Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Pretending to Hate You A SpokelsHere x JumperWho AU Childhood Friends >> Enemies >> Fake Dating > Lovers Chapter One: The Promise Beneath the Tree
Before the wars.
Before the rivalries.
Before everyone knew their names as enemies.
There were just two kids and a treehouse.
Spoke and Jumper.
Everyone on the server knew them as a pair.
Where Spoke went, Jumper followed.
Where Jumper had an idea, Spoke was usually the first person crazy enough to help her make it happen.
She was the planner.
He was the one who jumped into danger without thinking.
She was the one who reminded him to bring supplies.
He was the one who made her laugh whenever things became too serious.
Together, they were unstoppable.
Or at least, that's what everyone believed.
Their favorite place was an old oak tree overlooking a river.
It wasn't impressive.
The walls were uneven.
The roof leaked whenever it rained.
The ladder was missing two steps because Spoke accidentally broke them during construction and never fixed them.
"It's perfect," Spoke said proudly.
Jumper looked at the crooked building.
"It's terrible."
"It's our terrible."
She tried not to smile.
Failed.
"Fine."
She climbed onto the roof beside him.
"Our terrible."
Years passed.
The treehouse became their place.
When they found diamonds, they celebrated there.
When they lost fights, they hid there.
When the world felt too complicated, they sat together and watched the stars.
One night, when they were younger, Spoke looked at Jumper and said:
"Promise me something."
She raised an eyebrow.
“What?"
"If we ever fight ... "
"Which is probably going to happen because you're annoying."
"Hey."
She laughed.
"But continue."
"Promise we won't leave forever."
Jumper looked at him.
For once, Spoke wasn't joking.
So she smiled and held out her hand.
"Promise."
They shook hands beneath the stars.
Neither of them knew how much that promise would matter.
Because eventually ...
They broke it.
The first sign something was wrong was the missing artifact.
A powerful item had disappeared from the server vault.
An artifact that represented trust between the different factions.
And somehow ...
Evidence pointed toward Jumper.
Spoke stared at the reports in disbelief.
"No."
The room went quiet.
Someone looked at him.
"Spoke-"
“No."
He looked at the evidence again.
"It can't be her."
But the evidence kept appearing.
A witness.
A trail.
A stolen item found near her base.
Everything seemed impossible.
Except it was there.
Jumper arrived moments later.
She immediately noticed the silence.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
Then she saw the reports.
Her expression changed.
"You think I did this?"
Spoke looked at her.
And that was the moment everything broke.
Because she wasn't angry.
She was hurt.
"Do you believe them?"
Spoke wanted to say no.
He wanted to say that he knew her better than anyone.
That she was his best friend.
That she would never betray him.
But doubt won.
"I don't know."
Those words destroyed everything.
Jumper stared at him.
After everything.
After all their years together.
He didn't trust her.
"Okay."
Her voice was quiet.
"Then maybe you never knew me at all."
She left before sunrise.
She didn't return to the treehouse.
She didn't say goodbye.
She didn't give him another chance.
And Spoke didn't stop her.
That was the mistake he would regret forever.
Years later, everyone knew them differently.
Spoke was one of the strongest fighters on the server.
Jumper had built a reputation of her own.
Smart.
Dangerous.
Impossible to defeat.
The childhood friends everyone once knew became rivals everyone feared.
Whenever Lifesteal and Unstable crossed paths ...
So did they.
"You still fight like you're angry at the world," Spoke said during one battle.
Jumper blocked his attack.
"And you still talk too much."
"You missed me."
She scoffed.
"In your dreams."
But neither of them admitted the truth.
The anger was easier than admitting they missed each other.
Then came the alliance.
The wars between Lifesteal and Unstable had gone too far.
Both sides needed proof that peace was possible.
And someone came up with an idea.
A terrible idea.
A ridiculous idea.
An idea that would make everyone question reality.
"What if Spoke and Jumper fake date?"
Silence.
Then:
“No."
"No way."
"Absolutely not."
Spoke crossed his arms.
"I would rather fight an entire army alone."
Jumper nodded.
"I agree with him."
Everyone stared.
"That is the first thing you've agreed on in years."
Neither looked happy about it.
But they both knew the truth.
If pretending to be together could stop another war ...
They would do it.
The rules were simple.
Smile together.
Attend events together.
Act like they were in love.
Convince everyone the alliance was real.
It should have been easy.
After all ...
They hated each other.
Didn't they?
Except pretending meant remembering.
Remembering how Jumper always knew when Spoke was upset.
Remembering how Spoke always protected her without thinking.
Remembering the friendship they lost.
Their arguments slowly became jokes.
Their insults became teasing.
Their fake smiles became real ones.
And the more they pretended ...
The harder it became to remember where the act ended.
Because the truth was ...
They hadn't become strangers.
They had just spent years pretending they were.
And maybe the promise they made as children wasn't broken after all.
Maybe they were just finding their way back.
Pretending to Hate You Chapter Two: The Worst Idea in History
Pretending to Hate You Chapter Two: The Worst Idea in History
The meeting room had never been this uncomfortable.
Representatives from Lifesteal SMP and Unstable SMP sat across from each other, surrounded by maps, battle reports, and enough tension to make even the strongest players hesitate.
The war had gone on too long.
Everyone was tired.
