“No sir, well I don’t wanna be the blame, not anymore. It’s your turn, so take a seat. We’re settling the final score.”
~That’s What You Get, Paramore
Four
That was the last straw.
Well, technically, it was the first straw, since this was the first thing he’d actually done, but the last straw, since I wasn’t going to put up with it any further. It was the first and last straw.
I hastened across campus towards the dorm building, almost breaking my ankles with every hard stomp. I couldn’t recall the last time I was this angry. My arms were shaking and my body felt hot, almost like anything I touched would burst into flames.
Sam tripped over herself trying to keep up with my fast pace. “Alexa, maybe we should stop and think about this.”
“I’ve thought about this enough. Any more time I waste thinking about it is another second for him to try something new.” I pushed my way through the circle of students, ignoring the yells of the person whose foot I stepped on.
Sam reached out to grab my shoulder, but I shook her off. The frustration was clear in her voice. “And what do you plan to do? Don’t you think he’s waiting for you to show up? You’re just going to knock on his door, and give him a wedgie like you used to? He probably has some crazy traps prepared.”
“Nothing can stop a woman’s wrath.” I replied, heading up the stairs to the second floor. Unfortunately for him, he was stupid enough to stay on campus. And one good thing about him being a celebrity was that other girls did the dirty work for me. I didn’t have to look for him. It was common knowledge what dorm he stayed in. In fact, I heard some girls followed him from his classes just so they could sneak in while he was sleeping.
I stormed right up to his door, and pounded on the wood with my fist. “Open up, Marris! I know you’re in there! Open up!”
No answer.
“He’s going to be like that, is he?” I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders back a couple of times. Sam’s eyes widened once she realized what I was about to do. “I’m going to give you three seconds. If you don’t open this door, then I’m going to open it for you. One...Two...”
She grabbed at my wrist. “Come on, Alexa. You’re being irrational. Let’s just take a moment and—”
“Three!” I ran towards the door, diverting all my body weight to my left side. Not even a second later, and I felt my hip and my cheek make contact. At first, I thought it was the door, until it registered to me that the surface was somewhat soft...and wet.
Dread coursed through my veins. I looked up at Nathan, met with a partially amused, partially inquisitive expression. “Well, that’s one way to greet me at the door.”
Sam mumbled behind me. “Wow, you’ve gotten...fit.”
That’s when I noticed why I felt wet. Nathan was standing at the door, dripping, in nothing but a towel.
“Holy crap!” I flew back, and covered my eyes, my cheeks spontaneously combusting from embarrassment. “What the heck are you doing answering the clothes with no door on? I-I mean, the door with no clothes on?!”
He didn’t hide his laughter. “That’s what I was trying to do, until you kept banging at my door like some insane person.”
“Still you should’ve just...um...just...oh goodness...just go put something on!”
And like that, my mad girl swag disappeared.
“Alright, alright. Keep it together.” He shut the door, and I dropped my hands, taking in a few deep breaths to calm myself.
Sam sent me a knowing grin. “Nothing can stop a woman’s wrath, huh?”
“Shut up!” I snapped. “Just shut up and leave. I’ll call you later.”
She backed away, still grinning. “I’m leaving. Try not to, you know, babble like an idiot.”
She was right. I didn’t know what had just come over me. This was Nathan. The kid who could never stash enough tissues to keep up with his allergies. He may have been the Brad Pitt of his time, but I knew him best. Somewhere in there was the scrawny geek I grew up with. I didn’t have any reason to be so hot and bothered.
Once I felt that I had regained my composure, I knocked on the door again. “It doesn’t take that long to cover yourself. Hurry up!”
The door opened and I stepped inside. “Finally.”
His room wasn’t what I was expecting. It was organized to perfection. There wasn’t a calculator or pencil out of place. A complete contrast to my room, which, if I didn’t have such an orderly roommate, would probably look like the aftermath of World War III.
I shook my head. I didn’t have time to get distracted. I was here with a purpose. And that was to interrogate this kid, before I beat him to a pulp and watched him cry for mercy.
I turned towards him. “Let’s get right to—” I screeched at the top of my lungs, before whipping back around. “I thought I told you to put on some clothes!”
“I did.” He said between chuckles. “I put on pants.”
“Well put on a shirt!” My voice sounded so desperate.
My spidey senses tingled, warning me of the presence right behind my back. I felt his mouth millimeters away from my ear. “You know, the flustered look is really attractive on you.”
