Page 33 of My Fake Relationship With the Popular Boy
Jaxon didn’t answer me. We walked in silence for so long that I thought he wasn’t going to answer me at all, but then just as I finished my ice cream cone, he whispered, “No. Not now.”
eleven
After havingthe full day to ourselves, our teachers were oddly strict about us having to stick together as a class after dinner. I ate a lot while at the restaurant and was very ready to curl up for a nap, but they insisted we had to walk by some cool fountain that was supposed to be really pretty.
But the thing about taking a bunch of 18-year-olds to look at a fountain for twenty minutes is that there’s a good chance they will getverybored.
“It’s just a regular fountain, right?” Jaxon said to me. Our whole class was milling around the area, with our teachers watching us carefully.
“It’s a very… pretty fountain,” I said slowly. He stared at me. “Okay, yes, it’s just a fountain.”
Madison came up behind us and threw her an arm around each of us.
“Photo time!” she said happily. She had her phone gripped in her hand, ready to go.
“I don’t know, Madison,” I said. “It’s been a long day. I look gross.”
Madison gasped in horror.
“You do not look gross!” she insisted. “Tell her she doesn’t look gross, Jaxon.”
I looked to Jaxon, eyebrows raised. I was sure he had a battle going on in his head right then: the desire to insult me, as he would have before the fake relationship since he seemingly believed the terrible advice that was a way to get a girl to like you, and the knowledge that a boyfriend would in fact compliment his girlfriend in a moment like that.
To my surprise, he sounded perfectly sincere when he said, “You never look gross, Violet.”
Madison’s head snapped in my direction again. “See? You have to do it!”
“I don’t know…”
“Ugh, come on, Violet!” Madison dropped her arms and shoved me toward an empty area in front of the fountain. “Look, you’re already there, so now you have to take the photos.”
I rolled my eyes but gave in. When Madison wanted something, she didn’t back down, so I figured I might as well give in.
“Only a couple photos,” I said.
“Fine,” Madison said immediately. She pushed Jaxon over to join me. “Eli! Sabrina! Go stand next to them.”
Sabrina looked about as enthusiastic as me, but Eli pulled her along. We all awkwardly stood next to each other and smiled while Madison took pictures of us from every possible angle.
“How long is this going to keep going?” Jaxon muttered to me while keeping the smile on his face, lest Madison yell at him for ruining a picture.
“Way too long,” I muttered back. I loved Madison dearly but she did not do things halfway.
“Perfect!” Madison said. She looked at us over her phone. “How about some couple photos now?”
“I don’t know that we need…” I trailed off as Eli and Sabrina immediately moved away from the fountain, leaving Jaxon and I alone for photos together. I frowned. I really didn’t need more photographic evidence that this fake relationship happened after it was over. I looked at Jaxon pleadingly. As the only other person who knew this relationship was fake, I thought he might understand why I didn’t want to do this. “Jaxon…”
“It’s a good idea to get photos,” Jaxon whispered. “Couples love taking pictures together.” I couldn’t argue that, but I wasn’t happy about it either. That must have been written all over my face because Jaxon added, “Besides, Lewis is here. This is guaranteed to piss him off.”
I wondered if Jaxon knew that he could convince me to do almost by saying it would make Lewis angry. It certainly seemed like he had figured it out. Honestly, it made me a little angry that he had figured me out so quickly when I still felt like I barely knew him.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But you owe me.”
Jaxon smiled triumphantly and sent a thumbs up towards Madison, which she did back. He pulled me close. “Smile, Evers.”
I let out an annoyed breath but then forced a smile on my face for the photos. My trick for making my smiles look natural in photos was to think of a happy memory. Usually, I thought of something with Eli and Madison or my family. But to my surprise, I found that the only memory coming to me easily was the day I ran on the track with Jaxon during lunch — and even more surprising was how much it made me smile.
We did a few different poses, being directed by Madison, of course, who seemed to have decided she was now a professional photographer.
