The week after Aiden and Mia made up was surprisingly peaceful. Almost suspiciously peaceful. No arguments. No misunderstandings. No awkward silences. Everything felt normal again. Which was great for them. Unfortunately, it was incredibly boring for everyone else. Noah had already complained about the lack of drama at least three times. Sophie wasn't much better. The two of them seemed personally offended by the fact that Aiden and Mia were getting along. By Thursday morning, school life had returned to normal. Classes dragged on forever. Teachers assigned too much homework. Students counted down the hours until the weekend. Everything was fine. Until lunch. That's when the rumor started. Nobody knew where it came from. Nobody knew who started it. But somehow, within thirty minutes, half the school believed that Aiden was planning some huge romantic surprise for Mia. By the time the rumor reached Noah, it had somehow evolved into Aiden renting a helicopter. By the time it reached Sophie, someone claimed he'd written Mia a song. By the end of lunch, a group of freshmen were convinced he was about to propose. Aiden nearly choked on his drink when Noah told him.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"YES."
Aiden stared at him.
"What is wrong with everyone?"
Noah looked delighted.
"A lot of things."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Aiden dropped his head onto the cafeteria table.
"There is no surprise."
"That's exactly what someone planning a surprise would say."
"I'm literally eating fries."
"To throw us off."
Aiden considered throwing the fries at him.
Across the cafeteria, Mia was having an equally confusing conversation.
"Sophie."
"Yes?"
"Why is someone asking me what color flowers I like?"
Sophie blinked.
"Oh wow."
"What?"
"The rumor evolved again."
Sophie leaned closer.
"Five minutes ago people thought he was buying you flowers."
"Okay..."
"Now they think he's buying five hundred flowers."
Mia stared at her.
"Why five hundred?"
"I don't know. Someone added a zero."
"That's not how rumors work."
"That's exactly how rumors work."
Mia rubbed her forehead.
"What else are people saying?"
Sophie pulled out her phone.
"Oh, this is bad."
"What is it now?"
"Apparently he's reserved a rooftop restaurant."
"We don't even have a rooftop restaurant in town."
"Details have never stopped anyone before."
Mia groaned.
"This is ridiculous."
"Wait."
Sophie squinted at another message.
"Oh wow."
"What now?"
"They think he's going to confess his love in front of the entire school."
Mia nearly dropped her water bottle.
"Aiden would rather jump into traffic."
"That's how I knew it was fake."
As the afternoon went on, the rumors somehow became worse. One student claimed Aiden had reserved an entire restaurant. Another claimed he had hired musicians. Someone even suggested he was secretly rich. That particular rumor made Noah laugh so hard he nearly fell out of his chair.
"Secretly rich?"
"What's funny?" Aiden asked.
Noah stared at him.
"Dude."
"What?"
"Your house literally has a gate."
"Lots of houses have gates."
"Your gate has a gate."
"That's not a thing."
"It should be."
Aiden rolled his eyes.
A few students nearby looked confused.
"Wait, he's actually rich?"
Noah looked offended.
"Actually rich? His swimming pool is bigger than my apartment."
"NOAH."
"What? It's true."
Aiden buried his face in his hands while several students suddenly looked at him differently.
"This is why I don't tell people things."
"You didn't tell people."
"They figured it out."
"Your chauffeur picked you up once."
"That was one time."
"It was a very memorable time."
By the final period, even teachers seemed confused. One of them actually asked Aiden if he had an important announcement to make. Aiden almost walked straight into a door. When the final bell finally rang, he immediately went looking for Mia. Not because of the rumors. Okay. Maybe partly because of the rumors. He eventually found her outside near the front steps. The second their eyes met, both started laughing.
"Please tell me you've heard."
"I've heard everything."
"The helicopter?"
"The helicopter."
"The musicians?"
"The musicians."
"The proposal?"
"The proposal."
Aiden sighed dramatically.
"We're seventeen."
"I know."
"And where am I even supposed to get a helicopter?"
Mia raised an eyebrow.
"Aiden."
"What?"
"You could absolutely get a helicopter."
Aiden paused.
Then pointed at her.
"That's not the point."
Mia laughed.
As they started walking toward the gates together, the late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the pavement. For the first time all day, everything felt normal again. No rumors. No classmates. Just the two of them.
"You know," Mia said, "there is one problem."
Aiden immediately became suspicious.
"What problem?"
"Now everyone expects something."
"There is no something."
"They don't know that."
Aiden groaned.
"This is a disaster."
"It's kind of funny."
"It is not."
"It's a little funny."
"It absolutely isn't."
Mia laughed anyway.
Unfortunately, at that exact moment, Noah appeared from absolutely nowhere.
Again.
Neither of them even questioned it anymore.
"DID YOU DO IT YET?"
Aiden stopped walking.
"Do what?"
"The surprise."
"There is no surprise."
Noah gasped dramatically.
"Mia."
"Yes?"
"He's lying."
"I'm aware."
Aiden looked between them.
Then sighed.
"I need new friends."
"No, you don't."
"Definitely not."
The two traitors high-fived. As they continued walking home, the rumors continued spreading behind them, growing more ridiculous with every retelling. But honestly, neither Aiden nor Mia cared anymore. Because after everything they'd been through, a few crazy rumors weren't the end of the world. And somewhere deep down, Aiden had to admit one thing. The rumors were fake. The helicopter was fake. The proposal was fake. But spending every day with Mia? That was real. And right now, that was more than enough.