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The thing was, neither Arno nor Evie knew how the entire thing had started. Both were actors, young and good-looking and getting bigger as time passed. They had good fanbases, and so far, weren’t part of the problematic population in the acting business. Their fans, however, for some reason, were at war and pretty much hated the others. People who liked both of them were usually called traitors, and it was an actual war going on between both fandoms. As it turned out, according to people close to them who actually followed the events, both actors were supposed to hate each other as well.
Arno had tried, once, to ask his fans what the cause of this endless battle was. And he had chosen Twitter to do that.
Arno Dorian @arnodorian
So, I’ve heard about this war you guys are in with @eviefrye’s fans, how did that start?
This had been a terrible error, as it only led to an enormous amount of fighting in his mentions, the question long gone after five minutes, and even he couldn’t understand how the debate could start so fast.
It’s gotten to the point where he’d muted the tweet and left the website for the day in hopes of letting everything cool down.
The truth was, when their fans started thinking about the fact that they hated each other, Arno and Evie were friends. Good friends, even, just discreet enough that no one ever knew they were hanging out. They weren’t famous enough to get that many paparazzi, anyway, and managed to go out a few times without being spotted.
And as fictional hate grew, their relationship went to further levels. Evie became Arno’s best friend in the world, which was when they started hearing about this fanbase war. Arno was a bit concerned by it, but Evie found it hilarious (except for the hate) and she was the one to come up with the stupid idea of making it grow.
And so, because he couldn’t tell her no, they agreed to keep the image going. Best friends in private, enemies in public.
They enjoyed it a lot, trying to avoid each other and giving the other the stink eye when people and cameras were watching, trying their best to appear hostile. According to their sources, the internet war only grew from this, the traitors wondering if they really should pick a side. It was funny enough for both actors, except for the fact that they couldn’t actually go out together or do anything together without needing to looked like they couldn’t bear to stand next to each other.
Then their relationship went a step further. Because they had feelings, and they knew each other well by now, and Arno really like her and Evie really liked him.
They started dating.
Their publicists were desperate, but they didn’t care. The game was fun (even Arno had to admit), and the fact that they were doing much more now than hanging out when they were together was even funnier. Publicly, they hated each other; privately, they slept together on any given day.
But now that they’re dating, it makes the pretend hate a bit harder. And they need to find a solution.
Evie comes up with the idea a random night, when they’re both laying on a hotel bed eating takeout. Even she, who started the fake-hating in the first place, is growing tired of never going out with her boyfriend. What good is it to have a handsome significant other if you can’t even show him off? She’s got her mouth full when she raises her hands, and Arno can practically see the lamp over her head. He raises an eyebrow in her direction, and she swallows before speaking.
“What do you say we fuck with our fans?”
Arno smirks. “I’d rather fuck you, but ok,” he says, ducking to avoid getting hit in the face by a piece of fried chicken. “What do you have in mind?”
“Well, how about we switch the entire thing off and make a u-turn? We’re supposed to hate each other, now let’s suddenly be friends and hang out a lot! And at some point in time we’re publicly dating. That way maybe they’ll slowly start liking each other and we’ll have nice fanbases.”
He considers the idea for a moment. It was fun to pretend hate, it could be even funnier to suddenly change sides. He looks back at her and nods. Her delighted squeal is enough to make him grin, and she throws herself at him, completely forgetting the food in favor of having fun in bed.
The plan starts at the soonest awards ceremony. They enter the red carpet a few minutes apart, and everyone expects them to either ignore the other or shoot them a hateful look. They hear the cameras going crazy when Evie approaches Arno in her long blue dress, and he takes her hand to kiss it. They’re both smiling widely, enjoying the night and even exchanging pleasantries while getting photographed together.
The following morning, they both wake up to endless Twitter mentions from confused fans wondering what the hell had just happened.
There were Evie’s fans, mostly shocked and wondering if the previous night’s events weren’t a hallucination.
lara @eviefryeisbae
ok but @eviefrye wtf happened last night w arno??Vi @frenchfrye
IKR I STILL CANT BELIEVE ITbecs @eveet
i bet they fuckedErika @evxefrx
That is ridiculous why would they even
And then Arno’s fans, who were mostly disappointed and trying to change the subject in order to not think about it.
mara @sux2beyou
i mean did you guys see @arnodorian’s face when he did that kiss the hand thingi watched it @dorixnislove
he looked like he was in love right? and she did too i’m crying why is this happeningélise @arnobearian
I mean I was mostly focused on how HANDSOME HE LOOKEDarnie @arnosbutt
SAME THO HAVE YOU SEEN THAT SUIT
The famous ‘traitors’ were apparently just happy.
The best part though was the amount of articles on their sudden good relationship. The internet was becoming crazy about it. Both of them had received texts from their publicists about how good their idea actually was, asking them to please keep going since the hating had tarnished their public image a bit. And that is extremely easy.
