The smells of cinnamon buns, churros and funnel fries did laps around the cafeteria. There was an idle hum of chat, as just a few students lingered back to snack on foods that were only available "after-hours". It wasn't uncommon to hang out here, especially on week-days when you had to get approval to explore the city a few miles away.

My eyes scanned the room, looking for curly brown hair and tanned skin, before landing on my target. Carter's eyebrows rose as I came closer and with a mischievous grin, he pushed a paper cup full of mozzarella sticks my way.

"Want one?" He asked, looking gleeful as ever.

The alarms in my head rang out "no!". Do not take his offerings or his bribes. He's black-mailing you!

But the tiny, tiny voice inside my head spoke up. Mmm, cheese sticks.

"So what's the deal?" I asked after taking a bite. I sighed in peace as the cheese stretched with a pull.

He decided to pass the marinara sauce, too, before replying. "I'm about to make your dreams come true."

"What?"

Instead of responding, he gestured to come closer. Confusion in tow, I did. Then he gestured again and again until I had popped the rest of the snack in my mouth and was close enough to his lips that he could whisper.

"You get to be my girlfriend."

It was like I'd been punched in the throat and suddenly, I was choking. I imagined I looked like one of those dolls whose eyes get bigger when you squeeze them, except I was making weird noises, too.

Carter rushed to grab his water bottle, but I tapped my hand against his arm and his head spun in my direction.

With effort, I managed to choke out some words. "What did you say?"

He must've realized I would live because the small smile he tried to hide didn't go unnoticed.

I couldn't believe him.

"You almost killed me!"

This time, his eyes got wide. In an extravagantly overblown voice, he replied. "How dare you accuse me of such a crime!"

"Don't say things like that! What do you mean girlfriend?" I asked, unable to hide how appalled I felt.

"Okay, okay," he started, his hands in the air. When I didn't react, he grinned and handed me his water bottle. "Maybe I came off a little strong. Drink this and let me give you some background information."

I frowned, but took a sip nonetheless.

"Now you know I attract the ladies," he said, his grin looking smugger than usual. "But there's a certain girl who seems to like me a little more than most. Her name is Nala. She, um, writes me a love note every other day and puts it in my locker. She's probably tried to get with me, like, twenty times through you. Sometimes she'll mention me on the announcements, or send me chocolates."

My mouth hung open. I mean, Nala? Really? She was part of student council and had been close with Seidon for years, so the idea that she was borderline obsessed with Carter seemed unrealistic.

But as I thought about it more, it was true. She had sent a lot of requests for him and once in a while would mention him over announcements if she had the chance (which was odd enough), but I never realized it was to this extent.

His eyebrows started furrowing as he continued. "I've told her a few times that I'm not looking for anything like that, but she refuses to take no for an answer. Right now, I'm safe. She's doing a study abroad thing and isn't coming back til later. So, I was thinking..."

I had an idea of where this was going.

"When she gets back, she finds out I have a girlfriend and gives up! What do you think?"

Now, let me put this out there. I really don't like lying. Honesty has always been the best policy for me, and I would've told him to just talk to her and communicate if it weren't for the fact that he'd already tried it.

His topaz eyes begged me for help.

I was a kind soul, and having heard the woes of my blackmailer, I decided to do what kind souls do.

"Fine," I agreed. "So I'm just pretending to be your girlfriend for now? And once you get a real one—""

His face lapsed into confusion. "Wait, what?"

"What?"

"What other girlfriend?" His confusion suddenly transformed into something playful as he leaned forward. "You're the only one for me."

That earned a scoff. "We can't keep lying forever, Carter."

"Why not?"

"Because," I started. "I'm an honorable person."

"I'm an ornery person, too." He said, a twinkle in his eye.

I couldn't remember if he was always like this, and decided I'd check my file once I got home. "You mean annoying."

Carter's honey eyes rolled. "How are you going to find me a girlfriend if we're trying to convince the school that you're my girlfriend?"

"You can meet someone from a different school!" I started, but Carter's expression showed resignation as he began to find interest in something else. "We can set up dates and--"

A mozzarella stick shoved into my mouth.

Not thinking about it too much, I took a bite. "What was that for?"

"It's part of the plan," he said, a crooked smile planting its way back on his face. I followed his gaze and skimmed the cafeteria, noting how many random people watched us.

"They're really flirting."

"He fed her! Oh my God! Do that to me!"

"I should've gotten mozzarella sticks instead of fries."

I only made out a few more responses before he took the half-eaten stick from my hand and popped the rest into his mouth. My eyebrows creased as I looked at him in disbelief, but he was shrugging his backpack on once again.

"I'll see ya later...babe," he said. Carter threw me an excessive wink before leaving me and my half-opened mouth alone.

♥ ♥ ♥

The next day went by without too many theatrics. Carter had said a couple things here and there during first hour, but it was our only class together. I knew I'd get used to it eventually.