He ran his hands up my arms, and I just about kicked myself in the butt trying to spring away from him. I ended up landing on his bed. “I-I-I-I’m going to call the police. Get back! I’m warning you! I’ll sue you for sexual harassment.”
I made karate chops with my hands for good measure. He didn’t seem fazed.
“Sue me then. Let’s see how far you get, considering you are my fiancé.” He walked over to his closet and grabbed a shirt, humming to himself as he pulled it on. The reality of the situation came back full force at his words. I had almost forgotten my purpose.
“I think I found a weakness.” He said in a sing-songy voice.
I scoffed, not about to let him think he had something else over me. He had enough already. “I just like to have conversations with people when they are appropriately dressed. It’s not like it bothered me.”
“Oh really?” He started to lift the shirt back up with his thumb.
My hands flew to shield my eyes. “Okay! It bothers me! It bothers me!”
His laughter was like a knife in my stomach. “Were you always this hilarious? Or is it a new thing?”
Let’s see if he still found me funny when I grabbed his stupid, perfect head and crunched it the door.
“Look, why don’t I get straight to the point. We need to talk...” I slid off his bed and walked over to the television, tuning it to the first news station I saw. “...about this.”
“When did you finalize your engagement to Nathan Marris?” The news replayed this evening’s earlier footage.
Sam and I both looked like dumb and dumber, staring at the camera with blank faces. My mouth opened and closed for a few moments, before I lamely said, “No comment.” And ran off screen.
I gestured to the visual, looking back at Nathan who seemed quite pleased with himself. “You have two minutes to explain yourself, before I help you find out what the floor tastes like.”
“Now that sounds like the Alexa I know.” His eyes sparkled with excitement. “You find yourself in an uncomfortable situation and your first reaction is violence. I don’t owe you any explanation. The facts are there. You know all you need to.”
I felt my tolerance level drop. “You’re going to end this, Nathan. If you want to make fun of me, fine. But this is too far. I’m nineteen years old. I haven’t had a boyfriend in three years. And now, all of sudden, I’m engaged to be married for the whole world to see. You are wrecking my life.”
He just stared. “Are you starting to get a taste of how I felt?”
I didn’t have time to deal with this. If this was the start, how high would this lunatic go? And I was expected to sit on my butt and do nothing while he threw the punches? Because of what I did as a child?
“Nathan, I’m sorry, alright? That’s what you want to hear. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I tried to keep my voice low but my emotions were taking over. “I’m sorry that messed with you the way I did when we were kids. I’m sorry that I made fun of you, and beat you, and yelled at you. And I’m sorry I rejected you even though you were just trying to be sweet. I’m sorry for all of it.”
He seemed to be thinking about it. His expression cracked, and even though it was fleeting, I saw a small flicker of the boy from the past. Then the wall was put back up. “I almost thought you were serious for a second.”
That’s when I lost it. All self-control went out the window, and I grabbed at Nathan, gripping his shirt collar in my hand. He started laughing, but it was without humor. “See, I knew you were faking.”
“What the heck do you want from me?” I asked, hoping to get a straight answer for once.
“I want you to feel everything I felt. I had to go to school scared and come home scared. Now, I’m a nice enough guy to spare you from some of my childhood horrors, so I only want one thing to stick with you. Every morning you wake up, when you brush your teeth, and look in the mirror, I want you to remember.” His lips twitched. “You lost to me.”
I was a hundred percent reassured of it now. “You’re crazy.”
“No, I’m smart. People these days tend to get the two confused. You just don’t see it. You’re already a pawn in my control.”
I rolled my eyes. I was fed up this vague mumbo-jumbo crap. “You wish I was.”
“You are. Want to know how I know?” He pointed at the T.V. “You’ve showed up ticked off at me, when you really should be ticked off with yourself. I gave you the opportunity. If you wanted to, you could’ve blasted me in front of all the paparazzi. But you didn’t. You ran, because you were scared. You were scared of what I might do to you if you did. You didn’t want to get yourself into anything deeper that what you’re in so far. You may come here trying to look all big and bad, but you’re nothing but a pit bull without its teeth. Pathetic and unwanted.” He glanced down at my hand still gripping his collar. “Take your hands off of me. You’re wrinkling my shirt. And it’s worth a whole lot more than you are.”
