Chapter 9: A Suprising Offer
I stood frozen, not moving or even breathing. Blue eyes stared into mine, almost...mocking me.
He was here. The boy from the supermarket. He found my house. Has he been stalking me? How did he get here? A better question, why?
I tried to open my mouth to speak, but no words came out. No matter how hard I forced myself to speak, no sound was audible. I couldn't seem to form any coherent speech. Instead, all I was able to do was gape at him.
He appeared different without his sweatshirt, though it was obviously the same person. His hair, I now came to realize, wasn't just brown, it was closer to a blackish color, like dark chocolate. It was short, but long enough to be messed up if he ran a hand through it. His jaw still had a small bit of stubble without it looking unclean. The electric blue eyes that gazed at me were for sure the same obnoxious ones from the ice cream thief. His pink lips were pulled up at a corner in a smirk, as if he found my reaction amusing.
I for one, did not find this situation remotely funny.
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was already dry. I frowned, which was pretty much the only other movement I had made in the entirely awkward three minutes we had been staring at each other.
I finally snapped out of whatever trance I had been stuck in, pushing the door in front of me to guard myself from the stranger. I was more cautious then ever at that point.
I cleared my throat. "What are you doing here?" I glared at the boy in front of me.
He shrugged. "I need to talk to you about something."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "Shoot." He raised an eyebrow, looking past me at something before meeting my eyes again.
"Without the company of your friend." He stated.
I tilted my head in confusion while the guy nodded his head at whatever was behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Marcy, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. She gave us an awkward smile. I sent her a pleading look. At first, she frowned, most likely pondering why I wanted to flee from an attractive guest, but little did she know what was actually going on.
Then, she smirked.
"Well, I have to get home," she said casually, sneaking a glance at me. "See you later, Storm."
I gaped at her. I panicked and grabbed her arm, pulling her behind the door so we were out of the stranger's sight.
"Marcy! What are you doing? You can't just leave me alone!" I whisper - yelled.
"Oh please. Must I spell it out for you? You plus hot guy equals love." She explained, making a heart in the air with her index fingers.
I rolled my eyes. "You are so stupid."
"And you're about to get a boyfriend. You're welcome."
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
"This is revenge for the whole Jack thing, isn't it?"
Marcy winked. "You bet, babe. See ya,"
And with that, Marcy pushed past me and made her way outside, waving at the guy, who was still standing where I left him. He smirked at Marcy as she walked by which she returned. He looked back at me and it grew when he caught sight of me.
"Well, I'm glad to know that the ladies think I'm hot," was the first thing out of his mouth. Idiot.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, okay. Cut the crap, will ya? Who are you and what do you want?"
He grinned, showing off his dazzling white teeth. "Now we're getting somewhere. Name's Wes. I'm guessing you are Storm Tyler?"
My eyes widened in surprise. How did he know my name? "I-I-how do you..." I trailed off, not able to finish my sentence.
Wes shook his head, a small smirk still evident on his lips. "I believe this," He pulled a small grey rectangular thing from his back pocket, holding it up for me to see. "Is yours?"
My jaw dropped when I saw what he was holding.
My cellphone.
"How? Where? Wait-" I stuttered until a thought crossed my mind. I stared at him with wide eyes. "You-you stole it at the supermarket! Right after I got my ice cream back, you took it!" I accused.
He shrugged like theft wasn't a big deal. "I only got even."
I gaped at him once again. "Get even? How in the name of fudge is stealing my cellphone getting even? What did I even do?"
Wes chuckled. "You took something of mine, I took something of yours."
My eyes narrowed. "No. That's not how this works. You know I could call the police, right?" I couldn't let him get away with something like this.
He snorted. "Actually you won't." He stated confidently. I looked at him like he had grown two heads. Is this guy nuts?
"Yeah? And what makes you so sure?" I taunted. Wes leaned forward slightly, resting his arm on the door frame.
"Because I happen to have something you want." He said matter-of-factly.
I glanced at him skeptically. "And what's that?" I did my best to remain calm and cool, even when on the inside, my blood was pumping through my body as my heart beat frantically.
"A job. Your application has been accepted."
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Wes eyed me before explaining. "Over a week ago, you sent out an application to Mark's Pawn Shop. I am here to inform you that you have been accepted." I saw his lips pull up into a smile. "The supermarket thing was just a coincidence."
"Sorry, but I already have an offer. Besides, you didn't email me back beforehand." I said.
"Actually, we did. Last night." He answered.
Oh.
"But this isn't a joke, Storm. My boss thinks that you will be joining, and he would get very angry if you didn't show up. Trust me, he isn't the kind of person you want to mess with." Wes said gravely. "Not just anyone is accepted into that position."
I scowled, ignoring the curiosity bubbling inside of me. "Whatever, the point is, I already have a job. In other words, thanks but no thanks." I started to close the door, when a hand appeared in my line of vision.
I freaked out, thinking he would try to hit me (though looking back on the situation, he was actually reaching to stop the door from closing). On instinct, my arm shot out, blocking his hand. I don't know when it happened, but I had moved so I was in front of the door.
I faked a punch to his face before switching hands and attempting to punch him in the stomach. It didn't quite go that way though, because he caught my hand with his own. I kicked out with my right leg, which he blocked with his left forearm. He threw a sloppy punch at my head. I quickly dogged it, leaning backwards and then throwing a fist at his face. He caught my wrist, so instead of yanking it away, I tried to punch with my freehand. He caught it, lowering both of my arms while still keeping them captive.
Wes pulled me towards him so the only thing separating us was our fists. I glared daggers at him while his face was serious.
I couldn't help but slightly admire his dark blue eyes. A ring of dark green surrounded the pupil, a few gold flecks appeared randomly in the green. Wait! What am I doing!
Suddenly, he smiled. "I knew I found the right one." He muttered. Wes let go of my hands.
My scowl deepened when he just stood there. "Leave." I demanded.
His expression once again turned stony. "Fine. But remember this, Storm. I will make you regret rejecting the job." He stared into my eyes, his own holding a promise,
Wes spun on his heel. "Oh, one more thing." He grabbed something from his pocket and tossed it to me. I stared at my phone with wide eyes.
"See ya, Storm." Wes called before walking away, leaving me completely and utterly flabbergasted.
I sighed. At least he gave me my phone back. Besides, I doubted he was going to do anything.
I straightened up, brushing my sweaty hands on my jeans and locked the door. Time to get ready for my first ever job.
I nodded encouragingly to myself.
I've got this.
***
Hallo :D
Thank you guys so much for all of the support!
Thoughts?
I know it's kind of confusing at the moment, but bear with me.
Till next time,
~Sasha