The bell rang signalling the end of class. Everyone poured out of the classroom, murmuring to themselves. I however, sat still on my seat wondering what I'd done to deserve this.
I looked up at Derris who was still seated with Caleb and Jeremy. Nellie was already making her way towards Caleb, obviously to talk about the project but I couldn't bring myself to do it, for fear of being embarrassed again.
What if he hit me? No, he couldn't do that... right? He did seem pretty pissed that we were partners so who knows? What if I tripped again and...?
"Hey," a deep voice resonated beside me. I was so startled that I jumped off my seat in fright. Looking up, I felt myself flush when I realized it'd just been Max.
"Oh! It's just you," I mumbled, rising from the floor. "Yeah," he said, moving a nearby seat and placing it in front of my desk. "Sorry if I scared you."
"Oh, don't apologise. I was kinda zoned out so it's not your fault."
"Hmm. So what were you thinking about?"
"It's nothing," I waved dismissively.
"Is it about Derris?"
"N-no. Of course not. Why would you say that?" I chuckled nervously.
"Well, you just got paired with him for a project and you're not already by his side, fawning over him like one of his many fangirls. I can tell something's up."
"Well, if you didn't notice during class, he hates my guts so I'm not exactly eager to approach him."
"I noticed. Was he the reason why you were covered in cheese and chocolate before?"
"Yeah," I affirmed sheepishly.
"Want me to talk to him?" his voice was dangerously low and sent a shiver down my spine. I bit my lip nervously and shook my head sideways.
"There's no need for that. I'll be fine."
"If you say so," he pushed the chair backwards and slung his backpack over one shoulder.
"Wait, who did you get paired with?"
"Oh, Jeremy." He gestured towards the table where Derris, Jeremy, Caleb and Nellie were seated.
"Okay," I muttered, watching as he approached the table, said something to Jeremy and whispered something into Derris' ear. He glanced once at me before leaving the classroom.
After Max left, I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths to try and find the inner courage to approach Derris.
You can do this, Allison. You can do th-
"Hey Red!"
"Wh-?" the word hung in my throat as my eyes came face to face with the figure towering over me, a figure that was Derris Fox. His eyes were narrowed into slits as they glanced down at me. His medium straight pink lips pursed tightly together, showed his displeasure.
"H-hey Derris!" I stuttered, struggling to keep my voice even.
His scowl deepened. My eyes widened and I gulped. He placed a piece of paper on top of the table but I couldn't tear my eyes away from his to check what it was.
"Come to the address on there by 4pm sharp. Don't be late!" he emphasized sternly, leaving with Caleb and Jeremy before I had the chance to react.
After they left, Nellie came up to me and took the seat Max had sat on.
"So what did he say?"
I stared at the piece of paper on the table and then back at Nellie. "Tell me Nellie, how long does it take for a girl run away to Mexico?"
***
Despite everything, I ended up not running away to Mexico and by 4pm, I was walking down the halls of Derris' luxurious mansion, on the way to his room.
I'd only ever seen his house in celebrity magazines and the fact that I was actually in it was nothing short of daunting. It made me even more nervous about seeing Derris again. I was elated of course but also scared because I had no idea what would happen.
Eventually locating the room I'd been told was his by the butler, I took a deep breath to prepare myself and knocked on the door. There was a brief moment of silence and the door opened to reveal Derris in all his shirtless glory.
My jaw dropped and my eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. His muscled chest seemed to call to me and I fought the urge to reach out and touch his pecs. Oh, how heavenly it would feel to run my lips all over those abs of his. I could see it now...
"Uh, are you done drooling or should I get you a bowl?" Derris' voice penetrated through my thoughts, not sounding the least bit amused.
I looked away, my cheeks red with embarrassment. "Uh, I'm sorry about that."
"Whatever," he stepped away from the door and walked away. I stood still at the doorway, unsure of what to do. "Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation?"
I quickly walked into the room and closed the door behind me. I turned back and felt my jaw drop as I took in the room. It was so much more amazing, seeing it in person and being in it."
My eyes found still shirtless Derris lounging on a red leather chaise lounge in the room, playing with his PlayStation 5. Not knowing what else to do, I sat beside him.
After concluding the game he was playing, he tossed the console aside and stood. My eyes followed him until he reached what I took to be his reading table. He grabbed a book from the table and came to sit beside me again.
