Jessica wasn’t sure how her mother would have reacted to the fact that there was a teenage boy in their living room. She expected maybe a startled scream, or a loud scolding because a “stranger was in their house and seeing their mess”. What her mother did, however, was much more different than either of those.

The second Jessica and Emily’s mother laid eyes on JR, she froze. She was surprised, but a coy smile touched her face mere seconds later. “Hello,” she sang.

JR glanced to Jessica questionably, probably unsure of the woman’s reaction. Jessica could only gawk at her mother as the older woman continued on in an unnaturally courteous fashion.

“I don’t think we’ve ever officially met,” Jessica’s mother said. She held out a hand to JR, who blinked in silence before shaking it. “You look VERY familiar. Are you one of the girls’ friends from school?”

“Um…” JR mumbled, again looking to Jessica for help.

Jessica’s mother eyed her oldest daughter before flashing a bright, slightly suggestive smile. “Oh so you’re a friend of Jessica’s?”

“Um...yes, I guess?” JR tried. “We only really met today…”

“Oh REALLY?” Jessica wanted to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment then. She realized why her mother was acting so strange.

Oh god...she’s being dorky around him because he’s a cute boy… Jessica inwardly groaned.

NOW she knew what her mother was doing: she was trying to be the “fun, relatable mom”; the kind of mom who oohed and ahhed at boys they thought their daughters would find cute, handsome, drop dead gorgeous…

Jessica tried to shake the tingly feeling of both first and second-hand embarrassment out of her. “Um, mom, can I talk to you real quick?”

“Sure sweetie,” her mother agreed.

Jessica followed her mother into her parents’ bedroom, but only after telling JR and the girls to start their next game. As soon as the door closed, her mother said, “That boy is really cute. Are you two going out??”

Jessica blushed slightly, but face-palmed at her mother’s question. “No mom...we’re not going out…”

“Do you like him? Is that why he’s here? You’ve never brought a boy home...wait, you didn’t even go to school today! Did you tell him our address?”

Jessica held up her hands quickly, defeated by the attack of her mother’s many questions. “Mom, breathe. One question at a time.”

Her mother exhaled deeply then, but nodded. There was a wide, excited grin on her face as she silently waited for her daughters answers.

“I don’t know why he’s here,” Jessica explained. Her mother noticed the sudden seriousness, but impatiently quiet as she continued. “He just suddenly showed up. Mom, he doesn’t have anywhere to go...can we let him stay here?”

This was where Jessica’s mother stopped her. “Hold on sweetie...what exactly do you mean he doesn’t have anywhere to go? Why would he be here, anyways?”

“That’s what we’re trying to understand. He just...SHOWED up in my bedroom suddenly and—”

“He did WHAT?! How did he get in the house?!”

Jessica, slightly flustered, clamped shut and waited for her mother to stop. When she did, Jessica dragged her mother to her own room and pointed to her wall. “Do you see something wrong with that?”

Her mother squinted at the wall—and more specifically, the Hello poster—for a moment before guessing, “One of your posters...that one. The middle...someone’s missing?”

Jessica nodded curtly and said, “He’s missing in my poster, and now he’s here. In this house.”

She watched her mother gasp in surprise then. “You don’t mean...that boy in the living room is the boy that’s supposed to be in that blank spot on your poster?”

Jessica nodded again.

“What did you do?” her mother asked seriously.

“What? Why do you think I did something?!” Jessica squawked in surprise.

“Well how else do you explain something like this bizarre of a coincidence happening?”

“I didn’t do ANYTHING,” Jessica stated, crossing her arms.

“Okay, say I believe you—”

“MOM!” Jessica whined.

“IF I believe you,” her mother continued, glaring at Jessica for cutting her off. “What exactly do you mean he can’t go anywhere?”

“He can’t go home,” Jessica explained. “He doesn’t have his wallet or passport…”

Jessica’s mother nodded in understanding then. She seemed to be thinking about the entire situation for a moment before asking, "You're SURE he has nowhere to go? There's no one he can call or talk to?"

Jessica frowned, but nodded slowly. "If he did, he would have told me already."

Her mother nodded in agreement before sighing.

