Screaming while jumping up and down at my victory causes the neighbour on the other side of Henry's flat to knock on the door to make sure no one was dying. Henry blamed a spider. That also shut me up real quick but did not wipe the glee from my face. Henry did not have such an extreme reaction since he actually had lower stakes than I did. He did, however, let out a low groan. Fate really is on my side for once.

After my excitement died down, I decide to be an adult and make sure he is actually on board, "So will you be my plus one to Ava's wedding? This is the only chance I'm giving you to back out."

"I knew what I had to lose and as you said, I am getting a free trip to South Africa. There are worse consequences out there," Henry replied, a little less sullen than earlier. I did not wait to message Ava that I did in fact have a plus one and what details did she need. Ava replied within a minute, 'So happy to hear that, just fill out this form for me." Her message has a link to a google doc form which I forward to Henry to fill out, along with the invitation with the full itinerary. I watch over his shoulder as he uses Whatsapp web to open the link. The details are a little more thorough than I expect but Henry fills out the majority with ease. I didn't even nag him to do it, I dare say he was a little eager..?

I send Ava a follow-up message when he's submitted to let her know so she can follow up with me if there are any issues. Just like that, all my problems are solved. I don't bother replying to the thumbs-up emoji, knowing she will send more instructions at a later date. Now all I need to do is worry about packing but that is a problem for the future. Henry does not kick me out but he gets glued to work so I decided to leave and carry on with my own neverending list of chores.

Life is back to normal and my peace is restored.

I think I should throw my phone away. It is the root of all my problems. One phone call later and my parents both can't wait to meet my plus one, except they have met Henry before in passing whenever they visit me. They insist on having dinner to get to know him better since I have never mentioned him (this is a lie) and they need to know more about the man who's consuming my time (partially true since we live in each other's places). I know Ava must've mentioned my plus-one to someone and through the grapevine, they found out. If I didn't already visit my parents frequently, this would feel like a summoning.

Henry did not complain when I told him he should come to dinner with my parents. He did not get the hint to decline when I told him it was not compulsory. He asked what was on the menu instead. In fact, he was happy to get a free home-cooked meal from my mother. I just hope he doesn't get addicted to her homemade lasagna.

One bus ride later, we were standing outside the semi-detached house that I grew up in. The white walls were a little faded but the colour never changed since my mom always insisted on having it painted white every few years. I don't bother knocking, letting myself in with my key since they are expecting me and they usually take too long to answer the door. I am sure my mom is fretting even more than usual since Henry is with me.

I pull off my jacket and placed them on the corner of the staircase bannister. Henry follows my suit, pulling off his shoes to put them with all the other shoes in the house. He dressed up in jeans and a light blue shirt. I have hardly ever seen him wear jeans. He looks different. He catches my eye while I check out his outfit. I shake my head. I announce our arrival as if the sound of the front door didn't give us away.

I got to the kitchen to find my mom fretting just as I predicted. My mom pulls Henry into a warm hug, "It's lovely to meet you again, my husband is in the front room watching snooker, why don't you go join him."

She points in the direction of where our front room while keeping a grip on my arm, preventing me from following Henry. I want to watch snooker with dad too. Unfortunately, my mom has other plans. She hands me the good plates to put on the table. The table is already set with her lace white tablecloth and all the good cutlery, except the plates. I know she got those plates out of the top cupboard with the help of my dad. She was really going out for Henry.

She will be disappointed when she finds out that even though he is my plus one, he is only my friend. While I put down the plates, I look over to the sofas to see Henry and my father watching snooker on the tv at ease with each other's company. Despite all this, this was not the first time they had met in the past few years so it didn't come as any surprise. In the past, my father would spend the whole time grilling whatever guy I bought home to know as many details about them. He already knew all those details about Henry.

Mom is taking the lasagna out of the oven, "Go tell them that the food is ready."

