{Sam POV}
Alex and I were never in love.We weren't even pretending to be.
We were just two people who got tired of being pushed into dates and expectations. Two kids from similar families, fed up with nosy adults and too many eyes on us.
So we made a deal.
"We'll say yes," I told him.He didn't even blink. "Cool. Saves me the effort."
Our parents were thrilled.They called it a "natural match."Same school. Same social circles. Same tired sports awards on our shelves.
We never corrected them.
Alex Jones didn't care enough to fake affection, and I didn't care enough to want more.
What we did care about?Silence. Space. The freedom that came with pretending we were already someone else's problem.
It worked better than expected.
People stopped trying to set us up with other people. Teachers called us a power couple. Someone once told us we looked like a magazine ad.
Alex leaned into it for the aesthetic. I leaned into it for the peace.
No one asked why I avoided parties.No one noticed that I didn't answer my phone on weekends.No one cared that I stopped trying.
Because they saw me next to him and assumed I was happy.
And maybe that's the biggest trick of all.
Alex wasn't a bad guy.
He just... didn't pay attention.To anything. To anyone.
He was the kind of person who could be three feet from a crying friend and still be trying to unlock his phone with a face scan.
He wasn't cruel. He just lived in his own orbit.Detached. Effortless. Like nothing ever stuck long enough to matter.
That made him perfect for me.
Because I didn't want anyone sticking, either.
He came up to me after class that afternoon.
"Want to grab lunch? Or are we pretending to be on a dramatic break this week?" he asked, like it was a game.
"I'm not hungry," I said.
He shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll flirt with the new girl at the juice counter. That'll keep the rumor mill spinning."
I didn't even look at him. "Have fun."
He left. Just like that. No questions. No "you okay?"
He never asked those things.
And I liked that about him, I really did.
Until I didn't.
[End of Chapter 3]
The peace I built wasn't love. It was silence disguised as safety. And I was starting to wonder if that was enough.