(Jessica's POV)

My mother fussed with my hair and told me to cross my legs and act like a lady. I hissed profanities through my teeth as she slapped my hand as I tried to stop her from fixing my messy, bright red hair. I heard a guy yell from the hall, "Mom, what the fuck?! Stop trying to control every little thing I do!" Mom sighed and rolled her eyes. "See? He's perfect for you." I shot her a dirty look and clenched my teeth. "But he's not Alex," She crossed her arms angrily and stared at me. "Don't even bring up Alex again! He's a lazy bum with no future! But Jackson, he's the heir to the most highly revered business in the country! He can take care of you, unlike that useless, good-for-nothing hippie who sleeps and drinks all day." I dug my jagged fingernails into my palms and bit my tongue. "But I won't love him. I never will." I was on the verge of tears, but I had to push them back down like I always did. There was no way this guy would steal my heart. Of course, we're both victims so I won't resent him for this... but I won't ever love him the way I love Alex. And how will I know if he'll ever even love me? I'm a stubborn, temperamental bitch with chapped, pale lips and I bite my fingernails until they're bloody. I have boring brown eyes, choppy hair, a lip ring, and scapes and bruises all over my body from skateboarding. I'm not pretty, I'm not nice, and I'm not elegant. What reason would he have to love me? Mom sighed, but didn't respond. My heart felt empty and I wanted to scream.
My mother and I sat in silence so I could hear incoherent yelling in the hall followed by the sound of someone being slapped. There were no sounds for a while, until someone knocked quietly on the door. "Come in!" My mom chimed. An older looking lady with frizzy black hair, way too much makeup, and way too much perfume walked in with a teenage boy behind her. He was tall with gelled brown hair, dark brown eyes, and small gages. He bit his lip and tears welled up in his eyes, a red mark forming on his cheek. When his mom wasn't looking, he banged his head and ruffled his hair with his fingers. He looked infinitely better with messy hair in my opinion, but I saw Mom roll her eyes.
The two of them sat on the couch adjacent to us as the lady smiled fakely and the boy crossed his arms, not even trying to hide his annoyance. "I'm so glad we could make this arrangement. I think our children fit each other quite well, and their marriage will be good for both of our businesses." Mom smiled and nodded in agreement before Mrs. Perkins turned to her son and snapped at him, "Jackson! Introduce yourself!" He smirked and rolled his eyes, not responding. His gaze drifted to the ceiling and he still didn't say anything. His mom stepped on his foot and he let out an annoyed groan before standing and sticking out his hand for me to shake. I took it reluctantly and stood there for an awkwardly long time before he cleared his throat, "I'm Jack." I looked him in the eyes, "Jessica. Jessica Williams." He avoided eye contact with me and sat back down. Mom shifted in her seat, "So, when will Jessica start staying with Jackson in his suite?" Mrs. Perkins smiled, "How about tomorrow night? It's best to do things like this quickly." Jack blew the hair out of his face and rolled his eyes. Mom nodded, "I agree," Jack nodded sarcastically and said, "Oh, yeah. That's a great plan." There was an awkward silence until Mom piped up again, "I should take the cookies out of the oven," Mrs. Perkins smiled and nodded as my mom left the room. Mrs. Perkins' smile faded and she shot a death glare at Jack, "Now listen here, bitch." Wow, someone's bat shit crazy. "There are gonna be reporters all over this. If you do anything, anything to make anyone believe this isn't real, I will end you. Do you understand me?" He rolled his eyes and didn't answer. She grabbed his arm. "Do you understand what it is I am saying to you right now?"
He glared at her. "I get it." She let go of his arm, "Good." Damn, is this crazy bitch gonna be my mother-in-law? Mom came back in and set a tray of cookies on the coffee table. Jack immediately snatched up the whole plate and held it in his lap, his mom looking at him like she was carefully planning out how best to make his death look like an accident.
Our mothers talked for a while until Mrs. Perkins said it was getting late and that they should go. Jack looked me in the eyes for the first time all day, "See you tomorrow, darling."

---

Mom straightened the collar of my ripped up army jacket and nagged me to act to sweet and cute and rich. Finally, the elevator doors opened directly to Jackson's suite. To my surprise, there was a guy with longish brown hair and yellow eyes standing there with his finger on the button, looking confused. "Um... hi?" He said quietly, looking at me curiously. I waved my hand shyly, "Um... hi... uh..." A tall boy with straight brown hair came up next to the first boy, "Hey, don't leave without me, I-- Who's this?" Who are these boys and where would they be going this late? I'm very confused right now. "I don't know... She just showed up..." The yellow-eyed boy whispered to the tall one. "Jackles! There's a Hayley Williams impersonator in your elevator!" The tall boy called into the suite. "'That's What You Get' Hayley or 'Still Into You' Hayley?" I heard him yell from somewhere inside. The tall boy examined me for a second, "'That's What You Get' Hayley!" Jack came over and pushed the tall boy out of the way. "Do you know who she is?" The yellow-eyed boy asked meekly.
I was about to answer before Jack cut me off, "She's my fiance. She'll be living with us from now on. Oh, and her last name actually is Williams so that's cool." The yellow-eyed guy had a look on his face that I couldn't place. Sadness? Not really. Maybe a little. Confusion? Quite a bit. Curiosity? That was it. He was incredibly curious, but in an upset sort of way. Jack shuffled back into the kitchen and the tall boy followed him, asking, "So I guess we're not going to the store tonight now?" The yellow-eyed boy looked at me and smiled politely as I stepped out of the elevator and my mom left. "Um... hi... What's your name?" He asked. I smiled at him. "Jess...ica..." I almost said Jess, but decided against it. I only want Alex to call me Jess. I cleared my throat, "Um... What is your name?" He smiled warmly, "I'm Connor and the tall boy in the kitchen is Mikey. I hope you don't take Jack too seriously by the way, he's just stressed out right now and doesn't know what he's doing. So if he does anything that makes you upset, just tell me, okay?" I nodded. A pink-haired girl shuffled out of the hall on the floor above us and leaned over the rail, "Hey Mikes, are you going to make potstickers or what? Jade and I are-- Who are you?!" Her blue eyes lit up. She rushed down the stairs and walked over to me quickly. She turned to Connor excitedly. "Who's this?" She said like a little kid. Connor laughed, "This is Jessica, Jack's... uh... fiance." She jumped up and down and started yelling, "Jade! Get down here! Jade, a girl finally likes Jack! Oh my God... Oh my God..." An Asian girl walked down the stairs sleepily and flashed me a huge smile. "Oh my God, someone actually likes Jack? And you're so pretty, too!" Both girls squealed and hugged me.
"Oh my God, we have to talk... Oh my God!" They both freaked out.
I have a feeling I'm never going to feel lonely again.

Notes

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lteyum8U8H1qewtvno1_250.gif

yay for fanservice

also I didn't realize that when I named her Jessica I accidentally started shipping danisnotonfire with himself


I love you all.

Also there's this awesome girl called LovelyPunk with this awesome story called Tears, Secrets, and a Razorblade. It's freaking awesome and you should read it! Like, right nowwwww