After the fake date, the rumors became stronger.
Now the entire school believed we were officially together.
Which meant…
We had to be careful.
Very careful.
The next Monday morning, I arrived at school earlier than usual.
As I walked through the hallway, I felt eyes on me again.
Whispers followed.
I tried to ignore them.
Then I heard footsteps beside me.
"I thought we agreed to arrive separately," I said without looking.
Ethan walked calmly next to me.
"We did."
"Then why are you here?"
He glanced at the hallway.
"For consistency."
I frowned. "Consistency?"
"If we're dating, it would look strange if we never arrive together."
I hated that he was right.
Before I could respond, a girl from our class walked up to us.
She looked nervous.
"Ethan… can I talk to you?"
I immediately stepped aside.
Of course.
He was popular.
She probably needed help with homework.
But instead of walking away, Ethan said,
"You can talk in front of her."
I froze slightly.
The girl looked at me, then back at him.
"I just wanted to confirm something," she said quietly. "Are you really dating Lena?"
The hallway became quiet.
Students slowed down to listen.
My heart beat faster.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
One word.
Clear.
Confident.
The girl looked disappointed but nodded and left.
When she was gone, I turned to him.
"You didn't have to sound so serious."
He looked at me calmly.
"It's better this way."
I noticed something small.
He wasn't smiling like before.
He looked… protective.
That thought confused me.
Later That Day
During lunch, something unexpected happened.
A new rumor started spreading.
Someone claimed that I was forcing Ethan to date me.
When I heard it, my stomach tightened.
That wasn't true.
I didn't want him to look bad because of me.
I stood up immediately.
"I'm going to clear this up."
Before I could walk away, Ethan gently grabbed my wrist.
Not hard.
Just enough to stop me.
"Don't."
His voice was calm.
But firm.
"If you respond emotionally, it will look worse."
I looked at his hand on my wrist.
Then at him.
"People are saying I'm manipulating you."
His expression changed slightly.
For a brief moment, something serious crossed his eyes.
"They can say what they want," he replied quietly.
The way he said it made my heart pause.
Then he released my wrist slowly.
"And I don't mind being in the rumor," he added.
I blinked.
"What does that mean?"
He didn't answer directly.
Instead, he said,
"Focus on the competition."
The tone was back to normal.
Controlled.
But for a second…
It didn't feel fake anymore.
That night, I lay in bed thinking.
The fake relationship was supposed to be simple.
But it wasn't.
Because Ethan was acting differently than I expected.
Not arrogant.
Not careless.
He was thoughtful.
Careful.
And sometimes…
Too close.
I stared at the ceiling.
This was only the beginning.
And if this continued for 100 chapters…
I had a feeling things would become much more complicated.
But for now—
We were still rivals.
Still pretending.
And neither of us had realized something important yet.
The fake relationship was slowly becoming harder to fake