"Is it cool that I said all that?"

"Brynne sends him to help you and suddenly you're dating? Doesn't that seem a little fast paced to you?"

Mini and Aru were sitting in their dorm room, having what started out as a conversation but was now Mini freaking out and Aru trying to justify her actions. With lies.

"I'm not dating him," Aru responded with the same answer for what seemed to be the millionth time. "He kind of just...asked me out at the end of the date. On a real date."

"Aru. You are going on multiple dates. That is the definition of dating."

Lying came naturally to her. She'd been doing it ever since middle school, so much stacked on top of another that it was hard to keep them straight. But she managed it. She made it through just fine, no one ever finding out that she lived in a museum and not a mansion.

Mini kept talking, "So you just agreed to it? Please tell me it wasn't because you didn't want to hurt his feelings."

Aru shook her head, not quickly enough to be suspicious but not too slowly to seem hesitant. "He's really nice. And he's watched Lord of the Rings. And he is kinda cute."

Her best friend nodded. "Nobody forgot what you said to him, like, three days ago." She laughed a little bit.

Aru rolled her eyes, and Mini was brought back to the discussion.

"Just don't kiss him. The amount of bacteria in the human mouth—"

"Yeah, Mini. I know why you barely kiss Rudy."

Mini's cheeks turned a touch red at that.

—

Aiden, Rudy and Brynne were sitting in Brynne's apartment, sitting around the table. Well, Aiden and Rudy were at the table and Brynne was rushing around the kitchen, attempting to make what she was referring to as 'the tiramisu of the century.' As they talked, Rudy and Brynne questioned Aiden about the fake date he had with Aru.

"I had a good time," Aiden said simply. It was easier to lie if you didn't have as much to lie about. He learned that from his mom, everytime she lied about who she was.

"She told me you asked her out," Rudy responded. "Well, she told Mini and Mini told me."

Aiden smiled. "Uh...yeah. I really liked hanging out with her. Actually, if we're all friends, why have I never met her?"

"Because you're both Lord of the Rings fanatics and we wouldn't be able to handle two of you." explained Rudy. Aiden blinked.

Brynne and Aiden gave each other a look and rolled their eyes.

"So you're dating her?" Brynne asked, sifting flour.

"I'm going out with her," he replied, "It's not dating."

This time his best friend and cousin gave each other a look. Brynne raised her eyebrows. "That's just a formal term for dating, Ammamma."

"The Internet says 5-6 dates count as dating. It's not dating!" In middle school, Aiden looked up almost everything involving dating, doing everything in his power to avoid it.

He knew why he was getting angry, but maybe Rudy and Brynne hadn't put it together yet, because their eyes simply widened as they muttered their apologies.

He wasn't really dating her.

It wasn't real.

It could never be real.

"Is it chill that you're in my head?"