Summary: Graduating is a big deal. It's like a right of passage, a landmark in your life. But the truth is, often times the graduation ceremony is more for the people watching (especially parents) than it is for the actual graduates. Graduations often contain many 'blasts from the pasts' when you say good-bye to friends who you haven't talked to in months, hug teachers who you hated three years earlier when you had them, and pose for pictures with relatives you rarely see. But occassionally those blasts from the pasts come unexpectantly. And when they do it's really, really good to be a trained operative who can lie easily and pretend to know more than they really do.

Disclaimer: As per usual I don't own anything.

Stanford's Fake Graduate

Macey McHenry/Calvin Peterson

Friendship/Family

Three-shot

We're always searching. Whether it is for the perfect guy, happiness, comfort, a family, security, or a way to make our lives worthwhile. People search their entire life for their purpose of being here, the way they can change the world, the little part they can play. Some people get stuck in the cycle of life; turn to the darker side for excitement and danger. To feel the thrill life can provide. It may not win you a Girl Scout award but you'll be known and remembered if you play your cards right.

Some people give up on life all together, committing suicide when they get desperate and can't see a way out. Some continue to live it in their own way, drowning their sorrows in drugs, alcohol, and heavy partying. And some turn their life around from a bad place to a place that makes them feel content, that will give them happiness, security, family, friends, and everything else that they dreamed of. The people who turn their lives around often get credit for it, as people look at them in awe and congratulate them on being strong enough to turn it around. But you can never make everyone happy, and the truth is, no matter how it may look or sound, no one has a 'perfect' life, with everything they could ever want.

When I posed for magazines with my parents and had my hair and make-up done professionally I looked like the poster girl for perfect. America saw me as the 'golden girl' who was destined for success. My parents saw me as a rebellious teenager who was destined for jail or a life full of partying with their money.

When Cal talked to his parents they thought that he had finally put his life back together and followed their dream for him. His dad was still expecting to see a plastic-surgery ridden girl who had nothing going for her, but they still heard him talk and thought that he was doing exactly what they wanted. When his friends and colleagues heard him talk it sounded like he had a close-knit family with parents who loved him to death and supported him in every way possible. But when all of the assumptions and appearances break down you see people for who they really are.

I happen to be a 20-year-old working for the CIA who only goes out to party occasionally, doesn't speak to her parents, supports herself, and is having the closest thing to a perfect life that she has ever experienced. Cal is lying to his parents in an attempt to make them happy and have a few hours of peace from his dad, is doing the one job that he loves and his dad hates, and isn't dating any girl with plastic surgery because he's not the same guy his parents used to know, nor is he the perfect angel that they half expect him to be now that he's started to grow up on his own. The truth is, people are all alike. We have different hair colors, different interests, different tastes, but we all make mistakes and we all have a show that we put on depending on who we're with. It's rare that you find some one who you don't have to act for, and even rarer when you find the moments when you don't feel any pressure to act like your life is better, worse, more dramatic, pure bliss, or whatever, instead of what it really is. But occasionally it happens and when you find the people it can happen with, you know they're friends for life. It happened to me on the third day of my trip to California and I realized that Cal's really not that bad.

While he's one of the last guys in the world I would date (Hugh Hefner still beats him), I realized that he's actually a good guy and that maybe my friends were right when they said that his cockiness and playboy antics were an act because he proved to me that no matter what happens, we are friends, and he will be there for me through thick and thin.

When I got up the next morning at seven Cal was already showering for the day ahead. Graduation was at noon so we had some time. I had followed our asset all day, doing surveillance in the morning, hanging out with them all in the afternoon, doing surveillance again in the evening, and then hanging out with them again that night. It seemed like he had a pretty good group of friends, most of them appeared sheltered and a few seemed like pretty heavy party-goers but all in all, it was a nice group who didn't try to act ditzy, a huge pet-peeve of mine.

I started on our report while he was in the shower, sticking solely to the plane ride so that if anything important happened today we wouldn't need to re-write it all. Unless one of the flight attendants turned out to be a serial killer, the plane ride aspect was safe. It didn't take long for him to come out, dressed nicely in dress pants and a button down shirt without a tie since his robe would be covering most of what he was wearing anyways.

"Hey McHenry," he greeted. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Okay, but first I found where they keep the robes for graduation. There's a little basement cupboard thing that should have extra's. The ceremony is being held outside, don't ask me why, and there aren't reserved seats, as long as people are on campus, they can come. There are lawn chairs for people to sit. The winter ceremonies are always smaller and you won't be graduating with many people, it should only take a few hours. You have to meet with the rest of the graduating class at eleven at which point I'll sit down and try to get a good seat. But I'm still not sure how exactly we're supposed to recruit the asset…"

"Err, we just ask him…don't we?" Cal said. Oh this was going to be good.

