Honeymoon Disaster

[SatyrWarrior]

"You what?!? Idiot! Dumb-ass! ....Idiot! How could you--!?!" Ren growled at his older brother after hearing the 'news'. "What in the hell would possess you to do this without telling me....?!?" Ren attempted to ease himself, but he couldn't find a speck of tranquility within right now. No. Not after what his inconsiderate brother had just done. As if shielding himself from the wrathful younger brother, Teneel held his open palms out in front of him. "Calm down already! You should be thanking me for this! After all, your love life is like a lifeless pit filled with nothingness!" Teneel countered, evading the basketball Ren had just hurled at him. He was pondering about when he'd throw it. His little brother recently arrived home from basketball practice, and it had only been a matter of time before he freed the ball from his grasp. "Hey! No need to be so god-damn violent! Come on, think about it for a good long while. When was the last time you had a date? Or a girlfriend for that matter....?" Teneel queried with an arched brow.

Astonishingly, Ren paused; the anger from his features temporarily vanished as he genuinely stopped everything to think about his question. "........I've had....plenty of dates, asshole...." the 18 year-old muttered out reluctantly, looking away. "Oh really? Well, according to your journal that doesn't appear to be the case~!" Teneel smirked. Ren glared prior to regaining his irritation. "Okay, look--that's not the point! The point is that you went behind my back and arranged this even after I told you that I wasn't interested. On top of that, you shouldn't be reading my journal!" Ren replied, eyes narrowing at his brother with a murderous intent. Ignoring the journal topic, Teneel proceeded with the original subject. "Alright, alright... I know I shouldn't have gone behind your back. It was wrong of me, and I'm sorry." Teneel said with an insincere tone. "Please don't apologize. You don't really mean it anyway." Ren grumbled flatly, trudging into the kitchen. Sighing heavily, the young lad opened the fridge. And in the intervening time, Teneel walked up beside him.

"I really am sorry Ren. Really! Look, I did this for a reason and not just because you need to open up to a love-life..." Teneel trailed off, just as Ren glanced up from the open fridge with a twinge of curiosity in his maroon irises. "And that reason is...?" Ren highly doubted that it would be a plausible reason, but he chose to humor his brother nonetheless. "It's because...I need your help Ren. You of course know how the business that I own works, right? In terms of ownership? The heir to my company must be blood-related to me in some way, and alas, I can't have children of my own. You do remember that my wife's unable to have children...?" Teneel observed Ren as he lowered his head momentarily. "Yeah, I remember you telling me that....but what does that have to do with the arranged marriage that you set me up with?" Ren questioned. "Ren. I wanted you to get married....and have children of your own....so that one day, one of them can become the owner of my company." Teneel finished, watching as Ren's optics dilated to twice their normal size.

"You want me to have kids....? Now?!?" Ren queried through gritted teeth. What was his brother thinking? He had not even finished high school yet! Well, he'd be done in about a week, but still... "No, no! That's not what I meant! I mean, it's not like I'm terminally ill so there's no rush. However, I arranged this meeting for you because I wanted to introduce you to the concept of having a relationship. And then, you can decide on what you want to do from there. You don't necessarily have to marry her if you don't like her. I've arranged the two of you to stay together at a vacation house in about a week, when school's out. To get to know each other first..." Teneel added, eyeing his brother for any signs of resentment. Surprisingly, Ren simply averted his eyes in silence. His features possessed uncertainty, as if currently reflecting on the notion. "Is that a 'yes'?" Teneel urged, smirking faintly "...Fine Ten, I'll do it. I'll play along, but if I don't like her, you can forget about me marrying her...or getting married for a very long time at that!" Ren stated with folded arms and a frown. Eh. Who knows. Perhaps the situation would turn out well on his part. He could be missing an opportunity to meet someone that he'd really like...

