It was only after Christian had dropped Ana at her apartment that he really had time to think about what had happened the night before. He wasn't sure where the courage to kiss her had come from – the glasses of wine he'd drunk with dinner probably had something to do with it – and he was still trying to mentally make sense of the fact she hadn't pushed him away disgusted or turned around that morning and said it was a terrible mistake. Incredibly, she had seemed as happy as him with the situation. He entered his apartment in a better mood than he'd been in for as long as he could remember.

Christian had barely got been home for ten minutes before his phone was ringing. He looked at it just in case it was Ana calling him – his stomach lurched as he wondered if she might want to cancel going out tonight and just not have been able to tell him in person. He was both relieved and irritated when he saw Mia's name flash up. Christian decided to ignore it, but of course Mia, who if she wanted to make her presence known was always absolutely determined to do it in the most irritating way possible, decided to text him as well.

Mia 11:02: PICK UP

Mia 11:02: NOW CHIRSTIAN

Mia 11:03: OMG I KNOW UR NOT WORKING

Mia knew that he couldn't stand abbreviations or incorrect grammar in texts, she'd had a great time teasing him after he'd sent her a semi-colon in a text ('I don't care if it's grammatically correct, Christian, they're for winky faces and nothing else!') so she clearly expected him to respond to that.

Christian 11:04: What is it?

Mia 11:04: MOM LIED TO ME AND ELLIOT

Mia 11:05: TOLD US U AND ANA WERE GOING 2NITE

Mia 11:05: I KNOW U WENT YESTERDAY I HAVE KATE ON SNAPCHAT

Christian 11:06: What does that have to do with anything? Please do not use caps lock when you reply, I feel like I can hear you screaming.

Mia 11:07: She snapped she was bored I asked why she said Ana was out with u

Christian 11:08: Mom wanted to meet Ana without you and Elliot being there. She probably also wants to see you both on a night she won't be distracted by other things.

Mia 11:08: So unfair! Take me 2 lunch?

Christian 11:11: Fine, be ready for me at 12:45, I'm not waiting.

Mia 11:12: C u then!

Christian figured he could use this lunch as a mini intervention where he spoke to her in a forced casual manner about her trying to be slightly less immature in future. He felt optimistic about her listening, he thought there was definitely a part of her that felt bad about the situation she had put him into – even if it was tiny. Christian still hadn't forgiven her for that, whether or not something good was potentially coming out of it in the form of a relationship between him and Ana. There were better circumstances for that to have happened under, her interference despite how he was sure she would try to spin it when she found out about the two of them, was not what had pushed them. He was sure that eventually they would have reached this point. The fake relationship was more of a catalyst which had just propelled them towards each other slightly faster.

For once, Mia actually was on time, not one her phone, and in a seemingly good mood which were three things that rarely coincided with his sister. She also dutifully waited until they were sat down and she'd politely asked him how work had been that week before she started complaining, which was also very rare for her.

"I cannot believe mom was so sneaky!" Mia huffed as she shook her head. "And people wonder where I get it from." Christian didn't mention that his mother usually acted with good intentions that Mia clearly lacked; he knew his sister wasn't above starting a fight in a public place and wanted to avoid that if it was possible. "Are you coming tonight?" She sounded hopeful and then looked slightly dejected when he shook his head.

"She wants to spend time with you and Elliot."

"What was the point of me orchestrating the whole you and Ana lie if it's not even going to be there to distract mom?" Christian sighed. "Did she like Ana? Maybe I can just talk to mom about her."

"She liked her a lot." Christian admitted. "Just talk to mom like a normal person, why does everything have to be so calculated with you?" Mia looked down like his comments were making her feel guilty. "You don't have to lie and scheme, we're your family All of us care about you. You don't need to manipulate us into doing that."

"I thought this was going to be a break up with your boyfriend intervention, not this." Mia complained.

"Well it isn't, but since you've brought the subject up, you do need to break up with your boyfriend." Mia scowled at his comment; he was poised to say more when his phone buzzed and he checked it.