"Didn't they tell you anything about it at all?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Yeah, they said to make sure he didn't get killed. It's the CIA; they've never been big on explaining things. But I think we should just take him out after graduation and try to get him on board. There's nothing else we can really do." He had a point.

"Alright," I agreed, closing my laptop and spinning around on the desk chair. "Now what's your favor?"

"I need you to meet my parents," he said resignedly.

"Why?" I asked. This wasn't in the job description.

"Because I mentioned you and now they want to meet you, make sure you aren't some ditzy girl I picked up in a club," he said. 'Ditzy girl' 'picked up' 'meet my parents'. Oh no. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Not even Cal would be that stupid.

"How, exactly, did you mention me?" I asked my eyes narrowed as he shifted on the bed, looking a bit sheepish.

"Well, see…You know, I had to make them think I had a life at Stanford, and, well, a reason other than my job for growing up a little so…"

"Calvin I-don't-know-your-middle-name Peterson, how the hell do your parents think we know each other?"

"You do realize you just swore," he tried to change the subject.

"Calvin," I said in the most threatening voice I could muster while trying not to laugh at how desperate he seemed.

"Well, err, not really you per-say, but you know some one like you, and since there is no one, I figured you could play the part," he said evasively.

"Play what part," I demanded, eyes narrowed.

"Uh-hum. Well, you know…" he said, procrastinating the unavoidable as far as I was concerned.

"Enlighten me," I said through gritted teeth. The gritted teeth were merely from me trying really hard not to laugh at him, but I realized quickly that they added to the effect nicely.

"I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend," he said in a rush. I looked him over as though assessing the pros and cons. He was kind of cute in a Cal-ish kind of way. Blonde hair's never been my thing, but still, he wouldn't be bad arm-candy.

"Ask me," I said. He looked at me blankly. "If you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend then you need to ask me." I clarified. He looked like he wasn't sure whether he should trust me but complied anyways.

"Macey," he said, using my first name for effect. "Will you please pretend to be my girlfriend when we see my parents." He said it nicely, and I immediately realized just how desperate he really was. And so, being I, I decided to see if I could push him a little bit farther, solely for my own amusement.

"Now beg," I commanded.

"What?" he said, immediately alert.

"I'll play your slutty girlfriend who's a brat since you asked but if you want me to play the nice girl who your parents will love then you'll have to get down on your hands and knees and beg."

"No way," he said, shaking his head adamantly. "I am not going to beg."

"Alright then," I said with a shrug, spinning my chair back around. "I think we should have nick-names for each other. You can be Teddy Bear," I decided, allowing myself to show a little amusement while he glared at me as though I was getting ready to torture him. Which, in his mind, I probably seemed like I was.

"Okay fine," he said and I spun around to face him, crossing my arms as he approached and took my hand. "Will you—"

"Wait," I cut him off. "You have to get down on your knees."

"Come on McHenry," he said desperately. "The floors dirty, these are my only dress pants."

"Well then, you should have brought another pair with you," I said stubbornly. He sighed and got down on both his knees. I smirked. Even wearing workout shorts and an oversized gray t-shirt I could get him to do what I wanted. I was good.

"Are you taping this?" he asked suspiciously.

"No," I laughed. "I'm not that cruel. This is solely for my own entertainment."

"Fine," he grumbled.

"I don't like boyfriends who have a bad attitude," I reprimanded him. He sighed but put a huge, very fake smile on his face and I knew immediately that he was going to turn to the dramatics since he knew no one else would be able to see this moment. Sucks for them really.

"Macey McHenry," he pronounced loudly. I bit the side of my mouth. "Will you please, please pretend to be my nice girlfriend who my parents will love at my graduation this afternoon? I beg of you!"

"How about beseech? I think I like beseech better," I decided as though we were writing a screenplay.

"I beseech you," he corrected, grabbing both of my hands and falling with his head on my lap.

"Alright," I agreed, heaving a huge sigh as we both stood up. "Even though this is a huge hardship I'll help you out. But you had better remember this for the rest of your life because you are going to owe me for twice that long."

"You're the best McHenry. I don't know what I've done without you all the years. Until you came into my life—"

"Okay, I'm done with the dramatics," I cut him off, laughing anyways.

"Hurry up."

"Shut up."

"Then hurry up."

"You can't really criticize."

"Criticizing is easy."

"Yeah, a lot easier than what I'm doing."

"Which is precisely why I'm good at it."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you can't do anything above the intelligence of a 3-year-old. And sorry to all the 3-year-olds I just insulted."

"Says the girl who couldn't break a simple college level encryption."