"So we're supposed to be writing a book report on this, right?" he asked, waving a copy of As You Like It which the teacher, Miss Terrence had assigned to us to read.
"Yes," I nodded, struggling to keep my eyes on his face.
"I guess we could start by reading this, right?"
"That sounds like a good idea," I answered, already reaching in my bag for my copy.
"Great," he mumbled, flipping his book open.
I looked away from him and opened my copy of the Shakespearean text. Ten minutes later, I realized I'd gotten virtually nowhere. My eyes kept darting to Derris numerous times, wandering over his body imagining things that were best left unsaid. I could feel my body heat up as Derris licked his lips once more, something he seemed to be quite fond of doing.
Gosh, why did he have to be so darn cute? Focus, Allison, focus!
But despite all my attempts to keep my eyes on the book, I couldn't for the life of me. The words kept getting mixed up and I found Derris a much better sight than the literary work of Shakespeare himself.
I'd been so engrossed in my sordid thoughts of Derris and I that it caught me off guard when Derris suddenly looked up and caught me staring at him, probably drooling. This time however, he seemed to find it funny and gave a little crooked smile.
"I take it you like what you see?"
"Oh... uh- I don't know what you're talking about?" I choked out, a little flustered at being caught in the act.
"Is that so, Red? So you weren't just staring at me, ogling me?" he drawled, leaning forward. Confused and now a lot flustered, I kept moving back. To my surprise, Derris kept leaning in until he was so close that his chest was brushing mine. His steely gray eyes gazed into mine like he was searching for something. I gulped, struggling to breathe.
All over, he pulled back and rose from the chair. I blinked repeatedly, still confused as to what just happened.
"I'd like some privacy to throw a shirt on so we can get this over with," his voice was curt and without emotion which meant whatever that was was over.
"Sure. I'll be outside," I mumbled, standing and making my way outside the room, closing the door behind me with a sigh of relief. I could finally breathe even though part of me would miss seeing Derris shirtless.
While I waited for Derris to call me back in, my eyes were drawn to a painting just opposite the door to his room. I crossed the hall and observed the painting which probably cost what I was worth and a lot more.
"Hey Red!" Derris yelled from across the room, startling me. I whirled around, bumping into the pedastal beside me. I was quick to grab the pedestal but not before the antique vase on it fell to the floor and shattered to pieces.
My eyes darted to Derris who looked as horrified as I felt and it was right then and there that I knew it. I was dead. My life was officially over...
I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, my eyes widened in fear. It was quite obvious that I was cursed. Why else would so many bad things be happening to me in a day? And judging by the look on Derris' face, my fate was obviously sealed. I chanced a glance at him and immediately looked away for fear of what I saw. The seconds seemed to drag by as I awaited my fate in Derris' hands. And just like that, he was standing in front of me, an unreadable expression on his face. On impulse, I sank to my knees and clasped my hands in front of him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it, I swear," I begged, my voice quivering as I spoke. "And just how do you plan to do that? That's a frigging two thousand dollar vase and last I heard, you were attending Ridgeway on scholarship so how exactly do you plan to get two thousand dollars?" His words were curt and sharp. I bowed my head and admitted, "I don't know." I waited f
"Oh Allison!" came the all-too familiar call, a couple of metres away from me. Holding back a frustrated groan, I slid off the stool I was seated on and sluggishly walked over to the poolside where Derris and Elaine, the girl who'd sat with Derris in Chemistry were relaxing on lounge chairs. "You called, Miss?" I said through gritted teeth. "Yeah. I would like a refill of my drink," she held up an empty cup which I was sure I just filled a minute ago. "Why?" I asked in an overly sweet voice. This was getting ridiculous as were her requests. "What do you mean 'why'? I want a refill of my drink and last I checked, you were here to help, weren't you?" "Yes, to help him. Not you!" I retorted, losing the politeness. "Besides, I just filled that for you. Do you have a tank in your stomach or something?" She gasped and turned to Derris. "Derris! Your maid's being mean!" Derris who hadn't been paying attention t
I was not ready to see Derris again the next day after what transpired the day before but it wasn't really up to me. It was up to him which meant that I was already at his parking spot, thirty minutes before his arrival because that was what he wanted. A part of me desperately wanted to hate Derris for what he did, like really hate him but it was literally impossible for me. I'd been in love with him since I was a little girl and a part of me still hoped that things would change and he would love me for me. I know it sounded stupid but what could I do? By the time Derris arrived in his flashy Ferrari, I was downright exhausted but I tried not to let it show as I greeted Derris a good morning and took his backpack from him. "Why's your voice so hoar... Oh!" he nodded on remembering. A part of me hoped to get an apology or something but it was not to be. "Serves you right, anyway," he shrugged, shouldering past me and heading into the school