Everyone had lost something.
And nobody wanted another fight.
"We need something that proves this alliance is real," one of the leaders said.
"Something nobody can fake."
The room fell silent.
A treaty could be broken.
A shared base could be destroyed.
A promise could be ignored.
Then someone leaned back in their chair.
"What if we make the two biggest rivals on both servers prove it?"
Everyone looked confused.
“Who?"
The person smiled.
"Spoke and Jumper."
The silence afterward was immediate.
Then chaos.
"No."
Spoke didn't even let them finish.
"No."
Across the table, Jumper folded her arms.
"Absolutely not."
The coordinator sighed.
"You haven't even heard the plan."
"I don't need to."
Spoke pointed at Jumper.
"Her and me?"
Jumper raised an eyebrow.
"You say that like you're not the problem too."
"You literally tried to trap me in a cave last week."
"You deserved it."
"You dropped gravel on my head."
"You walked into my base."
"Because you left the door open."
"Exactly."
Everyone stared.
One person whispered:
"They're arguing like they never stopped being friends."
Both of them turned.
"We are not."
The room became silent.
Because they answered at the exact same time.
The plan was simple.
Too simple.
For three months, Spoke and Jumper would pretend to be together.
They would attend alliance events.
They would appear at public gatherings.
They would complete missions as a pair.
They would convince both servers that if they could put aside their differences, everyone else could too.
Spoke stared.
"You want us to hold hands?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Jumper crossed her arms.
"I agree with him."
Everyone looked surprised.
"That might be the first time you've agreed in years."
"Don't make it weird," Spoke muttered.
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I am not."
"You are."
The coordinator sighed.
"Are you two done?"
"No," they said together.
A pause.
Then they both looked annoyed.
They eventually agreed.
Not because they wanted to.
Because people were getting hurt.
And despite everything ...
Neither of them had changed that much.
They still cared.
They just hated admitting it.
The first public appearance was a disaster.
Mostly because everyone knew them too well.
The plaza was filled with players from both servers.
Parrot watched from the crowd with his arms crossed.
Rekrap two stood beside him, already entertained.
"This is either going to work perfectly ... "
"Or?"
"They're going to start a war before the actual war starts."
Nearby, Mapicc shook his head.
"I give them five minutes."
ClownPierce smiled.
"I give them three."
Spoke and Jumper stepped into the plaza.
Immediately, everyone started whispering.
"Is it real?"
"No way."
"They hate each other."
"They used to be friends."
"That's worse."
Spoke leaned closer.
"They're staring."
Jumper kept smiling.
"I know."
"I hate this."
"Same."
"You're supposed to say something romantic."
She looked at him.
"Like what?"
"I don't know."
"You're the one who hates this."
"Good point."
The coordinator behind them cleared their throat.
"Remember. Convincing."
Spoke sighed.
Jumper did the same.
Then she reached for his hand.
He froze.
Not because it was part of the act.
Because it felt familiar.
Like the days before everything went wrong.
"You okay?" she whispered.
Spoke looked at her.
For a second, he forgot they were pretending.
“Yeah."
She noticed.
The hesitation.
The surprise.
The way he looked at her like he was seeing his old best friend again.
Then she quickly looked away.
"Good."
The crowd reacted immediately.
Cheers.
Whispers.
Shock.
A few people looked genuinely confused.
"They actually look convincing."
"That's the scary part."
The day continued.
They walked through the market.
They answered questions.
They posed for pictures.
They acted like a couple.
Except ...
They didn't have to act as much as they expected.
Jumper still remembered Spoke's favorite food.
Spoke still noticed when Jumper was tired.
She still tapped her fingers when she was thinking.
He still made stupid jokes when things got tense.
The little things hadn't disappeared.
They had just been buried.
That evening, they returned to their guest room.
And immediately stopped.
There was one bed.
One.
Spoke stared.
"No."
Jumper looked inside.
"No."
They both turned around.
"Absolutely not."
The coordinator standing behind them smiled.
"The room arrangements were already made."
"I'll sleep outside."
"It's raining."
"I'll sleep in the hallway."
"The floor is stone."
"I'll take the floor."
Jumper sighed.
"You are unbelievably dramatic."
"You know that."
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Eventually, they agreed to share the bed.
With a mountain of pillows between them.
"This is ridiculous," Spoke said.
"Yes."
"We're adults."
"Yes."
"We're fighting over a pillow wall."
"Yes."
"Why are you agreeing with me?"
"Because you're right."
He looked at her.
" ... That was unexpected."
"Don't get used to it."
For a while, neither spoke.
Then:
"Do you remember the treehouse?"
Spoke went still.
He hadn't expected that.
"Yeah."
"I wondered if you ever went back."
The question was quiet.
Honest.
Spoke looked at the ceiling.
"No."
A pause.
“Why?"
"Because it didn't feel right without you."
Jumper's expression changed.
For a moment, she forgot she was supposed to be angry.
"I thought you hated me."
Spoke looked over.
"I thought you hated me."
Neither had an answer.
Because both of them had been wrong.
Outside the room, footsteps passed.
Neither noticed.
Inside, two former best friends lay awake, separated by pillows but closer than they had been in years.
And neither of them realized the most dangerous part of the fake relationship wasn't convincing everyone else.
It was convincing themselves.