At least, that was he persuaded himself with as he agreed to Teneel's plan. For a moment, Ren wondered if Teneel truly did all of this to have a potential heir to his company. Of course it appeared to be a stable reason, but in actuality, Teneel was probably using that as a flimsy excuse. An excuse to merely play 'match-maker' to ease his insatiable craving for it. Ren wasn't sure if it was a legit mental disorder or not, but there was definitely an obsession with Teneel and match-making for someone that hadn't had a lover in awhile. And that 'someone' was apparently him. "Oh I think you'll like her a lot. She's gorgeous and she has a lovely personality~! I promise you won't regret this." Teneel grinned; Ren shuddered. Why did he get the feeling that he was going to regret this??

A week later, around noon, Ren found himself on a desolated road with his brother for about an hour thus far. Oh, how he despised excruciatingly long car rides. It always forced him to feel a tad antsy being confined in a restricted space for such a lengthy interval. Fortunately, the ride had only lasted for about two hours in total. "Wow...." With a dazed expression, Ren gawked up at the superior vacation home. It effortlessly resembled the finest mini-mansion he had ever laid his eyes on. He couldn't imagine how it'd appear on the interior. Would it be even more elaborate? "Impressed huh?" Teneel smirked and stepped out of the car. "I stocked the place up with about two month's worth of food and other supplied you'll need although you two will be here for a month, but I have a good feeling that you'll be begging to stay longer~." Teneel claimed with confidence. "Heh, don't count on it..." Ren replied dully, stretching as he removed himself from the car seat. He headed towards the trunk to release his rolling black suitcase from it. "Oh, it looks like she's here already. Come on." Up ahead, a young woman that looked to be around his age of 18 stood by the entrance of the large house with a suitcase of her own.

"Hello lovely, I hope we didn't have you waiting for too long." Teneel greeted her with a bright smile. Coincidentally, she had been dropped off only several minutes ago. "I'd like you to meet who you'll be living with for the next month or so. This is Ren. Ren, this is _________." Teneel introduced briefly prior to glancing over to his brother. All this time, Ren had been staring a little at the young woman. He was certainly rendered as taken aback. Perhaps he merely wasn't expecting to her to be 'this' beautiful, but in an attempt to shake off his surprise, he stepped forward upon realizing that his brother was introducing them. "Um, hi." Ren greeted politely, but somewhat awkwardly. Above all, he was certainly distracted by another notion. For some reason, he simply couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd...seen or met her somewhere before. Maybe it was just his imagination...? Or maybe not.
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[derpina]

Stephanie Lovette (Stevie) sighed from the front of the home where she waited. She was currently sitting cross-legged on the concrete waiting for the other guests and the guy she was matched with to show up. Unfortunately for her, her sister had dropped her off early since she needed to go to work herself later and Stevie didn't have a key to the home. At least the weather's nice, she thought. Still, it took a lot of convincing from her sister not to just drive herself here on her motorcycle.

"It would defeat the purpose!" Her sister, Madeline whined. "If you bring your bike to the vacation home, then you'll just leave at the first sign that things are getting serious." And just as Stevie was about to protest, her sister interrupted. "You know it's true." Which caused her to sigh in defeat. Her sister was right of course. Stevie was a flighty girl when it came to relationships. She never stuck around long enough for it to actually go anywhere. She got around a little in high school. It seemed that the less committed she was to an actual relationship, the more she attracted the wrong kind of guy. But, she thought, I brought that on myself, didn't I? Stevie wasn't exactly looking to get married (she's only just turning 19 in two weeks and she's got some serious commitment issues, after all), but the reason she agreed to this whole set up was that she realized her flightiness and lack of commitment was a serious problem. This whole scenario was the perfect opportunity for her to try and deal with her problems and get serious with someone for once in her life. She knew her sister was right to drive her hear and take away her motorcycle. Stevie really would try to bolt at the first sign of trouble if she had her bike with her. If she were completely honest, if she had tried to drive herself here, she may have just decided not to show up at all and turned around.

