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Original: June 5, 2025Rewritten: July 2, 2025

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In the canteen of SMT Cyberaya 1, the midday buzz of chatter and trays clinking echoed off the walls. Students clustered at tables, swapping jokes and gossip between bites of nasi lemak and curry puffs. Amid the noise, Alicia, a sharp-eyed prefect with her signature green headband, approached one particular table with an unusually determined pace.

Ali barely looked up from his meal when she stopped in front of him. "Get up. Come with me."

He blinked. "Uh, hi? What? Why?"

She folded her arms. "Don't make me repeat myself. Ask later."

Viktor, sitting beside him with his mouth full of fried rice, nearly choked in laughter. "Oh... interesting. Should I leave you two alone?"

Alicia shot Viktor a look that could cut steel. "No. And you—shut your mouth."

"Hey, hey, no need to be so violent," Viktor said, raising both hands as if surrendering. "Just saying. You two have been awfully... close lately."

Ali groaned and stood up, grabbing the last bite of his lunch. "If I die mysteriously today, Viktor, you're responsible for this." He followed Alicia out of the canteen, the laughter of his best friend echoing behind him.

She didn't say a word as she led him down the corridor, turning sharp corners like she was on a mission. He kept up easily, though his curiosity was growing louder by the second.

"Can you slow down and maybe tell me what's going on? Or are we marching to war?"

Alicia stopped abruptly in an empty stairwell, the noise of the school now muffled by distance. She turned around, her expression unreadable.

"Okay. So. There's a situation."

Ali arched a brow. "That doesn't sound ominous at all."

She exhaled through her nose. "There's this guy. Evan. You might've seen him around. Keeps asking me out, lingering around, showing up uninvited—it's annoying."

"Right... Evan," Ali muttered. "Isn't that the guy who wears his collar like it's a fashion statement from 2009?"

"Exactly." Alicia narrowed her eyes. "He doesn't take hints. So I figured—"

"—You'd threaten him with your death glare? Seems to work on everyone else."

She rolled her eyes. "I figured I'd just give him a reason to back off. The stares don't work on him."

Ali leaned against the railing, arms folded. "Okay. So what does this have to do with me?"

She looked him square in the eye. "I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend."

Ali blinked. Then again. "Sorry, what?"

"You heard me."

He laughed. "Wait, wait. You dragged me out of lunch to ask me to be your fake boyfriend? Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Her tone was dry, but her gaze wavered just slightly.

Ali opened his mouth, closed it, then tilted his head. "Out of all the people in school, why me?"

"Because it's easier with you," she snapped. "People already assume things. Look at Viktor. And... we know each other. You won't overcomplicate it."

There was a pause.

He looked at her for a moment longer, and something unreadable passed between them. Then he sighed.

"Fine. But you owe me."

"Deal."

They turned to head back toward class, the moment settling between them.

Ali glanced sideways at her. "So what exactly does being your fake boyfriend entail? Like, do I have to hold your hand or fight off Evan with a broom or something?"

Alicia didn't even blink. "Try anything and I'll break your arm."

He grinned. "So romantic."

They reentered the main hall just as the bell rang. Viktor spotted them from down the corridor and immediately cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Hey Ali! You propose yet or what?"

Ali didn't even look at him. "Say that again and I'm uninstalling your games myself."

Viktor held up both hands in mock defeat, laughing all the way.

Ali groaned. "This is going to be chaos."

Alicia smirked. "You'll live. Probably."

And with that, they parted ways at the stairwell, the new fake relationship already stirring more than either of them had anticipated.