~rage's POV~
Once again, his expression totally vaporized. It completely vanished leaving no traces of ever existing. He didn't even give me up to a second to read him. He just closed up like the Venus fly trap he was. He dipped his hands into his pockets and left without saying another word. I only sighed knowing her used to him doing that I was.
~smile's POV~
I woke up the next morning with the Friday special – absolutely fucked hair. I knitted my brows at my own reflection. So much sleeping in can do to a girl. I grabbed the one and only weapon I could use to tame this wild beast on my head; a brush. Well, so much for the 'one and only'. My hair was rebelling against the brush as it neither corresponded nor cooperated with it. Of course it chose a Bright Friday morning to be just-fucked. I sighed with frustration leaving the brush to dangle in my hair.
Just-fucked hair actually suits you. But if you still want it to cooperate, get it wet.
Lucky suggested.
I just had to take advice from the gorgeous guy with absolutely flawless hair. I abandoned the brush on the dresser and got into the shower. I ran my fingers through my hair, prepping it for taming. Then with shampoo foaming in my hands I started cleansing my hair. Next, it was conditioner's turn so I squirted some of it into my hands and started massaging my scalp. They did their magic; my hair was shinier and a lot silkier and softer.
If you're anything like me, your hunger for wetness doesn't end in the shower. I tip-toed over to the bathtub and filled it with hot water. I squirted in some lavender scented bath soap and watched the tiny bubbles settle at the sides of the tub. I got in and succumbed to the heavenly feeling of being in a practical hot-tub. The bubbles weren't overdone so the water was still a bit clear. I submerged myself in the water for about 10 seconds, leaving my hair to float like brown sea weed. I rose up – eyes closed – and rested my head on the edge of the tub. I was going to be home the whole day so I had a few more minutes to be in here, therefore, I drifted into my very own Atlantic Atlantis. There was a knock on the door a few minutes after and being an only females' family; me, my mom and my baby sister, I was used to saying…
'Come in'
I never would have expected in a hundred years to see the person who walked in after that. I just couldn't believe it. It was..….Lucky. The fuck was he doing here?!
'W-what are you doing here?' I asked but he didn't answer. He came closer instead and I shrunk inwardly. 'Holy shit' I cursed in my head. He walked over to me and was directly hovering over me when I realized him being here wasn't the real deal. It was me being in the freaking bathtub.....naked that was!! I sank deeper covering my almost disclosed breasts in the available bubbles. Fortunately, the water wasn't so clear anymore. The corner of his lips went up in the most mischievous yet sexy smirk I had ever seen, even though his eyes said he was very displeased with what I did. He crouched down, bringing his face oddly close to mine. I squirmed and shut my eyes, praying I'll shut him out too…..praying he wouldn't dip his hands into the tub. He didn't...…he didn't do anything. There was an unusual length of silence so I was forced to open my eyes. My gaze met another surprise and my eyes formed circles at it. My lips involuntarily parted and I was just gaping in awe at the beauty that replaced an equal beauty.
'L-Levi?' I barely whispered and of course, he remained quiet.
WHAT THE FUCK WAS GOING ON?!!
His hair was once again covering his face, and his mystical eyes. He was using the exact same outfit theme; sexy-black, which sent a bubbly feeling to the deepest, darkest part of my body – it honestly had nothing to do with the bubbles on my belly.
He wasn't exactly looking into the tub, he was looking deeply into my eyes. I felt so uncomfortable and extra vulnerable this time. When he reached his hand out to touch me, I gasped unconsciously again. His hands were mostly always in his pockets so I never really had a good look at them. His hands were beautiful - like the rest of him - but I still felt uneasy about them. They seemed so warm and tender yet so rugged and rigid. As if they had done unspeakable things. He took a strand of my damp hair and fiddled with it. His movements were slow and delicate but there was something dangerous about them. He lifted his gaze from my hair back to my eyes and finally spoke up…
'You need to stay away from me, Smile...I'm not good for you' he paused. 'I'm bad, bad blood' he continued with so much warning in his voice I was sure he wasn't kidding.
