"Let go off me". I screamed, trotting behind Marcus as he dragged me to God knew where.
      "Stop screaming in my ear chicken". Marcus scolded, not even stopping once to spare me a single glance. He seemed intent on getting me somewhere he had in mind.
     "Would you please stop calling me chicken?"
     "So would you prefer chick? Or side chick?"
     "When did you get so cocky?"
     "When did you get so demanding?"
       Ugh! He had a comeback for everything I said and it pissed me off. It always did. Big time.
       When we got to the front of the janitors room, he released my already bruised hand. He might have as well chopped it off. What did he want with me now? I wondered, massaging my wrist gently. My poor wrists.
      "Well,what did you bring me here for?" I scoffed, fuming at his self centeredness. He had a lot to learn about treating a lady right and this was coming from someone who has had tons of boyfriends. Yup, I said it. Tons
        He half shrugged his broad shoulders and glanced round, probably checking if we were being watched. The hallway was scanty so the probability of that happening was low.
       "I need to talk to you about something". He blurted out, leaning on the door to the janitors room with one hand in his pocket like it was the most natural thing on earth. So that's why he had to drag me all the way here when he could have asked politely and we'd have talked over the food, probably trying to ignore the stares of other kids like two normal people.
        But it still meant a lot coming from him. Marcus wanted to talk to me. For the first time he actually wanted to talk to me. Not that it was a big deal though...pfft! I got that a lot!
        I flicked my hair aside, putting up a "whatever" face while trying to suppress an internal freak out. His eyes seemed pretty intense.
       "And that would be?"
        He narrowed his eyes at me with a frightening note of seriousness written all over his face.
       "The day you came back from the grocery store with my mom, I overheard the both of you talking about me through the kitchen door".
        Busted! Wait wasn't the kitchen door locked?
       "You mean the locked kitchen door". I completed folding my arms across my chest. "Don't tell me you eavesdropped on our conversation" I gasped, feigning surprise. I knew this was going nowhere but it couldn't hurt to divert his attention a little.
       "Overheard. Eavesdropped. I don't see the difference".
       "Well for starters, overhear is to -"
       "I don't care about what it means. Don't try to act smart on me".
        I let out an exhausted sigh. Obviously, he was too smart to be tricked. "Fine".
        Just because he overheard - eavesdropped on our conversation didn't mean he heard the deal right? He could have left before then.
       "I know about the deal you made with her". He added, confirming my thoughts ever so accurately. He obviously had the power of telepathy, no doubt about that.
        I shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other. I didn't see where this was going. Was he mad, angry or cool with it?... Just a clue, anything at all. So he knew about the deal, now what?
        Marcus took his weight off the door and looked at me square in the face. "What were you thinking when you made that dumb deal with my mom?"
        Good question. What the hell was I  thinking? "I -"
       "Did you think you were doing some sort of charity work by accepting the deal?" He cut me off, his eyes unreadable. His once cheesy face I'd glimpsed in the cafeteria was long gone, replaced by his cold facade. Nothing really lasts forever.
       I opened my mouth and closed it, clearly stunned. It was Crystal clear that Marcus hated favours even when it tended to favour him. Didn't all favours favour? What was I even thinking? Brain, work with me here!
        If I got angry and walked out, it would mean he won. I couldn't get mad at him, at least not at this instant even though the urge to dig a fork into his eyes was really appealing. News flash, I did it for his sake not mine. A single "thank you but you shouldn't have" would have done.
       "She told me about your dad". I said on impulse, not giving him the satisfaction of brimming up with tears and running away just because of a few harsh words. Few was an understatement. A whole lot.
       Call me a proud Queen but if I wasn't as strong as I was, I would have probably curled up into a hole and wept my ass out.
       His lips twitched with streams of emotions coating his exterior. Before I knew it, he started bawling out a marathon of words at me. I was sure he could pass for Eminem's clone or Buster Rhyme; whichever rapped best. It wasn't my area of specialty and I certainly didn't care to task my brain with stuff like that.
