FIXING MR PERFECT

CHAPTER SEVEN

   "Breakfast's ready!" Mrs Ross called out in a sing song voice,easing the tension in the air. She looked at the both of us briefly.
   "Am I interrupting something?"
    "Of course not". Marcus cleared out,giving me a wicked scowl.
     Mrs Ross looked at me with a lingering knowing gaze before arranging the plates on the dinning table and willing the two of us to sit down. I tried my possible best to avoid talking to Marcus or looking straight at him in the eye but it seemed like luck wasn't just in my side today. Each time we made eye contact, his eyes seemed to be taunting me in mockery. I could sense he was trying to prove I was falling for him and I wasn't just gonna sit down and let him win.
     Even if I was gonna fall for him,which I strongly doubted,he was gonna do so first.
    "So Amanda, tell me about yourself." Mrs Ross suggested suddenly, knocking me out of my momentary thoughts.
     I turned to face her,careful not to look at Marcus who was watching my every move. "What would you like to know?"
     She set her cup on the table and thought briefly. "Anything you feel like sharing with us."
     The word "us" sounded so not right for the moment.
     I cleared my throat noisily, noting from the corner of my eye that Marcus looked irritated. At least it got the expected effect on him.
    "Well,I'm the type of person you'd refer to as having a shaky personality. At times, I can be sweet and other times,I can turn into a cold blooded savage beast."
     "You wish". Marcus muttered beside me. I didn't miss the scoff clearly written over his face.
    "You mean like a vampire?" Mrs Ross chirped in with a gleam in her eyes.
    "Yeah,that works too." I gulped the remaining contents of coffee in the cup before setting it on the table.
    "One time in grade four,I ripped my friend's clothe apart with a pair of scissors when she disarmed Dr. Ted."
    "Who?"
    "Dr.Ted. That's the name I call my teddy bear."
    "How mature". Marcus muttered under his breath,loud enough for me to hear it.
     I ignored his remark and continued talking." You should have seen the horrified look on her face".
     Mrs Ross burst into a round of laughter and I joined too. Marcus was the only one not laughing. Of course I didn't even expect him to. Ugh! Such a bummer.
    "There was also a time when I wasn't invited to my friend's party. Most people at school got invitation cards,including the uncool kids but me. So I sabotaged the party. I put some pepper in the fruit punch, frightened the clown who was afraid if mice,tripped the woman carrying the large princess cake to the high table and put glue on all the chairs while in disguise".
     Mrs Ross put a hand across her chest and wagged a finger at me. "Bad kitty".
    "I felt really bad after that because I realised I actually got invited to the party. I just forgot to open the envelope".
    "Did your friend take it easy on you?"
     I shook my head. "Unfortunately, I got grounded for a whole two weeks after her parents told mine of what happened".
    "That was so thoughtful of them". Marcus said in a baritone. He had been silent for a while now that I'd forgotten he was at the table.
     Mrs Ross gave him a stare. "Weren't you worse?Remember what happened between you and David?"
     Hmmm,juicy. Finally something personal about Marcus.
    "You promised you'd never speak of it". He reminded her with beseeching eyes. If he was so desperate to keep it a secret,it made everything a whole lot juicy.
    "Did I? Or did you cajole me into keeping it hidden?" She asked sarcastically then turned to face me like I'd expected.
    "Promise me that whatever I tell you stays a secret between us".
     I put a hand across my chest, raising my hand high up in the air in salute. "I promise".
    "Good".
    "Mom don't do this. She's a stranger".
    "It's not so bad son. After all she has said about herself,we must give her feedback".
    "Can't you tell her about your work or your high school life back then?"
     She simply turned to me, ignoring his protests. "Anyway,in grade seven,Marcus was not who he is now?" He was always so kind and kept a smiling face".
     I looked surprised. "What then turned him into Captain Cold?"
     "I'm right here". Marcus said in between fake coughs.
    "It all began when he had his first crush Mandy. He liked Mandy so much that he even made matching bracelets with the inscription "M*M" on it".
    "Wow so cute". I cooed softly. "I wish I had one too.
    "Anyway his love for her lasted until his best friend Kevin stole her away from him".
    "How?"
    "I don't know but he came one morning and caught the both of  them laughing at the numerous love letters he had written to her. They made him the laughing stock of the school and even went to the point of posting it on the school's web".
    "Ouch. Been there!"
     Marcus rolled his eyes. "Sure you have".
    "He got a girlfriend later on and got dumped on the night of their second date".
     Marcus raised his head up slowly and met my gaze."Now that you know, you think I'm messed up right? You'll probably tell everyone at school like the others".
     Of course what was I expecting? Marcus would always be Marcus and that wasn't positive in any way. It wasn't like he could just wake up one morning and trust me like a normal thinking human would.
