Perfect Match

Chapter 2

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"Put your arm around me," Elena whispered once they started walking through the parking lot. Stefan, who had been feeling nervous all day, jumped when she spoke.

"What?" he asked.

"They're watching from the window," Elena laughed as she put her arms around his waist instead. She couldn't help but feel distracted by the way his lean muscles under that thin white shirt he was wearing rippled beneath her touch. Of course she'd seen him shirtless before -and that itself was quite a sight-, but she'd never realized just how... built he was.

He finally reciprocated by holding her against him. He noticed her pensive expression and arched a brow. "What?"

She giggled. "When do you make time to go to the gym?"

Stefan shook his head. "I'm on the football team, remember? I'm not a total loser, you know." He playfully nudged her with the shoulder that was closest to her. "Are you feeling me up, Elena?"

Her jaw dropped. "What!" she gasped. She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Someone's cocky."

Stefan simply shook his head again, that gentle grin that clearly said he had some sort of smart remark in mind present on his lips. Instead, he just said, "It's gonna be hard making them think that we're madly in love."

Elena sighed and cuddled closer to him. Might as well put on a show for the people watching. "We can pull it off. Just pretend I'm... I don't know, Megan Fox."

At that, Stefan burst out with laughter. "Seriously?"

Elena shrugged, grinning. "I don't know! You didn't seem to be complaining when we saw transformers."

Stefan eyed her for a moment playfully. "Then you can pretend I'm... Robert Pattinson. You seemed to have a huge smile on your face when you dragged me into Breaking Dawn!" he teased with a smile.

Elena gasped in faux embarrassment and lightly hit him on the chest, closing her eyes for a second, enjoying this playful moment between them. "How couldn't I? How many girls came up to you at the popcorn counter and called you Edward? Like six!" Stefan simply sighed, throwing his hands up into the air in mock frustration. She had won this round. A triumphant grin formed on Elena's lips when she realized she was the champion at this argument, so she glanced back at the window and leaned up on her tip toes, her cheek against Stefan's. Her lips were close to his ear as she whispered, "Don't worry. You're hotter than Edward."

She could have sworn that she felt him shudder in response to her breath against his cheek and her low words in his ear. He stood rigid for a second, his hand staying on the small of her back. She vaguely wondered if he was trying to come up with a comeback of some sort, but all he did was hold her there... and she didn't mind.

She didn't mind at all.

Maybe he was just trying to make it believable for the producers watching, she reasoned in the back of her mind. It was definitely working, that was for sure.

Elena exhaled shakily and pressed herself a little closer to him. The second she did this, she heard a sound come from deep in his throat. Was he holding back a quiet moan? The tiny sound was enough to send shockwaves through her body, and unfortunately, bring her back to reality.

This was awkward. He was her best friend.

Elena was going to lighten the mood by saying something about how anything was hotter than Edward so he shouldn't have taken it seriously, but she forgot about the comeback. So, uncomfortably, she stepped away and avoided Stefan's eyes.

"Uh, let's go in," he suggested. Elena nodded slowly.

Their audition for the show went smoothly. They were put in a room with a few producers and two other couples who were nervously holding each other close. Stefan and Elena simply held hands. The producers seemed to be watching them very closely; they'd obviously seen the little "show" Stefan and Elena had unintentionally put on in the parking lot.

The producers asked him difficult questions about Elena: what her favorite color was, her least favorite subject in school, her insecurities. She figured he'd have trouble with them, but he responded with ease. Violet, Physics, and the fact that she had a scar on her stomach from the time her appendix had to be taken out at age six.

They smiled and asked Elena the same question. She grinned up at her best friend, giving his hand a squeeze. "He likes dark blue. It's all that he wears most of the time," she started. Stefan chuckled in response; she was right. "He doesn't really have a least favorite subject... he's a genius and it all comes so easily to him. But he hated Physics too. I once asked him to tutor me and he said we'd fail together instead. We didn't, of course... I got a B, and he got a B+ and that was good enough." Elena smiled up at him, not even realizing that she'd been gazing. "His biggest insecurity... is that he feels like he can never be good enough. But he is. He's perfect."

She honestly didn't know if the last sentence was her babbling, or just something she added for romantic effect. Either way, Stefan got the hint and kissed the back of her hand. Dramatically, she giggled and leaned against him.

This was supposed to feel weird, but it didn't. In a crazy way, it felt right to her, being close to him, feeling his body warm against hers. Did he feel the same?

She didn't know, but they obviously did something right, because they were the very first couple to get cast.

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