Chapter 5: Mixers, Exposures, and a Fake Boyfriend

He didn’t reply until evening, but agreed to give me the materials. Said he was at the mixer and told me to come get them.

I had no choice but to agree.

Ten minutes later, as I was about to head out in whatever I could find, Lauren stopped me, eyes wide: "Girl, you can’t let him outshine you!"

She found me a wine-red dress—not super sexy, but beautiful and eye-catching. The perfect showstopper.

"I’ll go with you," Lauren said, hooking my arm. "I’m worried Chase will try to get back at you."

I was amazed: "Aren’t you worried your boyfriend will get jealous? ...It’s fine, there’ll be a lot of people. If he tries anything, I’ll just dump another plate of hot food on him."

She’d gone to the bar with me yesterday, and now she was coming to the mixer. If her boyfriend found out, he’d kill me.

"Don’t you have to meet Professor Clark today? I’ll call if I need you."

Honestly, I didn’t think some jerk hiding behind a screen could be that dangerous.

If he had any backbone, he wouldn’t be a parasite living off his girlfriend’s DoorDash.

"Alright... but if anything happens, call me right away, okay?"

Even after being convinced, Lauren still walked me to the door, fussing: "If things get bad... find Ryan, he’ll be there too."

...

So that’s why she was so eager for me to go—because Ryan would be there?

I rolled my eyes: "Got it—now go do your thing."

If Chase behaved, great. If not, I wouldn’t mind humiliating him in front of the whole school and ruining his dating prospects for four years.

Hmph, watch me steal the show!

The moment I walked into the mixer, all eyes were on me—

What’s going on?

Sure, I’m pretty, but at Silver Heights, full of smart, beautiful people, I shouldn’t be the center of attention.

But I soon found out why.

A bouquet of red roses appeared in front of me, offered by someone kneeling on one knee, looking up at me with deep emotion.

How romantic.

—If only it wasn’t Chase Miller.

"Brooke, I think there’s been a misunderstanding between us. That Marketplace listing was just a dare from a game of Truth or Dare with my roommates... Actually, I’ve always liked you!"

Chase’s face oozed with (greasy) emotion (literally), and from where I stood, I could see every acne pit.

"Even though you misunderstood me and did some... extreme things, I don’t mind. Today, I want to face my feelings and confess to you in front of everyone."

"Brooke, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend again?"

What a pathetic speech.

His roommates cheered like idiots, three guys making enough noise for three hundred: "Be together! Be together! Kiss her!"

Yeah, keep dreaming.

"Oh, a misunderstanding." I blinked. "You mean using a burner account to date me, then selling that account to someone else?"

"Your Truth or Dare games go that far? Even hand over your girlfriend’s contact info?"

"Oh right, I’ve got the screenshot Sam sent me."

I pulled out my phone and opened the image—Chase’s Marketplace chat record front and center: "‘Bro, enjoy your freebie’... That’s your ‘misunderstanding’?"

He was speechless.

"Any other misunderstandings? If not, give me the materials. I’m leaving." I tilted my chin at him. "Dumping hot food on you was nothing. Next time I catch you doing this, I won’t go easy—no matter who you’re hurting."

Cool Brooke, shocking Silver Heights!

With the materials in hand, I turned to leave, but got stopped again.

This time, a senior who’d been flirting with me for two years put on the same lovesick face as Chase:

"Brooke... I’ve liked you for a long time, too."

?

Did everyone lose their minds today?

At a mixer, surrounded by single and not-so-single students, do I have to shoot you all down one by one?

"Sorry, uh..."

Eager to get back to my dorm and finish paperwork, I took a step back, trying to be polite: "Um... Senior, we’re not really a match."

"What’s not a match? Brooke, what don’t you like about me? I can change."

Not liking you is enough. Why does there need to be a reason?

I kept thinking of ways to escape: "I just don’t want to date anyone right now, sorry..."

But instead of giving up, he pressed closer, demanding: "If you don’t want to date, why did you date Chase?"

...

Normally, acting heartbroken and unable to move on would be the safest play here. But I refused.

No way was I letting anyone think Chase mattered to me.

So, acting on impulse, I made a snap decision: "I’m not dating because I already have a boyfriend—honey!"

I grabbed Ryan, who’d been quietly watching from the crowd, and gave him a sweet smile: "Babe, someone’s confessing to me and you’re not even going to stop them? So mean."

Ugh.

I quickly looked away from his stunned expression and, before he could say anything, added:

"Senior, if you keep confessing, my boyfriend will get jealous."

"Thanks for liking me. We’ll definitely invite you to our wedding."

Before I could finish, Ryan pulled me out of the hall, stumbling along behind him.

He didn’t look happy—maybe I’d ruined his reputation.

I bowed deeply: "Sorry, you’re the only guy I know here, so I dragged you into this on impulse..."

"I—I can take responsibility!"

Not that I’d mind.

"No need." He was as calm as ever. "Why did you come alone? You knew Chase might try something."

"That guy who confessed was his roommate. They clearly planned this to embarrass you..."

I blinked. So that’s what was going on.

No wonder a normal person suddenly lost his mind.

But realizing this didn’t stop me from retorting: "He can’t hurt me. None of them can."

The slightly ambiguous mood vanished.

But I refused to back down, meeting his eyes: "As you can see."

"I have a mouth and hands—I can fight back or ask for help."

Ryan seemed to be thinking.

"Besides, I have you to help me." Realizing I was getting too serious, I quickly lightened up. "Right, hubby?"

He seemed to take my words very seriously:

"Sorry, I underestimated you—but still, be careful. If there’s no one you know nearby, don’t take risks."

Then a suspicious blush crept up his face: "...And stop calling me that."

I’m nothing if not stubborn, so I called him that twice more.

I had to admit, when usually stoic Ryan blushed, it was a treat.

"Aren’t you supposed to be working on your files? Go back to your dorm," he said, looking everywhere but at me, cheeks still red. "Don’t miss your deadline."

Aww.

A real-life pure-hearted boy in the 21st century.

When I looked up, I caught sight of the little beauty mark at the corner of his eye.

For the first time, I thought maybe getting dumped by a jerk wasn’t so bad—if not for that, I wouldn’t have given away a PS5, hit on him at a bar, or had him help me out today.

In a way, I should thank the jerk for giving me the chance to meet him.

After finishing my council tasks and writing assignments, Lauren suggested I join her friend group’s outing.

Her "circle" was really just her and her boyfriend, plus some of their friends.

I was bored, so I agreed.