and we played

Chapter 1

MYA

"Should we do a Cupid's Gift?"

Lukas looks at me with an eyebrow raised. I can't help but let out a chuckle as he places his hand on my waist and pulls me closer to him, brushing a kiss on my temple. Some girls would melt at this gesture. Some girls would feel their knees go weak.

I am not one of those girls.

Mostly because I know it's for the show.

"Don't you think they'll figure it out if we keep leaving them presents?", he asks me, whispering in my ear.

I look at him with wide eyes. "Last time we did it was at that ball in May. It's September now." A devious smirk appears on my lips. "And besides, what better way to begin the year than with a bit of drama? I'd say it's Venier's specialty."

Lukas laughs now, the sound seeming so honest. The upsides of having your best friend as fake boyfriend.

"They do love their drama, don't they?", he asks, mischief playing in his eyes now too.

He takes my hand and spins me around once, making my gown create a spectacle for everybody's eyes. It's then he places his arm on my shoulder, our fingers intertwined. We pass by the students staring at us, until we arrive at the photo-booth.

Our school has a flavour for drama. Since most of us here are born and raised in the Upper East Side, you could say it's in our blood. The parties, the glitter, the alliances and enemies, we do it all. Venier Private High School is like Gossip Girl brought to life.

Playing by the rules is out of the question. You need to make the rules.

Lukas takes a sit on the small chair inside the booth, and then he carefully helps me sit down on his lap. We both look at the screen, making the finishing touches. Lukas goes with a hand through his blonde hair, I arrange my brown one. My freckles are as always finding their way on my face, my lips are colored red. They match with the black dress I chose to wear today.

"Are you ready?", he asks me, looking at me a bit concerned. We both know what's coming.

I nod, and he presses the button on the screen, the small three starting the countdown.

He looks at the screen smiling, while my gaze is on him, looking at him like it would be just the two of us in the world. Click. He notices my gaze and turns his head to look at me too, our eyes meeting, our gazes colliding. Click. He comes closer, cupping my face in his palms, his lips a taunt of a kiss. Click. Our tongues meet, electricity flooding from our bodies, his hand being the only thing to hang on to. Click.

The sound of something printing pulls us out of the kiss. Mission completed. I smile at him as I press on the start button again. "One more round?", I ask. He nods, the smile on his lips now being a real one. He knows what's coming. I go closer to him, giving him a small kiss on the cheek, if only to leave a mark. Click. I let go and we stare at the camera, flipping it off. Click. We go back to back, crossing our arms at our chest. Click. I go incredibly close to the screen and squint my nose, while he sticks out his tongue in the background. Click.

As the two sets of pictures are down, Lukas offers me his hand and helps me go outside of the booth. His arm is around my shoulders as I take the last strip of photos from the small opening. Later at home, I'll put it on my pin wall. The first strip, we leave there. It seems like we forgot it, when in fact we did not. It's Cupid's Gift. By tomorrow morning, the whole school will have seen those photos. People will be talking about the school's "it" couple.

The world loves stories. They love to fantasise about things. We're just giving them something to fantasise about.

I look at Lukas, showing him the strip with us being, well...us. He sinks his lips on the top of my head, assessing the pictures. He points at the one with me kissing his cheek.

"This one", he adds.

I nod, making a note to myself to cut it out later and bring it to him tomorrow at school. From the four photos, he always chooses one to keep, letting me keep three. Maybe not the fairest deal, but he never complains.

"Think they'll like our surprise?", I ask him, as we start walking to find our friends at one of the tables.

He nods, giving me an encouraging smile. "I think they'll love it."

I have to let my mouth twitch at that.