"Right, Aria, you've always been one to hold hands with your boyfriends, so the two of you are going to have to hold hands, always!" Holly ordered. I had ended up asking both Holly and Amy to come on our date so they wouldn't feel left out.

Matt and I automatically linked hands. Amy and Holly inspected us. We stood outside a restaurant at the car.

Amy tapped her finger on her chin, "You guys have to smile at each other constantly."

Holly nodded her approval, "Yeah, and whenever you do something, ask Matt for his opinion; Matt same thing for you."

I sighed; this was like a dating lesson. It's kinda sad really.

"Tease each other lightly, but not too much or she'll suspect something."

"Okay, can we go in now?" I asked impatiently.

Holly rolled her eyes, "Alright. Walk in front of us like we're Shelly and Kieran."

Matt led me forward, and I leaned into him a little, a habit I had with my boyfriends, but wasn't aware about it until Amy pointed it out.

We entered the restaurant and Matt pulled out my chair for me. I smiled at him as he sat next to me. He placed a hand on my knee and I placed my hand on top of it. See how picky Holly and Amy are? They are like perfectionists.

The waitress came up to us; I ordered a deep fried chicken fillet and looked at Matt for approval. He smiled at me, and ordered for himself. I glanced at Amy and Holly who were sitting opposite us. They were chatting about some random thing. Then I thought of a problem, what were we supposed to talk about on the date? Mat and I were both avoiding Kieran and Shelly.

"Oh shit." I said suddenly. Three heads turned to me.

"What are we supposed to do on tomorrows date? I'm kinda avoiding Kieran and Shelly." I asked.

They raised their eyebrows simultaneously. I had to crack up, they looked so comical.

"Duh, ignore them. You're proving you're a couple, not forgiving them." Holly said.

It was my turn to raise my eyebrow, "Ignore them? It's a bit hard when they are on the same table as you and analyzing you!"

Holly just scoffed and rolled her eyes, Amy looked at me sympathetically.

Matt wrapped an arm around my shoulders, "Hey, don't worry. I'll be right there with you. If they even say one thing to hurt you, I’ll bash them. Okay?" He squeezed my shoulders.

I smiled at him gratefully. Isn't it amazing how he can make me forget the problem so quickly? Make me feel as if everything is resolved even though nothing changed? I sighed, oh well, whatever happens, happens. There's nothing I can do to change it.

Our food arrived and I glanced over to check if Matt had his. He caught my eye and smiled indicating for me to go ahead and eat. So I did. I wish I could say the food was perfect and that I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I can't. In fact, the chicken was disgusting! It tasted sour and had oil practically pouring out of it. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at my first bite.

"You okay?" Mattasked.

"Err, no this chicken tastes shit." I said bluntly. Matt burst out laughing.

"It's not funny! Taste it!" I whined, and without waiting for his reply, I shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth, effectively stopping his laughing.

He gagged and spat it out onto a napkin, "Okay, I understand what you mean now. Here you can have some of my pasta." He pushed his plate between us. I heard sighs from opposite us, and looked up to see Holly and Amy looking at us dreamily.

I waved my hand in front of them. They jerked back a little. I grinned, "You two off in la la land?"

Amy glared, "No, I was just thinking how cute you guys are."

I wrinkled my brow, confused, "Isn't that what we are supposed to be?"

Amy rolled her eyes, "Yes, but no one is that good at acting!"

"What are you implying?" I raised my eyebrows challengingly.

Holly cut in, "Nothing. She's not suggesting anything, carry on like you were before." She glared at Amy.

I was still confused but decided to drop it. Besides I was hungry. I grabbed a fork and before Matt could change his mind about sharing food, I dug into his pasta. Matt watched me eat for a few minutes, amused. Then he realized that I was going to finish his lunch if he didn't start soon.

"Hey! I said some pasta, not the whole plate!" He mock glared at me. I gave him a wide grin and shoved an extra large forkful into my mouth, still grinning with my mouth full.

Matt, not to be out done, took an even bigger forkful and managed to stuff it into his mouth. I shook my head at him patronizingly, "You're worse than a five year old kid. Why am I with you again?"

"'cause you love me." he managed, with his mouth still packed with food.

I winced in disgust, "Didn't your mum ever teach you not to talk with your mouthful?"

He grinned, swallowed and stuck his tongue out.

I rolled my eyes, oblivious to Holly and Amy's knowing glances at us.

The rest of the date went well. The girl's verdict was that Matt and I would have no problem with convincing Shelly. I sure as hell hope so. The whole point of this dating thing was to spite Shelly. It obviously isn't going to work if she doesn't believe it...