"Okay...I'll talk with your father, and tell him we'll be having a guest for—how long is...?" She trailed off, waiting for a name to call the teenage boy in their living room.

"JR."

"How long is JR staying?" Jessica's mother asked.

Jessica made a face then, and shrugged. "Since we don't know how he got here, we don't know how he'll leave...or WHEN."

Jessica watched her mother sigh and hunch over at the sudden weight of having to be responsible for the stranger that was JR. But she stretched out again before shrugging. "Well, it'll be a different experience, having a teenage boy in the house...then again, you're messy enough to be one..." Her mother glanced around Jessica's bedroom at the last comment, and Jessica whined at her mother.

Once the two finished talking, they went to join Emily, JR, and the girls' friends. The group was watching JR bounce excitedly on a Wii fit board, playing the obstacle course game on the Wii fit plus.

"He kept having to restart because he accidentally jumped a couple times," Renae explained, laughing.

"This is hard!" JR tried to defend himself. Just then, he made the Mii character run and smack into a wrecking ball obstacle. He groaned in frustration, and the timer on the game finished. Everyone in the room laughed in amusement; Jessica took her seat again while her mother wandered into the kitchen.

"You got pretty far," Emily congratulated JR, who pouted for a moment before smiling and laughing with everyone else.

He stepped off so Renae could step on. The girl smiled excitedly, boasting, "I'm so good at this!" JR sat back in his seat beside Jessica, who scooted to give him more room as they watched Renae wiggle and shift her weight on the Wii board like she was a happy penguin.

"So is this what you all will be doing?" Jessica's mother asked the group then. "Wasn't there a movie you wanted to go and see?"

"Oh that's right! The second Hunger Games movie JUST came out today!" Emily said excitedly. "There's a showing at the theater in...a couple hours? You can drive us, right Mom?"

Jessica watched as her mother rolled her eyes and sighed with exasperation before agreeing. The girls cheered excitedly while JR sat quietly and smiled somewhat awkwardly.

Emily's lucky she can get mom to do anything she asks...it must be because she's the baby of the family... Jessica thought, though she wasn't complaining. She WAS getting to see a movie, after all.

"Have you all eaten?" Jessica's mother asked suddenly.

"We had snacks earlier..." Emily said. "Can we order pizza mom?"

Emily's luck continued as the girls' mother nodded. She asked the group where they wanted their pizza from. The girls shouted out suggestions before finally deciding on pizza from Dominos.

"Pizza?" JR asked.

"Yeah, we're probably going to just get cheese and meat lovers," Jessica explained.

"That sounds good..."

"JR, you'll get to try American pizza!" Renae cheered. "Did you get to try any in California at K'Con last year?"

The poor boy didn't get a chance to answer when all the lights and power in the house suddenly went out. Jessica heard her mother scream in surprise from the kitchen, where she was calling in the order for pizza.

"What's happening?" JR asked, slightly startled. He scooted close to Jessica and reached out in the darkness. His hand bumped into Jessica's knee, and he flinched away in surprise, muttering, "Sorry..."

Jessica blushed in the darkness and replied shyly, "I-It's okay..."

"Did all of the power go out?" Jessica heard her mother call out.

"I think so..." Scarlet said.

"Wow, we hardly ever get power outages in my neighborhood," Renae commented.

"Same here. This, like, NEVER happens. This is weird," Emily said.

The group fumbled around in the lightless living room for a moment before Scarlet the flashlight app on her phone. Everyone else did the same—aside from the phoneless JR—and the girls all looked to the kitchen. Jessica and Emily’s mom had just ended her cell phone call to Dominos, saying, “They’ll be here in about half an hour.”

“So what do we do until then…?” Renae asked the group.

JR was the only one to speak up then. “Do you have any board games?”

Jessica and Emily led their friends and JR to their family room, where there was a shelf filled to the brim of different board and card games. “Let’s play Phase 10!” Renae shouted excitedly.

“Uh, how about we not?” Scarlet said. “I already have to deal with my sister and parents cheating—I don’t want to deal with you too.”

“What?! I don’t CHEAT!” Renae snapped.

“You cheat ALL the time!” Scarlet countered.

