ALEX'S POV
The next morning, I arrived at university with one particular intention.
Find Natasha.
Not because I missed her.
Obviously not.
I simply needed to make sure my fake girlfriend hadn't disappeared overnight.
A perfectly reasonable explanation.
I walked through the main corridor, looking around until I finally spotted her sitting on a bench near the courtyard with Lisa.
She was laughing at something on her phone.
And there it was.
That stupid smile.
The one I had somehow started looking forward to seeing every morning.
I shook my head and walked towards them.
"Good morning, ladies."
Lisa looked up first.
"Look who's here. The world's most irritating boyfriend."
I placed a hand over my chest.
"Thank you. I appreciate the introduction."
Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Nobody introduced you."
"Your silence hurts, sweetheart."
"Your existence hurts my peace."
Lisa burst out laughing.
I pulled out the empty space beside Natasha and sat down.
"So, how's my favourite girl doing?"
"Unfortunately, she's sitting beside you."
"Wow. Such a romantic response."
"Don't expect romance from me."
I leaned closer.
"Should I be worried?"
"Very."
I laughed.
God, I could get used to this.
Lisa glanced between us before standing up.
"Okay, I'm leaving before you two start flirting again."
"We're not flirting!" Natasha immediately protested.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Speak for yourself."
She threw a small cushion at me.
I caught it, grinning.
After Lisa left, I turned towards Natasha.
"So..."
"So what?"
"You didn't text me last night."
She slowly turned her head.
"Excuse me?"
"After our goodnight conversation. You disappeared."
"Alex, I said goodnight."
"And then?"
"And then I slept."
I stared at her.
"Without informing me?"
She burst out laughing.
"You're unbelievable!"
I shrugged.
"Communication is important in a relationship."
"Fake relationship."
"Still a relationship."
She shook her head, smiling.
I was about to say something when I noticed her attention shifting towards the courtyard entrance.
I followed her gaze.
Peter.
Of course.
He was standing a little distance away, looking directly at her.
Natasha's expression changed.
I leaned back against the bench.
"Do you want me to leave?"
She looked at me.
"What?"
I nodded towards Peter.
"If you want to talk to him privately, I can go."
She hesitated before nodding.
"Yeah. I think I should."
"Okay."
I stood up, but before I could walk away, she caught my wrist.
"Alex?"
I looked down at her hand.
"Yeah?"
"Don't go too far."
Something inside my chest softened.
I gave her a small smile.
"Don't worry. I'll be around."
She released my wrist.
I walked towards the other side of the courtyard, pretending to be interested in the university notice board.
But honestly, I wasn't reading anything.
Peter approached Natasha.
I couldn't hear their conversation, but I could see the expressions on their faces.
He looked nervous.
She looked uncomfortable.
Eventually, they moved towards a quieter corner.
I looked away.
I knew what it was like to have someone from your past suddenly appear in front of you, apologising for something they couldn't undo.
Yesterday, Lara had done exactly that.
And now Peter was doing the same.
I didn't know what he was saying to Natasha.
But I hoped he wasn't making excuses.
A few minutes later, Natasha returned.
I immediately straightened.
"Hey."
She stopped in front of me.
"Hey."
I studied her face.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Natasha."
"What?"
"You don't have to pretend with me."
She sighed.
"I'm okay, Alex. It was just... strange."
"Talking to him?"
She nodded.
"I thought I'd feel better after hearing him apologise. But I don't know. I guess some things don't change just because someone says they're sorry."
I understood that more than she probably realised.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "They don't."
She looked at me for a moment.
Then she tilted her head.
"You're being unusually sensible today."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me? I'm always sensible."
She laughed.
"That's the biggest lie I've heard this week."
"Wow. And here I was, trying to be supportive."
"You're doing a terrible job."
I smiled.
There she was.
My favourite menace.
"Come on," I said, gesturing towards the cafeteria. "Let's get something to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"That's unfortunate."
"Why?"
"Because I'm starving, and you're my girlfriend. You're legally required to accompany me."
She stared at me.
"That's not how relationships work."
"Maybe not normal relationships."
"Alex!"
I laughed and started walking.
She followed, shaking her head.
And I couldn't help noticing that she'd fallen into step beside me.
The cafeteria was unusually crowded.
We managed to find a table near the windows.
I placed my bag on the empty chair and turned towards her.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Natasha."
"What?"
"You're not allowed to survive on air."
She rolled her eyes.
"Fine. A sandwich."
"See? Was that so difficult?"
"You're annoying."
"Yet here you are."
I went to order our food.
When I returned, Natasha was scrolling through her phone.
I placed her sandwich in front of her.
She looked up.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, sweetheart."
"Don't push it."
I grinned and sat down.
For a while, we ate quietly.
Then Natasha suddenly spoke.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Depends."
"Why were you so understanding earlier?"
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't ask too many questions. You didn't make jokes about Peter. You didn't even try to find out what he said."
I shrugged.
"You wanted to talk to him. I figured you deserved to do that without me interfering."
She stared at me.
"That's surprisingly thoughtful."
"Don't sound so shocked."
"I'm just saying. I didn't know you had it in you."
I shook my head.
"You're welcome, by the way."
She laughed.
Then her expression softened.
"Thank you, Alex."
I looked at her.
And for some reason, those two words meant more than they should have.
"Anytime."
