*buzz*

*buzz buzz buzz*

*beep beep*

"Sorry?" Mimi sheepishly bit at her nail.

"I don't think sorry will make this disappear," Izzy sighed as his phone violently shook in his hand. Notification after notification kept piling up on his lock screen, but Izzy had a feeling that he had the easy end of the rope.

"I set a search engine alert to notify me any time my name pops up on a website…let's just say I've never been this popular before," Mimi nervously laughed.

"What the what?!" Izzy clamped his hand over his mouth. "What the hell did you get me into?!"

"Congrats, you're famous now?" Mimi coyly smiled.

"No! I don't want people knowing who I am! I need to go home now! I'm a sitting duck out here!" Izzy hissed.

"Well…if you don't want people knowing anything about you, I think the last thing you want to do is go back home. Although two of the biggest social media influencers are tying the knot in this exact moment, you and I are the hottest new celebrity couple right now. People can't get enough of us," Mimi gushed.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Izzy crossed his arms.

"What? Is it a bad thing to be happy about it?" Mimi asked.

"Look, if this 15 seconds of fame is what you need to give your bruised ego a boost, have at it- but don't bring me into your little narcissistic games. Thanks to you, my parents are 'excited' that we're together, but also upset that I kept it a secret from them. I've got Tai bombarding me with texts wanting to know what the hell is going on, what the hell am I supposed to say? And I can't even get through the rest of these notifications, they just keep piling up! I didn't sign up for this at all!" Izzy grunted.

*buzz buzz buzz*

"Hold on, Izzy. I'm sorry, I just have to catch that…," Mimi held her index finger up in the air and answered her phone. "Hey Yolei! What's up? Yeah…about that! Uh huh…of course, that's why I was nervous! You know how Izzy doesn't like to go out much, I was so scared he would flake! Uh huh…well yeah, I didn't want to say anything just yet because I know how you like to talk! Yeah, but now the cat's out of the bag and we're officially official! I know, I'm super happy! It feels good! Sure, okay! We'll see you soon! Bye!"

"Mimi, you didn't just do what I think you did, did you?" Izzy gasped.

"Please, Izzy! Yolei is upset that you and I were 'dating' for months and didn't tell her," Mimi sighed.

"Mimi, you are delusional! You're a compulsive liar, do you know that?" Izzy grabbed Mimi by her arms and shook her.

"Come on, can you just please go along with this? I think at this point, it would just be easier if we pretended we were dating already. It's not like we have to stay together…just keep it up for like….five more months?" Mimi counted on her fingers.

"Five more months?! Are you clinically insane?! Why that long?!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Well, if we've already been going out for seven months, five more months would make it a year…then we can break up and it would still count as a real relationship," Mimi nodded.

"Oh my god, you're a certified psychopath. I knew there was a reason I purposely stopped talking to you, oh my god…," Izzy ran his fingers through his hair.

"Look, why don't we take things back to my place? Besides, Yolei is so excited to see you again. She's got so many questions to ask," Mimi wrapped her arms around Izzy's waist and kissed him on the cheek.

"I wish I could go back to an hour ago, where I could have picked a different town car…," Izzy groaned as he felt himself turn red in embarrassment.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the sneaky couple," Yolei greeted them at the door with crossed arms.

"Hey girlie! Look, I can explain everything…just let us inside," Mimi pleaded.

"Fine…after all, it is your place too," Yolei reluctantly ushered Mimi and Izzy into the apartment. "So, spill…"

"Yeah, Mimi. Explain everything," it was Izzy's turn to cross his arms.

"I'm sorry, Yolei…we should have told you the truth earlier. I just didn't want you to freak out or spill the beans to anyone before we were ready to become officially official yet, okay?" Mimi winced.

"Oh…I guess that's understandable. It's hard when you're hooking up with someone you're friends with. But for what it's worth, I think we kinda all saw it coming. I don't think anyone would really be that surprised that you guys finally got together after all of this time," Yolei sighed.

"Hkkk, excuse me?" Izzy turned red.

"Come on, don't pretend like you guys weren't flirting with each other basically from day one…or whatever you guys call flirting," Yolei smirked.

"Um, I think it's my turn to get offended," Mimi scoffed.

"Let's just say you guys have a distinctive style of flirting around. Now who wants a drink? I know I could use one," Yolei walked over to a liquor cabinet.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea right now," Izzy loosened up his tie.

"Great…I'll be back. I have to grab some glasses," Yolei sucked her teeth and walked to the kitchen.

"Can you believe what she said?" Mimi smacked Izzy on the chest.

"It was a stupid remark, let it go. Besides, I thought we were supposed to be in a relationship with each other, so who cares what she said? It's a perfect alibi, no matter how untrue it is for you," Izzy held Mimi's wrists away from him.

"That's not the point! I don't want people to think that we've been wanting to get together for years- that's so embarrassing and pathetic," Mimi flailed her hands in an attempt to smack Izzy again, but he had held her too far away.

"But being the maid of honour to a wedding where your cheating ex is the groom is definitely not embarrassing or pathetic. I get it," Izzy sarcastically said.