Ana 13:13: How fancy are we going tonight? Kate says she needs some indication, she's decided to waste her day (and mine) playing dress up.

Christian 13:14: Just wear whatever you like (or more correctly, whatever Kate likes) you look beautiful in everything.

Ana 13:14: You're sweet (but Kate says that's unhelpful.)

"Why are you smiling at your phone?" Mia asked abruptly. He hadn't even realised he was doing it and he could tell that she would read the guilt that immediately washed over his face. "Oh my god, you're dating someone, aren't you?" Mia looked gleeful and so sure that she had worked out what was happening. Christian sighed at the ease with which she was able to read him. For someone exceptionally self-involved, Mia was impressively perceptive at times, and she'd always been able to read him like a book, even after years of mastering controlling his emotions so, at a time like this, when they were so clearly given to her, Christian knew Mia would be having a field day.

"No, I'm not dating anyone…" Christian attempted to lie to her but he knew it was futile.

"It's so pointless lying to me, Christian, you've never been able to fool me." Christian forced himself not to respond and Mia was suspiciously silent for a moment before she made a grab for his phone. Despite his best efforts it was soon in her clutches and he glared at her. "Now, I don't know your passcode but I will guess it a million times and lock you out of your phone unless you tell me. Wouldn't want your girlfriend to think you're ignoring her, would you?" It buzzed again and Mia made a faux concerned face. Christian told himself Ana wouldn't take it personally if he didn't reply but his assurance of that only lasted about three seconds before his resolve waivered.

"Fine, fuck, I don't have a girlfriend, I'm just going on a date tonight." Christian said, trying to minimise it. Mia squealed in delight. He wanted to tell her to calm down but honestly, that was a little bit how he felt about the whole situation too.

"Who with?"

"You don't know her."

"Such a liar!" Mia exclaimed, waving his phone to remind him she had it.

"I swear to god, Mia, you haven't matured a fucking day since you turned seven." Mia pouted at the comment but didn't seem to take it too personally. It was nothing he hadn't said before, and usually a lot angrier. "Fucking fine, it's Ana, happy now?" Mia looked delighted and poised to speak before he held a hand up to her. "And no, before you ask, this does not contribute in any way to you being absolved of blame for getting me into a situation where I've had to lie to mom. I still don't like it, even if something good is coming out of it." Mia handed his phone back, clearly satisfied with the information she had received from him. A quick check showed it wasn't even Ana who'd sent him another message, just someone dull from the office which made him frown.

"So it has actually happened since the lie started?" Mia asked, sounding genuinely curious now instead of gleeful on her own behalf.

"I'm not going to talk to you about my dating life, Mia, it's private. You've squeezed enough information out of me already."

"I talk to you about mine, it's not fair!" Mia's combined reality of being the youngest child in a family of three plus the mentality she somehow had of an only child was a terrible combination. Christian gave her a look as if to say that kind of comment was exactly what he was talking about when he complained about her maturity level and too her credit Mia had the sensibility to look at least a little embarrassed. "Okay, sorry, stop giving me that look. I mean, I'm always really open and honest with you about this area of my life, I'd appreciate the same from you."

"See, you do have the ability to take an argument and phrase it like an adult. I'm proud of you." Christian was being deliberately patronising and he could see Mia struggle to take the moral high ground and not respond childishly. "And that's your decision to share that aspect of your life with me, but that comes from a place of needing advice, you have to admit, rather than just wanting to tell me. You know I like to be private, it's not fair to expect me to talk about this, especially when it might not even come to anything. I might take her out tonight and she could decide I'm nice as a friend but not to date and call the whole thing off before it even starts." Mia rolled her eyes.

"Of course she won't, I've seen you two with each other. You're clearly crazy about each other, it's so obvious. In fact, for all you know I made up this whole lie so you two could get together!"

"No you didn't."

"No, I didn't, but it would have been great if I had, and you can't stop me from saying that in the future."

"Well, just be careful tonight that you don't say anything about it to mom."

