An Arranged Marriage to the Principal's Son

The next day Jessica gets ready and goes to church with her parents. The entire time she doesn't speak to them except during the sign of peace when she forces a smile. After church they go home and eat lunch. Jessica hardly touches her food. Then she goes off to get ready for her date. She looks through her closet.

‘Hm it’s still August.’ She thinks.

She pulls out several different tops and bottoms laying them all on her bed. She tries on everything and finally settles on a cute outfit. She puts it on and looks in the mirror. She looks very cute. She puts on her shoes and grabs her purse and then leaves her room. The clock says 1:55. She looks out the window and sees a car pull up. Matt steps out.

“Hey mom I’m going out for a while I’ll be back by 6:00.” She says going out the door.

There’s a faint ‘OK’. They meet halfway in the driveway. Matt immediately gives her a hug. She smiles at him and then he smiles back. They walk to Matt’s truck. After they get in and buckle up, Matt stats the truck and drives away. As he drives he starts up conversation.

“So how’s it going?” He asks.

“I’m alright. How are you?” She replies.

“Oh pretty good.” He says.

“How’s the band going?” She asks him

“Great, we’re might actually be recording again soon.” He tells her nonchalantly

“That’s fantastic!” Jessica is excited by this news. Matt is excited as well.

All too soon Matt stops the car. They’re at the park. They get out and Matt grabs a picnic basket from the back. They walk across the park until they come to a big tree. Matt pulls out a blanket, lays it on the ground, and then he puts the basket on top. Jessica immediately plops down onto the blanket. Matt smiles at her and then sits down as well. He opens the basket and starts to take food out of it. After laying everything out he turns to Jessica.

“So we have chicken salad sandwiches, fruit salad, potato salad, corn on the cob, pink lemonade, and for desert pudding and brownies.” He points to each and everything as he says it. Jessica smiles at him warmly.

“Did you make this all yourself or did your mom help you?” Jessica smirks.

“Well I made most of it but Skylar and Josh helped also.” He says. Jessica smiles at him.

“Well tell them I said thanks” He nods at her.

[A/N: Skylar and Josh are in the band Heaven Sent with Matt. Heaven Sent is a Christian Rock band. They live 4 towns over from where Jessica lives. Josh is also Matt’s younger brother who is about 16. He turns 17 in November. Also Skylar is dating Jessica’s friend Christina. Oh and i loosely based the band off of a Christian band I'm actually friends with]

Then they dig into the food. Jessica takes a couple of bites of everything to start of with. After doing this she immediately smiles. She swallows and looks at him.

“Wow! This is really good.” She beams.

“I’m very glad.” He responds.

After Jessie finishes completely she lies down and rubs her stomach.

“That was the best food that I’ve had in a very long time” She says.

He smiles and starts to put the stuff away. After having cleaned up, he sits Indian style facing Jessica. Her eyes are closed and her hands are behind her head.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks curiously. She shrugs and opens her eyes. She frowns and he happens to notice the frown.

“What’s wrong?” He asks

“It’s just that I really like you Matt.” She tells him sitting up. He’s confused.

“I really like you too Jessica. So what’s wrong?” He states taking her hands in his.

“Well I’m not sure if I’ll be allowed so see you after this.” She responds sadly.

“Why not?” He asks.

“Because my parents are forcing me into an arranged marriage.” She tells him looking away.

“So if you knew about it then why did you agree to go on this date?” He asks. She looks at him

“Because I said yes before I found out about the marriage. I didn’t want to cancel because I really like you.” She explains. He nods in understanding.

“So what are we going to do now?” he asks. She shrugs and then thinks for a moment.

“You know what? Screw my parents I’m going to see whoever I want.” She says and they both lay down.

She rests her head on his chest. He shifts so he can stroke her hair. They just lay like that for a while. They talk for the next hour and a half. Matt tells her a funny story about the guys in the band.

“Then Josh slips and falls into the big bowl of tapioca pudding. When he tried to get up he slips again. So Skylar tries to help and he falls too. It was hilarious. They were covered in pudding.” He finishes.

Jessica busts out laughing when he finishes. She’s laughing so hard that she has to sit up. He sits up as well. Then Matt laughs too. When they’re finally done laughing they just kind of look at each other. Jessica moistens her lips a little bit because they had been dry. He leans in slowly and kisses her. She kisses back. She puts her arms around his neck and his left arm very lightly goes around her waist. A few minutes later they break apart. They both smile at each other. Then Jessica looks at her watch. It was 5:30.

“What time do you have to be home by?” He asks her.

“Well I told my mom I would be home by 6:00” Jessica responds and Matt nods. Then he gets all the stuff together that they had brought. They get up and Matt gives Jessica a hug. Then hand in hand, they walk back to the truck. Little did they know someone had been watching their every move from behind a nearby tree.

“Oh She’s so in trouble.” This person says pulling out a cell phone and dials.

“Hello?” the person on the phone answers

“It’s me,” The mysterious stranger says.

“What’s going on?” the person on the phone asks

“I saw Jessica on a date with Matt King.”

“Oh really? Well she is in trouble.” The person on the line says hanging up.

When Jessica and Matt pulls up to Jess’s house, Matt cuts the engine. Then he turns to Jessica.

“So I had a really nice time today.” Jessica says. Matt nods

“Yea, me too.” Matt says. Then Jessica leans in. Matt kisses her briefly. When they break apart Jessica smiles.

“I’ll call u alright?” Matt asks her. She nods and goes inside.

Jessica takes off her shoes and then starts to walk past the den.

“Jessica please come in here.” A voice from the den says. Jessica jumps a foot in the air obviously surprised. She goes into the den and both of her parents are sitting on the couch.

“Please sit down Jessica.” Her mom says. Jessica sits in the chair near the couch.

“Jessica where have you been??” Her dad asks.

“I told mom I was going out with a friend.” Jessica explains to them.

“Yes but who exactly was it that u saw today?” Her mom asks her.

“You guys don’t know the person.” Jessica says. No way could she tell them about Matt.

“Cut the crap! We know u were on a date with Matt King!” Her dad shouts.

“How did you know about that?” Jessica says scared.

“That doesn’t matter young lady. What is important is that you are never to see him again. How would that look? You’re supposed to be marrying Alex Harris. They are very influential in this town.” Her mom says.

“I don’t want to marry Alex. I’m only 16 for God’s sakes!!” Jessica says hysterically.

“You are marrying him young lady or we will kick you out of this house and you will have to drop out of school.” Her dad yells at her.

Jessica gets up, running out of the room with tears forming in her eyes. She runs to her room and slams the door. Jessica realized her dad was serious. She didn’t have any other options than to marry Alex.