𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆 | 𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘬.

𝟐

You wake up the next morning feeling like you've just stepped into an alternate reality. Nanami Kento, of all people, asked you to pretend to be his girlfriend. And you said yes.

The absurdity of it makes you laugh a little, even as you go through your morning routine. You've never been the type to get involved in high school drama, and now here you are, about to fake-date one of the most popular and mysterious guys in school. But the more you think about it, the more you remind yourself of the one very important upside: Nanami is going to help you with your math.

You drag yourself out of bed, mentally preparing for the day. It's not like you and Nanami need to make an announcement or anything, but... how exactly do you go about pretending to be someone's girlfriend without making it obvious that it's fake? That thought lingers with you all the way to school.

When you finally arrive, your stomach twists with a mix of nerves and curiosity. You're not sure what to expect—Nanami hasn't texted you or given you any instructions on how to handle this whole thing. You spot him near the school gates, leaning against the wall, as usual, looking completely unbothered by everything. His calm demeanor contrasts sharply with your own racing thoughts.

You steel yourself and walk toward him.

"Morning," you greet, trying to sound casual as if everything is perfectly normal.

He glances at you briefly, giving a small nod. "Morning."

You stand there awkwardly for a moment, waiting for him to say something, but he's just staring at the students milling around. Finally, you clear your throat. "So... about this whole 'fake relationship' thing. How are we going to handle it?"

Nanami's eyes flick toward you, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "We don't need to make it complicated. We just need to be seen together enough times to make it believable."

"That's it?" You raise an eyebrow. "We just hang out and... people will assume we're dating?"

Nanami shifts, looking at you with the same seriousness as before. "People like to talk. They'll fill in the gaps themselves." He pauses before adding, "But there need to be boundaries."

"Boundaries?" you echo, not entirely sure what he means.

Nanami straightens up, his expression firm. "I don't want this to spiral out of control. We need clear rules."

You tilt your head, curiosity piqued. "Okay, so what kind of rules are we talking about?"

Nanami ticks them off, one by one. "No public displays of affection unless necessary. No rumors spreading to our families. And this arrangement is temporary—once the unwanted attention stops, we end it."

You nod, trying to process the list. It all sounds very... controlled, very Nanami. "Alright. I can do that."

There's a brief pause, and then he glances at you again, this time more intently. "And one more thing... if at any point you feel uncomfortable, we call it off. Agreed?"

That catches you a bit off guard. His concern is genuine, and for a moment, you see a glimpse of the guy behind the stoic mask. You nod. "Agreed."

With the "rules" settled, you walk into school together. Despite the deal, it feels more awkward than anything, walking side by side without really knowing how this will play out.

By the time you reach your locker, the reality of what's happening begins to sink in. Sure, it's fake, but you've officially entered into an arrangement with Nanami Kento, and people are going to start noticing. You can feel eyes on you already, whispers trailing behind you as you grab your books. People are already making assumptions, and the day has barely started.

As you close your locker, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn to see Ayumi, one of your best friends, standing there with a grin on her face.

"Hey, are you walking in with Nanami this morning?" she asks, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

You open your mouth to respond, but before you can say anything, Ayumi cuts in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I heard from someone in homeroom that you two are, like, together now."

Your stomach drops. Already? The rumors are spreading faster than you expected.

You glance over Ayumi's shoulder to where Nanami is leaning against the wall by his own locker, completely unfazed by the whispers around him. He looks calm and collected, like none of this bothers him in the slightest. It figures that he'd have no trouble handling this. Meanwhile, you're over here already trying to figure out how to stop the rumor mill from exploding.

"I-uh," you stammer, but Ayumi is already looking at you with wide eyes.

"Oh my God, is it true?" she squeals, practically bouncing in place. "How did this happen? I didn't even know you two were close!"

"Look, it's... complicated," you mumble, trying to dodge the question. You're not about to spill the details of this fake relationship to anyone, not even Ayumi.

Ayumi narrows her eyes at you, clearly sensing there's more to the story, but she doesn't push. Instead, she grins and links arms with you, dragging you down the hall toward your classroom. "I can't believe you're dating Nanami Kento. You're like, the luckiest girl in school right now."

You glance back at Nanami, who's watching the scene unfold from a distance with that same unreadable expression. You have no idea what he's thinking, but for some reason, you get the feeling this isn't going to be as simple as either of you thought.

–

Later that day, you find yourself in math class, seated at your usual desk, the dreaded textbook in front of you. You've spent the last few minutes staring blankly at the equations on the page, hoping some kind of divine intervention will help you figure out how to make sense of it all.

It's not happening.

Your teacher's voice drones on about some new concept—something about quadratic functions, but you're barely paying attention. Instead, you're doodling in the margins of your notebook, glancing up every few minutes to check the clock. The lesson drags, and your mind wanders back to the strange new situation you've found yourself in.

Suddenly, there's a light tap on your shoulder. You look up to see Nanami standing beside your desk, holding a stack of papers.

"Need help?" he asks quietly, so the teacher doesn't hear.

You blink, surprised that he's offering to tutor you now, in the middle of class. But then again, you did agree to the deal, and Nanami doesn't seem like the type to waste time.

"I mean... yeah," you admit, glancing down at the numbers that make no sense to you.

He pulls up a chair next to you, spreading out the papers between the two of you. As he explains the problem step-by-step, his voice low and calm, you actually start to follow along. The way he breaks it down makes it seem a lot less intimidating, and for the first time in weeks, you feel like you might actually understand what's going on.

As you work through the problem together, you steal a glance at him. His brow is slightly furrowed in concentration, and you can see why he's so good at this. Nanami isn't just smart—he's methodical, patient, and surprisingly good at explaining things in a way that makes sense.

"Got it?" he asks after a few minutes, looking up from the paper.

You nod slowly. "Yeah, I think so."

Nanami gives a small nod of approval before standing up and heading back to his seat. As he walks away, you can't help but wonder how long this arrangement will last before things get complicated.

But for now, you'll take it one day at a time.