PROLOGUE: Evelyn Allen's Guide to Fake Dating
“Eve,” Liam hissed, shoe knocking into Evelyn’s and causing her hand to slip and a line to be made on her paper. She frowned and then turned towards Liam, eyebrow raising. “I need your help.” His phone was balancing precariously on his thigh and he shut it off and shoved it in his pocket.
“What?” Evelyn muttered, knowing she was already going to agree. She looked down at her paper. She hadn’t crossed anything out, used any whitener, and now there was an offending blue line striking through the entire paper. So annoying. She turned towards Liam again, who was looking at her with a way too hopeful expression to be innocent.
“You know my cousins right?” Liam asked, as if they hadn’t been friends for five years and Liam hadn’t shown her pictures of his cousins every time they sent pictures. Reason number one why Evelyn thought he was an idiot. “Well they keep setting me up for dates.”
Evelyn clamped her mouth shut, trying not to laugh. She knew Liam hated dates, she knew he didn’t do crushes. He never so much as looked at anyone, and had never told Evelyn if he liked anyone. The thought of him dating wasn’t anything but funny. “You don’t do dating,” Evelyn pointed out helpfully, then looked to see if she could bring her desk closer to Liam’s desk.
Evelyn’s desk was a bit off in the row of desks. She shifted it two inches to the left and looked back at Liam, who was shooting her an annoyed look. “Eyes up her Evelyn,” he muttered, “and yes I don’t date. That’s why this is a problem.”
“Just get your date to pay for you and get free food or something every date,” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes. If he wasn’t interested in dates, he could just not go, and if his cousins dragged him there, kicking and screaming, he could use it to his advantage.
Liam shot her an annoyed like, his eyebrows creasing. “They force me to pay. Some of them just give me doe eyes and I just… fall for it.”
“Lame,” Evelyn said, smirking. “That’s your problem. You should sort that out.”
“I just need you to fake date me,” Liam begged and Evelyn’s cool composure dropped. She blinked at him confusedly, not processing properly. Liam’s face turned apologetic. “Okay so it’s just for a little while, and then after that we can ‘break up’ and they’re shifting to another city far, far away in a year, so I’ll be heartbroken for half an year, and we’ll date for the first half.”
All stupid plans had to start with Liam opening his damn mouth. It wasn’t a stupid plan, but really, Evelyn couldn’t believe he wanted to start fake dating. This is not what they had become friends for.
But Evelyn also believed in unconditional friendship, so really? Evelyn already knew she was going to say yes. She had a spine, most of the time. It always vanished whenever she was with Liam, and that was a very big problem. “I can’t believe I’m going to agree to this,” Evelyn groaned, shoving her head into her hands.
The groan was thankfully not too loud and the teacher didn't notice Evelyn basically dying and cursing her choices. “We are not kissing.”
Liam let out a huff. “As if I would want to.”
Evelyn raised her head and frowned over at him. “Everyone would love to kiss me.”
“Yes, because so many people go around asking you if they can kiss you,” Liam chuckled, enjoying his own inside joke as if Evelyn wasn’t very close to stabbing him with the pen on her desk.
“Not everyone is as forward as you. I’m like, hundred percent sure you’re going to regret this,” Evelyn muttered, wondering when insane plans seemed like her daily activity. Probably when she met Liam. “You better plan this out Walker.”
“I plan out everything,” Liam said, offended.
“Including or discluding the detention we’re two seconds away from getting?” Evelyn asked rhetorically. Liam’s eyes snapped to the front of the classroom and shot her a disgruntled glare before removing his pen cap and trying to listen.
Evelyn turned to her own page and zoned out of class. She had to make a plan. She’d never dated anyone before, but Liam and her were extremely close. Evelyn, by nature, was a touchy person, so half the school thought they were dating by the way she draped herself over Liam half the time. Liam and her had experimented the summer before freshman year, and it still made Evelyn blush with furious embarrassment every time she thought about it.
It had felt like nothing to her, and then last year, sophomore year, she’d kissed a girl from AP pre-calc behind the bleachers, and she’d pretty much melted. The girl was part of the cheerleading team now, and Evelyn had to look away everytime the team cheered because or else she’d punch that girl in the face. Evelyn Allen made it into a dirty little secret, and the girl still pretended to be straight.
Sour thoughts made her jam her books into her bag harshly as the bell rang, but she concealed her aggressive feelings in case Liam thought he was angry at her. That probably wouldn’t be a good start to their fake dating plan, if Liam walked behind her looking like a guilty puppy.
“We need a plan, midget,” Evelyn said as they made their way out of class. One benefit of being Liam’s friend, he was tiny as hell. She wore heeled boots anyway, so she was a lot taller than him even if he tried to make up for it in his cute little combat boots.
Liam groaned. “Plans. They’re going to kill me one day.” He ran a hand through his brown hair, olive skin flashing on his stomach as his top rode up.
“The school should dress code boys too,” Evelyn judged, remembering the number of times she’d been dress-coded. Though really, Liam wearing a short top was the smallest fashion crime he’d made. He didn’t have a sibling to get him to realize his clothes were absolutely hideous. “And if we’re going to fake dating, you are not wearing this. You’re going to wear clothes that aren’t neon tops with red pants which are probably older than you.”
Evelyn had a reputation of being a well-dressed, responsible, completely ass-kicking person, and Liam’s fashion sense had to change. Hopefully. She didn’t know if she could out stubborn him.
“My clothes are fine,” Liam protested, tugging at his shirt.
“They have scared me, Liam. They’re worse than that one leotard I had to wear at the gymnastics competition last year.”
“Look, sometimes my clothes are that bad, but they aren’t that bad.”
“I am your girlfriend, I get to see which clothes you wear,” Evelyn said as they reached their lockers. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a girl’s eye widen. Lilith Adams, Evelyn’s most reliable source of gossip. Looks like Liam and Evelyn would have to get their plan together soon. Really soon, Evelyn thought as she adjusted her hair again and slung her arm around Liam’s shoulder. “You’re going to drop me off to my class like a good boyfriend.”
“Why do you take so many AP’s?” Liam asked, sighing. “And stop walking so fast!”
“Not my fault your midget legs can’t keep up.”
“Why are we dating again?”
“Because you asked,” Evelyn smiled as she realized Liam was slipping into the role. What a true theater kid. He dropped her off to her class, where Evelyn spotted Lilith’s best friend, Stephanie waving to her. Steph was a friend, not too close, but they were practically lonely in APUSH, with Lilith being in the year above.
Seeing Steph’s bright smile, Evelyn prayed Liam said nothing in his class. Or else the lies she was going to build on the spot would crumble. Hard.