Was it possible to love a jerk? Someone who was so mean and inconsiderate you sometimes found it hard to believe you actually loved them? If you ask me, I'd say yes. I should know too. I'm in love with the biggest jerk I know. Worse still, he doesn't love me back. After my meeting with Aria and my conversation with Nellie afterwards, I had no idea what to do concerning Derris. A part of me wanted to agree with Nellie and get rid of my feelings for him but another much larger part of me could only think of Derris defending me against Aria Charles, his own ex and a celebrity like him. And when I thought of that single act, I felt it more than made up for his earlier treatment of me. Anyway, by the next day, I was excitedly waiting for Derris at his parking spot, eager to see him again. When he hadn't arrived by the time he usually did, I became worried and thought of calling him. There had been no reported accidents so where was he? I had just made
Derris turned out to be a lot more creative than I would have ever thought because five minutes later, I was on my knees, preparing to scrub the floor with...wait for it...a toothbrush! Derris had this authoritative air hanging over him as he stood over me, a smirk forming on his lips. I glanced at the toothbrush in my hand, then at the bucket of foamy water beside me and up at him. "What exactly am I doing?" I asked, still a bit unsure. "Isn't it clear? I want you to scrub this whole lobby clean using only the toothbrush," he grinned devilishly, a clear sign that he was going to enjoy making me suffer. Once again, I glanced at the pristine floor and looked back at him confused. "What exactly do you want me to clean here? The floors are as clean as physically possible." On hearing my words, Derris frowned and furrowed his brows in thought. He left soon after which I took to mean he'd given up on punishing me but I rec
Despite arriving home quite late, I was lucky enough to avoid being scolded by my dad since he came home later than I did. All because of Derris' sudden act of generosity. Thinking back, I realized that I would never truly understand him but it didn't stop me from wishing his attitude would carry on till the next day.Who knows? Maybe tonight was just a sign that things were finally about to go my way. Only time would tell.Morning came and I did what I always did: got up from bed, said a prayer, made breakfast for dad and tried not to get on his bad side, took a shower, got dressed, met up with Nellie and walked to school with her. Since Nellie had some stuff to do with her partner, Caleb Stone concerning the English project, she left me in the parking lot to meet up with him. As I watched her leave, I was suddenly reminded of the project which I'd all but forgotten. Sure, the deadline wasn't for weeks but that didn't mean we didn't have to work on it. I would hav
After Aria left, things progressed smoothly from then on, better than I expected. For the rest of the day, I wasn't treated like Derris' errand girl. Instead, he treated me like an equal, for once. It was an experience that I would remember forever.By the time we got back to his home, it was getting pretty late so I wanted to get home as soon as possible and I told him so."Sure," he answered simply and waved over the driver from the day before.He told me to get back in the car and gave the driver the same instruction as before. Once the driver got in the car, he cupped my cheek through the open car window of the backseat where I was seated and gave a little smile."See you tomorrow, Red," he mumbled under his breath and pressed his cheek to my forehead. It was only for a few seconds but it was more than enough.I could only blink as my body was tried to process what just happened because I didn't quite get it too.On pul
On hearing the distinctly familiar voice, I whirled around and sure enough, it was him. Max Crest. "Oh! It's you. Morning," I addressed him, cheerfully, hoping that I'd wiped all evidence of tears away from my face. He didn't seem to buy it though. "Have you been crying? And what's with the clothes?" I looked down at the maid like outfit I was wearing and tried to think of some excuse as to why I wasn't wearing my uniform but I'd never been a good liar so I tried diverting the topic instead. "I haven't seen you in school for a few days. Have you been sick or something?" I placed my hand against his temple, hoping that would distract him. It didn't work. "Nice try, Allison but I'm on to you. Back to my question, why were you crying and why aren't you dressed in your uniform? And the truth please," his voice, though not commanding, told me that I had no choice but to tell him or he would find out either way. So I told him. Obviously, I d