Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Chapter 32

***I'm legitimately surprised you all didn't murder me last chapter. I mean, I don't know about you, but I wasn't ready for marriage at seventeen. I still freak out when I remember I can drive to the grocery store at 2 a.m. without anybody caring -

But anyway, here we go. We're trying for two chapters, but I lost my phone and slept in late this morning, so with editing time it'll probably be late EST before ya get a second chapter. I have no idea what time zone y'all are in, and I don't need to, so I typically switch back and forth between EST and UTC when giving times for writing. I think that's prolly the best I can do LOL

Also, I've been waiting to use "Yours" by Ella Henderson for a song for 32 CHAPTERS, SO MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN TO IT-***

***(Jay's POV)***

Nya and I are utterly silent, staring at her phone in my palm.

Lloyd, however, chuckles over the speaker. "Like anyone would be stupid enough to marry a girl who's not even seventeen yet. Like anyone would be interested in marrying Nya for the sole purpose of becoming her legal guardian!" He laughs harder. "Oh, gosh."

Cole coughs. The rest of the line is silent.

"What?" Lloyd asks after a moment. "I feel like you guys are leaving me out of something here."

"Lloyd," Cole huffs, "you know very well who's stupid enough to marry Nya on short notice."

"Oh, really? I – oh." His tone shows realization. "Oh."

I look at Nya, who still can't seem to speak.

I can't, either. Too much...all at once...

Like, I mean, I've dreamed about marrying Nya and all, but not like this! I was thinking we'd get married because we were in love, not because we had to! And I'd wait at least a few years, just so we were both older and more mature. I had it all planned out – propose to her in a year and a half, get married another six months after that, start a family when we were a lot older.

"So when's the wedding?" Cole asks nonchalantly over the phone.

Nya sputters. "There is no wedding! There's no elopement, either! I – " She swears.

And it's not a mild curse, either.

I laugh nervously, fingering my shirt collar. "Wow, Nya. You don't want to be with me that bad?"

Her eyes shoot daggers at me. "I don't want to marry you just for the sake of changing guardianship! We've already done the relationship of convenience thing, Jay – back when we pretended to be together, remember? And I'm sick of it! I'm sick of using you, and I'm sick of being pressured into situations where we're stuck together!" She heaves a breath.

The guys and I are all silent, knowing not to interrupt Nya when she's like this.

She continues, "I'm barely seventeen! I'm not ready to get married! And Jay, you won't be nineteen for a few more months! My aunt and uncle aren't going to give their consent for this! Zane, why did you even suggest that we get married?"

"It is a plausible solution, Nya," he replies. "Though your aunt and uncle may not agree to your marriage, an underaged marriage can also be brought about by the approval of the courts. You would simply have to prove to them that a male of at least eighteen can care for you better than your current guardians and that you would not simply be a live-in girlfriend."

"There's no way they would listen to us!" Nya snaps. "Jay and I have been dating for a week. A week! Nobody in their right mind says, 'Hey, these two teenagers have been dating for a week. Let's let them get married and expect them not to get a divorce within the next year!'" Her cheeks are red when she finishes, and she looks up at me. "Jay, tell me I'm not crazy. This is a stupid idea, right?"