Act IV: Friendship!? Love!? Where are we, in a Shojo manga?? (yes)

Carleen's face lit up in an instant. "You know Selena!" She snorted afterwards. "Oh, wait, of course you know her. She totally told me a cool, goth girl takes care of her dirty business." She gave him a wink. And a semi-serious glare. Oh god Michela was equally as dangerous as Selena. That was awesome.
She lowered her voice again, and made sure the boys weren't listening. "You're not- part of her actual 'dom friends', are you?"

Michela threw a half-smirk at Carleen. Yeah, she was just as dangerous as Selena - maybe just a bit more obvious about it. "She said I'm cool? Nice", she commented. She squinted to try and hear what the other girl had just asked her - just to choke on a laugh. "Oh God, no", she whispered back, shoulders still shaking a little. "Definitely not into that. ... are you?", she asked then, raising a brow.
She was definitely messing with her - she knew she wasn't part of that kind of crew.

Carleen chuckled heartily and shook her head. "Me? Oh god, no," she replied almost too loud. "I'm the most vanilla girl there is. I'm so vanilla that I just swoon when Horknath smiles at me. I mean, sure, I do wear high heels but they're pretty tame."

"That's... disgustingly cute", Michela laughed. "Listen - high heels are alright. I trip over them, but if you manage to walk in them, kudos to you - what makes you a Selena is if you actually use them to step over someone's body. And if you actually like that."
"... do I want to know what you two are talking about?", Horknath asked, genuinely perplexed. He had perked up at the mention of his name.

Carleen had almost chuckled at Michela's words, but she downright laughed when Horknath asked them that question. "No, I don't think so. Not yet. We'll cover this topic when you'll have met with all of my friends," she told him with a wink. "Speaking of which, how would you feel about meeting Dean on Friday evening? We could go to the ice cream bar."

She didn't notice that Castiel's face lit up at the mention of Dean, nor that he lowered his gaze to stare at his plate almost instantly.

Michela snickered as Horknath scratched his head, frowning in confusion - but shrugged and smiled when Carleen mentioned Dean. "Oh - sure, I'd like that", he answered. "You always talk a lot about him. I'm curious to meet him." He threw a subtle glance at Castiel, not knowing if he should invite him to come over, since he had mentioned wanting to keep his relationship with Dean a secret for the moment.

Carleen nodded with a smile, and then paused. "Oh wait, I'm afraid he'll feel left out after a while if there's just the three of us." She thought about it for a bit, and looked at Michela and Castiel. "How about you guys come? If you're free, of course ! Ice cream will be on me! Dean said he knew Cas anyway, right?"

Castiel's face heated up and he looked up, just like a rabbit would if caught off guard in the middle of the road. Thankfully for him, Carleen went on "You're his- brother's girlfriend's brother, right?"

"... oh. Oh, yes," Castiel stuttered. "That's where he knows me from, yes."

Horknath bit his lip. "Yeah, that's - a good idea", he answered then with a smile, glancing to castiel, to try and understand if he was ok with that. "I mean - Dean could feel better if there was someone else he knows with us." He glanced at Michela, and saw her making a face.
"I don't know... I mean, we'd be an odd number", she mumbled. "It'll end up being awkward if I come too."

Carleen laughed kindly. "Oh, it wouldn't! Horknath and I will be the only couple there. But I could also invite Selena, if that makes you feel better - Horknath is bound to meet her one day, after all."
She hesitated. "But if I invite Selena, then Charlie will feel left out," she mused out loud.

Meanwhile, Castiel had felt his face flush even harder when Carleen had said that there would be only one couple there.

Michela blinked. "... I'm lost - who's Charlie", she asked, starting to get confused. "That... sounds like a lot of people", she also observed, even though it was more of a mumbling that few people would've caught.
Horknath discreetly patted Castiel's back, trying to confort him a little.