I comply and it's not long before we are all seated at the table. I sit on the left side of my dad with Henry next to me while my mum sits opposite me. The conversation starts off with the usual polite talk about the weather and the most annoying roadwork down the road before my mom drops a bombshell, "How long have you been dating each other?"

She just had to ask when I took an especially big bite of garlic bread. I pause my chewing to prevent myself from choking and look at Henry for the answer. Henry looked at me when something crosses his face. I don't have enough to decipher his look when he replies, "It feels like forever since it sort of just happened. We are always at each other's places."

This time I do choke, trying to deny the whole thing.

"Slow down dear, the food isn't going anywhere," my mom comments, while Henry pats my back to stop me from dying from a piece of garlic bread. I glare at him. This is all his fault. All he needed to say was no we aren't dating and that we are just friends. Now my parents are going to think we are something else.

"Henry, tell them the truth, we aren't dating," I say once I catch my breath. The conversation has already moved on to something else. I don't care, we are backtracking to the part where Henry declared us a couple. He signed up to be my plus-one to Ava's wedding, not my boyfriend. Those two things are different, very different.

"What colour gown does she wear?" my mom quizzes.

"Grey," Henry answers without even a second thought. He is not wrong. I just don't know how the two factors correlate since the postman and uber eats delivery man has also seen me in my gown when I answer the door in the morning.

"What shows does she love to watch and how much sugar does she takin in her tea?" my dad contributes. I don't think they ever asked James these many questions when he came over for dinner. Henry is getting special treatment tonight.

"FRIENDS and half a teaspoon of brown sugar or one teaspoon of white sugar." Again, he is right. He does make my tea and he can hear through our paper-thin walls what I watch on Netflix. I am not impressed but my parents currently are.

"We don't need to hide from your parents, baby." He gives a smug smile and now I know what look crossed his face earlier. It was the look of vengeance. My parents are enjoying the show way too much. My dad who has not said a word on the topic raises his eyebrows at the sound of 'baby' while my mum looks like she's seconds from fangirling.

"Evelyn, there is no need to hide Henry from us. I think it's adorable that you found love next door, don't you think so?" My mom nudges my dad to give his two-pence worth to the whole topic. Apparently answering a few personal questions about my life has sealed the deal for them. They should've asked him what my WiFi password is. That is one that he would have not got since his wifi reaches my place.

"He is better than the last one, that's for sure," he grumbles. Henry holds back his laughter. Technically my dad is not wrong since the last guy is Charlie, however, he doesn't know about that so this is a lot of shade towards James, who is technically the groom of a wedding that is also doubling up as a free holiday. I never quite understood why my dad didn't like James.

I don't even know how to come back from there. My parents should believe me the child they raised their whole lives, instead of Henry who they barely know. I just sigh, giving up quite easily on the whole charade that Henry has started. It might just be my best armour during the wedding, from plus-one to a fake boyfriend.

We finish eating and while I'm waiting for Henry to wash his hands, My parents were out of hearing range and the running water would help cover up the conversation. I have a chance to confront him, "So when did we decide about this upgrade to fake boyfriend?"

"I think it was around the time you nearly died from a piece of garlic bread," he smiles, showing his dimple. He dries his hands off on the nice hand towel that I knew my mom kept for guests. Damn, he was really getting the royalty treatment from my mom.

"Do you even know what you signed yourself up for?" I warn. I am going to take advantage of my new fake boyfriend when we went to the wedding. There were no rules here. I trust Henry to respect my boundaries, but introducing him as my boyfriend with dissolve any looks of pity within seconds.

"I'm not worried, are you worried?" He moves out of the way, allowing me access to the sink to wash my hands. The bathroom never felt smaller than it did at this moment. I stand up straight as he brushes past me.

"Nope, not at all. Just don't fall in love with me." 

~*~ 

Remember folks, if he knows the answer to three personal questions, then he is your fake boyfriend!!! What would those three personal questions be?

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