The Rivalry We Didn't Expect

Pretending

José stepped back, putting his hands up in defence and stepping out of the way, heading towards the door.

"Okay, okay." José snickered. "I won't tell anyone." He seemed slightly nervous at his brothers sudden standing up for himself, and without hesitation, he shuffled out the door quickly and closed it behind him. Alejandro stood there for a moment, taking a deep breath and turning back to Noah.

"I'm not sure if that will stop him for long." He spoke, stepping closer. "But he looked like he was telling the truth."

Noah nodded, a neutral expression on his face as he thought. "Yeah, I think you scared him off." He chuckled at this and smiled back at his ex-rival. "What are you going to do if he does?"

"Well, I'm not actually sure. He's much more popular than me, and I doubt I could do anything to him school-wise without getting in trouble." Alejandro scoffed. He started pacing the room in deep thought.

Noah sat down on the bed, thinking. He was so close to kissing Alejandro before José busted in, inches away from the spanish boys lips. His heart fluttered at the thought of it, and he was regretting hesitating. After all, if he hadn't and they kissed 30 seconds before, it would have actually happened without interruption.

He looked back up at Alejandro, who was still pacing in worry. He was gritting his teeth, rambling on about his worries.

"Its not that my family wouldn't be okay with it, It's just that our reputation would be ruined!" Alejandro worried. "The people my parents are friends with are very religious."

Noah didn't know what to say, so he sat there silently. He wasn't used to comforting people, so he didn't know how. All he could do was sit there and think about his rival, who was now pacing around in the same room as him after they nearly kissed. He sighed out and stood up.

"Well, I should go home." Noah muttered. He watched Alejandro nod in acceptance, obviously both of them realising the moment was ruined. However, something lingered in the room still. As Noah slowly walked towards the door, Alejandro stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"So what are we?" He asked, obviously confused. Noah was puzzled about it as well, their relationship very strange, and it was changing quickly the more they interacted.

"I don't know." Noah scoffed, turning to Alejandro. "All I know is that we're supposed to be enemies, but we can't stop nearly hooking up."

They both laughed at this, smiling at each other. Alejandro looked into Noah's eyes, his smile fading down into seriousness. He considered his options. Alejandro realised he still had a monkey grip on Noah's wrist, and he could either pull the bookworm closer or let go. He didn't know which option was right, but he went with his instincts. Slowly, Alejandro ran a hand around Noah's waist and stepped closer. Noah scoffed at this, but he enjoyed it.

"This is stupid. Even if we we do become something, we'd still have to pretend like we hate each other." Noah mumbled, leaning in. "Everyone thinks we are enemies at school."

Alejandro smirked at this, thinking for a second. "Well, what's wrong with pretending? Sure, we still have to compete in the election, but that doesn't mean we have to really compete otherwise."

"Whatever. We did, and now we should at least try to commit to it." Noah rolled his eyes, staying in Alejandro's arms. "As I said, everyone at school is convinced we are enemies at the moment. A sudden change would be risky, as well as it damaging your reputation you seem to care so deeply about."

Alejandro nodded at this, a smile curling on his lips.

"Alright, alright. We'll keep pretending at school." He mumbled. "What about outside of school, though?"