Arranged Marriage To My Best Friend (rewriting; will slowly post)

Chapter 1 Kiss You Tonight

Happy Easter lovelies!! Picture is Rachel Holder as Marissa.
-----------------------------------------------------
One Year Before

It was July 20. What a beautiful day, Marissa thought. The sun was beaming over the horizon. She glanced at her alarm clock. 7:34, it read. Marissa lay her head back on her pillow and groaned. She didn't mind waking up early but she didn't want to go feed the animals. She lay there for a few minutes, possibly trying to go back to sleep but with no such luck.

The sound of doors closing made her reopen her eyes. Feet pounded up the steps and the person barged into her room. It was Austin.

"Happy birthday!" he yelled.

Marissa laughed and got out of bed to hug him. "Thank you, Austin," she told him. "I already forgot."

"How do you forget your own birthday?"

"Because I don't wanna grow up," she whined.

Austin let her go to give her an envelope. "This is your small present," he informed. "I'll give you your big one later."

Marissa took note of the sadness that seemed to appear in his eyes. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No," he lied through his teeth. Marissa knew he was lying because he wasn't very good at hiding it.

She hesitated a moment because she knew something was bothering him. She wasn't going to force him though. She wanted to open her gift. Peeling away the flap of the envelope, she opened it up to reveal a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble.

"Thank you so much, Austin! I'll put it with the others," Marissa giggled. She kept a stash of Barnes and Noble gift cards in her nightstand drawer so that one day she can use them and get a bunch of books.

"Rissa! Austin! Breakfast is ready!" Carol Ann called up the stairs.

Marissa's stomach growled at the thought of food. Her and Austin looked at each other before bursting out laughing. They laughed until tears were streaming down their faces and they couldn't breathe.

Soon enough they regained their composure and sighed.

"Piggyback ride for my hungry princess?" Austin asked. Marissa nodded her head and hopped on. "Umph! Feels like my princess gained a bit of birthday weight," Austin joked, which earned him a whack on the head by Marissa. He just chuckled and moved on out of her room to head for the kitchen.

"Happy birthday, Rissa!" Carol said as she laid a very big cinnamon roll in Marissa's spot with two candles that said 19 on them. She then walked over and hugged her daughter. "Austin, do me a favor and go tell Jackson to get his butt down here."

"Sure thing, Carol," Austin said. About five minutes later Austin came down stairs with a whiny Jackson trailing behind him.

"Lighten up, Jackson. It's your sister's birthday for Pete's sake," Carol piped in.

Jackson grumbles under his breath but then comes over and hugs Marissa. "Happy birthday, sis." Then he plants a big kiss on her cheek. Even though they may annoy each other, they still love each other.

"Blow out your candles dear!" Carol chirped.

It may seem childish but Marissa thought about what she wanted to wish for. I wish . . . to find "the one" within the next year, she said aloud in her mind. Then she blew out the candles with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"What'd you wish for?" Austin pestered.

"Won't come true if I tell you, now would it," she teased.