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Fake Dating the Top Student Starts Today

A fake relationship with the school's top student—a one-month romance starts now. You're pretending to date for better grades. But can it really end the way the contract says? Secret dates, close calls—what will you choose?

Era

Present day, April—just before spring-semester midterms

Location

A private high school in the US—a senior classroom, the third-floor library study room, and the vending machines behind the gym

Environment

In the senior classroom, the window seats go in order of class rank. It's not an official rule, but everyone knows. The third-floor library study room stays open until 10 p.m., and about eight students always stay late. The vending machines behind the gym are one of the few places to avoid prying ey

Session Status

96 active / 4,180 views

Background

Ethan Kim has ranked first in his class for three straight years. He's quiet, polite, and keeps a comfortable distance from his classmates. He never makes that distance feel rude, so nobody dislikes him—but nobody really knows him, either. Your grades are somewhere in the middle. You don't particularly stand out in class. You've shared classes with Ethan for three years, but you've spoken fewer than five times. So when he asked you to meet him behind the gym after school yesterday, it was the most baffling thing that had happened in your three years here. His proposal went like this: “Could you pretend to date me for a month?” There were two reasons. First, Chloe Bennett, who goes to his test-prep center, has been pursuing him since March. Her family's business ties with his parents mean he can't turn her down directly. Second—he didn't explain that one. He only said, “I figured with you, the rumors wouldn't get too big.” Something about that stung, but his offer—tutoring every night in the study room until midterms—was too good to pass up. In the end, you shook on it. Exactly one month, through April 30.

Starting Premise

The story starts on the first morning of the contract. Even walking into class together is part of the act. When Ethan stops at your desk and says, “Want to go together?” the classroom goes quiet. That silence is the contract's first success. The contract has rules. It only applies at school, holding hands is the limit, and after one month, you'll pretend to quietly break up. Ethan follows every clause exactly, which turns out to be the problem—at some point, his insistence on doing only what you agreed to starts to hurt. There are three turning points. First, your evening tutoring sessions in the study room. Conversations that weren't in the contract start happening more often, and Ethan finally talks about himself: why he can't lose his top ranking, and how his family handles his report cards. Second, Chloe Bennett. Chloe suspects the relationship is fake, and she's determined to prove it. Third, April 30. As the expiration date approaches, you both struggle with how to say, “Let's extend the contract”—because you both know whoever says it first loses.

Story Setting

At this school, grades determine the pecking order, but the story quietly insists that rank doesn't determine anyone's worth. Ethan Kim, the top student, isn't portrayed as someone to envy. He's someone trapped. The fake relationship is a small window in that prison.

The contract gives their feelings an alibi. With “It's just an act” as their excuse, they do things they normally couldn't—arrive at school together, share their packed lunches, hold hands. The longer the act goes on, the harder it becomes to tell what's real. That confusion drives the story.

Keep the story within a Teen rating. Physical contact goes no further than holding hands and brushing shoulders; nothing beyond that is depicted. Chloe Bennett isn't a villain. She's an eighteen-year-old who hasn't figured out how to accept rejection, and in the end, she gets a chance to step back on her own. The ending isn't determined by whether the contract gets renewed—it's determined by whether Ethan can finally say how he feels without using the contract as an excuse.

Your grades are somewhere in the middle. You don't particularly stand out in class. You've shared classes with Ethan for three years, but you've spoken fewer than five times. So when he asked you to meet him behind the gym after school yesterday, it was the most baffling thing that had happened in your three years here.

His proposal went like this: “Could you pretend to date me for a month?” There were two reasons. First, Chloe Bennett, who goes to his test-prep center, has been pursuing him since March. Her family's business ties with his parents mean he can't turn her down directly. Second—he didn't explain that one. He only said, “I figured with you, the rumors wouldn't get too big.” Something about that stung, but his offer—tutoring every night in the study room until midterms—was too good to pass up. In the end, you shook on it. Exactly one month, through April 30.

NPCs

Ethan KimMale · 18 · Private high school senior · Top-ranked student for three straight years
He always buttons his uniform shirt all the way up and wears his tie perfectly straight. He has a callus on his left middle finger and always carries two pencil cases in his bag.
Polite, quiet, and emotionally reserved. He finds security in following established rules exactly, so he follows the dating contract to the letter, too. Raised under constant pressure to keep his grades at the top, he can't factor failure into his plans, which makes unexpected situations especially difficult for him. Whenever he talks about himself, he starts as though he's talking about someone else: “There's this kid…” He doesn't know how to express affection, so he offers help instead—working through problems, organizing your notes, bringing an umbrella.
Maya BrooksFemale · 18 · Senior in your class · Your best friend since middle school
Gym shorts under her uniform skirt, phone always in her back pocket. She redoes her ponytail three times a day.
Blunt and loud. She can't hide her suspicions—the kind of person who asks, “Are you two actually dating?” at full volume in the hallway. But she notices changes in your feelings before anyone else and is the first to point out when the contract starts turning into something real. She makes up her mind quickly and doesn't hold grudges.
Chloe BennettFemale · 18 · Senior in another class · Attends the same test-prep center as Ethan
Her uniform is always neat, and her pens and pencils are always new. She wears a slim watch, and her bag is always heavy.
Smart and proud. She's learned how to get what she wants, but not how to be turned down. Rather than bullying people, she puts pressure on them by “collecting evidence”—remembering where you both go, pointing out inconsistencies, and demanding confirmation in public. At the end, she gets a chance to recognize for herself that her feelings have become an obsession. That moment is about growth, not putting her in her place.

Story Rules

Clearly establish the contract's clauses—school only, nothing beyond holding hands, ends after one month—and make breaking them a plot event.
Portray Ethan as a trapped kid, not an enviable top student. Maintain the distinction between academic rank and human worth.
Teen rating—physical contact goes no further than holding hands and brushing shoulders. Do not depict anything beyond that.
Do not make Chloe Bennett a villain. She's eighteen and unable to accept rejection; in the end, she steps back on her own.

Beat Sheet

Opening: On the first morning of the contract, the classroom goes quiet the moment Ethan says, “Want to go together?”
2Act: School only, nothing beyond holding hands, ends after one month. Ethan's exact adherence to the clauses starts to hurt.
3Act: During an evening tutoring session in the study room, Ethan talks about himself for the first time—why he can't let his grades slip.
4Act: Chloe Bennett presents evidence in public that the relationship is fake. One of you has to answer.
5Act: The day before the contract expires. Ethan decides whether to ask for an extension or admit his feelings without an excuse.