All eyes in the room turned to Kyle, including the ones of his supposed future wife. They were forest green, which was all types of wrong. Her hair was orange and curly, falling down to her waist, not golden.

She wasn't Kay and this wasn't happening. Except he wasn't exactly sure if he should be backtracking to his room and try going out the window or just continue his way down, sail past them and out into the night.

"A bit underdressed now, aren't you?" his father said with a fake smile.

Yes, of course, since he only had jeans, a t-shirt and his leather jacket on instead of a suit. At least his jeans were hole-free.

"Oh no," the new girl said with a smile. "He's perfectly dressed. He looks like a rock star."

Kyle fought the impulse to roll his eyes, but realized it would be a bit too rude to turn his back on everyone, so he abandoned his backpack on the stairs and made his way down. The girl came towards him and reached out her hand. She wore a long, tight leather dress with no cleavage and a slit on the side.

"Hi, I'm Jessica."

Ugh. Poor girl. This was probably not her fault. Maybe she didn't want to marry him either and was only putting on a show. Though, if she was, it was a good one.

"Kyle," he mumbled, taking her hand and shaking.

She gave him a dazzling smile and pulled herself towards him in a hug. His entire body stiffened at the contact.

"Try to act natural," she whispered in his ear.

He tightened his hold on her. "Do you want to get married?" he whispered back.

"No."

It was all he needed to relax, and when he let her go and she pulled away, he smiled back at her honestly.

"Well, you two seem to be hitting it off," the strange woman who could only be Jessica's mothers said. Her voice was annoyingly nasal.

"Well," Jessica said, wrapping her arm around Kyle's waist. "I realize that you were right. He is worth the hype."

Kyle fought to smile back and not cringe or stiffen, but this reminded him too much of when him and Kay were pretending to be together to stop a bet on who would take her virginity. Turned out, nobody did, not even him. The memory hurt.

Jessica seemed to feel it because her grip on him tightened and her gaze turned curious. Then, for some reason, it turned sad.

"This is just wonderful," Maxi said, clutching her hands in front of her.

"Indeed," Jessica's father said. "It's good to see young people getting along and not bein moody."

Jessie tensed at his affirmation, but the smile stayed on her face. Kyle could detect something was wrong and it made him curious. He also instantly hated it because it reminded him of how his relationship with Kay had started. Curiosity over an abusive boyfriend. Jessica seemed to be hiding something similar.

"We now all about moody youngsters," Freider laughed and Kyle just wanted to punch him in the face.

"They shouldn't be moody. Especially since fans don't want to see sulky people," Jessica's mom piped in.

"Fans?" Kyle couldn't help asking looking down at her. It was obvious she was trying very hard not to groan.

"Yes, our Jessica is an overnight sensation," her father claimed. "The next big thing on the music stage!"

"I'm not that big, Dad," she said with an eyeroll. "And that's not why I'm here." 

She raised on the tips of her toes and came closer. Kyle had to fight the impulse to pull away and push her back down.

"Roll with it," she whispered. "I have a plan."

As long as it would get him out of this stupid marriage, sure. Though he wasn't intending to get married, come hell or high water and there was no way to force him. Sure, he felt sorry for his mom and his baby brother Sam, but his father and Jerry could go sleep under a bridge for all he cared. Jerry would probably make it very homey and learn how to make a mean rat casserole. Yeah, he'd actually miss Jerry's cooking, so he could be saved from sleeping under a bridge.

"What are we supposed to be doing?" he asked, his voice low, aware that the two pairs of parents were surveying them.

"Getting chummy and very handsy."

"I don't want to get very handsy."

"It will get us out of here and away from them."

He really didn't want to get very handsy, but being under the scrutiny of four very disgusting people was getting to him. Kay would totally understand if it meant escaping this crappy situation. Hell, they'd done it, too. She'd probably laugh at it, just like she'd laughed last time. God, he missed her laugh.

Jessica faked a laugh. It wasn't Kay's, but not half bad either. "You're so funny," she said.

Kyle caught his father's flabbergasted expression, as if he couldn't fathom that his son could be funny. That more than anything convinced him he needed to get out of there before he said something they would all regret. Or charged out the door.

"You're not half bad yourself," he said, bringing his hand to her lower waist.

Jessica giggled and wrapped both arms around his neck. "Ugh, this sucks. I'm sorry."

It did suck. What sucked more was that he was getting really curious about her. She had to have a story, and her parents must have had a reason to want to pawn her off to him.

"Now, now, kids," Jessica's father said with a laugh. "We're glad you like each other, but let's not overdo it."

Jessica let him go, fortunately, and turned to her parents, her hands on her hips. "Hey, we're engaged, okay? How's any of this overdoing it?"

"You just met," her father said, a little taken aback.

"Sometimes, people just click," Freider said, clasping his shoulder. "Maxi and I got married in the blink of an eye."

You at least knew each other before getting engaged, asshole. And you didn't get married because one of you was broke.

But on the outside, Kyle kept his smile. Jessica did too, but her gaze was a bit glaring, as if she expected him to say more. She had a point. She couldn't continue to be the pushy one and make it feel like he was unresponsive. Besides, as much as he hated it, he was the guy, so there were some things expected of him.

"Want a tour of the house?" he asked.

