undeniably talented.”
“No. Just insufferable.”
I stayed near the back of the hall, watching silently as the department came alive around them again.
Theatre people were strange. They memorized emotions, rehearsed heartbreak, manufactured chemistry, and somehow convinced everyone around them it was real.
And the strangest part? They were good at it, very good at it. Maybe too good. Which only strengthened my point. Feelings were performance. Nothing more.
- Writer