My eyes burned with tears from frustration. Frustration because I wasn’t getting anywhere with him, and frustration because I knew he was right.
I let him go, not because he told me to, but because I was ready to get out of there. He stopped me before I could. “Be a good girl and go to bed early. We have a press conference tomorrow. Meet me out front at ten.”
I practically snatched the door knob off its hinges, and slammed it shut behind me. My insides were crying out to resist. If I didn’t do anything, I would play right into his hand. I had to fight it somehow. But how do you beat a genius at his own game?
A few hot tears slid down my face, and I swiped at them viciously. It was almost like I could hear Nathan’s voice in my head. Look who’s crying now.
“Alexa Marshall?” My head shot up in the direction of the speaker, and I did a double take, looking from the person to the door behind me. He looked exactly like Nathan.
“Who are you?” I asked. I felt like I was in the middle of some magic trick.
The man drew closer, meeting me in the middle of the hallway, and I noticed some differentiating features. He seemed to be a couple of years older. His jaw was sharper, he had a taller nose, but the eyes were the similar, always looking like they were hiding something.
There was something unsettling about his smile. “My name’s Ian. I met your friend, Sam, downstairs and she told me where you were, so I’ve been waiting for you to come out. I was hoping we could have a quick chat.”
***
The two of us sat in a nearby café, off-campus. He seemed laid back, like he was some sort of tourist, sipping on his tea, and observing the other customers. I was anxious to figure out what his business with me was, but he didn’t seem too hasty to explain.
“You’re Nathan’s brother, right?” I tried to get the conversation going.
He drew his attention to me, and nodded his head. “I am. Though I’m sure he wishes otherwise.”
“You’re not close?”
“He’s not exactly approachable anymore.” Ian smiled somberly.
I didn’t want to pry too much, so I veered off the subject. “So what did you want to see me for?”
“I heard the news. I figured you might need a fairy godmother.” I hadn’t thought about the family. I got worried, thinking he only showed up to test how good of a person I was for Nathan. But almost as if he read my mind, he held up his hands, shaking his head. “Don’t worry. I already know everything.”
I froze. “You know everything?”
“Of course. You were Nathan’s childhood bully, now he’s shown up to get back at you, starting with this whole ‘engaged’ thing, am I right?”
What was this guy? A member of the freaking CIA?
“How did you—”
“Nathan thinks he’s more secretive than he really is.” He took another sip of his tea, before setting it aside, leaning in closer. “My brother hasn’t grown up yet, and unfortunately, he’s taking out some of his anger on you. Now, I hate to see more casualties because of his unbridled behavior, so I’m here to help. Because right now, I’m sure you’re lost as far as what to do.”
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to trust this guy. He seemed nice, but Nathan’s acting skills might have also been given to his brother. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Nobody helps for free anymore. What’s in it for you?”
He laughed. I twitched at its uncanny similarity to Nathan’s. “You’re a clever one. There is something in it for me, you’re right. Nathan has to get you out of his system before anything else. I believe it’s called an inferiority complex, or something like that. I need him to get his head on straight, and get this over with as quick as possible, so he can handle his responsibilities. If you help me, I help you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nathan’s number one goal is to make you fall in love with him and humiliate you to the umpteenth degree. So are you just going to let it happen?”
He asked the question I had just been asking myself. “Well, what am I supposed to do? I can’t fight him head on. He has chariots, soldiers, and weapons, and I only have my bare hands. Any move I make could end up hurting me more than him.”
“Well, I’m giving you a stick. Throw it in front of him, and make him trip on his own sword.”
I creased my brows. “Come again?”
“Think about it, Alexa. Nathan expects you to come at him head on. He won’t expect you to come at him subtly. If you want to beat him, you have to join him. Use his plan against him. If he wants to make you fall in love with him...”
“Then I have to make him fall in love with me first.” The idea hit me like a ton of bricks. It was ingenious. I almost slapped myself for not coming up with it by now.
“Bingo.” Ian sat back, satisfied.
“But how does that help you?”
“I told you. I don’t want to see any more casualties by his actions.” He said it, but I didn’t believe him. “Look, don’t worry about me. Just think about yourself. If you want to get him off your back, that’s your best chance.”
I still didn’t trust Ian. I didn’t understand his motives, which made me very leery. But trust or no trust, his logic was sound. I didn’t care much about what would happen to Nathan, just as long as I got myself out the spotlight as soon as possible.
