NATALIE
I groaned into Trevor's pillow, shifting once again in an impossible attempt to get comfortable.
I hardly slept at all last night.
Literally.
Not an hour went by that I didn't wake up. The longest stretch of sleep I'd had was from 4:00 am until now, which was 6:00 am.
I just couldn't force myself to sleep anymore. There were too many things running through my mind at once.
Like the stupid plan and going home and my mother.
Just everything!
I kicked off the covers and looked around the room, noticing that I was completely alone.
Normally when I woke up, Trevor would be ruffling through his closet or showering. But for the first time since I'd been here, I'd woken up before him.
I timidly threw my legs over the side of the bed, quietly standing up.
I wasn't sure if I was allowed up before Trevor. But like I said, I couldn't lay there any longer, staring at the ceiling and replaying the same horrible scenarios about how the night would go in my head.
I could just imagine it. Marc not bothering to obey my request for a drink, not leaving me alone for even a second to place the microphone, locking me in a room with him and forcing me to do whatever he wanted or him walking in on me placing the microphone or running into him on the way out or--
Suddenly, Trevor's words rang through my head from last night. About him not letting anything happen to me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
After all, I'd be wearing an earpiece in which they could hear everything that was going on and I could hear them. I could just scream for help. Right? They wouldn't just...let him do that to me. Right?
I put my head in my hands.
I couldn't keep thinking like this. I'd never get the job done if all I did was worry.
I needed to be strong.
I needed to be confident when Marc saw me.
I needed to be everything he wanted and craved.
I couldn't be washed up in anxiety or fear.
I wanted to go home and if doing this plan right was what was going to get me there then it's what I had to do.
I got down on my knees beside the bed.
"Please, God. Just help me get through this. I know that everything happens for a reason and that You test us with rough paths and fearful situations. I just ask that as I put my faith in You, You be with me tonight and guide me. I know that what I'm doing is technically considered wrong. So, I also ask for Your understanding and forgiveness...forgiveness for what I'm about to do and the thoughts I'd been having." I whispered as my mind wandered back to Trevor on top of me and the things he said before immediately snapping back. "I'm just curious, I guess. Lord, I am not doubting You when I cry and wonder about why You've put me in this situation. I'm just scared. But I know that You're watching over me. God bless. Amen."
I stayed kneeling on the floor for a few minutes, my mind wandering to other various things about the plan that I'd let get pushed back and covered up by fear. Like how I was going to do my hair and makeup, what time to start getting ready, etc.
I sighed, picking myself up from the floor, glancing around the room.
I knew the door would still be locked so I decided to just go ahead and take a shower.
I walked over to the bathroom and let myself in, shutting it softly.
My hand lingered on the doorknob.
Trevor always tells me not to lock it...but he's not even awake.
I could lock it.
But I didn't.
It was exactly like the lip biting thing. Even when he wasn't around, I felt the need to obey whatever he'd told me, although I was still trying to break my lip biting habit.
I turned toward the shower, twisting the knob over to hot, adjusting the water.
I undressed and caught my own eye in the mirror.
I sighed and looked away self-consciously.
I looked so tired and worn out.
Exactly how I felt.
I stepped into the steamy shower and as I lathered my hair in shampoo, I thought about what I'd say to Marc when he approached me.
But wait, what if he didn't approach me?
Then what?
I'd approach him, I guess.
I began making up hellos and greetings in my head, flirty gestures and responses to things he might ask or compliments he might give.
I didn't how any of it would feel. It certainly wouldn't feel like me. I'd definitely be playing the part of someone else entirely.
I lingered in the shower a bit, something I normally didn't do, on account of Trevor always waiting for me.
It felt nice and for the first time, I wasn't overflowing with anxiety, even if it was just for a few minutes.
Finally, I shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around my body.
After getting dressed in a T-Shirt and shorts, I allowed my eyes to wander back to the mirror.
Luckily, after my long shower, I didn't look as tired.
I opened the door just in time to see the knob of the bedroom door turning.
I leaned against the bathroom doorframe, already knowing who it was.
I glanced at the clock.
He slept a tad later than usual.
It was 7:08.
