I’m in love with my best friend and now he needs me to be his fake girlfriend.

The Spiral of Pretending

The rest of the night was the same way. We acted like our normal selves, realizing not much about our dynamic changed.

Natalie would pop in every once in a while, which caused Oliver to hold me, and I had to hold in my vomit. By the end of the night, people went home thinking me and Oliver were actually a couple.

Which would have been hilarious, except for what I saw Monday morning at school. I was walking to my locker when I saw her.

Natalie, she was standing in the hallway like she belonged there, chatting with some girl from my math class, laughing, looking completely comfortable in a school she definitely did not attend. My brain started shortcircuiting.

What was she doing here? She was supposed to be visiting. She was supposed to leave.

That’s what Oliver said. Just one night. Just one.

Before I could fully spiral into panic mode, someone grabbed my arm and yanked me sideways into an empty classroom. Oliver slammed the door shut behind us.

“She transferred.” “What?” The word came out as barely a whisper.

“Natalie, she transferred.” Everything became official over the weekend.

I stared at him, waiting for the punchline, waiting for him to say he was joking, but his face was dead serious. “This was supposed to be one night.”

“I know, one night, Oliver.” My voice was rising now.

How did we go from helping him out at a party to this? “I know.” “You said she was leaving.”

I shook his body, waiting for this to make sense. Oliver started pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

“She was supposed to.” “How does someone even transfer schools over a weekend?” “That’s not possible.”

“You need transcripts and paperwork and applications?” His voice kept getting higher with each word.

I slid down against the wall until I was sitting on the floor. “This can’t be real.” “This is not actually happening right now.”

Maybe I was still asleep. Maybe this was some weird stress dream about the Zane rejection.

“What do we do?” Oliver looked at me like I had all the answers. I definitely did not have any answers.

“I don’t know.” “Break up.” “We can’t break up.”

“We just got together on Friday.” If we break up now, it looks suspicious.

Oliver stopped pacing long enough to look at me directly. “Really suspicious?”

I agreed. The logic clicking into place.

And the second I’m single again, she’s going to start asking me out, which defeats the entire purpose of this whole thing. Oliver resumed his pacing.

We sat in silence for a moment, both of us trying to process how everything had spiraled so completely out of control in less than 72 hours. I’d gone from getting rejected by my crush to fake dating my best friend.

To being trapped in a lie that now involved our entire school. “Okay,” I forced myself to think logically.

My heart was racing, but my brain needed to work. “We need a plan.”

Oliver stopped pacing. “We keep-” “For how long?”

“Please don’t say forever.” “Please don’t say forever.”

“A few weeks, maybe a month.” “It has to be believable.”

Relationships don’t just end after 3 days. Oliver’s logic was sound, even though I hated it.

“Okay, a month.” “We fake date for a month.” “Then we stage a breakup.”

“Make it mutual.” “No drama.”

Oliver nodded rapidly. “Keep it quiet so Natalie doesn’t think it’s about her.”

By then, maybe she’ll have moved on to someone else. That seemed optimistic, but I was grasping at straws here, or at least gotten the hint that I’m not interested.

We looked at each other. The plan was solid, logical. It could actually work if we didn’t mess it up.

“This is insane,” I said. Oliver ran his hands through his hair.

“Completely-” “But it’s the only option.” “The only one that makes sense.”

“One month.” “We can do one month.”

I tried to sound more confident than I felt. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

The bell rang and Oliver rushed off to his next class. I was heading to mine when I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Lexi, wait up.”

I turned around. Natalie was smiling at me like we were old friends.

“Hey,” I said, trying to sound casual. “I wanted to talk to you girl to girl.”

She linked her arm through mine like we did this all the time. “It’s so cool that you and Oliver are together.” “I had no idea you guys were a thing.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty-” “How did you guys even get together?”

Natalie’s voice was light, but her eyes were sharp, calculating. My brain scrambled for an answer.

We just kind of realized we liked each other. “That’s so vague.”

She laughed, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Come on, give me details.”

“What was the moment?” “Who confessed first?” “He did.”

