fake | tratie | EDITING |

| n. play the part |

edited : 8 . 1 . 21

original word count : 1633

new word count : 2040

. . .

I couldn't remember exactly when I'd mentioned it to him, or what details he knew: whether or not I'd told him that my dad said I'd end up being alone forever; or that my extended family was genuinely getting concerned that I hadn't found my soulmate at almost eighteen years old; or that the main cause of my trust issues was because my great-aunt told me I'd never find a partner unless it was a toxic one, given my track record, so I may as well come to terms with that. I didn't even know if he was aware I had trust issues.

But I noticed right away when he suggested he go with me to meet them.

"You... what?"

He shrugged. "I'm a master of pulling pranks and saving damsels, Katie-kat. You're complaining to me for a reason, you obviously want me to save you from the situation."

Not true. Okay, maybe a little true. "And just how do you plan on helping by showing up at an uptight family reunion?"

"Easy. I pretend to be your boyfriend." Travis explained his concept plainly, like it wasn't absurd. "It'll get your family off your back and it'll improve my acting skills, even though they're already impeccable."

I actually considered the idea for a split second before waking up to reality. "And why would you do that for me?"

"We're friends."

"Since when have we been friends?"

He threw an arm over me casually. "Fair point. But what better time to start than now?"

I shouldered him off, crossing my arms. "Your stupid plan wouldn't work. Nobody would believe I finally..." I trailed off, biting my lip self-consciously. One thing Katie Gardner didn't do was look pitiful in front of her enemy. So, I rephrased my sentence. "Nobody would believe that I started dating someone like you."

"We both know we hate each other, right? So what's the harm in acting like we don't for a few hours?" Travis reasoned, grinning devilishly. "It's mutually beneficial - you for obvious reasons, me because I've been dying to get outta camp for a day."

I grimaced. Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea. Who was I kidding? It would be amazing to have a reunion without the crippling anxiety of being reminded of my dating status and failures. My family would totally believe I was dating someone like Travis - my last ex was a player, too.

Dealing with Travis in exchange for a lack of panic?

That didn't sound too completely miserable.

"Fine. But don't steal anything or prank anyone. My family's a real funeral and they don't take jokes lightly."

He gave me a concerning wave of his hand. "You got it!"

Travis only threw about fifty questions at me when I went to the Big House to get my car keys from Chiron. He didn't know about my car for that exact reason - and because I didn't want to tell him why I was allowed to have my car at camp. He already started making jokes about keying or hotwiring it, and I told him to shut it or I'd leave him by the side of the road.

We drove up to Greenwich, Connecticut for the Gardner family reunion, all the while bickering about the little things: how we met, when he asked me out, and what our intentions were with our relationship. We had to have our story straight on both ends or it wouldn't fly.

Though I tried to push the emotion out of my mind, I was grateful for Travis offering me to do this. He was my nemesis, so he really didn't have to do this. I knew there had to be something in it for him that I couldn't think of, but for now I was relieved I'd get a year of peace from the family making fun of me. It was spiteful, but I couldn't wait to rub it in Great-Aunt Mary's face. I had a "boyfriend" now.