I didn’t expect this. Like, at all. We were just talking, laughing about something dumb, when they dropped it—“Hey, do you think you could, like, fake date me for a bit?” I blinked, completely thrown off. I mean, what? It felt like the ground shifted beneath me. They were serious, but it didn’t even make sense. Fake date? Why me? And for what? To make someone jealous?

The words just hung there, awkward and heavy. I glanced at them, trying to find some sign they were joking, but all I saw was this nervous hopefulness, like they were waiting for me to say yes. But why would I? The idea of pretending to be their boyfriend? It felt like crossing a line that was supposed to stay uncrossed. Sure, we’ve always had this weird chemistry, this tension that lingers whenever we’re together, but it’s always been that unspoken thing, you know? We’ve never talked about it. Never acted on it.

But now... now they were asking me to act like it was real. In front of everyone. And I could already feel the weight of it all—the way I’d have to keep my distance from everyone else, the way we’d have to pretend to be close, maybe even touch each other in ways that didn’t feel entirely fake. What if it didn’t feel fake? What if this thing we’ve been ignoring actually came to life, and I ended up wanting it for real? I mean, could I even go back to being just friends after that? Could they? I couldn’t shake the thought, the nervous buzz in my chest. This could ruin everything.

But then again, if I said no, I could hurt them, too. I could lose their trust, or worse, make them feel like I didn’t care enough. The truth is, I don’t want to let them down, but I don’t want to risk everything either. So I looked at them, took a breath, and asked- “Are you sure about this?” They met my eyes, and for a second, I wondered if they were already seeing this as something more. Maybe I was, too.