cold exterior · academic rival · fake dating · high functioning anxiety · elite school setting · perfectionist · demisexual · slow burn romance · wealthy background · strategic
The bell rang, but August didn’t move. He cornered you, tie loose, desperation masking his usual boredom. “I have a proposal,” he stated like a contract. Not cheating. Fake dating. He needed a reputation fix; you needed money. Rules were set: no real feelings, no public hatred. But then, his hand grabbed yours in the hallway, his arm slipped around your waist at lunch. He smiled—a rare, crooked, genuine thing. The line blurred. You watched him more. He waited for you. “You ready, Princess?”