Simply Captivating

Chapter 1: Suspicions

(A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading my fanfic! This fanfic is NOT accurate (none of these events occurred and the story will not be accurate to Studio C's history). Please, please, please don't forget to comment your thoughts on the chapters! I really appreciate every single comment. Thanks again!)

"Thank you all for joining us at our live taping tonight! We appreciate all the support and we hope to see you all again!" Matt said as the crowd applauded. The cast of Studio C had just finished their final live taping of the season. As the crowd of fans began to leave, the cast headed backstage to change out of their costumes.
"What a season!" James said, proud of the hard work the cast had done.
"Seriously, I think this ending calls for a late night party at the studio." Jason implied, and everyone agreed. After changing into their regular clothes, the cast met up in the sketch writing / break room. It was a decently large room with couches, a large TV, and a red bricked fireplace. Easily the most comfortable room in the studio. Everyone found a seat. Matt, Whitney, Stephen, Natalie, and Jason on the large couch, Stacey, James, and Jeremy on the smaller one, which left Mallory on the bean bag and Adam sitting on the floor ("It's more comfortable than being squished on the couch!"). Stacey was the first to speak up.
"Okay before we do anything else... Can we please pick up some food? I'm starving!"
"Yes, please!" Stephen replied. "Pizza sound good to everyone?" The group agreed.
"Who wants to go pick it up?" Whitney asked sarcastically, not expecting anyone to offer.
"Matt and I will!" Mallory exclaimed at the exact same time she heard Matt say "Mal and I will!" The group exchanged a few subtle glances before Whitney responded, laughing.
"I wasn't expecting anyone to offer, but yeah, go ahead!"
As Matt and Mal left the room, the entire cast burst into laughter.
"Could they make their affection towards one another any more obvious?" Stacey laughed.
"Oh come on, guys," Whitney started, "They're​ just... Friends."
"Oh yeah," Adam said, "Friends who spend every second of their lives together. They probably make out behind the corner, for all we know."
"ADAM!" Whitney yelled back, "They do NOT make out behind the corner!" She was trying to be serious but everyone could see the laughter she was attempting to hold back. Jeremy toned down the laughter by speaking up.
"Okay, okay, whether they make out or not, I think we can all agree that they seriously like each other."
Matt and Mallory had always been seen by the cast as good friends, but recently things had begun to change that view. Mallory would take special care to save him a seat during sketch writing, Matt would bring her breakfast on a regular basis, and the cast had begun to notice that a lot of their sketches involved Matt and Mallory portraying couples. To the cast, it was obvious that they were attracted to one another and they knew that it wouldn't be long before the fans caught on as well.

"Do you think they're starting to believe it?" Mallory asked, stepping into the car.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Matt replied "I mean, did you see the glances they were throwing around the room when we said we'd go together?" Mallory giggled as she closed the car door.
"You know, Mal, I think this is really going to help promote the show." Matt said.
"Yeah, me too," she responded. "I just don't want anyone to get upset about it.
"No one will get upset about it, Mal. It's not like we're doing anything excessive. We're just..."
"Hinting at a fake relationship to excite the crowds..." She finished.
"Exactly." He said. Matt and Mallory had noticed that Studio C wasn't getting the publicity they needed. Without a continually growing number of fans, the cast would have to stop the show. Knowing that stopping the show would be disastrous, the two decided they needed to do something. Something that would excite the fans. Something big. They'd decided on hinting at a relationship between themselves to make the fans (and the cast) curious. Of course, it was mainly an act towards the fans, but knowing that the cast probably would've disapproved of the act, Matt and Mallory had decided to fake their relationship for them, as well. All that was left to do was see if it would work!

Stephen checked his watch again.
"Okay, guys, this is getting a little weird.. it's been over 45 minutes since Matt and Mal left to pick up the food." It was true, the two had taken an especially long time for something as simple as picking up pizza. Whitney heard Adam mutter something about making out under his breath and shot him a glare. In the 45 minutes of time, the cast had entertained themselves by playing a few games here and there. It mostly consisted of games that didn't require too much energy - everyone was drained from the fast paced season of sketches. Natalie spoke up.
"Do you think we should ask one of them if there's actually something there?"
"No way!" Stacey responded. "I don't want it to scare them off or anything... I kinda like it!"
"Besides," James continued, "I think it's obvious that they have something going on between each other and I think we should just wait until they've officially told us."
"Okay, fair enough." Natalie sighed.

Matt and Mallory were fully aware that picking up pizza and bringing it back to the studio should take less than 15 minutes. They'd both decided to stay behind a little later in order to push the cast's suspicions. The truth was, Mallory enjoyed being around Matt, and he enjoyed being around her, but there was nothing more than friendship between them. While the two talked and laughed together, they couldn't help but think, "what if?". What if this plan works? What if the cast and fans totally fall for their act? What if everyone gets so attached to this "relationship", that they'll be disappointed when they find out the truth?