The lie came out automatically. “We were hanging out, and he just told me how he felt.”

“And you said it back.” “Yeah, I said I’d been feeling the same way.”

Natalie nodded slowly. “That’s sweet.” “Were you guys nervous about ruining the friendship?”

“Not really.” “It felt pretty natural.”

“Interesting.” Oliver said you were both freaking out about it.

Natalie crossed her arms. Said it took you guys forever to actually talk about it because you didn’t want things to get weird.

My pulse quickened. “I mean, maybe a little nervous.” I was feeling a lot of things during that time.

Her smile was cold when she asked, “Have you kissed yet?” The question caught me completely off guard. “What?”

“I mean, you’ve been together for weeks.” “You must have kissed by now.”

Natalie was still smiling, but there was something predatory about it. “That’s kind of personal.”

“Oh, come on.” “I’m just curious.” “You guys didn’t kiss at the party.”

“I was watching.” Of course, she was watching. “We’re taking things slow.”

“Really?” Most couples kiss pretty early on. She tilted her head.

“Unless you’re not actually a couple.” My heart stopped. “We are a couple.”

“Then why won’t you answer simple questions about your relationship?” Natalie’s smile finally dropped.

“It’s weird, don’t you think?” You can’t tell me how you got together. You haven’t kissed.

You looked shocked when he called you his girlfriend at the party. “I already explained that.” “He grabbed me out of nowhere.”

“Sure.” Natalie’s tone made it clear she didn’t believe a word I was saying.

“I’m going to be watching you guys very closely and if I find out you’re lying to me, we’re going to have a problem.” She walked away before I could respond.

I stood there in the hallway, my hands shaking. We were so screwed.

I pulled out my phone and texted Oliver what happened and he panicked alongside me. I told him he needed to come over to my house after school to get our story straight.

We couldn’t mess up again. After I finished reading his text, “Okay, I’ll be there.” I shoved my phone back in my pocket.

One month suddenly felt like forever. Oliver met me at my locker after the final bell rang.

We didn’t say much on the walk to my house. The second we got to my room and closed the door, Oliver started pacing.

“Okay, so I told Natalie we were freaking out about ruining the friendship.” “You said it felt natural.”

We’re already contradicting each other and it’s been one day. I flopped onto my bed. “This is such a mess.”

Oliver stopped pacing long enough to look at me. “When did I supposedly confess to you?”

I thought back to what I’d told Natalie two weeks ago. “We were hanging out.”

He sat down on the floor, leaning against my bed. “Where?” I hesitated.

I didn’t specify. “Should we say here?” “Your place?”

Oliver shook his head. “Here makes more sense.” My parents are always home.

If we’re having some big feelings talk, it would be at your place. That was actually true.

Whenever we had serious conversations, they usually happened in my room. “Okay.” “Okay, so 2 weeks ago in my room, what were we doing?”

We looked at each other and said, “watching TV” at the exact same time. Oliver laughed despite the stress.

“See, we know each other.” “This should be easy.”

Except it wasn’t easy because knowing someone as a friend was different from knowing them as a fake girlfriend. We spent the next few hours building every detail.

He confessed, said he’d been thinking about me differently lately, and wanted to see if I felt the same. I was surprised, but admitted I’d been feeling it, too.

We made it official that night. Our first date was the movies 3 days later.

We haven’t kissed yet because we’re taking things slow and don’t want to rush anything. Oliver sprawled out on my floor.

“What’s my biggest pet peeve?” I didn’t even have to think.

“When people chew with their mouth open.” “What’s mine?”

“You think slow walkers are the worst people on the planet.” “They are.”

Oliver grinned. “Okay, we’ve clearly got this.”

My mom knocked on the door around 8 asking if Oliver was staying for dinner. We barely registered the question.

By midnight, we’d created an entire relationship that never happened. Every moment memorized, every answer matching. We couldn’t mess up again.

The next morning at school, Oliver and I were on high alert. We stood by my locker, waiting for Natalie to appear like some kind of relationship detective ready to interrogate us again.