"I'd love one," she said immediately, and the glare disappeared, replaced by true amusement.

"Don't make a mess now," Freider called out after them as Jessica took Kyle's hand and rushed up the stairs.

The murmur of conversation followed them as he leaned over and retrieved his backpack, letting her drag him up the stairs. To his surprised, the moment they reached the landing, she let go of his hand and didn't head for one of the obvious rooms, but further up towards his attic bedroom.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she pushed the door opened and entered his room. 

She faltered, as if she hadn't expected it to be an actual bedroom, then she immediately charged towards the window. Kyle followed her in and shut the door behind them just in time to see her heading towards his open window. Without further ado, she stepped out on the roof and out of site.

With a sigh, he dropped his backpack by the foot of the bed and followed her out. It was weird that she'd gone straight to the place he liked to escape and just think. On top of the roof, next to the chimney. She already lay back, her arms spread wide on the shingles.

"Finally!" she breathed.

Unsure if he should be amused or freaked out, he made his way up to her and sat down. "Care to explain now?"

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to get away from them. They drive me insane."

"They're forcing you to marry me. I'd hate them, too."

She gave him a once-over. "It could've been a lot worse, really. You're not bad on the eye and obviously not an idiot. Which is why you don't want to marry me either."

"Can they still do that? Force us?"

"Not outright. There are just other ways to make us." She sat up, leaning her forearms on her knees. "Veiled threats, horrible lives, that sort of thing."

"Aren't you eighteen?"

"No, I'm seventeen. I'll be eighteen in April." She heaved a sigh.

"That's just a few months away."

"I know, but I can't take it anymore. The whole point of me getting married was for me to escape them."

Kyle shook his head. "Wait. What?"

Jessica took in a deep breath. "My parents were horrid. They still are. All they see is someone they can milk for money. I've been dreaming about running away for years, of any means to escape them."

"So the marriage thing was your idea?"

She nodded. "They jumped on it right away."

Kyle couldn't. She just stared at this seventeen-year-old who had brought this upon him just because she couldn't bring herself to run away from home.

"Don't get me wrong," she said, as if guessing his thoughts. "I didn't pick you. I also didn't outright claim that I wanted to get married. I just implied it over a year ago, and now they rolled with it because they found you. They want to get rid of me as much as I want to get rid of them."

"Did it ever occur to you to run away?"

"Yes, but they caught me." She turned her green gaze to him. 

"What about getting emancipated?"

"My parents aren't outright abusive. At least not anymore, and the paperwork would take forever."

That sounded like a bummer. Maybe it was stupid, but he could totally understand what it felt like not to be able to stand being in a place one more second. That was why he'd packed his things and had nearly walked out the door before bumping into her.

"What's keeping you here?" she asked all of a sudden. "You're not a minor. You could leave at any time."

Truthfully? His mother and his desire not to outright hurt her and Sam. But he'd had enough. "I was with one foot out the door when you showed up. I just... I guess I didn't want to hurt my mother."

"That's noble of you." She huffed, staring at the sky. "My mother is a ghastly creature."

"I'm sorry."

"Look," she rubbed her eyes. "Don't you have cigarettes or alcohol or something stashed in your room?"

"Um, no. I don't smoke and I'm intolerant to alcohol."

This got her attention as she turned to stare at him. "What kind of rebellious guy are you? What's your vice?"

He shrugged. "Street racing."

"Well then." She smirked at him. "And I was about to say you're some sort of fluffy unicorn in disguise."

"What's with everyone assuming I must be bad?"

"You just give off a sort of dangerous vibe."

He'd never heard that one before. Kay hadn't mentioned anything of the sort, but it was very possible that he'd changed in the months he'd been away from his true home. "Well, I'm not." The words felt like a ginormous lie that stirred the darkness inside him. "Or maybe not in the way you think."

She just hummed and returned her attention towards the sky. Storm clouds rumbled in the distance. There was a lingering sadness about her, something she'd hidden very well downstairs.

"So, what's your story?" he asked. "Are you really a pop sensation?"

The question drew a laugh out of her. "I guess so. I'm very popular on YouTube and my parents have lined up quite a few gigs for me."

"And do you want to do that?"

"I love singing, but... My parents would be on tour with me and that sounds like absolute torture."

He could feel that on a personal level. "So what's your plan?"

"I know you sing. I've checked out your band and you're really good." She bit her lip. "My plan was to grab you and go."

"Grab me?"

"Yes. Take you on tour with me instead of my parents. I need this engagement to make that possible."

"The engagement, but not the wedding."

"No. We can just skirt around that until I'm eighteen and then I'll just leave you alone. And in return, maybe I could help you as well."

If they ended up following her crazy plan, she was already helping him by taking him away from the crazy fest which was his family. But she didn't know that.

"Help me how?"

Jessica dug her hand down the front of her dress. He looked away, a bit unsettled by how unapologetic and direct she was. 

"With this." She shoved a piece of paper in his hand.

Out of reflex, he took it and opened it. It was a paper cut out which contained a picture of him and Kay at prom. He stared, unable to believe it.

"I'll help you find her," Jessica declared.

🌗🌗🌗

Now who was expecting that? A runaway pop princess who chose Kyle because she wants to help him. At least it's certain that Kyle's not getting married.

But will it be so easy with the parents breathing down their necks? Let's find out.