    "I would never do such a thing Marcus. I promised to keep this a secret and I'm not about to break that promise".
    "See?" Mrs Ross said softly to him. "You've got yourself a pretty young lady. She's a keeper".
     I lowered my gaze sheepishly. Was it just me or did this place get hotter?
    "Thank you for the breakfast Mrs Ross". I complimented,opting to break the awkward silence. She smiled warmly at me before packing up the dishes. Being the well trained child that I was,I joined her,never missing the fact that Marcus' gaze was on me.
     Mrs Ross angled her head sideways as she looked at her gold wristwatch.
    "I'll soon be late for work". She exclaimed,skeptically. It was just 7:40 am.
     She placed a kiss on Marcus' forehead,hugged me briefly and slung her hand bag professionally over her shoulder.
     "Have fun you two". She hollered before leaving. What was her definition of fun anyway?
     The house suddenly felt small and too silent that it could even pass for a cemetery. I could literally hear my own heart beat.
    "Don't look so frightened,I don't have claws". Marcus added cheekily,with a smirk splayed on his lips. "But I do have fangs".
   "If you were a vampire you'd have sucked my blood the first day you met me".
    "Some vampires are quite picky when it comes to their choice of meal".
     Were we really doing this? Arguing about silly things like vampires? No offence Edward Cullen.
     I glanced outside,watching his mother's car leave the pavement. I realized we were truly alone,trying to mask my nervousness. What's the worst that could possibly happen?
    "Was what you said to my mother true?"
    "Of course, would I lie to her?" I asked in disbelief. "Considering the number of times you've been dumped,I assume you think every girl you come across is a liar".
     He fell silent,considering whether to kill me or not,I guess. I watched his expressionless face,noticing his lips twitch in anger. Oh no! I'd triggered a point.
    "Considering the fact that you've never been on a date before or even had a boyfriend, I assume you know nothing about guys!" He shot back.
     Cue the "oooooh's" from the background. Oh it was so on!
     I folded my arm across my chest, visibly embarrassed. What did he take me for? An inexperienced little girl?
    "For your information,I've been on lots of dates and I've had tons of boyfriends!"
    "Really?" He said with mock surprise evident in his voice. What a jerk! "Name five".
     Was he serious? "What I do with my personal life is none of your snoopy business". Score for me right?
     "Sheesh! You're really frustrating". He mumbled,loud enough for me to hear. "Girls don't talk back at me".
     Here we go again! I huffed and pointed a finger at his chest. His eyes grew wide in amusement,making me see every fleck of green in them.
    "Get this straight Mr. Perfect". I teased. We were standing so close to each other,I could perceive the scent of his male cologne perfume hovering about him like a veil.
     "I'm not just any girl. I deserve some respect and please - try to keep up,I'm not a fan".
     He wore a surprised expression this time and whacked my hand away from his chest. Oops,now it was my turn to do the listening. Marcus started walking towards me and I backed away slowly,trying to escape his fury. My back suddenly hit the wall and I realized I was trapped. Well,that went well. He tilted his head sideways,regarding me closely.
     I closed my eyes when he brought his face dangerously close to mine. My anxiety was shooting up the roof! What was he trying to do? For a moment,nothing happened to my face. I cracked one eye open,then the next. Marcus towered above me with a smile dancing on his cherry pink lips. I had never noticed how pink and full they were till now,but that wasn't the point.
    "What's that I see Amanda?" He asked in a slow mesmerizing drawl. "Is that - nervousness?"
    "I don't know what you're talking about". I denied outrightly, trying to escape. He placed his two hands on the wall,blocking my way. Now I was unmistakably trapped. My heart was literally begging to pop out.
    "I'd like to go home now Marcus". Lame as the excuse sounded, I couldn't think of anything else but running home to the comfort of my room.
     He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Normally,girls would jump at the opportunity to be alone with me".
     I huffed, super loud. "Do I have to remind you that I'm not like other girls?" It was hard to reassure myself again,not when his minty breath was continually fanning my face.
     His eye lingered on my face,slid over to my clothes and then back to my eyes. "So you're saying if you got the chance to kiss me you wouldn't?"
     I froze. My mind went blank for a millisecond. What was he really up to?
    "No,I wouldn't".
      Something flashed in his eyes before he straightened like nothing happened. "Fine. I wouldn't have let you kiss me either".
     Never said I wanted to,I thought with a snort.
    "You wanted to go home a while ago". Marcus reminded me,jutting his chin towards the door. "Get out".
    "Are you for real?" I demanded horrifically. Was this about what I said about not wanting to kiss him if I got the chance? Certainly not! He couldn't care less about someone like me.
    "You heard me and for the record,I really hate you". He blurted out without even bothering to at least,remove the word really.
     Hate,was such a strong word.