"You know I can keep secrets if I have to. Trust me, I won't spill anything." On this, Christian actually did trust Mia. Deception in its many forms was one of her talents, if it could really be called a talent. It was Elliot he was more worried about, he wasn't exactly the brightest button in the box at the best of times. "Don't worry, if Elliot looks like he's about to be a moron and say anything I'll cause some drama and make sure it doesn't happen." Mia said as though she was reading his mind.

"You'd better, if this whole thing blows up in our faces you'll be taking all the blame for it. If mom wants to never speak to one of us again it's not going to be me." Christian told her warningly.

"It won't! Nobody's going to tell her and now you and Ana are actually a thing there's no way she'll even be suspicious because you'll definitely be acting like a couple! And you have to admit, even if you were annoyed at first, I bet she was really happy last night when you were there with Ana."

"She was." Christian admitted, slightly irritated about that. It was hard to prove to Mia that she actually had done something wrong when everything seemed to be going so well. There was a part of him that wished his mother hadn't liked Ana, just to prove a point to Mia that she couldn't use other people as chess pieces and keep getting away with it.

"Look, I'm sorry I got you into this. I honestly am." It was one of the first times Christian had ever heard Mia apologise and known that she meant it. Her voice was genuine and her eyes were cast slightly down, not quite able to meet his gaze. "I know it was wrong, and I was really selfish and I am sorry. I'm glad you and Ana might be together because then at least you can't completely hate me for making you do this, but I know I need to make it up to yo properly. I promise I will."

"I fully believe that you intend to do that, Mia." Christian assured her. She gave a little relieved half smile. "But whether or not you actually manage to is a separate issue." he added, just so she didn't get too complacent. "Now, let's talk about something else. What are you doing at the moment?"

Mia launched into a lengthy speech about how the photoshoot from the other day had inspired her to actually take up photography as a hobby. He could see that for once, the more serious discussion they'd had wasn't immediately discarded from her mind and the cogs of her brain were still mulling it over as she spoke and tried to distract herself. It was the first time he'd seen Mia regret something she'd done and, although she should know not to do things like that in the first place, he saw her remorse as a positive sign for the future.

"Good luck tonight!" Mia exclaimed as she hopped out of the car when Christian dropped her off after lunch. "Have a good time!"

"Say hi to mom for me." Christian said. Mia waved to him from the street as he drove away. She had many faults but her unwavering enthusiasm was not one of them.

He spent most of the afternoon worrying about his date with Ana later. He tried to remind himself that they'd spent a lot of time together before and this was nothing new, but somehow it felt completely different. There was now something to lose if he said or did something she didn't like. This had already gone far enough that it might be difficult if things didn't work out for them to return to being friends and the thought of losing her, the only person he could actually talk to, weighed heavily on his mind. Just as he was thinking about it, he received a message from her.

Ana 16:47: I'm actually nervous about tonight… Is that crazy?

Christian 16:48: I was just thinking the same thing.

Ana 16:48: We're both crazy then?

Christian 16:59: Apparently so.

Ana 16: 50: Feel like I should make it clear now I really like you.

Ana 16:50: That was such a dumb way to put that.

Ana 16:50: But also true.

Christian: 16:51: I really like you too.

Ana 16:52: I like that we're both so ineloquent when we're nervous.

Christian 16:53: I like that 'ineloquent' is a word you're happy to include in a text.

Ana 16:54: I like that you took the time to put it in brackets when you quoted it.

Christian 16:54: Correct grammar in texts is very important.

Ana 16:55: So true…

Ana 16:55: Have to go Kate's brandishing some torture device for my hair, see you later!

Christian 16:56: Enjoy. Don't be nervous.

Ana 16:56: Same to you x

14th March - Hi everyone! Updates are going to start coming again in a couple of weeks. I burnt out a lot of the ideas I had by writing this quickly so I spent a while thinking where this was going and once that was finalised I went back to University and so I've been really overwhelmed with my job and studying. I hope you can all forgive me for how long it's been! I don't want you to think this story's been abandoned because it definitely hasn't!

Love, Esme x