Valerie

4 - Thomas

Valerie was listening to me intently, like she cared about what I had to say. It was unusual. Most people, when they talk to me, ask me questions about ice hockey or my family's lawyer empire but she treats me like a normal person and asks me normal questions, not expecting anything in return. I liked it. That was dangerous.

"I only have brothers." She shrugged. "They're all older."

"My brother is older than me but he doesn't act like it." I admitted. She smiled. I made her smile. 

"You know I don't like you, right?" She surprised me by saying. I did know this but it was still a blow. I wasn't used to people not liking me, usually it was the other way around.

"I figured. You ignore me for pretty much all of our lessons together." She shrugged at my observation.

"I'm not trying to hide it. I don't like you. You're arrogant, pompous, conceited and have an excessive amount of self-worth and I feel it someone's duty to tell you. I have taken it upon myself." She said matter-of-factly. I just smirked. "Why are you smiling?" She said, clearly annoyed.

"No one has ever been so direct with me before." I said simply.

"I'm not afraid of confrontation." She brushed this comment off but I could tell by the way her eyes grew heavy that it had more meaning to her than she was letting on. 

"I suppose that's a good thing." I replied.

"You suppose?" 

"Considering you make judgements on people without knowing them properly, I suppose confrontation is a good thing for you."

"I know enough." She said, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"What, you guessed that I was conceited and full of pride on that first lesson last week?" I asked, sceptical. 

"I don't guess." She huffed. She was cute when she was angry and flustered.

"Then how could you know all of those things about me without making a guess?"

"The fact you don't even remember says enough, you were far too busy caught up in yourself." What?

"Remember what?"

"Case in point." She was about to say something else when the front door opened and in strode Mable and... Marcus?

"Mable?"
"Marcus?" Valerie and I said at the same time. I shot him a glare at interrupting our conversation. Valerie had spoken to me more this evening than all of our lessons combined. I mean, I did skip the majority but I was still annoyed at him. 

"Um... Val?" Mable said, unsure. The two girls exchanged a look that I couldn't decipher and by the look on Marcus' face, neither could he. "Val, can I talk to you in your bedroom?" Mable asked sweetly.

"Okay." Val said, clearly reading whatever signals Mable was giving her.

"We'll be a few minutes, you guys talk amongst yourselves." Marcus and I exchanged a look of our own. "You guys are friends right?" 

"Yeah." Marcus said.

"Great!" Mable chirped before striding over to Valerie, grabbing her and pulling her to the door on the left, leaving Marcus and I alone. 

Marcus waited until the door was shut before he said, "This is awkward."

"What are you doing here?!" I whisper shouted to him, careful to not let the girls hear. 

"I could ask you the same thing." He shot back.

"I'm here grabbing notes." I defended.

"On the couch, right up close to her, staring into her eyes." He teased. "When we walked in, it looked like something passionate was happening." Oh my God. He truly was an idiot.