Arranged

Rhone just wasn’t feeling it tonight. No matter what he did, he just couldn’t get into the concert. The stage, the lights, even the crowd, nothing could make him get into the music.
He was just so worried. What in the world was happening at home? He had been gone for nearly a week already and, as they had all found out the hard way, a hell of a lot can happen in a week. He could only imagine the trouble every one of them had gotten into already.
“What’s wrong with you tonight?” Grant asked as they slumped in the limo and headed away from the airport. “You were zoned out the whole concert.”
Rhone stared out the window, watching the lights fly by. Grant, the guitarist with long blonde hair and sharp features, never missed anything. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“You know,” Jerry said quietly. He was the big brother and bass guitarist with short brown hair and quiet handsomeness. He liked advice a little too much. “You seemed to have changed this past month and a half. If it’s a girl, you need to stop procrastinating and go get her.”
Rhone made a frustrated noise. “It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?” Grant asked, leaning forward.
Rhone frowned. “She’s my wife.”
Grant’s eyes went wide but Jerry merely nodded. “Nessa.”
“Nessa?” Grant asked, surprised, looking back and forth between his band mates. “No shit?”
“No shit,” Rhone agreed solemnly. He sighed. “She doesn’t give a damn about me, though. It’s bullshit. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. She’s my wife, isn’t she? She should want to try and make this work, shouldn't she?”
“Have you tried ignoring her?” Jerry asked.
Rhone blinked. “The hell? Why would I do that?”
“Hmm,” Grant mused. “Jer’s got a point. You chase, it’s what you do. So far, it’s all you’ve been doing. Why not try a different tact?”
Rhone mulled it over. Ignore her, huh? He never would have thought of that. How would she react – when all he’d been doing up until now was showering attention on her – if he turned around and just quit giving a damn? It was definitely intriguing. He wanted to see what she’d do.
“Rhone?” Jerry asked. “What are you plotting?”
“I think,” he started slowly. “I might take your advice.”
The band mates looked at each other, surprised. “You fuckin’ serious?” Grant asked. “What the hell’s gotten into you?”
Rhone frowned. “Nothing, jackass.” But that was a lie. Nessa had gotten into him, under his skin and into his heart. She filled him up and overflowed every pore of his being. It hurt.
So he would do everything he could to get her. Even if that meant he had to ignore her very existence.



Sade’s heart was pounding loudly. It was hard to breathe as he flipped open his phone and brought it to his ear. He hadn’t even looked at the screen, too afraid of what it may or may not say.
“H-Hello?” he squeaked out. He swallowed and looked at Shade with fearful eyes, waiting for the other voice to answer.
What was he going to do if it wasn’t Joshua? What was he going to do if it was?
“Sade? . . . It’s, well, it’s me. Joshua.”
Sade’s legs gave out, collapsing him into a chair. Tears prickled his eyes.
“S-Sade?” Joshua’s voice came over the receiver with a slightly panicked, slightly scared tone. He sighed when Sade couldn’t find anything to say. “Yeah. Okay. I guess I get why you wouldn’t want to talk to me. But please listen.”
Shade sat down next to his twin and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, listening intently.
“Sade. . . I-“ Joshua stopped and ran a hand through his hair. He had no idea if Sade was listening to him or how he felt. Hell, he had no idea how he felt. He just knew he had to fix this. “Sade, I’m sorry. I know that’s lame after everything, but it’s true. I’m not good at this type of thing or seeing others feelings towards me.”
Man, this wasn’t what he wanted to say. He was so frustrated. What could possibly make Sade forgive him for being such an insensitive asshole?
He sighed. “Sade. . . I’m an idiot. I’m clueless and pushy and impatient, but I’m not above begging for your forgiveness, if that’s what it takes.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Hell, I’ll probably end up stalking you at this rate.”
“Why didn’t you call?” Sade asked in a small voice.
Joshua blinked in surprise. “What?”
Sade swallowed, fighting back tears. “You didn’t call me for three weeks. I had just made up my mind to talk to you, but you stopped calling.” A sob escaped him and broke Joshua’s heart. “I was waiting.”
Angry with himself, Joshua stood abruptly, filled with a new kind of determination.
