Chapter Three — Lila’s POV

There are bad days. And then there are Jason Cole days.

By the time the final bell rang, I was one sarcastic comment away from throwing my entire backpack at his smug face. Which, by the way, would have been totally justified considering what he pulled in front of Alex Rivera.

Alex. My crush since freshman year. The only boy who’s ever offered to carry my books without being asked. The only boy who doesn’t treat me like I’m invisible. And now? Thanks to Jason, he officially thinks I’m dating someone else.

Not just anyone. Jason. Freaking. Cole.

I stormed out of school with my earbuds jammed in, blasting my “Angry Girl Energy” playlist at full volume. If I didn’t get all this pent-up frustration out soon, I was going to explode.

Lucky for me, my best friend Ava was waiting at our usual spot by the front gates, sipping a bubble tea like she was born to play therapist.

She took one look at my face and groaned. “What did he do now?”

I yanked out an earbud and practically shouted, “He told Alex we’re dating!”

Ava choked on her drink. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Jason Cole—captain of the football team, human golden retriever, ego-on-legs—announced to Alex Rivera that you’re his girlfriend?”

“Yes!” I threw my hands in the air, nearly hitting an unsuspecting freshman. “And now the whole school thinks it’s true. I’m basically trapped in a rom-com nightmare!”

Ava’s eyes sparkled. “Girl, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

I gawked at her. “The best—Ava! Did you hear me? Alex saw us! He thinks I’m dating Jason!”

“Exactly,” she said calmly, sipping her drink again. “Now he’s jealous.”

I froze. “What?”

“Think about it.” Ava leaned in conspiratorially. “Alex is used to being everyone’s crush. You dating Jason—fake or not—throws him off. You’ve officially entered the main character era, babe.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Ava, this isn’t an era. It’s a disaster.”

She just grinned. “Disasters make great stories. And speaking of—spill everything. How did Jason rope you into this?”

I groaned and started walking, Ava trailing beside me. “He says it’s a bet. Apparently, his friends think he can’t keep a girlfriend for a month. And guess who’s the lucky prize?”

Ava gasped dramatically, clutching her chest. “Jason Cole wants to fake-date you? Lila Bennett, you are living my W*****d dreams!”

I stopped dead. “This is not W*****d! This is my life! And if one more person calls me ‘babe’ in the hallway, I’m transferring schools.”

She burst out laughing. “Oh my God, I can’t wait to see you two pretend to be all lovey-dovey.”

I buried my face in my hands. “Kill me now.”

By the time I got home, I was ready to crawl into bed and sleep until graduation. Unfortunately, my phone had other plans.

🔔 New TikTok notifications.

🔔 Jason Cole tagged you in a post.

My stomach dropped. I opened the app with trembling fingers, praying it was a glitch.

Nope. Not a glitch.

Front and center on my feed: a video of Jason, shirt slightly damp from practice, hair pushed back, grinning like the devil himself. The caption read: “Day 1 with the girlfriend. Wish us luck 😉 #powercouple #fakebutnotreally”

My jaw hit the floor.

The comments were even worse:

✨ OMG they’re cute together!

✨ Ship name ideas: Jila or Lison??

✨ Alex is shaking rn.

I threw my phone onto my bed like it had personally betrayed me. “I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.”

Except—ugh—I didn’t really hate him. Not the way I wanted to. Because under all the arrogance and theatrics, there was this tiny, annoying voice in the back of my head whispering, What if he’s actually… nice?

No. Nope. Not going there.

Jason Cole was a walking complication, and I had no interest in being another statistic in his trail of fake relationships.

And yet… when I closed my eyes, I kept seeing the way his arm felt around my shoulders. Warm. Solid. Like he actually meant it.

I groaned into my pillow. This wasn’t just a disaster. This was the end of me.

The next morning, walking into school felt like walking onto the set of a reality TV show. People stared. Whispered. Phones flashed. And then, right on cue, Jason appeared at my side, draping his arm around me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Morning, babe,” he drawled, like he owned me.

“Take your arm off me before I break it,” I muttered through clenched teeth.

He smirked down at me. “Careful. People are watching.”

And they were. Dozens of eyes on us, waiting to see if we’d kiss, hold hands, or break into a dramatic lovers’ quarrel.

So I plastered on the fakest smile I could manage and whispered, “Fine. But you owe me. Big time.”

Jason winked, steering me down the hall like this was just another day in the life of his ridiculous bet.

Meanwhile, all I could think was: how long can I possibly survive this?

Because if day one already felt like a rollercoaster, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to day thirty.