He was in a dark room. The silence was unbearable, and he couldn't hear the sound of his own heart or his breathing. There was just... nothing.

The floor was covered in an inch of water. It was cold, and black. He looked into the reflection and gaped at the features he had thought were lost forever. He was Ethan. The Ethan who had uneven features and bumpy skin, who hid behind thick black hair and who's dull brown eyes were perpetually sank into his face. He reached towards his face, the water rippling and distorting his reflection.

He flinched when he heard water splashing in front of him. He warily looked up to see someone walking towards him, trudging through the water. His heart sank in his chest as he realized who it was. Lucas. His face was hidden behind his hair, Ethan couldn't tell what expression he was hiding. Ethan tried to say something, but his voice was locked in his throat. He couldn't remember what Ethan's voice sounded like. He couldn't remember what he sounded like.

Lucas stopped a foot away from him, peering down at him. Even looking up at him like this, he still couldn't see his face. It was clouded in darkness. He couldn't even make out his features. His eyes, his nose, or his lips. In replace of his face was nothing... just a black void.

Suddenly, Lucas launched himself at Ethan, wrapping his hands around his throat. Ethan was forced onto the ground, trying to pry his deadly grip off of his neck. Ethan thrashed in the water, choking, desperate for air. Lucas just continued to strangle him, and fear prickled in Ethan's eyes as he looked up into the dark abyss. The abyss soon became all he could see. It enveloped his entire being until he, too, was nothing.

-

"Wake up!" Lucas practically fell out of the couch when he felt a harsh slap across his face. He winced in pain, staring up from his position on the floor to look up at his sister, Molly, who wore a devilish smile.

Lucas groaned and layed limp on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. He could feel his eyes growing heavy again, "Just a few more minutes..." He mumbled, preparing to go back to sleep.

"But your boyfriend is here to pick you up." She states.

Lucas sits up almost instantly, his eyes wide and alert as he searches the room. He soon spots Miles-no, Adonis, casually leaning against the back of the couch, peering down at him with an amused smirk. Lucas's features twist in disgust as Adonis speaks, "Good morning, beautiful. Hope you don't mind me stoping by. Thought I'd give you a ride," Adonis's lip quirks as he adds, "You drool by the way."

Lucas's face flushes as he wipes the drool from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He forces himself to his feet, "Why are you here?" He asks as he walks past a giddy Molly and an amused Adonis. Adonis is right at his tail as he walks up the stairs to his room. Lucas freezes at his door when he notices Adonis right behind him.

Adonis smirks at the small distance between them, and how Lucas pushes himself against his door to try and get further away from him, "We're dating, remember? It's only right that I give you a ride to school."

Lucas sneers, "Fine, whatever. But that doesn't mean you can come into my house whenever you want."

"Your sister invited me in." He innocently corrects.

"Of course she did," Lucas grumbles before turning around to open his door. He is about to close it when he notices Adonis is right behind him, prepared to follow him inside. Lucas's brows furrow together as he suspiciously eyes Adonis, "What are you doing?"

"What? We're both guys, I don't see the problem." Adonis has his hand held firmly on the edge of the door, barely noticing Lucas's efforts to close the door and keep him out.

"That's exactly the problem!" Lucas grunts, straining to shut the door, "Just... some privacy, please?!"

Adonis sighs and steps releases the door, allowing Lucas to finally slam it shut and lock it frustratingly. Lucas breathes heavily as Adonis only smirks to himself, leaning against the wall outside the door to patiently wait for Lucas. Lucas quickly rushes to throw on a hoodie and some jeans, pushing his feet into his pair of black converse and lazily tucking the laces into his socks. He throws his bookbag over his shoudler while attempting to fight his monstrous bedhead with a brush, only to give up and leave it messy as it is. He quickly swings open the door, surprised to see Adonis waiting for him on the other side. Lucas ignores him and quickly rushes down the stairs, Adonis right behind him. He quickly grabs a banana from the kitchen, and rushes towards the door. Molly watches intently, her eyes darting towards Lucas, to Adonis. She sips her apple juice with the hint of a sly smile. Lucas quickly opens the door and rushes outside, not wanting his mother to come down and see Adonis here and ask even more questions he really did not want to answer.

Lucas walks up to the passenger's door, as Adonis jogs up to the driver's door and unlocks the car. Lucas looks over his shoudlers, fearing someone might of saw them together. He quickly gets into the car when the door has been unlocked, slamming it shut behind him. He clicks his seatbelt into place, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing. Adonis amusingly watches him from the corner of his eye as he chows down on his banana, but doesn't say a word. He pulls out of the driveway and starts the drive to the school.

Lucas nervously bites the inside of his cheek, "You... you didn't tell Molly that we were dating, did you?" He really didn't want anyone finding out about them. His family included. He wasn't really worried that they would find out he was into guys, his mother made it clear she didn't care what gender he dated, as long as he was happy. He just didn't want them knowing Adonis was the one he was dating. This relationship wouldn't last very long, he would make sure of it, so there really wasn't a need to tell his parents about it in the first place.

