Deal with The Devil

Although the noise from the hallway was loud, Logan's silence felt even louder.

His green eyes just stared at her, flickering with something unreadable.

Something Harper couldn't quite place.

"Come again?" Logan asked, letting a low chuckle roll from his mouth.

"You heard me," Harper's voice went soft, her heart throbbing hard.

"Let me get this straight," Logan began. "Did you just say you want me to pose as your boyfriend?"

The way he said it made Harper both irritated and anxious. Averting her gaze, she spoke. "Yes."

"Why do you think I'll do that, Harper?" he asked bluntly.

If nothing else, Logan Hayes found the whole situation funny. Asking him to date her was out of the question. There was no way he was going to do that.

"Because… because it's your fault I'm in this mess," she shot back. "You let me sleep in your bed, and now the entire campus thinks something happened between us."

"Right." Dragging out the word, Logan rested his chin on his fist as though he were thinking. "First of all, I did that for you because you could barely walk back to your dorm. So it's not my fault that you got yourself drunk and ended up in my room," Logan added matter-of-factly.

Harper hissed through her clenched teeth, rolling her amber eyes.

He had a point—one she hated to admit.

"Also, what exactly did happen between us?" Logan asked, his green eyes burning into her skin.

Harper's face heated. "Nothing."

He smirked. "Exactly."

"But they don't know that," Harper hissed.

"Who cares about them or what they think, princess?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Listen, Logan. I'm sick of all the whispers, stares, and assumptions," Harper said genuinely.

Logan Hayes smirked. "Oh, princess, you'll get used to it."

Harper frowned.

She had to do something—fast. She had to make this troublemaker fake-date her.

But how?

Logan began walking away without even looking at her. Suddenly, Harper remembered—last Tuesday, she had seen him exchanging something wrapped in a brown envelope with someone in the dark. It could have been anything.

She figured it was something minor in his opinion. Perhaps just drugs. She knew Logan Hayes—this troublemaker—could do that. She considered him perilous. Even his looks—the tattoos, the piercings—said it all. Since Harper hadn't cared about him then, she had just walked away.

But now, it seemed like the perfect leverage.

She smirked faintly.

"Logan," Harper called out, and reluctantly, Logan turned. It looked as if Harper was disturbing him. He had already told her he couldn't waste his time on a stupid fake date with the Dean's daughter.

"You asked why I think you'd do that, didn't you?" Harper's voice held confidence, but behind her back, her fingers fidgeted out of nervousness.

"Yes. Why?" Logan's grass-green eyes dulled with boredom.

"Because…" Harper took a deep breath, her heart thudding loudly in her own ears. "I know what you did last Tuesday," she said, deliberately making every word sound heavy.

Logan Hayes let her words sink in, his eyes widening in complete shock.

His face?

Pale.

He just stared at her, his gaze unchanging. Fixed on Harper.

His loud silence seemed to envelop them as they stood there, staring at each other. Both had different thoughts running through their minds.

How could she have found out?

Logan Hayes hadn't expected anyone to see. It was supposed to be private. And yet, no one but the Dean's daughter had found out.

But how?

He didn't want to know.

For now, all Logan cared about was Harper keeping her mouth shut.

Harper didn't know why he reacted like that—his eyes widening, his face pale, and worst of all, him becoming transfixed. A lot of thoughts ran through her mind.

But then—

His reaction proved this could be a strong blackmail.

"And," Harper continued, her voice quivering, "I know that you—"

Harper gasped as Logan, in a swift motion, pinned her against the wall, his hands shielding her.

Her thoughts were a rollercoaster.

Her mind?

A jumbled mess.

"Don't say it out loud, princess," Logan said, his gaze boring into her skin.

Harper felt her cheeks burn. She could hear the thudding of her own heartbeat. She swore Logan could hear it too.

"I—I…" Harper couldn't speak. His closeness was affecting her. Harper just stared at Logan, her heart racing, her gaze locked with his.

Time seemed to slow down.

Then—

"Can I trust you to keep your mouth shut, princess?" Logan broke the silence.

Summoning the tiniest bit of courage, Harper spoke. "Fake date me, or…" she trailed off under his piercing gaze.

"Or?" Logan demanded.

"Or I march to the cops," Harper replied.

Logan studied her for a moment, his eyes scanning her face. Then, slowly, he licked his bottom lip. Harper found herself staring at his lips.

"Is that a promise?" he asked, snapping her eyes back to his face.

"What?" she whispered, her stomach twisting.

"Of course. You can count on me," she added.

Logan smirked. "Desperate." He lifted her chin, taking in every feature she held.

"You're so desperate for this," he added.

Slowly, he let her chin go.

"I care about my reputation a lot, Logan," she replied.

"Okay," Logan said sharply.

"So… so you'll do it?" Harper asked.

"What choice do I have?" Logan said, smirking.

A surge of emotions rushed through Harper. Then she noticed how people were staring. Harper wasn't ready for another rumor to spread about her.

She knew these students. They were probably already taking pictures, ready to turn this into a huge story.

She wasn't ready. No.

"Logan," Harper whispered, averting her amber eyes from his. "People are starting to stare."

Logan's smirk didn't waver. "Why don't we start by making them believe?"