Oliver had his arm around my waist and I wanted to shove him off immediately. “Your hand is sweaty,” I muttered through my smile.

“Your hair is in my face,” he shot back, not moving. “Then move your giant head.”

“I can’t.” “We have to look natural.”

We’d become exactly the type of couple we used to mock. The ones who you could find by following the sound of them kissing.

The ones who made everyone around them want to vomit. Oliver leaned down like he was whispering something cute in my ear.

“You look constipated.” “Relax your face.” “I am relaxed.”

“You look like you’re seconds away from dropping a deuce.” I elbowed him in the ribs.

He made a small grunt, but kept smiling. To anyone watching, we probably looked adorable.

In reality, I was counting down the seconds until I could have my personal space back. “Move your hand higher.” “It’s too low.”

I hissed, feeling his hand on my lower lower waist. “Where’s it supposed to go?”

“I don’t know.” “Just not there.”

“You’re the one who said we needed to be more couplike.” “I didn’t say grope me in the hallway.”

Oliver moved his hand up to my shoulder. “Better.”

“I guess-” “You guess I’m working with limited options here.” “This is exhausting.”

“It’s been 10 minutes.” “Exactly.”

Then I saw her. Natalie was walking down the hallway toward us with that same calculating look in her eyes.

My entire body tensed. Oliver must have felt it because his grip on my shoulder tightened.

“Act natural.” I looked up at him and smiled.

Natalie stopped right in front of us, arms crossed. “You guys look like you’re trying too hard.”

My heart dropped, but I forced a laugh. I leaned my head against Oliver’s shoulder and linked my arm through his.

“We’re just in the honeymoon phase of our relationship.” “You know how it is.”

Oliver nodded, playing along. “Can’t keep our hands off each other.”

I tried not to visibly cringe at that statement. Natalie’s eyes narrowed.

She clearly wasn’t buying it, but she couldn’t prove anything. “It’s just funny.”

“You didn’t act like this at the party.” “Nobody knew about us before,” I said quickly.

“It’s different now that everyone knows.” “Right.”

Natalie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Well, I’ll see you guys at lunch.”

“Wait, what?” “Lunch?” Oliver’s voice came out higher than normal.

“Yeah, I figured I’d sit with you guys today.” “I want to get to know you better as a couple.”

Natalie tilted her head. “Plus, I’m new here and don’t really know anyone yet.” “You wouldn’t mind, would you?”

The way she said it made it clear this wasn’t actually a question. She was inviting herself and daring us to say no.

If we refused, we’d look like terrible people. If we agreed, we’d be stuck with her watching our every move.

“Of course not,” I heard myself say. “Perfect.” “I’ll find you.”

Natalie smile was sharp. Then she walked away like she’d just won something.

The second she was out of earshot, I stepped away from Oliver. I leaned back against my locker and closed my eyes.

This was spiraling so far out of control. Natalie wasn’t just checking in on us anymore.

She was inserting herself directly into our daily lives. We were going to have to be a couple constantly now.

No breaks, no relief, just endless performance. By the time lunch rolled around, my stomach was in knots.

Oliver and I walked to the cafeteria together, his hand in mine because we had to keep up appearances. His palm was sweating again.

Or maybe that was mine. I couldn’t tell anymore.

We grabbed our food and found a table in the corner, hoping maybe Natalie had forgotten or changed her mind. “That hope died the second I saw her walking toward us with her lunch tray.”

“Hey guys,” she said brightly, sitting down directly across from us. “This is so fun.”

“I feel like we’re going to be such good friends.” Oliver’s grip on my hand tightened under the table.

I forced a smile. “Yeah, so fun.”

Natalie opened her water bottle and took a sip, her eyes never leaving us. Last time I talked to Lexi, she held back the details of your relationship.

“But call me George because I’m curious.” “How did you guys actually get together?”

My blood went cold. We’d rehearsed this.

We’d spent hours memorizing every detail. But having Natalie stare at us, waiting for us to slip up, made my mind go completely blank.

“It was pretty simple, actually.” Oliver started, his voice steady despite the panic I knew he was feeling.

