Give It Time and It Will Change

Before Amelisa had a chance to become angry with everyone in the room, shock was still coursing through her mind and body.

"Hold on. Say that again." Shawn said to Albert.

"You two are getting married." Sam and Albert said together.

"This is bullshit." "AMELISA!" "Mom, I'm sorry. But it is. Complete bullshit." Amelisa lashed out. Both her and Shawn were standing up defensively.

"I, as a free person, have to complete right to marry whom I choose. And, he," Amelisa said pointing a finger at Shawn, "is not who I choose to marry."

"What, so I'm not good enough for a girl like you?" Shawn asked, looking at her.

As they both started each other down, realization struck them. "I know who you are!" they both said. All their parents did was sit and watch their kids in amazement.

Shawn Maleck: Typical tall, blonde haird, blue eyed, popular kid at high school. He was in most of the sports at school. Varsity football, track star, baseball, basketball...you name it, he was in it. Plus he was in student counsel and a very active club. Yeah, she knew who he was. She had never heard anything bad about him, probably because he kissed ass to everyone and their grandmother. He was a man whore as well. Perfect. Guys envied him, girls wanted him. Mhm. Typical guy. He was probably a gentleman and angel in front of adults and teachers, but Amelisa was willing to bet he was far from it when he was around his own crowd. What was his own crowd? The preppy rich kids. The ones who drove Mercedes- Benz, SUV's, and Beamers to school while everyone else rode the bus. The ones who paid people like Amelisa to write their papers and do their homework.

"You two know each other?" "Yeah." the kids said, still glaring at each other. "Well that makes things better!" Lucy said clapping her hands. Actually, it made it worse. If Amelisa didn't know who he was, AND he wasn't who he was, she probably wouldn't mind as much. Unfortunately, he was who he was.

"Kids, sit down. We'll talk more about this." Sam said. "Is there a way to get out of it?" Shawn asked, still standing up. Sam said no. "Then I'm out of here." Shawn said turning around and leaving. "What, I'm not good enough for a boy like you?" Amelisa said, rephrasing the question he asked earlier. "Not even close." He spat before walking upstairs.

Everything was awkwardly quiet as they heard a door slam shut. "I'm sorry, but I don't agree with this at all. Goodnight and thank you for the dinner. It tasted great." Amelisa said. "I'll be at home." She said over her shoulder while walking outside.

As she arrived to her house, she finally came out of shock. Her immediate action was to run to her room and call her friend.

"Hello?"
"Natalie! You have to help me."
"What's wrong? Who's hurt?" She asked.
"No one...It's a weird story." Amelisa said laying down.
"Go on."

After Amelisa finished, Natalie was quiet. "And there's no way to get out of it? At all?" "No...they just told us tonight." "Well if that's the case, try to warm up to him. Maybe he's not a bad guy?" "Oh, don't you dare say that, Nat. I refuse, REFUSE, to be wedded to an ass like that. never. NEVER." Amelisa said throwing one of her pillows at her door. "Well...You are too young to be getting married. You haven't even graduated yet. When are you guys tying the knot?" Amelisa cringed at Natalie's phrase. "I have no idea."

"Weren't your parents an arranged marriage?"
"Yeah but that doesn't mean I can't choose for myself."
"Maybe it's just a tradition?"
"A tradition that rarely happens in this day."

A knock came on her door. Her mom and dad came in her room. "I don't even wanna talk to you guys." Amelisa said. "I don't care. Get off the phone." her mom said, angry. "Nat I have to go. I'll call you later." "I'll be here. Love you, bye." "Love you too."

Amelisa sat her cell phone down and looked at her parents. "What." she spat. "How dare you act that way at someone's house." "Sorry but I'm completely mad with you guys. How could you? An arranged marriage? Just because you guys did that doesn't mean I have to!"
"Amelisa, please. This is a good decision. It's right." "I'm not even eighteen! This isn't even legal!" Amelisa said, getting up and pacing her room.

"Amelisa, please. Give him a chance. In a few days we're going to a wedding. All of us, including the Maleck family, are going to go. You and Shawn are going to talk. AND you two will have a good time." Her mom said. Before they left her room, Amelisa couldn't help but say one last thing. "I don't see the point in giving someone a chance when they don't like you in the first place!" she yelled.

-------

"What car are you sitting in? Ours or theirs?" Her dad asked. She shrugged. "Ours."
'That's a rhetorical question.' she thought as she slid into the left side of the backseat. Her dad got on the phone with Sam.

"Yeah, we're in the car. Okay. Yeah, we'll meet there. See you in a few minutes."

"We're going to meet them at the gas station to fill up." Mom nodded. "I'm not gonna get out of the car." Amelisa said lamely. "That's perfectly fine." Dad said. Once they got the the gas station, her dad got out and began talking to Sam. Next thing Amelisa knew, Shawn was reluctantly coming to her car, got in, and sat on the right side of the car.

