“Poppy—”
“—you wanna kiss the girl?—”
“You’re fired as my best friend,” I announced, pulling my arm from her and walking ahead of them. But she and Saylor both just laughed and chased after me, the plastic bags of food hitting their legs with every step. By the time we reached the dorm steps, I was out of breath from running and laughing. Poppy collapsed against the railing, giggling. “Okay, fine, but seriously—this is going to be so much fun. I can feel it.”
“Fun is not the word I’d use,” I said.
Saylor smirked. “Oh, come on, Lilah. Admit it. You’re a little excited.”
I hesitated. Because maybe, deep down, I kind of was. Not about Tino, obviously. Just… about the idea of something new.
CHAPTER 9
lilah
There wasnothing like the sound of your alarm at 7:15 on a Friday to make you regret every decision you ever made in your life.
Fake dating Michael Valentine. What was I thinking?
Technically, we hadn’t even started yet—unless you counted the part where he walked me to the dorms yesterday, loudly saying things like “See you tomorrow, babe!” while a minimum of three sophomores filmed it for proof.
But fine. I’d agreed. I wasn’t going to back out now. I just needed to survive until everyone got bored and moved on to something else. Would it be possible for me to bribe my brother’s band into releasing their new album early so everyone had something better to focus on?
In a weird twist of fate, Poppy was already down at breakfast by the time I was finished getting dressed. Despite being the cheeriest person I knew, she also broke the stereotype of being a morning person and most days I had to drag her out of bed to get to class on time.
The dining hall was its usual morning chaos—students yelling across tables, the smell of burnt toast and coffee taking over every sense, and the morning sun streaming in through thelarge glass windows where I spotted Saylor and Poppy huddling over a phone together. I didn’t even need to ask what they were looking at.
I decided I couldn’t deal with any of this fake dating stuff until I had at least three cups of coffee in me, so I veered for the coffee machines near the back. The coffee here was absolutely disgusting but it was also free and convenient, unlike the coffee shop over by the tuck shop. I knew plenty of people who stopped there before classes every day, but I wasn’t willing to walk that far before school.
I’d only just filled the mug and was looking for the cream that had moved from its usual spot when Poppy and Saylor materialized behind me. Lucky for them, I didn’t have the energy to jump or I would have spilled coffee everywhere.
“Do I want to know?” I sighed as I saw their face-splitting grins.
Saylor turned her phone toward me. “Someone posted a clip from last night. Of you and Tino.”
I braced myself and looked. It was a somewhat grainy video, clearly taken from a distance, but unmistakably the two of us walking down the hallway after leaving the closet. Someone had slowed it down and added some romantic song with the caption: When he looks at her like that <3.
I groaned aloud. “I should have just made coffee in our room.”
“But this way you get breakfast and socialization!” Poppy chirped. She was especially cheery this morning.
“I don’t want socialization,” I muttered. “I want caffeine and silence.”
“Too bad. You’re in the spotlight now—you can’t date someone like Michael Valentine and not be.”
I groaned and rubbed a hand on my forehead. “Don’t remind me.”
And, as if summoned by the universe just to make my life harder—I saw him.
Tino stood across the room, laughing with Crossy near the cereal station. His tie was crooked—shocker—and his hair was still damp from his shower, the ends curling slightly against his forehead. A few people nearby were clearly watching him, whispering behind their hands. That wasn’t unusual. He was one of those people everyone seemed to know—not famous exactly, but visible. Loud. Friendly. The kind of guy people noticed.
Unfortunately, now that “people” included me.
I turned away quickly, pretending to be fascinated by the muffin display.
“You’re staring,” Poppy mumbled in a sing-song voice under her breath.
“I’m not,” I hissed.
