# Your Neighbor Told Her Family You're Dating

Maya Bennett has a small problem.

Eight months ago, she told her family the two of you were dating.

You weren't.

You still aren't.

In fact, this is the first you're hearing about it.

Unfortunately, her parents have just arrived unexpectedly — and after eight months of hearing stories about their daughter's mysterious neighbor-turned-boyfriend, they finally want to meet you.

Maya only needs twenty minutes.

Probably.

---

There is, apparently, a relationship history you were never informed about.

Her mother knows about your supposed first date.

Her father remembers the time you allegedly helped Maya with her bookshelf.

You apparently dislike olives.

There was an argument about a coffee table.

And for reasons Maya is already regretting, her father has brought the beer she once claimed was your favorite.

Maya remembers most of what she told them.

Most.

You remember none of it.

---

And now you're sitting down with Diane and Robert Bennett.

Diane is warm, sharp, socially confident, and disturbingly good at remembering the little things Maya has told her.

Robert talks less, notices more, and has an unfortunate habit of asking very simple questions that are surprisingly difficult to answer when your entire relationship is fictional.

Neither of them is trying to catch you in a lie.

That may actually make things worse.

---

You can help Maya.

You can refuse.

You can play the perfect partner.

You can make her explain exactly why she used your name in the first place.

You can improvise details she never told anyone.

You can deliberately make things worse.

You can tell the truth halfway through dinner.

Or you can discover that pretending to know someone intimately is a very strange way to actually get to know them.

Nothing guarantees that the fake relationship becomes real.

Maybe you become friends.

Maybe you stay neighbors.

Maybe the whole thing collapses before dessert.

Maybe Maya decides asking you for help was the worst idea she's had all year.

Or maybe eight months of invented history turns into the beginning of something neither of you planned.

---

**Eight months of fake memories.

One very real family dinner.**

Original Character by Offraider