“Sade?” he barked, grabbing a jacket as he slipped his shoes on. He grabbed his keys and made his way through the house, not caring that he was still in his pajamas. “Where are you?”
Sade blinked, surprised. “I-I’m at home.”
Joshua slammed the front door behind him and got into his car. “Good. I’m coming to get you.”
He snapped the phone shut, tossed it on the seat and revved the engine, spinning out of the driveway like a madman. He was being reckless, he knew, but something in his gut told him that he had to see Sade. Right now. He couldn’t wait any longer. This wasn’t going to get solved through a phone conversation.
And there was no way Joshua was going to let Sade run out on him again.



Nessa was with Jay in his room. She wouldn’t let him into her room. There was no way when he would see the box she had yet to unpack that contained all of the things he had gotten her over the years. He would ask questions she didn’t have answers for and bring up memories she didn’t want to remember. It was as simple as that.
He laughed. “Do you remember when we snuck out to go to that party?” He sighed, smiling broadly. “My parents gave me hell.”
She smiled. “Yeah. It was fun until we got home.” Silence fell and Nessa leaned back against his chest. She was sitting between his legs on the bed, reclining against him with his arms around her. It was a comfortable position. One they did without notice and without anything other than the need to touch in mind.
Jay was playing with her hands; examining the bracelets he’d never seen before and the other pieces of jewelry he wondered if boys had given her. “Hey, Vanessa, why are you here?”
Nessa frowned. “Don’t call me that. Vanessa is my mother.”
He gave a chuckle, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Don’t get grumpy and answer my question.”
Nessa sighed. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell him. Nope, not true. She didn’t want to tell him at all. So, instead, she deflected. “Why have you come, Jay? After all this time, why now? Why come find me now?”
He leaned back and away from her, letting his arms fall to the mattress. He sighed. “I’ve told you before: I’ve come to bring you home.”
Nessa turned her head so he could see her profile. “And If I won’t go?”
Anger spiked through him along with desperation. He’d been searching for her for a year. He had loved her longer than that. He’d been feeling so guilty for what happened, but now only anger remained. He wanted to set things straight. He wanted to tell her all the things that had happened in the past year. He just wanted her.
He grabbed her shoulders and spun her, not thinking about anything other than the hurt he’d been nursing for nearly a year. “Goddammit, Nessa, I love you!”
“Jay, don-“
Not listening, he pulled her closer and kissed her, crushing her mouth under his. She pulled away, gasping and tried to tell him to stop, but he followed her moves, cutting off her protests.
Nessa’s mind was reeling as he pushed her down on the bed, pulling her arms over her head and pinning her wrists with one hand. With the other, he grabbed her chin and held her in place, taking her mouth again and kissing her thoroughly. Somewhere in the distance, Nessa heard the front door open and close. She didn’t want this. That thought was as clear as day in her mind. This wasn’t the Jay she knew. This wasn’t the Jay she remembered.
He pulled away to see her crying. “Nessa,” he panted. “Why can’t you understand?”
Anger spiked through her. “Understand?” she snapped, forcing her mouth to stop trembling. “I understand that you knocked some bimbo up and then left me! That’s what I understand. Do you know how that felt? Do you know what it was like? I had no one to turn to, no shoulder to cry on. I loved you so much, but instead of you trying to work things out, you ran away. With her!”
Jay stared at her stubborn face, the anger in her eyes and felt defeated. Slowly, he let go of her now-reddened wrists and straightened, still straddling her.
He covered his face with his hands, lost. “What was I supposed to do? I was so scared.” His voice came out muffled behind his hands, but it was strong, full of anger. “Was I supposed to help her through it while keeping you on the side?” He lowered his hands, angry at her, at himself. He slammed his fists on the bed to either side of her head. “Tell me! What was I supposed to do?!”
“You could have started by keeping your dick in your pants,” a voice said from the door. They turned their heads to see Rhone leaning against the frame. “Don’t look so surprised. You’re making enough racket to wake the dead.”
Nessa’s face heated and she pushed at Jay’s chest, getting out from under him and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
“Oh, no,” Rhone said sarcastically. “Don’t mind me. Please continue. It was very entertaining.”
