Chapter 17: "Not Pretending Anymore"
2 weeks later.
Reese's POV
I was in detention. With him.
And it was Raiden's fault.
If he had just kept his mouth shut in front of Madam Professor—Professor Rena, the strictest, scariest woman in the entire faculty—we wouldn't be here, sitting in the back row of the empty classroom like two misbehaving kids in grade school.
Honestly, who argues with a professor over a five-minute bell discrepancy during a lecture? Raiden Whitlock, that's who.
He'd mouthed off, I'd tried (poorly) to cover for him, and next thing we knew, we were both slapped with after-school detention.
"I hate you," I muttered, arms crossed as I slumped into my seat.
"Yeah?" he said lazily, spinning his pen between his fingers. "Join the club."
Silence stretched between us for a few moments, filled only by the ticking wall clock and the occasional squeak of a distant chair in another classroom.
Then I remembered something interesting.
Earlier, when Professor Rena turned her back, Raiden muttered something under his breath—something rapid, sharp, and definitely not English.
Spanish.
"Hey," I said, leaning toward him slightly, a sly smile tugging at my lips. "So… you know how to speak Spanish?"
Raiden glanced at me, unbothered. "Maybe."
"You cursed me earlier, didn't you?" I asked, raising a brow.
His lips twitched. "Maybe."
I grinned. "Come on. Tell me something in Spanish."
"No," he said instantly, eyes back on the front board.
"Just once? I won't ever ask again. I promise." I tilted my head and gave him the sweetest smile I could muster.
He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You're incredibly annoying, you know that?"
"Yup."
Another sigh—more dramatic this time—and he finally looked at me, one eyebrow raised.
"Fine," he said, voice low, mock-serious. Then he leaned in just a little, like he was about to share a secret.
"Te amo más de lo que puedas imaginar," he said smoothly, his voice like velvet with a hint of a smirk curling his lips.
I blinked, caught off guard by how nice it sounded. "What does that mean?"
Raiden leaned back with a smug expression and rolled his eyes. "It means 'I hate you and you're annoying.'"
I stared at him for a moment, pretending to believe him.
"Oh," I said flatly, turning back toward the front of the room. "Cool."
He clearly thought I'd bought it, because he let out a small triumphant breath and started tapping his pen on the desk again.
But what he didn't know was that I'd been fluent in Spanish since grade school.
Te amo más de lo que puedas imaginar didn't mean I hate you and you're annoying.
It meant I love you more than you can imagine.
I smirked to myself, keeping my expression neutral as I opened my notebook and pretended to doodle.
Detention sucked—but this? This wasn't so bad.
The minutes ticked by slowly in that quiet classroom, the silence thick with the hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. Raiden was still tapping his pen, oblivious to the fact that I was silently processing the words he'd said in Spanish—Te amo más de lo que puedas imaginar.
I hadn't expected him to say that. Hell, I hadn't even expected him to say anything remotely close to it.
Yeah, we're dating, but we always fought with each other. Like he said, teasing each other must be our love language.
However, the sound of the words lingered in my head like a melody, soft and insistent.
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was leaning back in his chair, looking far too comfortable for someone in detention. His eyes were focused on the front of the room, but I could see the way his lips twitched whenever I stole a glance at him. It was the same way he smirked when he knew I was onto him.
"So," I said, breaking the silence, trying to sound casual. "You speak Spanish, huh?"
Raiden's lips curled into a grin. "What's the matter, Kitten? You jealous of my language skills now?"
I rolled my eyes. "Please, you don't even know what you said."
His smile faltered, just for a second, before he caught himself. "Of course I do."
"Yeah? Then what does Te amo más de lo que puedas imaginar mean?" I asked, leaning forward just a little.
He gave a tight, controlled laugh. "It's this question again. I already told you. It means 'I hate you and you're annoying.'"
I couldn't resist the smirk that tugged at the corners of my lips. "Funny. Because I'm pretty sure it means I love you more than you can imagine."
Raiden froze, his pen stilling in his hand. I waited for him to say something, to laugh it off, to give me some cocky retort. But instead, he stared at me, his face unreadable for the first time since I'd known him.
"You know Spanish?" he asked, his voice lower than before.
"Fluent." I didn't break my gaze. "And just so you know, that was a pretty poor attempt at hiding your feelings, Whitlock."
Raiden didn't respond right away. For a few seconds, it felt like the entire room held its breath. Finally, he shifted in his seat, his usual confident smirk returning. "I didn't think you were the type to fall for cheesy lines, Laurier."
"I'm not," I said, leaning back in my chair. "But you're starting to change my mind."
Raiden's grin widened at that, though there was a flicker of something in his eyes—a spark, almost, that I couldn't quite place.
"Does that mean you're not as mad at me for getting us stuck here?" he asked, nudging my foot with his.
