Sophie: "Where are you taking me?"

Marcus: "It's a surprise. You'll see when we get there."

Marcus pulls her along the garden path, smiling at her nervous excitement.

They walked around a bend towards the dock by the lake. A table was set up with candles, flowers and lights strung around the wooden rails. Sophie stopped, her eyes wide, one hand lifting to cover her mouth.

Sophie: "Oh Marcus. It's beautiful!"

Marcus leads her to the table on the dock, helping her sit down. On the table are two covered dishes. He lifts the cover to show salad and a pasta dish.

Marcus: "For you, mademoiselle."

Sophie: "This is too much. When did you find time to do all of this?"

Marcus: "I have my way."

He pulls the second chair towards her and sits down, her hand still in his.

Marcus: "You mean so much to me Sophie, I want you to know how much."

He pulls a small box out of his jacket pocket and holds it out towards her. Sophie's face pales, her hands shake as she stares at the box.

Marcus: "It's not much, but I want you to know how much I love and adore you."

He opens the box to reveal a gold ring with a small emerald set in the middle.

Marcus: "We still have a year before we graduate and I don't want to derail anything. But, consider this a promise. A promise that once we've graduated, we will revisit this and I will propose to you properly."

Sophie: "Marcus…"

Marcus: "Sophie, I love you and I want to be with you forever. I'm hoping you want the same thing."

Sophie is crying, nodding franticly, as he pulls the ring from its bed.

Sophie: "Yes. I love you. Of course, yes."

Smiling, he slides the ring onto her finger. Sophie pulls him to her kissing him.

S3E23 "Beginnings

The four were back in the limo and heading towards the WCB studios. Daphne and Veronica were growing more anxious the closer they got until finally Veronica let out an excited squeal.

"We're here!"

Daphne pulled out her phone and took a picture of the studio gates.

"To send to Lyss and Izzy." She explained grinning.

The limo stopped at the gates and the back door opened. A petite blond climbed in smiling at everyone.

"Hi! I'm Megan Lautner, the PR representative for WCB. Welcome to our studios." As she sat down, she nodded towards the front of the limo. "I'm in Harold, thanks."

The limo drove onto the studio lot as Megan sat down and smiled at the girls who were suddenly sitting as still as statues. "Which one of you is Daphne Shortman?"

"Here!" Daphne's hand shot up. "I'm here!"

Megan laughed. "I'm glad to see you excited. This wouldn't work if you two were bored stiff." She looked at Veronica. "You must be Veronica Montague."

Veronica nodded so fast Arnold was worried her head would fall off her neck. Arnold leaned forward.

"Arnold Shortman and this is Daphne's mother Lila Sawyer-Shortman."

Megan nodded her greeting and handed them all lanyards. "Well, these are your passes. Ever After is a closed set so please make sure you have your lanyard on and visible at all times. Security will escort you out if they do not see the pass. Now I could show you where some of the other shows are filmed but something tells me you really don't care about that."

"I can if you want to show us." Daphne said. Arnold shook his head while Megan laughed.

"It's okay, I understand. This show is a big hit because of fans like you two. I have to say, your essay was popular with Inane Zebra. They read through every entry themselves and yours seemed to hit a cord. Now they're in rehearsals today so it isn't an actual filming. Which means it'll probably be in some sort of organized chaos but it's also the only time when all the cast members are on set at the same time." She looked at her watch. "In fact they should be finished in about an hour barring any unforeseen issues which means maybe an hour watching rehearsals and meeting the cast and crew of the show."

The limo turned and began slowing.

"I know that it doesn't seem like much time but it's late and you do another four days with them. This is merely introductions. Trust me, by the time this trip is over, you'll be sick of all of them."

Daphne and Veronica snorted in unison. "Not likely." Daphne stated.

Megan laughed and opened the door. "Well, let's put that to the theory, shall we?"

"This is why I didn't want dating on my set." Helga insisted. Rebecca sniffed.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed. "We didn't expect it to happen!"