Ian abruptly stood up, throwing a five on the table, and finished off the last bit of his tea. “We’ll save the rest for next time. I know you have a big day tomorrow, so I’ll let you get your sleep.”
“Wait.” I stopped him. “What responsibilities are so important that you’re willing to do all this for?”
“Curiosity killed the cat.” He said, and then chuckled. “I’m kidding. But seriously, it’s no big deal. Just some family matters. You do your part, and I promise you’ll come out fine. But since you seem so curious, I’ll give you a little more insight. The engagement has nothing to do with his revenge on you.”
“What?” But he had already headed away from the table.
“I’ll be around.” He said over his shoulder as he walked out of the café.
I gulped down the rest of my cold cup of coffee. Secrecy must have been hereditary in Nathan’s family. If the engagement didn’t have anything to do with revenge, then what did it have to do with? Even though Ian was sweet and spoke every word with a smile, there was something off about him. He said it was no big deal. But his eyes didn’t.
I got absolutely no sleep that night. If I wasn’t thinking about my conversation with Nathan, I was thinking of my time with Ian. I got out my bed, and walked over to the mirror, pulling at the bags under my eyes. I was heading out to war today. I had to at least look the part. I pulled out my black and white business dress. I had worn it once to an internship interview over the summer, and now it was just collecting dust since there weren’t any events that called for such attire. I coated my face in the right amount of makeup, and pulled my brown locks into a tight bun. It had been a while since I had put so much effort into my appearance. I may not look as good as that frozen food heiress, but I could make a few heads turn.
Nathan was waiting for me like he said, and it was clear that he had put his best foot forward for today as well. His suit fit him perfectly, and was matched with a pair of Versace sunglasses. The white Audi R8 he was leaning against really completed the look though. If he wasn’t out for my blood, it would’ve been a whole lot easier to fall for him.
“You clean up nice.” I got straight into character.
He gave me a once over in return. “You look beautiful yourself.”
I reminded myself who I was dealing with, and didn’t let the words get to me. “I know.”
I slid into the passenger’s seat of the car, and we sped off, leaving the university behind. I couldn’t help but think of all the make-up sessions I would have to take, not that I was a perfect attender in the first place. I didn’t even tell Sam where I was headed off too.
“When we get to the conference, follow my lead. Don’t say anything stupid.” He said.
If he kept up this attitude, I might not have to do anything. Not falling in love with him would be easy enough.
“Yes sir.”
“Only answer questions when they’re directed to you, and even then try to keep it as short as possible.” He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.
I noticed how fidgety Nathan was, and Ian’s words came back to mind. The engagement has nothing to do with his revenge on you. Was that why Nathan seemed so worried? He always seemed so cool when it came to talking about getting back at me. But now he’s sweating bullets.
We pulled up to hotel, and the car was swarmed with paparazzi as soon as we arrived. Nathan pushed his way through the people, and grabbed me out of the car, leading me inside the building. The hotel didn’t seem like a place to handle celebrity business. Old Italian murals were painted on the walls, gold chandeliers hung from every ceiling, and there was soft opera music reverberating through the lobby. It was far too peaceful, far too grand, for something like a press conference.
Two well-dressed gentlemen led us to a back room labeled Ballroom A. I doubted any dancing would be involved. Nathan looked over at me. “Remember, don’t screw up.”
I didn’t hide the sarcasm. “I wouldn’t dare.”
He stopped, his hand in mid-air, and looked as if he were going to try to threaten me again, but I pushed ahead of him, and stepped into the crowded room. I was met with a barrage of flashing lights.
It was set up like any normal press conference. Rows of chairs for the press lined up all the way to the back of the room, and a short rectangular table with two empty chairs awaited us at the front. The mediator was already seated. I took my seat, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed at the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I’d like to thank all of you for coming out this morning, especially since this was such a last minute event. We don’t have a lot of time, since the happy couple has some events planned later this afternoon, but before we begin, I believe Nathan would like to say a few words.” The mediator passed him the microphone.
“Yes, again, I thank all of you for coming so quickly. Now, I know you have a lot of questions about all of this, so to save time, let me go ahead and knock out half of them. No, she’s not pregnant.”
A wave of laughter passed over the crowd, and in seconds, Nathan had charmed the press on his side.
“Feel free to ask whatever you want.” He continued. “We promise to answer with the complete truth. No monkey business. All I ask is that you respect our privacy on certain matters. So, with that said, who’s first?”