“I told Lexi I liked her about 2 weeks ago.” “We were at her place watching TV.”

“What show?” Natalie asked immediately. “Friends,” I jumped in, remembering what we’d agreed on.

“And you just confessed during the show?” Natalie leaned forward.

“Yeah,” Oliver said. “I told her I’d been thinking about her differently and wanted to see if she felt the same.”

Natalie’s eyes went to me. “And what did you say?”

“I was surprised,” I said, sticking to our script. “But I told him I’d been feeling the same way.”

“So, you made it official that night?” “Yeah.”

“And your first date?” “Movies?” “3 days later?”

Natalie nodded slowly, processing everything. I couldn’t tell if she believed us or if she was just cataloging our answers to compare them later.

“Have you guys said I love you yet?” Oliver and I looked at each other.

We hadn’t prepared for that question. “Not yet,” I said carefully. “We’re taking things slow.”

“But you’ve kissed, right?” There it was again, the kissing question.

Natalie was obsessed with whether or not we’d kissed. “We’re not really into PDA,” Oliver said, dodging the question entirely.

“I’m not asking about PDA.” “I’m asking if you’ve kissed at all.”

Natalie crossed her arms. The table felt like it was closing in on us.

Everyone around us was eating and talking and laughing like normal. Meanwhile, we were being interrogated about our fake relationship.

“That’s personal,” I said finally. “Couples kiss.” “It’s not that personal.”

Natalie’s smile was sharp. “Unless you guys haven’t kissed because you’re not actually dating.”

My heart was pounding so hard I was sure she could hear it. Oliver’s hand was still gripping mine under the table.

We were trapped. If we said no, she’d use it as proof we were lying.

If we said yes, she’d probably demand to see us kiss right here and now. “We’ve kissed,” Oliver said, his voice firm.

“We’re just not talking about it with you.” Natalie leaned back in her chair, clearly unsatisfied, but unable to push further without looking crazy.

“Fine, keep your secrets.” By the time the bell rang, I felt like I just survived an interrogation.

Two days later, during last period, I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard it. That shrill, grading laugh that could only belong to one person.

Natalie. I stopped walking and listened.

There was a guy’s voice responding to her. My first thought was relief.

Maybe she’d finally found someone else to obsess over. Maybe this nightmare was ending.

I turned the corner to see who the poor guy was. Then my stomach twisted.

Oliver was backed against the lockers with Natalie standing way too close. She was practically pressed against him, her body blocking any escape route.

“You can drop the act,” Natalie was saying, her fingers trailing down his arm. “I know you’re not actually into Lexi.”

“You’re clearly using her to make me jealous.” “It’s kind of obvious.”

Oliver tried to step to the side, but Natalie pressed closer, her hand flat against his chest to keep him pinned. “I’m not using anyone.” “Lexi and I are together.”

“Come on.” Natalie’s other hand moved to his face, trying to make him look at her.

I felt my own chest tighten watching it. “Forget this whole fake relationship thing.” “Go out with me instead.”

“You know I’d be so much better for you than she could ever be.” I should have walked away.

I should have interrupted. But I was frozen in place watching this unfold from around the corner where they couldn’t see me.

Oliver’s face got all serious. He gently but firmly removed her hands.

“Natalie, I need you to understand something.” “I’m not interested in you.”

“I never have been.” “And even if Lexi and I weren’t together, my answer would still be no.”

“You don’t mean that.” “I do.” Oliver took a breath.

“And I need you to stop this.” “Stop cornering me.”

“Stop interrogating Lexi.” “Stop trying to come between us.”

Natalie’s expression hardened. “So, you’re really choosing her over me?”

“Every single time.” Oliver’s voice was firm.

“Lexi is the most important person in my life.” “She’s been there for me through everything.”

“She knows every part of me, the good and the broken pieces, and she stays anyway.” “She makes me laugh when the world feels heavy.”

“She calls me out when I need it.” “She’s brilliant and fierce, and I honestly can’t imagine my life without her in it.”