"Screw you," Mimi released herself from his grip and slapped him in the face.

"I deserved that…but I'm not apologizing. You can't have it both ways. Clearly, it would be way too embarrassing if people thought you and I were interested in each other a long time before we started a relationship, so I'm done. The one thing more embarrassing than that concept is the fact that I went along with your crazy charade in the first place. I had a long day, and all I wanted to do was go home. Instead, this is where I ended up, and this is what I get for trying to help you. I'm leaving," Izzy shook his head and walked towards the door.

"Please don't go. I'm sorry," Mimi reached for his hand but he yanked it away.

"I don't think you know what that word means. If I stay, I have a feeling I'll be seeing more unwarranted slaps to the face, and that's not something I signed up for. I would say it was good seeing you again, but I would be lying. Take care," Izzy walked out of the apartment and closed the door behind him.

"Ugh, what a jerk," Mimi smacked the door.

"I'm back with drink- hey, where did Mr. Loverboy go?" Yolei returned with a tray of cocktails in tow.

"He had to go. He wasn't feeling well," Mimi leaned against the door and pouted.

"Did you guys get in a fight?" Yolei placed the tray down on a coffee table.

"Not really…just a passionate discussion," Mimi pursed her lips.

"Sure…well, you guys look like you're crazy about each other. You'll work it out in no time. As for now, why don't we wind down?" Yolei held up a champagne flute.

"Gladly," Mimi took the glass from her and chugged at her drink.

"Hey, thanks for meeting up with me. I was kind of surprised that you said yes," Tai took out a crudely made cigarette out of his coat pocket and pinched at the tapered ends.

"I said yes to someone else, and that turned out well. How much worse can it really get?" Izzy remarked.

"Come on, it can only get better from here. Look, you can have the first hit," Tai held up the makeshift cigarette and winked.

"Thanks…that actually might help," Izzy took the cigarette from Tai's hands and lit it. He brought the cigarette to his lips, inhaled deeply and slowly released the smoke. "Here, thanks."

"No problem, any time. Check what I just learned to do," Tai took the cigarette back and took a long drag from it. He then puffed out smoke rings from his mouth.

"Congratulations, now you can blow smoke like Thomas the Tank Engine," Izzy swatted at the smoke rings.

"I can't tell if you're jealous or just being your regular, snarky yourself," Tai squinted his eyes.

"I'm not jealous…and is that how you see me? A big old jerk?" Izzy frowned.

"I didn't mean it like that. Besides, it doesn't seem to bother Mimi that much. How did that even happen in the first place? And why didn't you tell me? Now that's a jerk thing to do," Tai lightly punched Izzy on the arm.

"First of all, Mimi is a lying psychopath- we are not together. That night was the first night we saw each other in months. Second of all, ow…," Izzy rubbed his arm.

"Come on, I didn't hit you that hard…," Tai scoffed.

"I know, but it was unexpected," Izzy huffed.

"So what the heck happened? How did this even happen? You know the whole world thinks you are dating RickRoll's most darling kitchen queen right now," Tai looked amused.

"She may carry the persona of an internet sweetheart, but we both know she's the opposite. I'm not going to lie, I was into her but I'm over it now- and I was only trying to be nice and help her out since she looked like she was in a pinch, but I just wish I told her to screw off instead. All she did was make remarks and slap me around. Literally…my face is raw from all the slapping," Izzy pressed his hands over his cheeks.

"Yikes…so I'm taking this little arrangement is nothing like a teenage dream," Tai winced.

"The only thing teenage about it is the drama she wants to put herself in. She was attending a wedding as a maid of honor where her cheating ex was the groom, and I guess she needed a date. Unlucky me had to be in the same town car she was trying to get a ride in. I should have just left, but I didn't," Izzy scoffed.

"I dunno, maybe everything happens for a reason," Tai shrugged.

"And what reason could that be? So my parents could be disappointed when I have to tell them that Mimi is a deranged lunatic? They're soooo excited we 'finally' decided to become a couple- it was a long time coming, they said. Speaking of, Yolei said the same thing! They possibly can't be serious, can they?" Izzy took a drag from the cigarette.

"Nuh uh, I'm not getting in trouble," Tai held his breath and shook his head.

"Not you too," Izzy's mouth dropped.

"I mean…what do you want me to say? She hung onto you like a magnet or something, and you liked it, even if you pretended to be annoyed by it. I mean, every other person in the world would have some kind of flirty banter here or there, but the two of you? I didn't even know you liked her until you told me, then it all made sense…," Tai smirked.

"Past tense, liked. And we can leave it in the past," Izzy scoffed.

"Are you sure about that? What if the opportunity presented itself for…you know, the two of you to try out something you missed out on?" Tai shrugged.

"Maybe there was a reason we were supposed to miss out," Izzy

"And maybe there's a reason you got a second chance…and possibly third," Tai took a puff from his cigarette.

"Third?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.

"Look behind you," Tai gestured with whatever was left of his cigarette.

"You've got to be kidding me…just how?" Izzy pressed his lips together in frustration.