He swung the door open, his eyes landing on the empty bed and then skipping around the room until they landed on mine.
He closed the door and leaned against it, glancing down the length of my body.
"You already showered?" He inquired.
"Yeah." I said, shrugging.
He pushed himself off the door and walked over to the bed, sitting down on it.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, already knowing.
I sighed and nodded.
"You slept in later than usual." I noted, making small talk.
"Mhmm." Was all he said.
"What time should I start getting ready?" I asked.
I liked it when he talked normal to me.
It made me feel less afraid.
"Party's at 10:00. How long do you usually take to get ready?" He asked.
"Not long." I said, shrugging.
"How long is 'not long'?" He said, grinning.
"Wellll, for something as important as this, I'd say about three-ish hours." I said, twirling a strand of my hair.
"Oh, yes. Not long at all." Trevor said, rolling his eyes sarcastically, laughing.
I shrugged innocently, a smile tugging on my lips.
He laughed.
It was so strange. I hardly ever got a glimpse of his smile, once or twice when he was around the guys. But other than that, I'd only seen that infamous smirk of his. I liked his smile and laugh much better.
"Do you want to go over the plan?" He asked, switching the subject.
I groaned.
"No, thank you. I have it memorized by now." I said and he nodded.
"Okay. What are you going to say to Marcus?" He asked curiously.
I shrugged.
"Depends on what he says to me."
"Okay." Trevor said as he smirked. (There it is, the smirk). "What if he says he wants to fuck you?"
I was a bit taken aback by his language and he could tell as his smirk deepened.
"Uhhh." I said, thinking for a minute. "I tell him the same?" I asked awkwardly.
Trevor laughed, standing up.
"I think you'll do a better job talking to him than me. I think I embarrass you." He said, smirking, heading towards the door. "Let's go eat breakfast."
I followed behind him timidly, a blush on my face.
It was embarrassing for him to know that he embarrassed me.
I was beginning to think that everything, to me, was embarrassing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was now 8:00 as I stood in front of Trevor's mirror, the door ajar along with the bedroom door, so the guys could keep an eye on me and give me my space at the same time.
Trevor was out, getting last minute things together for the plan.
Every now and then, one of them would pop their head in and say hey.
I'd decided Darry was definitely the goofy one, as he'd asked me to please curl his hair while I was at it and then went through my makeup, asking what would match his skin tone.
He was trying to loosen me up, get me not so stressed out about the plan, which I appreciated more than he could ever know.
I curled one last strand of my brown hair, sighing as I unplugged the curling iron.
I still had to style it into an updo but so far, it looked nice.
I began to dig around in my makeup bag, pulling out my foundation and a small stipple brush. I applied a light layer just to even out my skin tone a bit before adding concealer under my eyes to brighten them up.
"Hey."
I jumped a bit, turning my head to see Trevor leaning on the doorframe to the bathroom, watching me.
"I didn't hear you come in." I said, turning my attention back down to my makeup.
He chuckled.
And then it was quiet again as he watched me blend a smoky shade into the crease of my eye.
He just stood there, watching me for what felt like like forever but it didn't feel odd.
It felt...comfortable?
I don't know.
It just didn't feel odd.
I carefully applied a deep plum lip liner before covering it over with a matching gloss. And for the final touch, I blend a nice shade of pink onto my cheeks.
I heaved in a sigh.
I placed a hairpin between my teeth as I began styling the updo, scooping half of the curls up while leaving the curls in the back of my head down.
Trevor's hand suddenly caught my wrist, stopping me from pinning them.
"I like it down." He said, gently pulling on my wrist, causing me to release the curls, where they fell softly down my back.
"O-Okay." I said, slightly flustered.
I didn't know he could touch me, or anybody, so gently. I was used to the roughness, the yanking and the bossiness.
I ran a hand through my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear.
"What time is it?" I asked.
Trevor glanced at the watch on his wrist.
"9:15." He said, turning his attention back to me. "Whoa." He breathed out as he raised his eyebrows. "You really know what you're doing, huh?" He complimented.
I shrugged, causing him to chuckle.
"I should get dressed." I said, brushing past him.