My heart was pounding. I pressed myself against the wall, trying to process what I was hearing.

“I haven’t told her I love her yet because we’re taking things slow,” Oliver continued. “But I do.”

“I love everything about her.” The way she gets competitive over stupid things.

The way she pretends she doesn’t care about things but actually cares so much it hurts. “I would choose her over anyone every single day for the rest of my life if she’d let me.”

I couldn’t breathe. The words were hitting me like physical blows.

He sounded so genuine, so honest, like every word was coming from somewhere real and deep. There was no hesitation in his voice.

No hint that he was lying or putting on a performance. Natalie finally stepped back.

“You’re making a mistake.” “No, I’m not.”

Oliver straightened up. “And I’d appreciate it if you’d leave us alone from now on.”

Natalie turned and walked away in the opposite direction from where I was hiding. Oliver stayed there for a moment, leaning against the lockers with his eyes closed.

Then he pushed off and headed toward his classroom. I stood there in the empty hallway with my thoughts racing.

“What the hell was that?” Why did he sound so convincing?

Was he just a really good actor or was there something real behind those words? My brain started spiraling.

What if this whole fake dating thing was actually a scheme? What if Oliver had feelings for me and this was his way of making me see him differently?

What if he’d been planning this all along? I ran through every interaction we’d had over the past few days.

The way he’d held me at the party. The way his hand fit in mine. The way we could finish each other’s sentences.

We knew everything about each other. We made each other laugh.

We could spend hours together and never get bored. Everyone always said we’d be good together.

What if they were right? Wait, what was I feeling right now?

My heart was still racing. My palms were sweating.

I felt nervous and confused and something else I couldn’t quite name. But I knew whatever that feeling was, it couldn’t happen.

This was all pretend. But what if it wasn’t pretend for him?

What if he actually meant everything he just said? Then it would be okay for me to have feelings, too, right?

If he liked me back then, catching feelings wasn’t a disaster. It was actually perfect.

We could just transition from fake dating to real dating and no one would even know the difference. I tried to shake the thought away.

This was ridiculous. Oliver didn’t have feelings for me. He was just really good at playing the part.

That’s all it was. A performance, an act, nothing real.

But the thought wouldn’t leave. It lingered in the back of my mind like a splinter I couldn’t dig out.

What if he actually meant it? What did that mean for us?

By the time school ended, I’d worked myself into a complete state of confusion. I met Oliver at his locker like we’d planned.

He looked stressed and tired. The second he saw me, his shoulders relaxed slightly.

“Natalie cornered me during last period, by the way,” he said, shoving books into his bag. “What happened?”

I tried to keep my voice casual even though my heart was pounding again. “She tried to get me to admit we’re faking.”

“Said I was using you to make her jealous.” Oliver rolled his eyes. I gulped.

“What did you say?” “Just a bunch of stuff about how important you are to me and how I’d choose you over her.”

“All the typical relationship stuff.” Oliver closed his locker and looked at me.

“God, I felt so awkward saying all of that romantic crap.” “Like I had to really force myself not to laugh because it sounded so ridiculous coming out of my mouth about you, you know?”

“I just needed to make sure she backed off.” “You understand that, right?”

“That none of that was real.” I stared at him.

He felt awkward. It sounded ridiculous.

Every single word that had made my heart race and my thoughts spiral had been a complete joke to him. He didn’t mean any of it.

He needed me to know he didn’t mean it. “Yeah.” I managed to say, “Obviously.”

We started walking toward the parking lot. Oliver was talking about something Natalie had said, but I wasn’t really listening.

I was too busy trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Why had I spiraled like that?

Why had I convinced myself that maybe he had feelings for me? Why had the idea of us being together made my heart race instead of making me want to throw up?

Oliver didn’t like me. He just made that incredibly clear.

All of this was fake. All of this was temporary, and I needed to get my head straight before I did something stupid.

Like actually developing real feelings for my best friend. We ended up at my house like usual.

Oliver threw his bag on the floor and collapsed on my chair. I sat on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The weight of everything was pressing down on me. The fake relationship, the constant surveillance, the lies.