"Oh, Charlie is another one of my friends," Carleen explained with a smile. "She's in the mathematics department. She's trying to get to work on those 'computer' things they're developing." Her face softened up, however. "You know what, I'll see if Selena is available on Friday. In case she isn't, and you feel like you don't want to hang with a guy you don't know because of me, you won't have to feel forced to come."

Speaking of Friday night, there was another thing going on on that date. Castiel had not been invited to it, since his mother refused to see him since she had found out he was 'a sodomist', but she was organizing a family dinner with her 'beloved' sons: Michael, who was his pride and joy, and Raphael, the other one she was the least deceived in.
Family dinners with his mother were a pain to Raphael, however. There was also the most bigoted part of his family there, who would pester him about his love life, and try to urge him to find himself a cute, obedient and religious girlfriend.
He had to put an end to it.
That's why he had printed out an ad on an impulse, on which he gave his number.

Looking for a fake girlfriend to bring to a dinner with my bigoted, racist and homophobic mother. Goal for the evening: never have her invite me ever again. You'll need a strong mind to be able put up with my relatives for 3 to 4 hrs. I pay well, and dinner is free. Call me at this number.

Michela seemed to relax when Carleen made it clear that no, she wasn't forced to come no matter what - she had definitely gone stiff in the last five minutes, probably trying to think of just how terrible it would've been to be among so many people. "Thanks", she answered, sounding grateful. "I'll... think about it. I'll let you know at lunch on Friday, I guess." Yeah, she guessed that since Horknath and Carleen were an item, she would've come at their table more often.
She didn't mind too much, now that she had chatted a little with her.

Selena wasn't, by far, someone who needed to make extra money on the side. There was another reason for which she and Carleen were long time friends aside from the fact that they liked each other's style and company - and it was that their parents were both well off, and ended up meeting around sometimes (her mother was a popular event planner, and Sakrish had probably asked her to organize some of his catwalks and fashion shows).
She couldn't even say she particularly liked Raphael Christensen. He was stuck up, stiff, and the few times they had to exchange a word out of politeness, he had sounded exactly like the kind of man you wish was never going to be your neighbor - stubborn, detail-oriented and rigid. The kind who would phone the admin of the campus' dormitory and denounce you because you were hiding a cat in your room. Or because you were showering at 23:01 when the silence hours started at 23 sharp.
Then, why had she taken note of the phone number of that ad, that had caught her attention on the school advertisement board - oddly enough - because it was the most boring-looking note she had ever seen in her life?
And why was she now calling him about it?
Who knows. Maybe she only wanted to mess up with the terrible people that seemed to make the majority of his family up. She patiently waited for him to pick up the phone.

"No probs," Carleen told her with a wink. And, hopefully, the rest of their lunch break went great! Carleen would definitely try to sit next to Michela during some of their classes from now on, since she had found herself a new friend!

To be honest, since Raphael had set up the ad on a whim, and knew people might identify him, he wasn't expecting for someone to call him at all. Still, he went to his phone and picked it up in the blandest fashion ever. "Hello, this is Raphael Christensen. Who's calling?"

(Michela has been successfully trapped into a Friendship)

Selena rolled her eyes. God, even the way he answered at the phone was stuck up. "Selena Diomandé", she simply answered with a huff. "I'll be brief. I've seen your ad. I'm interested." Yes, she figured she needed to be as blunt as possible - Raphael striked her as someone who hated unnecessary talk.

Raphael froze on the spot the moment he heard Selena's voice. He knew that voice, so he couldn't even think for a moment that someone had seen right through him and wanted to tease him by impersonating this gorgeous woman. His mouth had gone dry, but he went his lips nervously. "Alright. Is there anything you'd like to discuss regarding our arrangement?"

Selena shrugged. "Not really", she replied, almost sounding bored. "I need something to do on Friday night - and I guess that putting a couple of racist assholes at their rightful place is a way to pass my evening like another." She raised her brow. "Would you like to discuss anything about this arrangement? Like, what do you expect of me exactly?" She paused. "Am I allowed to choose anything I'd like to wear?"

