What the hell was up with this guy?

  I let my jaw hang as I watched him leave.

  He walked through the door and I scoffed out loud. Then I got shushed by the librarian again. Could she not, please? Couldn't she see a girl was struggling here?

  I decided not to spend too much time thinking about this whole interaction. It couldn't be good for me. I would deal with him tomorrow.

  I went home and studied in my room.

  In the morning I woke up all sore. My back was hurting and my arm was bent weirdly under my head.

  I fell asleep on the table. This wasn't anything new. It happened all the time, when I would study and do homework late into the night. Yesterday was no different.

  I lifted my head up, groaning. There was a piece of paper stuck to my cheek. I peeled it off and left it on the table.

  My scalp hurt, since I forgot to take my hair out of the bun I wore often. It kept my hair out of my way. I know I could solve the problem by cutting it, but I could never do that. I loved it too much.

  I sighed in relief as I undid the hairstyle. I massaged my scalp a little and then went downstairs to eat something.

  I figured I would need most of my energy to face Marcello, so I took the rest of the day off. I lied to him. Today's orchestra practice was cancelled, but he didn't have to know that.

  I watched a movie and started reading the new book I bought a couple of weeks ago. It has been waiting for me to pick it up, and I was finally in a mood for it.

  When the clock hit four, I started getting ready. I showered, then put on my favourite striped shirt that clung to my body and dark blue jeans. I secured them with a belt. I redid my hair again, but let the front pieces fall out.

  I wanted to be sure I smelled good and sprayed some of my perfume on. It had a sweet flowery scent. I wore it everyday.

  I stared at myself in the mirror. I hoped I looked nice enough. I hoped Marcello would like it. I banished that thought away as soon as it came.

  I picked up my bag and put my headphones on. I walked through the door as an ABBA song played.

  I went up to our table and was surprised to find it empty. He usually arrived before me. Although I was early and the last time I did come late. So, I took the time to prepare - not for the assignment, but for meeting him again.

  My leg was bouncing up and down. I was full of nervous energy. Being around Marcello made me feel like that. And now, even when he wasn’t around, I still felt the ghost of his presence.

  Just then, he appeared from behind the bookshelves, looking put together as always. He spotted me, already seated, and a look of surprise flashed on his face. I knew exactly what was coming.

  “Wow, I can’t believe you’re actually here on time. Is everything okay?” he teased. Strangely, I didn’t mind it all that much. I had to suppress a smile, but I didn’t let that show. At least I hope I didn’t. I tried to act annoyed, but I don’t know if I succeeded.

  He sat down and started to pull his books and laptop out. I watched him do it, and waited for him to bring what happened yesterday up.

  I have been preparing for this conversation all day, thinking of hundreds of different scenarios. What he would say and how I’d respond. Though, I still felt wholly unprepared.

  He finished setting his stuff up and looked at me expectantly. Was he waiting for me to bring it up? Hell no. That was not happening. He was the one that had to explain himself, not me.

  “So, are we going to continue? I was thinking today we would probably finish up and then just go through it once more to be sure we met all the requirements.”

  Was he seriously not going to say anything about it? I mean - it was weird, right? We should talk about it. Or not? Am I supposed to just forget about it? Yeah, no, that was not happening. I couldn’t just go on like nothing happened.

  He arched an eyebrow, when I wouldn’t answer. He was acting like I was being the weird one now.

  Fine. I guess I would be the one to start if he wouldn’t. “Are we really not going to talk about it?”

  “Talk about what?”

  “Stop acting like you don’t know.” He couldn’t have just forgotten all about it, right?

  “But I don’t know,” he said slowly.

  “The call? Yesterday? With your mother? Does that ring any bells in that thick head of yours?”

  “Firstly, my head is normally sized, thank you very much. And second…” He paused for a bit as if deciding if he should go on.

  I raised my eyebrows and that seemed to give him the stimulus to say what was on his mind.