"Hi Shawn! Sitting with us?" "Yeah, parents wanted me to." He said smiling at her. Amelisa and Shawn shared a glare. She stuck her tongue at him and he rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long trip.

It was night by the time they arrived at the resort. "We'll get the keys." the dads said. They came back after a few minutes and handed their wives the same keys, but their kids different ones.

"What's this?" Shawn asked. "The first step to getting used to each other is to be next to each other." "No." "Absolutely not." "Get over it, quite whining." Lucy said. Shawn and Amelisa pouted. "Are there two beds?" Amelisa asked. Everyone shrugged. She hoped to God there were.

"Oh God..." Amelisa was definitely having an unlucky day. Shawn stood next to her in the door way. Only one bed. They looked at each other and raced towards the bed. Of course, since she was in no sports, and he was the fastest person in track, he got there before her. Amelisa grunted in defeat and began taking sheets off the bed and laying them out on the floor.

Shawn sat on the bed and stared at Amelisa. He sighed and got up. "Take the bed." He said, setting his back pack on the ground and putting Amelisa's on the bed. "What?" she asked confused. "Did I stutter? Take the bed." he said again. Still confused, Amelisa nodded and sat down. "Why?" She asked. "Because, you're a girl. It wouldn't be right if I took the bed for myself." Her face softened and she looked down. "Well...thanks." she said. He watched her as she took off her ear rings. "Unless..." his voice trailed off.

"Hm?"
"Unless you wanna, you know...sleep in the bed together..?" he asked, his voice sly and some what hopeful. Amelisa rolled her eyes and got up with her back pack, headed to the bathroom. "Stay, boy." she said, treating him like a dog. That wasn't gonna stop him.

When she came out of the bathroom in her pajama shorts and tank top, she found Shawn sprawled on the bed. "You better get out." She said sitting down next to him. "Oh, come on. Have a little fun." He said, his face turning to hers. "What happened to you hating me?" Amelisa asked, putting lotion on her legs. "Things can...change." he said, his eyes trailing up her body. She rolled her eyes. "Get on the floor." She said. "Well if that's how you like things, I will." He said winking at her. "No, you're sleeping on the floor, away from me."

Shawn was defeated. "Last offer." He said smiling, patting the bed next to his own body. "Not a chance." Amelisa said not looking at him. He hung his head and laid on the floor.

Amelisa was woken up by the phone ringing. "What?" she answered half asleep. "Get up, get ready. We're going to breakfast in an hour." her mom said before hanging up. Amelisa grunted and swung her legs off the bed. As she took her first step, she tripped over something large and fell forward. She landed horizontally on Shawn. He groaned and laid on his back.

"So, first you don't want to sleep with me, now you're trying to rape me in my sleep?" He asked smirking. "You wish. I tripped over you. Get up, we go to breakfast in an hour." She said, getting up, only to be pulled down again. Shawn pulled her down on top of him and wrapped his arm around her waist. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked calmly. "I've never cuddled in the morning. Wanted to try it." He mumbled in her hair. "No. Now get up." She said, attempting to get up again. She was weighed down by his arms pulling her down once again. "Shawn, let go! I have to take a shower!" She said struggling. "No fair, me too!" "Then you take one after me!"

He still hadn't let her go. She actually didn't mind...but she wasn't about to let him know that. "If you don't let me cuddle you, I'm taking a shower with you. If you let me cuddle you, I'll just take a shower after you." He said, looking at her. She groaned. 'Actually...I wouldn't mind both..' She thought. "Whatever..." she said giving up. He smiled happily and resumed hugging her waist.

The rest of the hour went by quietly and quickly. After breakfast they went back to the room and started getting ready for the wedding and reception. After they were done, Amelisa stood in front of the mirror and put on her matching purple earings and bracelet. "Thank God you wore purple." Shawn said going to his backpack. "Why?" "Because it's gonna match this." Shawn said as he handed her a black jewelry box. She opened it and it was a necklace with a purple diamond with four little diamond studs above it. She was speechless for a few minutes.

"Oh wow...that's pretty..." He nodded. "Well good. It's kind of...an 'I'm sorry' gift. Here, let me put it on you." He said as she lifted her hair. He went behind her and clipped it around her neck. She turned to face him. "Sorry for what?" she asked. She leaned against the wall.

"Being a dick the other night. It's just...it's kind of a shock, you know? I'm not too happy about all of this...but maybe, just maybe, we can get over it and learn to live with it." he said placing his hands on the wall next to her head. Her heart beat sped up. It seemed like he was about to lean in for a kiss, but they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

She ducked under his arms and grabbed her purse. "We should head out to the wedding..." Before she exited the room, she turned around to him. "Thanks for the necklace. It's amazing." She said, giving him a small smile. He smiled back, his blue eyes lit up.

