Title blatantly ripped off from 10,000 Maniacs. A big thank you to LJ User lunar47 for taking a look at this even though she wasn't feeling too well.

This was written for the second round of Hiatus Fest 2011 over at the LJ community leslie_ben. No spoilers, but it would take place a little after the Harvest Festival. I used prompt #2: fanfic tropes, so welcome to fake dating and high school reunions! Let's get this train wreck started!

Leslie always told people that necessity was the mother of invention, but sometimes she forgot how true that was. That being said, it's not like she planned it. Ben simply walked in at an opportune moment.

The Harvest Festival was over, but for two weeks she'd had the nagging suspicion that she'd forgotten about something. Something that was sort of important. She had called Ann, she'd called her mother, she'd even called her doctor in case it was something to do with her lady business, but no one could think of anything she was supposed to be doing.

She spent Friday afternoon down at the community center working with the seniors in the newly re-implemented aerobics program. When she finally made her way back to the office Donna brought her up short by telling her that someone named Margaret Pearson had called.

"She said that she's looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?" Leslie stopped at the table in the outer office and thought for a moment. "Oh! Oh, no!"

Tom came walking out from their office. "Oh no, what?"

She ran her hand over her face. "I don't believe it!"

Jerry stood up from his desk. "What's wrong?"

"My 20 year high school reunion is tomorrow night. I totally forgot!"

Donna laughed, "Oooh, good thing she called! Your date would have been pissed if he'd come to pick you up and you were still in your pajamas."

"Well, I might still be in my pajamas since I have nothing to wear, but it doesn't matter because I don't have a date. I was going to go by myself."

Jerry, Tom, and Donna all looked at her as if she'd just told them she'd taken an interest in library science.

"No. Nonononono-" Tom began.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked as he walked into the office.

"Leslie's twenty year high school reunion is tomorrow night," Tom answered.

"Wow. Really?" Ben's head cocked to the side as if he was trying to do the math.

"It's not quite twenty for me, but it was a small high school," she mumbled. "We do group reunions. The classes of 1990-1994 are all invited."

"Oh! Well that'll be fun, won't it?"

Tom laughed cynically, "Leslie just told us that she doesn't have a plus one."

Leslie shot Ben a confused look. "It's not a big deal, right? I can go without a date."

Donna shook her head furiously. "Nuh-uh, Leslie. No way."

Tom agreed. "You have to have a date- and it can't be Ann! Going with a friend or going stag to this kind of thing is like tattooing a giant LOSER sign across your forehead."

"I don't think that's true." Ben started.

Donna dismissed him with the wave of a hand. "Don't listen to him, Leslie. He's from Minnesota."

Jerry walked over to her side and patted her shoulder. "If you need a date, I could always take you."

"God, Jerry!" Tom cried out. "That's the opposite of a solution!"

Donna and Tom looked at Jerry in disgust, even Ben looked slightly horrified, but Leslie smiled and placed her hand over his. "Thanks, Jerry, but some of these people are bound to know you or your wife."

Donna smiled. "They don't know Ben, though."

Ben froze and then was suddenly backing away and waving his hands out in front of him. "Oh, no. I don't think. . ."

"Oh my God! That's perfect!" Leslie said. "You could pretend to be my husband. No! My ex-husband!"

Ben shook his head. "That doesn't make sense."

"Leslie!" Tom interrupted, "Most of the people going to this thing live in Pawnee. They know you're not married."

"He could be my secret husband!"

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, which was ridiculous because she was a mysterious woman. She could have a man chained in her basement. They wouldn't know. "What? I could have a secret husband!"

Tom's eyes were practically popping out of his head when he spoke. "Aside from the fact that, no, you totally couldn't, the two of you were all over the local media a few weeks ago. If you were married it would have come out!"

She'd forgotten about that. "Oh... right."

Ben stepped closer to her and smiled sympathetically, "Leslie, I'll just go as your date, okay?"

"Mmmm, I don't think so," Donna interjected. "You need to go as her boyfriend. She doesn't want everyone to know she had to scrounge up a date at the last minute."

"Donna's right," Tom said. "You guys need to say you're in a relationship."

"But if you're going to do that," Jerry warned, "you should practice. That way when people ask you questions you'll have the same answers."

Leslie ran the whole scenario over in her mind. Ben was totally cute, he was reasonably social, and as long as there wasn't a camera on him he was somewhat capable of carrying on a conversation. Plus he was the new Deputy City Manager, which would kind of make them a political power couple. This was a great idea.

"What do you say, Ben?" Leslie asked. "Want to be my pretend boyfriend?"

Ben kind of looked like he just swallowed paint thinner or something, which was kind of insulting, Leslie thought. Pretending to be her boyfriend was an honor. It was, as Chris might say, literally the next best thing to actually dating her.

"There'll be an open bar," she added with a nervous smile.

Ben swallowed hard. "Okay. Sure. Who am I to turn down free alcohol?"

Tom brought his hands together with a loud clap. "Great. Jerry's right, though. Surprisingly. You have to make this believable and you only have one night to sort all the details out. So, practice date! Tonight, 7:30. The Snakehole. I'll reserve you a table."

Ben sort of blanched at the suggestion, and to be honest Leslie didn't think a club would be conducive to carrying on any sort of conversation. "As nice as that is of you to offer, I think we should just meet up at my house. I'll make dinner and we can come up with our back-story. How does that sound?"

Ben relaxed a little at her suggestion and agreed, but he still looked a bit shell shocked when he turned around and walked out.

His lack of enthusiasm made her feel uneasy, but she'd get him to see how awesome this was going to be. It would be a great way for him to meet some of the people of Pawnee and an open bar was always something to be taken advantage of.

She went into her office and started brainstorming.