Fake It Harder

The hallway smelled of lemon disinfectant and desperation. Serenya Vale dragged her duffel bag to bursting down the East Dormitory hallway of Westbridge University, its boots shrieking on the waxed floor. Almost every other few feet, she bumped into clumps of starry-eyed freshmen emitting the excitement of independence, hovering parents eager to fluff pillows or iron bedspreads.

Serenya had to gag. Freedom? Sure thing. This campus was not freedom. It was another gold-plated cage, a holding pen for a few years until the Parental Oversight Board wrapped its trap around all the students like a noose.

She halted in front of Room 406. Her new room. Her refuge from her family's suffocating vigilance. For a few vertiginous moments, she let herself imagine it: a tiny patch of the universe where she could exist without the voice of her mother in her ear, instructing her every move. She unlocked the door, the key rasping in the keyhole—

And nearly let her bag fall.

"Are you kidding me?"

A tall, gangly boy slouched against the window desk, sleeves rolled up, black hoodie pulled down over his hips like a reigning monarch slouching on his throne. Dark hair fell neatly into his eyes to make him abysmally dangerous, and his grin was the kind that screamed for a punch in the face.

Kael Draven.

The name was venom on her lips.

"Devil no," Serenya breathed. "This is a joke."

Kael's smile widened, easy and calculated, as if he had been expecting exactly this response. "Good to see you too, Vale. You're tense again. Something new?"

"You're my roommate?" Her voice ignited with indignation. "No way. No. I'm not rooming with you.".

Kael crossed his arms, leaning back like the picture of smug comfort. “I don’t exactly love the idea either, but I’m afraid the housing office didn’t consult us before making their tragic mistake.”

Serenya dropped her bag onto the floor with a thud. “There are literally hundreds of people on this campus, and they stuck me with you?”

“Apparently fate has a sick sense of humor.” He shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket. “Relax, Vale. Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours.”

She shot him a cold look, denying that the thought of sharing a breath with Kael made her sick. They'd clashed in every debate class, every student council meeting, every lunch line. He was an expert at sharpening words into blades, at uncovering weaknesses and destroying them with aggravating precision. He was the kind of boy who grinned when he destroyed things, and people adored him for it.

Serenya would not even grant him the satisfaction of a small admiration.

She stormed over to the room and took the bed nearest the door. "Fine. Don't talk to me. Don't even look at me. And in case you ever think one single thing about touching my stuff—"

"Ease up," he cut in, stretching out like a cat. "Your motivational workbooks and glitter pens are safe with me."

"I don't have glitter pens," she barked.

"Not.yet." His smile was bare taunting.

Serenya clenched her fists, counted to ten before she hurled something hard at him. This year was to have been her new beginning. Her chance to escape her parents' traditional schemes, to have a life that wasn't founded on whom she would marry, how she would behave. And now she was stuck with him.

She poured clothes from her bag, and they slapped onto the bed in stiff, furious slaps. They fell like threats, one at a time.

Kael watched her, calmly, infuriatingly so. "You know, Vale, if looks could kill, I'd have been dead five times over by now. Try to spare some of that outrage for the enemy, okay?"

She was motionless. "And what would you know of enemies?

The smile wavered, only for an instant. "More than you think."

A shadow flickered in his eyes—something darker, heavier—but it was gone before she could give it a name. He straightened, running a hand through his hair. "Anyway, good chat. I'm out of here."

"Good," she muttered.

The door shut behind him, and Serenya was left to her racing heart.

By the time night arrived, she'd all but convinced herself that she could manage this arrangement. She'd weathered worse, after all. She'd weathered her mother's lectures on girl expectations, weathered her father's subtle threats about marriage prospects, weathered the stifling reality of being told that she wasn't living her life for her own purposes but for the family name's sake.

This dorm room — even with Kael — still ranked above home.

Her phone rang on the bedside table. A video call. Naturally. Her stomach tightened in a knot. She already knew who it was.

Bracing herself, she answered.

Her mother's face appeared on the screen, streamlined and severe, every hair in place. "Serenya. Finally. You've settled in?"

"Yes, Mother," she said, her tone concise, cool.

"Good. I trust the Board's campus supervisors are treating you kindly? They'll keep you staying sharp and. disciplined."

Serenya smiled dryly. "Everything's fine."

Her mother's eyes wandered over her face, as though looking for a lie. "It had better be. On to more important matters, then. The Carters' son is still on the market. His parents invited you to a get-to-know dinner with him this weekend. I would like to see you attend."

Serenya's innards emptied. "Mother, we've talked—"

"And I've made myself clear," her mother snapped. "This isn't about what you want. It's about what's best for our family. You will not shame us by remaining unclaimed."

Pressure closed around Serenya's throat like a vice. Anger seethed up, hot and uncontrollable. And before she could stop herself, the words tumbled out:

"I'm already seeing someone."

Her mother's eyebrows shot up. "You're what?"

Her pulse thundered. Too late to backpedal. “Dating. I’m… I’m dating someone.”

Her mother’s eyes glittered with sudden interest. “Who?”

Panic clawed at her. Her gaze darted wildly around the room, and then —

The door opened.

Kael stepped in, tossing his keys onto the desk, expression unreadable.

Serenya swallowed hard. “Him.”

The world tilted. Her mother’s image sharpened with icy calculation. “That boy? The Draven heir?”

Serenya forced a bright, brittle smile. “Yes. Kael Draven. We’ve been… together.”

Her mother’s lips curled into something disturbingly close to approval. “Interesting. Very interesting. We’ll discuss this later. Don’t make me regret trusting you.”

The call ended.

Serenya dropped the phone onto the bed, heart hammering. What had she just done?

“Care to explain?” Kael’s voice cut through the silence.

She whipped around, ready with some flimsy excuse—

And froze.

Because Kael'd had his own phone, screen still warm from a call. And on that screen, his father's scowling face.

Kael held up the phone, his jaw tight. "Funny thing. I just told my father I was dating someone too."

Their eyes met.

Two lies. Two disasters. And only one solution.

The air between them was thick with the weight of it, the impossible devastation they'd just created.

“Looks like,” Kael said slowly, “we’re in this together now.”