As their two friends bickered, Jessica and Emily pointed out some other possible games. “Oh let’s play Twister!” Emily suggested.

“But I’m not really flexible,” Scarlet said, cutting into the calmer conversation; she had a hand over Renae’s mouth, and the other girl was glaring at the red head with anger.

“Then you can be the one in charge of the spinner,” Emily reasoned.

"Do you want to play Twister, JR?" Jessica asked. All the girls stared at the only boy among them, who shrugged in response.

"Sure? It sounds fun?"

Emily and Renae shared knowing glances as the group went to set up the game in the living room. Scarlet held onto the spinner as Renae and Emily spread out the mat. JR and Jessica sat off to the side and talked.

"So do you like playing Twister?" JR asked.

"It's fun," Jessica said, shrugging. "We haven't played in awhile, though..."

"I bet you'll be good at it," JR offered.

Once the game was set up, Emily and Renae excitedly tried to partner up with JR. "Um, I'd like to be on BOTH of your teams, but I think I should be partners with Jessica. I already agreed to it earlier."

The younger girls pouted while Jessica looked at JR, surprised and confused. "We never said we'd be partners," she whispered to JR. He only grinned sheepishly in response, and then the game started.

Scarlet spun several moves, and the four playing put their hands or feet on the designated colors. Renae whined as the group started to twist around. “What the heck you guys? How are you so flexible?!”

“Well I take dance, and you need to be flexible for that,” Emily said matter-of-factly. “Jessi’s just flexible.”

“Then what about you?!” Renae asked JR accusingly, glaring at the boy. He had an arm twisted around Jessica as his leg was over Emily’s.

“I played with the other members of NU’EST, and even played with Seventeen,” JR said simply. "Jessi?"

"Jessica's nickname," Emily said.

A smile crept onto JR's face then, and he looked to Jessica. She blushed at his attention and turned away from his gaze in embarrassment.

Renae pouted at being ignored, and kept complaining as the game continued. With each spin Scarlet made, Jessica, Renae, Emily, and JR became more and more tangled up in each other.

"I'm slipping!" Renae squealed in terror as her hand moved across the mat, out of her control.

"No! Stop it!" Emily ordered. She had her arms over and under the older girl in a piggy-backing like fashion. Renae's slipping hand caused Renae to buckle under not only her own weight, but Emily's as well.

The two girls screamed in dismay as they fell, which only made Scarlet, JR, and Jessica laugh. Just then, the room was bathed in light as the power flicked back on, and the doorbell rang.

"Pizza must be here," Jessica and Emily's mother said, appearing from another room before stopping and staring at the twister game currently in play.

"What's going on?" She questioned, clearly surprised.

"Renae slipped and we fell!" Emily roared a complaint.

"It's not MY fault my body wasn't made to bend that way!" Renae screeched, only making the other three teenagers laugh even more.

"Well...go ahead and stop the game," their mother ordered. She answered the door, and several seconds later walked back into the room with two pizza boxes and a smaller box for cheese sticks, saying, "Dinner's here."

Jessica nodded and looked to JR, who didn't seem to move. He stared back with a sheepish expression as he muttered, "I can't move, otherwise we'll fall too..."

Jessica, blushing, tried to maneuver her way out of the human pretzel she and JR had created. It took a moment, but the two untangled their limbs and stood to face each other. Jessica's nose brushed against JR's chest, and she leaped back in surprise. JR bit his lip in embarrassment, but said nothing as the group of teenagers grabbed plates for their dinner.

The girls ate quickly, and JR watched in amusement. "You girls are so...natural," he said. They froze for a moment before Renae scoffed.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way!” JR said quickly. “It’s like Jessica’s room…”

“Hey!” Jessica whined while playfully elbowing JR in the side. JR smiled in response, and the group fell into a comfortable silence as they ate.

“So what movie did you say you’re going to?” JR asked. He watched as Renae, Emily, and Scarlet zipped through the house, grabbing their wallets, jackets, or shoes.

“We were planning on seeing Catching Fire,” Jessica explained. Then, her eyes fixed on JR’s as she smiled and asked, “Did you want to come with us?”