Now, left alone with her thoughts, Stevie began to wonder if what she was doing was truly a good idea. She trusted Teneel's judgment and if he said his brother was a good match, she would believe him. But what if it didn't work out? Or even worse, what if it did? What would she do? She still has college at the end of the summer that she would have to go to -- although that was more than three months away. At the very least though, she got to spend the summer at this gorgeous vacation and seriously, where and how did Teneel find a home this beautiful? The house itself was large and the area around it was just gorgeous and open. For a moment, Stevie regretted not having her bike with her again because this would be one of the most scenic areas to go for a nice ride. Forget it, she berated herself, you can't have your bike and that's final

Stevie sighed at her own ridiculousness. She must be seriously getting bored if she was reprimanding herself. She thought about pulling out her guitar or one of the books she brought with her while she waits, but that would mean unpacking outside, and she had a feeling that as soon as she would do that, Teneel and his brother would arrive.

As if on cue, a car appeared on the road far down, the first car Stevie has seen since she got here. It pulled into the driveway and a familiar face and a less familiar face (though it still seemed eerily familiar but Stevie just told herself it's because Teneel and him are brothers) came into view. She looked at the guy who appeared to be her age, and she could already tell he was hot. "Teneel," she nodded in greeting with a small smile, and then turned her eyes to Ren. She reached out and shook his hand. "My name is Stephanie, but call me Stevie, " she introduced herself.

 

[SatyrWarrior]

A faint smile reached the lad's lips as Stevie introduced herself and reached out to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Stevie." Ren replied, maroon optics taking note of her own features as he grew a bit closer to shake her hand. Stevie? No way. It couldn't have been the same girl he used to bug all the time in the past...right? Yes, perhaps it was a mere coincidence that she possessed the same name and looked like that girl from before. After all, the probability of encountering the same girl from grade school was probably 1 in 1000 or more. Still... The notion that he somehow already knew her persisted, as well as the peculiar but slight pounding in his chest whenever he laid eyes on her. Thankfully, his brother spoke before he could muse any further on the subject. Teenel smirked and rose a brow at the two. This was most likely his cue to leave. "Alright, well I guess I'll see you two in a month or so." Teneel said. He prepared to turn around, but came to a halt as he recalled something.

"Oh, Ren, you've got money right?" he questioned. In response, Ren nodded. "Well...here. Just in case you need more." Teneel added, passing him a thick bushel of $100 dollar bills. Shrugging and shaking his head, Ren took the money and slipped it into his pocket. He would just keep pushing it on him if he didn't take it anyway. "Thanks. I'll pay you back later." Ren told him. Teneel shook his head. "No need. Now, be a good boy while you're here...unless, of course, she doesn't want you to be." Teneel teased with a wink. Instinctively, the younger brother calmly showed Teneel his fist, all the while glaring in his direction. "I was just kidding. Geez..." And with that, Teneel resumed his walk away from the mini-mansion. He gave a small wave to them prior to entering his car and revving the engine up. Ren sighed and shook his head to himself, eventually turning back to Stevie. "Sorry about that. He's a weirdo." Ren apologized for the somewhat naughty joke his brother had made, smirking faintly at the 'weirdo' remark.

Most old habits never left an individual, and Ren was not an exception to that rule. The way Ren had recently threatened his brother with his fist was exactly how he'd show his fist...to that girl he used to bother all of the time. Of course, in an empty threat kind of way. His trademark glare and smirk had always been the same too. However, that didn't matter much at the moment, did it? Either way, this was certainly going to be an intriguing...experience. He had never really bothered with dating girls even though there were some that had wanted to date him in high school. It was peculiar, but it was as if he'd lost interest altogether after leaving middle school, which included that girl he tended to pester relentlessly. And now, here he was. He was going to be living with a girl he supposedly barely knew for the next month. It was an incredibly huge step forward, considering his own inexperience. Though, maybe this would not be rendered as difficult as he thought it would be. Stevie seemed nice enough, and easy to get along with. Not to mention she was very attractive.