Nessa sniffed and wiped her eyes, standing. “Jay, I don’t know what made you think it’s okay now to implant yourself as a permanent fixture in my life-“
“That’s because-“ he started.
“-But it doesn’t change what happened. It doesn’t erase the past or the hurt.” She made her way to the door and Rhone stepped aside. She paused at the frame. “And it can’t make me trust you again.”
Jay watched her leave, angry and hurt and frustrated. So frustrated that - when the door clicked shut behind them - he was left screaming into the pillow that was full of Nessa’s scent and slamming his fists on the bed.



“Well,” Rhone commented as he followed Nessa down the hall. “That was interesting.”
“Shut up, Rhone,” Nessa muttered. Damn it, her heart hurt. Why couldn’t Jay just stay away? Why did he have to disrupt her life any further? Hadn’t he done enough damage already?
“Ooh,” Rhone cooed. “Now you’re going to talk to me? How very considerate of you.”
Nessa rounded on him, her emotions frazzled and her eyes full. “Can’t you just leave me alone?! What have I ever done to you? Why do you always have to be such a jerk?”
Rhone sighed. Ignore her, his ass. There was no way that was going to work. He could barely go five minutes. It didn’t help that she looked so damn lovable when she cried.
“Hey,” he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Just breathe, okay?”
She lashed out, thumping her fist on his chest. “No, you breathe! I’m allowed to be angry if I want, dammit. You don’t even know what’s wrong. You can’t even begin to understand!”
Gently, Rhone pulled her into his arms, wrapping them around her even as she fought him. He laid his head on hers, closing his eyes. “Then tell me, Nessa. Make me understand.”
She shook her head, her forehead rubbing against the front of his shirt. He smelled like cold night air. “I don’t want to.”
Rhone smiled. She was so stubborn. So he let her cry silently against him, soaking up the feeling of having her so close. He had no idea what she was going through, had no idea how much she was hurting, but, fuck, he was hurting too. Holding her so close but knowing she wasn’t feeling anything beyond the platonic comfort he was offering was like someone taking a sledge hammer to his gut. It really, really fucking hurt.
“Hey, Nessa,” he said quietly after a while. “Why don’t you go to the Halloween Carnival with me this Saturday?”
“Rhone. . . “ she warned.
“As friends, stupid,” he assured, twisting his heart to say the words. “I’m not asking you out. I’m just suggesting a simple outing between two friends.”
“Friends?” Nessa asked skeptically, pulling away to give him a suspicious look. “Since when were we friends?”
Rhone smiled crookedly, wiping his thumb under her eye. “Since right now.” He tilted her head up, wanting to kiss all her troubles away but knowing it wouldn’t do any good. “Come on. You need to wind down. Relieve some stress.”
“But I-“ She stopped. “I’m not so sure. . .”
“It’ll be fun,” Rhone pressed. “We get to wear cool costumes. Well, I do, at least. I haven’t seen yours.”
“Uh. . .” Nessa started. “I don’t have one.”
Rhone smiled widely, his eyes glinting. “Perfect. We’ll go shopping for one. Another way to wind down.”
“But Shade-“
“Nessa,” Rhone said firmly. “Just say yes.”
Nessa swallowed. She didn’t know what he was up to – if he was up to anything at all – but she couldn’t find a reason to refuse. And, despite her partner being Rhone, it sounded fun. Maybe this would be an opportunity to make up for stepping all over his heart and actually become friends.
So, with that little ray of sunshine in her life, she nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
Rhone’s smile was blinding. “Great! We’ll go shopping tomorrow, okay? It’s two days away, after all. I know the perfect place, too.” He turned her around and pushed her towards her room. “But that’s for later. For now, go in and go to sleep.”
Odd, Nessa thought as she walked to her room. Rhone was acting odd. What in the world had happened to turn him so nice? It kind of freaked her out, but it’s not like she could say she minded the new face of her husband. If he was like this all the time, being married to him might not be so bad. . .
She shook her head as she entered her room. Right, like the marriage could work. To even think that was insane. Maybe she was insane. Looking out her window, she half expected to see dancing peanuts. That seemed way more plausible, anyway.
She sighed. Unwind, huh? Yeah, maybe that’s what she needed. Maybe Rhone was what she needed right now.