WHITE MUSTANG / chapter nineteen
——— ₊ ⊹ play pretend 🪽
❪ ˚.💸⋆ ⌗ ⸝⸝ 🧷▄▄▄▄▄ ❫

💿 love on the brain ,, rihanna

MANHATTAN, ⠀NEW YORK CITY
──★ ˙🪡 ̟ !! 3rd person pov 🗽

2 MONTHS LATER..

———— NICHOLAS HAD TO admit that the last two months, ever since the whole fake dating deal began, had been probably some of the funniest months in his life. even though sometimes it was hard to pretend, especially out under the sunlight where everyone could catch even the slightest glimpse of them pretending, something about seeing people's reaction to their "relationship" was amusing to him.

they had to become way closer, getting to know each other better, and appear more often on social media together. they talked about each other, even when they were interviewed separately, making their new relationship the hottest topic of the summer.

and on top of that, nicholas found out that spending more time alone with salem wasn't even as bad as he first thought. and the same was for her: as nicholas opened up more with her, she found out that he wasn't just a workaholic man with a grumpy expression plastered on his face 24/7.

the studio became their daily meeting spot, it was reserved so no one would interrupt them, especially after chandler and everyone else left. occasionally, salem would even pop up when everyone else was around, just to show off their relationship.

the hardest part for the both of them? lying to their closest friends. because yes, both of them decided that, for the sake of credibility, no one had to know it was fake. that meant that none of their closest friends had any idea about what was really going on behind closed doors.

everyone always saw salem hanging around nicholas, and by now they all thought it was normal. nothing to worry about. both of them knew that they were playing the part extremely well.

not to mention the first time they appeared publicly together, being as close as ever. no one could stop talking about them, and how could they? long story short, they were the talk of the moment!

even now, with salem wearing nicholas's newest piece and posing for indiana's camera, under the careful monitoring of her — fake — boyfriend, everyone was believing their play.

the loud click! of the camera echoed in the studio, where salem was posing in front of a white background, contrasting with the pitch black silk of the dress she was wearing. indiana's eye popped up from the camera, before sending salem a big toothy smile that she only ever reserved for her best friends and her girlfriend, "sal, this one might be it!"

salem's professionally serious face dropped as soon as she heard that phrase, holding up the dress with her hands so that it was easier to walk and skipping towards the computer monitor, where indiana, nicholas, chandler, and wanda were looking at.

on the screen appeared a beautiful shot of herself, her body in an artistic position, making her gasp at how beautiful it was, "indie, oh my god! you did amazing!" "me? girl, you're the one looking gorgeous." indiana cheered her up, giving her a side hug.

nicholas didn't say anything directly to salem, but his eyes were fixed on the shot, admiring both the dress and how beautiful it looked on her, "this is beautiful, indie. salem was right about you, you do have a gift."

"awe, thank you, nicholas, but you don't have to thank me. thank your lovely girlfriend right here." she said, making salem suddenly stiffen in her place. it wasn't the first time that one of their friends referred to her as nicholas's girlfriend, but that time just caught her off guard.

nicholas could sense salem's slight embarrassment as if by now they were mentally connected, a small smirk forming on his lips, "you're right, indie." he nodded, before sending a flirty smile to the blonde girl, "you're beautiful, honey."

salem lowered her head slightly, cursing herself mentally for blushing, knowing for a fact that he was sniggering internally. "maybe i should go back to work, right, honey?" she made sure to mark the last word, sending him a dagger-like look as if to tell him to stop teasing her, "you should."

salem went back to the white background as wanda approached her, looking up at her through her thick black frames and a pressed powder in her hands, "i brought you some powder. figured you might need it."

salem looked down at the redhead, sending a soft smile her way, "thank you, wanda. you didn't need to." she took the powder, opening the small mirror and putting some on. "of course! i love watching you work, i really admire you." she fixed the glasses on her nose, holding the ipad in her hands firmly against her chest.

chandler approached the girls, but before he could say anything, wanda disappeared from their sight, zooming back to where nicholas was still standing. chandler spun his head to follow her, "she's been acting weird." he mumbled, trailing off, before offering to help her with the dress.

she gladly accepted, turning around so it was easier for him. because of the whole dating thing, salem also had the opportunity to spend time with chandler and realise how effortlessly funny he was. by then, she considered him one of the closest friends of her and someone she could easily trust, even if she had only known him for a few months.

