Oh my god, I can't believe this! I thought to myself as I shot up in bed. After what'd happened between me and Chris earlier, I thought for sure he'd never talk to me again. And yet...

I answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi. I'm glad you answered, I thought you might ignore me after what I said to you today."

"Ignore you? I thought you would never speak to me again! What's going on?"

"Right. I guess I owe you an explanation, huh?"

I stayed silent, waiting anxiously for what he was going to say. I was still shocked that we were talking at all, so I didn't know what to think. But the fact he called gave me a good feeling.

"I didn't mean any of what I said earlier. It was all just an act."

"An act?" I asked, a bit confused and a little angry. "What do you mean, 'an act'? Why would you do such a thing?"

"I understand you're angry, and I'm sorry I hurt you. But please believe me, I have a good reason."

"Like what?!"

"Like protecting you! And me! From that crazy guy always following you around. I am going to put him in his place, but I need time to do that on my own. That's why I did it. I need him to believe I'm out of the picture, and you can't lie, so I needed you to believe it too. But when I tried...the look on your face...the agony in your voice...I can't do that to you. So, please help me keep it a secret."

It was then that I realized how stupid I was. Here I thought he was actually done with me, but it was all just a ruse, and a good one too. If I believed it, my devastation alone would be more than enough to make Lysander believe it as well. It was genius.

I can't believe I yelled at him like that... I thought to myself as I tried to find the words I wanted to say. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize you had a plan. But you're right, that would totally work!"

"Yeah, it will. But now that I've told you, you'll have to pretend too."

"Well yeah, of course! I know that!"

"Yeah, but do you think you're up to it? If we're gonna pull this off, you're gonna need to work on your poker face and acting skills."

"I can do that!" He didn't respond. All I heard was his condescending silence, and that just made me feel...I don't even know what. But it didn't matter anyway; I had an idea. "You know what? I know how I'm gonna do this. You really hurt my feelings with what you said to me earlier, so all I have to do is get back in that mindset."

"Yeah, that'd be good. And also...uh...I think we should 'turn up the heat,' if you know what I'm saying."

"...You mean like, intensify things?"

"Yeah, exactly. We need to make sure people know we're not on good terms. Start arguing with each other more, throw insults around, that kind of thing. Hey...what if we staged a fight?"

"What?"

"I'm saying, what if we have some dumb argument that ends in us screaming at each other in the hallway, where everyone will be watching? It's the best way to let everyone know we aren't friends anymore."

"Yeah, you're right! That would be awesome! Let's do it! But when?"

"Tomorrow. During physics. I'll start arguing with you in class, criticizing your work, calling you names, and whatever. And then when it's over, you storm off and I follow you, bullying you more."

"Yeah...and then I start crying and screaming at you for the things you're saying, and we keep going at it like that, right?"

"Exactly."

"But aren't you worried this will ruin your reputation?"

"I mean...yeah, but...this is more important. This is serious."

"I know, but..."

"I'll be fine. I promise. You just worry about you, okay?"

"...Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah...see you."

And that was that. Personally, I thought the plan was a bit extreme, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and this was exactly the kind of thing we needed if we ever wanted to fool someone like Lysander. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but just knowing that Chris and I were okay made me want to try. I was very nervous, but I also felt a lot better, like a heavy weight had been lifted off my chest. With one less thing to worry about, I was finally able to sleep. God knows I needed to...

The next day arrived sooner than I was ready for. I woke up with my heart practically racing out of my chest, as if it had spent the hours I was asleep running a marathon. I leapt out of bed and got as ready as I could, as fast as my heartbeat. How my day would go, I had no idea, but I was both scared and excited to find out. With that thought in mind, I closed the door behind me and went on my way.

No distractions came about before the start of my first class, so I didn't have to worry about being late today. No, the distraction came immediatelyafter my first class.

"Julia!" I heard someone shout from across the hallway. Lo and behold, it was Rosalya again.

Oh boy...

"I know it's early, but we NEED to discuss your measurements."

"Now? I can take them for you later, okay?"

"No, no, no! I need to do it! There's much more involved in this than the measurements themselves! I need to figure out what kind of fabric to use, what color looks best on you, things like that!"

"Okay, but not right now, I gotta go!"

