***I am now officially of the opinion that every author needs a book they can update whenever they want and not have a huge plan for (of course, over the past few days I've developed a big plot for this, but whatever). This book is what I throw myself at when I'm fed up with homework/regular work or when I just need a break.

Also, I've created a Youtube channel with the playlists for my books - I don't know if there's any interest in that, but I thought I'd let you know it exists <3

Also, this book is ranked 10 in "whyamIwritingthis", and I don't know whether I should be proud or not. It's kind of sad, yet kind of amusing.***

***(Nya's POV)***

Jay runs a hand through his hair. "It's...not the authorities. It's my parents."

"Your parents?" I frown. "I...should probably leave." The less people who know me, the better.

"No, no, no," he rushes to say. "It's okay, Nya. Um, I'll just see what they're here for, and then I'm sure they'll be on their way."

"I don't want to get in the way of their visit." I collect myself off the sofa.

"Oh, no! Please don't go." His voice is...pleading.

I furrow my forehead. Why does he sound so desperate? Does he want me to confess my wrongs that badly? But this is starting to seem less and less like an interrogation, and more and more like...like spending time with a friend. If he's trying to squeeze information out of me, he's being really smooth about it.

"Just...let me see what my parents are here for, okay? Don't go anywhere." He shoots me a sheepish smile, then opens the door.

"Jay!" exclaims an older woman's voice. "Are you ready to go, honey?" She steps inside, wrapping him in a huge hug.

"Ready to go...where?" he asks, gingerly hugging her back.

"On our haunted house sightseeing trip, of course," his father replies, stepping inside. He looks just as old as Jay's mom, if not a little older. They're both probably in their sixties.

"'Haunted house sightseeing'?" Jay laughs nervously. "I...had thought that trip was planned for later this month. I, uh, am a little occupied today."

"Oh, nonsense," his mother waves him off. She bustles past him into the kitchenette.

Jay chases after her. "Uh, mom, I kind of have company right now, so maybe we could reschedule?"

"Company?" she frowns. She looks around, then beams with delight when she sees me.

Oh, dear. I should've left while I still could.

"Jay, honey, is this your girlfriend you've been telling us about?" she gasps.

Girlfriend? Jay has a...girlfriend?

Why does that disappoint me?

"Oh, um..." Jay crosses the room to where I am. "Yes?" he smiles awkwardly.

Wait.

I'm not Jay's girlfriend.

"Listen," he goes on, "Nya here forgot, um, something in her car outside. We're going to – um – going to go grab that something really quick, okay? Mom, dad...just make yourselves comfortable."

"Thanks, honey." His mother approaches him, pinching his cheek, and he turns bright red.

Then, she turns to me and...engulfs me in one of those giant hugs she gave Jay earlier.

And I feel so warm, so tightly held, so appreciated...I can't even speak. I just swallow hard and pat her back.

"Jay's told us all about you," she gushes. "Ed and I feel like we already know you! Don't we, Ed?"

He looks over from the fridge. "Oh, um, yep, we sure do. We're glad to finally meet you. Jay's a good catch, eh?"

I bite my lip to keep from laughing at Jay. If it were physically possible to die from embarrassment, he'd be six feet underground.

"Yep, he's a catch," I reply. I mean, what else am I supposed to say?

Jay coughs. "Nya, let's go grab that thing from the car, okay?"

"Oh, yes. That very important thing." I raise an eyebrow at him.

"That's the one," he smiles, tugging me outside by the hand. "We'll be back in a few minutes!"

"Don't be gone long!" Edna calls.

Jay closes the door behind us and sags with relief.

I clear my throat. "Um...what was that all about?"

"Uh, well, you see..." He scratches the back of his head. "My mom and dad...sort of...think I have a girlfriend, when I...don't."

So...he's single?

"Why do they think you're in a relationship?" I ask.

"Well...because I didn't want to disappoint them, you know? And I haven't gone steady with anyone in two and a half years – I haven't even gone on more than three dates since then – so of course, my parents have been asking questions. So I sort of fibbed a few months ago and told them I was dating someone. Um...seriously dating someone. Like, courtship, dating someone – the end goal being marriage."

I blink. "That...is a pretty big lie to tell, Jay. I mean, marriage is a huge step in a relationship, and what happens when your parents start asking questions about when the wedding is? Or when she can have dinner with them? There won't be anyone."

