A/N: Hello everyone! Summer's here for me, which means I'll be writing a lot in the next two-three months! Here's another story that came into mind. This won't be one of those stories I delete after a while; I plan to actually finish this one. This story is drawn from a partially personal experience. I hope you guys enjoy, please don't forget to leave a review, favorite or follow. Happy reading!

The blond was excited. Well, why wouldn't he be? He hasn't been here, his hometown, in almost two years. He missed everything—the food, the environment, the weather, the people and of course, his friends and family. Even though he kept in touch with all of them via email/social media sites, he still missed them. He admits that he had become rather clingy since he left for Los Angeles.

But now all that is done, at least for the time being. He had just conquered his sophomore year in college and is ready to have the most unproductive summer of his life. He made plans for this summer, to make sure he stays lazy for every single day. The first of his plans of course, is to see his family again. He resisted the urge to pester the cab driver about going faster even if the car was already running a notch above the speed limit; he just missed everyone so much.

His thoughts were broken when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He flipped the cover to the side and looked to see who was calling him. It was his mother. He grinned and pressed the answer button.

"Hey mom!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Hello, son" greeted his mother "I just called to ask what time you'll be here?" something was off, the blond knew the second he heard her voice. His mother was usually always happy. Also, if she ever had problems, it didn't affect her mood at all unless the problem concerned life and death.

"I'll be home in about twenty minutes, Mom."

"Oh, I see" his mother said, exhaustion evident in her voice.

"Are you alright, Mom?"

"We'll see you later, son" with that his mother hung up.

Now the blond was really worried. Not only did his mother sound drained, but she also hung up just like that. Anxiety threatened to consume him. What could be going on?

For the rest of the ride home, the blond kept thinking. He pondered on what possibly could've put his mom in such an unusual mood. His mom has been upset and angry before but she's never failed to maintain her cheerfulness in spite of that. He sighed and just tried to take a short nap. He hasn't slept since two days ago anyways.

When the cab driver pulled over, he woke up.

"That'll be 63.28 kid."

"Here you go. Keep the change" the blond said as he handed the driver sixty-five.

"Thanks, kid. Have a good day."

"Thanks, you too."

The blond grabbed his bags and exited the car. He took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of home. The scent relaxed the young man, easing his mind before dealing with whatever's beyond that door a few meters away from him. He sighed and walked to the door of his family's house.

He rang the doorbell and waited. A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing his mother. He did not like what he saw. Her eyes were semi-bloodshot, her hair was disheveled, her face looked older and her nose was swollen. Still, she weakly smiled at him and opened her arms towards him.

The blond dropped his bags and embraced his mother fiercely. The two stood in the doorway for a couple of minutes, just hugging each other. Soon, they pulled away.

"I'm so glad to see you, son" his mother admitted, her weak smile remaining on her lips.

"I'm glad to see you too, mom."

"Put your bags inside, I prepared some food for you."

The young man obeyed and stepped inside the house with his bags. Nothing has changed a bit since the last time he was here. He walked to his room, dropped his bags and changed into more comfortable clothes. After, he went downstairs to the dining area. His mother prepared some pasta for him. The sight of the food cooked by his mother was enough to make his mouth water. He dug in and finished the meal in minutes. After gulping down a glass of water, the two started to chat.

"So how was finals week?" his mother asked.

"It was really tough. I only slept Tuesday and Thursday night, I was awake during all of Monday, Wednesday and Friday."

"Why?"

"I had to finish a paper on Monday, I'm sorry, but I went to a club Wednesday night with my friends. I got a little tipsy and yes, I did have an exam the following morning. The exam was alright though. Yesterday, Friday, I went out to the club again with my friends. So here I am, running on fourteen hours of sleep since Monday."

"Son, you know you shouldn't be partying, especially during finals week. Remember why you're in Stanford, please son" his mother pleaded.

The young man resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Mom, I just went out. I didn't get wasted or anything, I just spent some time with my friends. Besides, I was able to answer my exams just fine. Don't worry, I won't lose sight of my dreams. I'll be on top of the corporate world in no time."

As soon as he said that last sentence, his mother's expression dimmed even further. She frowned and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She hastily wiped themaway in an attempt to conceal them, but the young man couldn't be fooled.

"What's wrong, Mom?" the young man asked as he reached over to grab his mother's hands.

His mother just remained silent, so he continued to speak. "I know something's wrong, Mom. I've known since I heard your voice on the phone earlier. You've been acting differently since then. Now, we talk and you almost cry about something I said. Please, tell me what's wrong. Because I didn't come home all the way from Stanford to just see you like this" he pleaded.

Silence ensued. None of them spoke nor moved. Just when his mother opened her mouth to speak, they heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" a voice exclaimed.