"You're entirely free," Raphael replied, not expecting her to pick anything actually outrageous. "I might be relying on you a lot regarding certain details. I'm- not the most imaginative when it comes to faking a relationship." He suddenly remembered that he had rehearsed a bit of the talk he was supposed to give to potential candidates. "Right, I'm not expecting you to pretend we're in a relationship outside of this event, and needless to say I won't try to do anything inappropriate during that time."

Selena hummed a "Good" when she was given total freedom over the choice of outfit. Something outrageous it was, then. She snorted. "Well. That goes without saying", she commented coldly. "Besides, I'm very good at reminding people where my personal boundaries are. But, on the other hand... if your mother is half as I imagine her to be, she'd probably get mad faster if we get a little handsy." She paused. "I'm not talking anything extremely distasteful, but. It won't do, if you just stay rigid like a broomstick around me the whole time." She reflected a little. "What's the story, by the way? We met at the University and decided we were just perfect for each other?"

Raphael was petrified once more. Getting handsy with Selena Diomandé? OH YES- I MEAN, OH NO.
He fortunately managed to shake himself when she mentioned their backstory, for this was definitely something they should be talking about. "Yes, that'd be perfect. That way we can make up things as we go." He cleared his throat. "Also- you ought to know, she's organizing dinner in honour of my brother. The far-right conservative candidate for mayor," he sighed. "He shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Selena let out a mean, short laugh. "Oh, yeah, right. Because those usually aren't a problem, right", she muttered, before reigning herself in with a sigh. There were a couple of seconds of silence, before she added, as neutral as she could manage to sound, "I don't care about subtle racism, I can handle the comments. But if any of them starts getting violent or calls me anything close to a slur, we're getting up and leaving. Is that clear?" She paused again. "And I can't promise I'd limit myself into a dignified withdrawal. I'm going to throw something at whoever would speak, probably."

Raphael actually smiled, and that could ve heard in his voice. "I won't mind. If anything, I'll even encourage it. But my brother is a spineless prick, who doesn't dare to keep his attitude in front of people of color." He took a deep breath. "Ah, right. As my girlfriend I would have told you that three of my brothers are not to be mentioned in front of my mother, but I'll cover the details with you on Friday, so that you may have all of the elements fresh on your mind. Where should I pick you up?"

Selena smirked. A spineless prick, huh? Very well. "... three brothers?", she asked on a second thought, frowning. "That's a lot of brothers that I shouldn't mention. But fine, then." She gave him the address of her family household, where she lived with her parents still. She hadn't managed to find a place that suited her refined tastes yet. "I'm not going to be waiting outside like a stray dog, by the way. You'll ring, tell your name to our butler, and then I will come." She squinted. "I am expecting you to behave like a proper gentleman. Fake date or not." She wouldn't stand to be treated less than in a stellar way.

Raphael was a bit startled. Date? Selena called it a date? Oh gosh. "I'm afraid that this might be the furthest away from a date as it might be. That's why I offered a compensation. But I suppose I could... bring flowers." That's what people did with their dates, right?

"I had figured that, Raphael", Selena sighed, rolling her eyes. "I was talking about you, since you will be my fake date, and what I'll be expecting of you. You know, opening doors for me, that kind of things. But, do as you wish." She smirked. "I'll be seeing you on Friday night, then. At what time should I be ready?" She had caught on the fact that he was possibly going to be very awkward for the duration of the whole evening - and that thought only made it more entertaining to her.

Oh. Opening doors. Uh. Okay, so maybe he should research a bit on good habits of a proper gentleman, then. Damn it.
Raphael was a little lost in his thoughts, and flustered, but he cleared his throat again. "I'll come and pick you up at six." He made sure to take her number as well, so that he might be able to call her back if needed. 

How about a little jump in time to that Friday evening for all parties UvU