"Says the guy who can't pick a simple lock."

"You can't seem to pick a lock either."

"That's because this ones old."

"That usually makes things easier."

"Not when locks were made stronger before we were born."

"Just hurry up before some one ca—"

"The doors open Calvin," I said to his back as he continued to watch the street above us.

"Oh, nice work," he said, pushing past me as I rolled my eyes.

"Hey where's your cast?" I asked, realizing that neither of his arms were covered in green.

"Oh yeah, well I didn't want my mom fussing over me so I took it off," he said nonchalantly.

"You just decided to take your own cast off," I stated skeptically.

"Yep," he said, trying on a robe to see if it fit right.

"Don't you need a doctor to do that?"

"Err…only sometimes?" he said questioningly.

"And why was this not one of those times?"

"Because I'm training to become a doctor."

"Funny," I said making a face before accusing him of faking the whole thing.

"Well, you know, sometimes being crippled can help make trips easier."

"A) A broken arm isn't really being 'crippled' and B) it only makes a trip easier when you get to decide when you want to be, as you put it, 'crippled."

"How did it take you this long to notice, anyways?" he asked.

"Shut up," was my snappy comeback.

"'scuse me," I said to an older couple who were sitting at the far end of the left aisle. "Is this seat taken?" They both shook their head no and I sat down crossing my legs and adjusting my red dress.

There weren't many people graduating and Cal was the nineteenth person called, right after 'Ryan Owen.' Most people clapped politely as Cal accepted his 'diploma' and the group of students we had met two days before whooped and hollered from where they were standing in the back. I smiled, knowing his parents would probably think they were his friends.

When the ceremony ended the couple turned to me.

"Such a nice ceremony," the woman said.

"It was nice," I agreed honestly.

"Do you attend Stanford?" she asked me. I hesitated, not quite sure what my story was supposed to be.

"Err, I have been but I'm actually transferring to UVA next semester," I said, coming up with a story I could tell Cal's parents simultaneously. "I just came for my friends graduation," I explained. As if on cue Cal bounded up to me.

"Check this out…some one wrote—mom, dad," he said blankly to the couple I had been talking to. He looked from me to them and back again. I saw him panicking, not knowing what I had said; hoping none of it contradicted what he'd told them.

"Err, well I guess you guys have met but mom, dad, this is Macey. Macey, my parents, Lisa and David." Oh crap.

"Calvin, you didn't tell us that she was transferring to UVA," his dad immediately jumped in.

"Err, yeah," Cal said, completely blindsided.

"They have a great reputation and lots of successful alumni," I explained. "And since I'm interested in living in DC and majoring in art, it seemed like the perfect place to get internships and jumpstart my career," I half-lied.

"We were going to wait and tell you together but I guess it came out sooner," Cal covered me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I've got a few contacts with Johns Hopkins so I'll be starting a job there when we move," he added, throwing in his usual cover with the CIA. You'd be surprised how valuable fake doctors are in our line of work.

"That's wonderful!" His mother exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so happy for you. DC is great."

"Well, let's hope he can keep the job," Cal's dad said gruffly. I felt Cal stiffen.

"I'm sure he'll do great," I said.

"A job a place like that takes commitment," David continued. "They don't take to mistakes easily." He's managed at a job with the exact same description for a while now.

"I'll be fine," Cal said, his tone sounding light.

"With that attitude you won't," his dad contradicted. What is it with this guy?

"I think they're looking for some one with Cal's attitude," I jumped in. "When you start out there's a lot of interaction with patients and their family's. They need some one who can be optimistic without giving false hope so he's really perfect for the job. It's kind of like politics; you want to everyone trust you by the way you act as well as have faith in your ability to do your job. It's a lot easy to get good grades and have no people skills, so when there's some one with both, it's like a needle in a haystack and everyone jumps at it."

"What did you say your last name was?" his dad asked. I didn't.

"McHenry," I said, deciding it was probably best to be honest.

"Oh!" his mother gasped again. "Didn't I see your parents here?" she asked.

"Uh," I said. I doubt—no. No, no, NO, NO! Fuck my life.

My parents were there, standing in the corner talking to Mrs. and Mr. William's (my dad's friends from college). My dad looked pretty much the same. His hair was grayer, his stomach slightly rounder, but he still looked similar. My mom looked much different having had some obvious 'work' done. Had it been ten years previous it would have been on the cover of a magazine but as they now had a less public life I wasn't expecting her fake boobs or plastic face.

"Yeah, they're actually visiting some friends," I lied as smoothly as I had been trained.

"Do you get to see them a lot?" his mom asked.

"They travel a lot," Cal answered for me.