Helga pulled at her hair as she paced the back stage. Finally, she dropped her arms and turned to look at Rebecca.

"Okay, I need you to close your eyes and listen. Imagine this entire show is actually your high school life. Anderson is dating Ariel and you're desperately in love with him. You've been desperately in love with him since middle school. You write poetry about him, you might have a small shrine, you can't go a minute without thinking of him, his hair, his laugh, his voice. Your entire life is him. And yeah, it sounds pathetic and borderline stalker-ish but you can't help it. He's the air you breathe, you reason you go to school every day and with your family, some days the reason you live. You would kill for him; you would die for him. You would do anything he asked. Even if it means just being his friend and being there when he needed you. Now, Ariel knows how you feel and takes advantage of it. Anderson can't see what she does, is too blinded by what he thinks is a mutual affection. She mentions it once when you two are freshmen, when she started dating Anderson, but mostly has left it alone. Now she comes to you stating that Anderson isn't happy. That he loves her-her meaning Ariel- but his relationship with you has him worried that you might feel something more than friendship for him. And Anderson's a caring guy, he's going to want to talk about it. And the last thing you want is Anderson knowing how you felt, it would ruin your friendship. So Ariel asks you, that if you ever loved him, to leave him alone. Avoid him, ignore him. And sure he might be hurt for a bit but he'll get over it. She asks you to let him be happy."

Rebecca opened her eyes. "Ariel's a bitch."

"She is…or rather, her character Lisa is. But Helen is so in love with Arthur that she'll do anything to make him happy, even if it means making herself miserable." Helga fixed the blond teen with a hard stare. "Now do you understand what I'm trying to get from you?"

Before Rebecca could respond, the curtain was flung aside and Tad hurried in, his face pale. He stared at the two women for a moment before focusing on Rebecca.

"Becky get out. Back to the stage. Now."

Helga straightened as Rebecca frowned.

"What's going on?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

Tad shook his head. "Becky, go. Helga, first, I'm not going to laugh. Second, I need you to breathe."

The door to the soundstage opened and Megan showed her badge to the man standing in the entrance. The sound of music mixed with teens talking and laughing spilled out into the open and Lila frowned.

"I expected a popular television show to be a little more professional." She sniffed in distain. She lifted the pass and the man nodded, shutting the door behind her as everyone stepped in.

"And usually it is, but this is their rehearsal period. Everything gets a little crazy during rehearsals." Megan pushed open another door and the stage sets for Holly Hills High School came alive. Veronica gasped loudly, her eyes wide as saucers and Daphne let out an involuntary laugh.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, clutching Veronica's arm. "We're here."

"Oh God Daphne," Veronica choked, pointing towards a group of teens gathered in one area. "It's them."

Arnold grinned, watching the two girls try their best not to have a melt-down on the set of their favorite show.

"Are they allowed to take pictures?" he asked.

"Um, I'm not sure. If it was a production day I'd say no, but I'll have to ask either Tad or Hel to get their take."

"I think Brooke needs a theme song." A dark haired girl said in the distance, directing her statement towards a tall dark-haired man crossing the floor. Without breaking stride, he merely pointed a finger at the girl.

"No." he said. "If Brooke gets a theme song then everyone will want one and suddenly we're Mtv."

"Mtv doesn't play music." The red haired girl sitting next to the now laughing teen tossed out while typing on her phone.

"And that's a great pity." The man shot back just as quickly. "No theme songs."

Megan waved to a couple of the kids as they walked into the open area. Daphne tapped her dad's arm.

"That's Anne Cummings and Ariel Collins," she stage whispered. "They play Brooke and Lisa."

Arnold nodded as Daphne hurried towards Veronica and grabbed the girl's arm again.

"Afternoon kids, Tad, our contest winner is here!"

The dark haired man spun on his heel, his head bent looking at the script. He lifted his head and his smile froze as he caught sight of them. He looked away towards a curtain behind him and when he turned back, a welcoming smile was pasted to his face.

