Another Teen Love Story

Aiden signed the paper with a flourish of his fountain pen, then stood up and sauntered over to me. That cheeky grin remained on his face. “My bride," he purred, bowing down and handing the paper to me. I snatched it out of his hand, almost succeeding in tearing it in two. Then I glanced at the fake marriage certificate.

More than anything else, it was a contract. There were several statements above listing out what is expected of us in this class.

I understand that I will stay with my partner for the remainder of the course.
I understand that I must remain faithful to my partner, and work with them on all the appropriated assignments.
I understand that my final grade in this course will be determined by how well I work with my partner.
I understand that this course is required for graduation, so I must meet the standards above in order to pass this class.

I snorted. What a load of rubbish. Nevertheless, I grabbed the offered pen from Aiden’s hand and scrawled a barely legible signature at the bottom. I had barely finished dotting the ‘I’ in ‘Hirsch’ when Ms. Agnew took the paper away.

“Congratulations class! You are officially newlyweds!” Everyone laughed but me. Aiden was by my side, laughing as well, and he slung his arm over my shoulders, bending close to me.

“So when should we honeymoon, darling?” I didn’t like the smile on his face.

I threw his arms off and walked away from him. “How about the week after never?” I sat down at the only empty desk, an empty chair on the other half of the desk. Why did Aiden have to sit in that chair next to me?

Aiden laughed, and sat down in the only remaining chair, the one by my side. “I really do like them feisty.” I frowned. Did he always need to put emphasis into his words? It was going to get on my nerves, and fast.

“Okay class. Settle down, settle down,” Ms. Agnew sounded to kill the chatter. “I know you are excited to get to know your partner, but you have all year to do that.” Did this woman ever stop smiling? She went to her desk and grabbed a handful of envelopes. She began to hand an envelope out to each couple.

“In these envelopes I have your couple profile. It will tell you basic information, like where the two of you grew up, information about both your families, how you two met, and what you do for a living. Every week I will update your couple profile, to simulate how your life as a married couple changes. You might have kids, your house may be burgled, or you may be laid off from your job. I will be grading how each couple faces these obstacles based on how well you work together, and if the best route to solve the problem was taken. Now…Open your envelopes!”

Aiden had torn the envelope open before Ms. Agnew had finished talking. “Sweet! I’m a State Senator, graduated from Princeton!” he exclaimed, looking at the sheet of paper inside.

“Let me see,” I said, grabbing the paper from his hands. I looked at my description and frowned. “Housewife? Dropped out of college?” What the hell was this? Why did Aiden get to be a freakin’ senator and I was a Stepford Wife?

“Sweetie, look! It says we met right after high school. Our friends set us up on a blind date, and it was love at first sight.”

“Doubtful,” I muttered.

Aiden ignored me. “But when I was accepted at Princeton University, you dropped out of college to follow me, because you couldn’t standing being away from me. Isn’t that sweet?” The smile on his face made me want to vomit.

“Don’t make me punch you,” I growled.

“Looks like somebody is a little abusive,” Aiden said, clicking his tongue and waving his finger at me. That was enough.

“Ms. Agnew,” I said, standing up and looking at the bubbly woman. “Can I please have my profile changed?” I at least wanted a job, something that would make me feel less dependent on Aiden.

“I’m sorry, Miss Hirsch, but you can’t change your past in this class, same as you can’t change your past in real life.”

I sat down, defeated. This was absolute bull shit. What the hell was I going to learn from this? How to be around a completely obnoxious, narcissistic man and not strangle him?

The rest of the class time was spent modeling the house we lived in. I wanted an apartment in the city. Aiden wanted a Tudor Mansion with at least five acres of land. “To keep away the paparazzi,” he said with a relentless smile.

There was just something about Aiden, from the way he held himself to the defiant gleam in his eyes, that said he was a boy who never gave up. He thrived for the challenge. Eventually, we got a Tudor Mansion on a ten acre plot of land, as well as a summer house on the lake.
Class finally ended. I was out of my seat and packing my bag before the final bell had finished ringing. But before I had made my way out of the class, Aiden’s strong grip wrapped around my wrist, pulling my attention to him.

“I always get what I want, Anna,” he said. It was a simple enough statement, but I could see in his eyes that it was true. There was nothing Aiden lacked. But there was also something hidden beneath his gaze, a devilish gleam that made my stomach twist and the hairs on my arms stand on end.

I didn’t want to decipher that look. I pulled away from Aiden and left, not able to ease the sick feeling in my stomach, or forget that leering gleam in Aiden’s silver eyes.