Chapter Text
Cris was sat at a table in the school canteen, surrounded by the girl squad who were having an animated convocation; one Cris was not paying attention to. Instead, the blonde was staring at yet another text from Ruben who hadn’t left her alone since she agreed to go on a date with him. She was busy trying to come up with another excuse as to why she couldn’t make this weekend when Eva snatched the phone from her hand.
“Hey!” Cris exclaimed, trying to grab the phone back but Eva was too quick and had already moved out of Cris’ reach.
“You’re on it all the time," Said Eva in answer to Cris' scowl.
“Sorry mother” Cris joked “Please may I have my phone back so that I can tell Ruben to piss off!” She said making the whole table laugh.
“Very well Cristina” replied Eva, trying to imitate Cris’ mum which sent the table into another fit of laughter.
“Why don’t you just tell him you’re not interested?” Asked Amira when the group had settled down.
“I tried that but he just kind of ignored it and he’s actually kind of sweet so I feel bad if I keep telling him. How long until he just takes the hint?” Cris huffed, putting her phone away and deciding she’d deal with Ruben later.
"If you don't want him I'll have him," said Viri, “I mean seriously, have you seen him!? I honestly don’t get why you’re not into him.” She finished.
“I mean I know he’s conventionally attractive and he’s a nice guy but... I don’t know, he had the personality of a plank of wood and I just don’t see us being a thing.” Replied Cris with a shrug.
“Guys what did you expect, we’re talking about Cris here; Miss Cristina ‘I don't believe in love and falling for someone is so stupid' Soto Peña!” Eva joked causing Cris to roll her eyes but laugh along with the others.
“I just don’t like him, but he is so persistent!” Cris complained.
“Who do you like then?” Asked Nora curiously.
“No one Tia, ‘I don’t believe in love and falling for someone is so stupid’ remember” Cris replied imitating Eva.
The girls laughed one again and then the convocation shifted but Cris still wasn’t paying attention, she was watching someone who had just entered the canteen and was making their way over.
Realising she had probably been staring for too long, Cris quickly averted her gaze and tried to follow what the others were talking about but, as she caught Amira’s eye, her best friend gave Cris a questioning look before motioning to where Cris had been looking. However, before Cris could mouth to Amira that she’d tell her later, the mysterious brunette in question reached the table.
"Hey," she said, talking to Cris without even acknowledging the presence of the other girls. “I thought we should probably meet up to do the literature project so I came to give you my number." The girl continued, handing Cris a slip of paper which presumably contained said number.
“Um, yeah that’s fine. I’ll give you a text tonight and we can sort something for the weekend if you’re free” suggested Cris, very aware that the table had gone silent and now all eyes were on her.
“I should be yeah but I’ll check some times, see you around guapa," said the girl before turning on her heal and heading back the same was she had come.
Cris slipped the folded note into her back pocket and looked up to see 4 pairs of eyes all looking her way with raised eyebrows and questioning looks.
“Who was that?” asked Nora, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“That’s Joana, she’s new but we’re literature partners for the next assignment so she just wanted to give me her number so we could arrange something, it’s no big deal.” Replied Cris with a shrug as she turned her attention back to the muffin in front of her and was about to take a bite when she realised that the table was still in silence and everyone was still looking at her.
“What!? Why are you being so weird?” She asked.
“It’s just that we’ve never seen her before, we didn’t know you were friends.” Said Viri and the others nodded in agreement.
“We’re not really friends, just literature partners” Replied Cris nonchalantly and the girls seemed satisfied because they dropped the matter.
Cris’ phone buzzed from the bed and she finished applying her lip gloss before checking to see a text from Joana- ‘Just set off, see you in 15’. She quickly sent back an ‘ok’, slipping her shoes on and grabbing her bag off the bed before heading out the door, calling bye to her parents on the way out.
Her and Joana had agreed to meet at a café in town to plan what they were going to do for the literature project and although Cris was looking forward to hanging out with the mysterious brunette, she really wasn’t looking forward to having to do actual work on a Saturday morning.
When she arrived at the little café, she saw Joana sat in a corner and waved to the girl before going up to the front to order a coffee.
After a short wait, she sat down in the comfy armchair opposite Joana who already had a note pad out along with the list of books Pedro had given them to choose from. “I feel like I’m here for an interview!” Joked Cris causing Joana to look up at her and smile before extending her hand to Cris.
“My name is Miss Bianchi but you can call me Joana, and that must make you Cristina?” Joana asked trying to sound important as she shook Cris’ hand firmly.
Cris had to bite her lip to stop herself from bursting out into laughter as she shook Joana’s hand and managed a small “Yes” in response to the question.
“Very well Cristina, I see you are here for the position of literature partner and I hope we can agree on some terms of your employment today.” Joana carried on and this time Cris couldn’t help the bubbly laugh that escaped her throat and soon Joana was laughing along with her.
