I’m so sorry if this sounds completely stupid, but people at school started saying I only got together with my new boyfriend to get stolen test answers from his mom (she teaches 10th-grade bio). The class chats are blowing up, and yesterday he actually asked me if I even like him. I'm crazy about him, but how do I prove my feelings aren't some sick academic scam? 🙈

Breathe: you are dealing with classic small-town high school paranoia, not a criminal mastermind plot. When people are stressed about their GPA and bored out of their skulls, they’d rather invent an undercover spy mission than accept that two teenagers just fancy each other. It stings, especially because your boyfriend is insecure enough right now to let locker-room whispers get into his head. You can’t control the gossip mill, but you can ground him. Grab him away from the hallway noise, leave the phones in your pockets, and tell him straight: "If I wanted to cheat on a bio test, I’d scribble notes on my shoe, not fall head over heels for your terrible jokes. I am here for you, full stop." Don't bend over backwards trying to prove your innocence to the rest of the school—defensiveness just fuels the drama. People will find another dumb conspiracy to chew on by next Friday. Don't let their bad fanfiction mess up your honeymoon phase.