Fake Dating My Campus Rival

Chapter 1 I didn’t hear the honk the first time or the second. My mind was too busy counting money I didn't have and bills that refused to wait, tuition, dorm fees, and lab fees. Numbers stacked on numbers until my chest felt tight. I trudged toward the Female’s dorm, my backpack digging painfully into one shoulder. If I didn’t pay by the end of the week, they would lock me out. A loud horn blared behind me, long and impatient. I flinched and turned just in time to see a black car speeding toward me. I jumped back with a sharp gasp. The car stopped so close to my leg that I could feel the heat from it. For a second, everything went blurred, then the window rolled down. "Planning to get yourself killed, nerd?" a familiar male voice called. I looked up. Bryan. Of course it was Bryan. The one person on campus who treated making my life miserable like a full-time job. I swallowed the fear climbing up my throat and glared at him. "What's your problem?" I shot back. "You were laying on the horn like a maniac." His eyebrow lifted. "Oh?" The car door swung open. He climbed out, taller than I remembered, his expression was somewhere between amused and annoyed. "You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that." The confidence I'd forced into my voice vanished the second he started walking toward me. My grip loosened, and my books slipped from my arms before I realized it, including my bucket list, which landed right at his feet. “W- what's that?” He asked, looking at my bucket list. Oh s**t. He mustn't see what's in there. “It's nothing. I should go now.” My voice cracked. I bent down to pick up the books. “It doesn't look like a textbook.” He mused. Before I could pick up the notebook, he had already reached for my bucket list. “No Bryan!” His hand shot out before I could stop him. "A bucket list?" he read, amusement flashed across his face. "Oh, no." My eyes widened. “Give it back.” He smirked and took two steps backward. "Not until I see what's on it." "Bryan!" I lunged for the notebook, but he simply lifted it higher. "You've got to be kidding me!" "Come and get it." I rose onto my toes, my fingertips barely grazing the edge of the page. "You're impossible!" I tried again, stretching as high as I could. He laughed and raised it even farther. "Seriously?" I huffed. "Afraid I'll discover your deepest secrets." "Just hand it over, Bryan." That only made him grin wider. I grabbed his wrist with one hand, trying to pull it down while reaching for the notebook with the other. "Give. It. Back." I tugged harder. He lost his balance for a split second. "So that's your plan?" he chuckled. Before I could answer, my foot caught on the uneven pavement. A gasp escaped my lips. Bryan instinctively reached for me. I crashed straight into him. My arm circled his neck to steady myself while one of his hands landed firmly on my waist and the other still held my notebook high above us. Everything went still. His laughter faded. Our faces were only inches apart. His hazel eyes searched mine, and suddenly I became painfully aware of how close we were. Neither of us moved nor spoke. It felt as though the rest of the world had disappeared. Then… The bucket list landed on the floor with a loud thud. We both blinked, looked down at it, and immediately sprang apart. But he got it first. “Oh no. Please I beg you, do not op-” He opened it before I even finished my statement. “Hmm. Interesting. Looks like you've got a big dream. To be the top scientist in the world.” “Can I have it back now?” “No. Not until I see what's on the next page.” Huh? The next page. No he can't. “No, Bryan. The next page isn't meant to be seen by anyone.” My lips quivered as I spoke. “Really? What exactly is a chemistry nerd like you keeping secret?” He raised an eyebrow. “It's none of your business!” He opened it before I could blink. He gave a cruel laugh. “You are so hilarious. You've been in love with Ace Carter since eleventh grade?” “I hate you, asshole. Give it back now!” “Oh my gosh. You also want him to take your virginity? That's pretty bold coming from a chemistry nerd.” He mocked. “This day is cursed. And do you know who cursed it? It's you, pervert.” I said and dragged the notebook from him. I spun around and stormed off. “Do you really think Ace Carter will settle for a girl as classless as you?” “Watch and see.” His laughter followed me as I ran to my dorm. That night, I tossed and turned on my bed. “What kind of girl does Ace Carter really like?” I asked but only silence answered me. My phone buzzed. AVAILABLE BALANCE: $50.60 I stared at the screen until the numbers blurred. Fifty dollars. That was all I had left. And my tuition alone was thousands. I laughed bitterly and turned my face to the wall. Tomorrow, I would beg, I really hated that word but desperation didn’t care about pride. *** The next evening, I sat outside the dormitory manager’s office, clutching my file so tightly that my fingers hurt. This was worse than the bucket list incident, worse than Bryan's insult because this was my future. “Come in,” he said. I stood up, took a deep breath, then walked inside. The door closed behind me with a dull click, the dormitory manager didn’t ask me to sit immediately. He just studied me in silence, flipping through my file as if my future was nothing more than loose papers. The silence stretched until it became unbearable. Finally, he looked up. “So,” he said slowly, adjusting his glasses, “you’re asking me to help you.” “Yes, sir,” I replied, my voice barely steady. He leaned back in his chair as his eyes lingered on me for a moment too long. “Help,” he repeated softly. “Are you sure you understand what that would require?” My chest tightened. “What do you mean, sir?” He smiled faintly. “Now, let us talk about your options.”