"I know, but I was thinking: why don't you come to my place this weekend? We can figure it all out then." She said that like she already knew I had no plans, which ticked me off a little, but I agreed to go anyway. After all, I felt bad for being mean about the whole dance thing. Rosalya seemed like she was really looking forward to it, and if she asked me of all people to go with her, then maybe I should. And maybe if I went with a friend (or at least someone who's trying to be), I might have some fun too. I probably was outgrowing the kid stuff anyway. After telling Rosalya I would go, she said nothing more; just smiled and happily skipped away.

Thankfully nothing else distracted me from the rest of my morning classes. I managed to get through them all and actually learn something. But I can't tell you now. I don't remember. Something boring, I'm sure, don't worry about it. Anyway, I was on my way to lunch when I saw Nathaniel pass by. That reminded me, I still needed to patch things up with him, but he was walking so fast, he was starting to disappear into the crowd. I did lose him for a minute, but once some of the other students cleared away, I found him again right when he was turning a corner. Normally, I wasn't the type to follow people, but this was important to me. If I didn't try to talk to him now, who knows when I would get the chance again? You? I don't think so. You're only on chapter 7, what do you know? Anyway, I rushed after him, only to see him turn once again, this time into some random room. As I walked closer, I heard him talking with someone.

"Good, you're here."

"Of course, Mr. Boss-Man!"

"..."

"...Uh...I mean, 'Sir.'"

"Better. Now here's what I want you to do."

I got a little closer, sticking as close as possible to the wall so I couldn't be seen, but I glanced into the room to see what Nathaniel was doing. Right now, he was reaching into his pocket for something, but I couldn't see what it was from where I was standing.

"I need you to take this and give it out to the other students, but make sure they know I expect something in return."

"Sure thing, Sir. But...uh...what if they don't...you know...'comply?'"

"They will. If you give them enough. If they still don't, well...let's just say I'll be keeping an eye on them."

"Got it."

"..."

"...Sir."

"Alright then. Go on. Oh, and don't forget, I'll be watching you too. If you fail to do as I've asked, I promise you you'll regret it."

"...Yes, sir. I'll get it done, sir."

"Good."

I couldn't see the other guy, but his shadow was coming towards me, and fast. I turned around and walked away as quickly as I could while making as little sound as possible. The guy Nathaniel was talking to didn't seem to notice me, but Nathaniel himself...well...

"You."

I immediately froze. Slowly, I turned around to see Nathaniel down the hall behind me. I didn't know what else to do, so I simply said, "Hi." Of course I knew it was dumb to say something so casual, but I couldn't get my brain to think of anything else.

"Don't try to play dumb. I know you heard me."

"Well...yeah. But I didn't mean to! I swear!"

"Oh? And you just happened to be here when I was having my private meeting?"

It was true I'd gone there specifically to talk to Nathaniel, but I honestly never meant to overhear such a...questionable conversation. "Look, I...I came here to talk to you! That's it! I know you don't like me, but that's exactly what bothers me! I want to be on good terms with you again. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your meeting, I promise. Please, believe me!"

"...You know, that's exactly the kind of stupid thing you would do. Fine, I believe you, but you've wasted your time. Get it through your head that I don't want to be friends with you. I don't even want to know you. I want you out of my life. For good."

Seeing the serious look on his face made me realize he really meant it. Nothing I could ever say or do would change his mind, and maybe that was the way it should be. I decided then and there that it wasn't worth the trouble to try and regain his trust anymore. I turned to leave.

"And don't you ever, ever tell anyone about any of this, understand? Or else–"

"Or else you'll 'make sure I regret it,' right?" I said, looking over my shoulder, back at him.

"And so much more. If you tell anyone any of this..." He paused for a moment, but I could see an evil smile forming on his face. He looked straight at me and said, "If you tell anyone about this, I'll tell Lysander things you might not want him to know...even if you yourself don't know."

"...What are you saying, Nathaniel?"

"I'm saying, if I get caught and I find out you were the one behind it, I might make up some crazy stories. Just to make things even, you know."

"What? You can't do that!"

"I can. And will. Watch me."

"Nathaniel...what happened to you?"

"I dunno. Maybe I've been cursed. Maybe I've been turned into a monster by a horrible witch who thinks her feelings are more important than everyone else's."

