Arranged

Nessa hadn't wanted to go to school. Not only had everyone stared in quiet shock when she and Rhone had come to school together, but the fact that they were flanked by the twins and were all laughing together was enough to make their jaws hit the floor. It had surprised Nessa too, if she was being perfectly honest. She had figured Rhone would try a little to get along with Sade and Shade, but she never expected them to actually like each other. They seemed like old friends now. You would never have guessed that they used to hate each other.
The bullying and defacement of her things had stopped abruptly--more than likely due to the fear of the name she now carried. Nessa couldn't say she minded that in the least. Even the twins had felt less isolated and tormented during the day. Maybe it wasn't so bad now that everyone knew she was married to Rhone. Everyone had backed off and they could all finally breathe. Even Rhone was happy, easily going through the day with a giddy grin on his face. It kind of creeped Nessa out, but she couldn't complain.
However, two weeks later was the perfect time to complain, bicker, throw a tantrum, scream, shout, swear, and curse the Blossom name from here to Hell and back. And it was all because of this crappy little white envelope she'd received when she'd gotten home one day after school. It had been a formal invitation to dinner. She would have been annoyed since it was just going to be in the dining room, but what had sent her into anger had been the sender and the guest listed.
It seemed they were having a family get-together with none other than Rhone's dad and Nessa's mother. This was not going to end well and Nessa wanted to just run away somewhere and hide before it even started. The boy currently in her room, pacing the floor in front of her bed prevented her from ditching. She couldn't leave Rhone to handle this alone, after all.
"Formal dinner," Rhone scoffed. "He's up to something." He finally stopped pacing and flopped on the bed. "This sucks. Things were just going well between us."
Nessa put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Let's just do our best not to create a problem."
Rhone covered her hand with his and, though she wanted to pull away, she didn't. "This is going to be hell."
"Then we'll just have to get through it." She grinned. "Keep you best guns handy."
He puffed out a laugh. "Yeah. You too." He squinted at her. "How long had it been since you saw her? Your mom, I mean."
Nessa sighed, leaning back and blocking out the memory of Christmas. that had been one hell of a disaster. She couldn't remember any holiday being so bad--and she'd had enough of those to make people cringe.
"I saw her on Christmas, actually."
Rhone blinked. "What? How? I thought she left when you were a kid?"
"She did." Nessa let out a breath, staring at the ceiling. "Jay found her for me. He probably thought he was doing something nice, but it turned out that my mom is just what everyone said she was. So I told her to get out."
Rhone was grimacing. "What a bitch."
Nessa laughed a little. "I guess so."
Rhone stood abruptly and turned to pull open her closet doors. Since most of her clothes were in the dresser, the closet was full of all the dresses and outfits Rhone had bought her since they met. He started rifling through them before pulling out a white, long and sexy dress. He laid it on the bed.
"Wear this," he commanded. "And let's knock their fucking heads off."
Nessa was dumbfounded before she let out a laugh. He was so serious. "Alright. Let's."



Nessa was just struggling to reach the zipper of the back of her dress when someone tapped, then knocked on her door. Considering she couldn't reach the sipper anyway, she called for them to come in.
The door opened behind her and she expected to hear Joshua or Rhone's voice. It wasn't either.
"You look divine," Louis said, closing the door behind him.
Nessa spun, embarrassed and anxious. She didn't like Louis at all. Though he had killer good looks to match his son's, he was a creepy pervert with too much time and money. His pride, too, was something she didn't want to mess with. She had a feeling that he wouldn't take lightly to having it stepped on.
For now, she was going to have to tread lightly and take it in stride.
"Thanks, Mr. Blossom," Nessa said, wanting out. "You look handsome."
"Do I?" he said with a knowing grin. "I thought a new suit would be too much for the occasion, so I opted for this instead." he looked rich, Nessa admitted, with a look that should have been too young on him. Fortunately, his look saved him. The crisp white shirt with no collar under the black velvet jacket and the clean slacks made him look spectacular. Shiny shoes completed the look and if Nessa hadn't known he was a sleaze-bucket, she'd have given him a second look--maybe even a third, too. "You seem to be having problems with your dress." He took a step towards her, smiling innocently. "Here, let me help."
Nessa didn't believe for a minute that he really wanted to help, but she couldn't zip up the damn thing by herself, so she really had no choice but to accept his help.
She turned and pulled what she had left down of her hair over her shoulder, exposing her back to him. The dress Rhone had picked out was just what he had said it was: sexy. With a high back, the front plunged, draping nearly to her waist so that a long line of skin was exposed. The material was white satin, so apart from the cowl neck, it clung to every curve and made Nessa more than a little uncomfortable.
Louis stepped up behind her and Nessa watched him suspiciously through the mirror. he placed his hands on her bare shoulders and she did her best not to flinch.
"You sure you want me to zip it up?" Louis whispered in her ear. "I bet there are so many there things we could do if I don't."
