Being Alex’s girlfriend this time around isn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. Maybe it’s because this time, I’m not actually trying to impress Alex. In fact, I’m doing the exact opposite. I try to be the biggest pain in the ass he’s ever known.

At first, I’d agreed to the fake relationship with only getting back at Daniel in mind. When Alex mentioned using this relationship to make him jealous I remembered how he sounded on the phone that morning, so jealous and upset that Alex and I possibly were dating and then so relieved when I told him that we weren’t. I had completely forgotten the other half of the deal which was being with Alex during most of our free time. It’s been awhile since I’ve hung with Alex and I'd forgotten how much we had in common like favorite movies and music.

I wasn’t spending so much time with Alex that I’d forgotten how much I didn’t like him. That could never happen. But I was spending enough time with Alex to remember how much fun we used to have together and to kind of miss it when I was alone in bed remembering what we’d done together that day. But as soon as I would start to miss it, Alex would call me or just say something that would put a scowl on my face and remind me of all those reasons why I hated Alex.

Not only was missing my relationship with Alex weird, but Alex’s fame was also really unnerving to me. I’d forgotten that he was actually really famous and when Matt publicly announced that we were dating, Alex called me one morning to tell me that we had to do an interview to publicly put out our relationship.

Now, sitting in the dressing room I was shoved into this morning I feel really nervous. I chew on my bottom lip and try to calm myself down and I immediately wish Jack was here with me to tell me that things are gonna be fine, that I'm just overreacting. But Jack isn’t here, he couldn’t make it because he had a hot date with some girl he’d met at a party.

Someone knocks on the door and I quickly stand up and smooth out my blue pleated dress. But it’s only Alex and my shoulders sag with relief that we have more time before the interview.

“Hey, I brought you coffee.” He says, kicking the door shut. He looks really good and I feel myself blush just thinking about it. When he looks up from the drinks, he clears his throat loudly, making a weird noise that sounds like he's choking.

“Are you okay?” I ask, afraid that maybe he’s just getting some kind of illness and won’t be able to talk, leaving me to do this interview alone.

Alex shakes his head no and hands me a coffee. “No, um, it’s just that you look really nice.”

I smile behind my cup. The dress is a nice, plae blue, knee length one that makes my eyes look incredibly blue. “Thanks, you clean up nice too.”

I take a sip of the coffee and quickly wrinkle my nose as I swallow. “Jesus Alex, this is coffee?”

He looks at me and then at the cup. “It’s not bad coffee. The guy at the table told me that it's Maryland's finest.”

“Really?” I ask, not keeping the disbelief from my voice. “You drink it then.”

He looks at the cup again, but before he can drink anything, there’s another knock at the door. This time it’s for the interview. They’re ready for us.

Suddenly, I’m glad Alex gave me the coffee so I at least have something to hold onto so no one notices how badly my hands are shaking.

“You okay?” Alex asks me, a worried look on his face.

I swallow the lump in my throat and instinctively take another sip of the coffee thinking that it’ll calm the knots in my stomach, but it doesn’t. Instead, the gross, burnt taste of it slides down my throat like goo and I feel even worse.

“Hey,” Alex says, nudging my chin up with his hand. “You’ll be fine. I’m right here with you. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

I nod and already, his words are soothing me, calming me down. I’m so grateful for Alex being with me that when he laces our fingers together I don’t protest.

…

“So, what’s it like being Alex Gaskarth’s girlfriend?” The interviewer, a short redhead named Chelsea, asks leaning into me so that her strong perfume fills my nose.

I smile right at her as Alex rubs circles on the back of my hand. “Well, it’s not easy. I miss him so much when he’s away, you know? But we talk all the time and he never forgets me.” I look at Alex now and lean into him, still smiling. “He’s great. It’s great.”

This is the first question I’ve answered while Alex has easily maneuvered through all the others. I decided during the first two minutes of the interview that I would smile lovingly whenever Alex would say something sweet and laugh at the appropriate time, but then Chelsea decides to ask me one question and I’m about ready to puke.

“What about you Alex? How do you feel about your relationship?”

Alex scratches his neck with his free hand. “I feel great. Fallon is such an amazing person and I feel like she makes me a better person too. I mean yeah, it’s hard to be apart for so long when I’m on tour, but we try so hard to communicate and stay in contact. Honestly though Chelsea, I just can’t imagine not being with her. She’s the greatest person I know.” He's looking right at me when he says this and I feel a swell of emotion rise up in me and a real goofy smile crosses my face.

I stare at Alex in awe and I catch myself wondering if Alex meant any of that even after the interview and we’re on our way home. I shake my head and quickly dismiss the thought. This is Alex. This isn’t real. He's just pretending, I remind myself. We were just at an interview to promote our fake relationship. Why would anything said during it be real?