I walked into his room.
"Is it okay if I get my dress?" I asked.
I didn't want to just go into his closet without permission.
"I laid it on the bed for you." He said, pointing to it.
"Oh. Thank you." I said, picking it up.
I walked back over to the restroom but Trevor stopped me.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked.
I furrowed my eyebrows, thinking, before finally shaking my head no.
He chuckled and walked over to the dresser, picking up the familiar tiny pink bag.
Oh, right.
"Oh, yeah." I mumbled, taking it from him as he chuckled again.
I slipped on the lingerie and the dress.
I inspected my appearance fully in the mirror.
I felt so exposed in this dress.
I didn't even want to walk out in front of Trevor, let alone a whole party full of people!
Anxiety washed over my body.
I didn't want to present myself as one of...those girls.
You're acting.
This isn't the real you.
You get to go home after this.
I tugged on the end of the thin fabric.
I knew I couldn't stay in the bathroom forever as it was already almost time to leave.
I nervously opened the door and stepped out.
Trevor's eyes were glued to me.
I fought not to chew my lip.
"Well." He said as he smirked. "This is different."
I blushed and shifted awkwardly under his fiery gaze.
"Hey, do you know where my shoes are?" I asked, changing the subject.
Trevor peeled his eyes away from me and glanced around the room, spotting the silver box about the same time I did.
"That's okay. I'll get them." I offered.
I could feel his eyes burning holes in the back of me as I bent down, grabbing the heels out of the box and slipping them on.
The way he just stared made me feel like I looked goofy or bad.
"You look great." He said as if reading my mind.
I mentally had a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." I said, meeting his eyes.
He stared back at me with an unreadable expression, his eyes a shade darker than what they had been earlier as he licked his lips.
"You're welcome."
He did a once over of my body, causing me to blush.
He chuckled.
"Here." He said as he handed me a simple black clutch and explained to me about the microphone inside of it.
"Alright." He said, jerking his head towards the door. "Let's go." He said as he smirked.
I started following him down the stairs until I heard the guys.
I stopped.
"Trevor, wait!" I said, going to grab his arm but stopping myself.
"Hm?"
He turned around, trailing his eyes up my legs to my face.
"I don't want the guys to see me like this." I whispered so they couldn't hear us.
He chuckled, glancing to the side.
"Unfortunately, that's not an option. But don't worry, love. I'm very confident in the fact that they'll like what they see." He said, smirking, placing a hand on my right hip for a second before he turned and began descending down the stair again.
My skin tingled from where he'd unexpectedly touch me.
The clicking of my heels echoed as I stayed close to Trevor's side, stopping in the entryway to the living room.
One by one, the guys' attention shifted to us as I halfway hid behind Trevor.
"Don't be so shy." Stefan said, dragging me out from behind Trevor and presenting me to everyone like a work of art.
"Look at you! All grown up!" He said, circling me once before stopping and standing with the other guys, who were very obviously checking me out.
"I'll be damned." Ian said, clapping his hands. "This might just fucking work."
I timidly scooted back closer to Trevor, causing the guys to laugh for some reason.
"If nobody else is going to say it, I will." Darry offered. "You look hot as fuck. Like really good. Like sexy as bloody hell and this is definitely going to work and I'm so excited! I feel like a proud parent!" He exploded.
They all laughed as Trevor walked over and clapped him on the back.
"Way to play it cool, mate." He said as he chuckled before turning to me.
"Not that he's wrong." He said, smirking.
I blushed and all the guys started to laugh again.
"Somebody's a little smitten by Trevor." Stefan mumbled in a singsong voice, grabbing his coat.
I blushed again.
"Can we just go, please?" I mumbled embarrassedly.
I didn't have a crush on Trevor. Not necessarily. He just...had a way about him. That's all.
"Sure." Trevor said, smirking. "Let's go, mates."
He signaled for them to follow him as he marched to door with me right on his heels.
"Coming Natalie?" He said jokingly as he typed in a code and opened the door for me.
I stepped outside and he lightly grabbed my forearm, signaling for me to wait with him as the other guys filed out before he shut the door firmly as it automatically locked.
