On any other day, Youngbin would’ve probably rather killed himself to escape a meeting behind the school gym with Alex Hill. On this fine Thursday afternoon however, he almost anticipated it. Just a few hours ago, the two had exchanged their first words as they were waiting for their teacher- Youngbin waiting for her to help him out with a bullying problem, and Alex being threatened with consequences for being too cocky in class, as always. And fate had decided that this first meeting would bring them together much closer than anticipated.

Youngbin was about to become Alex’ boyfriend.

That’s right. Youngbin Lee, the school's favourite loser, and Alex Hill, the demon king, were about to start dating. Or rather, pretend to date. Maybe it was going to make the last few months at school more survivable for Youngbin, or maybe this decision was about to ruin him. But, and he had tried to hammer this into his own head, it was worth a try.

Because Alex wasn’t as bad as Youngbin had always feared. Feared, alright, that was the appropriate word. Alex had always been terrifying in his eyes. His attitude, his looks, his friends, the horror stories about him. It was almost a miracle that people didn’t straight up cower in fear whenever he strutted through the school's hallways- well, maybe some actually did.

But, surprisingly, Alex had already lost most of his threatening aura to Youngbin when he had confessed his plans to him. Alex was scared of looking like a loser. The untouchable Alex Hill was scared that his cool guy image would be destroyed by his petty ex girlfriend. A loudly barking hunting dog had turned into a noisy little puppy in the matter of minutes, at least in Youngbin’s eyes.

The two weren’t able to keep their conversation going in the classroom when Miss Fernandez had come back in after trying to save a freshman from being buried in a dumpster, so they had quickly set a meeting point after school, behind the gym.

“If anyone sees us there,” Alex had said, “it won’t even look suspicious. People go there to make out all the time.”

That was the first time that day something in Youngbin’s head had started blaring warning sirens. He hadn’t even thought of the implications of pretending to date. Dating. Being in a romantic relationship and all that.

Those alarm bells in his head, the same ones that went off when half the school made fun of a fake kiss on stage, were ringing louder now more than ever as Youngbin was leaning against the cold stone walls of the gym, right next to a small encased area that was supposed to house students bikes but had been locked off to most for a good two years now.

He knew he was going to have to hang out with Alex. Not a problem, really, he didn’t seem like a bad person during their short talk. Being around Alex would serve a purpose. But pretending to be in love with him was- He just hadn't thought about that part enough, and he kind of didn’t want to think about it much. Whatever. He could still decline the offer now. They were meeting to talk about specifics right now anyways, and if anything was getting too much, he could just-

“Youngbin!” Alex' voice, maybe too excited sounding, ripped Youngbin out of his own thoughts. “I kinda thought you maybe wouldn’t come.”

“To be completely fair, I didn’t really want to come.” Youngbin crossed his arms like he had seen Alex do it so many times today. Alex shrugged in response, putting on a huge grin.

It was weird. When Alex smiled, that was. He’d usually proudly wear his resting face, with eyes as sharp as knives, an expression that screamed ‘don’t mess with me’. Youngbin had never really watched Alex a lot before, but whenever they crossed paths, he’d either look done with the world, or carry a slight smirk, cocky and confident, but never had he smiled like this before.

It was a goofy smile, a little clumsy, but bright and genuine. It looked honest, as far as Youngbin could tell. And it almost seemed alien in a way.

“If you wanna chicken out, you still can, you know.” Alex now leaned against the wall next to Youngbin, and only now he noticed their drastic height difference. Alex’ boots had a good amount of platform, but there still must’ve been a 10cm difference between the two. And even though he and Kaya seemed to be about the same height, Alex still somehow looked more like a giant than she often did standing next to Youngbin.

“I might, honestly,” Youngbin admitted, looking to the ground. “The longer I think about it, the worse this idea sounds in my head.”

“No pressure, man. I’m not gonna force you to do anything. We can just go through the plan and then you decide if you’re up?”

Alex already had a whole plan ready to present? Well, what else was he supposed to do in school… certainly not going to class.

“Fine, I'll be listening. Just- One more time, why me? You could choose anyone, you could choose your friends, why me?”

“First of all, because you need my help.” Ouch. He was right, and Youngbin hated that. “And, I can’t just take my friends. First, most of my friends are lesbians or would rather die than date me. And second, that’d just be too suspicious, you know? I’d come off as desperate.”

Youngbin absolutely did not understand that, no. But, he still decided to nod either way.

“You’re the complete opposite of me. I would never date a guy like you for shits and giggles. No, the fact that I’m with a loser like you only proves how in love I am, you know? No offence, by the way.”

