When the Fake Ideal Love Meets the Real Deal Chapter 2

I had mentioned this to my best friend Chloe before. With her wild imagination, she asked, "Could it be that he likes your Orion and sees you as a love rival?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "You need to stop reading so much BL."

"No, seriously! Your Orion always looks so soft and gentle, and his roommates keep calling him 'little bro' more affectionately than we do. It's hard for me not to think in that direction," Chloe insisted as if it was an established fact.

"Give me a break. Orion is as straight as they come," I retorted. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chased after me for three years in high school.

"Straight guys can be turned too," Chloe seemed to be quite knowledgeable on this topic. "He might be straight, but his roommates might not be."

"Stop right there. Even if Orion was into guys, which of his roommates looks like boyfriend material?" I countered.

"You have a point there," Chloe pondered, stroking her chin. "The oldest one might have a chance, but he looks pretty straight too. As for Leo, forget it - two bottoms won't work out. Zoe, looks like your boyfriend is safe for now."

I dismissed Chloe's wild theories as a joke. While Leo did show hostility towards me, he had never openly expressed it. But this time, it seemed he was making a clear statement.

"It's not that you're not good enough. I just don't think you and Orion are a good match," he replied.

Okay, he finally said it out loud. I'm sure they must know about the Violet Ross situation, and might even be encouraging it. After all, they've never really approved of me as Orion's girlfriend.

"Shouldn't the question of whether we're a good match be asked to Orion himself?" In other words, who are you to judge whether we're suitable or not?

"Alright, Leo, Zoe and I are doing fine. Please don't interfere in our relationship," Orion sighed, sounding a bit exasperated.

"I just don't understand why Violet Ross isn't good enough for you. At least she genuinely likes you and treats you well!" Leo exclaimed.

The implication being that I don't genuinely like Orion and don't treat him well?

Interesting, very interesting. I've only been gone for a short while, and this Violet Ross has already infiltrated Orion's inner circle.

"My relationship with Orion is between the two of us. What does it have to do with you? If you think Violet Ross is so great, why don't you go after her yourself? Why try to set her up with Orion? Do you think I'm just a placeholder girlfriend, or do you think I'm easy to push around?" I paused for a moment before continuing, "Have you been hiding under our bed or something? How do you know I don't treat Orion well? Are you a mind reader or somehow connected to his thoughts? Do you know better than us whether we like each other or not?"

It had been a while since I'd verbally sparred with someone. I was a bit rusty.

There's no point in being polite to someone like this. Did he really think I was a pushover?

Leo was left speechless by my tirade. He put down his chopsticks and stormed off angrily. I looked at Orion innocently, "Aren't you going to go comfort him?"

Orion pushed a glass of water towards me. "You must be thirsty after talking so much. Have some water."

The second oldest across from us burst out laughing, and even the usually stoic oldest one had a hint of a smile on his face. I looked at Orion suspiciously, "He doesn't actually like you, does he?"

"What are you thinking?" Orion rapped me lightly on the head with his chopsticks, sounding annoyed. "You need to stay away from Chloe in the future."

Seeing the second oldest across from us laughing uncontrollably, I once again confirmed that Chloe's speculation was completely baseless.

I didn't see Violet Ross again until a week later. During that week, Orion spent most of his time with me. I thought the matter had been put to rest, but I didn't expect her to actively seek me out.

It was during an elective class. I had deliberately chosen a seat at the back and pulled Orion to sit with me. As luck would have it, Violet Ross also came to this elective class. Seeing the empty seat next to Orion, she sat down beside him.

"What a coincidence, Orion," she greeted him.

"Mm," Orion responded coolly.

"So you're taking this elective too? I think Professor Brown's lectures are really good. I come to listen to his class every week," she continued, seemingly very interested in the course.

Orion shook his head awkwardly, "I'm not."

"He's here to keep me company while I earn credits," I turned to look at her. Was she pretending I didn't exist? "He's not interested in these dry, boring courses."

"And you are?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Zoe Quinn, Orion's girlfriend," I extended my hand politely.

"Oh, I see," she acted as if she had just realized. "I'm Violet Ross, Orion's friend."

"You two must have just met recently then," I withdrew my hand. "I've never heard Orion mention you before."

"Yes, we've only known each other for less than a month," she always had this soft, fragile demeanor, just like in high school. "But I feel like we clicked instantly, as if we've been friends for a long time."

"Is that so?" This level of subtle provocation had no effect on me. "After all, we all went to the same high school, right?"

"Really?" She looked both surprised and delighted, as if she genuinely didn't know.

"Yes, indeed," I nodded, resting my chin on my hand and tilting my head to look at her. "Orion had a really good friend in high school named Jack Brown. Do you remember him?"

Violet Ross's smile became a bit stiff, and her expression started to look unnatural. "I don't remember high school classmates very clearly."

"That's a shame. No worries, I'll make sure to introduce you sometime," I responded generously.

"Mm," she answered softly, opening her book. "Class is about to start."

I turned back, the smile on my face only growing. Orion leaned in and whispered, "Who's Jack Brown? I don't remember having a good friend by that name."

I blinked innocently at him, "Don't you remember? You two were really close in high school."

"Cut it out," Orion didn't believe me at all. "I can say with certainty that I don't know anyone by that name. So, who exactly is Jack Brown?"

Great, now he's jealous. I quickly waved my hands, "I don't know him well either."

"If you don't know him well, why did you bring him up and say he was my good friend?" Orion pressed on.

"Just because I don't know him well doesn't mean others don't," I glanced towards Violet Ross.

"Her? Didn't she say she doesn't remember?" Orion still seemed doubtful.

"You believed her when she said she doesn't remember, but you doubt me when I say I'm not familiar with him. Orion Gray, who exactly is your girlfriend here?" I was getting annoyed.