"No, I didn't," Adonis starts, tapping the steering wheel with his fingers. Lucas breathes a sigh of relief and Adonis's brows furrow together as he sends suspicious glances towards Lucas, "Would that really be a bad thing? Tell me, Luke, are you really serious about this? I'm only going to tell everybody the truth if you prove to me you are serious."

Prove it? He wants me to prove it? If Lucas wanted Adonis to tell the school the truth, if he wanted to become the most popular person in high school, then he had to tell them. If he didn't, then Lucas's plan and only way of moving on to the next world would ultimately fail. There was no telling when he would get another chance like this. Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to mask the nerves in his voice, "How do you want me to prove it?"

Adonis smirks, keeping his eyes on the road, "We've got the whole day, don't we? Act like you really are my boyfriend, and if I believe you, I'll tell everyone the truth first thing tomorrow morning."

Of course it wouldn't be easy. It was never easy, "Remember what I said yesterday? That no one can know that we're dating at school?"

"Yes, I remember," His jaw clenches, "Kind of defeats the purpose of dating, don't you think? I want to show everybody that you're mine. But... if that's what you want, then fine. You've still got in between classes, bathroom breaks, no one has to see us together."

"I'm not yours, I don't belong to anyone," Lucas felt the need to clarify, his fists clenching together, "And that means we'd be alone. Remember my second rule? That you can't touch me without my consent?"

"You and your rules..." Adonis sighs, "Yes, fine, I won't touch you without your precious consent. But, that doesn't mean you can't touch me. You can touch me all you want, baby. I give you my complete and utter consent." He flashes his teeth, his eyes shining with excitement, "Because that's what boyfriends do, isn't it? Touch each other. Besides, I've got you for the rest of the day. You've got outside of school to prove it to me, too."

Lucas shudders, looking away from Adonis's heated gaze, "Don't call me baby..." He mutters under his breath. He really had to do this, didn't he? Play the part of Adonis's boyfriend. He really wished he didn't have to do this. If there was anything else he could of done, he would've done it. All he had to go was Adonis's word that he wouldn't go all pervert and touch him again. Was his word enough? How did boyfriend's act around each other in the first place? He had never dated anyone before, his only knowledge of relationships was from movies and tv shows, but he wasn't really into all that sappy crap and watched horror or detective shows instead. So he really was clueless when it came to this stuff. How was he going to prove to Adonis that he was serious? How was he going to prove that they were dating? He had to make Adonis believe it. He had to make himself believe it. 'Sai, what do couples do around each other? How do they act in a relationship?'

[Sai shall search the online database for answers...]

Lucas nervously waited. Was he really asking an artificial intelligence for advice on dating? Sai isn't even capable of feeling emotions in the slightest. Sai is the last person he should ask... or should he say thing? Last thing he should ask.

[Sai has found several websites detailing relationships and couples. There is a quiz Host can take to see if you and Adonis are compatible. Would Host like to take the quiz?]

Lucas frowns, 'What? I don't want to take a quiz. I already know we aren't compatible.'

[First question: How big is your partne-]

"S-Stop!" Lucas blurts out, his face flushing. He covers his mouth when he realizes he's said that out loud. Adonis eyes him curiously. Why the hell was that a question?!

"Stop what?" He questions.

Lucas shakes his head, "No, it's nothing."

Adonis continues to look suspicious, but shrugs it off, "We're here." He pulls into an empty parking spot and begins to put the car into park. He unclicks his seatbelt and notices Lucas staring at him intently with a serious gaze.

"I'll go in first, okay? Wait five minutes before getting out." Lucas tells him.

Adonis frowns before sighing and agreeing. He slumps back in his seat. Lucas stays in the car, continuing to stare at Adonis. I have to make him believe I'm serious. His eyes linger towards his lips. Couples kiss each other, right? That's a couple thing. I mean, all I really would have to do is give him a quick peck and leave before he can do anything. Just a quick peck... on the cheek. Couples kiss each other on the cheek too, right? But mothers do that too. Oh, just do it already, you coward! Lucas quickly leans in and Adonis moves his head just in time to catch Lucas's lips in a quick kiss. Lucas immediately pulls back, stunned as Adonis smirks triumphantly.

Adonis licks his lips, "See you later, baby." He puts emphasis on the last word.

Lucas grits his teeth before slamming the door open and rushing outside. He runs to join the crowd of students and Adonis watches him amusingly in the rearview mirror. He brushes his lips with his fingertips, so sweet.

-

This was going to be harder than he thought. He knew he was just pretending. But even so, he didn't even want to pretend to date Adonis. His true rival. His nemesis. He was everything that would bring Lucas to his ultimate demise if he played his part wrong. He shouldn't of used the pill in the first place if he knew what was going to come out of it, who was going to come out of it. But, this is for the best. If he had to sacrifice his shame and date his rival, then so be it. He just had to act accordingly. Act like his boyfriend. Act like he actually liked him.

He stepped through the front doors, taking his first step into the school. He flinched when he heard his name being called, "L-Lucas!"

He locked eyes with a nervous Charlie who was instantly at his side, having been nervously waiting for Lucas to get to school. There were bags under his eyes, and his hair was messy. Lucas raised a brow, "Charlie? What is it?"

