Fake (adj.) | fāk – not genuine; counterfeit
Relationship (n.) | riˈlāSHənˌSHip – the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected; an emotional and sexual association between two people
⇝ ◌ ⇜
Autumn.
Cold, windy, dark – yet so meaningful. It was the season in which encounters felt greater, in which the birds' notes sounded a little louder, or in which words meant more. It was a season for opportunities, and {F/N}'s school took advantage of that.
{F/N}'s school, focussed on the E&C project (Exchange & Communication), had the tradition of picking a theme with the students to start their social experiment, which happened to be their primary focus. Together with seven other schools, {F/N}'s school would exchange students for a month and investigate their behavior.
The students had chosen a theme earlier that month, and the fourteen chosen students were sent to the individual schools in pairs of two.
The theme happened to be love – what if you pretended to be in a relationship? Would you be able to act well enough to get others to believe you? How easy is it to decieve others?
{F/N} couldn't help but shrug at the idea.
"At least they partnered us together, huh?" She asked her friend Rocky, who was staring out of the window until she spoke.
Truth be told, she secretly enjoyed this experiment – she had been starting to become more and more interested in him, but it wasn't like she could muster the courage to tell him that. Besides, who said he liked her to begin with?
"Yeah. Hey, do you think we get to dance there?"
His eyes always sparked when it came to dancing, and he always shone when he got to take the stage. Dancing was his passion, and no matter how hard anyone would try, you could never take that away from him. {F/N} admired this passion greatly, and together with his handsome features, it wasn't hard to start falling in love.
"We'll find one. Have you thought about a way to convince the other school that we're dating?"
Rocky shook his head, to which the girl sighed. "It'll probably happen naturally, don't you think?"
⇝ ◌ ⇜
The morning program was a success. They were introduced as the exchange students and were seated next to each other, paying close attention to the teacher's way of making sure everyone got to know each other.
"Who considers themselves very hard-working?"
Nobody seemed to get up, but right before the teacher was able to move on, Rocky stood up from his seat.
"Oh?" The teacher crossed his arms, "And why do you think that?"
The boy felt all the eyes scanning him before shrugging his shoulders, nervously laughing as he eyed some of his new classmates. "I don't know, it sounds like a good trait to have."
{F/N} laughed and playfully slapped his leg, trying to start showing off the fake relationship. "Yah! Are you trying to impress me?"
Rocky was caught off-guard slightly but realized what she was doing soon enough, going along with it as he remained standing. "I don't have to impress you. You like me for who I am, don't you?"
The entire class was still watching the two, not daring to say a word.
"N'awh, you're so cute when you're confident~"
"I can't help but to be confident around you."
Those words actually made {F/N}'s heart skip a beat, but now was not the time – although the blush that slowly spread on her cheeks made the scene all the more convincing.
Rocky apologized for interrupting the lesson and sat down again, noticing that the pairs of eyes of some of the students were still on him. He inhaled softly as he slowly grabbed {F/N}'s hand, intertwining her fingers with his as he gave her a reassuring smile.
{F/N} was surprised by the action, but she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it. His touch was more gentle than she could ever imagine and the way he did it made it look so real – must've been something they taught him during his acting lessons.
{F/N} melted under the touch and tried to remain focussed on the class, but it just kept failing. Why did she have to fall in love with him? Why did this fake relationship feel so satisfying, even though the feelings weren't mutual?
⇝ ◌ ⇜
During their first two days, the two gained a lot of friends. Everybody called them a cute couple, and as much enjoyment {F/N} felt because of this, she couldn't help but starting to fall apart on the inside.
It was currently lunch on their third day, and whilst the two of them were sitting with their new made friends, {F/N} drew blank.
When Rocky noticed this, he waved his hand in front of her face whilst trying to think of a way to make them look like they were dating. However, pretending posed rather hard to him too. Why did they have to pretend? Why couldn't he just say he volunteered because she was going? Why couldn't he just tell her how he felt?
"{F/N}-ah~ Are you okay?"
{F/N} jumped up slightly and stuttered a few words, mind still clouded in thoughts as she stared at her feet. Rocky ruffled her hair and rested his forehead on her head for a short while, knowing the others had seen it and feeling satisfied until {F/N} pried herself lose.
"S-Sorry..." She stuttered, before raising her arm to cover her eyes and running out of the cafeteria. The teens around the 'so called' couple looked confused, and so did Rocky – he was pretty sure he heard her crying.
He excused himself and ran after her, not finding her until many minutes later. Did he do something wrong? Did he go too far?
When he reached her, he knelt down to meet the sobbing figure's level and frowned, having a hard time figuring out what to do. "Are you okay?"
Of course she wasn't. He could tell damn well that she wasn't, but what else could he ask?
"It hurts..."
"What hurts? Are you not feeling well? Do you want to go home?" His concern was written all over his face, and he felt genuinely worried that he might've ruined everything between them.
"Being with you hurts..."
Did he hear that right?
He took a step back and felt his heart clenching, still not knowing what to do. Seeing her like this tore him apart, and now she didn't want to be near him anymore either?
"Being with you hurts so much because I can't tell you how I feel. Being with you hurts so much because I can't say 'I love you' without you thinking it's a joke. Being with you hurts so much because the feeling isn't mutual..."
{F/N} realized what she said and allowed her eyes to widen, wiping her tears quickly as she shook her hands. "I-I mean, nevermind. I don't want to saddle you with unnecessary guilt...!"
Rocky wasn't a man of many words, but his actions usually made up for that – just like this time. He grabbed her hand nervously and smiled a little when she seemed surprised, before taking a deep breath. "I don't want to hurt you any longer."
{F/N} showed a sad smile and lowered her head in understanding, but her eyes widened yet again when she felt a hand underneath her chin. Her head tilted heavenwards and before she knew it, she felt a pair of lips on hers.
"So, should we stop pretending?"