Once they were to get past that 'awkward' beginning phase, all would most likely transition smoothly thereafter. Loose blue jeans and a fitted white male tank top contrasted with Ren's brunette hair. The weather was sunny and warm, but in a pleasant way. Swiftly, the lad walked up the steps and opened the door to the vacation home. Although he was quite taken aback by the interior as he'd predicted he would be, he continued to hold the door open. After all, he had walked up ahead in order to open the door for Stevie in the first place. Teneel had reminded him not to forget common courtesy while staying here with her.
​

 

[derpina]

Stevie couldn't help but be amused at watching the brothers interact. The two were quite the pair when they bantered with each other and Stevie was reminded for a bit of she and her own sister bickering. Stevie couldn't help but whistle at the amount of cash Teneel gave his brother, Ren. It seemed a little excessive but who was she to comment, right? Besides, you never know what could happen that they might actually need that money. Though Stevie brought quite a bit of money of her own, just in case.

As the two brothers went back and forth, Stevie eyes fell on Ren once more. His attractiveness stunned her, and she wondered for a second why Teneel didn't match someone more fitting in the looks and social grace department than her. Not that Stevie thought she was unattractive, she just saw herself as decently average and was well aware of the fact that there were very many more attractive people out there than her. Other than his looks though, she couldn't help but keep staring at him for some other unknown reason. He just looked so familiar. Who was this Ren guy, really?

Ren, she thought of the name and couldn't help but cringe slightly. She wouldn't say it aloud, but the name had a bitter taste in her tongue after what happened to her in middle school with a guy named Ren. She had come to detest the name after what she went through with him, but she pushed the feelings back. It's in the past, she reminded herself. But it wasn't in the past, not truly. After all, because of what happened, she transferred to a new school where she got around a bit. She wanted the physical closeness of a relationship without the commitment and feelings that came along with it -- feelings that had betrayed and hurt her in the past when she was younger -- so that's exactly what she did. She never had a true relationship, or a date that didn't involve her leaving his house in the early hours of the morning before he woke up. And for a long time, she didn't care. At least until she graduated and realized that her unresolved issues of the past were becoming a huge problem for her. So when the matchmaking session was suggested, even though she wanted to reject it right away, she forced herself to agree. She needed this. She needed to meet someone and try to attempt a serious, long-term commitment, otherwise, she would never leave the past behind. This person, Ren, didn't know her, he didn't know her reputation and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. At least, he seemed so. Still, opportunities for relationships such as this didn't come knocking every day, so she agreed.

Coming back to the present, she waved at Teneel as he made to leave and her eyes fell on Ren once more. His smirk and waved fist were undeniably familiar, and for a second, Stevie was brought back to the past again. Anger filled up inside her and she wanted to make a sarcastic remark or insult even though Ren hadn't done anything yet. But that gesture he made was just like the middle-schooler Ren that she once knew. But it couldn't be... Could it?

Stevie shook her head as she went inside, forcing herself to smile for a second and thank Ren for being courteous. There's no way, she told herself. And only part of her believed her own words. Now breathe she thought taking a deep breath to calm herself down as she looked around the grand and luxurious home. This was a stark contrast to the one-bedroom apartment she and her sister shared in the city. "Wow," she breathed out, feeling her mood lighten. She looked at Ren again. "So what is there to do here?" she asked. There had to be plenty to do, and it seemed like there was a nice little town what would be a short bicycle ride away.

 

[SatyrWarrior]

After Ren's brother left, Ren turned back to Stevie and noted that she appeared to be...thinking about something, perhaps? Why did she staring at him like that for a moment there? "You alright Stevie?" He blinked at the peculiarly familiar girl curiously, asking the query just in case. He had asked this before opening the door for her though, and replied with a casual, "No problem." when she thanked him for doing so. It was awfully strange how similar the girl in front of him was to the Stevie he knew back in middle school. Why was it that he still remembered the day that she transferred? The day he would never see her again--well, supposedly. It could have been that he too was still holding onto what resided in the 'past'. After all, he never bothered with serious relationships upon entering high school. Because...he was too busy pondering about Stevie, leaving little room for dating interests to form. He'd always wondered why she had transferred in the first place, but... Wait, no.

