“If I pay you, will you please pretend to be my friend, just this week?”

“What?”

“Just this week.”

“Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so, but my name is Adam.”

“Wait. We don’t know eachother but you want me to be your friend?”

“All friends begin as strangers, right?”

“I mean, I guess, but we’re in a coffee shop, and we’re not friends.”

“You could just say no.”

“No, sorry.”

“Well, th...

“If I pay you, will you please pretend to be my friend, just this week?” Brayden had no idea who this girl was. He hasn't seen her around before. He took a minute to think about what this girl has just asked.

“How much are we talking here?” Brayden asked. He was captain of the football team, and he wasn't about to end his social life over a couple of dollars. Twenty dollars.” She answered. His e...

“If I pay you, will you pretend to be my friend, just this week?” It was that girl. He’d seen her around the school every once in a while. Always alone, always with that hint of sadness in her eyes.

She was smaller than everyone else, and at first he’d thought she was one of those prodigies, moved up multiple grades for their brain power. He knew now that she wasn’t a genious—not like that at le...

(I couldn’t make my mind up so here’s 2)

——————————————

“If I pay you, will you please pretend to be my friend, just this week?”, I type and delete.

I stopped hanging in groups of three when I realised it was two friends and just me, you see.

Two seats with just me beneath.

Two spaces on the street, and just me behind the scenes.

Oh, to be one of two,

Rather than one of three,

Or, in fa...

I glanced at the guy sitting across from me, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. “If I pay you, will you please pretend to be my friend, just this week?” he asked, his eyes filled with a mix of desperation and loneliness.

I raised an eyebrow, thinking it was some weird joke. “You serious?” I replied, sipping on my soda.

He nodded, his gaze fixed on the tabletop. “I’ve never had any friends, an...

As Mila entered the room, an uneasy sensation settled in her gut. Elliot’s smile seemed forceful, lacking the usual warmth that reached his eyes.

We can’t talk anymore, we just broke up.” Mila felt her body tense up, her jaw clenching with a mix of surprise and discomfort.

Elliot whispers, “Nobody knows we’ve broken up yet though.”

Stunned, Mila stammered, “What are you tr”

”If I pay you, will...

“If I pay you, will you please pretend to be my friend, just this week?”

Caleb blinks twice, confused of what the girl he barely knew just asked him. Was her name Sarah? Sari? Oh yes, Serafina.

“This is ridiculous” Caleb mutters mostly to himself, swinging his book bag over his shoulder.

He swiftly turns to leave, before she grabs onto his wrist.

“Caleb Grant, right? I know you need the money....

“If i pay you, will you please pretend to be m-“ There goes another one.

…silence….even more silence…

“Okay.. don’t lose motivation.”

<Ooh another person who

fits the criteria!>

“Why are you looking at me

like that kid?..”

“Listen don’t walk away please, your the only one that’s sto...

Michael was walking down the lane and he bumped into a stranger that looked familiar. It turned out that the stranger was Scott an old school friend, they were having lovely chats. They got talking and Michael said to Scott “ If I pay you, will you please pretend to be my friend, just this week?”. Scott thought this was very weird as he gave Michael a concerned look, Michael said “ let me explain ...

The young man sat alone in the large bustling plaza, reading away on his phone by the fountain. Every day, he would walk downtown, take a seat next to the fountain, and read. He had done so for months. In truth, the habit had started as a naive attempt at finding someone to talk to. “The odds of finding someone are zero if I’m in my home all day.” He had thought. His hopes of finding someone...