Nessa spun, letting go of her hair to cross her arms. "No, thank you. I'm not interested."
Louis smirked, reaching out to place a finger under her chin. "I could change your mind." He leaned in and Nessa glared at him.
"You touch me any more than this," she seethed, disgusted, "and I kick you so hard, the doctors will have to retrieve your balls from your skull."
Louis straightened, laughing. "So stubborn." He made his way to the door, turning back to smile at her and give her a once-over. "It's the stubborn ones that are the most fun. Come find me if you change your mind."
He opened the door and let out a little "oh" of surprise, greeting Joshua as he left. Joshua, frowning and confused, came in a shut the door. He gave a concerned look to Nessa, taking in her defensive stance and disgusted expression and pretty much summed up what had happened.
"You okay?" he asked, coming in further.
Nessa let out an explosive breath, covering her eyes with a hand. "What in hell is wrong with these people?"
Joshua gave her a knowing look. "Money," he said simply. "Turn. I'll get that zipper for you."
Nessa did as he asked and soon she was zipped up. "Thanks," she told him, feeling ten times better as her hair fell back in place. "This is going to be hell."
"I thought you wanted to see you mom?" Joshua asked with surprise.
Nessa sighed, moving to sit on the bed to put on her shoes. "Not any more."
"Oh? What changed your mind?" He sat next to her, reclining back. He was back in black for the uniform and had his hair tied back neatly.
Nessa debated for a minute or so on whether or not to tell him. No doubt it would get back to Shade and then things would be a mess again. However, she couldn't think up another excuse, so the truth it was.
"Christmas changed my mind," she admitted, looking at him from buckling her other shoe.
At first he seemed confused, but his expression cleared quickly and his mouth parted in sad realization.
"That's why you were late," he breathed. "What happened?"
"Jay thought it would be great to find her," she said. "And he did." Nessa gave a bitter laugh. "Turns out she's a bitch who didn't want me."
Joshua grabbed her hand. "That doesn't matter. We're your family now."
"That's right," Rhone said from the door, coming in unceremoniously. He grinned. "We're family, so let's go take out the in-laws."
Nessa smiled, unable to help herself and stood. "You look amazing."
Rhone turned, smiling happily. "You like?"
It was hard not to like, crazy as it was, but it was all Rhone. In a vintage-style jacket with a circular coat tail make out of some Marie-Antoinette-looking fabric done in black and silver, a collar-less shirt like his dad, and black jeans tucked into his signature boots, he looked scrumptious. He'd let his hair dry so that it fell to the left side of his face and he'd put some sort of product in it to make it shine and lose its natural fluff so it fell flat.
"I like," Nessa smiled.
Rhone came over to her and picked up her hands, his face was red as he looked her up and down. "You look beautiful. I love you in white."
He cheeks colored and she swallowed. "Thanks." Suddenly, she was very aware of the fact that he held her hands. "We better get going."
"Not yet," Rhone argued. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. Before she could protest, he slipped a necklace around her neck and secured the fastener. Nessa looked down to see the intricate leaf of woven silver that Rhone had forced on her when they first met. The one she'd broken out of anger. She really shouldn't have done that, but she couldn't exactly say she wanted the thing back, either. Besides, how had he gotten his hands on it again?
"Rhone. . ." she said with apprehension, looking back at him. "I don't think I--"
He put his fingers on her lips, silencing her. "No. It's yours. The meaning doesn't matter anymore. It's just a gift."
Nessa fingered the trinket, feeling a little guilt. Didn't matter? What did he mean by that?
"Come on," Joshua interrupted. "We've got a show to put on."
She followed them out into the hall, her arm linked in Rhone's. She felt comfortable standing besides him and wondered when exactly things had started to change. She was no longer hostile towards him, no longer searching for reasons to hate him or make him as miserable as she was. Truth be told, she wasn't miserable at able. Meeting her mother again was a little daunting, sure, but having Rhone there by her side and Joshua in the wings was a comfort she had never expected to have.
They descended the stairs and Joshua stopped when they reached the bottom.
"I think you guys look great together," he said, making Nessa blink in surprise. "Play on that. No doubt they're going to attack it. You guys can get through this, but it's going to have to be together."
Rhone seemed to tense beside her and Nessa looked up at him to see him nervously look at her. He offered a scared smile, as if he knew what he was going to ask next was going to get him a negative answer. "Together?"
Nessa stared at him. Her answer was going to change things between them because there was no doubt in her mind that Rhone would take it the wrong way. Joshua was right, though. They were going to have to work together. Who knew what was going to happen once they entered the dining room? She certainly didn't, and it seemed Rhone was just as nervous as she was.
She gripped Rhone's arm tighter. Whether he took it the wrong way or not, she just didn't care. They both needed help and she wanted his. If some unexpected--or expected--feelings came out of that on either side, she could handle that. She might even like it. . . .
She smiled up at him, watching his eyes start to shine. Yup, definitely feeling something. "Together."