Chapter Text
It was a quiet day at the Smosh office- it wasn’t a shoot week, so the atmosphere was pretty laid back at the moment. Of course people still had a lot of work to get done, but energy levels were low on that early spring afternoon. A few of the cast members were enjoying lunch and chatting lazily about their upcoming plans and the new exciting announcement of the upcoming “Smosh reads Reddit stories” tour. The news was posted just a week ago, and was received exceptionally well, leaving the members of Smosh with a quiet sense of satisfaction and pride.
But as Tommy was scrolling TikTok, hoping for inspiration for new social posts on the Smosh accounts, he came across something that caught his eye. It wasn’t necessarily anything special- it was a cute edit of Shourtney, including many of the photos from their wedding announcement, as well as others pulled from both of their instagrams, and clips from videos. He’d seen plenty fan edits in his time on social media; all the cast had. Sometimes Courtney would even send them to fellow castmates. However, it did get Tommy thinking. April Fool’s Day was coming up pretty soon, and Smosh currently had no ideas for their annual ‘April Fools bit’. Of course there was Shayne and Courtneys wedding announcement- a genuine post, not only to share important news but to excite and confuse the fans and leave them scrambling. Then there was the mime TNTL. But Tommy knew they needed something for this year; something funny and unexpected, but more shocking than last years.
“Guys, do we have any pitches for an April Fools bit this year?”, he posed to the table.
With him sat Angela, Chanse, Shayne and Damien.
Shayne took a sip from his water bottle before replying, “Uhh, I’m not sure. What makes you bring it up?”
“I just saw this Shourtney fan edit and it got me thinking. We gotta do something big, I think. Don’t get me wrong, I loved last year’s TNTL, but it just didn’t get the reaction we got the year before”, Tommy brainstormed as he quirked his head and pursed his lips. “I mean, people love a callback right? Is it too soon to pull something similar?”
His friends all remained quiet as they were contemplating his proposal.
“You know what? It would be actually super funny to just do it again, don’t you think?”. All eyes turned to Angela as she voiced her thoughts out to the table. “Like, people would obviously know that this time it’s fake, but that would be the bit. A callback to the Shourtney announcement like, as a spoof, in a way.”
At this, she earned a chuckle from Damien, and Chanse just turned his head to her with his jaw slightly agape.
“You wanna spoof my marriage?” Shayne retorted, a grin forming slowly on his face.
“Uhh, not if you’re not okay with it? Sorry, I just thought it would be a funny bit-“ Angela immediately tried to retract her statement- she hadn’t really thought it all the way through before speaking. And she definitely didn’t mean to put it quite so bluntly.
Shayne then waved his hands gently, as if trying to wave away her anxiety of having done anything wrong. “No, no, I’m just joking. I honestly think it would be pretty funny. And the fans probably would too.”
The table stayed quiet, processing the idea and if it would be good for fan engagement.
Tommy took this moment to further the discussion, viewing the prank as a pretty good way of poking fun at the fans who had reacted in crazy ways two years prior.
“Who would it be? I mean, definitely cast, but what would make the joke land best? Maybe a Chanse and Angela wedding would be good? Since people would immediately know it’s joke anyway, and we could just lean into pre-existing bits. You know, in this case, Straight Chanse, and the whole ‘frenemies’ vibe you two got going on”, he pitched, shrugging with his last comment like it was obvious.
“Uhh, no, bitch” Chanse said, immediately shutting Tommy down. “I JUST hard launched a relationship, and I’m not trying to get my DMs filled with creeps hoping to make Straight Chanse real.”
That’s when Angela pipes up again, making a pitch nobody had expected to hear. Least of all, the adorable man sitting to her left, who was smiling at her sweetly, excited to hear whatever words might come out of her mouth- totally oblivious that they would relate quite heavily to him. A pitch that would leave him shaken and flustered, as the friends that surrounded him were completely unaware of the extreme, mind-bending, soul-destroying feelings he had for the perpetrator.
“Ooh I have an idea. I mean, we just poked fun at the fans during the Smoscars for their shipping. We could cause a huge stir and add fuel to the fire. Even if they all know it’s a joke, I think people would go crazy for it”, she pauses.
“Damien?”
Hearing his name from her mouth shook him out of the trance he was in. Wide eyed, and with the tips of his ears turning red, Damien tried his best to stay calm and give nothing away. He was an actor, after all.
“Are you sure? Joking about it in a video and posting fake proposal photos are two very different things,” Damien countered, keeping his voice steady and strong. His voice was his profession, and he’d be screwed if he couldn’t rely on that skill in this moment.
“Woah, who said anything about a proposal? I thought we were talking full wedding.”
“Well…” Tommy interjected. “ Maybe a proposal is a good move? Keeps it slightly different, while also being a nod to our dear friend’s marriage post. Plus, it’s a nice little jab at Arasha’s fake engagement prank”
There were various nods around the table as Angela and Damien’s eyes met briefly. Angela’s eyes were full of question, hoping she hadn’t gone too far this time. But thankfully, Damien was well versed in all things Angela- he’d spent too much time studying all her looks and expressions. It wasn’t his fault, he was just captivated by her, and found it impossible to look away. He could tell she was feeling guilty, presumably for pushing this onto him by accident, so he took the chance to speak up and soothe her racing thoughts.
“No, I’m totally down for it if you are, Angela. I just wanted you to be sure.” All that mattered to Damien was Angela’s comfort. He never wanted to make her uncomfortable, and faking a proposal with a coworker, at work, for millions of people on the internet to see and comment on was a big, and frankly awkward, commitment.
Angela replied, “yeah, I don’t really see a problem with it if you’re okay with it too. I honestly think it’d be really funny to mess with the fans like that and tease the shit out of them.” A grin blossomed on her beautiful face as she finished her sentence. God, Damien could stare at that face forever and still never get enough. He hadn’t realised he’d been quite so lost in her eyes until Tommy’s voice cut through the air, breaking their silent eye contact.
“I guess that’s settled then!” His voice was cheery as he continued, “thanks guys. I’d say you’re doing me a solid but I think the fan reaction will be enough reward for both of you.”
And just like that, the group of friends fell back into benign discussion of their weekend plans, bits they were excited to try in upcoming videos, and movies they’d recently watched. However, Damien was painfully aware of the glances he’d receive occasionally from Angela throughout, no longer guilt or anxiety, but excitement? Whatever that look was, it made Damien’s stomach fill with butterflies. Though, then again, that’s what usually happened when he was looking at Angela.