Once again, no, he didn’t get that. To Youngbin, this sounded like nothing but gibberish. But then again, he’d never been good with social stuff like that. With weird rules that people had made up about what was and wasn’t right and good and wrong and bad.

“And!” Alex lifted up his index finger like he was holding a lecture. “You’re an actor. Like you’ve proven that you can be fake-in love, and fake-kiss, and fake-feel. You were way too good for some school play. So obviously, that makes you perfect for this job.”

That was the one point Youngbin could get behind. Right. This was a role, in the end. It was just like a play, he was playing a character, together with Alex, and the school, mainly Alex’ ex, was the audience. And yet, there was one last thing-

“Why a boy, though? Why are you dating a guy?”

Now Alex blinked slowly, looking at him. That had been this one burning question. Why wouldn’t Alex just choose a girl and make life, acting included, easier for him? Wouldn’t that be so uncomfortable for him?

“Well, I’m bi, so-”

“You’re bi?”

“Wh- Yeah? You think a straight guy would just ask you to fake date him?” Alex let out a laugh.

“And- wait, how can you be sure that I’m-”

“I mean, I kinda just assumed you weren’t straight either. I trust my gaydar. You know, just based on vibes. Besides, back in the Shakespeare times or whatever, weren’t all actors male as well? Even if you were straight, I’ve got a feeling that you’d still be okay with it. You know, to make it historically accurate or authentic or something.”

Huh. Well, he wasn’t wrong. Alex was kind of smart, in a weird way. Youngbin liked the way he was thinking, at least sometimes. He may have been confusing at times, but sometimes his brain was quite… intriguing.

“Any more questions? Or do I tell you my ideas now?”

“Mh…” Youngbin nodded slowly. “Go on. What are you imagining?”

“Alright. So.” Alex pushed himself away from the wall, instead positioned himself in front of Youngbin as though he was about to hold an important presentation. “Here’s the deal. We date for a month or so. That should be enough for the rumours about Leia breaking my heart to spread and die down at the same time. After that, when nobody cares, we can quietly break up. Look, you can even dump me if you want.”

Youngbin watched Alex flail his hands, using them to explain the timeline right in front of him.

“We hang out in school together, show off in front of everyone I know, make sure we are seen. We’re all lovey dovey, especially around Leia. I’m gonna be the happiest man alive with you and she can watch me be in love like I’ve never been before. She gets jealous, and everyone thinks she’s the miserable one after our break up. And in turn- If Leo comes close to you, or anyone really, and thinks he can give you shit, your cool, badass, protective boyfriend slides right in and makes sure you’re alright. I’ll beat someone up if I have to.”

He clapped his hands once, still grinning at Youngbin, waiting for some kind of feedback. Well. What was he supposed to say to that? It was, to be completely honest, the most insane thing Youngbin had ever agreed to. And yet, it looked like he was going to agree. Just right now, the thought of going to school in peace was a temptation much stronger than the fear of, well… being in a public relationship, with a man at that.

“If I say yes,” Youngbin began after a deep inhale, and Alex’ smile became overwhelmingly bright, “how do you imagine our ‘relationship’ to look like?”

“Well… Depends on you and what you're comfy with, I guess. I’m thinking, hand holding and all that stuff, I’ll pick you up from class, introduce you to my friends, we c-”

“What about kissing?”

Alex hesitated, pressed his lips together as if to think about it, then grinned.

“If you’re up for that? Why not? Plus, you’ve got that handy fake stage kissing trick, don’t you? We can do that, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t know if I mind, honestly. I might mind.” Youngbin bit down on his lower lip, thinking. He had never kissed anyone, like properly, and there was no way that Alex out of all people was going to be his first, it naturally had to be a stage kiss. But then again, these kinds of things only looked real from certain angles. Youngbin shook his head a bit at the thought of actually kissing Alex on the lips, as if he tried to shake the thought out of his brain.

“It’s up to you, you can take your time and think about it. I’m not trying to push you to do anything.”

“Mhm… What about you though? Would you be okay with it? Kissing me, I mean?”

Surprisingly, Alex just shrugged, without another word. Well, he probably had experience. Actually, Youngbin could imagine him being the kind of guy to- well, date a lot, or kiss a lot, or do whatever kinds of things a lot. Youngbin on the other hand had never been in a relationship, or kissed anyone, or even just been in love. Alex was going to have to guide him through this, every step of the way.

Wasn’t it embarrassing? How Youngbin was 18 and didn’t know a thing about love? He didn’t know a thing about anything, really. And now there was Alex, who probably knew everything. Who had done everything. Who would find out that Youngbin didn’t even know how to kiss somebody, and then probably make fun of him.

