The hypnotist thinks Robin is a girl

John and Robin watched the show with amused smiles. They spoke in quiet tones back and forth with how impressed they were with the actors that were pretending to be hypnotized. They pulled off looking like average audience members so well, if Robin and John didn't know hypnosis was fake, they might have thought they weren't actors at all. Now, knowing that it wasn't real didn't take away from the fun.

"Hey, Robin," John turned to his friend.

"Yeah, bro?" Robin asked.

"Thanks for tonight," John said while Robin smiled back at his friend.

They were interrupted from their thoughts when by the hypnotist, Drake Bloodstone's voice and they suddenly realized that he was looking down to them. He pointed to Robin and Robin nervously pointed at himself.

"You there, please come up here. Yes, you, the brunette," Bloodstone confirmed.

Robin got up as John clapped and laughed, excited to see what will happen with his friend. Robin shook Bloodstone's hand.

"Hello, what's your name?" he asked.

"My name is Robin," he said looking at his feet a little.

Robin was normally a fairly outgoing guy, he felt, but being up in front of all these people was terrifying. He crossed his arms over his chest instinctively, unconsciously wanting to protect himself from the gaze of the audience.

"Are you having a good time Robin?" the bald man asks.

"Yes, Sir. I-I've been...uh... having fun," he tells him.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. Now, take a seat and let's get started," He said, guiding Robin to a chair that was on stage.

Bloodstone put Robin under slowly and John was impressed with how real Robin made it look. Bloodstone put Robin through his paces and had him doing some funny behaviors. At one point he had Robin think he was a model walking the catwalk. As Robin strutted, John wolf-whistled which made the audience laugh. What it also did was bring Bloodstone's attention to John. Bloodstone had Robin sit back down and put him back into his trance before speaking.

"So tell me, who is that you were sitting next to?" He asks pointing at John.

"That's John," He said with an even tone.

"Okay. Did you come here together?" He asked Robin.

"Yes. I bought us tickets for tonight because he was feeling down," Robin said.

"That's very kind," Bloodstone told the audience.

"John is my best friend and the best person I know," Robin said honestly, which made John happy to hear.

"That's very nice. So, tell me, how long have you two been dating?" he asked.

"We...we haven't," Robin said confused.

"Oh, so this is your first date. You're a sweet girl, he is a lucky guy that you asked him out," He said to Robin.

Robin didn't say anything, instead, he just listened to what Bloodstone said. This was his first date with John and that he was a lucky guy for Robin to ask him out. It didn't make sense to him and his mind stalled as he tried to sort it out. His head hurt trying to rationalize what Bloodstone told him...that he was a sweet girl. John, on the other hand, was feeling embarrassed for Robin. Bloodstone was confusing Robin for a girl and that must be embarrassing. Robin's hair was long and he was fairly thin so it wasn't completely unthinkable Bloodstone could make that mistake but his current situation must be humiliating for his friend. John wondered when he was going to correct him.

"My wife and I were best friends, too. The person you marry should be your best friend. Now, I don't mean to rush things, it's just something you should remember," he tells Robin, who takes in that information.

Bloodstone looked down at Robin and made an assessment of her. She was a small thing, made all the smaller by her baggy clothes. Clearly she lacked self-confidence and probably had issues with body image. John was a good looking guy and she thought really highly of him, so there must be something really special about the guy. Robin was such a good sport, he decided to help set this relationship up for success.

Bloodstone turned fully to the audience while Robin wrestled with the information he was given. He sorted through it as best he could but his mind had to do mental gymnastic to make it happen. Before he came here it had been obvious that he was a guy but how could he be anything but a sweet girl? He decided that he would just focus on the facts to use as an anchor.

Fact: Robin is a sweet girl

Fact: Robin asked John out on a date

Fact: John agreed to the date

Fact: Robin was having a great time with John

Fact: John is his best friend

Fact: The person Robin will marry should be his best friend

It all made "sense" but he still wasn't able to wrap his head around it. It was causing him a lot of discomfort to try to **** it all to feel correct. His mind whirled as Bloodstone addressed the audience.

"I love to entertain but what I love more is helping others where I can so please give me a moment if you will," he said before turning off his mic and walking back to Robin. While the audience waited, Blood returned to whisper into Robin's ear.

"I'm going to give you some advice. You want to be a good girlfriend for John so the best thing you can do as John's girlfriend is to try to be the best woman you can be just like he should try to be the best man he can be. You are a pretty girl, so don't feel ashamed to show off that you are a pretty girl. When you look at yourself, remember that what you see is a confident woman that any man would be lucky to be with. You are going to be a wonderful wife for the man you choose. Now, go back down to your seat and show John how you feel about him," he instructed before turning his mic back on again.

"Robin, ladies and gentlemen," He said as Robin walked back to her seat to sit with her lucky boyfriend.