I shrugged, trying to pretend I wasn't a little bit thrilled by the touch. "You're lucky we're in detention together. Otherwise, I might've kicked your ass for making me stay here after school."
He raised an eyebrow. "And what if I said I was actually kind of glad we're stuck here?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Are you seriously trying to be cute right now?"
Raiden just smirked, leaning back in his chair again. "What if I am?"
"I'd say you're getting pretty good at it," I said, my voice quieter than I meant it to be.
Raiden's eyes softened just slightly, the playful teasing fading a little. But just as quickly, the moment passed, and his grin returned.
"Well, we still have a good 20 minutes left of this torture. Think we can make it without wanting to strangle each other?"
"Are you really asking that question after what you said in Spanish?"
He chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see, Kitten."
I rolled my eyes, but the smile tugging at my lips couldn't be hidden. As much as I hated to admit it, Raiden Whitlock had a way of making even detention feel like something worth sticking around for.
And I hated it.
But I was also starting to realize… maybe I didn't mind so much anymore.
The next twenty minutes felt like a strange mix of tension and ease, a dance between the usual banter and something deeper. Despite the stillness of the room, everything felt alive—almost electric.
Raiden spun his pen again, and I caught myself watching the way his fingers flicked it with a practiced, almost languid ease. It was funny how something so simple could draw your attention so completely when it was him doing it.
"You know," I said, breaking the silence, "you're really lucky I'm stuck with you in here."
"Oh, I'm lucky now?" he shot me a playful grin. "That's a first."
I rolled my eyes, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of my lips despite myself. "Well, I guess you've grown on me."
"Is that so?" He leaned back in his chair, clearly amused. "I'll take it. But just so you know, Kitten, I'm only sticking around because I'm already fond of you."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Fond? You're the one who got us stuck here in the first place."
"That's true," he admitted, leaning in slightly as if sharing a secret. "But I'm a sucker for a good challenge, and you—well, you're the best kind."
The way he said it made my heart stutter for a split second, but I tried to play it off. "And you're just a pain in the ass who can't keep his mouth shut, but here we are."
Raiden raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying you like it when I annoy you?"
"I like it when you stop being so annoying," I corrected, leaning toward him slightly. "Sometimes."
"Sometimes, huh?" His grin widened, his usual cocky confidence back in full swing. "I'll take it. It's an improvement from 'I hate you.'"
"Yeah, well, I hate you is still pretty true sometimes," I said with a shrug. "But, maybe... not as much."
Raiden chuckled, but there was something softer behind the humor now, something more genuine. "I get it. You're complicated."
"Complicated?" I raised an eyebrow. "You have no idea."
"I think I'm starting to get the picture," he said, his voice lowering just a little, the playfulness edging away as he looked at me more seriously. "But that's okay, Kitten. I'm good at complicated."
I stared at him for a moment, my breath catching in my throat. It wasn't just the banter anymore. There was a warmth in his gaze, something steady, like he wasn't planning on going anywhere this time.
"Raiden…" I started, but I wasn't sure how to put the thoughts together.
He looked at me, almost like he was waiting for me to say it, whatever it was. And when I couldn't find the words, he simply said, "You don't have to say anything. I know."
I swallowed. "Do you?"
"I do," he said, his voice firm but soft, like he meant it. "I'm not going anywhere, Reese. Not this time."
There was a beat of silence, the kind that didn't need words. And for the first time, I realized that maybe, just maybe, I didn't want him to.
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" I whispered, feeling a little breathless.
Raiden didn't hesitate. "Yeah. I am."
And then, as if the world outside of this small, quiet classroom didn't exist, he reached across the desk, his fingers brushing against mine.
It was gentle. Simple. But it was enough.
My heart skipped a beat.
"We're really doing this, huh?" I said softly, staring at our hands, the reality of it sinking in.
Raiden's thumb stroked over my hand, the warmth of his touch sending a little spark of electricity through me. "Yeah. We are."
It wasn't just a hand-holding game anymore. It was True.
And as much as I might've fought it in the past, something in me was finally starting to believe it too.
The last few minutes of detention passed in comfortable silence, neither of us saying much but both of us knowing what the quiet meant. Raiden and I—we—were no longer just two people caught up in a fake love story. It was something genuine now.
When the bell rang, signaling the end of detention, I stood up, feeling a little bit lighter than I had when I walked in.
Raiden stood too, his hand still lingering near mine. "Ready to face the world?"
"Yeah, I think so," I said, offering him a small smile.
Raiden smiled back, and for a moment, it felt like everything had shifted in the best way possible.
This wasn't fake. It wasn't just a game anymore.
"It started with pretending. But somewhere in between, the lines blurred—and I stopped wanting to go back."