Chapter-2

Steve began to rush, and in his haste to arrive on time, he forgot to properly tie his shoelaces. He awoke late because his alarm did not go off, and the time was 12:30 p.m. when he awoke. He was supposed to be somewhere around noon, and instead he was cursing himself. In less than 20 minutes, he began shuffling through his clothes to find his favourite jacket, and the room was transformed into something resembling a garbage can.

"Where are you going in such haste?" His roommate entered with the breakfast. He was taken aback by the state of the room they both shared.

"Good morning, Ethan," Steve quickly dressed and stood in front of the mirror. "After the date, I'll clean it up." With a sigh, he continued. Ethan gave him a wide-eyed look and sat down between the piles of clothes on the bed.

"Did she not suspect you at all?" Ethan inquired.

Steve paused for a moment before saying NO, with one last glance in the mirror. Steve left quickly, stumbling and bumping on the items placed in the living room. Ethan walked downstairs with a strange expression to join his other friends in the living room, who sat there, mouths agape, staring at the slammed door.

"First date and he got late." Ethan spoke up, his voice muffled by the sandwich he was chewing. 'Oooh,' other two said in unison before returning to their favourite show, 'Baywatch.'

Steve struggled to find a suitable parking spot and parked his car some distance away from the agreed-upon location. Monika stood outside the restaurant door, her phone in her hand, expressing her rage. She continued to check her phone for a notification or a call, but her rage grew with each passing second and empty message box.

"I... I'm sorry- I'm sorry." Steve dashed towards her, yelling his apologies. He was only one metre away when his shoelace became entangled and he fell heavily, his face inches from Monika's feet.

"Wait a minute, the sun has just risen. Why are you so hurried?" Monika said, her tone tinged with sarcasm. She assisted him in getting up because he was gasping heavily from his continuous running. He attempted to speak but stopped to avoid another sarcasm.

"You don't even know how to tie your shoelaces!" She handed him a bottle of water and bent down to assist him in tying them because Steve was probably too tired to do it himself with his heavy breathing. But she didn't stop talking about how late he was. 'Cute,' an elderly lady said, making his cheeks a brighter shade of red.

"What are you smiling at?" Monika stood up, oblivious to his flustered expression.

"Uhm....I was just thinking about how cute my date is?" Monika glared at him and snatched the bottle from his grasp. "OK, let's go inside first." He said and dragged her into the restaurant. While Steve went to order something, she sighed and took a seat near the window.

"So, about the deal," Monika began as he approached with two cups of coffee and some fries. Don't ever try this deadly combination. Steve gave her an amused look.

"What? "Did you already forget?" She gave a smirk.

"Play your childish pranks on someone else. I'm not buying it."

"How did you?" He felt his cheeks getting hot and his blush didn't go unnoticed by her. She chuckled and sipped her bubble tea again.

"You can have any girl you want!" She said this while looking him in the eyes. God, if looks could kill, he would be dead at the exact moment. "I wasn't listening in or anything." You guys are simply too loud to be ignored." His face sagged with embarrassment.

"They challenged me to ask you out and date you for the next five months." He said this while looking down at his lap. He couldn't muster the courage to confront her. Monika opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a message on her screen. 'We'll be there in a month.' Call us when you're free.'

Steve was about to get up from his seat, embarrassed by how she had turned him down and now his friends would tease him for the rest of his life. "Wait." Monika blurted out. Steve simply stared at her in disbelief and sat back quickly. "I'll help you win the challenge or whatever it is, but-" she paused. Steve was now paying close attention, still a little stunned. "In exchange for that, you must help me in some way." She finished and drank her bubble tea all at once. Now that the tables had been turned, Monika appeared more nervous, and Steve simply stared at her, still perplexed.

"Help you with what?" He finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"I can't tell you right now, but it's not much, I can assure you." She added the last one to make herself sound more convincing. "You don't want to be mocked for the rest of your life, do you?" And with that, she was done. Steve pondered whether he could trust her or not. He didn't want to lose the bet, but for what was she trading? He looked around at his friends who were staring at him. He closed his eyes and returned his gaze to her. Monika wiggled her brows in anticipation of a response.

"All right, I'm ready." He agreed with a sigh of relief.

"Now give me your phone; we'll meet tomorrow." She had saved her phone number on his phone. "I'll text you when and where I'll be." Let us now take action." She winked and handed him the phone back.

"Of course not. Anyways care to tell me, how I'm going to help you exactly?" He asked.

"Well, you see, myparentsarecominginamonthandtheywanttomeetmyboyfriendoriwouldbebetrothedtomarryarichbusinessman." She blurted out in a single breath; her voice muffled by the fries she shoved into her mouth. Steve couldn't stop himself from laughing when he saw Monika, who resembled a stuffed chipmunk.

"I'm sorry, but you look so amusing. And I couldn't pay attention to what you said." He said this while catching his breath. She swallowed the fries quickly and cursed herself on the inside as she had to repeat herself.

"Okey." Monika came to a halt and took a deep breath. "My parents are coming next month to meet me and my imaginary boyfriend or I'll be betrothed to; some rich guy and that's something I don't want." She exhaled a sigh of relief before taking a sip of her coffee. She looked at him with twinkling eyes, he looked back, unimpressed.

"Are you kidding me?" He chuckled and waited for her to confirm that it was a joke, but instead he was met with a pair of hopeful eyes looking at him. He leaned back in his seat and massaged his temples. "So, you lied to your parents about being in a relationship?"

"I don't want to marry right now."

"In that case, refuse."

"It's difficult because they don't listen."

"You didn't give me a choice." He extended his hand for a handshake, which she politely accepted and let out the breath she had been holding for a while.

"Don't play the scapegoat. I'm also actively helping you." She stated.