The lady who spoke to me last night shot her hand up in the air. “I know I’m not the only one confused over the situation here. Just a week ago a reputable source confirmed your relationship with Ms. Vangaurd, and now you’re engaged to someone else. Maybe you could clarify?”
He nodded. “Stephanie Vanguard is not, and has never been my girlfriend. I don’t know what reputable source gave you that information, but that isn’t the case. I had been in contact with Alexa for months, and to save her from the limelight, I wanted to keep our relationship secret. Stephanie was not aware of this, and she was embarrassed at the misunderstanding of my feelings for her. That was what caused the blow up, recently. Not some ex-boyfriend.”
Another man raised his hand. “You say you wanted to keep the relationship secret. What made you come forward with it now?”
“It was Alexa’s idea. She was tired of having to hide.”
I stopped the shocked look from forming on my face. So much for telling the complete truth.
“How will this affect your family’s business relationship with Vanguard Industries?” Another asked.
“I can’t foresee the future, but hopefully things will remain the same.”
He answered each question perfectly. Since he had a track record for telling lies, I wasn’t sure what was real or fake, but I was certain that he had these audience members suckered in to believe both. Nathan must’ve realized this too, because his confidence became more apparent. Before long, any shred of nervousness had disappeared.
“I have a question!”
I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw Ian standing towards the back. I felt Nathan immediately stiffen. Ian had gained the entire attention of the room, and a few whispers about his relationship to Nathan floated around.
“How did you two meet?”
Ian’s eyes were pointed at me, but Nathan opened his mouth. “That’s quite easy, actually. We met in—”
“I was asking Ms. Marshall.” He cut Nathan off, eyes still fixed on me.
His being here was no coincidence. From the way Nathan had tensed up, Ian must not have appeared often. But at first I didn’t get what he was trying to do. He was staring at me, like he was sending a message, but I couldn’t figure out how stating our love history was supposed to help me.
Two seconds later, it hit. He was throwing me my stick. And I knew exactly what to do with it.
“Nathan and I have known each other since we were kids.” I spoke in a clear, loud voice. “In fact, I used to bully him every day. I would humiliate him and beat him like it was my career.”
Gasps from some of the press filled my ears. Ian’s eyes were coaxing me on, though. I must’ve been doing something right.
“I treated him like crap. Like he was the scum of the earth. You know, I even rejected him when he said that he liked me. I told him that he wouldn’t amount to anything. And now look at the amazing person he’s become. Shut my mouth, right?” I won a few laughs for that one. “I heard from him again in my senior year of high school. He had somehow gotten ahold of my phone number. I thought he was going to call to curse me out or something like that. He never did. We would just talk. Sometimes he would try to make me feel bad for what I did, and I would just tell him to get over it. It was playful. I never expected him to be so forgiving. I think that’s what endeared him to me. So over the course of conversations, we ended up falling for one another, without talking face to face. Until he showed up at my university a few weeks ago. And now, here we are. Engaged. It’s like a dream.”
I willed some tears to well up, and I wiped them away with my hand, turning to stare Nathan directly in the face. He was forcing a happy expression, and it made him look kind of constipated.
“I don’t deserve you. Despite all I did, you remained kind. You loved me as much as you could. We may be young, but that only gives all the more time to return to you what you’ve given me. I love you, Nathan, with all my heart. And it will be the greatest honor for me to be your wife.”
That’s when I moved in for the grand finale. I grabbed the sides of his face, and brought his mouth to mine, sealing my speech with a kiss. I made sure to make it look as passionate as possible, even going back in for a second time when he tried to pull away. The press was in an uproar. A few chairs had fallen over with as fast as they stood up, desperate to snap the golden shot. Once I finally gave him the chance to breathe, he couldn’t close his mouth. I’m sure the press would make it out to be that I had just taken his breath away, which was true, but we both knew the real reason.
I gently wiped at the lipstick I had left behind, relishing my opportunity to give him a smirk. “Checkmate.”
And now it was my turn to watch in pleasure as the prince fell onto his sword.
A/N: This chapter took a lot out of me. First, I was suffering from writer’s block. Then I wrote out the whole chapter but my computer didn’t save it. Ugh, nothing was going right. But I think it came out pretty good, eh? Yes? No? Maybe so? Let me know in the comments. And don’t forget to vote!
Shout out to RadiantLove_ for the awesome banner! You rock!