ISABELLE.
It was a task getting all the icing sugar in my hair and lashes out, eventually, I ended up washing my entire hair, wetting my shirt and the upper part of my jeans so Jessie had to go look for fresh clothes for me. By the time she arrived she deposited them literally and ran to her next class, leaving me by myself with my thoughts in the ladies toilet. Luckily for me, she had a dress in her car, it was a white short dress that stopped a few inches above my knees. It was covered in flowers, pink flowers and although I hated styles like this for my looks and frame it was perfect for me. Maybe this was why my aunt always insisted on this type of outfit in my past life. Especially when I was to meet my future husband, a reflexive shiver ran up and down my spine as the thought came back to mind, shrugging it away from me, my resolve to not end up the way I did in my past life strengthened. I wasn't reborn to end up a fool again.
Packing my hair into a wet messy bun on top of my head, stubborn strands hung limply down framing my face but there was no time to spare. Being as prone to cold as I was, it was dangerous to nurse wet hair for this long without falling ill. I was headed to a salon. After one last look at the mirror I exited the bathroom only to meet the girl I saved just earlier, she looked as if she had been waiting for a while. Feeling secretly happy in my heart for doing a good deed and getting thanked for it made me feel such contentment I never felt before.
"You don't need to tha-" my words were cut short by the searing pain to my left cheek. For a few moments I did not move, several things ran through my mind at first. Why the hell do I feel the urge to cry? Why does it hurt so much? How does such a small girl pack such a powerful punch? Why the hell did she slap me? With daggers flying out my eyes at her, I had to ask, "why the hell did you slap me?"
"How dare you interfere?!" She screamed, "you didn't have the right, what right do you have to look down on me? Oh she must be pitiful, pitiful Betty made cakes for Xavier, and she can't handle the consequences, that's what you thought right?" She spat, her voice breaking at intervals. With my palm nursing my smarting cheek I stared wide-eyed at her.
"He is a jerk but I still like him, do you think I didn't know that would happen? If only it was that easy to just forget my feelings and stand up to him as you did, do I look like a pushover?" She continued, "I gave him those cakes because I wanted to, regardless of the consequences and you had to butt in, now I'm the pitiful girl that can't stand up for herself. I was the one that stayed up all night baking those cupcakes yet his eyes were only looking at you!" She screamed in frustration.
As I watched her walk away one thought remained in my head, at the end of the day, not everybody can be a hero. I guess I messed up again, only thinking about myself.
"That ungrateful bitch" a familiar snicker brought me out of my wallowing and drew my attention, causing me to turn around. My heart skipped a beat and my breathing hitch as my gaze swept over his more than handsome features and the way his hair sat on top of his head in wet tendrils, the way they framed his face seemed even sexier than mine did.
"How does it feel to be treated like that after what you just did for her?" He asked bluntly, with an indecipherable expression sitting on his face. What is this? I can't tell what he is thinking, so I am even unsure of the answer to give to his question.
Folding my arms my eyes narrow as I focus my gaze towards him. "I feel like shit."
"Good." That was all he said, he walked past me but it couldn't end here, not yet.
"Not because she slapped me or because she yelled at me, and she was not an ungrateful bitch. She was honest, more honest than I" I said with my back to him, so I had no idea if I was talking to myself or if he actually stopped walking. The answer wasn't far along, it came along with his words.
"What are you trying to imply?" He asked, turning around I met his eyes. I was extremely nervous, Of course, I was he was a person I liked but wouldn't the forces or whatever that provided me a second chance deliberately just cause a car to end my life again if I remained the stupid, naive, and foolishly immature girl I was before. There was no room for second-guessing, besides I am more mature now.
"I didn't only save no, protect her from you because she was in need of it."
He stepped forward, completely turning to face me, tilting his head forward he pocketed his hands and pursed his lips. Kill me!
"Then why did you do it?" He asked.
"Because protecting her were my own cupcakes to you, and unlike her mine have been baking for more than a lifetime." My response was curt, direct, and simple. But my heart was nothing like my words, did I always possess this skill? To keep a poker face withstanding the turmoil inside? Or was this an upgrade that came with being reborn, if not why the hell didn't I discover this in my past life?
He scoffed, but I couldn't tell what that meant yet again, was he amused or annoyed? But before I could find out more- "achoo!" There it was, my prone cold body reacting again.
"You should have dried your hair first," he said.
Sniffling I wiped my nose and replied "I have no towel, it's not exactly an accessory that I carry around. Besides, how was I supposed to know that some jerk would slam cupcakes into my hair?"
"Tch, don't you think you're being too aggressive for someone you like?" He commented as he walked towards me.
"What? You don't like it?" I retorted, just in time because had he been as close to my body as he was right now then as tongue-tied as I was, a word, I wouldn't have been able to utter.
My head almost exploded from shock, delight, and a dopamine overload. This must be what it feels like to take cocaine, in my past life and even in this life, this was the first time Xavier ever touched me. It was just his palms enveloping mine but I was putty in his arms. I swear I felt it, the sparks it was surreal and I couldn't believe what was happening. As though that wasn't enough his index finger on my chin lifted my head up so that my eyes met his.
"Don't act so surprised, isn't this what you wanted?" He asked, unable to speak I could only follow as he pulled me along.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked as I let him guide me out the hallway and out of the building
"Where you were planning on going all along" he replied. "The salon."