The Challenge Begins
1648 Words
I stared at Drew’s outstretched hand, wondering if I had finally lost my mind because agreeing to his plan already sounded crazy enough, but pretending to date the most popular boy in Kingston High was on a completely different level.
“You’re serious?” I asked.
Drew raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
“Honestly? Sometimes.”
He laughed softly before dropping his hand.
“Look, you don’t have to decide right now, but if you’re really going to challenge Fey, you need more than a new outfit and a few extra followers.”
I folded my arms. “And your brilliant solution is pretending to be my boyfriend?”
“Exactly.”
“Why would that even work?”
“Because popularity is all about perception, Rielle. If people think someone like me chose you, they’re going to start wondering what they missed.”
I stared at him.
“So basically, I’m borrowing your popularity.”
“Exactly.”
“And what do you get?”
His expression changed for a second.
“Fey loses her mind.”
I laughed.
“Okay, that part is tempting.”
“Then you should probably say yes.”
I looked at him carefully.
“Fine.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“Fine?”
“Yes. I’ll do the Mean Girl Challenge.”
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“Good choice.”
“But I’m not becoming Fey.”
“I never asked you to.”
“Because I don’t want to become some cruel, arrogant girl who thinks everyone is beneath her.”
Drew nodded.
“That’s exactly why this might work. You’re going to become confident, not cruel.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded paper from yesterday.
He opened it and pointed at the first line.
“Step one starts today.”
“Today?”
“Today.”
“Where are we going?”
“The mall.”
I stared at him.
“You’re taking me shopping?”
“I’m taking you to become the girl everyone notices.”
“That sounds slightly terrifying.”
“Good.”
He started walking.
“Come on.”
I followed him, wondering if this was really happening.
A few hours later, I stood in front of a mirror inside one of the most expensive clothing stores at the mall while Drew waited outside the dressing room.
I stepped out wearing the first outfit.
He looked at me for a moment.
“Too safe.”
I frowned.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing. That’s the problem.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It looks like you’re trying not to be noticed.”
I looked at myself again.
Maybe he was right.
For years, I had chosen clothes that helped me disappear into the crowd.
Drew picked another outfit from the rack and handed it to me.
“Try this.”
I stared at it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Twenty minutes later, I stepped out again.
Drew smiled.
“Much better.”
I looked in the mirror and barely recognized myself.
The outfit wasn’t something Fey would wear, and that was what made me like it even more.
It looked like me, only more confident.
“I actually like this.”
“That’s the point.”
He walked around me, studying the outfit.
“You don’t need to dress like Fey to beat Fey. You need people to look at you and remember you.”
I smiled.
“So I’m creating my own style.”
“Exactly.”
We spent the next two hours choosing clothes, shoes and accessories, but Drew never tried to turn me into someone else. Every time I picked something because I thought it would make people like me, he asked whether I actually liked it myself, and little by little I started understanding that confidence wasn’t about making everyone else jealous.
It was about being comfortable enough not to care what everyone thought.
When we finally left the store, I checked my phone.
My eyes widened.
“Wait.”
Drew looked at me.
“What?”
“My followers.”
He leaned closer.
“How many?”
“Three hundred and twelve.”
He smiled.
“See?”
“This is crazy. I had barely any followers yesterday.”
“People are curious.”
“About me?”
“About the girl who challenged Fey.”
I looked at my profile again.
There were comments under my latest picture.
She’s actually pretty.
I like her style.
Fey finally has competition.
My stomach twisted at that last comment.
“This is happening too fast.”
Drew looked at me seriously.
“Then learn to handle it.”
Before I could respond, a girl walking past us recognized Drew.
“Wait, aren’t you Drew?”
He smiled politely.
“Yeah.”
She looked at me.
“Are you guys together?”
I froze.
Drew looked at me.
Then he smiled. “Not yet.”
The girl gasped. “Wait, what?”
I nearly choked.
Drew laughed and continued walking.
I hurried after him.
“You could have warned me!”
“Why? It worked.”
“Worked?”
“She’ll tell her friends, they’ll tell their friends, and by tomorrow everyone will be talking.”
I shook my head.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“You’re welcome.”
What I didn’t know was that someone else had noticed us.
Across the mall, Molly was standing with her phone in her hand.
She had watched everything.
And she immediately called Fey.
“Fey?”
“What?”
“I saw Drew.”
“So?”
“With Rielle.”
There was silence.
Then Fey’s voice became colder.
“Where?”
“At the mall. They were shopping together.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Fey ended the call without another word.
She stared at her phone, her jaw tightening.
For the first time, she wasn’t laughing at Rielle.
She was worried.
Back at school the next morning, I could feel something had changed.
People were looking at me differently.
Some smiled. Some whispered.
Others simply watched me walk past.
Maeve hurried toward me. “Rielle!”
I turned. “What?”
“What happened to you?”
I laughed.
“What do you mean?”
“You look different.”
“I went shopping.”
“With who?”
I hesitated.
“Just someone.”
Maeve narrowed her eyes.
“Someone?”
Before I could answer, Corey appeared with his phone held up.
“Kingston High, we have another update!”
I groaned.
“Oh no.”
Corey grinned.
“Yesterday, our favorite troublemaker was spotted at the mall with the school’s newest rising star.”
He turned the phone toward us.
A picture of Drew and me appeared on his livestream.
Maeve’s mouth fell open.
“Rielle!”
“I can explain.”
“Is that Drew?”
“Yes.”
“Why were you shopping with him?”
“It’s complicated.”
Corey laughed.
“Well, whatever is happening, Kingston High is loving it.”
My phone buzzed repeatedly. Followers. Comments. Messages.
My heart raced.
Drew appeared beside me.
“Looks like we’re doing well.”
I glared at him.
“You caused this.”
“You’re welcome.”
Before I could respond, Fey walked past us.
She stopped.
Her eyes moved from Drew to me.
Then she smiled.
It wasn’t a friendly smile.
“So this is your new strategy?”
I lifted my chin.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t.”
She stepped closer.
“But enjoy the attention while it lasts.”
She walked away.
I watched her leave. “She’s definitely angry.”
Drew nodded.
“Good.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“She’s threatened.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because Fey doesn’t care about people she considers irrelevant.”
That evening, Drew sent me a message.
Meet me tomorrow. Same place.
I replied.
What’s next?
His answer came almost immediately.
Step two.
The next day, he took me behind the old gym again.
I crossed my arms.
“Okay, what’s step two?”
He smiled.
“We already have people talking about us, so it won’t be difficult to make them believe we’re together.”
“And what happens when they ask how we got together?”
“We make up a story.”
“When they ask how long we’ve been dating?”
“We make up another story.”
“When they ask if we’re actually in love?”
He paused.
Then his eyes met mine.
“We tell them whatever they want to hear.”
My heart skipped.
I quickly looked away.
“This is going to be complicated.”
Drew smiled.
“Probably.”
“And we need rules.”
“Agreed.”
“No real feelings.”
“Obviously.”
“No jealousy.”
“Definitely.”
“No kissing.”
He hesitated.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“Fine. No kissing.”
I held out my hand.
“Deal?”
He took it.
“Deal.”
His fingers closed around mine, and for some reason, neither of us let go immediately.
The moment lasted only a few seconds, but it felt longer.
Drew finally released my hand.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“What?”
“We make it official tomorrow.”
I swallowed.
“Right.”
He walked away.
I watched him disappear around the corner. Though I agreed to fake-date Drew.
I had also agreed not to fall for him.
And I had absolutely no idea how difficult that promise was going to be.
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