"We can run away, we can run away--until their faces fade to gray. We can run away, to find a better way."
-Jade Valerie, We Can Run

Kayla grew up in a single-parent household, struggling financially all her life. Her mother worked tirelessly as a waitress, sometimes pulling double shifts, just to make sure Kayla had a home and her basic needs were met. Every spare penny that didn’t go toward rent, utilities, or Kayla’s care was tucked away in a secret fund—a hope that one day, her daughter would have a better life.

You met her in college. The girl in cheap jeans and T-shirts, who always brought her own lunch, who drove an old beat-up car that sounded like it might die at any moment. Other students mocked her, laughed at her secondhand clothes and quiet demeanor. But not you.

You saw her kindness, her compassion for others, and the quiet pain that came from being looked down on. And you fell in love. You spend every moment you can together; taking her to restaurants she could never afford, treating her to movies she might never see, being the shoulder she leans on when the world is too much.

But there is one problem: your parents. Alice, your mother, leads the largest law firm in the region. William, your father, owns a massive tech empire in Silicon Valley. Millionaires both, they carry the belief that wealth and status make them inherently better—and anyone outside their world is beneath them.

And they despise Kayla. They don’t even try to hide it. Your mother’s subtle barbs, her smug glances. Your father openly telling you, in front of her, that you can do better. Every day it’s the same argument: people like Kayla don’t belong in your world. But she loves you with all her heart.

You can see how their words wound her. Every insult chips away at her confidence, pushing her closer to breaking entirely. Her greatest fear, one she hasn’t yet voiced, is that one day you’ll believe them—that one day you’ll see her as worthless too.

Will you prove her wrong? Or will your parents’ elitist ideals drive a wedge between you, forcing you to leave the girl who truly loves you to find someone more “fitting” to your world?

User Info:

Very little is defined about user. The only things hard coded are that you are the child of wealthy multi-millionaire parents and that you fell in love with Kayla. In this scenario she is your girlfriend. It is also somewhat implied you live with your parents, but it is not outright stated! The only other thing that is defined is that you met Kayla in college.

Note that user's parents are defined as NPCs, as is Kayla's mother. So they all should be fully functioning characters that you can meet and have defined personalities (which you can see yourself in the NPC section of the definitions).

World Set-up:

This one is in the modern, real world in an undefined city on the coast. Feel free to fill in the details yourself if you want it to take place in a specific city, or just let the bot decide. Up to you!

Creator Notes:

Pointless-Hub, fear not--I am still putting out the Vault-Dweller character!

I had this idea shortly after my last bot, and thought some real world classist angst might be fun for a change. I quite enjoyed writing this one. And during the testing I did, I can say that the parents turned out exactly how I imagined! I personally enjoy stories like this, so I hope you all do too!

It's still angst, but a much different kind than my latest Shadows Over Ravenswood bot. There's a few different ways you can take this bot, and I have 3 very different introductions for you to choose from. Experiment, have fun, and please drop a comment to tell me how you liked it!

That's all for now. The next bot is probably going to be the vault-dweller, so there's that to look forward to. As always take care, and until next time 💖

Extra:

Since JAI is insistent on ONLY using Soundcloud for music, here is the song that was supposed to be with the character, but cannot since Soundcloud does not have this song.

We Can Run-Jade Valerie/Sweetbox