I Can't Believe I'm Doing This

"'The Newlywed Game?'" Angel asked, a confused look on her face. "What's that?"

"It doesn't matter," I said, "because we won't be on the show."

"Max," Fang said. "Let's just hear her out, then we can decide whether we want to do it or not." While I bit my tongue, glared, and silently seethed, Fang gave her the go ahead and she started talking.

"The Newlywed Game is a game where three newlyweds compete to win $25,000 and gifts. You earn money and gifts merely by knowing your spouse. First the men go into another room while the women are asked questions that they have to answer. After all questions are answered the men come out and have to guess what the women answered. Then we switch. You can get money just by answering the questions correctly. If you have the highest score you go to the golden round, where you go against another winner from a pervious game- generally one where the people have been married a while. If you win, you get all the $25,000 and the perks they offer you. Since you two know each other so well, this game should be easy... So what do you think?"

"No," I said while Fang said, "Okay."

"Can I talk to you for a minute, honey?" I asked with fake sweetness.

"Of course, dear," Fang mimicked. I heard Gazzy laughing along with Angel.

When we were out of site I turned and whisper-screamed, "What the hell?!" Which earned me a disproving glance from Fang.

"Why shouldn't we? We've known each other our whole lives, we're practically married, and you know we could use the money."

I knew Fang was right about the money part, recently we had to leave Total and Akila at my mom's house because we couldn't afford to keep feeding them- Angel cried for a week-, and we did know each other better then we probably knew ourselves... but I still wondered about one thing. "What do you mean we're practically married?"

Fang just rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep the blush from creeping up his neck. "Do I really need to tell you Max? We rely on each other all the time- like a married couple-, one's weakness is the others strength, we practically raised the flock, we talk to each other all the time, and Iggy has told me multiple times that we argue like an old married couple."

"Does he really?" I asked before remembering what we were originally talking about. "But you forgot one important detail about the show."

"What?"

"We're fourteen!"

"No, you're fifteen and I'm fourteen."

"That doesn't matter!" I threw my hands up in the air. "We're still younger then eighteen."

"Yeah, but they don't know that."

"What happens if the School looks and finds us on T.V?"

"Then we run, just like we always do." He put his hands on my shoulders and made me look him in the eyes. "What's the worst that could happen?" I shot him a answering glare and he flinched. "Okay, bad question."

His eyes looked hopeful, and for the first time in a long time, happy. "God," I muttered, "I can't believe I'm going to do this." His smile was enough to remind me and the kiss was enough to make me forget.

While I wrapped my arms around his neck and placed my hands in his hair, his hands were constantly moving up and down my back with one hand permanently massaging my neck with his calloused fingers. Before I was quite ready, he pulled away and rested his forehead on mine, his finger's played with my hair- making it quite hard to think. "So, how are you doing Mrs. Ride?"

"I'm doing a lot better now." He grinned and gave me another kiss- this one was short- before he put on a blank mask and dragged me back to the table where Ms. Smiley was still smiling- only now she had a cup of coffee. Why did I think that was a bad idea?

"We'll do it," Fang told her after we got back in the booth, "but only if our family can come with us." She smiled bigger (if possible) and nodded.

"Just let me get the information so you can read more about it."

When she walked off Iggy turned to Fang and asked, "How did you get Max to change her mind?"

"I have my ways," Fang said, putting Iggy's hand on his lips so he could feel the smile.

"Yeah," I said before Iggy could get any ideas. "It's called Logic."

But I think I was too late because Iggy just smiled a knowing smile and said, "Right, and I'm a girl."

Before I could say that sarcastic comment on the tip of my tongue, Ms. Smiley came back with the info. "Okay, it says here that it's in New York, New York, so we are going to have to fly out there- but I can handle that. You need to sign here basically agreeing that we can use the footage in our show, and here which it says that if you get hurt, it's not our fault, and here agreeing to do what we ask when it has to do with the show."

Fang signed quickly and passed the pen and paper over to me. Before I could sign, I saw that Fang signed, Adam Ride. With a smirk, I signed beneath him with the name Susan Ride. I made sure he saw it before giving it back to Ms. Smiley who was talking about shopping and haircuts.

"We're going to be in a hotel tonight, and then tomorrow we can get you two some new clothes and some haircuts."

"Can we come too?" Nudge asked.

"Of course, I don't see why not." While Nudge was squealing in excitement I was arguing about the shopping.

"We are not going shopping."

"Don't worry, I'll pay."

"Why do you even want us to go shopping?"

"Because right now you all look like homeless models." I couldn't disagree with her there. Then she looked at Fang closely and I saw her smile slip. "We have some work to do with this one," she muttered. so quietly we weren't supposed to hear. When Fang scowled she put her smile back up. "I don't think I've introduced myself yet, I'm Nora Plum, one of the producers of the show."

Fang smiled and said, "Now let us introduce ourselves. I'm Adam, this is my wife Susan, her brother," he nodded at Iggy, "Chris, her younger brother," he looked at Gazzy- who noticed Fang was talking about him and smiled-, "Dave, and their youngest sibling, Cassie." Angel waved. "Here we have my adopted sister, Nikkie."

"It's nice to meet all of you, now come one, I've got the perfect hotel that we can all stay at."

Then she proceeded to drag us out of the restaurant and I faintly heard Nudge mutter, "And we didn't even eat yet." But I had bigger problems to work out. Like how were Fang and I supposed to pretend to be married?

Why don't you hold his hand? the Voice asked, and for the first time I did exactly what the Voice suggested without a second thought. The look on Gazzy's face- head tilted, tongue out, and eyes closed- was enough to make me laugh.