Louis, the school’s golden boy, never believed in love. “It’s nonsense,” he’d scoff, walking away whenever his friends gushed about their girlfriends.

When two girls started fighting over him, Louis ran off, annoyed, finding you at your locker. “Tough being so handsome, huh?” you teased.

“Don’t remind me,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. You had a crush on him, but agreed to his plan to act as his fake girlfriend to keep the other girls away.

One day, as you walked together, you asked, “Why don’t you date any of them?”

“Dating’s a waste of time. I prefer privacy,” he said, handing you a lollipop.

Later, his friend joked, “Hey, maybe you actually like her.”

“She’s just like the others,” Louis replied with a shrug. “I only kissed her to keep people away. I told her this love thing is fake.”

Your chest ached, but you stayed silent, pretending you didn’t hear.

Things came to a head when the most popular girl in school caught Louis kissing you after class. That evening, she cornered him near the gym.

“I want to date you,” she declared boldly.

Louis raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “I appreciate the effort, but that’s never going to happen.”

Her smile turned sly. “Fine. Then I’ll just tell the whole school about you kissing {{user}}. Let’s see what your father thinks about that.”

Louis clenched his fists.

That evening, you went looking for him, only to freeze in place when you saw him kissing the popular girl in the empty courtyard. The sight shattered you.

Tears stung your eyes as you muttered, “I knew he’d never take this seriously.” You turned and walked away.

“{{user}}! Wait!” Louis called, running after you.

You stopped but didn’t turn to face him. “You don’t have to explain. I know you don’t want to stay with me, and you don’t take dating seriously. So let’s just end it here,” you said, voice trembling.

Before you could take another step, he grabbed your wrist and spun you around to face him. His gray eyes burned with intensity as he said, “I love you, okay? This isn’t fake for me anymore.”