"Yeah, you're right." He shakes his head.

"So...why do I need to know all this?"

"Um...well, because the girl they think I'm dating – the one who is in no way real or based on a real-life person – is...a lot like you. And I was wondering if...just until my parents leave...you would maybe, um, play along? Obviously, you would just keep up the lie. Nothing weird involved." He blushes.

"You want me to tell your parents we're dating?"

"Well, not necessarily, but I want you to play along with that idea. I'm sure I can get them to leave us alone pretty soon. I...just really don't want the truth to come out."

"It's going to come out at some point, you know. I mean, it's not like we're actually dating, and when your parents never see me again, they're going to ask questions." Pure and simple.

Jay cringes. "Don't make it sound like there's no chance we'll ever meet again. I, um...I don't like the sound of that."

"It's true."

"I don't want it to be." He brushes a hand through his curly auburn locks. "Just...can you please do this for me? For a few hours, until my parents decide to give up and go away? After one or two haunted houses, I'm sure they'll be done with us. I'm not big on scary stuff, so I can't take more than a few spooks at once."

I furrow my forehead. "You're a criminal justice major, but you get scared easily?"

"I have my reasons for what I do."

"Okay." I'm not going to press him if he doesn't want to elaborate.

But...do I really want to go with his family on this haunted house trip?

You know, I didn't really intend to do anything today. And Edna hugged me so tightly, it felt like I mattered for the first time in a while. And Jay's been pretty nice so far – I get the feeling that he might just be a kind person rather than an answer-seeking cop.

"So...what do you say?" Jay asks anxiously.

I debate for only a moment, then relent. "I think visiting some spooky houses doesn't sound so bad." I haven't done anything like that in a while.

He beams, twining his fingers with mine and pressing my hands to his chest. "Oh, my goodness! Thank you so, so much. You won't regret this, Nya. Just play along with whatever imaginary girlfriend they've constructed, okay?"

"Okay. Um...Jay, what all have you told your parents about this imaginary girlfriend? Just so I know what I'm up against."

"Oh. Uh, I think you'll do fine if you just be yourself. I told them we met at the coffee shop while I was working one day and that we just got to talking from there."

"That part's actually true."

"You'd be surprised." He chuckles nervously, then he opens the door and shows me back inside.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Jay's father asks, munching on a PB&J sandwich he's made himself.

"Yep," Jay answers. "Um, so...you guys ready to go?" I can tell he's trying to rush his parents out of here.

"Oh, not quite, honey," Edna smiles. "I was just thinking, you know, what a shame it is to miss Couple's Bingo at church tonight. And I was wondering if we could maybe drop by there and play a few rounds? We'd have to cut out a few spooks, but I do love bingo."

I bite my lip on a laugh. Couple's Bingo? What even is that?

"You even have a partner to play with, son," Ed points out.

Jay laughs. "Oh, I don't know, dad. Nya isn't a huge bingo fan."

Edna pipes up. "She'd like Couple's Bingo, though! You win based on how well you know your partner! And you get to raid the leftover stale doughnuts from last week. Plus, I think Mrs. Beachy from the quilting committee said she was bringing apple cider!" She becomes more animated as she speaks, and my heart pangs.

I'd really hate to disappoint her.

Plus, if I see how Jay interacts with his family in an unfamiliar setting, I can find out the real reason why he wanted to sit down and have coffee with me today. If this is just a ploy to learn all my secrets, I'll know I need to run as fast as I can.

I tug on Jay's hand, which he hasn't let go of since he took it earlier. He glances down at me as I squeeze his fingers.

"I think Couple's Bingo sounds fun, don't you?" I ask, smiling prettily.

He cringes. "I don't know, babe. I mean, you're not much into multi-player games." He widens his eyes, trying to communicate that I need to disagree with his mom's idea.

But I'm still stuck on the part where he called me 'babe'. I guess we're allowed to use forms of endearment for each other?

"Sweetie," I say, batting my eyelashes, "I'd really like to go."

He blinks, blushing bright red. "I...I...don't...think...that going is a...terrible idea." He gives his mother a cautious look.

She beams. "It's all settled, then. Couple's Bingo, here we come!"

***So Couple's Bingo is canon, yes?***