#kitdaumlers

“Bon, why is your mom offering to go engagement ring shopping with me?” Kai says suspiciously, a hint of accusation in his voice.

Bonnie covers the magazine over her face, slouching down on the sofa. “Uhh…because…um.” She dry chuckles. “It’s a funny story actually.”

“Bonnie.” He pushes the magazine down. “I’m not laughing.”

“I may have…sort of…answered the phone when we were drunk last night…”

“And…?”

“…Told my parents we were dating?”

“What?!”

“Okay! Hear me out here. They were ripping into me about school and the stupid statistics of how many people actually make it out of art school and I was drunk and I was angry and – I don’t know, okay? I was just feeling really shitty and arguing with them wasn’t helping.”

“So telling them we’re engaged did?”

“Well technically, I said we were dating.” 

Kai rolls his eyes, groaning heavily.

“They were talking about how I need to buckle down and be serious.” She sighs. “So obviously dating came up and since I’ve been noticeably and chronically vacant in that department – they arranged a date…” She pauses dramatically, trying to settle the disdain and disgust. “…with Jeremy Gilbert.”

“Wait – Miranda Gilbert’s son?”

“Yes.” She shudders.

He looks at her incredulously. “Your ex who used to eat glue?”

“Exactly! That is the level of desperation and concern they have for me. So I panicked – I couldn’t say no because there is no one else and you were the first name that popped into my head.”

He lets out a low groan, rubbing his hands down his face.

“Come on, Kai. We just have to pretend for like, ten days. You took an improv class…that one time.”

He flops on the sofa and covers his face with the throw pillow.

“No one’s gonna buy it – Liv and Luke will figure it out. They have that creepy twin ESPN thing.”

“It’s ESP, dummy.” She takes his hand and rests it on her cheek. “Malachai Joel Par –"

“Oh, so we’re doing government names?”

She swats his face with his own hand. “Don’t interrupt. Malachai Joel Parker. Will you pretend to be my fake boyfriend so my parents don’t marry me off to a crack dealer?”

They both burst into a bout of laughter.

Kai looks at the bright, tired and soft little face of his best friend. He sighs, shaking his head with a grin. What the hell?

“Bonnie Sheila Bennett. It would be my honour.”

 “Great!” She gets up and stretches. “Now everyone thinks we’re dating, they’ll forget to ask us if we’ve completely nose-dived our lives into the crapper. So, you know – you’re welcome.”