With Trevor's hand still on my forearm, he began leading me towards a black, sleek van.
"This way." He said, tugging me around to the left side of the van, the door already opened.
Ian was waiting in the driver's seat with Darry riding shotgun as Stefan sat in the back on the right.
I gripped the side of the sliding door as I stepped up into the fairly high van.
Trevor's hand guided me just above my hip, helping me keep balanced in my five inch heels.
"Thank you." I said, once I'd safely climbed in.
He nodded as he climbed in himself, sliding the door shut.
I sat down on the left as Trevor sat down on the right beside Stefan.
I crossed my legs and shifted under his stare as his arms rested on his knees, causing him to be slightly hunched over.
Stefan was fooling around on his phone and I didn't know how to respond to Trevor's gaze, so I just avoided it.
I couldn't tell if he was mad, aggravated, thinking.
He was just emotionlessly staring at me.
The only clue I had to go off of was that his eyes were still a bit dark, but not like when he was angry. I mean, not like the night he caught me eavesdropping or when he'd punished me. It was a whole new shade and it was intense, that's for sure.
I shifted again, clearing my throat as I glanced to the side.
I heard him chuckle and when I looked back up, he wasn't staring at me any more.
Instead, he was fidgeting with something in his hand.
It blinked a blue light once before he got up and sat down beside me.
"What's that?" I asked curiously.
"This," He said, turning my head to look at him and brushing my curls behind my ear, "Is your earpiece. So we can hear what's going on and talk to you." He said, adjusting it to fit perfectly behind my ear.
His hand lightly grazed my neck as he swooped my curls back over my shoulder to cover it.
"There." He said.
I could feel the chills running up my back and neck from his fingers touching it.
"Do you think he'll notice it?" I asked, slightly worried that Marcus would catch onto what I was up to.
"Nah. You can't even see it. You'd have to move your hair and look for it." He assured. "Now, I'm going to whisper something into this." He said, holding up a device. "Tell me if you can hear it."
He turned away from me so that I couldn't see his lips.
I waited patiently until I heard his low, raspy, British voice in my ear.
"You look sexy as fuck."
I gasped and he turned around as I blushed.
He smirked, satisfied with himself.
"I don't even have to ask if you heard it." He said as he chuckled, leaning back in his seat.
It felt weird for a guy to be calling me sexy.
I was never viewed in that way before.
Sure, people had called me pretty and cute, but sexy had never been associated with me.
After all, I was the preacher's daughter.
Not sexy.
But it also felt...flattering.
And like, I don't know.
I liked it.
It was like I wanted Trevor to think I was capable of being sexy and hot.
That I could dress up and do this plan right.
I was going to prove to him that I could step outside myself and put on a show.
I could make Marcus crawl for me and want me.
I could be a totally different person.
I was going to make good on this deal, no matter what.
And I was going home.
"Alright." Stefan spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We're about five minutes away." He announced.
Trevor inhaled loudly before turning to me.
"You ready?" He said, cocking an eyebrow.
I took a deep breath and nodded.
"I can do this." I said for what felt like the millionth time in the last couple days.
Only this time, I actually believed it.
He nodded.
"Alright. When you get him in his room and he locks the door, give us some kind of signal." He said.
"Like what?" I asked.
He thought for a second.
"Stefan, give me a signal." He said, catching Stefan's attention.
"Call him a pet name. Like 'baby' or 'babe'." He said, shrugging.
"Yeah, that's good. Do you have your clutch?" Trevor asked.
I nodded.
"Okay. Now, this is Marcus." He said, showing me a picture.
I stared at it, studying it and remembering every inch of his face, brown hair and blue eyes.
"Alright, kid." Ian said as he jerked the keys out of the ignition. "That," He said, pointing a large house about a block away. You could only see the roof. "That's Marc's house."
"You ready?" Darry asked, turning around in his seat to look at me.
I nodded.
"Yep. No sense in stalling." I breathed out.
Trevor chuckled and reached over me, opening the door.
"Talk to us while you walk. Be careful and tell us when you get inside." Trevor said, holding my gaze for a few seconds longer before I nodded and slowly climbed out of the car.
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