Charlie grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him away from the doors, into a dark corner where people couldn't notice the pair talking. Charlie peered up at Lucas, "S-Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to talk to you at school."

Lucas frowned. He really didn't like that Charlie agreed so easily to the fact that they couldn't talk at school. Lucas didn't like it either. But, if his plan went right, and Adonis told the school everything tommorow, then talking to Charlie shouldn't be a problem. That was another reason he was doing this, so Charlie could stop being a target when he was really the victim. Lucas smiled warmly down at him, "Don't worry about it, what's up?"

Charlie was taken aback by how Lucas was so okay with him talking to him at school. He fought the urge to smile and continued, the eagerness returning, "Well, last night. Miles didn't do anything to you, did he?" Charlie stared up at Lucas with wide unblinking emerald eyes, glazed over with worry. His heart beat fast inside his chest as he thought of what might of happened without him around. He couldn't sleep because he was so worried about Lucas being alone with Miles. He didn't want anything to happen to his friend. He had to make sure he was okay.

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. Charlie was so nice. He shouldn't give him any more reasons to worry, "No, nothing. He just walked me home, is all."

"I see..." Charlie looked down at the floor, his shoudlers slumping with relief. "T-Then, I'll see you in class." Charlie shined him a smile before quickly dashing down the hallway. Lucas watched him with a similar smile, before it quickly disappeared when Adonis stepped in through the doors.

Lucas mentally swore to himself before straining himself to return the smile and approach Adonis with a faked friendliness, "Hey, morning!"

Adonis didn't acknowledge Lucas as his eyes were set on the departing Charlie. His jaw was clenched as he spoke, his voice harsh, "What did that brat want?"

Lucas's smile faltered but he kept up his friendly facade, "Nothing, really. Just said hi."

Adonis didn't say anything, and Lucas was close to his side as they walked towards their lockers. Adonis decided to focus on the closeness instead, staring down at Lucas with a neutral expression. He stared at the smile that was plastered on his face. Lucas felt nervous under his piercing gaze, scared that he knew that the smile was fake. So Lucas innocently peered up at Adonis and tilted his head as to question why he was looking at him. Lucas could practically feel the sweat roll down his forehead as Adonis only seemed to look at him more intensely. His azure eyes were unreadable, but they peered into his very soul. Lucas's teeth clenched together as he kept his eyes locked with Adonis. He wasn't going to look away, give him the satisfaction. After a long few seconds Adonis suddenly smirked, satisfied, before he threw his arm around Lucas's tense shoulder. Lucas fought the urge to push him off, but then realized that this was normal behavior for Miles. And Adonis was acting the part of Miles. So Lucas reluctantly let himself be dragged along by Adonis until they were at his locker.

This continued for the rest of the day until lunch came along. Adonis was at his side every minute he could be. Lucas pretended he didn't have a problem with it and begrudgingly smiled and acted like they were old friends.

Adonis was close by his side at Lunch, and he played the part of Miles a little too well. Lucas would of believed he actually was Miles if it wasn't for the hand that squeezed his thigh underneath the table. Lucas fought the urge to slap away the hand, fearing someone might see it. Lucas tensed as the hand rose further and further up his leg until it was right next to his crotch. Adonis smirked as he could feel Lucas's heated glare piercing holes into the side of his face. Lucas grabbed the hand under the table and wrapped his fingers around it, squeezing it as tight as he possibly could, hoping his grip would inflict the pain he so desperately wanted Adonis to feel. What did I say about touching me, asshole? Adonis only squeezed his hand back, moving his hand towards his lap and resting his other hand on top of their's. He was enjoying this, much to Lucas's disapproval. Just for the rest of the day... you can make it through today...

Lunch was over after an excruciatingly long 20 minutes, and Lucas was glad to rip his hand out of Adonis's grip. Adonis was close by his side again though as he walked Lucas to his next class, his arm around his shoudler. The pair stopped in front of Ben's class and Adonis leaned down to whisper in Lucas's ear, a smirk playing at his lips, "I wonder what else you can do with those hands." Adonis's grin grew as Lucas tensed at the words, but didn't say anything. Adonis left him with a, "See you later, baby," before turning and leaving him.

Lucas took a deep breath to calm his rising anger. Asshole. Perverted son of a bitch. You want to see what I can do with these hands? I'll fucking show you. I'll rip off your dick and shove it down your-

"Lucas, what are you doing just standing there?" Lucas jumped as he looked up to see a concerned Ben looking down at him.

Lucas took a second to regain his composure before smiling reassuringly. He forgot he was standing in the doorway, "Uh, sorry, Mr. Marks. Just lost in thought. I'll sit down now." He moved to step past him but Ben called after him.

"Wait." His tone of voice was stern and commanding, Lucas had no choice but to listen and turn to face him. Ben stepped towards his desk and Lucas went to follow him, nervously chewing the inside of his cheek. It was still the beginning of class and everybody was settling into their seats, talking amongst themselves. Ben sat down in his chair and leaned forward on his desk, crossing his arms and peering up at Lucas with a disappointed look in his eyes as he spoke, "Still hanging out with Miles, are you?"