As If I Could Ever Fake You

Don’t Lie, Even With a smile

  Jayjay sat Across from Keifer in a small café tucked behind their school, where he’d taken her after class “just because.”

There were fairy lights overhead, his hoodie draped over her shoulders, and two half-empty cups of overpriced coffee between them.

Anyone else would say it was perfect.

But Jay had never been good at ignoring the cracks.

She watched him stir his drink even though it was already blended. Watched the way his eyes darted when she asked what he was doing this weekend. Watched how his smile never quite reached his eyes anymore.

Something was off.

She waited until the street outside was quiet and the shop had thinned out.

Then:
“Keifer.”

He looked up, mid-sip. “Yeah?”

“Are you hiding something from me?”

The question hung in the air like fog. Heavy. Still.

He set his drink down slowly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” She exhaled, frustrated. “You’ve been weird. Different. You smile, but you don’t relax. You show up, but sometimes it feels like you’re somewhere else entirely.”

His jaw tensed, just a flicker.

“Jay—”

She leaned forward. “Just tell me the truth. Is there something I should know? It’s not—about us. Not feelings. Just… something.”

Keifer looked at her for a long time. Too long.

Then he reached across the table and took her hand.

His thumb brushed over her knuckles gently, and he smiled—that warm, crooked smile that always made her heart melt a little too fast.

“There’s nothing you need to worry about,” he said softly. “I promise.”

Jay stared at him.

Because he hadn’t said no.

He hadn’t denied anything.

And she felt that.

Still, she nodded. Let him kiss her palm. Let the tension fade just enough to pretend things were okay.

But inside?

She wasn’t sure if she was letting it go…

…or letting him lie.