Fake it to Win it

"So, what do you say?" She asked as she looked into my eyes pleadingly. She knew I needed the money. My family was in a tough patch and with college just around the corner? I definitely needed help, but I wasn't comfortable with being on a reality show, especially with thousands of people watching. She looked like a puppy begging, it was honestly adorable, so I caved in. "Fine." I exhaled. "I don't see the harm in trying." She smiled, "Besides, we already act like a couple, I don't see how this is any different." I looked back down at her phone to see the details of the reality show.

"Yeah, other then it being broadcast for the world to see." She just shrugged, moving her curly lock behind her ear. "It'll be fun, you'll see." I sighed and stood up, "So when is this thing?" She looked at the date and looked back towards me. "Its in a few weeks, other couples will be interviewed also, so lets make it count!" I shook my head and crossed my arms, "So what's our story?" Her eyes widen in surprise. I guess she didn't expect me to ask. I continue, "The host will be asking us questions, don't tell me you just assumed we had to show up and that's it." Her face reddened and she looked away. I sighed, "If we're gonna fake this, you have to take it more seriously! Obviously they're gonna ask questions like how we met and how we started dating. Lets come up with something."

She sits up and crosses her legs, in thought. "We met in Paris when I went to see the tower of Pisa." I laughed "Very unrealistic and the tower of Pisa isn't even in Paris, It's in Italy." She rolls her eyes, "Whatever, do you have any ideas?" I think for a second and nod, "Actually I do, People love hearing about sad starts and happy endings. How about this, we met when in the hospital when I was suffering from cancer, and you were too, we became close friends within the hospital and eventually we get cured and are able to leave,

I ask you on a date and we go from there." She looked sad, I understood why. We did meet in the hospital, and we both suffered from Cancer. It's a little trauma inducing when you go through something like that, and me being an honest person, didn't wanna completely lie for this show. Especially since some people who'll be watching, know us. She looked up at me, and nodded. "That'll work." I smile and squeeze her hand, "We'll get through this together."

A few weeks passed and we were called up to join the show. She held my hand as we walked onto stage and sat down on the comfy yet expensive looking couch. The host looked toward us and smiled. "Welcome to the show young couple! It's so nice to see some fresh young faces around here! How are you guys?" She bit her lip and spoke, "We're doing great! Aren't we love?" I cringed a bit at the pet name. We did always act like a couple but we never went as far as to give each other pet names. I smiled "We're better than great, we're amazing." The host smiled and asked, "So what're you're names?" I answer this one. "I'm Michael and this lovely lady of mine is Caroline." The host continued "Lovely names! So, how did you two love birds meet?" Caroline answered, "It's a pretty sad story, We met at the hospital. I remember specifically watching his struggle to get the vending machine to work so I stepped in and taught him how to get a free snack from it!" The Audience laughs but I can tell Caroline doesn't seem very enthusiastic. The host asks "How's that sad?" Caroline continued, "Well, we were at the hospital because we both suffered from, cancer." Everyone gasps in shock, others in pity. The host nods, "Sad indeed. I'm sorry you two had to go through that."

To make it less sad I added "Yes, those were some painful times indeed, but if it wasn't for what I experienced, I wouldn't have met my soulmate." The host smiles again and says "How sweet! Well that's it for now folks! But don't go away just yet, You guys get to ask the questions after this break!" With that the cameras shut off and Caroline grabs my hand and pulls me to our "dressing room". "Are you okay?" I ask her, tilting my head slightly to the side. She frowned, and looked up at me. In that moment all I could think about was how badly I wanted to kiss her. She looked beautiful. In these 3 years of knowing her I never realized how beautiful she actually was until this very moment. She spoke, "Telling our story, even though its hard, makes me think about the past. Thank you for doing this show with me mike." I smile and place my hand on her cheek. "I'll do this for you a thousand times if I have too." She looked surprise, but smiled weakly. "Lets go back out there, the breaks almost done."

I take her hand and we sit back down, the host starts. "Hello again everyone! We're back with this lovely couple! Anything you guys in the audience wanna ask?" A woman calls out, "How long have you known each other for?" I answer "3 years ma'am." Another woman stands up and ask "How did you start dating?" The host gasps "That's a really good question." Caroline answers, "He ended up getting cured first, but before we parted ways, he asked me to be with him. We had been in the hospital together for a good year and some change, and I found myself falling for him too." The audience goes Awe as Caroline answers. The host claps and says "From the audience at home, we were sent in questions for you guys to answer. This ones for Michael, How did you know she was the one?" I looked at her, her eyes sparkled and for a minute I was lost for words, but then, out of no where I spoke without having to think. "We were together through everything, Through our good and bad days, we were always together. I found myself slowly falling for this goofy and fun girl, but behind that mask, I saw a scared and anxious girl, and I promised myself I'd love both sides of her, because she's unique, and I truly never wanna lose that." Caroline looked surprise, It seemed I was gonna at surprising her.

After the questions were asked and finished, the Host called all the other couples out. There was only 4 other couples other than us. The host reads off from an envelope, "We got your votes! and the winner for Americas top young couple is........Michael and Caroline! You're reward is a cash prize of 500,000$ and free tuition to a college of your choice! We hope to hear from you guys again in the future! As for second place we have..." I ended up blocking out the rest of what the host was saying. Caroline and I won, and in that moment, I did what I've been dying to do. I scooped her into my arms and kissed her. She kissed back, and I happily swung her around before sitting her down. We left with our cash prize and are free tuition. We were both happy.

The drive back home was slightly awkward. Caroline spoke, "That kiss at the end? What a perfect way to make everyone believe! And your way with words? Good job! We make a great team!" I gripped the wheel, She only kissed back for the show? I looked ahead and spoke, "I didn't kiss you to make us look more believable. I kissed you because I realized during the show, that I love you. I always have. Why else would I go onto that show for you? It definitely wasn't for the prize." Caroline stayed silent for awhile, before answering back, "I love you too, I always have, always will."