"...Nathaniel..."

"If you're smart, you'll stay out of my way. You never saw me, you never heard anything. Don't ever talk to me again; I mean it. Goodbye." Nathaniel stormed off, purposefully bumping into me as he passed by, as a final warning. I didn't see any point in staying there, so I left too.

After barely finishing my food in the fifteen minutes I had left to do so, I was back in floral design. This time, there was nothing to get in trouble for, so I was thankfully able to be there the entire time and learn. Learn about all the different kinds of flowers, learn how to appreciate them. It was the most peaceful thing in the world, and I really needed it. The fact that this class was centered on one of the most beautiful forms of life and that the teacher herself was an angel on Earth was the very reason this class was my favorite. There was never anything to worry about here; no problems with my classmates, no dramatic events (well...except for the whole "theft" thing...), and no unfair treatment by the teacher. It was the one place I could go in the entire school this year that actually made me feel...safe. And I loved it.

And then the bell rang.

All of my worries immediately came rushing back to me. Lysander, Chris, and now Nathaniel...I didn't know if I'd be able to handle it all. But my biggest worry right now was one thing and one thing only: the fight. It was time for me and Chris to put on the performance of a lifetime, and I was already shaking a little. I tried my best to regain my composure, because at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to make this work. I had to. I just wasn't sure what to do. I sat at my lab table as usual, alongside Chris, and everything began normally. But when we started today's experiment, we put our plan into action. At first, it was simple; any time one of us tried to follow directions, the other one would find some issue with it, like not adding enough of the chemical or handling it incorrectly, things like that – completely shooting down the other's input. We made sure to whisper quietly enough so that we wouldn't attract the teacher's attention too quickly, yet loud enough for nearby groups to hear. We went on like that for at least five minutes, and then–

*CRASH*

Chris "accidentally" knocked over one of the vials we were working with.

"Oh, look what you did!" he shouted. "You broke it!"

"Me?!" I yelled back. "YOU'RE the one who knocked it over!"

"Only because you distracted me with your dumb ideas!"

"What?! What did you say?!"

"You heard me!"

"OH! You know what? If that's how it's gonna be, then how do you like THIS?!" Going with the moment, I knocked everything else off the table as well into a big, messy pile on the ground next to us. It was then that the teacher finally chimed in.

"That's enough! Everyone, get out of this room now! Those chemicals are a hazard!"

So we all left, Chris and I being the first two out the door. Like we planned, I stomped off first with him following behind.

"Hey!" the drama continued. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"Away from YOU!"

"I don't think so! I'm not done talking to you!"

We kept walking and arguing like that until we were standing right in the middle of the main hallway where everyone could see us. It was then and there we decided to pull out our big lines.

Naturally, he went first, "This is all your fault! How can you be so stupid?!"

….and I burst out crying, "I'm stupid?! YOU dropped the chemicals first!"

….all to build up tension, "I can't believe I ever trusted a dumb bitch like you! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, you cunt!"

….for the "coup de grace! "FUCK YOU!" I screamed out at the top of my lungs. "I hate you! I wish we'd never MET!"

His last response, delivered calmly and clearly in the resulting silence of the crowd, "...Then I guess that makes two of us."

Then he walked away.

I, on the other hand, kept my tears coming as I slid to the floor. The students around me were very concerned, which told me the plan worked perfectly. After some of them comforted me and helped me up, I wiped the tears away and went right back to my routine. This whole fiasco took up whatever time remained of physics, so next up was choir. I breathed a sigh of relief as I walked to the classroom. The hard part was finally over, and everyone bought it. Now I just had to make them keep believing it for as long as Chris needed. I didn't know exactly what he had in mind (if anything at all), so I knew it might be a while, but I also knew that as long as Chris and I stayed away from each other at school, it wouldn't be too hard. It shouldn't be, anyway.