'Bad blood' I reflected in my head. Blood reminded me a lot about a certain creature he seemed fit to be. A vampire. I mean, he was hot as hell, he gave me mystical danger vibes, plus, I read somewhere that vampires had to be invited before they can actually come into your house, which was exactly the case as I told him to come in. I presumed vampires could also shape shift. That would explain why two guys had been in the bathroom with me. It was logical. It was magical. It was logical magic.
'Seriously Smile, how did you go so far? Now you think he's a vampire too' I inwardly scolded myself for thinking so immaturely.
I narrowed my gaze in an attempt to see through him. To understand what on earth he was talking about, and what he was and what he represented. Although it was obvious he didn't represent something good at all. He let go of my hair strand and just like that, faded away.
Hm...faded away.
That reminded me of another creature; Lucky. Oh my god! It all made sense now. This was his doing. He was playing mind games so I'd stay away from Levi; he was making him look bad on purpose. That was a whole new level of jealousy, though. Still, something inside me knew that Levi's shadiness had no connections whatsoever to Lucky's jealousy. Something inside me knew they just didn't add up.
Since Atlantic's Atlantis was completely ruined, I got out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around my goose bumped body. My hair was dripping wet and my teeth were clattering. I didn't understand why I would be so chilly after coming out of a 'hot tub'. It probably had something to do with my recent encounter with the devil's doppelganger. When I walked out of the room, I was sure all that just happened was in my head. I met an oh-so triumphant looking Lucky sitting sexily on my bed.
'So did it work?' he asked innocently. He was just unbelievable.
'You're trying to scare me away from befriending Levi, aren't you?' I pointed accusingly, forgetting I was wearing nothing but a skimpy towel.
'What, no' he said with a tinge of sarcasm. 'I was actually talking about your hair, but I like where you're heading' he smiled teasingly. Oh, my hair. Crap! I really needed to start thinking before talking. 'Plus don't you mean…boyfriending him' he continued.
'No! I do not like Levi' I denied. '…I think' I continued in my head, once again forgetting he could hear my thoughts. He pressed his lips together, but not in anger or amusement. It was then I realized he wasn't even looking at my face anymore. He was looking south; at my towel. I flushed and tried to move but something was nailing me to the floor. I figured it was his gaze that was making me numb. His intense heated gaze was crawling all over me. It was pouring hot lava all the way down…there. He gritted his teeth and glanced at the flushed expression on my face, before finally vaporizing into thin air.
I owe you something. See you tonight.
He whispered in a horny tone.
I shivered in my timbers before finally moving from that spot. I got dressed in my oversize Levi's T-shirt – the 1850's most popular brand, my grey joggers and some Balenciaga crocs. I tied my now well-behaving hair into a ponytail and went downstairs for breakfast. It was more of brunch when I got a load of the time.
'I thought you'd never wake up. Its 12:06' was my mom's good morning sweetheart.
'Good morning mother' I said cheekily. 'Shouldn't you be at work by now?'
'Shouldn't you be in school by now?' she contradicted, picking up her car keys.
'I thought I was supposed to take care of Marshmallow today?' I asked, although loving the fact that I might not.
'That's right big sis" she grinned and I groaned. 'She's in the kitchen by the way' she indicated and I glanced at the time.
'I think you should better be going' I told her concerned about her going late to the job that was catering for this family's every needs, since my father died.
'And I think you should better get to your food before Marsha does' she contradicted again. Man was she good at this!
'Isn't she supposed to be in bed, and not taking in more food or sugar?' I asked strolling towards our open kitchen.
'She's seven. She better have all the sugar and food she can before puberty gets to her'
'You're probably right. But she shouldn't go near my cereal'
'Don't worry about that. I have a secret stash in my 'cook book'' she air-quoted and I giggled.
Ever since my sister turned 3, she's had this hyper active sweet tooth, and at some point we started hiding sugar from her. In fake books, fake telephones....fake remotes.
'See you guys later in the evening. Smile take care of Marshmallow, and Marshmallow be nice to Smile' she instructed. 'Don't take too much sugar...…and I'm talking to you both' she warned. 'Take care and I love you girls' she paused as if trying to remember something. 'Oh, and call me if-'
'Anything goes wrong' we chorused, filling in the gaps. We both knew mom's usual goodbye routine. We had it recorded and registered in our brains. It was the same old – instruction, warning, I love you, take care and call – pattern she had been using for the past 7 years.
'Alright, bye' she blew kisses at us and we smiled, waving.
