Impractical Jokers, Practically

Chapter Twenty-One

 I stare in disbelief at my phone and then back at the guys. 

"I can't believe that she did that. Just broadcasted to the internet that Q and I are married. What was she thinking?"

Murr replies, "What was her name again? Jessica? Maybe Jessica wasn't thinking and just wanted to get some juicy news out there. It happens a lot, you know. To us, and to a lot of more well-known celebrities. Sometimes fans don't think of what they're doing. Or don't really care."

"You can't really blame her," Q adds. "She has no idea that the marriage was for a punishment. She really thinks that we're married and wants to spread the word to our other fans."

"Yeah, but, hello, if we were married because we were actually in love, doesn't she think that maybe we would want to tell everyone ourselves?" I sigh, then look over at Sal. "You've been quiet. What do you think?"

"I just--I just can't believe that she did that. Now everyone...uh, everyone thinks that you're with Q. But you're not." Sal speaks softly, his face red. I'm not sure if it's from anger, embarrassment, or stress.

"It's an easy fix, buddy. All we have to do is post online and tell the fans the truth, " Murr suggests. "That it was for the show, Alexa and Q are getting it annulled pretty soon, and then you can tell them that you and Alexa are the ones really together. Set the record straight."

Joe smiles, "Then, you can post all the pictures you want. Cute ones of you guys together. Imagine how adorable that will be." 

"There's only one problem," Sal responds. "We can't tell them any of that. At least not yet."

"Why not?" Murr is the one to ask, but all of us look confused, waiting for Sal's answer. 

"We just filmed that punishment. We can't tell them about it yet. It didn't air. We're not even allowed to hint at it, really. We would have to wait, otherwise we'd get in trouble." Sal looks down, sadly. "We can't tell them yet or it'll spoil it, and that ruins the show for the fans. But now I have to deal with everyone thinking that Alexa loves Q. And I can't do a thing about it!" 

Q shrugs, "So we'll wait. We'll wait until either we can hint that it was for the show, or until that episode airs and then they'll see for themselves." 

"In the meantime, you guys are still married for another whole month and the fans think it's real. No big deal." In frustration, Sal rubs his hands through his hair and then down on his face. "My girlfriend got married to my best friend, they'll stay married for a little while, and now the fans know they're together, thinking they're in love, and we can't even tell them about the punishment yet, and this is going to be torture. I just know it." 

I ignore hundreds of notifications that are going off in my hand--no doubt from fans squealing about me and Q-- put my phone back in my pocket, and then step closer to Sal. I grab both of his hands with mine, rubbing small circles with my thumb. I want to say something, anything to reassure him, but there's nothing too say. Roles reversed, I would be upset too. All of this is getting too messy and we have to just wait it out. Wait until the marriage is annulled to really be together, wait until the punishment airs so the fans know the real truth. 

Q takes out his phone and scrolls through his notifications. "Yup, it's all over our social media. Pictures of me and Alexa and the rings. Fans are tweeting and commenting up a storm. Our mentions are going to be pretty busy for a while." 

That reminds me. "Hey, the other sucky part is: I can't take my wedding ring off." I release my hands from Sal's grasp so that I can try again. "It won't budge. Are you sure that you got the right size?"