Kayla's POV:

My heart pounds in my chest as I let go of Aaron's hand and watch him walk away with his parents. I stand rooted to the spot for what feels like minutes before I finally have the presence of mind to walk away from the locker room, across the football field, to the parking lot. Of course, Aaron's car is no longer there. He is probably already halfway home, his parents yelling at him, threatening to ground him till he's married.

I get in my car, but I don't start the engine. Instead, I let my thoughts run wild. I lightly touch my fingers to my lips recalling the kiss we had shared before his parents had interrupted us. Heartfelt. That was the right word to describe the kiss which both thrilled and scared me. When he lifted me up and placed me against the wall, I realized at that I wanted more with him.

I wanted it to be real.

I shiver at the thought. This is Aaron. Nerdy Aaron, class captain straight A student. I am Kayla Barnes, the bad girl who is barely pulling a C because I couldn't give less of a frick.

And Aaron has someone he loves.

The thought washes over me like cold water. Aaron is only fake dating me to get back with Alicia. That's our deal.

Still, I can't help but think of the fear that Aaron must have felt when his parents saw us. I have never been scared of adults, bit at that moment I had understood why Aaron was such a good kid. He has parents that push him, parents that he aims to please all the time. I realize that if my dad expected a lot from me, I would probably do a lot just so that he would be proud of me.

I don't know how long I sit there lost in my thoughts, but the ping of my phone brought me back to reality. I quickly checked it, expecting it to be my dad since I was out late.

Instead, I saw that the text was from Aaron.

Aaron: Hi Kayla. This is Aaron by the way.

I feel my blood rush and my breath quicken. He's texting me. That means he didn't get into too much trouble. Right?

My fingers fly over the keyboard as I type out a response.

Kayla: OMG. Aaron you're alive. What happened with your parents?

There is a moment of anxious panic as I watch the three dots which show that he is typing. And then the three dots disappear.

What happened? Did his parents take his phone? Is he banned from talking to me?

And then my phone starts ringing, requesting me to join a video call. Instantly, I accept the request, and I see Aaron's face pop on the screen.

"Hey", he says.

He looks a bit sad, his features tired. I guess he must have had an argument with his parents.

As if reading my mind, Aaron gives a weak smile. "My parents were pretty pissed off"

I place my phone in a comfortable position so I can talk to him easier

"Why were they so pissed?", I ask, and at that moment, I realize that I don't want Aaron's parents to be pissed at him just because he is dating me. "Is it because of... me?"

Aaron shakes his head immediately. "No, they don't even know who you are.", he winces a bit at that, and I sense that he has more to say, so I wait patiently.

"Look, my parents really liked Alicia because she's... well... perfect, according to their standards. So when we broke up, they weren't really happy."

"But that's not fair", I break in angrily. "She broke up with you, not the other way around."

Again, Aaron winces, and he looks around the room as if scared that someone might be around.

"Are you alone?", I ask him.

"Yes. My brother went back to his university yesterday, so it's just me. I'm actually not supposed to be talking to you right now, so I don't want my parents to... walk in on us."

A feeling of dread seizes my heart. "Aaron, are you banned from seeing me?"

I watch his expression change while I nervously twist the skull ring round my finger.

"Not exactly", he says, carefully. "They wanted to, but I had to convince them since... after all, without you, I won't be able to get Alicia back."

"They want to meet you. Tomorrow. They want to see if you meet their... criteria."

My heart stops. Then it starts to beat again like crazy.

"Your parents want to meet me"

"Yes"

"Tomorrow"

He nods.

"For an interview", I continue, making sure that I have all the facts straight.

"Not exactly an interview", he says. The screen goes blurry for a bit as he moves towards a chair and sits down. Once the camera is back on his face he continues.

"It's more of a dinner where they'll put you through a series of tests. I don't know what it'll be about, nor what they'll ask, but I want you to promise me something."

His dark eyes shine behind his glasses, and I nod knowing that in this moment I would promise him anything.

"When you meet my parents, don't pretend to be what you are not. I want them to know the girl I lo-", he stutters "- the girl that you really are.", he finishes.

