My Fake Boyfriend

Yes Or No?

I was 13.

I was just 13 when I had gotten the news - the news that changed my life. That was one of the biggest surprises I had ever gotten and I thought nothing would even remotely compare to the emotional turmoil I had gone through then.

Now, what I was hearing a mere 4 and a half years later, however, came a close second.

I was going mental. My emotions were all over the place - shock, anxiety, confusion, fear and many more that my brain couldn't even comprehend what was going on anymore.

Was this some sort of joke? He could not be serious, not with something like this. He was the golden boy, the player, the badboy and any other cliche name you could think up for the 'IT guy' at school. So for him to ask me this question, out of the blue, I did what any normal person would have done in this situation.

I started to choke on my own spit.

"What?" I spluttered out.

Aaron raised an elegant eyebrow, probably taken back by my strange behaviour. I guess choking on your own spit isn't as normal as I thought. He smiled slightly, shaking his head, before stepping closer and rubbing my back slowly, trying to ease the coughs that splurged awkwardly out my mouth, his only reaction being the simple laugh coming out his mouth when he felt me tense at his touch. I caved away slightly from his touch, coughing into the palm of my hand.

Why had he said such an incredulous thing? Perhaps, he was more like Brittany than I had previously thought.

I pushed back away from him, giving him the biggest glare I could muster.
"You think you're so funny, don't you? Let's play pranks on the nerd. It'd be a fun way to start the weekend, huh?" I spat, eying him disgustedly. I turned to walk away, but was stopped by a warm grip on my forearm. I ignored the tingles arising from the foreign contact and turned back to look at him.

"I'm not messing with you, Alexis. I need a fake girlfriend," he clarified, and I snatched my arm out of his grasp, eying him warily.

"Why?" I asked, intrusively, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

Aaron's jaw notably twitched at this and I felt I had hit a nerve. Nevertheless, if he was asking of such a unorthodox favour from me, I at least had the right to know what it was about.

"I- look, it's complicated, okay?" He said firmly, tapping his shoe repeatedly against the floor, a clear sign the matter agitated him.

I let my gaze fall back to his eyes and nodded robotically.
"Yes, I get if you don't want to share, but then you can't expect me to make such a drastic and personal decision without knowing why I'm doing it."

He sighed heavily, his face visibly falling.

"I know, I know. I get it. It's just really hard for me to talk about- I.."

His smile faltered slightly. I almost found myself saying yes then, because I always happened to be such a people pleaser.

"Just think about it, okay?" He spoke after a while, not even trying to hide the dejected tone in his voice.

Not even giving me time to reply, he began to walk off, waving at a few girls who called his name. He smiled a nonchalant smile, talking casually, just like he was before he talked to me.

I sighed heavily. Before this whole unplanned conversation, I had hoped I could get home in time to tune into Two and a Half Men; a hot cup of cocoa in my hands, yet- now- it was wedged into the darkest compartment of my brain. Aaron's favour was the only thing on my mind, right now.

All I could think of was why he asked me this favour. What could he want from me as a girlfriend, be it fake or not, that he can't get from any other easy, willing girl?