Possibly, he knew that she may have transferred because of him. But...was he really so awful to her that it would force her to transfer schools? Probably. Maybe. He was uncertain. He recalled bothering her and pestering her. All he wanted was her attention and he didn't know how else to get it. He had been an immature little boy that did not know how to express his feelings properly and like any other immature boy, he chose to reveal his feelings for her in the only way he knew how to out of desperation. If it had been now, where he appeared to be less immature (hopefully), he would've at least attempted to express his feelings properly. He would do that...wouldn't he? Let's hope some of those immature tendencies didn't follow him through high school. What would he do if he'd seen her right now? A hunch told him that, being him, he wouldn't just immediately blabber out his actual feelings. Why...was it so difficult for him? Why was it so hard to do back then? Had he even genuinely admitted to himself that he had liked her, even after she left?

The difficulty of doing so could have been potentially related to...what had happened beforehand, prior to even starting middle school. Had that incident with his mother really scarred him so deeply? Overall, just thinking about Stevie brought an array of mixed feelings. Guilt, anger towards himself... And when he was in middle school, he possessed the emotion of misdirected anger and sadness towards Stevie for departing. However, he of course no longer felt that because it was the 'stupid' little boy habit that had incurred the misdirected anger. This method was probably the best thing for him. This was what he needed. To be obliged to open up to a relationship for once in life. Who knows. Maybe he would like it after all, and would stop holding onto the memory of a girl that he would most likely never see again. A portion of him truly acknowledged all of Stevie's similarities to...the other Stevie, but he had eventually dismissed it, assuming that his mind was probably playing tricks on him because of how long he'd possessed the memory of her.

Ren shook his head to himself as Stevie stepped into, a mild frown etching into his brows. 'Pathetic.' he mused. disgusted with himself. However, the lad was quick to look back up just as they entered the vacation home. And as expected, the interior was almost more impressive than the exterior. He glanced around with awe in his feature, smiling a little as he heard Stevie breath out a, "Wow..." When asked about what there was to do here, he tapped a finger to his chin in a thoughtful manner as he attempted to recall what his brother had told him. "Well, in the town not too far from here, they have pretty much anything you can think of activity-wise. Movie theaters, restaurants, an amusement park, casinos, a skating rink, museums--you name it." On the contrary, that was most likely why his brother had given him extra money. He figured that they were bound to want to take part in many of the activities around town. And Ren knew that he hadn't even listed half of what was there was to do in that seemingly small town.

Shifting his head, Ren spotted the long flight of stares to the left of the entrance. The rooms must have been all the way up there. "Looks like the rooms are up here." Ren began, eyes falling onto her luggage. "Um, here...I can take your stuff up for you." he offered, another smirk smearing into his lips. "I won't take no for an answer." he told her jokingly as he grabbed her suitcase and slightly stuck his tongue out at her playfully. And yet, another old habit had revealed itself... It wasn't that he thought she couldn't carry her own luggage upstairs, but as his brother had put it, it was polite to offer to do it for the lady so she wouldn't have to trouble herself about doing it later. He lifted the suitcase up with ease, grabbed his own suitcase and proceeded to move up the stairs. Ren was a slim lad, but his arms and biceps were evidently well-toned through the tank top he was wearing. He definitely possessed some sort of upper body strength and it seemed like it didn't take much from him to travel up such a long flight of stairs with both pieces of luggage.
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[derpina]