Jessica watched JR’s eyes seem to light up at the thought. A shy, expectant grin crossed his face as he replied, “Can I?” Jessica nodded, and JR shot up from his seat with excitement.

“You’ve seen the first movie right?” Jessica laughed as she followed JR back into her room. He fumbled to get his boots on before nodding quickly.

“Aron hyung played a copy for us that he got as a gift from his parents. It had Korean subtitles, so the other guys and I could understand it. Oh. Do you think I’ll be able to understand the movie without subtitles?” he asked suddenly. Jessica was startled and flinched back when JR turned suddenly to face her.

When she did this, her sock slipped against the sleekness of her wooden floors. JR’s eyes widened and before he knew what he was doing, he was grabbing Jessica’s arms and pulling her up into his chest.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Jessica nodded slowly. Her eyes were as wide as JR’s, but more so for another reason; her cheek pressed against his clothes, and she could feel his chest radiating warmth from underneath. JR held his grip tight on her and stared at her worriedly; his gaze was intense, and Jessica struggled to remain calm. She wasn’t used to someone staring at her the way JR was, much less having someone hold her so close.

“Thanks…” she said softly, trying to reluctantly pushing away from JR's hold on her. He cleared his throat awkwardly, realizing what he had done. His tight grip on her loosened, and he backed away from her slowly. After a second, the two teenagers shifted around the room awkwardly as they continued to get ready for the movie.

They exited Jessica's room quickly after putting on their shoes and jackets. Jessica noticed her mother give them a curious glance, but she said nothing as the group of teenagers piled into the family van. JR sat up front with Jessica and Emily’s mother, after the older woman had insisted he do so. He turned in his seat to look at the sisters and their friends in the back seats. Emily and Renae squeezed into the furthest seats of the back, giggling and talking loudly in excitement for the movie. Scarlet was a bit more composed, but she, too, was just as eager to see Catching Fire.

JR stared at Jessica, the only quiet one of the group. She was observing her sister and friends in a silent approval—to JR, she looked as if she were happy just to see the others so enthusiastic for the night ahead.

Jessica could feel JR’s eyes on her, and when she flickered her gaze to him, she blushed when her suspicions were right. He’s so handsome...he’s dangerous… Jessica thought, embarrassed for being the center of his attention.

The ride to the movie theater didn’t take long. When the van pulled up to the drop-off area at the front of the theater, everyone in the group hopped out of the van. Jessica’s mother handed her a credit card.

“If you want, you can even get drinks,” her mother offered. “But no snacks! You all already ate.”

“Thanks mom!” Jessica and Emily said in unison. The three younger girls took off with enthusiasm, and Jessica rolled her eyes.

Promising to call once the movie had ended, Jessica was ready to follow the others. It startled her to see that JR had waited for her. He stood tall and handsomely, with his hands buried in his pockets, his sharp gaze on Jessica.

“Let’s go,” Jessica stuttered, waving her arm in the direction the other girls had wandered off to. JR nodded and started walking beside Jessica.

His presence was slightly unnerving, to say the least. It was as if he hovered close to her side, unable to leave. All through the next several hours, Jessica couldn’t shake the feeling that JR was acting...odd. He stuck to her side as closely as he could, through the line for tickets, the concession stand for snacks and drinks, and into the movie theater room.

"Is something wrong?" Jessica whispered to the boy.

JR watched the subtlest ways Jessica moved; the way she turned to him, or crouched inward. His eyes caught hers, and he could see the confusion and worry swimming in her pretty blues.

Why WAS JR acting like this? He barely knew the girl...but she was the first person he had met when he suddenly stumbled into this foreign country. Literally.

A bond had grown in his heart before he even realized it. There was a primal fear buried deep inside him; JR felt that if he left Jessica's side, she would somehow disappear. But he couldn't reveal this to the girl. It would be too embarrassing.

JR only shook his head in reply to Jessica's question, grinning in reassurance. She eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing as the group found seats and settled for the movie. JR made sure to sit next to Jessica, and was glad he did when the theater started to flood with people.

It wasn't long until the theater was nearly packed. JR glanced around in awe as people came as they pleased, taking seats or “saving” seats for extra members of their various parties. “Do people not reserve seats ahead of time?” JR asked Jessica.