"Hi! Welcome to Studio G." He strode towards them, script in one hand and after shooting a quick glance towards Megan, focused his attention to the two teen girls. Lila stepped forward, placing a hand on Arnold's shoulder and peered at the tall, handsome man striding towards them.

"Is that Curly?" she asked, her voice low. Arnold was giving her an odd look and the question didn't register for a moment. He blinked and turned back towards the man walking towards them.

"Tad?" Arnold asked.

He stopped within normal speaking distance and smiled.

"That would be me."

"Curly?" Lila repeated, stunned. Tad's smile slipped dimmed slightly.

"That would no longer be me. Now," he continued, looking back at the two teens before him. He studied Veronica first, his smile turning melancholy for a brief moment before he looked at Daphne. He pointed his now rolled up script at her. "You must be Daphne."

Daphne's grin widened as she stared at Tad. "Oh my God I love your show! It's the best thing on television. Your characters are so real life!"

Tad laughed. "Well, we try." He glanced back at Veronica. "And who are you?"

Veronica's eyes were still wide as she stared at him. "R..Ronnie Montague, sir."

Another laugh. "Ronnie? Short for Veronica?"

She nodded.

"And let me guess." He folded his arms and pretended to study them. "Your favorite character is…Arthur." He stated with a quick glance towards Arnold. Daphne nodded, still grinning.

"I prefer Theo." Veronica said. Tad raised an eyebrow.

"I would not have expected that. Anne!" he yelled, turning back to look at where the group of kids were now watching the conversation. "I've found your replacement for the next time you annoy me!"

"You love me and you know it!" the dark haired girl yelled back, hopping off the stage and walking towards them. Tad turned back around, amusement plain on his face.

"I know exactly where we're putting you." He stated.

Veronica froze, her face panicked and Tad laughed.

"You honestly didn't think we'd make you sit out while your friend got a walk on part, did you?" Still smiling, he finally looked up at Arnold and Lila. "It's nice to see you two again. How is Hillwood's most famous power couple?"

Daphne and Veronica's head snapped towards Arnold and Lila in shock. "You guy know each other?" Daphne almost screeched.

"Back in the day." Tad answered, studying them. He broke off before either could answer as Anne approached them. "What are you doing trouble maker?"

Daphne and Veronica gaped as Anne studied them both with an amused look. "Sizing up my competition. You are adorable!" she exclaimed catching site of Veronica. "Are those vintage Caprini boots?"

"They were my mother's." Veronica mumbled, her ears turning red. Anne grinned at her.

"Those are fabulous."

Tad took a step backward waving his hand. "Come in, meet the rest of the cast, we're about finished for the day anyway. Um…Anne, introduce everyone and don't freak them out. I'll.." he glanced behind him again. "I'll just get Hel. Excuse me."

He spun around and strode away from them and towards the curtained area. Arnold looked at Megan.

"Did we just get schmoozed?"

Megan laughed. "Tad does tend to talk over everyone. It's usually how he gets his way."

"Becky go! Helga, first, I'm not going to laugh. Second, I need you to breathe."

Rebecca Pilson stepped from behind the curtain, expression thoughtful. She could still hear Tad and Hel talking.

"What?"

"The contest winners are here."

"And it's someone we know? You said you were going to laugh at me."

"No. No, Helga, listen."

"Is it Gerald? Maybe Patty and Harold's kid. Do they even have a kid?"

"Helga."

Rebecca turned around and saw Anne standing next to Megan and a family of four. An older blond man standing next to a redheaded woman who had her hand resting possessively on his arm. A redhead and a raven haired teen girls stood in front of Anne, both looking like they were trying hard not to flail.

"I got this Tad. Just be my charming self."

The curtain shifted and Rebecca hurried towards the stage where Anderson and Darren stood.

"The contest winners are here." Anderson said as she approached.

"And Hel and Tad know them." Her eyes narrowed as she studied the group. "There's something familiar about them."

Darren leaned in between them. "Well, we're about to find out." He said as the curtain rustled.