The way my stupid heart had reacted to words that meant absolutely nothing to him. “You okay?” Oliver asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah, fine.” My voice came out flat.

“You don’t seem fine.” “You’ve barely said anything since we left school.”

I shrugged. What was I supposed to say?

That I’d spiraled earlier thinking maybe he had feelings for me? That for a brief terrifying moment, I’d wondered what it would be like if we were actually together?

That sounded like a great conversation. Oliver sat up on the chair watching me with concern.

“Is it Natalie?” “I know she’s been a lot lately.”

“More than a lot.” “She’s basically stalking us at this point.”

“It’s fine, Lexi.” His voice was gentle. “Talk to me.”

I couldn’t look at him. If I looked at him, I might say something stupid, something that would ruin everything between us.

I heard him move. Then I felt his presence next to me on the bed.

He hesitated. I could feel him hovering there, unsure if he should reach out or give me space.

Then his hand touched my shoulder. Soft, tentative.

“Come here,” he said quietly before I could protest. He pulled me in close and wrapped his arms around me.

I froze for a second, my body going rigid against his. This was different from the performative touches at school.

This was just us. No audience, no act, just Oliver holding me because he thought I needed it.

His hand moved to the back of my head, fingers threading gently through my hair. His other arm was around my waist, holding me close against him.

I could feel the warmth of his body through his shirt. Could smell the familiar scent of his cologne mixed with the detergent his mom used.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured into my hair. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess.”

“I know how hard this has been.” “This is all my fault.”

My heart was pounding. His thumb was tracing small circles against my back.

Soft and comforting. The kind of touch that made you feel safe.

The kind of touch that was dangerously close to feeling like something more. Then I felt it.

His heartbeat. It was racing fast and hard against his chest where my cheek was pressed.

Why was his heart racing? He was just comforting his friend.

Friends could hug without their hearts trying to beat out of their chests. But his was, and so was mine.

What the hell was going on? The lines between fake and real started blurring.

A simple hug from my best friend suddenly felt like it meant something when it didn’t. When it couldn’t, because Oliver had made it crystal clear that the idea of us together was ridiculous.

And even if it wasn’t, catching feelings would ruin everything. I needed to snap out of it.

Right now, before this spiraled into something I couldn’t take back, I pulled back slightly, forcing myself to create distance. “It’s fine,” I said, my voice coming out steadier than I felt.

“Really?” “This whole thing sucks, but it’s not your fault.” “Natalie is just being insane.”

Oliver’s arms loosened, but didn’t completely let go. His hands were still on my waist, still touching me in a way that felt too intimate for what we were supposed to be.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, searching my face. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

I broke the contact completely. “Hopefully, it’ll all be over soon.”

“Natalie’s going to get bored eventually.” “She’ll find someone else to obsess over, and we can go back to normal.”

Oliver nodded, but he looked unconvinced. “Yeah, eventually.”

We sat there on my bed with this weird tension hanging between us. Something felt different.

“Want to watch something?” Oliver asked, gesturing to my laptop. “Sure.”

We settled comfortably like normal. Him leaning against the headboard, me sitting next to him with my laptop balanced between us.

We put on some show neither of us really cared about, but I couldn’t focus on the screen. I was too aware of how close he was, how his arm was almost touching mine.

How dangerous it would be to let myself feel anything more than friendship. This wasn’t part of the plan.

Catching feelings would ruin everything, and I needed to make sure that didn’t happen. 5 days later, Natalie cornered us at lunch with that smile that meant.

“So, I was thinking we should all hang out this weekend,” she said, sitting down across from us without waiting for an invitation. “Like a double date.”

“Me and Zayn, you two.” I felt my lunch coming back up. “Zayn?”

“Yeah.” “From the party.” “I saw you guys talking and thought it would be fun.”

Natalie’s smile was sharp. “Tomorrow night, bowling 7.”

She walked away before we could come up with an excuse. Oliver looked at me. “Are you okay with this?”

I wasn’t. It had been over a week since Zayn rejected me, and I’d managed to avoid thinking about it.

