NATASHA'S POV
I couldn't believe I had actually agreed.
Fake dating Alex.
The same Alex who had spent most of our university life irritating me.
The same Alex I used to argue with over almost everything.
And now…
I was supposed to pretend to be his girlfriend.
What had I gotten myself into?
Alex was still standing in front of me with that annoying smile on his face.
"So," he said, "when do we start?"
I crossed my arms.
"Before anything else, we need rules."
His smile widened.
"Of course."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Rule number one—no unnecessary touching."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Okay."
"Rule number two—don't call me cute names."
"Fine."
"Rule number three—don't try to make this real."
His expression changed for just a second.
Then he nodded.
"Agreed."
"And rule number four…"
I pointed at him.
"If Peter gets jealous, that's your problem. If Lara gets jealous, that's also your problem."
Alex laughed.
"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret agreeing to this?"
"Because you probably will."
He shook his head.
"Anything else?"
I thought for a moment.
"No kissing."
He almost choked.
"That was already obvious!"
"Good."
I turned around.
"Then we're done."
"Wait."
I stopped.
Alex stepped beside me.
"We need to make it believable."
I looked at him suspiciously.
"What do you mean?"
"If we're suddenly dating, people are going to ask questions."
He was right.
"We need a story."
I sighed.
"Okay. How did we supposedly start dating?"
Alex thought for a moment.
"Simple."
He smiled.
"We've secretly liked each other for months."
I stared at him.
"That's terrible."
"Why?"
"Because nobody will believe it."
"Why not?"
"Because we argue every day."
"Exactly."
He smiled.
"Enemies to lovers. People love that."
I rolled my eyes.
"You're ridiculous."
"But you're still agreeing."
I hated that he was right.
The next morning, I walked into the university with Alex.
Not beside him.
Not even close.
We had decided that we would make our relationship public slowly.
At least, that was the plan.
But Alex clearly had other ideas.
As we entered the main hallway, he suddenly reached for my bag.
"Give me that."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Boyfriend duties."
Before I could argue, he took my bag and carried it over his shoulder.
Several students immediately looked at us.
I whispered,
"Alex!"
He smiled.
"Relax."
"You said we'd do this slowly!"
"I changed my mind."
"You can't just—"
He suddenly leaned closer.
"Smile."
"What?"
"People are watching."
I forced a smile.
Alex smiled too.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Peter.
He had stopped walking.
His eyes were fixed on us.
And beside him stood Lara.
She looked equally shocked.
Alex noticed them too.
He whispered,
"Looks like our plan is working."
I quietly replied,
"I hate you."
He smiled.
"You're supposed to love me."
I almost laughed.
"Don't push it."
By lunchtime, the entire university seemed to know.
Natasha and Alex were dating.
Nobody even knew how it had happened.
Everyone had their own theories.
Some said Alex had finally confessed.
Some people even said that because Lara cheated on Alex with my boyfriend Peter, we both got together so that we could heal our broken hearts together and look at each other from a new perspective.
Others said we had secretly liked each other for months.
And some people simply couldn't believe that the two people who argued constantly were suddenly together.
Lisa was the only person who knew the truth.
She dragged me into an empty corner near the cafeteria.
"Tell me everything."
I sighed.
"It's fake."
"I know."
She looked at me excitedly.
"But how fake?"
"What does that even mean?"
"Are you two going to hold hands?"
"No."
"Kiss?"
"No!"
"Go on dates?"
"I don't know."
She grinned.
"You sound nervous."
"I'm not nervous."
"You are."
"I'm not."
Lisa laughed.
"Natasha, I've known you long enough."
I groaned.
"Please don't make this worse."
She suddenly looked past me.
"Oh."
"What?"
"Your fake boyfriend is here."
I turned around.
Alex was walking toward us.
He stopped beside me.
"Ready?"
"For what?"
"Our first date."
My eyes widened.
"We never agreed to a date!"
He smiled.
"We need to make the relationship believable."
Lisa covered her mouth to hide her laugh.
I glared at her.
"Don't."
She immediately raised both hands.
"I'm saying nothing."
Alex looked at me.
"Come on."
"Where?"
"You'll see."
I reluctantly followed him.
Alex took me to a small café near the university.
I looked around.
"This is your idea of a date?"
He pulled out a chair.
"Sit."
I sat down.
He took the seat opposite me.
For a few moments, neither of us spoke.
It felt strange.
Usually, whenever we were together, we were arguing.
But now…
We were pretending to be a couple.
"So," I said awkwardly.
"So."
"Do we actually have to sit here?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because couples go on dates but relax it's just a simple date for a real date there's still some time left ."
I sighed.
"Okay "
The waiter came over and gave us the menu.
Alex looked at me.
"What do you want?"
"Anything."
"That's not an answer."
"I don't care."
He looked at the menu.
Then ordered my favorite drink without asking.
I stared at him.
"How did you know I liked that?"
He shrugged.
"You order it almost every day."
I blinked.
"You noticed?"
He looked away.
"Obviously."
Something about his answer made my heart beat strangely.
I quickly looked down at the menu.
"Whatever."
He smiled slightly.
"You're blushing."
"I'm not!"
"You are."
"Alex!"
He laughed.
For a moment, I forgot that this was fake.
When we returned to university, Peter was waiting near the entrance.
His expression changed when he saw us together.
"Natasha."
I stopped.
Alex immediately stood beside me.
Peter looked at him.
"Can I talk to her?"
Alex looked at me.
This time, he didn't answer for me.
He simply waited.
I took a breath.
"I don't think we need to talk."
Peter looked hurt.
"So it's true?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"You and Alex."
I glanced at Alex.
He remained silent.
I looked back at Peter.
"Yes."
The word came out more easily than I expected.
Peter stared at me.
"Since when?"
I hesitated.
Then Alex answered.
"Long enough."
Peter clenched his jaw.
"Natasha, you're doing this because you're angry with me."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Then why?"
I looked at him.
"Because I don't want to be hurt anymore."
Peter didn't say anything.
He simply walked away.
I watched him leave.
Alex remained beside me.
"You okay?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
But somewhere inside me, I knew something had changed.
Not because Peter had walked away.
Not because everyone believed our lie.
But because when Alex stood beside me…
I didn't feel like I was pretending anymore.
And that scared me.
Because this was supposed to be fake.
So why did my heart feel so real?
Maybe I'm just overthinking, so I need some more time to figure it out.