eleven

Chapter 3

My excitement grew and grew as Saturday got nearer.

Touring the studio, interacting with the people behind the show, taking pictures with them and making memories.

It was too good to be true.

Rhett continued to visit us until Saturday came.

"Em! Em!",Trid shouted and shook me until I was awake. "What?",I replied groggily. "It's today!" "I know... Gosh, what time is it?" "It's 7:03!" "What? It's still early. I'll just go back to sleep.",I said and buried my face on my pillow.
"But Em, I need your help." "Help in what?" "In surprising someone." "Who?" "Xara. I want to prove that we met Rhett!" Oh, boy. Here she goes again. Trid won't give up until she had proven her point.

"What do you want me to do? Kidnap her and when she's in the studio, the lights will turn on and everyone will shout "Surprise!",I said sarcastically. "That's actually a great idea. I'll tell Rhett about this.",she said and started to call Rhett.

"What's up, Trid?",Rhett asked cheerfully. "Can you please do me and Em a favor?" "Sure. What is it?" "One of my friends doesn't believe that I've met you so..." "So?" "Em thought of a plan. She will be "kidnapped" and we'll shout "Surprise!" and then she'll be freaked out." "Wow. Uhm, alrighty then." "Really? Thanks Rhett!" "Anytime, Trid!"

"I thought you didn't like her that much? I mean, she'll be able to meet R&L because of you.",I asked Trid. "Well, I do kinda hate her but it's because..." "Because?",I said, waiting for a response.

"It's because I...I like her. And she can make me feel something and I just can't explain it!",she exclaimed. "Oh wow. Okay then. Now, I understand.",I said and nodded. "You're still my best friend, right?",she asked worriedly. "Of course! You have nothing to worry about."

"Okay.",she said as she dialed Xara's number. She crossed her fingers real hard. "I hope she's free. I hope she's free.",she said until Xara spoke. "Hey, Trid." "Hey, Xara. Do you have any plans for today?",she asked with a hint of nervousness. "No, not really. Why?" "Can we hang out?" Please say yes! "Yeah, where and when?" Yes! "Hmm, how about the park? At around 8:00?" It was 7:23. "The park? Sounds like a great time to take photos today." "Yeah, I'll be bringing Em's camera." Wait, what? "I'll be bringing mine. See you there, weirdo!" Then, the call ended.

"You're seriously gonna bring my camera?" "Yeah. I have to." I grabbed it from the shelf and gave it to her. "Take care of her, okay?",I reminded Trid. Yes, I treat my camera like it's my baby. "Yes. I will take care of your precious baby." So we changed clothes and prepared ourselves with this plan. "Okay, so I'll be contacting Rhett to tell him your location and the plan, and you, just be cool and casual, 'kay?",I gave her a final reminder. "Okay." She hurriedly went out. Hope this works.

Suddenly, my phone rang. "Hello, Rhett." "So, am I gonna pick you up or what?" "Well, Trid is out there with our victim, and yeah, you should pick me up so I can tell them the plan." "Okay, then. I'll be there in a minute."
While waiting, I continued to read "Formidable". I know Rhett could be literally here in a minute. He said the set wasn't far from here.

A minute had passed and I heard a car from outside. I immediately stood up, locked and left the apartment.

"So what's the plan?",Rhett immediately asked as I sat beside him. "I think I should just say it when we're in the studio." "Okay."

We reached the studio in no time. As I exited the car, I can feel my heart pound with excitement. My feet has finally grazed the solid mythical concrete.

I have seen how the studio looked like from videos and I thought it looked really nice. Of course, it was different seeing it in person.

I followed Rhett to a room where the crew has been gathered. "Okay everyone. She's Em-" "The Em that you talked about?",Link interrupted. "Yep, Link. She's the Em I talked about." Rhett talked about me? "Really? You talked about me?" "Yup. In a GMMore episode that hasn't been uploaded yet. Anyways, we're here to help her stage a fake kidnapping and she's about to give you guys the plan."

"Okay everyone. My friend Trid is out there in the park with our hostage. Trid will find a way to make our victim susceptible and she'll give me a call when the right time comes. I'll give you the signal and you'll do your business.
Of course, you can't hurt her and you can't let her recognize you. She's also a mythical beast like me. Once you have reached the studio and you take her blindfold or knapsack or whatever of and we'll all yell "Surprise!" I explained. "Okay, what's her name?",Chase asked. "Xara. With an X."

Everyone seemed to accept the mission. The kidnappers were Mike, Alex, Chase, Rhett, and Link. They wore their disguise aka black head masks and had some props from the prop closet. Gosh, they looked hilarious. The other crew members will get ready once they've arrived.

I was sitting nervously on the car when Trid texted me.

"She's lining up to buy some cotton candy and I told her that I gotta go to the bathroom." Of course, I updated everyone.

When we reached the park, I immediately saw her eating cotton candy while sitting on a bench all by herself. Perfect. "You saw her guys?" "Yup. The pretty girl eating pink fluff.",Mike said. "Well, now she's the pretty girl looking at her pink phone.",Alex said. "Okay then. Go. Do your best." "You just sounded like my mom.",Mike said. "Come on, just go!",I whispered. Rhett walked behind the bench and beckoned to the three. He suddenly brought out a knife and placed it so close to her. "Scream and I'll rip all your guts out.",Rhett said  in very deep, scary way. "O-oo-okay.",she said, trembling in fear. They immediately tied her up and put a knapsack on her head. Of course, she has no idea that I was there so I grabbed her things. I updated Trid and she texted me that she saw the whole thing. I also snatched my camera immediately because I missed her so much.

She came along with us and the car was packed. We can't talk because she'll recognize our voices. Poor Xara. She's shaking so silently.

The trip was very quiet and Trid and I exited the car first. We both ran like crazy inside the dark studio. It was so dang dark. The kidnappers took Xara and made her sit on a chair. She wasn't fighting or trying to defend herself or trying to escape. Maybe she got too scared to think or to move.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?",Xara asked. "You're about to find out.",Link said. Alex took the knapsack off her, Lizzie turned on the lights and the rest shouted "Surprise!"

"What....?" It's obvious that all of this hasn't registered in her brain yet. Perhaps, she was traumatized but now, she felt like she was dreaming.

"Wait, Rhett and Link? Stevie, Lizzie, Alex, Chase...." She said the names of the ones she pointed to until all of the crew were mentioned. "Wait. Is that you, Em?" "Yup.",I said with a smile. "And Trid? Did you set me up for this?" "No." Trid held my hand and said, "We set you up."

"Is this for real?",she said looking at her surroundings and crying and smiling at the same time. "Yes. This is real,"Link said and walked closer to her. She immediately hugged Link and started crying even more. "I thought I was gonna die! It turns out that I will die! I'll die of fangirling!" Everyone laughed. She then proceeded to hug Rhett. "Gosh, you're so freakishly tall." Rhett chuckled. She suddenly faced Trid and me. "And you guys. Thank you." She hugged us too and what I saw in Trid's face was just pure happiness.