The Auction

Tres: Hell

What the hell just happened? One second I'm looking at the floor thinking about wanting this stupid auction to be over and reminding myself repeatedly that this is for a good cause, and the next thing I know I'm hearing, "Ella Ballinger sold to Marko DiMaggio for two hundred dollars!"

I looked up with my eyebrows pulled together in confusion only to be met with the deepest brown eyes I have ever seen.

Who the hell is Marko DiMaggio? His name sounded important. Why would he buy 20 dollars worth of fair tickets for two hundred dollars?! I know Jay told him to help me out, but was it necessary to spend that much? Was he some rich and arrogant guy? He probably just wanted to show off that he has money.

Why do I even care? I should just be happy that this will soon be over. I will give him his tickets and probably never see him again.

That doesn't stop me from being curious about him though. It's hard not to be when he's staring at me with amusement in his eyes and with that perfectly breathtaking smile of his. He seems like a mystery, and he intrigues me. A lot.

Suddenly, I was being poked on my arm by Jenna who was standing behind me. I realized that it was time to get off stage and go meet with this Marko guy to hand him the tickets he bought. Might as well get this over with.

I spotted Marko standing in the same place as when I was on stage. He was in the first row where Jay had previously been.

Marko was watching me as I was walking toward him. When I reached him, I smiled politely and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Ella."

"Hey, I'm Marko." He smiled. It's hard to believe, but his smile was even more beautiful up close. And his voice was deep and pleasant to the ear. I don't care, I'll admit it.

"Nice to meet you." I said still smiling to keep things cool.

"Likewise."

"Thanks for coming and helping out the cause, by the way."

"Yeah, it was nothing." I almost burst out laughing in his face. It was nothing? The guy just spent two hundred dollars on tickets to the fair!

"Well, it was nice of you to bid that high. You must really like the fair. Speaking of which, here," I said handing over the envelope with the two tickets.

He took the envelope and said, "thanks. And yeah, the fair sounds cool."

"Well, enjoy!" I said enthusiastically. Feeling like the conversation was over, I started to walk away and waved goodbye.

"Wait!" Marko said, making me turn around to face him. "Yeah?"

"We should exchange numbers to set up a time for our date."

"W-What?" I asked dumbly.

"You owe me the second part of what I paid for; a date."

"I don't want to go on a date with you. I don't even know you." I answered bluntly.

"That's what dates are for. To get to know each other."

"B-But Jay said you knew I didn't agree to the date part of the deal. He said you'd help me out." I said, trying to remain calm.

"I changed my mind."

"That's not fair," I said still trying to keep my cool and hide the anger that was rising inside me.

"Life isn't fair." Considering what's happening to me right now, it damn well isn't fair. This guy is starting to annoy me. I can't believe a minute ago I thought he was intriguing and mysterious. I let out a small chuckle.