𝒹𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⁱⁿ 𝐣𝐮𝐥𝐲

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟑

Chris was waiting for her in the backyard, leaning against the railing of the deck as though he'd been there for a while. The late afternoon sun bathed him in golden light, and Eleanor couldn't help but curse how unfair it was that he looked that good when her stomach was in knots.

"Hey," he said softly as she approached.

"Hey." Eleanor shoved her hands in her pockets, staying a careful distance away. "You wanted to talk?"

Chris pushed off the railing and stepped closer, though there was still space between them. "Yeah. About, you know... the kiss."

Eleanor's face warmed, and she bit her lip. "What about it?"

He tilted his head slightly, searching her expression. "I didn't plan for that to happen. And I know things have been weird since. But I've been thinking—"

"That's never a good sign," Eleanor interrupted dryly, trying to deflect the tension.

Chris cracked a smile, though it faded quickly. "What if we just... roll with it? Let them think what they want."

Eleanor blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." Chris shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets, mirroring her stance. "They're already convinced we're a thing. If we're gonna be in the middle of chaos anyway, we might as well control the story, right?"

"You're talking about fake dating," Eleanor clarified slowly.

"Exactly."

Eleanor shook her head. "Chris, this is insane. Fake dating never ends well—haven't you ever watched a rom-com? Someone always catches feelings, or everything blows up."

Chris raised an eyebrow, a teasing glint in his eyes. "You're saying you'd catch feelings for me?"

Her heart skipped a beat, but she forced a glare. "That's not what I said."

"Relax, Elle. It's just a bit of damage control—convince everyone there's nothing shady happening, and they'll move on. We'll give it a few weeks, then say we 'broke up.' Clean and simple."

It sounded anything but clean and simple. Yet... a part of her was intrigued. Eleanor chewed on her bottom lip, considering. "And what do we get out of this?"

Chris shrugged. "For one, Iris stops spreading whatever rumors she's cooking up. And two..." He hesitated. "The whole thing takes pressure off the rest of the group. Have you noticed Matt and Angel lately?"

Eleanor blinked. "What do Matt and Angel have to do with this?"

Chris smirked knowingly. "Oh, come on. They're both clearly into each other. The problem is, they're too stubborn to admit it. Even after that kiss last month—"

"you know they kissed?" Eleanor cut in, her jaw dropping.

"yes, yes I do. They kissed, and neither of them will talk about it. So now it's awkward. If everyone's distracted by us, maybe they'll finally get over themselves."

Eleanor stared at him, stunned. "You're proposing we fake date to give Matt and Angel a relationship intervention?"

"Among other things," Chris said with a grin. "So, what do you say?"

Eleanor opened her mouth to argue, but found herself hesitating. Maybe this wasn't such a terrible idea. The comments and speculation online were already spiraling out of control, and it would take some of the heat off the rest of the group. Plus, if they pretended to date...

No. Don't finish that thought.

Finally, she sighed. "Okay, fine. But we set ground rules."

Chris's grin widened. "Deal. Lay 'em out."

Eleanor held up a finger. "One: no kissing. That was a fluke, and it's not happening again."

Chris didn't argue, though his smirk remained. "Fair enough."

"Two: we don't tell anyone we're faking it."

"Not even Matt?"

"Especially not Matt," Eleanor said firmly. "She'll ruin it in two seconds."

Chris chuckled. "Okay. Anything else?"

Eleanor hesitated. "Three: if this blows up in our faces, you're taking all the blame."

Chris put a hand over his heart mockingly. "I'd expect nothing less."

Eleanor rolled her eyes, but a reluctant smile tugged at her lips. "Fine. I guess we're doing this."

Chris held out his hand. "To our fake relationship."

Eleanor stared at it for a beat before shaking it. "This is going to end horribly."

"Maybe," Chris said with a grin. "But at least it'll be entertaining."

By the next morning, the internet was already buzzing with new speculation. Chris and Eleanor hadn't posted anything official, but eagle-eyed fans picked up on subtle hints: Chris tagging Eleanor in a TikTok with a suspiciously sweet caption, Eleanor laughing in the background of Chris's Instagram story.

"Subtle," Angel teased as she and Eleanor scrolled through Twitter later that day. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you guys were in love."

Eleanor coughed into her drink. "Hardly."

Angel shrugged, unconvinced. "I don't know... You looked pretty into it when he kissed you in that video."

Eleanor shot her a glare. "That was not intentional."

Angel hummed thoughtfully but let it drop. "Whatever you say. Meanwhile, can we talk about Matt?"

"What about Matt?" Eleanor asked carefully, though she already knew.

Angel sighed dramatically, flopping back onto the bed. "He's so infuriating. One second we're fine, and then the next he's acting weird because of... you know."

"You kissed, Angel," Eleanor reminded her. "That's not nothing."

"I know," Angel muttered, covering her face with her hands. "But what if he didn't mean it? Or what if I ruined everything?"

Eleanor smirked. "I don't think Matt kisses just anyone."

Angel groaned. "Why is this so complicated?"

Eleanor didn't answer—mostly because she was asking herself the same question about Chris.

Later that evening, Eleanor found herself in the kitchen with Chris as the others played video games in the living room.

"Angel and Matt still dancing around each other?" Chris asked, handing her a glass of water.

"More like avoiding each other," Eleanor replied. "You were right. They're both idiots."

"Told you," Chris said smugly.

Eleanor rolled her eyes but smiled faintly. For a brief moment, there was silence, and Chris looked at her carefully.

"You know this fake dating thing is going to work, right?" he said.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure?"

Chris grinned, leaning closer just slightly. "Because we're convincing."

Her heart did a weird flutter, but she refused to let it show. Instead, she scoffed and turned away.

"Whatever you say, Chris."

As she walked out of the room, she didn't look back—but she could feel Chris's gaze lingering on her, and it made her pulse quicken all over again.

This is definitely going to get complicated.

𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐀 ˢᵖᵉᵃᵏˢ: hi lovelies! Hopefully you like the chapter this has been one of my favorite chapters to write! Love you all so much, and there are like two more chapters coming out right after this!