No. No, first of all, they wouldn’t kiss regardless, so Alex wouldn’t find out, and second, Alex had by far been one of the nicest people at this school, and he seemed to absolutely not be interested in making fun of Youngbin, especially not for being inexperienced.

Maybe this could actually be some kind of practice round. Maybe Youngbin could use this to get ready for the real deal, once he was out of high school, and instead started visiting these prestigious performing arts schools his mother had always wanted him to attend. Perhaps he could learn a thing or two from Alex, and not just regarding dating.

“So…?” Now Youngbin finally looked into Alex’ eyes for the first time, like properly. Two dark brown eyes, shimmering slightly golden in the afternoon sun, sparkled right back at him. “How do we do this? What’s our story?”

“Our story?” The brown eyes blinked a few times.

“If we are playing the roles of two lovers, our characters need a backstory. How did we start dating? In case someone asks?”

Alex pursed his lips, and his top lip touched his septum piercing. He looked like he was thinking sharply.

“Well, I don’t know. I guess I asked you out? Because… you were glued to my desk and I thought that was cute?”

“Eh.” Youngbin shrugged, shaking his head. “Sounds like you pity me. Think of something more interesting. So romantic they won’t even question it.”

“Damn.” Alex leaned back against the wall next to Youngbin, his arms crossed, drawing shapes into the dirt floor with his heel. “You’ve got standards.”

“Of course I do. Can’t we come up with something that makes me look cool too? I’m doing this so I’ll look less like a loser after all.”

“Well, okay. Then let’s say on my way home, I got attacked by a mob of rabid dogs, and you rescued me by pulling out a sword and-”

“You’re awful at this, Alex.”

“You come up with something better then?”

“Well, yeah, I’m trying.” Youngbin pressed his lips together, thinking. He had read so many romantic books, a couple of fanfictions, had seen so many movies and musicals, shouldn’t he be a pro at coming up with a cheesy love story? Probably, but most of the stuff he could come up with on the spot was just- unrealistic. At least he was pretty sure it was unrealistic.

He started swaying his head side to side to get his brain to think. There simply didn’t seem to be a reason for someone like Alex to fall in love with someone like Youngbin. Youngbin wasn’t the kind of person to be- well, to be loved. He really was just a weirdo, not even in a fun way. He really was just the weird autistic queer looking theatre kid, and even if someone thought he was cute, their opinion would change quickly as soon as he opened his mouth.

Alex could never like Youngbin.

And the same way, Youngbin could never like Alex. The mere thought of Youngbin developing feelings, actual romantic feelings for anyone at all made his stomach twist and turn, like it was wrong of him, like he didn’t deserve to feel such things.

Even though Youngbin had a wild imagination, maybe this was out of his league.

“It was love at first sight,” Alex suddenly declared.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve been crushing on you for a week or so. I ran into you, I accidentally pushed you to the ground, and when I looked at you, you looked at me- In a way nobody ever looked at me.”

Oh, it looked like Alex had a plan now. All while Youngbin was struggling to even imagine anyone liking him in the first place.

“You- you just looked at me like I was-” Alex turned his head, staring Youngbin right in the eyes, like he was suddenly struck with inspiration. “You made me feel different, you know. You didn’t look at me like you were scared of me. You looked at me like you’d look at any other asshole.” He grinned. “Like you’re looking at me right now!”

Youngbin furrowed his brows. He sadly was unable to see his own facial expressions, so he could only guess the way he looked at Alex.

“And I had this moment, like, wow. He sees me in a different light. And I just fell for you. And then for a week straight the only thing I could think about were your eyes, or your face or something. The way you look at me. You know, all that. And today, I finally asked you out.”

Youngbin blinked.

“What are you even saying, Alex…?”

“I’m coming up with a genius backstory for us, duh!” He put his hands on his hips and smiled victoriously. “You were just not like the other boys, and that’s why I fell in love with you.”

It did sound weird, ‘I fell in love with you’, felt like those words should be forbidden around Youngbin.

“So I spent a week yearning for you and today’s the day I ask you out. Like, right now, after school. I’m asking you to be my boyfriend right now.”

“Wow. Okay. And my answer is what?”

“Well.” Alex grinned, tilted his head a little. “Depends on you. What is your answer?”

“W- I mean, it has to be yes, right?”

“So! Say it!”

“Huh?”

“Youngbin Lee, will you be my boyfriend?” His tone was overdramatic, and he put emphasis on the word ‘boyfriend’, putting his hands on his heart.