  “Well, I was going to talk to you about this after we finished the work, but alright. I need you to act like my girlfriend.” He said it so casually as if he hadn't just dropped a bomb.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Excuse him? He needed what? My mind short circuited. The words didn’t seem to register.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to make sense of the situation. When I opened them back up, he was staring at me patiently, waiting for me to say something, anything. But all I could come up with was “Huh?”

  That looked to amuse him. The corner of his mouth lifted up into a cocky smirk. He was so satisfied with himself, catching me off guard.

  That made me come back to my senses. He probably said that to get a reaction out of me. And he succeeded. Ugh, I hated him.

  “That wasn’t funny,” I said, rolling my eyes and looking away. I didn’t want him to notice the blush that formed on my face.

  “I wasn’t joking,” he continued.

  “What was that then?”

  “Exactly what I said. I need you,” he pointed at me, “to act like my girlfriend in front of my parents,” he said pointing at himself.

  I just stared at him. What was he on? Should I check his temperature? He wasn't exactly acting like himself.

  Besides, what was that even supposed to mean? Act like his girlfriend. Would that include touching him? Kissing him? The blush on my skin deepened. Nope, not going there.

  I tried to keep my composure on the outside, but on the inside I was freaking out.

  “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Did you hear yourself?”

  Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. “Jesus I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend, I’m asking you to fake being one.”

  That didn’t reassure me as much as he thought it would.

  “And why would I do that?”

  “Because I’m asking you to.”

  “Well, when you put it like that.” I gave him an unimpressed look. Genuinely, what was he expecting?

  He sighed. “Okay, look. My parents have been asking me when I’ll bring a girl home. They won’t leave me alone until I do, so that’s where you come in.”

  “I still don’t see what I gain from that.”

  “Well you seem to care a lot about your grades, so I’m guessing you want to get into a good university, right?” I nod carefully, not sure where he’s going with that. “Okay, well. My parents are very influential people, and it wouldn’t hurt to have them on your side. In fact they know a lot of important people, and with a recommendation from them, you could have really good chances to get in wherever you want to.”

  “I don’t want help from your parents. Do you think I can’t make it on my own?” I was offended. How dare he imply I needed his or his parent’s help.

  “That’s not what I said. I believe you could, but we both know that a lot of the times the people with the most power are more likely to get in. It’s fucked up, but it’s true.” He was right. Even if my grades were exceptional, I could still fall behind someone whose parents paid for them to get in. I hated it, but I couldn’t deny it.

  Still, I wasn’t sure if I should take him for the offer. It felt a bit like cheating. But I’ve worked harder than most to get in, probably harder than those rich kids that have their mommies and daddies to pay for them to get into an ivy league school.

  I’m not saying I was agreeing with his plan, but I was considering it.

  “Where’s the catch?” There had to be one. It couldn’t be that easy.

  “Why would there be a catch?”

  “Are you saying there isn’t one?”

  “Okay, maybe just a small catch.” I narrowed my eyes at him and he put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “You might have to act like you’re from a wealthy family.”

  “Of course.” There it was. I knew it. His parents were a couple of obnoxious dicks who couldn’t handle their son dating someone who didn’t live a lavish life like them. It left a sour feeling in my mouth and I couldn’t quite swallow it down.

  He probably saw my thoughts plain as day on my face because he hurried on to reassure me. “I don’t agree with them. Obviously, it doesn’t matter how much money my girlfriend has, but my parents are old school, and wouldn’t accept it.”

  “You mean they wouldn’t accept me.” I don’t know why that bothered me so much. Our relationship would be fake anyway. I swallowed a big lump.

  He gave me a remorseful look and nodded. He genuinely looked like he felt bad about his parents being that way.

  “I’m sorry, but I just can’t do this.” I gathered my stuff and left as quickly as I could. He didn’t try to stop me. He just looked at me as I rushed outside, and I couldn’t quite decipher the look on his face.

  I watched her as she left me sitting at the table, staring after her.

  It didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. But to be honest, there isn’t really a nice way to say sorry, my parents are arrogant rich people, who can’t stand me dating a regular girl.

  It obviously hurt her, and I felt so bad. I wanted to tell her their opinion doesn’t matter to me. That it doesn’t matter what kind of family she comes from.

