Cherry

you were sitting at a table near one of the windows, completely surrounded by textbooks. there were highlighters scattered everywhere, color-coded notes spread across the tabletop, and a half-finished coffee sitting beside your elbow. dean had seen you in plenty of situations by now. he’d seen you nervous, embarrassed, flustered, and desperately trying to avoid him. he’d never seen you like this. you were talking confidently, explaining something while pointing at a page in a textbook, and for the first time since meeting you, there wasn’t a trace of uncertainty in your expression. you looked comfortable. completely comfortable. honestly, it caught him off guard enough that he stopped walking altogether.

then he noticed the guy sitting across from you.

at first dean didn’t think much of it. obviously there was another student there. tutoring generally required at least two people. but the longer he watched, the more annoyed he became. the guy wasn’t paying attention to a damn thing you were saying. every time you pointed toward the textbook, he’d look for maybe half a second before his eyes drifted back to your face. every time you smiled politely, he smiled like you’d personally handed him the greatest gift of his life. after a few minutes it became painfully obvious that he wasn’t there because he needed help studying. he was there because he liked you.

the worst part was that you clearly had no idea.

you just kept talking.

dean watched you spend nearly ten minutes explaining some concept while the guy stared at you like you hung the moon. every now and then you’d push your glasses back up your nose or laugh softly at something awkward he’d said, and each time the guy looked even more interested. meanwhile, you remained completely oblivious. dean honestly couldn’t decide whether it was adorable or infuriating. probably both.

he should’ve left.

a normal person would’ve left.

instead, he stayed.

the tutoring session eventually ended, and dean found himself lingering in the hallway outside the room. he wasn’t entirely sure why. maybe curiosity. maybe annoyance. maybe something significantly more embarrassing that he wasn’t interested in examining. whatever the reason, he remained exactly where he was as you started gathering your notes and shoving books into your bag.

the guy, unfortunately, made no move to leave.

instead, he leaned against the table and smiled.

dean immediately hated him.

even from across the room, he could tell what was happening. the guy wasn’t subtle. he was leaning closer than necessary, smiling too much, finding excuses to keep the conversation going even though the tutoring session had clearly ended. you looked slightly confused but polite enough to keep answering him. dean watched the entire thing unfold with growing irritation.

then the guy asked you out.

dean couldn’t hear the exact words, but he didn’t need to.

your expression gave everything away.

you blinked at him.

laughed awkwardly.

then answered in a way that clearly suggested you hadn’t realized he’d been flirting.

the guy tried again.

somehow you still didn’t get it

dean actually rubbed a hand over his face.

it was unbelievable.

you could analyze books, ace exams, tutor half the campus, and somehow remain completely incapable of recognizing when somebody was interested in you.

the guy tried a third time.

that was apparently dean’s limit.

before he could think better of it, he pushed open the door and walked inside.

you looked up immediately.

your entire face changed the second you saw him.

surprise.

confusion.

then suspicion.

dean ignored all three.

he walked straight over to your table and stopped beside your chair. the guy looked annoyed by the interruption. good. dean hoped he was annoyed.

“there you are,” dean said casually

you stared.

“dean?”

he smiled down at you before looking at the guy.

the guy looked back.

something immediately shifted.

it wasn’t loud or dramatic. it was just one of those silent male conversations that happened entirely through eye contact. dean knew exactly what the other guy was thinking because he’d been in his position before. who the hell is this? why does he know her? why is he standing so close?

dean enjoyed every second of it.

“you ready?” he asked.

your eyebrows furrowed.

“ready for what?”

for a second, dean thought he’d have to explain himself.

then understanding flashed across your face.

slowly.

very slowly.

you finally realized what he was doing.

the guy noticed it too.

“wait,” he interrupted. “you two know each other?”

dean almost laughed.

know each other.

right.

he looked down at you.

then back at the guy.

“yeah,” he said. “she’s my girlfriend.”

the lie came out far too easily.

the second it left his mouth, the room went completely silent.

you froze.

the guy froze.

dean remained annoyingly calm.

the student’s expression visibly fell apart. disappointment hit him so hard it was practically painful to watch. dean would’ve felt bad if he wasn’t too busy enjoying himself.

“oh.”

that was all the guy managed.

just oh.

dean nearly smiled.

you were still staring at him.

he could feel it.

could practically hear the questions bouncing around inside your head.

what are you doing?

why are you doing this?

have you completely lost your mind?

all reasonable questions.

dean planned on ignoring every single one of them.

the guy awkwardly gathered his things, muttered something about seeing you later, and practically fled the room. dean waited until he disappeared completely before finally looking back down at you.

the second your eyes met his, you narrowed them.

“your girlfriend?”

dean shrugged.

“seemed effective.”

“effective?”

“he left, didn’t he?”

your mouth actually fell open.

for a second you seemed genuinely speechless.

then realization hit.

dean watched it happen in real time.

the way your eyes widened.

the way your expression changed.

the way you suddenly looked entirely too pleased with yourself.

oh no.

you’d figured it out.

“dean.”

“what?”

“were you jealous?”

he laughed immediately.

mostly because the alternative was admitting the truth.

“don’t start.”

“you were.”

“i wasn’t.”

“you absolutely were.”

you sounded delighted.

which was unfortunate.

because you were right.

dean leaned against the table and looked away for a moment, already regretting every decision that had led him here. the worst part was that he’d walked into the room fully intending to play it cool. somehow he’d ended up pretending to be your boyfriend in front of another guy and exposing himself in the process.

meanwhile, you looked happier than he’d seen you all week.

your smile was impossible to miss.

and suddenly dean couldn’t remember why he’d been annoyed in the first place.

he just knew he was staring at you again.

staring long enough that your smile slowly faded.

long enough that the teasing disappeared from your expression.

long enough for the air between you to become something else entirely.

neither of you spoke.

you simply looked at each other across the table, surrounded by forgotten textbooks and scattered notes.

for the first time since walking into the room, dean realized he didn’t regret what he’d done.

not even a little.

because pretending to be your boyfriend had been surprisingly easy.

a little too easy, actually.