I hesitate. For a moment, I thought that he wanted to say 'the girl I love', but that is impossible.

He loves Alicia, I remind myself.

"Anyway, I have to go now, but where are you anyway?", he asks, and I give a small laugh.

"I'm still at school. I'm still at school in my car. Don't ask", I say, as he begins to open his mouth.

"Ok, I won't", he says. "Anyway, I have homework to do, and so do you, so you need to get home ok?"

"Yes, boss", I say mockingly and he smiles.

"Drive safely ok?"

I feel my cheeks warm. "I will. Goodnight Rulebook."

"Goodnight Kayla."

The call disconnects, leaving me with a stupid grin on my face. I put my phone in my pocket and start the engine of my car. It is dark now so I turn on my headlights. I'm not scared – I often drive in the night when I come from night parties – but I drive carefully anyway, thinking of Aaron's words all the way.
And how I am not going to keep my promise.

🏈🏈🏈

"OMG you're going to meet his parents?!", Steph shrieks.

After I got home yesterday, I came to the conclusion that in order to get out of trouble, I was going to need to be the most perfect girl ever.

Obviously, I spent the whole night thinking about it, and when I woke up this morning, I decided to ask the two people I knew would be able to help me – Steph and Quinn.

I hadn't been able to talk to them all day since we didn't have any of the same classes. However, at lunch we were able to sit at the same table.

Steph was full of chatter while Quinn was silent, glancing fearfully at the side of the cafeteria where Marcus sat.

I need to ask her about him. They have so much beef and she's my friend so I need to know.

"Well", I say in answer to Steph's question, "yes he's parents invited me for a dinner where they plan to investigate me."

"Why?", Quinn asks, in her quiet voice.

I can't tell them about the kiss last night. Not because I want to keep secrets, but because I don't even understand what happened.

"I don't know why his parents want to meet me", I say. "But I want to be seen as the perfect girlfriend."

Steph and Quinn nod, and I smile, glad that I have such good friends.

"Firstly Quinn, what can you tell me about Aaron's parents?"

Quinn shrugs. "Not much really. They're very strict. His Dad is a doctor and his Mom is a lawyer so naturally, they want him to follow in their footsteps. Aaron and I don't really know each other that well. He hangs around our house sometimes, but I only got to really know him when I started this school a year ago."

"You started this school a year ago?", Steph asks, voicing out my thoughts. "No wonder we didn't ever see you before."

"Yes", Quinn says, looking a bit uncomfortable now. "I came here to be...closer to Keon", she says, stuttering a little, her eyes now firmly fixed on the table.

This is some new information. Yes, I have never seen Quinn around, but I assumed that it was because she was just quiet. I file this information away in my brain to ask her on a further date.

"Anyway", Steph says, "if you want to impress Aaron's parents, I have the perfect hints for you."

I give a smile. Steph knows a lot about making herself look presentable, though you wouldn't really be able to tell. She has a  strict dad who she tries to get his atention in anyway posible, hence the tattoos and bad girl routine. Her dream is to take over his law firm and she is constantly having to balance out her life to make him happy and make herself happy, kind of like living a double life. She is an expert who will help me make Aaron's parents to fall in love with me.

"Aaron's parents are strict right?", I nod, and she gives me a once over, taking in my looks. Tattoos on display, long untidy hair, and my uniform not following the dress code as usual. She shakes her head and I take in her neat appearance.

"You are going to need a makeover", she says. "And some shopping."

I glance over to where Aaron is sitting at the jock table, and I practically choke on my spit seeing Alicia walk over to him.

I watch her lean over him, smiling brightly and eventually, he asks her to sit down beside him. She does, twirling her hair, giving cute little laughs, and I clench my jaw.

This is good, I try to tell myself. Soon, Alicia will take him back, and you can go back to your regular life. You guys have at most two weeks left.

But the words do nothing to soothe the gnawing pain in my heart.

Steph notices my stare and raises an eyebrow at me.

I try to hide my eyes, but from the mysterious smile on her face, I have a feeling that she knows more than what she let on.

A/N: So in the next chapter, she is going to meet Aaron's parents. How do you think it will go?

Don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts loves 💋💋💋