"Oh, well that's nice," his mom said. "I would love to meet them," she hinted and I tried not to cringe.

"Sure thing," Cal smiled and tugged me along behind him as we went over to my parents.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. McHenry, my parents are big fans of yours and they wanted to meet you," he said. My mom put on her best campaigning smile and my dad puffed out his chest as Cal's parents hurried to catch up.

"This is my mom, Lisa, and my dad, David," he introduced. His mom immediately went to hug mine who looked taken aback and awkward. Lisa seemed oblivious as she turned to my dad. David was more demure, shaking their hands.

Cal immediately turned the conversation to politics and after ten minutes my parents excused themselves from the conversation and went back over to the Williams. I was half-hidden behind Cal the entire time and didn't have to say a word. Luckily for me, my parent's radar of where their kid was remained broken and they didn't even glance my way.

"That was awful. What the hell are they doing here? I was never supposed to hear from them…. stupid Williams'…What's their problem…Nothing better to do…stupid idiots…. hate you…Not like it matters…asshole…jerk…have issues…" I muttered as soon as Cal and I were back in the dorm room. I threw my sweater down on the bed and opened up my suitcase, pulling out jeans and a one-shoulder black top with a red flower on the left shoulder for that night.

"McHenry, calm down. They didn't even know it was you!" Cal said, sounding a little desperate.

"Oh and what, that's supposed to make me feel better? My own parents don't recognize me. Yeah, that's great. Did you see my mom's plastic face? She looks like a really ugly Barbie. It's almost as bad as Heidi from the Hills."

"Well I wouldn't go that far," I threw my shirt down on the bed and glared at him, causing Cal to cower slightly and change his mind. "Then again, maybe it was," he corrected.

"Don't agree with me!" I exclaimed. "You can't just change your opinion because—"

"Okay, seriously," he said walking over and grabbing both my shoulders. "You have got to calm down. I know you weren't expecting to see them but it could have been worse. And it's over, okay? Just breathe Mace." His random use of my first name was really throwing me off guard but I nodded anyways and took a deep breath.

"Sorry. I just wasn't expecting…that."

"I know. But forget about them, we have desert plans with a future friend to the government."

"Do me a favor?" I asked him a little hesitantly once we were both dressed. "Don't mention my parents to anyone. I don't like talking about it." Cal nodded and I sighed in relief.

"—Because no one's going to do it for you!" I laughed along with everyone else in the room at yet another lame joke by one of David's Friends.

"Hey David, can we talk to you for a second," I asked him, indicating Cal and myself, while every one else was involved in their own conversations.

"Sure," he agreed, looking a little surprised. "What's up?" he asked after we lead him a little ways away from the group.

"I'm not a Stanford student," Cal said, making David's grin fade a little.

"Err, okay," he said.

"And I'm not his cousin," I added.

"We're CIA agents. And we're here to offer you a proposition," Cal finished for me.

"Wait. You work for the CIA?" David asked. Didn't he just say that? I wondered.

"Yeah. And we have proposition for you. We have an extra plane ticket here with your name on it. Well, kind of. If you're willing, you can come back to Langley with us in the morning and meet with our bosses."

"I'm not one for jumping out of planes…" David said nervously running his hand through his hair.

"You don't have to jump out of a plane," Cal said, rolling his eyes impatiently.

"The CIA is interested in recruiting you as more of an asset," I said. "Everything will be explained tomorrow if you agree to come with us."

"What am I supposed to tell my friends?" he asked. I shrugged.

"That you have a sudden desire to see the Nations Capital. I don't care; make something up. Just meet us tomorrow morning at 7 with a change of clothes. You should be back in a few days."

And with that, our mission was complete. We stopped by Cal's parents' hotel on our way out to say good-bye. His mom hugged me tighter than Liz (which is really hard to do). As soon as we got to Langley David was taken away and I never heard another word about him. What can I say? Langley works in mysterious ways.

A/N: This took me soo much longer to get out than I wanted and I'm still not happy with it. Ah, well, I ran out of inspiration part way through but tell me what you think. I might go back and change it later.

Thank you so much to all the REVIEWers (Jazz-shoes, Kokylinda, Anonymous96, topXsecret, rainbow0love, cornycaylie, Lemonn-Limiee) I am so sorry it took for ever. I know every one wants more Zach/Cammie and I have a mild one in mind that I may write next but it won't be out for about two weeks, probably, because I've got a soccer tournament, then my sister leaves for college, then my school starts so...unfortunately, I won't be able to have regular updates and the rest will probably be sparatic. However, I'm going to have at least 20 chapters before I stop with this.

Now that I'm done rambling, please review. Suggestions for upcoming chapters or how to make this one better are greatly appreciated.

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