A/N: Wow! Thank you for all the story alerts/favorites/reviews. It truly makes me super happy! Every time I get an email and I check it on my blackberry I smile. Also I am incredibly sorry for the long wait, I've been meaning to start the chapter but I always got side tracked.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lemonade Mouth or any of the characters. If I did, Rayella would be on like Donkey Kong.

The first day of school always made Stella irritable. It was stressful and annoying, with all the little teenage girls running around bickering about classes and boys and all the guys doing stupid handshakes and shouting each others names. Stella wasn't a fan of school period, so the first day coming back from summer vacation was bound to annoy the heck out of her.

"What's her problem," She heard Ray ask Scott behind her. She rolled her eyes. She did not even have the patience for him today. Mo was going to be back in school today and Stella was on edge. She needed to make it seem like Ray was actually her boyfriend. She knew it was probably wrong for her to be scheming against her best friend the way she was. She knew and she did feel kind of bad. But she needed for it to end. She didn't want a boyfriend. She wanted to be independent Stella.

Because ultimately, Stella was the only person Stella could trust in the world.

"Mo is coming back today," Scott explained. At least someone got it.

"Oh. I got it," She heard Ray respond, and rolled her eyes. She wasn't expecting him to walk up next to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders.

She looked up at him, an eyebrow raised "What are you doing?"

He gave her a look the screamed 'Duh' "Being your boyfriend, what does it look like I'm doing?"

People were starting to look their way. Stella stood tall, smirking at anyone she made eye contact with. She loved making a big scene. Why else would she have spit lemonade all over Ray last year?

Stella could see Mo standing with Wen and Olivia, facing away from them. They approached and Stella was going to greet her friend but Ray beat her to it.

"Hey Banjaree. Glad to see you didn't fall off a ship or anything on your little vacay," Ray said with a smirk.

Jesus, why was Stella doing this with him.

Mo turned around, obviously ready to throw something back at him but her eyes widened when she saw who it was Ray had his arm around. "Stella...why is Ray touching you," Mo asked, looking between the two of them slowly.

"Mo um, me and Ray are dating. We have been for a little less than a month now," Stella explained, running a hand through her hair. Stella didn't think Mo's eyes could have widened anymore than they had, but somehow she managed.

"You're what," Mo asked, looking from Stella to Ray to Olivia to Wen back to Stella. "I-um- that's...great."

Stella put on a smile "You have Scott to thank."

"What," Scott said, stepping out from behind them to walk over to his girlfriend and press a quick kiss to her lips before looking back at Stella.

Ray decided to jump in "Oh you know dude, you were the one who was so dead set on me talking to Stella. It was all you." Thank you, Beech.

"That is so sweet of you Scott," Mo said slowly. Sometimes it amazed Stella at how bad Mo was at subtlety. "Well I'm happy for you two. Even if you're a completely unlikely couple."

Stella rolled her eyes "Thanks Mo."

Mo looked them over one more time before smiling "No problem. But Stella, can you come with me for a second? I need your help with something. You and Liv."

"Okay, sure," Stella said. She looked at Ray and tried to give the stupidest 'love struck' smile "I'll be right back."

Ray nodded "Cool. I'll be here." She started to walk away but he pulled her back into a hug. Well that was unexpected. "Don't smile like that again or I will burst into laughter and your plan will be screwed. Stupid and in love doesn't suit you."

"Gee thanks," She said brightly, but throwing a glare his way before turning and walking away with Mo and Olivia.

She hoped she could make it through at least 2 weeks of fake dating Ray Beech.

"Mo, what is this about," Olivia asked, looking over at Stella. Stella simply shrugged. She had no idea what Mo's sudden girl meeting was about.

Mo turned to face the two girls. "I know you're not dating Ray! He's Ray for Christ Sakes, you would never!"

"But I did! I know it seems like the craziest thing ever but it happened. Me and Ray have a lot in common," Stella said. Her voice was firm and it almost shocked her how true she made it sound.

Mo huffed and set her hands on her hips "But, why didn't you text me and tell me?"

"Because you were on vacation and for a while me and Ray were just going on stupid casual dates. And I knew you'd be home soon so I figured it would just be a surprise," Stella explained. She'd thought all this through.

Olivia nodded "And because whenever I texted you, you never answered."

Mo looked over at Olivia "Because you kept texting me about Wen."

Olivia blushed and looked at the ground "I thought you might want to know these things!"

Mo laughed and shook her head "I don't need to know every time Wen looks at you Liv. He looks at you like a love sick puppy every day of his life."

Stella nodded "It's true." And it was. Wen Gifford had it bad for Olivia White, and everyone but Olivia could see that. Even Ray could see it. "We're just waiting for him to ask you out already."

"It's not even going to happen you guys," Olivia argued. Olivia was always like that. Never thinking a guy could be into her. Even if she was the totally hot lead singer of a famous band now. It was almost sad how little she thought of herself. It wasn't even that she was really that insecure. Olivia was smart and she knew she was smart. And Olivia knew she could sing, even though she could still get in an oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-throw-up nervous phase. She was just absolutely clueless about guys and what they wanted. And in her mind, it wasn't her.

Olivia had more allure than Stella did, that was for sure. But then again, getting a guys attention wasn't Stella's intention. Independent, remember? She'd rather just be the angry punk-rock guitar player who wore jeans and a t-shirt all the time and whose converse never left her feet. Even if she did want a guy's attention, she wouldn't want to have to change any of that to get it. Stella was who she was and she didn't want to change that. She liked who she was.

"Stella? Stell? Hello, Stella, how about you return to planet Earth," Mo said, waving a hand in front of Stella's face.

Stella looked up and shook her head "What?"