I returned to my food, hoping she wouldn't notice the stupid smile on my face.
Unfortunately, she did.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Am I not allowed to smile?"
"Not without a reason."
"Maybe I'm just happy."
"That's suspicious."
I leaned back.
"Maybe having a beautiful girlfriend makes me happy."
She nearly choked on her drink.
"Alex!"
I burst out laughing.
And just like that, the heaviness of the morning disappeared.
At least for a little while.
NATASHA'S POV
I hadn't expected Peter to approach me that morning.
Not after everything that had happened.
But when I saw him standing there, looking nervous, I knew I couldn't simply pretend he didn't exist.
At least, not forever.
When he apologised, I listened.
I had imagined that moment so many times.
I'd imagined him explaining everything, telling me there had been some terrible misunderstanding, or asking me to give him another chance.
But he hadn't done any of those things.
He had simply apologised.
And strangely, that didn't make me feel better.
I still remembered how much I'd trusted him.
How easily he'd broken that trust.
I wasn't angry anymore.
But I wasn't ready to forgive him either.
And perhaps that was okay.
I didn't need to make a decision about everything immediately.
As I sat across from Alex in the cafeteria, I realised something else.
Being around him made things easier.
He hadn't forced me to talk about Peter.
He hadn't asked whether I still had feelings for him.
He hadn't even tried to use the situation to make himself look better.
He had simply stayed beside me.
And that was something I appreciated.
"Alex?"
He looked up from his sandwich.
"Hmm?"
"Why are you so quiet?"
He stared at me.
"I'm eating."
I laughed.
"That's never stopped you from talking before."
He placed his sandwich down.
"Wow. So you miss my voice?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Forget I asked."
He laughed.
Then he leaned forward slightly.
"Natasha?"
"What?"
"Are you feeling better now?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. A little."
"Good."
He smiled and returned to his food.
I looked down at my sandwich, hiding the small smile that appeared on my face.
Maybe having a fake boyfriend wasn't such a terrible idea after all.
By the time we left the cafeteria, the afternoon sun had started filtering through the trees.
Alex walked beside me, occasionally making ridiculous comments about the university and its terrible food.
I was laughing at one of his jokes when he suddenly stopped near the staircase.
"Natasha?"
I turned.
"What?"
He crossed his arms.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You're asking a lot of questions today."
"Just answer."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Fine. Ask."
He pretended to think.
"Why are you being so nice to me today?"
I blinked.
"What?"
"You heard me."
I stared at him.
"Are you serious?"
"Completely."
I shook my head.
"You're impossible."
He grinned.
"Maybe I'm just a naturally good boyfriend."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Fake boyfriend."
He clicked his tongue.
"Details, Natasha. Details."
I burst out laughing.
He looked rather pleased with himself.
"See? I made you laugh. I'm clearly doing something right."
"Don't get too confident."
"Too late."
I shook my head and started climbing the stairs.
He followed me.
For a moment, we walked quietly.
Then I glanced at him.
"Alex?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for today."
He looked at me.
"For what?"
"For being there."
His expression softened.
Then he gave me one of his usual smiles.
"Anytime, Natasha."
I nodded and continued walking.
I didn't know why, but I found myself smiling again.
Perhaps it was because he'd made an otherwise difficult morning easier.
Or perhaps it was simply because Alex had a strange talent for making me forget whatever was bothering me.
Either way, I was glad he'd been there.
ALEX'S POV
By the time the last lecture ended, I had received approximately seventeen complaints from Natasha.
Apparently, I was too loud, too annoying, too dramatic, and far too confident for someone who had absolutely no reason to be.
Naturally, I considered all of them compliments.
We were walking towards the university gate when she stopped to check her phone.
"Are you coming?" I asked.
"Wait."
I leaned against the nearby wall.
"Take your time, Your Highness."
She looked up.
"Stop calling me that."
"Fine. Your Majesty?"
"Alex!"
I laughed.
She shook her head and put her phone away.
"You're seriously impossible."
"And yet, you keep spending time with me."
"Unfortunately."
I placed a hand over my heart.
"One day, you'll appreciate me."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
I grinned.
We reached the parking area, and I stopped beside my car.
"Need a ride?"
"No. Lisa is waiting for me."
"Okay."
She took a few steps before turning around.
"Alex?"
"Yeah?"
"Text me when you reach home."
I blinked.
Then a smile slowly appeared on my face.
"Are you worried about me?"
She immediately rolled her eyes.
"No. I just don't want your car breaking down somewhere and making it my problem."
"Of course."
"Goodbye, idiot."
"Goodbye, beautiful."
She gave me one final glare before walking away.
I watched her disappear into the crowd.
Then I pulled out my phone.
For a moment, I simply stared at our chat.
I wanted to message her.
I wanted to ask whether she'd reached Lisa, whether she'd eaten properly, and whether she'd stop calling me an idiot for at least five minutes.
Instead, I slipped my phone into my pocket.
I was already becoming too predictable.
And that was dangerous.
Because somewhere between our ridiculous arguments, her unexpected kindness, and those little moments when she looked at me without immediately rolling her eyes, I had started wanting something I hadn't signed up for.
I wanted to be more than her fake boyfriend.
But I had no idea whether Natasha would ever want the same thing.
For now, I decided to keep that thought to myself.
After all, we had made an arrangement.
And I wasn't ready to risk losing what we already had.
Not yet.