Now I’d have to pretend like I was madly in love with my best friend while I tried to pretend like I didn’t get with him 5 seconds after Zayn rejected me. The next night, Oliver picked me up at 6:30.

I changed my outfit three times before settling on jeans and a sweater. The drive there was quiet.

Oliver kept glancing at me like he wanted to say something, but didn’t know how. We got to the bowling alley and found Natalie already there with Zayn.

My heart did a weird little jump when I saw him. Not the flutter from before, just this uncomfortable reminder of standing in front of him at that party.

Vulnerable, rejected, stupid. “Hey guys,” Natalie said, her hand possessively on Zayn’s arm.

Zayn gave us an awkward wave. “Hey, Lexi, Oliver.”

I could barely look at Zayn. Every time our eyes met, I felt this wave of embarrassment wash over me.

He’d rejected me gently, kindly, but still. And now here I was with Oliver, pretending we were together, and Zayn knew.

He was the only person that knew. I was scared he’d slip up, say something just to spite me, ruin everything.

After we picked a lane, Oliver went first. He grabbed a ball and walked up to the lane with this confident swagger that was completely unearned given his bowling skills.

He pulled his arm back and released. The ball went straight into the gutter.

“Nice one,” I called out. “Shut up,” he shot back, grinning.

He tried again. Gutter. I laughed hard.

Oliver turned around and took an exaggerated bow. “Thank you.” “Thank you.”

“I’ll be here all night.” Natalie rolled her eyes, but Zayn actually smiled.

“Tough break, man.” When it was my turn, I knocked down six pins and Oliver mockingly said, “Not bad.”

“Better than you.” I shot back. “That’s a low bar.”

We fell into our normal rhythm. Oliver teasing me when I missed.

Me making fun of his form. Him stealing my fries from the basket we’d ordered. Me stealing them back.

Sometimes we genuinely forgot we were there with two more people. Then Oliver got up for another turn.

This time it went straight down the middle and knocked down eight pins. He turned around with this huge grin on his face, arms raised in victory.

“Did you see that?” “I saw,” I said, high-fiving him and accidentally interlinking our fingers together.

Neither of us commented on it. “I’m a bowling god.”

“You got two gutter balls literally 5 minutes ago.” “That was the old me.” “This is the new me.”

I watched him walk back, still grinning like an idiot. Then Zayn asked if we could talk privately.

I wanted to end it all right there. I got nervous in an instant.

What did he want to say? I nodded and we walked outside, telling Oliver we were both going to the bathroom.

I didn’t miss the way Natalie smirked, probably happy to get some alone time with Oliver. And I knew I needed to speedrun this conversation with Zayn and get back.

We stepped outside into the cold night air. Zayn shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at me with this expression I couldn’t quite read, confused, maybe a little hurt.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s really going on?” “Oliver and I are together,” I said weakly.

“No, you’re not.” Zayn shook his head.

“I watched the whole thing happen.” Oliver was freaking out about something. Some girl was with him.

He grabbed you and out of nowhere, you two were a couple. I wanted to deny it, but what was the point?

He’d seen everything. He knew. “Why does it matter to you?” I asked instead.

“Because I’m trying to understand.” Zayn took a step closer.

“Did you even actually like me?” “Or was I just convenient?” “Some distraction?”

“What?” “No, I liked you.” “I’ve liked you since sophomore year.”

“Then how did you move on so fast?” His voice got sharper.

“You were standing in front of me nervous and vulnerable.” “I could see how much it took for you to confess.”

“And then 2 minutes later, you’re agreeing to be someone’s fake girlfriend.” “That doesn’t make sense.”

“He needed help.” “So, you just forgot about me?”

Zayn crossed his arms. “Forgot about your feelings.”

“All because Oliver needed something.” “He’s my best friend.”

“Right.” Zayn’s voice got tighter.

“Your best friend.” “The one who’s always been there.” “The one you drop everything for.”

“What are you getting at?” “I’m just trying to figure out where I ranked.”