'Maybe he really isn't that bad...' she thought as they drove to a church.

An hour and a half went by and they were headed to the reception. "So, what did you guys think?" Parents asked once they were all seated at a reserved table. The room was quite large; large enough to have a party with many people. The DJ was set up on the opposite side of the room along with the big speakers. The bar was already getting many customers.

"It was okay."
"It was long." Were the only replies the parents got. Amelisa didn't really know what to think. She wasn't the very religious type, and she had a huntch that Shawn wasn't either. After the newly wedded couple shared their first dance, and the toast was already made, people were free to drink as much as they liked and dance the night away. Amelisa didn't know anyone at all. She didn't even know who's wedding it was.

"I'm gonna go to the restroom, be back in a bit." Shawn mumbled as he got up and left the room. Amelisa was left alone at the table since the parents went to the bar. She began tapping her feet to the song.

"Would you like to dance?"

Amelisa looked up and a guy about her age was standing in front of her. "Uhh..." was all she could say. She looked in the direction Shawn went. He had been gone for more than five minutes. She had a sinking feeling he ditched her. "Yeah, why not." she said, taking the man's hand that had been reached out to her. They walked to the dance floor and the man put his hand on her bare waist.

"I don't know how to dance..." she warned. "That's alright, I'll show you." the man replied with a chuckle. He was tall, tan, a goat-tee, and green eyes. Very handsome. He looked too old to be a teenager. Maybe early twenties, late teens?

As they went on dancing, Amelisa began to get the hang of it. "There you go!" The man said smiling at her. She smiled back. His hand went to the middle of her back and started to slide down little by little. Amelisa pushed it back to the middle and he only smiled. Only, his smile was different...darker. He slid it downwards once again. "Hey, stop that." she said, becoming stern. The way he started to look at her made her nervous and angry at the same time.

It seemed like he ignored her. She let go of his hand and walked away. "Hey, come on. Look, I'll stop." he said as he reached for her hand again. She looked at him and then looked back to the table. Shawn still wasn't there. She looked to the bar, and, Lord behold, there he was. Talking to some blonde, his back facing Amelisa. The blonde girl laughed loudly and laid a hand on his arm.

"Fine." Amelisa said, growing angry. She was angry for two reasons. One: her supposed fiancé was flirting with someone else and two: she was stupid enough to even think it would work out between them two.

She let herself be taken back to the dance floor with the other man. At first, it started as regular dancing, but then he continued to put his hand lower than her back. He even had the nerve to start kissing the side of her neck. His goat-tee tickled her neck, but she wasn't enjoying any of it.

"Dude, I said stop!" Amelisa yelled over the music. He ignored her once again and pulled her back. She began getting physical. She shoved him away and started screaming when he got forceful. No one looked their way, thinking she was screaming for the music. However, Shawn looked and nearly dropped his drink. He pushed the blonde aside and stomped over to Amelisa and the man.

"Hey, hands off man."
"Yeah? Who're you?" the man asked, pulling Amelisa away from Shawn.
"I'm her fiancé. She's my girl. And if you don't let her go I'll fucking tear your face up." Shawn said. The mans' grip loosened on Amelisa. She was thankful. Shawn yanked her away from the man. She winced at the strong grip of his hand around her wrist.
"We'll dance again sweetheart." The man said, winking at Amelisa.
"Go anywhere near her and I'll end your fucking life." Shawn said grabbing the man by the collar with his free hand. The man pulled himself away from Shawn and walked into the crowed.

"OhmyGod, thank you so much! That was so scary." Amelisa said as they neared the table. The waitresses had put pieces of the wedding cake in plates by their seats. Shawn threw Amelisa into her chair. She lost her breath. "What the hell were you thinking?!" He yelled angrily. He looked very, very pissed off. She didn't know what to say. "I-I...He had just asked to dance...I didn't think he was gonna act that way..." She said, daring to look at Shawn in the face. He looked scary when he was mad...

"Don't ever do that again! When random people ask you to dance, don't do it, idiot!" He yelled, shaking her by her shoulders. Anger flushed through her. "Oh yeah?! Well at least I'm not the one flirting with someone else!" She yelled in his face, throwing her hands in the direction where he and the blonde girl stood. "Oh, don't even go there! I just saved you from possibly being rapped!" He yelled back. "Yeah. And you were going on about being my fiancé? That's gotta be bull shit if you're already FLIRTING with someone else!"

He turned red and became angrier. Before he could say another word, Amelisa took her plate of cake and dumped it on him. Then she took her glass of water and poured it over his head. He stood, frozen with shock at what had just happened. Amelisa took off the necklace he gave her and set it in his hand. "Fuck off." She said as she began to walk to the doors that led to the balcony.