Introductions

"Him."

When the graceful blonde pointed at him, an invisible weight lifted off Skyer's chest.

He had guessed right. #1 was Maddy, and she had identified him correctly, too.

This was a good start.

The director's eyes landed on him, and Larry beckoned him over. He greeted Madeline as he reached her side, lowering his head slightly to accomodate her height.

"Hey."

"Hey," she whispered with a faint tug of her lips.

Neither of them knew what this brief exchange triggered in the chat room.

[WHY DO THEY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE IN A ROMANCE MOVIE]

[#12: "Hey." Me: *blush*]

[Help 200 descriptive words just popped into my head]

[This is why I love romcoms]

[This is why I read romance]

[AAAAAAHH THEY FINALLY SEE EACH OTHER]

With a prompt from Larry, Skyler faced the other contestants and the drone, showing everyone the "#1" written on his slip. "Hi, I'm Skyler Valentine," he greeted.

[Aww, he guessed her too]

[5 pts for the ice queen x knight]

[Make that +10]

[٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡]

[AAAAHH THEY PICKED EACH OTHER]

[For goodness sake, someone get this chipmunk out of here]

[+1]

Mindful of the silence rule, the other contestants nodded perfunctorily at Skyler, but Iris's nod was more mechanical. It wasn't obvious to strangers, but he could tell when her mind started wandering based on the glaze in her eyes and how her body went on listless autopilot mode.

He resisted the urge to figure her out and moved back to his seat, Madeline trailing behind him.

"Alright, Madeline and Skyler both get 5 points. Contestant #2, come on up!" Larry called.

***

"Hi, I'm Skyler Valentine," Skyler said with a polite smile.

When had she been on the receiving end of his distant, professional smiles? Maybe never.

Seeing Skyler like that, Iris felt... strange.

It had been so long since she had the chance to study him this closely, but now that she was...

Three years had changed him for the better on the outside—gone was the untameable fringe that always got into his eyes, replaced by a neat crew cut, and his blazer fit his form in ways it probably wouldn't have when he was younger, making it evident he now worked out. Those eyes remained as striking as ever, though, if she were to disregard the fact that they no longer looked at her the same way.

Iris watched Skyler sit on an ottomon, and the woman called Madeline sat down beside him with a fluid swish of her skirt. They started conversing, and Madeline's frosty, porcelain face melted into spring.

Iris retracted her eyes and restless mind. Skyler was adapting quite well, it seemed. She should focus on herself.

'Who's up next?'

#2 looked at Iris for a second before joining Larry and revealing his guess—her. Turns out, he really was "Bob" as she deduced, and his real name was Travis.

'Travis Beckett...'

Iris mulled it over in her head. It was a classic name that echoed strength and reliability, two qualities she anticipated from its owner.

"#10," Larry called, reading from Travis's slip.

Iris got up and introduced herself systematically.

If Travis didn't live up to his name...

Her gaze drifted towards the other guys, each one attractive in their own right.

However, a brutally honest dilemma struck her:

'What does one do when their ideal type is (visually) their ex?'

The rest of the introductions went by in a blur.

Leather Jacket was Dante Garcia. He and a bubbly brunette were another pair who guessed each other's identities correctly.

And then there was also Sabina—"not Sabrina"—a redhead who covered the short distance between her position and Larry like she was on a catwalk. The nervous man who fiddled with his glasses opposite Iris was called Andrew Chen, and he was Sabina's date. The two couldn't be more different than night and day.

The others Iris remembered even more superficially: The super pretty woman with legs for days, the guy in a leopard print shirt who gave Larry's top a run for his money, the buff giant of a man, and a petite girl with short hair.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Congratulations, contestants, you have survived your first assignment with no blunders!" Larry clapped his hands, which led to a smattering of perplexed applause. He suddenly stopped and turned serious. "Now, I'll announce the results... Even though ya'll probably memorised it," he muttered the second sentence under his breath.

"In conclusion of 'Blind Date', seven contestants have guessed their dates correctly: Madeline, Skyler, Dante, Sara, Travis, Iris, and Sabina. As a reward, all of you will gain 5 points, which I'll get back to later.

"The five of you whose judgement failed—"

[Ouch]

[Way to put it]

[I mean he's not wrong]

"—Kayla, Louis, Christopher—"

"It's 'Tops'."

Everyone swiveled their heads to see the brazen guy who had interrupted the director. It was none other than #5, the young man with a fashion sense to rival Larry.

"Christopher is my father," Tops drawled, toying with designer sunglasses in one hand. "Eveyone calls me Tops."

"Yo, why not Chris?" Dante piped up.

Tops rolled his eyes. "That would be my grandfather."

Sabina snickered. "Genius."

"That's the result when parents get lazy with naming—three generations of Christophers," Tops sighed dramatically.

"At least it's not four," Sara joined in.

During their banter, Iris observed Larry and held her breath. How would the eccentric director react to being sidelined?

To her surprise, Larry simply shrugged and corrected himself. "As I was saying, Kayla, Louis, Jean, Andrew and Tops, you won't be penalised for failing this assignment, but it won't always be this way. Zero points for all of you."

His tone visibly lightened after that, and he took a seat on a barstool nearby. "Now, let's talk about 'points'.

"Points are earned by completing assignments, and they'll directly influence your overall rankings. Eliminations will depend on either your overall rankings or popularity rankings."

"Popularity rankings?" Iris wondered aloud.

Somehow, Larry's rabbit-like ears heard her. "Audience votes, also known as Hearts, determine your popularity ranking," he explained. "By the end of the show, the contestant with the most Hearts wins an additional $20,000."

Some people sucked in a breath, and Dante whistled.

"Moving on, points can also be converted into Cupid Coins at a one to one rate, although I recommend saving them for emergencies."

"What's Cupid Coins?" the short haired girl asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

As if on cue—which it likely was—a staff wearing a black mask appeared in the room and started distributing small drawstring pouches to each contestant.

"The currency on this show. You'll be given ten to start, and can earn them in future assignments and exchange them for real money."

Light jingles filled the room as everyone opened their pouches and checked the contents. Iris poured a few pink plastic tokens onto her palm. They resembled Valentines Day chocolates, with their heart design on both surfaces.

In her periphery, she caught sight of the short haired girl biting into one Cupid Coin, as if to verify its authenticity. Iris resisted bursting into laughter, for she'd had the impulse to do the same.

"This goes without saying, but you can only use the exchanged money for assignments," Larry added.

"What's the exchange rate?" Travis queried.

"One Cupid Coin for $10."

Iris counted her coins. There were ten.

$100 weren't a lot in the grand scheme of things, so she hoped she wouldn't need much for the assignments. Luckily, she was very good at rationing...

While Iris mentally calculated her finances, Larry popped up behind the bar, holding a big, black box which he soon deposited on the middle of a table.

Thud!

"Gather round, people. Time to draw your cards!"