CROSS MY HEART, pll

01. let's play pretend

[let's play pretend]

Roman leaned lazily back against his seat in English class, kicking his long legs onto the seat in front of him. He figured showing up to his classes wouldn't be too terrible, he used to do it all the time, just show a tad more effort and his parents would get off his case. Spencer was the one that usually caused more trouble for the family, anyways.

He looked back to see her friends Aria and Emily staring at him, and with a sly grin he nodded his head towards them. The two smiled back awkwardly and looked away, probably embarrassed they'd been caught looking. He wasn't surprised though, he knew he looked and presented himself much differently from the last time Aria had seen him.

"Excuse me." The inauthentic comment followed by his legs being thrown off the chair they had been resting on alerted the boy to Hanna Marin.

She rolled her eyes as she swiped away the dirt on the seat.

"You couldn't have found someone else's chair to do that on?" The blonde huffed.

"Last time I checked, your name wasn't on it, Marin." Roman replied, moving his feet into a comfortable position on the ground.

"Okay this is so not a teen movie, dial it back a bit, Roman." Mona, who had been observing closely cut in.

"Do you always have a chihuahua barking for you?" The Hastings boy questioned, him and the blondes gazes catching one another.

Hanna let her eyes roll as she glanced toward the side, noticing Spencer walk into the classroom.

"Your brother is being a nuisance." The Marin girl spoke to her, a playful grin in her eyes. Anyone from a million miles away could tell Hanna and Spencer missed one another, hell, the whole group missed each other but, people grow apart, and Allisons disappearance sped that process up quite fast.

"No surprise there." The boys twin replied, sending back the same smile as she headed to her seat.

Before Roman could get another word in, the bell rung sending all the students to their seats, staring at the front of the class. Their new teacher  entered the room and scribbled his name on the board happily. He seemed quite young, and untainted, Roman knew soon enough teaching would wear that smile down.

"Holy crap." The teacher muttered, his eyes landing on Aria as Roman's followed them there.

Something was up there he noted, not that he cared to figure out what.

The boy knew far too many secrets already.

Harlow Marin was Alison Dilarentis 2.0 or at least, that's what she wanted to be. The girl followed the queen bee around like a lost puppy, right up until her death. Roman knew her because of this, and while Spencer was all about the book smarts, Roman preferred being socially smart.

If his parents wanted him to move on from what had happened last year, and it got them off his case, he would pretend. What better way to pretend than get a girlfriend? A fake one at least, he knew good and well him and Harlow were not compatible.

He also knew it was a deal she could not refuse.

Dating Roman Hastings was part of Alison's empire. They were the "it" couple before their breakup, even after Roman had found out the blonde cheated on him. It was Harlow who had broken the news to him, which earned Harlow a cold shoulder from her idol.

Though Roman was grateful, he stayed with Alison until the blonde broke it off.

"Little Marin." The Hastings boy leaned against the locker beside hers, the girl letting out a sigh at the nickname. "I have a proposal for you."

"Whatever it is, i'll pass." She replied quickly, seemingly annoyed by the boys presence. She had justifiably been angry at him since she ruined her friendship with Alison to tell him the truth, only for him to stay with the queen bee.

The blonde turned to walk away and Roman slyly walked around her, blocking her from going forward.

"Alison warned me about you Hastings, always persistent." Harlow leaned against her locker with a sigh, blowing a strand of hair from her face.

"So, she also probably told you we always get what we want. Right now, I want you." Roman didn't even get the chance to continue with his speech as the Marin girl interrupted him.

"I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole, Roman." The blonde denied, rolling her eyes.

"Great, cause that's kinda the plan." He searched the hallway for any listening ears then went back to speaking. "All I ask is that we pretend to have a little thing going. You know, hold hands in the hallways a few minutes, show up at a few dances with each other. Get my parents off my back."

"That sounds like a really great situation for you but what do I get out of this?" Harlow questioned, her patience wearing thin.

"Hallway cred, maybe those rumors of you staring at the girls swim team a little too long stops, its really a double whammy when you think of it." Roman watched as the girls faced dropped, the little color she had in her face leaving. "Don't worry, I could care less about who you like to kiss. I've got enough problems to be judging everyone else."

"If you ever tell anyone about anything you just said just know—"

"Let me take a wild guess here and say you know things about me Alison knew." The Hastings boy shrugged. "I wasn't scared of her, what makes me think you threaten me, tiny Marin?"

"Just don't screw me over." Harlow pushed past the boy and walked down the hall, leaving a smile on Roman's face.

"Does that mean we have a deal!?" He yelled down the hall.

The young Marin girl put her hand in the air to signal a yes, leaving Roman to mumble one simple thing beneath his breath.

"Amateur."

AUTHORS NOTE —
It's been awhile since I posted and that's why this is a little short, i'm trying to get myself back into writing so I hope this is not too choppy.

How do you think this Roman/Harlow situation will go?

Hope you enjoyed!