“What? Oh, no...it’s first come first serve,” Jessica explained.

JR nodded. Then the lights dimmed dramatically and the speakers blasted at the start of the commercials. As the movie started, JR could feel eyes on him and the girls. He fidgeted in his seat with the uncomfortable feeling as someone’s staring continued.

“What’s wrong?” Jessica whispered.

“Is someone you know here?” he asked softly.

Jessica craned her head over her seat and looked through the mass of faces before shrugging. “I don’t think so...why?”

“It just...feels like...no, nothing,” JR replied, trying to ignore the feeling.

He settled in his seat, and then the movie started. All through the movie, JR couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him...watching Jessica. That thought bothered him, but he tried to fight it because the movie was so enthralling. As the last scene ended, everyone in the theater felt numb with shock.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Renae squealed in disbelief as the group exited the theater room.

She, Scarlet, and Emily disappeared into the crowd, and JR panicked slightly as he looked for Jessica. His fear instantly washed away when she patted him on the arm beside him. With a smile on her face, she asked, “Did you like the movie?”

JR nodded, replying, “I’m glad I was able to understand it, too.”

“Really? That’s good,” Jessica agreed.

The two walked through the theater and out into the main area, looking around for Jessica’s sister and their friends. “They must have gone to the bathroom,” Jessica said, not seeming worried at all.

JR nodded, calm because Jessica seemed so. But he tensed in apprehension as a couple of boys approached them. It didn’t soothe JR’s worries when Jessica tensed as well. JR grew even more worried about the situation when Jessica shifted even closer to his side and reached out her hand to his. To help her, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

“Hey Jessica,” one of the boys greeted. He was a tall boy with a heavy set. When Jessica didn’t answer him, he continued haughtily, “I thought I saw you in the theater earlier. Who’s this guy?”

JR stuffed his and Jessica’s hand in his jacket pocket. Jessica flinched at this action, but relaxed before answering the obnoxious boy’s question. “...He’s a friend.”

“Just a friend?” the boy teased, startling Jessica and earning suggestive ‘ooohs’ from the boys. The mischievous grin that had fluttered onto the boy’s face disappeared instantly as soon as Emily and the other girls showed up.

“Mom’s here,” Emily informed. She, Scarlet, and Renae paused when they realized there were a group of boys with Jessica and JR.

“Oh good. Let’s go,” JR ordered. He spun on his heel, and with Jessica’s hand still in his pocket and grip, he led the girls out of the theater quickly. He didn’t bother to look over his shoulder as he walked.

“Weren’t those guys from your grade?” Scarlet asked Jessica once they neared the loop they were dropped off in. JR pricked his ears in interest and he turned his full attention to Jessica and the other girls. Jessica nodded silently in reply, and Scarlet, Renae, and Emily scrunched up their noses in disgust.

“You knew them,” JR stated. An unhappy feeling settled in his heart when Jessica nodded solemnly.

“But I don’t really like them,” Jessica added with grimace on her face.

“NONE of us do. That one guy is SO gross and creepy,” Renae complained; JR could only assume she was referring to the one who had spoken so familiarly with Jessica.

JR nodded and looked to Jessica then. He studied the softening of her face with awe. The tightness of her hand against his loosened, but their palms still kissed as she gently squeezed his hand. “Thanks,” she said.

“For?” JR asked.

“Getting us out of there. With you there, I didn’t even have to say goodbye to those guys,” Jessica said, clearly relieved. JR shrugged, and then the group’s ride rolled up to them.

It wasn’t until the other three girls had buckled up that Jessica let go of JR’s hand. She shied away from him, a bright red staining her cheeks. JR chuckled nervously as he felt his face heat up as well. He hopped into the front seat, but immediately turned to watch Jessica slide into her seat and buckle her seatbelt.

When her big, blue eyes met JR’s, her eyelashes fluttered quickly and she glanced away quickly. JR smiled self-consciously before grudgingly sitting correctly and snapping himself in with his own seatbelt.

What’s with me? Why am I acting like this? JR wondered. The only answer to his unspoken question was the hammering in his heart as he thought about holding Jessica’s hand in his.