Chapter 8
The fake relationship started to feel dangerously real.
At school, people stared at us like we were the new celebrity couple. Girls whispered behind their lockers, and guys high-fived Logan like he’d won some prize. I just kept my head down, pretending it didn’t bother me, but inside, I was drowning in confusion.
Jess was absolutely thriving on the attention I was getting. “You’re glowing, Alicia,” she beamed. “You’re walking down the hallway like you own it. I told you a little attention from Logan would change your life.”
“It’s not real,” I reminded her.
She rolled her eyes. “Sure, keep telling yourself that.”
The thing is… she wasn’t wrong. I was changing.
I wasn’t invisible anymore. People talked to me. Teachers noticed when I spoke up. Even I noticed myself in the mirror more. Not because Logan made me feel pretty—though his compliments definitely didn’t hurt—but because for the first time, I wasn’t hiding.
It should’ve been enough. But it wasn’t.
Because somewhere in the middle of the pretending, I started to wonder if Logan was pretending, too.
Like when he touched the small of my back in the hallway. Or when he offered me his hoodie when I looked cold during lunch. Or the way he watched me sometimes when he thought I wasn’t looking, like I’d surprised him just by existing.
But just when I started to believe it could be real, he’d pull away. Go quiet. Retreat into that cool, untouchable version of himself.
I tried not to let it get to me, but every time he disappeared back into that world of his—his popular friends, his charming smile, his effortless everything—it felt like a reminder that I didn’t belong there.
One afternoon, we were sitting outside behind the school, away from everyone, just the two of us. It had become a habit. A quiet space where we could breathe, where the act dropped for a little while.
I was sketching absentmindedly in my notebook when he leaned in and asked, “What are you drawing?”
I hesitated. “Nothing. Just doodles.”
“Can I see?”
Before I could protest, he gently took the notebook from me and flipped through the pages. His eyes scanned my messy lines, the little portraits, the soft shadows. There were a few quick sketches of people—Jess, a teacher, and yes… one of him.
“You drew me?” he asked with a smirk.
My cheeks flushed. “It was just a practice sketch.”
He stared at the page for a moment, then looked at me. “I like it. You’re really good.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, trying not to melt under his gaze.
There was a pause.
Then he said, quietly, “You know, sometimes I feel like I have to play a part too.”
That caught me off guard. “You?”
He nodded. “Everyone expects me to be this guy—confident, chill, popular. But it’s exhausting. Half the time I just want to sit with someone and not have to impress them.”
“You don’t have to impress me,” I said before I could stop myself.
He looked at me with something unreadable in his eyes.
“I know,” he said softly.
For a second, the world faded. There was no fake relationship. No labels. Just a boy and a girl sitting in the quiet, both unsure of what they were supposed to feel.
But of course, it couldn’t stay that way.
Because not long after, Sarah found me again.
This time, she didn’t come with threats. She came with a secret.
“Alicia,” she said, blocking my way near the lockers, her voice lower, more serious than before. “You should know something. Logan made a bet.”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“He bet he could turn the school’s quietest girl into the most talked-about one. And you… well, congratulations, you’re the talk.”
I stared at her, unable to breathe.
“He’s playing you,” she said, with a hint of pity. “And once he wins, he’ll move on. He always does.”
I shook my head. “You’re lying.”
She leaned in. “Ask him.”
Then she walked away, leaving me standing there, heart cracking open, wondering if everything between us had just been one big, cruel joke.
And worse… wondering if I’d been stupid enough to fall for it.