it had been hardly a week at your new school, hope's peak academy, and there were already relationships blooming. well, mostly mutual feelings! apart from one.
a tall boy in your class named byakuya togami had caught the eye of a certain purple haired girl. sitting behind the two of them in class, you were forced to listen to their endless bickering. she refused to leave him alone, sometimes seeming crazier than the previous day. his annoyance seemed to grow as she professed her erotic thoughts and feelings for him. listening in to it was understandably startling. it felt as if you were walking in on something you weren't supposed to.
about two weeks into the year, togami approached you at the end of class. he set a hand down on your desk, his refined glare startling you. "i need you to go out with me." you immediately tensed up, backing away from your desk. "i..i'm sorry?" you responded meekly, disturbed by the entire ordeal. your classmate adjusted his stance, his demeanor giving off an even scarier feeling. "listen, this is going to sound very odd..i know i wouldn't associate myself with someone like, well, you," he looked you up and down. "but that freak, fukawa, is after me. i need someone to get her off my back."
you swallowed, adjusting your position and leaning in a little closer, as to make sure no one overheard. "..so you want me to pretend to date you?" togami's breath caught in his throat, before he tapped his fingers on your desk, regaining his composure. "that's correct. you need to play a good part, okay? i'll make sure something's in it for you as well."
a bit frightened by him, you hesitantly agreed. "uh..sure. so do we just hang out around school?" the blonde scoffed, adjusting his collar. "what are you, a fool? i apologize for mistaking you as a worthy candidate of my love, i will go find someone else." he began to walk away, before you grabbed onto his wrist. "w-wait!" he glanced back at you, startled by your sudden change of personality.
"i want to do this. i haven't connected with anyone at this school yet. if i can help you out, i'd love to give it a try." togami looked you up and down, staying silent for a moment. "..very well then. have you any idea how we're to do this? or do i need to explain everything?"
you looked down, embarrassed. sure, this could be your first chance at making a friend in this school, but how was it supposed to be with, well, him?! he's almost impossible to converse with!
"i'll take your silence as a no. well, i'll need you to hang around with me a fair amount. outside of school 'dates' are mandatory as well." you seemed a bit startled at the mention of a 'date', even though it was all fake. "here, let's head down to the cafeteria. that's certain to get a fair amount of attention from the others."
you nodded, following after him. "ah, togami?" you started. "please, call me byakuya. do you want this to look real or not?" he retorted. "alright, um, byakuya..are we supposed to hold hands or something, just to make it look more realistic?" byakuya rolled his eyes at the mention of affection. "you commoners and your physical touch..it sickens me. very well then." he reached out a hand for you to grab onto. you shyly grasped onto it, the cold temperature of his fingers making you shiver.
once you entered the cafeteria, you realized how byakuya was right in every aspect. it immediately caught the attention of your classmates, especially a few girls; one of them being toko fukawa. your swimmer classmate, aoi asahina, ran up to you. "y/n, since when did you-??" you weren't sure how to respond, making a small noise as byakuya dragged you away from her. you soon realized where he was dragging you: the corner where toko was.
the look in her eyes when she looked upon byakuya was full of love, obsession, and pure lust. once she turned to look at you, those bright feelings shattered down into nothingness. she glared at you, making a deadly pit form in your stomach.
"w-who is she?!" she immediately yelled, shaking her finger and staring at byakuya with a need for approval. he looked her up and down, pointing his chin upwards to look down upon her. "..my girlfriend. what does it matter to you?" you blushed, watching as byakuya kept a straight face during this all..had his family taught him to master a poker face? it was almost impressive how not even a hint of a smile edged at the corners of his lips.
a bloodcurdling scream left toko's lips. "m-master, why would you..?! i thought we were..!" byakuya cut her off, leaning towards you, your noses almost touching. toko knew what was going to happen, screaming and running off. her wails could be hear throughout the hallway, before a door was slammed.
"were you about to..?!" your cheeks burned a shade of pink as he pulled away. "tch, of course not. i was merely acting. i wouldn't kiss you if my life was in danger." he pushed his glasses up, turning away. "..meet me in the dining hall after school. we're to share a book and some coffee. civet coffee only, of course."
you nodded, heading off quickly. how the hell did you get yourself sucked into this in just one day?! in any other world, boys like byakuya would never pay attention to you. never in your dreams, even.
soon enough, the final bell rang. you rushed to the dining hall before the hallways filled up. sitting in a chair drinking coffee was none other than byakuya. "..you're early." he set his mug down, uncrossing his legs. "you're early aswell. stop trying to make small talk and tell me more about how this plan is going to work."
your brows furrowed, confused. "tell you more..?! weren't you the one who proposed the idea to me?" he snickered at your response. "jokes, of course. you are to tell your friends we're dating. i've decided we started 'dating' a few days ago. don't be too overly affectionate in public. it disgusts me. and of course behind closed doors, we are not to converse in the slightest unless its about our plan. in return, i'll help you make a few friends. deal?"
you blinked. "uhm..sure. okay. that works." he flipped his hair to the side to get his bangs out of his eyes, grabbing a book from his bag. "..is that the newest novel by that famous serial killer?" you pointed out, intrigued. he froze at your words, blinking before turning towards you.