“You’re ruining the image I created of you in my head.” Said Cris teasingly when the two had stopped laughing.
“Oh yeah, and what image would that be?” Asked Joana wiggling her eyebrows.
“The mysterious brooding new girl who is too tough to joke around because she’s been hurt before so doesn’t let people in,” Replied Cris “but you’re actually just a massive dork!” She said, noticing a flicker of unreadable emotion pass across Joana’s face before being replaced by and over-exaggerated pout.
"I am not a dork!" Said Joana furrowing her eyebrows and sticking out her bottom lip, she looked exactly like a stroppy 2-year-old but Cris found it endearing.
Eventually, the pair chose a book to study and began brainstorming ideas of how to present their work and when they would meet up to do so. They stopped every so often to share ideas and take sips of their drinks but they were soon finished and Cris was surprised to see it had only taken them 45 minutes, if she had been on her own, it would’ve definitely taken much longer.
Joana was up at the front ordering them both another drink and some sandwiches when Cris’ phone buzzed and she looked down to see another text from Ruben. Sighing heavily, she and stared at the phone, willing her brain to come up with something to text back. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice Joana coming back and jumped when the girl placed a tray down on the table.
“Everything okay?” Asked Joana, slightly concerned by Cris’ reaction. She noticed Cris’ phone n her lap and when the younger girl didn’t respond, she spoke again. “If you need to go that's fine, I don't mind," she said motioning to Cris' phone.
“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just there’s this guy, Ruben, and he wants us to meet up but I’m really not interested but he just won't take the hint." Cris said in defeat, she wasn't sure why she was telling Joana this, they weren't exactly friends. But for some reason, Cris just found talking to Joana very easy, almost a natural thing.
“Have you told him you’re not interested?” Asked Joana, taking a bite of her sandwich and looking at Cris curiously.
Cris sighed again before answering, “Yeah, but he’s actually super sweet so I feel bad if I keep telling him. I wish he’d just take a hint.”
“I mean I don’t think he can be that sweet if you’ve explicitly told him you’re not interested and he keeps trying.” Said Joana and Cris thought that maybe she had a point.
“So Joana the dork is actually pretty smart too” teased Cris trying to lighten the situation a bit. The truth was she knew that if she were dating someone, Ruben would back off immediately but because she hadn’t given him an actual reason why she wasn’t interested, he just kept trying.
"I am a woman of many talents.” Replied Joana, throwing a tomato in the air and catching it in her mouth. “Plus, I’m kind of in a similar situation. I broke up with my ex a couple of weeks ago but he won’t stop messaging me, I keep ignoring him but he needs to know that we’re not getting back together,” the older girl continued after eating the tomato.
“I guarantee that if we were dating, they’d both back off.” Replied Cris, the annoyance in her voice evident. She took a bite of her sandwich and then looked back up at Joana who was looking at her intently, her head tilted slightly.
Cris frowned back at the brunette who just laughed at her, leaning back into the armchair. “What!” Demanded Cris, confused and slightly annoyed that Joana was laughing at her for no apparent reason.
“You said- if we were dating then they'd back off," Joana said, an unreadable expression on her face as she continued to watch Cris.
It took the blonde a few seconds to realise how that sounded but once she understood what Joana was implying, her face flushed bright red and she dropped her face into her hands as she heard Joana laugh once again.
“That’s not what I meant,” Cris mumbled from between her fingers, still too embarrassed to show her face.
"You know, it's not every day I get asked out but someone so pretty," replied Joana, apparently oblivious to how embarrassed Cris was.
“I hate you” was Cris’ only reply as she sheepishly removed her hands from her face.
“Now that’s no way to talk to your girlfriend is it,”
Cris could tell that she was never going to live this down so she just shook her head and tried to enjoy her lunch despite the fact that she could feel Joana’s eyes boring holes into her skull.
Sunday was a drag and soon it was Monday morning and Cris had almost forgotten what had happened on Saturday, almost. That was until she saw Joana stood at the front of the school and the embarrassing memories came flooding back, sending her cheeks a deep shade of red again. Of course, this was precisely the moment Joana decided to look up from her phone and smirked when she made eye contact with Cris.
Before Cris could even register the movement, Joana was making her way over, a smirk still plastered on her face.
"Hey babe," she said nonchalantly as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Cris sighed and shook her head, looking around for one of her friends in hopes that they’d save her, but to no avail.
“What do you want?” Asked Cris when she realised she wasn’t going to be saved anytime soon.
"I was just saying good morning, you seem a little tense and for some reason, your cheeks are super red." Joana teased causing Cris’ cheeks to darken even more.