'Don't you dare' I warned the moment I saw Marshmallow reaching for my cereal bowl.
'Awwwwn. Pleaaase. Mom made me have oats, yuck'
'Well maybe next time you'll remember to eat your gummies one by one'
'But the pack said all in one' she blinked cute puppy dog eyes at me and puckered her lower lip pleadingly. I couldn't resist how adorable and innocent she was acting. That was all it was though; an act. She was actually my very own little demon, made to torture me for all eternity.
'Alright fine. Knock yourself out' I gave in, sliding my bowl over to her. Her eyes lit up like lava lamps before an almost psychopathic grin formed on her mouth.
'I'm going to so regret this' I said out loud but not to her hearing. I was very much aware that I might've just jumpstarted an unstoppable creature and unleashed hell upon myself. I sighed and went to the freezer for a tub of ice-cream. Maybe I'd just make a sundae instead. I scooped vanilla ice-cream into a glass bowl, doodled in some maple and chocolate syrup, grated in some coconut, and almost toppled it over with the usual cherry-on-top finishing. I had a spoon of my homemade sundae but I felt something was missing. Sprinkles! I ran to the fridge in search of it, but it was nowhere to be found. I checked in all the cupboards and drawers but found everything but sprinkles. I glanced at Marsha and sure enough, she was with the sprinkles. She was actually shaking them into the bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
'Marshmallow!' I scolded.
'Mm' she answered innocently, hiding the sprinkles behind her. 'Arrrgh!' I groaned, marching over to her. 'Gimme that'
'But-'
'No buts, mom put me in charge' I pointed to myself and she stuck her tongue out. Not before, stomping on my foot…..hard.
'Ugggh' I groaned, hopping on one foot. This is what sugar does to some people. Finishing off my ice-cream sundae with the sprinkles, I lounged on the white couch and signed in to Netflix on the smart TV. Although, I couldn't decide whether to watch Euphoria or Stranger things.
I ended up binge watching Euphoria and watching a marathon of Stranger things. My ice-cream bowl was empty and I went over to the kitchen sink and dumped it there. Coming back to continue my episode, I met Marsha on the couch beaming at the television. I didn't understand why until I looked at the screen…
'No! Not Glitter force, please' I begged. My sister was beyond obsessed with this particular anime which in fact, just made me hate it even more.
'Pleaaaaaase' she blinked puppy dog eyes at me again. It wasn't going to work this time – especially not after she stomped on my foot.
'No okay. I was here first' I yanked the remote from her and for the first time in forever she didn't protest. She just bowed her head in disappointment and walked away. I lounged back on the chair and just chilled for a couple of minutes before I felt a spasm of concern and guilt. Maybe I was a little mean. I yawned then turned off the TV to go look for Marsha; she found me first.
'Can I at least plug in this karaoke machine' she asked strolling in a karaoke machine. I was dumb struck. Where on earth did she find that?! 'W-where?-' I couldn't even continue my question because of the shock.
'Someone abandoned it in a box on their front porch' she answered calmly.
'Marsha that was a package – the neighbor's package'
'Oops. Well he shouldn't leave it in a perfectly sealed box with his name all over it'
'He didn't leave it there; the delivery man did'
'Well he's doing a crummy job leaving people's packages at their porches'
'That's what he's supposed to do!' I screeched. This girl was driving me insane.
'Well as good neighbors we should test it out for him' she said swinging the chord like a lasso.
'No, as good neighbors we should return it...…..and never speak of this again' I said, the last part as my conscience tugged at me.
'Common, it wouldn't hurt to just try this thing out. After we do, I promise I'll put it right back in box' she assured.
'No! Put it back right now!' I yelled, less concerned that I was telling a 7 year old to smuggle back a karaoke machine.
'If I do, I'll have to tell'
'Yeah, on yourself'
'Mh-hmn. I'll just tell mom that you let me have a whole bowl of cinnamon toast crunch....with sprinkles, which landed me a crazy sugar rush straight to the brain, but you were too busy watching 'oofuria' - instead of taking care of me - to even notice me slip out of the house' she stated with a smug look on her face and her chin in the sky. Before, I thought my sister was just bratty but now I realized she was pure evil. How could she turn the tables on me like that? And so cleverly too.