With the "main event" of my day drawn to a close, I felt like I could finally breathe again, although I was always careful not to let that feeling show. As far as everyone knew, I was the most depressed girl in school, so I kept it up. I got a chance to talk to Jasmine and Lucy in-between and after classes, and we all ended up walking home together too. They too were concerned for me, but I decided to let them in on it. After all, they were the best friends I'd ever had, and I didn't want to make them feel terrible for me, especially when it was all a lie anyway. That would make me feel really bad. Once I cleared everything up for them, we went back to our normal conversations. We compared our school days with each other (although we all agreed mine took the cake) and talked for a while about general stuff like videos we watched and whatever else we'd been doing with our lives recently. I found out that one of Jasmine's favorite K-Pop groups was having a comeback and that Lucy found a new guy to crush on. Neither of these things surprised me at all; in fact you could say I was highly expecting both. All I knew was that it was nice to walk home talking to my good friends with nothing around to ruin it.

When we got back to our building, we took the same elevator and parted ways on our respective floors. I walked down the hallway towards my apartment, digging for my key in my backpack, and I had just found it when–

"Hey there, stranger."

I looked up to see Chris standing right in front of me with a smile on his face. What a contrast... I thought, and started giggling.

Seeing me laugh made him laugh too. "Hey, what's that all about, weirdo?"

I smiled back at him and replied "Sorry, it's just...after our 'fight' earlier, it's really nice to see you happy."

"That was pretty intense, wasn't it? Good job, you were great."

"Yeah, you too! Oh my god, it felt so real!"

"Thanks! And yeah, I know, that's why I'm here. Even though we were acting, I felt bad the entire time, so I wanted to surprise you. We haven't seen each other much lately, so I thought I would come hang out here for a while."

"Of course! Come on in!"

"So," He said. "How have you been?"

"I've been better..." I answered. "But, I'm glad you're here. How are you?"

"About the same. But that's why I'm here – to cheer us up!" He poked my side and I burst out laughing.

"HEY! That tickles! Stop that!"

"Nah."

"No fair! NO FAIR!" I shouted, defending myself against his "attacks."

"Alright, alright." The sadist laughed. "Let's play Smash Bros then. It's been a while since I kicked your butt."

"Whatever! I can beat you any day!"

"You're on!"

So, we played. And I got close (many times). Buuuuuuut, no dice! Every time I thought I had it, he beat me! We were both on our last lives, and he kept getting the last hit! I was so ashamed. Nevertheless, I had a great time with Chris. We stayed there for hours talking, playing games, and watching TV. Neither of us wanted the fun to end, but alas, time flew right by us and before we knew it, it was already midnight!

"Geez, look at how late it is." I said, finally realizing it.

"Wow, already? It feels like I just got here," he replied with a cheery laugh.

I got up to get the door for him, and we said our goodbyes. I had almost completely closed the door, when out of nowhere, he came back and gave me a hug.

"Hey...it was nice seeing you again. I'm really sorry about everything I said to you earlier, even though I didn't mean it. I don't wanna hurt you."

"U-Um..." I stuttered, blushing. "It's okay, I know it was all fake. I'm sorry too."

"I know..." After a few more seconds, Chris let go and stood up straight again. "And you know, just because we're supposed to be fighting, it doesn't mean we have to deliberately push each other around all the time. For the most part, we'll be ignoring each other, okay? I won't say anything I don't have to. But if I do..." he trailed off, looking away.

I knew exactly what he meant. "It's okay, I get it. Like I said, I'll do whatever it takes to keep this thing going and give you time, even if it means we do occasionally have to insult each other and be...mean, in general. It's 'all just an act,' remember?"

"Yeah...you're right. It's all just an act. Just pretend."

"Yeah, exactly. So yes, for the most part, we'll be ignoring each other, fine. But when push comes to shove, we need to be ready to push and shove. We have to give this our all."

"I know, and I will. Especially because I know you will too. Thanks, Julia."

"No problem, Chris. That's what friends are for!" ^w^

"Ha...yeah. So...let's do this again sometime, okay?"

"Sure thing. Well, Goodnight then. See you tomorrow, 'frienemy.'" I said, jokingly.

He smiled and looked away, but I could tell he was blushing now too. "Yeah...see ya."

Then he left, and I closed the door. I'd completely forgotten about my homework, but I didn't have any time to do it now, so I decided it would have to wait 'til the next day. For now though, I needed to sleep. I still had one more day of school left until the weekend, so I couldn't completely relax just yet. After today's stunt, I needed to be ready for anything and everything that might come my way.

Just one more day...

….no problem, right?

…...