"Oh you don't need to -- " Stevie began to say until she saw Ren stick out his tongue at her in a way that was painfully familiar. She fell silent, her brows furrowing in puzzlement at the odd resemblance to a face from her past. Perhaps fate wanted to mess with her, to prove to her that she truly still held onto the events from her past. Of course she held onto her past, the Ren from middle school nearly shaped her whole future. Because of him, Stevie transferred to a whole new high school and had to start over, reinvent herself. She had never been able to keep a long-term relationship and now, when she thought she was going to leave all of that behind and start anew, this new Ren shows up who walks and talks just like the old one and all of the memories that were in the past are being dug up all over again and Stevie is helpless to do anything about it. It's almost as if this Ren is the --

No, her mind cuts off that train of thought, this Ren is different. He's been nothing but nice to you since you've arrived. That part of her mind was completely right, Stevie knew. This Ren is kind and though he is similar to the one from her past -- they both come off as a tease -- he's not bullying her, making fun of her, and being, dare she say it, gentlemanly. Normally, gentlemanliness would be an instant turn off for Stevie. She's usually the type that can take care of herself just fine, so when a guy tries to do things she could just as easily do herself, she gets peeved. But, she has to admit, it feels nice to have someone do that for her every once and a while.

Stevie follows Ren up the stairs, not sure where she would be sleeping or where all the halls lead. Honestly, she'd have to go exploring later because it's easy to get lost in the grandness of this house. "Hey Ren, isn't there a lake nearby?" she asked, recalling that she and her sister had passed one on the way to the home. "We should go fishing or rent a boat or something," she suggested. Stevie loved to be out on the water, she loved fishing, swimming, surfing, sailing, anything involving being out on the water.

 

[SatyrWarrior]

Performing such 'gentlemanly' actions were rather unfamiliar to him. I mean, after he grew up a little more, he had become more respectful but...well, as mentioned before, he didn't really bother with dating girls in high school. Therefore, he hadn't exactly possessed the opportunity to do so. He certainly wasn't going to overdo it with the gentlemanliness though. Too much of anything would be overkill. Besides, something told him that Stevie wouldn't like it if it was done too much anyway. Every once in awhile, he figured that it was nice to have someone doing something for you. Not because the woman was incapable of taking care of the action herself, but because it was simply a polite gesture to rid the trouble of having to do it from her. Okay, so maybe this train of thought was from his older brother going by the belief that all women should be treated like goddesses or something along the lines of that. Surely, his wife wasn't complaining about it either.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he gently placed her luggage in front of one of the rooms, just in case she preferred a different room instead. After taking a glance down the lengthy hall, he came to the conclusion that the rest of the doorways led to other rooms. 'Why are there so many damn rooms in here??' he pondered to himself genuinely. He wondered if it was actually possible for some one to use up all twenty rooms without using the home as an inn of some sort. He held a quizzical expression on his features as he peaked into the room across from him, randomly choosing one of the rooms closest to them. In contrast to the way in which Ren placed Stevie's luggage down, he tossed his own luggage rather roughly into the room prior to turning back to her when she spoke. "Oh, yeah there is." he replied at the mentioning of the lake. He faintly recalled seeing one during the car ride here. However, in all honesty, he was not thinking of visiting it. There were various reasons for that too, but as Stevie suggested that they take a visit there to go fishing or rent a boat, he forced back the urge cringe.

Instead, he smiled and said, "Good idea. We should give it a try." While saying this, he attempted to convince himself that maybe he would react differently to larger bodies of water. After all, it had been years since he had been in or over water... He should at least try opening up to it again, and this was his chance. "But first, I think I'm going to go unpack to get it over with." he added before stepping into the room he threw his luggage into. He picked his bag up from the ground and dropped it onto the lovely bed, unzipping it to take a brief look around prior to proceeding with putting his attire away into the dresser. He'd always been a little--er, 'very' disorganized, so he genuinely didn't bother with folding and placing the clothes into the dresser. He just...kind of threw them in until he ran out of room and would then move on to the next compartment.
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