"I wonder why that could be!" Cris replied deciding her best ploy would be to play along with Joana’s teasing. “Could it be because a certain brunette made me remember what happened on Saturday when I tried very hard to block it from my memory?”
“Where is she? I’ll have to have a few words with her and about what she was doing with my girlfriend on Saturday!” Joana responded, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“Fuck! Could you be any more ridiculous if you tried?” Asked Cris, laughing out loud which made Joana grin widely.
"Your friends are coming, I'll see you in literature guapa," Joana said, looking over Cris' shoulder before kissing her quickly on the cheek and walking away.
Turning around to face her friends, who definitely notice the interaction between her and Joana as well as the colour of Cris’ cheeks, Cris prepared herself for an onslaught of questions but the only thing Eva said was “Just literature partners my ass!” Followed by a chorus of nods and hums of agreement.
Cris was glad her friends weren’t making a big deal about it because, as she walked to Pedro’s class, she thought she probably wasn’t quite ready to relive Saturday in any detail just yet. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sight of the brunette who was currently occupying her thoughts. As she was about to walk up to Joana, Cris also noticed a tall guy leaning against the wall opposite, seemingly weighing up whether or not to go up to Joana too.
He looked oddly familiar and Cris quickly realised her was Eloy, Joana’s ex. The one who wouldn't leave her alone if Cris' memory served her well.
Before she could really register what she was doing, Cris’ feet her carried her towards the older girl and when she caught up with her, she slipped her hand into Joana’s cold one, lacing their fingers together.
“What the- Cris what are you doing?” Asked Joana, surprised by the unexpected affection.
In truth, Cris wasn’t really sure what she was doing either but newfound confidence bubbled from within as she decided teasing would be the best way to play whatever it was off.
“Holding my girlfriend’s hand, is that illegal now?” Asked Cris nonchalantly, liking the was Joana’s eyes kept flicking between her own and their hands as if still trying to process what was happening.
The brunette opened and closed her mouth a few times before shaking her head in defeat and laughing a bright laugh that drew a few prying eyes, not that Cris really cared that much.
“And you say that I’m the dork! People are going to think we’re actually dating, you do realise that" Joana stated rather than asked as the pair started to walk again, not wanting to be late to class.
“You mean we’re not dating?” Countered Cris teasingly, looking over her shoulder to see Eloy staring at them with a mixture of confusion and defeat written across his face. Even more confident, Cris turned back around and carried on, “Weren’t you the one that was shamelessly flirting with me earlier?”
This time it was Joana’s turn to blush as she looked down at there hands again. “I’m not one for PDA” was all she said, looking at the ground rather than at Cris.
"Fair enough" replied Cris, dropping Joana’s hand. She almost missed the cool touch but was too busy with the fact that she had just managed to make Joana nervous to actually acknowledge the feeling.
They had reached the class anyway and made their way to their seats in silence which continued whilst Pedro came in and he had begun to explain the task for today before Cris finally broke it.
“Are you okay? I didn’t overstep did I?” She asked, slightly concerned that she had taken things too far for Joana’s liking.
"What? Oh no, you didn't, don't worry. I just - wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.” Replied Joana after taking maybe a little too long to think about her answer which hadn’t eased Cris’ nerves in the slightest.
Cris didn’t press the matter any further and went back to trying to listen to Pedro in between sneaking glances at Joana.
“You’re not subtle by the way!”
This time it was Joana’s turn to break the silence once Pedro had let the class get started on the work. “I can feel when you’re looking at me, and you do it a lot.” She laughed lightly but didn’t look at Cris, opting to focus on the sketch she was doing instead.
“My girlfriend’s just very pretty, can you blame me?” Said Cris, trying to sound sarcastic but the statement ultimately came out as almost a confession. Her soft tone caused Joana to actually make eye contact with her and Cris realised just how pretty Joana was.
“It worked by the way.” She said, snapping out of her daze and trying to ease so of the tension.
“What did?” Asked Joana, now determined to keep looking a Cris even when the blonde wasn’t looking at her.
"Well I'm pretty sure my little stunt in the corridor made it look like we're actually dating (like you said) and Eloy looked pretty defeated so maybe he'll back off," replied Cris, twirling a pen in her hand and smiling at Joana.
“Seriously?” Pressed Joana, “Maybe we should make this little thing official then!” She said, her signature smirk returning to her face as she got a fresh piece of paper from her book and begun to scribble something down.
“What little thing?” Cris said, but her question was answered when Joana slid the piece of paper across the table to her.
At the top of the page in big, messy lettering read ‘Fake Dating Contract’ and below it, in slightly smaller but equally messy lettering, there was a subheading which read ‘Terms of Agreement:'.
It didn’t take Cris long to realise what Joana was getting at but before she could say something in return, Joana simply said “I’m in if you’re in” before turning back to her work, just as Pedro came up behind them to make sure they were working.