"..why yes it is. you read his books aswell?" you stood up from your chair, sitting next to byakuya. "well, of course i do! he's only one of the best sellers of the decade!" you responded, leaving him chuckling. "and here i thought my taste was obscure. interesting," he shut the book, returning it to his bag and instead pulling out a brand new hardcover. "..have you read this one? i'd like you to borrow it. i expect you to pay damage fees if anything happens."
your mouth opened a bit, startled. "ah..you'd really let me? i usually get my stuff from the library, but..sure! i do love to read, after all." byakuya seemed satisfied with your answer.
you set the book in your bag carefully, and after conversing with the boy a bit more, you packed up and returned to your dorms. that night, you laid in bed, reading through the book he had given you. it was the only thing you could really do to keep your thoughts off the stress of this entire situation. before you realized, it was 2 in the morning and you had finished the book. you yawned, setting the book back in your bag and curling up under the covers. you fell asleep practically the second your head hit the pillow.
the next morning, you were understandably exhausted. however, you headed off to your classes, meeting byakuya in homeroom. "good morning, y/n. did you sleep poorly? your eyes seem..dark." you yawned, covering your mouth. "yeah, sorry..i read the whole book last night. it got too interesting. here's your book back." you reached into your bag, returning it to byakuya. a nearby toko sulked into her seat, glaring at you as you conversed with her master.
"you're quite the fast reader. how about i share a few more of my favorites with you at lunch? i've got quite a few."
at lunch, byakuya did as he promised, lending you book after book. over the course of the next few days, you discussed the books you read over a small meal and coffee. "say, y/n, would you mind coming to my dorm tonight? this book's a bit longer than i'd expected, and i think we'd need more than a lunch period to discuss it." byakuya suggested, offering you an invitation to his room.
"oh, of course! i'll head over right after school." and so you waited, all throughout the afternoon classes, for the damned bell to ring. tapping your foot, your pencil, your fingers, anything you could fidget with, only seemed to make the time go slower. you couldn't understand why you were so excited to see him. it was just another meeting..except maybe it was different? you had never been invited to a friend's room, nonetheless a boy's.
once the bell finally rang, you quickly gathered your things and met byakuya outside of the classroom. he led you to his dorm, shutting the door behind you and locking it for, well, toko reasons. he sat down on a white chair, having you seated across from him on his bed.
"..to start things off, i found it interesting the way the killer didn't intend to kill the victim," he started. "he was only trying to rid a possible murderer, not realizing what he was doing in the process." you nodded along, adding small points to his remarks. "he just wanted to protect his friends. i find that sad. no one expected a gruesome murder at a small party like that."
as you two discussed further into the night, byakuya later edged closer in his chair to you. as you rambled on about your favorite books, he glanced at your lips, then your eyes, and returned to your lips once more.
you soon caught note of this. "..what?" you tilted your head, confused by his sudden actions. he remained silent. "..did i do someth-" you were cut off of finishing your sentence, as byakuya suddenly leaned in closer to you. you could feel his hot breath on you as your cheeks heated up.
"..byakuya, what are you doing..?" your eyes were wide open with curiosity, pupils dilated, seeing his face so close to yours. "practicing. it's all for acting, isn't it?" he gently leaned in further from there, connecting your lips.
his kiss was soft, yet slow and sweet. you could almost feel something in it, like it was more than just 'acting'. you blushed intensely as he pulled away, his face a slight hue of pink. "i thought you said we wouldn't practice behind closed doors?" you breathed, flustered by the entire ordeal.
byakuya caught his breath, before speaking in a clear tone. "what more can i ask of you? you're fun to converse with, your kisses are nice, i can't bring myself to even want to leave you behind closed doors.." he muttered, seemingly flustered as well.
"but it doesn't mean anything," he caught himself, standing up from his chair. "it's merely acting. i'm going to ask you to leave, so we don't get too off track for tomorrow." your heart jumped, confused by his sudden switch up. "is everything okay? i didn't mean to do anything wrong-" he left the door slightly ajar, his cold eyes meeting you.
"it's just acting to get a creep off of me. don't expect anything else."
and with that, byakuya closed the door on you, leaving you to head off to your room in the dark of the night.