Whimsical Perfection

15. Misunderstanding

"What's in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other word,
Would smell as sweet."
           —Juliet, Romeo & Juliet

~♤ ▪︎ ♤ ▪︎ ♤~

Isaac was such a bastard, going around flirting and bedding girls while he already had a girlfriend. Though, she wasn't the kind of girl someone could stand for long, she still had the right to a loyal boyfriend. And then, I was immediately reminded of what happened two days earlier, and I struggled to find my sense of morality.

Did she really deserve honesty? Even now, she was announcing her boyfriend's name to me as if to say that I should back off from her man, when I haven't even met him in her eyes. Let's wait for what happens when she finds out who I really am.

I was only planning on giving her the perfect answer when everyone's attention drew towards the entrance to the massive living room. In the midst of all the heads, I could see a man dressed in a black tux walk through, his light hair clicking in my mind immediately like a piece of puzzle clicks into place. He barely spared anyone a glance, and walked straight towards us, maybe to greet the stars of tonight.

But as soon as I saw him, a great plan formulated in my mind. It would be a bit embarrassing for me afterwards, but it would all be worth it if I could shove it in this woman's face, the fact that I was already close to her man.

As soon as he came closer to us, his eyes found mine, and instant surprise registered in them. He must have not expected me. Shit. This makes it even more embarrassing. But I reminded myself of my purpose and smiled tightly at him which seemed to surprise him even more. His eyebrows shot to the roof at my gesture and his expression grew more stiff than ever. He must think I was messing with him.

"Isaac, it's been a while! How are you doing?" I ask him while mustering up the most pleasant expression on my face.

It was pure torture to smile at a man I've hated for weeks now, and the ridiculousness of the situation slowly started to seep into me as I cursed myself more and more for this stupid plan.

Hearing my words, both Aaliyah and Naomi seemed shocked. My friend, because she never expected me to be friendly with Isaac, and the other woman, because she had conveniently assumed that a loser like me could never know a man like him.

Isaac was a smart man, and thus, even when he was startled and bemused, he managed to play along with me. "Scarlett! What a surprise indeed. I hadn't thought I would get to meet you here again."

He played his part with such excellence, that I knew there and then, why he was the leading actors in theater. The man had sublime acting skills, and when he smiled at me, I could hear all the women, age undefined, swoon in a second. I might have been carried away by his pleasant demeanor and swoon-worthy smile too, had I not known the monster which resides within him.

My hand, which was in his, started feeling clammy in his hold, and I wanted to lose all contact with this piece of temptation, but he didn't let go. And what he did next, surprised not only the others, but me too. He brought my hand to his lips, and gave it a feather light kiss.

Aaliyah instantly gasped, so did Naomi. But I was too lost to even realize that this was supposed to be a game. His lips were still lingering on my hand, and only he had the ability to turn such an innocent kiss into a portal for temptation, lust and everything immoral. The way his eyes crinkled and his thick lips stretched into a sexy smile almost rendered me unconscious. I had never known this man was such an alluring man. He was a rare catch indeed.

Thank God I still had some of my mind left with me, which helped me to get back to my senses and remove my hand from his. I averted my eyes from his burning stare, and turned to Naomi with a small smirk on my face.

It was time to show her who was the boss.

I put my best game face on and extended my hand towards her, "Its so nice to meet you, Miss Taylor. I'm Scarlett Lockewood, a playwright and director."

She gasped for the millionth time that evening, when she heard me say those words. It almost made me smile widely, but I controlled myself. Couldn't let anyone know the reason for doing all this. After a brief but soulless handshake, she got a call, and had to leave the scene. Once she was gone, Aaliyah pulled me away from all those people and took me to a corner of the room.

"What the fuck just happened there, Scar? Why were you so hell bent on telling that girl that you knew Isaac? Do you even know how devilish she is?" She threw a volley of questions at me without even taking a breath.

"I know. I know exactly how devilish she is, but that's exactly why I did it. Because she needs to know that she can just step on me like that." I told her with conviction in my voice.

Maybe it was because I wanted to tell that to my brain, but this only made her even more at a loss. She tilted her head at me and asked me,

"Do you.... know her from before?"

"Two days ago, that breakdown on the street, was all her doing." I told her, and then proceeded to tell her everything, from the spilling of coffee and the things she said to me.

They were still so deeply imprinted on my mind that I couldn't erase them even when I wanted to do so. It was like reopening an old wound every time I heard something similar, but there was nothing I could do. As people looked down on me for my imperfections and moved on with their life, they didn't realize that they mad living that much harder for me. For them, it was just a moment of discomfort and fun, but for me, it would leave a wound on my heart which will not be healed till the day I die.

When I tuned into the words of the rambling machine that was Aaliyah again, she was still going on and on cursing Naomi and saying what not about her. So, I had to shake her up to tell her to stop.

"But Scar," She told me suddenly. "Did you act this way because you thought Isaac was her boyfriend?"

"Yeah. She said so herself. Why?" I was the confused one now. Did I do something wrong?

"Dear, Isaac does not have a girlfriend. Especially, if it's Naomi."

~♤ ▪︎ ♤ ▪︎ ♤~