I had gotten so used to being invisible that I started believing I was born to be overlooked. At Hillcrest High, I was the girl who blended into the background, quiet, plain, and unremarkable. People rarely said my name unless it was to borrow a pencil or copy homework. I wasn't bullied. That would've at least meant they noticed me. I was ignored, and somehow that felt worse.
Most days passed like a muted loop home, school, library, home again. My only real escape was sketching in the back of my notebooks, dreams I couldn't live out loud. Sometimes, I'd sit on the edge of my bed and stare out of the window, watching the world move in chaotic harmony. People were out there, living lives full of laughter, love, and excitement. Meanwhile, I was on the sidelines, a silent observer to everything I'd never have.
I kept my hair in a tight ponytail, my eyes low, and my voice quieter than the wind. I knew my place, and it was in the shadows, where no one expected anything from me. I had mastered the art of being unnoticed. It was the safest way to exist. I wore the uniform of invisibility, neutral clothes, a calm demeanor, and a routine that kept me occupied enough to forget about the ache of not being seen.
To most, I was wallpaper. Unremarkable. There was comfort in that, a predictable rhythm that I had come to rely on. It was easier this way, right? Easier to fade into the background than to face the unpredictability of human interaction. It kept me safe from disappointment, from rejection. And, if I were being honest, it kept me safe from the fear of not being enough.
The routine I'd built around my invisibility was comfortable. It didn't require much effort, just the occasional nod or smile when someone interacted with me. But mostly, I lived in the shadows. I was okay with it mostly. Until the day Ethan Donovan spoke to me.
He wasn't just a student, he was a headline. Star hockey captain, top of his class, and as annoyingly charming as he was, intimidating. People moved when he walked down the halls, a sea parting around his confident stride. His presence was magnetic. His every move was calculated, and even the teachers seemed to bend the rules when he smiled their way. Everyone wanted a piece of him, his teammates, the girls who giggled too loudly, even the teachers who bent the rules when he smiled their way. I had a front-row seat to the chaos, and it wasn't pretty.
I'd seen him before, of course, who hadn't? He was the embodiment of everything I wasn't: popular, athletic, and completely sure of himself. I, on the other hand, was the type of person you passed by without a second thought. My world revolved around making myself as invisible as possible. And I had gotten good at it. I was content with my place in the world. No one noticed me, and that was just fine.
So when his voice called my name during lunch, every head turned in confusion, including mine.
"Scarlet, right?" he said, sliding into the empty seat across from me like we were old friends.
I nearly dropped my fork. "Um… yes?"
He grinned, the corners of his mouth tugging up in that casually devastating way. "I need a favor. A big one."
I blinked, unsure whether this was some kind of joke. Was this Ethan Donovan, the guy everyone either adored or feared, really talking to me?
"What kind of favor?" I managed to croak, my voice barely above a whisper.
His smile flickered, dimming for a second. "I need you to pretend to date me."
I almost choked on my juice. "Excuse me?"
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "It's complicated. I'll explain, but I swear it's not a joke. I need someone who won't get… attached. Someone under the radar."
I stared at him, stunned. "Why me?"
He shrugged like it didn't matter much. "Because you're smart, quiet, and nobody would see it coming. That's exactly what I need right now."
I hesitated, each nerve in my body screaming that this was a bad idea. I wasn't the kind of girl who got tangled up in messes like this. But there was something about the way he looked at me, not like the others, but like he actually saw me.
I'd spent my life avoiding attention. Why now, of all times, did someone like him, someone who could have any girl, ask me? But there was something about the way he looked at me, almost as if he were desperate. Not for attention, but for something real. That made me pause.
"What do you get out of this?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
"Peace," he said, his tone heavy. "My family's on my case about dating, relationships, and settling down. They want me to get serious. I need them off my back. This fake relationship? It's just temporary. A few weeks, tops."
I hesitated, each nerve in my body screaming that this was a bad idea. I wasn't the kind of girl who got tangled up in messes like this. But… I also wasn't the
kind of girl who ever had a chance to step outside the lines. So why not?
"Okay," I whispered, not fully understanding why I was agreeing to this. "I'll do it."
His grin returned, wide and full of relief. "Thank you."
He leaned back in his seat, his eyes warm with appreciation. I could hardly breathe. For the first time, someone had seen me really see me and offered me something that was, without a doubt, more than I deserved. But how could I back out now? It was just a couple of weeks, right? A little fake relationship that would keep Ethan's family off his back. That was all.
But as I watched him turn and leave the lunchroom, the doubts began to creep in. Was this really a good idea? Was I just setting myself up for disappointment? There was no way to predict what would happen next. What if this whole thing became too real? What if it all went terribly wrong?
I hadn't realized how much I craved something different, something that could break the monotony. Maybe this was my chance. A chance to be more than just the quiet, invisible girl. A chance to step into a world I'd only ever watched from the sidelines.
It didn't sound complicated at all… until I realized the second he walked away, that my life was about to change. For better or worse, I had just made a decision that would force me out of the shadows.
And just like that, my invisible world started to crack.