Zayn ran his hand through his hair because it seems like Oliver comes first always, no matter what. “That’s not fair,” isn’t it, though?

He stepped closer. “You liked me for 2 years, apparently.”

“Gathered the courage to finally confess.” “I said, ‘No,’ and instead of being upset or needing time to process, you immediately jumped into helping Oliver with whatever this is.”

“He needed me, and I didn’t matter anymore.” Zayn’s jaw tightened.

“It makes me wonder if things had gone differently that night.” “If I’d told you I wanted to take you to dinner,” he paused.

“And then Oliver showed up with his emergency.” “Would you have still helped him?”

“Would you have agreed to be his fake girlfriend anyway?” The question hit me harder than I expected.

I actually thought about it. If Zayn had said yes, if he’d smiled and told me he’d been wanting to ask me out, too.

If we’d been standing there making plans for our first date, and then Oliver appeared with Natalie, panicking and desperate, what would I have done? The honest answer made my stomach turn.

I probably would have helped him anyway. Oliver was my best friend.

Had been for years. When he needed me, I showed up.

That’s how it had always been. Even if I’d been in the middle of the best moment of my life with Zayn, I would have found a way to help Oliver.

And that realization felt horrible because it meant Zayn was right. Oliver did come first, always.

But admitting that out loud felt like proving every point he was trying to make. “That doesn’t matter,” I said finally.

“It mattered to me.” His voice got harder.

“It tells me everything I need to know.” “You can’t even say no.”

“You can’t even pretend you would have chosen me.” “Because it’s not that simple.”

“It is that simple,” he said with certainty. Oliver needed something, so you dropped everything, including your own feelings, including any chance we might have had.

Something hot flared in my chest. Anger. “You rejected me, Zayn.”

“You didn’t want a chance with me.” “I know I did.”

“Then why do you care what I do after?” My voice was rising. “You don’t get to reject me and then act like I owe you something.”

I continued. “You don’t get to question my choices or make me feel guilty for moving on.”

“Even if it’s fake, even if it’s complicated.” “It’s my life and you don’t get a say in it anymore.”

He couldn’t say anything back. We stood there in tense silence.

The cold air bit at my skin, but I was too angry to care. The door suddenly swung open.

Oliver stood there looking stressed and irritated. “Come on, Lexi.” “We’re leaving.”

I didn’t argue. I walked past Zayn without another word and followed Oliver to his car.

He was moving fast, his jaw tight. We got in and he started driving without saying anything.

The silence stretched between us. “What happened in there?” I asked finally.

“Natalie kept trying to touch me.” “Wouldn’t leave me alone for 5 seconds.”

Oliver’s hands gripped the steering wheel harder than necessary. “What did Zayn want to talk about?”

I hesitated. Part of me didn’t want to tell him, but we were in this mess together.

“He knows we’re faking.” “Of course, he does.”

Oliver let out a harsh laugh. “He was standing right there when I panicked.”

“What else did he say?” “He asked why I agreed to help you.”

“Asked if my feelings for him were even real.” Oliver’s head turned slightly toward me.

“Your feelings?” My stomach twisted.

I hadn’t told Oliver about this, about any of it. “I confessed to Zayn at the party before you showed up.”

The car slowed down slightly. “You what?”

“I told him I liked him, that I’d liked him since sophomore year.” The words felt heavy.

“He rejected me.” “Said he wasn’t interested.”

“Then 2 minutes later, you appeared with your fake girlfriend emergency.” Oliver was quiet for a long moment, his jaw clenched.

“So that’s what this was about.” “He was questioning whether you actually liked him because you moved on so fast.”

“Yeah.” “And did you?”

Oliver’s voice had this edge to it now. Sharp.

“Actually like him.” “Obviously, I wouldn’t have confessed if I didn’t.”

His knuckles went white against the steering wheel. “You never told me you liked Zayn.”

“I didn’t tell anyone.” “Right.”

Oliver pulled up to my house and put the car in park. He still wasn’t looking at me. His whole body was tense.

“Well, at least now I know why tonight was so awkward for you.”