After all, I had agreed to be his girlfriend.

Since it was after school, I hung back and made myself comfortable on the pool bleachers. The sounds of splashes and whistles echoed against the room, and the crinkled water outlines shone against the curved white ceiling.

Since Seidon was the swim captain, he spent a lot of his time here. It was boring being alone in the dorm all the time, so I'd hang out, too. It was also a good chance for me to get information on the guys. I'd watch how they interacted with each other, or if there were any who were rude or obnoxious, and write it down in my files.

Just as I was about to jot something down on my phone, my name pierced the ambience. "Dite!" A familiar deep voice yelled.

My head flashed up, black hair flying up as I did, before I was met with the sight of Carter, his arms waving above his head at the edge of the pool. His hair was darker now that it was wet, and his bangs plastered against his face. Water droplets fell off his shoulders and I might've looked for a second too long.

As everyone glanced in my direction, my face flared up, and I felt Seidon's blue eyes give me a questioning look before I tried to sink as far into the bleachers as I could.

A girl with short red hair and freckles turned in my direction. She sat a few rows below me, though I'd never seen her before. "You know Carter?"

"Oh, well, kind of," I started. My fingers tangled as I glanced away. After a slight pause, I added. "We're, um, dating."

A flash of surprise struck her face, but she was quick to put it away. "Wow, really? That's so cute!" she exclaimed. "By the way, I'm Emily. Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Oh, I'm Dite. And no, you can if you want." I scooted over so that she could join me and realized it'd been a while since someone had approached me like this.

Well, aside from Carter, but that was totally different.

"No one really hangs out here, so it's nice," Emily said, fanning her skirt over her legs. She gave me a gentle smile and I noticed that her eyes were green.

"When did you start coming?" I asked. "I never saw you last semester. At least, never in here."

"Oh! Yeah, my best friend is out of the country right now, so I've just been hanging out. It's a lot nicer here than it is at my dorm since I don't get along with my roommates that much," she said.

Unfortunately, her best friend sounded somewhat familiar.

Emily sighed. "I really miss her."

"I bet she misses you, too." I said. " It's fine if you want to hang out here with me until she gets back."

I was being genuine, since it wasn't the worst thing in the world to have some company. Plus, I knew Seidon would get off my back about having friends if he saw me interacting with her during practice.

Emily gave me another smile and nodded. "I'd like that."

Maybe I would, too.

♥ ♥ ♥

"So," my brother started once we got home. Somehow, I'd avoided talking about it on the walk here, but now that we were in a confined space, he was ready to start the interrogation. "What's the deal with Carter?"

"Well, um, some things happened." My words trailed off as I brought my hand to the back of my head and thought of a way to explain. Carter was blackmailing me, yeah, but for some reason, I wasn't completely upset about that.

So I had bad judgement. We already knew this.

"Like you finally made a friend?" He almost grinned, but my glare put a stop to that immediately.

"Okay, first of all, ouch," I began. "I am totally capable of making friends. Sometimes. And secondly, well...we're not exactly friends, but..."

Seidon continued to stare at me when I didn't continue, and I mimicked the curiosity laced in his expression. He must have realized he wouldn't get anywhere with silence, so he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms against his chest. "But what?"

"He found out," I mumbled towards the floor.

"What?" he asked, pushing himself off the wall and leaning closer. "I can't hear you."

Unfortunately, there was no escape now. With a gulp, I met his gaze with my own and paused for dramatic effect. "He knows who the Maker is."

Seidon's narrow blue eyes morphed into orbs as he took a step back and gawked at me. "How? You've kept it a secret since like second grade!"

"Ugh, I know, I know," I started. "It's my fault. He was looking at my phone in class and I forgot to turn off the notifications and--"

"Is he going to tell anyone?"

"No," I shook my head firmly. "We have a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Seidon asked skeptically.

"We're dating," I said. My brother made a face, half disgust, half pity (for Carter, I could tell), before I added. "Fake dating."

"Wait, he wants to date you?" Seidon asked, feigning astonishment. At least, I hoped he was faking it. "Why?"

I knew Seidon was close with Nala, which meant he more-than-likely knew who she was crushing on. I didn't want to give anything away, so I just shrugged my shoulders and put on a clueless face. "I'm not sure, he didn't tell me. But I know he's going to keep my secret."

Seidon's eyes lingered for a second before he glanced away and frowned in thought. "Well," he started. "I've never had any problems with Carter before, but just..."

He sighed.

"Be careful."

"I'm always careful."

♥ ♥ ♥

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hi hi guys ! what do you think of carter??

i don't have too much to say rn except please stay safe (especially with schools starting up again) AND send me messages for help! i'll write them down in the "dear maker" segment for the next chapters (:

i love you all!!

mwah

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