  But we weren’t really dating. We weren’t even fake dating at the moment. But that’s fixable. I’ll convince her to be my girlfriend. Well, fake girlfriend. I just needed to make her see it was worth it, and could benefit us both.

  I made this my new mission. And when I wanted to achieve something, I almost always did.

  So, I gave her the weekend to calm down her feelings and think about the offer. When Monday came, I drove to school and went on a search.

  I knew she came to school early, because I saw her the other day, when we had this staring match until my friends interrupted it. And there she was. I could recognize that bun from a hundred miles away.

  She was lost in thought as I approached her, and didn’t notice me stop in front of her. She was humming a song under her breath and I smiled. It was just so adorable.

  She closed her locker and finally saw me standing beside her and jumped. She gasped and put her hand toward her chest. My smile transformed into a smirk while I watched her collect herself.

  She seemed to register what happened and let out a sigh, lowering her hand. Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink that suited her so much, I wanted to keep bringing it back.

  “You can’t sneak up on people like that,” she said accusingly, looking anywhere but my eyes. I wanted to grab her face and force her to look at me.

  I ignored her. “We have unfinished business to attend to.”

  “We can finish the project tomorrow after school. I don’t have time today.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.” The blush on her cheeks deepened.

  “Look. I already told you I’m not doing it.”

  “Just think about it-”

  “I have. The answer is no.”

  “But-”

  “Nope.”

  “Come on!” I released a frustrated sigh. It was hard to convince her of anything if she kept interrupting me and wouldn’t allow me to talk, damn it!

  The corners of her mouth curled up in amusement. Oh, so she was having fun doing this to me. Well, I was glad she found me entertaining. At least that was better than anger. Now if she would just hear me out…

  “Oh, look at the time. I have to get to class.” She quickly slipped away. There was obviously enough time left, she just left because she was done with the conversation. But I wasn’t.

  So, after school I sought her out again, but I couldn’t find her. I recalled her saying something about being busy today, so I decided I’d confront her again tomorrow, when we’re working on the project. She wasn't going to be able to escape me then. And if she did, I’d just find her again. I wasn’t letting this go.

  When the time came, I was ready. I wouldn’t budge.

  I was there before her, leaning back in my chair, arms crossed. She stepped through the doorstep and I followed her with my gaze right until she came up to the table. She was avoiding looking at me until the last second, but then she looked at me.

  She stopped in her tracks, probably debating turning around and taking a run for it, when she saw the determination in my eyes. Hesitantly she stepped forward and sat down on her chair carefully.

  For a moment we just observed each other, wondering who would be the first to say something.

  “I’m not finishing the project until you not only talk to me, but also listen and consider my offer.” I knew it would work as soon as I said it. Nothing was more important to her than getting good grades.

  She breathed out a long breath, then looked back at me and nodded. I took that as an invitation to continue.

  “I know my parent’s prejudices aren’t right, okay? I know that. And I don’t agree with them in any aspect. But they’re still my parents and they won’t leave me alone until they get what they want.” I took a small pause to make sure she was still listening to me then I continued. “I know this might be hard for you, but it could really benefit you. I mean a recommendation letter from my parents is worth a lot. And I believe you’re smart enough to make it yourself, but think of this as a safety net. Besides, I really need your help. Please.”

  Her eyes widened as the last word left my mouth. She was surprised I was almost begging her to do it. Hell, so was I, but desperate times and all.

  “Just answer me one question.” I nodded. “Why me?”

  What a fantastic question. Completely in place. Why her? Fuck if I knew. All I knew was I needed her to do it and I didn’t want anyone else playing this role.

  Sure, I could ask one of my rich girl friends, who would jump at the opportunity to get closer to me and my parents, but I just couldn’t stand them or the thought of them taking this place.

  But she was waiting for an answer, and I knew it would decide the outcome.

  “I know they would love you. If they were capable of looking beyond money, they would see what an amazing girl you are.”

  She was taken by surprise at my answer, and I could see it on her face. Her resolve was slipping. I’d won. A warm feeling spread in my chest.