Ruined Overnight

As Harper walked back to her dorm, she realized people were staring at her, and it was awkward.

She was the dean's daughter, but that never made her the center of attention. No one ever paid much attention to her.

Harper opened the door to her room and was immediately met with Tyla running toward her. Abruptly, Tyla embraced her.

"Where have you been?!" Tyla demanded, her voice soft yet filled with concern.

"You're the one to ask?" Harper rolled her eyes as they pulled away.

"I'm so sorry, Harp. How are you feeling?" Tyla asked.

"Terrible," Harper muttered.

"Did you grab my purse yesterday?" Harper asked, her amber eyes searching their room.

"Yes. I'm charging your phone," Tyla said with a soft smile, gesturing toward the phone, which was on charge. "Okay, hurry and get ready. You're late for class," she added.

"Thanks to you, Ty," Harper grumbled, heading to the washroom.

***

As Harper and Tyla walked through the hallway, they could feel it—every eye in the corridor was locked on them.

What was going on?

"Ty?" Harper called out, her voice a mere whisper. "What did you do?"

Harper and Tyla were different.

Harper lived by the rules, buried herself in books, and avoided drama at all costs. Tyla, on the other hand, broke the rules without a second thought. She didn't care about academics and loved stirring up trouble.

So, if people were staring, it had to be because of Tyla.

"What? Nothing!" Tyla insisted, pulling out her phone to check what was trending.

Tyla's eyes widened. Horrified!

'HARPER REED CAUGHT IN LOGAN HAYES' BED?!'

"WHAT?!" she shrieked, causing Harper to jump slightly.

Without speaking, she handed the phone to Harper, who snatched it while maintaining eye contact with Tyla.

HARPER REED CAUGHT IN LOGAN HAYES' BED:

"Harper Reed, the daughter of the dean, was caught in the bed of campus heartthrob Logan Hayes after a welcome party..."

Harper's breath hitched as she read the headline.

She could hear the drumming of her own heartbeat. Her palms went clammy.

What was happening?!

Her spotless reputation—ruined.

"Is that true, Harper?" Tyla's voice snapped her back to reality.

"I—I—" Harper was speechless. She turned off airplane mode and checked her phone while Tyla read through the comments section.

Random User: So Harper Reed is a whore? She's been after Logan Hayes all along.

Random User: Prostitute!

Random User: Prostitute? More like a hypocrite! She walks around pretending to be innocent, but look what she's really up to.

Angered, Tyla switched off her phone.

How could people say this about her friend?!

Were the rumors even true?! Tyla needed answers.

"Is it true, Harper?!" she asked once more, and when Harper didn't reply, she knew it was. Harper was transfixed, her gaze remained on her screen.

Who could have done this?!

Her chest tightened as panic threatened to take over.

"Those stupid people! They were talking shit about you. I swear I'll whip their ass!" Tyla said with clenched fists, and Harper shot a look at her.

Realization hit her.

It was her fault.

If she hadn't forced Harper to go to that stupid party, none of this would have happened.

Tyla sighed, her voice soft with guilt. "Oh, Harp, I'm so sorry." She pulled Harper into another hug.

"It's okay," Harper whispered when they pulled away. "What do I do?" she asked.

Tyla and Harper started thinking. If they didn't do something fast, Harper's reputation would be ruined. As the dean's daughter, she had to lead by example, and she couldn't do that if people saw her as reckless.

Also, everyone knew Harper Reed hated Logan Hayes. So did this mean she had been lying all along?

They had to come up with something to restore Harper's reputation.

Harper turned to Tyla, her eyes filled with silent pleading. Tyla was the one with the wild ideas—the crazy yet brilliant solutions.

Tyla, however, was drawing a blank. She racked her brain, but nothing came to mind.

She couldn't believe this had just happened. Harper was popular now, but instead of it being about something good, it was about something bad.

Frustrated, she shook her head.

"Think, Ty, think!" Harper said in a high-pitched whisper.

"I am, Harper!" she shot back.

Harper was in deep trouble, and they both knew it.

Then—

A crazy idea popped into her mind.

"OH. MY. GOD. Harp!" she gasped, eyes sparkling. "I just had the craziest idea ever!"

Harper groaned. "Typical Tyla Gomez."

Tyla rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna listen or what?"

"Fine," Harper mumbled, her amber eyes dull with exhaustion.

Tyla grinned, practically bouncing in place. "Okay, hear me out. You know those 'good girl x bad boy' romance tropes? This—" she gestured around them, "—is exactly like one of those situations where the female lead and male lead—"

"No!" Harper shot back, her cheeks burning at the mere thought.

Fake date?

Oh no.

Oh hell no! No way!

"Harper, that's the only way. Your reputation is ruined. What else can you do? Trust me when I say there's no other way," Tyla explained.

Harper shook her head.

No, no, no, no.

There had to be another way.

"Look, Harp, I know this might be difficult for you to accept, but remember—you're the dean's daughter. If you want to clear your name, you have to make these idiots believe you and Logan were already in a relationship and that they were just poking their noses into your business."

Tyla's voice was firm, sincere.

Harper mulled over her words. She had a point—one she hated to admit. People had already started calling her names she knew her father, the dean, wouldn't want her associated with.

"But… what about Hazel?" Harper asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Isn't she dating Logan?"

Tyla blinked. "Hazel Freeman?"

Harper nodded.

Tyla scoffed. "Girl, you really don't follow the trends. They broke up two weeks ago."

Harper frowned. "Why?"

"No one knows. It's like Hazel just dumped him out of nowhere," Tyla explained. "They were the 'golden couple' last semester, but now? Over."

Harper went quiet.

So… was she really going to fake date Logan Hayes?!

Her pulse quickened.

"So, are you in, babe?" Tyla asked, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Maybe," Harper whispered before walking away.