“Uh- Yeah. Sure. I’ll be your boyfriend.”

“Yeah! Happy to do business with you!”

Alex now held out his hand, straightened his back as he looked at Youngbin with sparkling eyes. Youngbin hesitated at first, then took the offer and shook his hand. It felt as though Alex’ hand was twice as large as Youngbin’s, they felt rough, cold, and Youngbin only now noticed a large scar across the back of Alex’ hand. This was the first time the two had touched. The start of something… potentially awful, or maybe of an adventure.

“Then we have a deal.” Their hands stopped shaking, but Alex didn’t let go just yet. “You’re saving my ass, Youngbin.” A satisfied smile was plastered across Alex' face as he squeezed Youngbin’s hand a bit.

Maybe there was a bit of pressure now. Alex was so sure that being with Youngbin would save his reputation, but really, what if he became a target instead? What if this resulted in the exact opposite? There was a possibility of Youngbin suddenly becoming well respected, but-

Wasn’t Alex embarrassed to walk around with Youngbin? If he wasn’t now, he surely would realise how much this plan could backfire later during their ‘relationship’. He could easily become the school’s newest clown, the newest victim- Well.

Maybe not. Because there was a key difference between Youngbin and Alex. Alex didn’t let people mess with him. To mind came the fateful ‘Dennis Nelson Incident’, and though Youngbin didn’t know for sure what happened and why, that fight pretty much sent a message. Don’t mess with Alex Hill.

“You know what, I should treat you, as a thanks. Let’s grab some tea today. Or coffee. Or whatever you’d like.”

“Let’s- what?”

“If you’re free today-” Alex grinned, still not letting go of Youngbin’s hand. “-we should go out for some food! You know, get to know each other, now that we’re dating?”

“Oh, uhm- I don’t know… You don’t have to do that-” Youngbin stared at their hands, Alex still having him in a tight grip. There was no need for Alex to take him out as a thanks, after all, the deal was already beneficial to both of them, no ‘paying back’ or doing anything as a thanks needed.

And most importantly, Youngbin just couldn’t imagine the two of them going anywhere and having a good time. He wasn’t the best person to have a conversation with, and it’d surely only result in an awkward meeting- which wasn’t all that good if the two were supposed to be close for a whole month.

“Hey, just- see it as a date!”

As if that made it any more appealing to Youngbin.

“As in, a practice round, you know? Like a, what’s it called? Dress rehearsal? I’ll take you out to a café and then I’ll introduce you to my friends there, and we can get into the role or whatever! Our first ‘date’!” Alex would’ve done air quotations with both hands, if one wasn’t still busy gripping Youngbin’s like his life depended on it. “And also, we still have to do a little talk about what to do and how to start and all. And, I’ll pay for you, obviously.”

Youngbin just sighed. Free food, huh… What an evil way to manipulate him. But okay. It couldn’t hurt to try and get to know Alex a bit more, even if he was risking scaring him away for being too boring.

“Alright. Why not.”

“Yeah, alright!” Alex started shaking Youngbin’s hand again, before finally letting go. “Some friends of mine have this nice cafè. I’ll invite you! It’s gonna be great.” He crossed his arms again, as if that was his default pose to strike. “Give me your number? I’ll text you the location later. ‘Cause I’m gonna have to piss off for now, some friends are waiting for me.”

Youngbin pressed his lips together as he pulled out his phone. Nobody had ever asked for Youngbin’s number, and he still thought of all those internet safety PSAs, all that stranger danger talk, that had ingrained into his head that a phone number was something you’d never share with anyone. Which obviously wasn’t the case in today's times. And yet, this was- like a huge step into a direction Youngbin couldn’t quite pin down just yet.

But, and Youngbin had to keep this in mind, he did it for business reasons. It wasn’t like he gave Alex his number because he was interested in him. It was to make planning easy, and Youngbin knew that Alex wouldn’t exchange a single message with him otherwise. Which wasn’t a problem to him, but a bit sad nonetheless. Guess it proved that Youngbin just wasn’t the type of person to be friends with.

“Cool!” Alex let his phone slide back into the pockets of his leather jacket after saving Youngbin’s number, then sank his own hands into his pockets as well. “Thanks again. You’re my hero, for real. I’ll text you!” He bowed his head a little, and before Youngbin could answer, Alex had already turned around and walked off, leaving him alone behind the gym.

Had Youngbin actually just agreed to this? Had he just agreed to date Alex Hill? The realisation hit him for the nth time today, and it still hit like a truck.

Kerning

Chapter 2 - the deal

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