The young man stood up to greet the owner of the voice. "Hey Dad"

At the sight of him, his father's expression dimmed as well. However, his father recovered quickly and smiled a fake smile at him. "Hey, Son! When did you get back?"

"Just about an hour ago" the blond replied as he shook his father's hand.

"Good to see you, Son."

"Yeah, you too, Dad. Now, tell me what's wrong?"

His father cringed, but tried to hide it. "What do you mean?"

The young man grew frustrated. What the hell is up with his parents? "Dad, I'm not stupid. Mom's been acting all tired since I got here and you're no different. Don't even try to smile at me because I can see right through it" his father bowed his head at this "Please, tell me what's wrong. I missed you guys…I didn't come home to see you both like this. Whatever it is, please tell me, I can handle it, no matter what it is."

His father sighed and ran a hand across his face. "Fine" he said as he sat in the dining area with his son and wife.

"Now, please explain" the young man pleaded again.

His father took a deep breath before speaking. "Three months ago, corporate officers of our union had a meeting. A matter was brought up regarding how some parties either refused to cooperate further or demanded more shares in the union's total profits. So solutions were proposed; more projects, searching for other partners, et cetera. However, until now, no viable solution has been found and more and more investors/partners are adopting the idea of leaving our corporate union. If that happens, the entire system will collapse and we'll be back to square one. Last week, one of our main investors proposed a solution. This solution appears to be the only one available to us that won't cause any collateral damage of some sorts.

"Then what is this solution?" the young man impatiently asked.

His father sighed once again before speaking. "A marriage; a marriage between the children of two major shareholders part of the union.

"So what does this have to do with us?"

Minutes of silence passed. His parents exchanged a glance, before his father finally said it. "I am a major shareholder of the union."

The young man still couldn't get it. "Please elaborate."

"Roxas, son, you're getting married" his mother finished.

The world around Roxas stopped.

"Wh…w-what?" he croaked out.

Married? He's never even been a relationship in his entire life and his parents just told him he's getting married?

"M..ma…marr…wh-wha? B-but Mom, Dad…I've never even had a damn girlfriend and you're telling me I'm…getting married?" he incredulously asked. His parents just bowed their heads in silence.

He came home to have the laziest summer yet; to relax, unwind and be unproductive because the previous school year took out a lot on him. Yet here he was; just minutes after reaching home, he receives word that he's getting married.

"I'm sorry, Son, but we had no other choice. You'll meet your future wife in a dinner party this Saturday. Your father and I will accompany you there."

"You won't marry her right away, Son, if that's what you're thinking. You'll be married a year from now."

"Why didn't you even tell me before I got here?" Roxas asked, ignoring his parents' words. He bit his tongue. He didn't want to bring up the whole "I'm your son, why are you treating me like a slave that you can just marry off to a woman I don't even know?" thing because he understood how his parents, especially his father, worked so hard for everything they had. Roxas wouldn't have anything if it weren't for his parents. That's what he kept trying to tell himself, despite the rather unfair circumstances for the young man.

"The decision was made only a few days ago. It was your finals week then, we didn't want to bother you."

"Oh, so you think it won't bother me now?" Roxas shot back angrily.

His mother sighed and held his hand. "We know how difficult this is for you-"

"No you don't!" Roxas screamed as he ripped his hand away and stood from his chair. He threw decorum and understanding aside; this is just too much. He knows they are still his parents, but they are acting as if he isn't their son. "If you knew how difficult this was for me, you would've asked for my perspective first. I don't care if it was finals week; this concerns my future, my life, my fate. How could both of you value education over something that concerns what's going to happen to me in the long run?"

"Son, we-"

"SHUT UP!" Roxas boomed "I'm trying to understand why you're doing this; why you BOTH even agreed to this but I simply can't. I understand how important this whole thing with your corporate union is with you, but isn't the idea of marriage important to me too? Call me a selfish brat, but why would you even consider arranging a marriage for a seventeen year-old incoming junior in college who has barely even considered being in a relationship?"

Roxas' parents just remained silent. The blond sighed and walked upstairs to his room. He slammed the door hard after entering then he plopped down his bed. He fought back the tears. After everything that's happened the past school year, he comes home to this—where he has to step in and save his parents. Not only that but he's getting married. Can things get worse for him?

Little did he know, they can and they will.

A/N: So, how was it? Please leave a review and let me know what you think, any clarifications, et cetera. About the story, yes, Roxas is seventeen and is already an incoming junior in college, the idea is he skipped two or so years of elementary school. Will he be able to handle all this, getting married and more? The next chapter will focus on the dinner party mentioned where Roxas will meet his fiance. I'm sure you all can guess who it'll be, but this'll be a rather different arranged marriage. Thank you for reading!