fake (b.t.c.)

eleven

"so, i don't mean to be rude, but are you guys dating, or what?"
"um, well, no, um...we're not."
•••

ben cook
hey i kind of have a favor to ask

julia summers
ya what up

ben cook
i may or may not have kind of maybe accidentally told my parents you were my girlfriend

julia summers
i'm sorry you WHAT?

ben cook
i'm really really sorry, but they just ran with it and now they think we're dating and i don't want to make this weird for us but could you maybe pretend to be my girlfriend pretty pleaseeeee

julia summers
oh my god ben

ben cook
please? you know i love youuuu

julia summers
you know what...sure
what could go wrong😂

ben cook
i swear i'll make it up to you, you're really saving my ass here

julia summers
don't worry about it
that's what friends are for

•••
"ben, we are going to be late." i knocked on his apartment door for what felt like the hundredth time.
suddenly, it opened, and an unfamiliar face let me in. "are you julia?"
"yeah. you are?"
"dan. i'm ben's roommate. come in."
"oh, no, we're leaving soon-"
"no, seriously." he laughed. "ben's not even close to being ready. come in."
"and i thought i was gonna be the late one." i giggled.
"can i get you anything? water, coffee..."
i shook my head. "no, i'm okay, thanks though."
dan took a sip of his own coffee as he eyed me. "so, i don't mean to be rude, but are you guys dating, or what?"
my cheeks flushed, and i searched for an answer. "um, well, no, um...we're not. we're friends. but i guess his parents think we're dating, so i'm pretending to be his girlfriend for today."
as the words came out of my mouth, i started to laugh. "that sounds so ridiculous, doesn't it?"
dan raised an eyebrow. "yeah, kinda."
"is jules here yet?" a voice from down the hallway called.
"yeah." dan yelled, then turned back to me and lowered his voice. "he doesn't stop talking about you."
ben came jogging down the hallway, toothbrush in his mouth, and stopped short when he saw me. "wow."
"what?"
"you look..." his eyes trailed up and down over me and my short floral dress. "really good."
"oh." my cheeks flushed again, and i smiled. "thanks."
"yeah." he was still staring at me, the toothbrush hanging slack out of his lips.
dan broke the silence with a little laugh. "you guys are gonna be late. get it together, ben, come on."
he pulled his eyes away from me and disappeared into a bathroom, then came out a few seconds later with his jacket on. "alright, let's get going."