A moment of silence was made in the room. After the boy's declaration of his last resort to turn the tables in his favor, nobody talked, making the silence too awkward for Chris to handle as his friends only looked strangely at him.

(It didn't work...)

With those reactions, that was the result he thought. It was his last chance of changing their minds about the whole girlfriend thing and it was wasted. The only thing that lying brought to him was the embarrassment of saying she was his cousin.

And then...

-Oh, I see, she is just your cousin.

It was Max, the one most furious of them, who talked. It wasn't like his friend had a girlfriend, they were wrong. She is from his family, he thought.

-Man, why didn't you tell us that sooner? I was about to beat you, you know?

While saying that, he laughs without caring about his friends being shocked at him.

-Max, are you alright?

Seen him accepting the girl as Chris' cousin so easily like this made David fear if there was something wrong with his friend's health. But for the big guy's worry, Max only did a carefree smile.

-Of course, David. Chris just had his cousin home when he got here, that's all.

-No, seriously, are you really fine?

It was too weird for him to handle his emotions this fast. Placing his hand on Max's forehead, David was checking to know if he had a fever, but Max took out the hand from his head.

-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. So, Chris, why didn't you tell us about your cousin?

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-Max, what is wrong with you?! I'm starting to be really scared here!

He was calm, too calm. For him to be like this, David's worry was almost passing through the roof.

(Max is really acting weird, but at least it worked.)

Never look a gift horse in the mouth. If Max believed in him, then Max believed in him and that was what mattered. Putting aside his friends' behaviors, Chris was glad that, at least, he could play along with this lie now.

-Well, she arrived here just yesterday to pass some days with us.

-Oh, so that is why you couldn't tell us about her before. - Max said as he hit his palm with a fist.

-Yeah, when I came back from school, she was already here.

-And now she is looking after you until you mother comes back?

Now even David went into the conversation, to the boy's luck.

-Yep, that is what it is.

-I see.

By the looks of it, David also accepted the fact she is his cousin now. The tables really turned to Chris' favor now. Just a bit more and soon his friends would leave and he could relax knowing that no one would meet the girl ahead of the time.

(Yeah, a little longer and soon they will-)

-Chris, what is a...cousin?

...It would be too good if his plan went exactly like he thought it would.

Of course, that girl would be curious to know what was Chris saying about her. Earlier, he said she wasn't his girlfriend but his cousin, making a mess inside her mind.

Girlfriend was the most desirable end that the others wanted to achieve, so the girl knew what value it would be to his girlfriend, but to be a "cousin", it was the first time she ever heard about that word exists.

If only she asked that another time, Chris would take some time to explain what it was, but to ask right in front of his friends was almost like caught the boy red-handed for his lies!

-...Chris, did she, just now...

-...

Even his friends were starting to having doubts again because of what she said. David tried to arrange his thoughts while Max didn't speak anything as he faced the ground. Seen them like this, there was one thing that was certain to the boy:

(This is bad!)

There wasn't any more excuses for him to explore. His friends alone were hard to convince but now that the girl has joined in the conversation, it would be so much harder to know what to say for both sides not be suspicious.

Now the boy needed to make a choice: it was either face the situation head-on or run like a coward.

And the one he chose was...

-...Oh crap, we forgot about the lunch!

Without minding anything else, Chris stood up with a shocked look on his face.

-Guys, I'm really sorry, but we need to take out the meatloaf before it burns!

Ignoring his friends' reactions of distrust, he dragged the confused girl away from the living room.

-Don't worry, we will be right back!