7: A Little Too Unbelievable
1575 Words
⸻
By the time I stepped into school the next morning, the halls were vibrating with whispers.
Not the usual background noise of teenage drama — this was specific. Targeted.
Me.
Us.
People looked at me like I’d grown a second head. Or worse — like I was interesting.
A girl near the lockers raised her eyebrows and nudged her friend, who turned around just to get a look at me. I heard the barely-muffled gasp.
“That’s her. The one dating Roman Reyes.”
My stomach flipped.
Yesterday, I was invisible. Today, I was Exhibit A in some tabloid-worthy rumor spiral.
I spotted Mya and the popular clique huddled by the vending machines like queens surveying their territory. Her eyes found mine like they’d been waiting.
And then Roman appeared.
Late, as usual. Hoodie up, headphones half-on. Looking like he hadn’t slept much — or cared to. His eyes met mine for half a second. He didn’t smile.
But he nodded.
One small, subtle nod.
Like we were in on something.
Like, you ready for this?
I wasn’t.
We walked into first period without saying a word. Sat next to each other like always. The teacher droned on about molecular bonding, but all I could focus on was the fact that Roman’s knee kept brushing mine under the desk and I didn’t hate it.
By second period, the rumors had grown legs.
“She’s just doing it to make Jake jealous.”
“I heard he paid her.”
“No way they’re real — Roman doesn’t even talk to people.”
In third period, someone actually had the nerve to ask me.
“Hey, Kira,” a girl from last year’s gym class said, voice sugary and fake. “Is it, like, true? You and Roman?”
I blinked. “What about it?”
She leaned in, eyes glinting. “Just wondering if it’s real, or, you know… part of some master plan.”
I forced a smile. “Guess you’ll never know.”
Before she could reply, Roman showed up behind me like a ghost, sliding an arm lazily around my shoulder.
“It’s real,” he said, voice low.
My breath caught.
He’d never done that before. Not in school. Not with people watching.
The girl’s smile faltered. “Oh. Okay.”
She backed off, and Roman let go just as smoothly.
I turned to him, heart hammering. “What was that?”
He shrugged. “Thought we were putting on a show.”
“Right,” I said. “Right.”
Only… it hadn’t felt like acting.
And I wasn’t sure which part of me liked that.
⸻
I thought the drama would die down by lunch.
I was wrong.
By noon, the entire school seemed to know about Roman’s little display in the hallway. And not just know — they had opinions. Whispers followed us like perfume. Girls stared. Guys sneered. A few people even gave Roman high-fives like he’d won some kind of prize.
I was the prize.
Which somehow felt more insulting than flattering.
I ducked into my locker to grab my history notes, heart still fluttering from whatever that moment was between us earlier, when I heard his voice.
Jake.
Behind me.
“So it’s not a joke, then.”
I froze, fingers tightening on my textbook.
I turned around slowly. He was leaning against the locker across from mine, arms folded, jaw tight.
“Excuse me?” I said.
“You and Roman. You’re really doing this.”
I gave him a flat look. “Is that a problem?”
He shrugged like it didn’t matter, but his voice gave him away. “You used to say people like him didn’t get you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And you used to say you’d never cheat.”
He flinched. Just barely.
Before either of us could throw the next punch, a syrupy voice cut through the tension.
“There you are, babe.”
Margo’s voice cut through the hallway like a knife wrapped in a satin bow. She wrapped her arm around Jake’s like she was starring in her own teen drama. Perfectly glossed lips. Uniform-level skirt with just enough rebellious hem. Designer handbag dangling like a warning.
Her eyes landed on me, and the smile she gave was anything but friendly.
“You’re Kira, right?” she asked sweetly, head tilting like she wasn’t sure. “Jake told me all about you. He said you’re, like… quirky.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
She laughed. “I think it’s cute. You’ve got that tortured artist vibe. Or maybe ‘loner with repressed rage’? I can’t tell.”
Jake shifted uncomfortably beside her. “Margo—”
“Oh relax, babe.” She turned back to me with that pageant smile. “So you and Roman are a thing now? That’s wild.”
“Not really,” I said. “People date.”
“Sure. Totally,” she chirped. “It’s just… you don’t exactly scream ‘Roman Reyes.’ He’s all broody and mysterious, and you’re…” She glanced at my outfit—jeans, a hoodie, no makeup. “…simple.”
I stared at her.
“Margo,” Jake said again, this time with more force.
But she didn’t stop. “I guess opposites attract. Or maybe it’s, like, a rebound thing. You know, latching onto someone so different just to prove you’re over someone.”
I smiled. Not sweetly. Not at all.
“You’d know all about rebounds, wouldn’t you?” I said. “Seeing as Jake started dating you two seconds after we broke up.”
Margo’s eyes flickered.
“And I get it,” I added, stepping closer. “You need to believe this is fake. Because if it’s real… then maybe Jake didn’t just move on. Maybe I did first.”
The hallway got quieter than it should’ve.
Even Jake didn’t say anything. He just stared at me like he didn’t recognize the girl standing in front of him. Honestly? I barely did either.
Margo gave me a tight, polished smile. “Well… if you’re really a couple, then we’ll see you Friday at Tanner’s party. Should be fun.”
“Oh, we’ll be there,” I said. “With bells on.”
Roman was waiting near the stairwell, chewing gum and leaning against the wall like the hallway drama didn’t touch him.
“It got ugly,” I said when I reached him.
“Good,” he replied, pushing off the wall. “Sometimes people deserve ugly.”
———-
By the time last period rolled around, I felt like I’d run three emotional marathons.
Everywhere I walked, eyes followed. People whispered. Some stared at Roman, like they were seeing him for the first time — not as a moody shadow in the back of the classroom, but as some forbidden thrill. Others just stared at me like I didn’t belong in his orbit.
Maybe I didn’t.
But I wasn’t about to let people like Margo decide that for me.
Roman slid into his seat beside me just before the bell rang, unbothered as always. He didn’t look at me right away, just pulled out his notebook and started doodling in the margins like the universe wasn’t catching fire around us.
“Are we still pretending this doesn’t bother you?” I asked quietly, arms folded.
He glanced up, eyes catching mine.
“What, the rumors?” he asked. “Or the fact that you verbally assassinated Margo in the hallway?”
I blinked. “You heard about that?”
He smirked. “Everyone heard about that.”
I groaned. “I didn’t plan it. She just—”
“She deserved it,” he said simply, voice low. “Jake too.”
I stared at him, searching for sarcasm. But he was serious.
Roman Reyes, the guy who rarely took sides, had taken mine.
“I think I hate how satisfying that was,” I muttered, mostly to myself.
He leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “You’re allowed to feel things, you know.”
“I’m not used to people saying that like it’s okay.”
He shrugged. “I’m not most people.”
There it was again — that undercurrent. That thing between us neither of us wanted to name.
The teacher droned on at the front of the room, but I wasn’t listening. All I could focus on was how close Roman was sitting. The warmth radiating off of him. The scent of his hoodie. How my heartbeat felt a little reckless.
“You really wanna go to this party?” he asked after a beat.
“I have to,” I said. “If I back out now, Margo wins.”
He snorted. “So it’s a war now?”
“It’s high school,” I said dryly. “Everything’s a war.”
Roman tilted his head, considering me. “Then I guess I better show up with you.”
“Why?” I asked.
He smirked. “Because I don’t lose.”
The bell rang, and as we packed up, his hand brushed mine — a fleeting touch, not entirely accidental. I didn’t pull away.
As we walked into the hallway, I heard someone behind us whisper, “They’re actually kinda hot together.”
I didn’t look back.
But I smiled.
- Writer