"thanks, chan—" "leave it to me."

the two sent a glance behind them, nicholas's imposing stance now standing behind chandler. the latter nodded to the girl, "i'm just—" "i'll handle it, chan." he ordered sternly.

chandler gasped for words, trying to say something before raising his hands in defence and gesturing to salem, "god, what's wrong with everyone today? did i miss something or..." he sent a small smile to salem, whispering in her ear, "he's afraid i'm gonna steal his girl."

chandler walked away from them, leaving salem and nicholas alone again. he crouched down, focusing on the dress in the same spot where chandler was working just a moment ago, before salem sent him a small smirk, "you didn't have to treat him like that." "he's gonna be fine, i'm tryna do something here." he talked back, his hands moving swiftly between the folds of the dress.

he looked up, catching salem's sharp eyes in his deep ones, and for the second their gazes intertwined, salem could feel her breath shorten. she eyes darted away from his immediately, clearing her throat as she watched nicholas straighten up again, towering over her, "nice job, sal." he whispered, with the usual shit-eating grin that salem thought she hated so much.

"hey, you two, lovebirds!" indiana's playful voice interrupted them, the camera tight in her hands, "we have a campaign shoot to finish here."

"right, sorry." nicholas smiled innocently, before moving to face salem again, "oop, you got some..." he ran a thumb against her lower lip, cleaning up a small stain of lipstick before shooting the reid girl a wink and going back to his place next to wanda and chandler.

MANHATTAN, ⠀NEW YORK CITY
──★ ˙🪡 ̟ !! 3rd person pov 🗽

———— "AND WITH THAT, we're done!" indiana called out to all of them, receiving a round of applause from everyone in the room before going to her best friend and hugging her tightly. "you did amazing, sal."

salem blushed softly, hearing her friend's compliment, before the two girl went to the other three in the room, who complimented them for their hard work.

"it was fantastic, sal! and indie, your photography skills are on another level," wanda praised the girls, before the door to indiana's studio swang open, revealing cleo's bubbly smile and clara's, indiana's girlfriend, relaxed expression. "see! i told you we were late!" cleo complained, looking behind her where shortly after a rare disheveled cameron appeared, "what can i do about the traffic cleo? huh?"

salem and indiana laughed at the sight, knowing it was almost impossible to exhaust cameron — both of them knowing very well how cleo was the only one who seemed to ace in that. cleo rolled her eyes, before noticing the tallest man in the room and jumping up and down in excitement, as if that little banter never happened. "chan!"

chandler watched the shorter girl run to him in her heels, which still didn't help her to reach his height, "hey, clee." he grinned at the sight of his girlfriend before planting a gentle kiss on her lips. they looked genuinely happy, which made indiana smile at the couple.

salem wanted to smile too, she was happy for her friend, but her eyes couldn't help it but dart to the redhead hiding behind nicholas, looking away from the couple and visibly growing sadder. she tried to hide it with a small smile, but soon, after indiana went to say hi to her girlfriend and everyone else went back to their work, salem approached wanda.

during those months, she also bonded with wanda, and the younger girl even opened up about her secret crush on chandler. salem placed a hand on wanda's shoulder, squeezing it gently in an attempt to catch her attention. "are you okay?"

wanda glanced up from her ipad, sending salem a small insecure smile, "yeah, i'm good." "are you sure? i mean about... chandler." she trailed off, whispering the last word in her ear so that no one could hear them.

wanda didn't say anything in response, her eyes trailing off to where chandler was still with cleo, laughing and flirting with each other. "i'm happy for him." wanda said, and salem could tell she was being honest, "but it's hard." she added, her voice becoming a light whisper.

salem wasn't sure of what to say, so she just hugged her, placing her head on her shoulder and embracing her in a comforting way. "don't worry about him too much, wanda. the right person will come, you know that right?"

the younger girl was glad to have salem. she was not only just an amazing model, but also a very dear friend to have. "thank you, sal." she mumbled, placing her head against hers.

"uhm, sal, sorry to interrupt, but.." the blonde looked up, only to meet cameron's already exhausted expression. she was sure he had quite the time with cleo, who probably bombarded him with absurd questions and insane statements on their way there. an idea popped up in her head, making him shut up as she grabbed his arm, "cam! actually, wanda needs your help."

the words of the reid girl made the two of them glance at her in confusion, "see those files there? she needs to order them. will you help her? thanks cam, you're the best." "actually, i—"

before he could deny it, she slalomed away from them, finding herself standing next to nicholas who had witnessed the whole scene. "playing cupid now?"

the girl nodded, a wave of pride washing over her, "yep!" she chimed, popping the final p, "and now, if you may excuse me." she spun around, heading towards the changing room with her heels clacking against the floor, winking at him and mimicking his gesture from earlier, before disappearing behind the door.

LOLA SPEAKS .ᐟ 𐙚
beginning of act two is finally out yayyy
i'm so excited for this next act, i can't believe
we're already halfway of the story ??? help
prepare for some drama hehe 😇