Still in bed and rubbing circles on Evie arm, Arno can’t help but comment the whole thing.
“Didn’t know we were that famous.”
“Me neither. I can’t believe we’re boosting our careers by liking each other.”
They get out of the hotel together in the morning, going out to get coffee at the nearest shop and talking about anything and everything. They definitely see the few people with cameras hiding where they can to take pictures of it, and decide to slow down. Can’t have the people find out about them dating too soon.
They only realize how difficult this is going to be when it comes to sleeping. When they hated each other, nobody suspected a thing. But now they were seeing more people wondering if they weren’t in a secret and hidden relationship. Which was bad, since they were.
But actors duty calls, and the fact that they both have jobs for different movies helps them keep it subtle. Every time they meet, their acting makes it look like it’s purely a coincidence- when in reality, that same meeting was carefully planned the previous day. They can’t exactly be alone, so instead of inviting each other to their houses, they steal kisses in the dark when they’re sure nobody’s watching.
It’s hard, in a way, but still fun, and the need to not be caught makes it thrilling (when it’s actually not that big of a deal). It’s much better than fake hating, if they’re honest.
They meet more and more, end up posting pictures on social media to make their fans know they enjoy each other’s company. Always smiling in selfies, trying their hardest not to look like lovesick puppies (which only happens in private) and ignoring the hateful comments hardcore fans still spit at the face of the other.
They can see the change in their fanbases, finding out the opposite side is not so bad. Traitors aren’t really traitors anymore, and if a few extras still stand their ground, the fandom is warming up and they start seeing things about a ‘ship’. (Evie knows what it is, but refuses to tell Arno. He finds out after a few minutes on Google and they both laugh for what seems like forever.)
It doesn’t take much longer for them to decide they’ll need to get it out pretty soon. It’s all a bit better now, they’ve hung out quite a lot, posted a few pictures and interacted with each other both on social media and in real life. The fans are good, everybody’s good, people are shipping them; why not make the damn boat sail?
The brainstorming doesn’t start, though, and it’s a whole week before the secret is (inadvertently) no longer a secret.
They’re both in the same town and staying in the same hotel; Evie is filming a new project, and Arno is making interviews all day for his latest movie. They meet up at night, desperately needing each other after so many nights of not touching the other. It’s steamy, to say the least; in the end, after a few rounds, they both look like they just ran a marathon. The shower is just an excuse for yet another round, and they fall asleep tangled in the bed sheets.
Evie misses her alarm, and kisses Arno’s forehead before reaching in the dark for her clothes and hastily putting them on. She doesn’t have time to go back to her room, and just runs out of the hotel to catch a taxi.
Bored once in the car, she snaps a quick picture of herself pouting and tweets it, because why the hell not.
Evie Frye @eviefrye
[picture]
I’ve never missed an alarm in my life, don’t like how it feels :(
She’s not wearing any makeup and barely brushed her hair, but still gets nice comments from fans about how good she looks, which puts a smile on her face.
And then the tweets start coming in caps lock, and she has to read quite a few of them to understand the problem. She looks down at her chest, and can only acknowledge it: she’s wearing the navy blue shirt Arno was wearing for his interviews the day before. She could try to deny it, but not only does the shirt have a logo on the front of it, it wouldn’t be believable. Well, at least now it’s out there.
A bit ashamed and seeing a lot of answers mentioning her boyfriend, she decides to just go with it and shoot him a tweet of her own.
Evie Frye @eviefrye
@arnodorian babe, I think I screwed up and accidentally told everyone we’re dating
Her mentions only explode more after that, but it’s not long before he answers, and thus starts a great exchange that will definitely stay in the books for the fandom.
Arno Dorian @arnodorian
@eviefrye you couldn’t wait til I woke up to tell them?Evie Frye @eviefrye
@arnodorian your fault for throwing the clothes all around the room!Arno Dorian @arnodorian
@eviefrye and how are you planning on telling them we never hated each other now? ;)Evie Frye @eviefrye
@arnodorian you’re evil and I hate you.Arno Dorian @arnodorian
@eviefrye shush, you love me ♥ (also you look good in my shirt, you gorgeous woman you)Evie Frye @eviefrye
@arnodorian unfortunately I do, hopefully you do too.
She refrains from telling him he can tear that damn shirt off her when she comes back to the hotel, saving that comment for the actual moment, and considers muting her Twitter mentions for the day. Surely he can deal with the situation while she works and explain everything (which he does).
becs @eveet
I FKING KNEW IT
When she comes back in the late afternoon, he’s waiting for her ride to stop in front of the hotel and they share a heated kiss right there on the sidewalk, looking extremely relieved and happy to finally be public.
The picture of this moment makes the front page of every interested news platform the following day, and the fans’ ship is definitely sailing.