CHAPTER SEVEN: THE FIRST TEST

~~CHLOE'S POV~~

I spotted Ryan and Olivia near the cafeteria entrance.

They stood beside one of the outdoor tables, heads bent over something on Olivia's phone. Ryan had one hand tucked into his pocket, his shoulder angled toward her the way it always was, and Olivia laughed at whatever he had said, her whole face lit up.

For a moment, I simply watched them.

My stomach pulled tight, like a knot being drawn slowly closed.

I looked away before either of them could notice.

*Not today, Chloe.*

I refused to spend another day watching them together and feeling sorry for myself. I had a plan now, however ridiculous. I had a part to play.

"Hey."

Caleb's voice cut through my thoughts. I turned to find him watching me with open impatience, and something else I couldn't name. He had seen exactly where I'd been looking.

"What?"

"Your boyfriend is standing right here."

I gave him a flat look.

"Unfortunately, I can see you."

"Then act like it."

Before I could answer, he reached for my hand.

I looked down at our joined fingers. His palm was warm and annoyingly steady. Slowly, I raised my eyes to his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking."

"With my hand?"

"Impressive observation."

I tried to pull free, but he tightened his grip just enough to stop me.

"People are watching," he muttered.

I glanced around. A few students drifted past, scrolling through their phones, eating, arguing about deadlines. Nobody looked remotely interested in us.

Still, I made my feet keep moving.

I hated this.

I hated holding his hand. I hated pretending to be comfortable beside him. Most of all, I hated that I couldn't simply yank myself away without bringing the whole arrangement crashing down on my head.

When we reached Ryan and Olivia, Caleb finally let go. My hand felt strangely cold without his.

"Hey, guys."

Ryan looked up.

"Hey."

Olivia's face brightened the moment she saw me.

"Chloe!"

She stepped forward and threw her arms around me. I hugged her back, grateful for the familiar warmth, for the smell of her vanilla perfume. For a few seconds, it felt like any other day.

Then she pulled away.

"Hi," I said.

Her gaze travelled from me to Caleb, dipped briefly to our hands, now hanging innocently at our sides, and returned to our faces. A frown gathered between her brows.

"Wait. What?"

I swallowed.

"What?"

She pointed between us.

"Why were you two holding hands?"

Caleb answered before I could draw breath.

"Because she's my girlfriend."

Silence.

It stretched across the table like a held breath. For one terrifying second, I considered pretending I hadn't heard him.

Olivia blinked.

Twice.

Then she laughed.

"You're joking."

Caleb looked completely unbothered.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Ryan let out a short laugh beside her.

"Walker, seriously?"

I forced a smile so stiff it felt painted on.

"Surprise?"

Olivia studied me the way she studied exam questions, searching for the trick. She seemed to be waiting for me to burst out laughing and confess it was all a prank.

"Chloe, you hate him."

"I don't hate him."

Caleb turned toward me, eyebrows raised.

"Really?"

I shot him a warning look.

He smiled.

Olivia crossed her arms, still unconvinced.

"Last week, you called him the most irritating person on campus."

"That was last week."

"And on Monday, you told me you'd rather fail a course than be partnered with him."

I cleared my throat. My face was growing warm.

"People change."

Ryan shook his head, grinning.

"Caleb doesn't change."

"Thank you, Whitmore," Caleb said. "Always a pleasure to receive your support."

Ryan ignored him and looked at me instead. The grin faded into something quieter, and the full weight of his attention landed on me. It was the same look that had undone me since I was nine years old.

"Are you sure about this?"

My throat tightened.

"Yes."

He searched my face a moment longer, then shrugged.

"Well. If you two are getting along, that's good."

Olivia nodded too, though her expression made it clear she wasn't buying a single word.

"I'm happy you're finally getting along," she said. "But dating? That's hard to believe."

"Why?" Caleb asked.

She laughed.

"Because you two can't spend ten minutes in a room without arguing."

"Maybe that's our thing."

I nearly choked.

*Our thing?*

I wanted to stamp on his foot.

Ryan laughed again.

"Whatever you say, man."

Caleb casually slid an arm around my shoulders.

My entire body went rigid.

He leaned closer, his breath brushing my ear, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

"Relax. You're making it obvious."

I smiled for the audience, teeth clenched.

"Remove your arm before I break it," I whispered.

His smile widened.

"That's my girl."

I was going to murder him.

---

We eventually joined Ryan and Olivia at their table.

Caleb sat beside me, which left me directly across from Olivia, and she had a way of looking at a person that made lying feel like physical labour.

The conversation drifted to weekend plans, a group assignment and an upcoming campus event. I tried to contribute like a normal human being, nodding in the right places, laughing half a second late. But with Caleb's shoulder pressed against mine and his arm resting along the back of my chair, concentrating on anything was unnecessarily difficult.

At one point, Olivia's gaze settled on us again.

"So, how did this even happen?"

I nearly dropped my drink.

"What?"

"You and Caleb. How did you start dating?"

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

My mind, usually reliable, had gone completely blank. We had planned for almost everything. We had planned for the hand-holding, the lunches, the *gradual* approach. We had not planned a backstory.

Caleb, clearly enjoying my suffering, answered for both of us.

"We got tired of pretending we didn't like each other."

I turned to him.

"That's not—"

He squeezed my shoulder, hard enough to be a warning, gentle enough to look affectionate.

"Don't be shy, sweetheart."

I smiled so tightly my cheeks ached.

Olivia laughed.

"You're both being so weird."

Ryan nodded.

"Very weird."

I looked at Caleb.

He looked back at me.

For once, we shared exactly the same thought.

They didn't believe us.

Not even a little.

And judging by Olivia's narrowed eyes, she was only waiting for one of us to crack and admit it was some ridiculous joke.

When Ryan and Olivia finally left for their next lecture, I watched them disappear down the hallway, a familiar ache settling in my chest. Then I drew a quiet breath and reminded myself that this wasn't the end of my story with Ryan.

Caleb leaned back in his chair and exhaled.

"Well. That went terribly."

I whipped around.

"Because you kept saying stupid things!"

"Excuse me? I was carrying this relationship."

"You were embarrassing me."

"You're welcome."

I stared at him, speechless.

Caleb rose, picked up his bag and looked down at me, that infuriating half smile back in place.

"Come on, girlfriend. We have a reputation to build."

I grabbed my bag and followed him, already regretting the whole arrangement.

Ryan and Olivia hadn't believed a word we'd said.

If we wanted this ridiculous plan to work, we would have to do better.

Much better.

And apparently, that meant spending even more time with Caleb Walker.

Wonderful.

Just absolutely wonderful.