Olivia raised an eyebrow "You kind of just blanked out for a second there, Stella. It was weird."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about how awesome this school year is gonna be," Stella said, giving her friends a smile.

"Heck yeah it will be," Mo said, giving a smile as well. The three girls laughed, and had a group hug before walking back to the rest of their band. And Ray.

Ray was doing pretty good so far, he thought. Cozying up to Stella. Walking down the halls with her like she was his property and no one could touch her. Watching her when she wasn't looking. That part wasn't so voluntary though. He didn't really know what it was that had him looking her way, but whatever it was didn't matter. He was doing his job and he was good at it. Watching Stella without her noticing would look more believable. Like he had it bad or something.

He didn't, obviously. He was Ray Beech. He didn't fall for girls. He never even had to chase after one to get their attention. All the ladies always had their attention on his anyway. And it was awesome.

He was sitting in U.S History when he got the first text of many to come. He was just sitting there trying to pay attention (believe it or not he was actually a good student), when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, careful not to get himself caught, and checked who it was that was texting him during class.

Text Message

Patty

Fuck. Well he was going to have to deal with it one way or another. He unlocked the phone, and went to the texts.

Stella Yamada? Are you serious?

'Always the charmer, Patty.'

Yep. She's actually pretty awesome. Got a problem with it?

His patience had been wearing thin with Patty ever since last year. She acted dumber than Jules, which was saying a lot and her attitude was bigger than his. That was just something he didn't want to have to deal with. When he first met her, he always thought the bitchiness was part of her charm and a thing to be enjoyed.

He quickly realized that was a stupid thing to think.

What about us, Ray? I thought we were together.

He scoffed. Yeah, okay Patty. Was she on crack? Had his obvious attempts at getting her off his back not given her a clue? Or was she really that blissfully stupid? He was beginning to change his mind. Fake dating Stella was definitely going to benefit him just as much as it would her. As long as nothing went wrong with her plans.

When Stella walked into Charlie's garage, where the band had decided to hang out for the day, she could hear Mo scolding Scott from in the corner.

"Ray? Really, Scott? Ray? Why? Why on Earth would that even sound like a good idea," She asked, waving her hands around frantically.

Scott looked uncomfortable, with his hands shoved in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. Stella couldn't really blame him. Mo could be pretty intimidating. "I thought they could balance each other out. They have a lot in common."

"They have about as much in common as cheese and tuna," Mo interjected, setting her hands on her hips.

Wen, who had been sitting quietly next to Olivia [staring at her while she did homework], looked over at Mo "Well they're both foods. And they can both expire. And animals eat both of them."

Stella laughed out loud, causing Mo to spin around. Her eyes widened "Stella! How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," She said, not failing to notice the thankful look Scott was throwing her way. He wouldn't have lasted much longer under Mo's pressure and that would have messed everything up. And it hadn't even been a full day yet so Stella couldn't have that.

Mo ran a hand through her hair "I-I'm sorry. I...totally respect your odd decision to be with Ray Beech."

Stella tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows "Thanks Mo. I...appreciate it."

Mo smiled and nodded "Is someone going to go get Charlie?"

Olivia looked up from her book and nodded "I will." Setting her book down, she stood up and walked away with Wen staring after her. Stella shook her head and set her guitar case down.

"So...is he a good kisser," She suddenly heard Mo ask.

Her eyes almost fell out of their sockets "Um. Ray? He's-It's-That's something you don't need to know."

Mo rolled her eyes "Fine, fine. Whatever you say. Where is he?"

"On his way," Stella lied. "I just have to send him the directions." She pulled her phone out and went to open a new text. Only she didn't have Ray's number. Crap!

"Hello Lemon Heads," She heard the familiar cocky voice behind her. What the heck? How did he-? She turned around "There you are. I was just going to text you."

He smirked and nodded "I read minds you know." He knew she didn't have his number. Ass hole.

"I thought you didn't have directions," Stella said, faking a smile.

Ray didn't even falter "Got em' from Scott." How was he so good at this while she was so incredibly bad at it. She figured it was probably because he was a manipulative jackass most of the time. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Just hanging out. Drinking lemonade. Singing cheesy songs we hear on the radio. Sounds fun doesn't it," She challenged, a gleam in her eye.

The smirk stayed on his face, but she could see he wasn't looking forward to any of this by the way his eyes had dimmed for a second "Definitely. I'm pretty good at guitar. But you already knew that."

Ray played guitar? She figured he was just useful for his boyishly handsome good looks and singing...talents, if you could call them that. From the very few times she'd seen Mudslide Crush perform, it looked like Ray was all singing and flashing himself around like a shiny toy the audience couldn't have and Scott was the one actually rocking and putting some effort into it. Scott was really good at playing the guitar. Not that that was important right at that moment.

Charlie appeared with Olivia, and he looked Ray over. Olivia must have just filled Charlie in on their fake dating situation and Stella hoped Charlie would go along with it. "Hey Ray," He acknowledged, nodding towards the other boy.

Ray nodded in return "'Sup Delgado."

"So, we're just going to hang out inside," Charlie said. "My parents had a wedding they had to go to or something so I've got the house to myself until tomorrow."

"Sweet," Wen commented, standing up and heading inside.

Scott wrapped an arm around Mo's waist, leading them inside after Wen. Olivia looked over at Ray and herself "Please make this believable." She went inside, leaving Ray and Stella by themselves.

Stella turned to look at her 'boyfriend' "Think you can handle this? Please say yes."

"Yeah, yeah. I've got it. Lying is one of my best traits, and acting like I like a girl is my second best. Let's just go," Ray said, reluctantly swinging an arm across her shoulders.

Great. She just hoped this wouldn't turn into a disaster.

A/N2: That took a lot longer than I'd expected. :x