       The most repeated words I could catch were fuck, fuck, fuck and oh - fuck. On a normal basis, I'd have cringed from hearing the F-word too long but now as I stood a few feet away from him, I felt nothing towards him but pity.
       Marcus began speaking in a language I could understand; English to be precise, other than his ancient string of curses that I was sure must have originated from the first set of cavemen to walk the Earth. Probably.
       "That woman fucking told you".
         I winced. "She's your mom".
       "I know who she is!"
        I fell silent. It was a few seconds to the end of lunch break and here I was, forfeiting it for a seemingly unreasonable chit chat with Marcus. He released one long exhausted sigh. Glad to see we were on the same page. He felt it too.
       "You need to call the deal off".
        I gaped at him with wide eyes. Call the deal off? Like back away? Disappoint Mrs Ross?  Deviate from my responsibility of fixing him? What was I even thinking? It wasn't my responsibility in any way. He wasn't.
       "To save you the embarrassment, I'll tell her myself".
         To save me the embarrassment? Tsk, what was he, a comedian?
       "You're welcome". He chided sarcastically when he sensed no reply was forthcoming from me.
        I propped my hands high on my hips and angled my head sideways, giving him a glimpse of my evil sided face. Shit just got real.
       "What if I don't want to call it off?  What if I say I don't give a rat's skinny ass about what you think of the deal?"
        At first he looked stunned by my grand and smooth evil entry, I'm guessing, maybe probably just my imagination then it faded as quickly as it came and metamorphosed into something...teasy.
        He shrugged his shoulders and took his weight off the wall, a gesture that meant he was about to leave or dismiss the matter. What were the odds anyway?
       "Well then I guess you just have to deal with this". He extended both hands at his side, giving me a good view of his body -damn! He meant it the usual normal way a thinking person would take it but somehow, my perverted mind had other ideas.
       "Hey, my eyes are up here".
        Color me totally shocked and embarrassed. I knew I probably looked redder than Rudolph the reindeer's nose. Marcus had a smug look on his face. I hated to be the cause of his boosting ego but hey, it wasn't my fault that my eyes had wandered off into danger territory. Inquisitiveness was my middle name so yeah.
       "Don't flatter yourself Marcus. I'm not in anyway interested in you". I stated matter -  of - factly to be on a safer side of things. I didn't want him to think I was just another love struck fan girl.
       "Got it". He replied, although he didn't seem genuine about it. "I'll make sure to remember that".
        I rolled my eyes before angling my head sideways to check the time on my watch. "I need to get to class".
        He just nodded, uninterested."Meet me by the school gate when school closes. I'll be waiting".
        I cocked one brow in suspicion. "Why?"
       "No questions, just be there". He brought his face close to my ear and whispered softly. "It's a surprise". With that, he breezed past me, blending in with other kids till I could no longer see him.

                         .....................

        He hadn't been bluffing when he said he'll be waiting. I didn't know specifically what made me comply to his instruction but somehow I found myself walking up to him while he leaned in the wall. Surely he had a thing for walls. Maybe it added to his machoism or made him look spooky and Goth. Either way, it was working for him.
        He turned to me before I could come any closer, letting his gaze linger on me for a while. I hated being at the receiving end of his trade mark glare, it sent shivers down my spine. Spooky.
       "Well, I'm here. What were your other two wishes?"
        He broke into a cocky smile that lasted for only seconds. Not that I'd expected more anyway. "Cool line".
       "Get to the point Marcus". I scoffed, folding both my hands across my chest. "What's the surprise?"
        "Me". He said, extending both hands at his sides. I wasn't gonna fall into his trap this time. He was as slippery as snot on a doorknob. Okay, disgusting and disturbing comparison but still, get my point.
       "Yay". I exclaimed, sarcasm lacing my voice. "I'm indeed very delighted to have the privilege MiLord". I intoned with a feigned British accent I'd picked up from nowhere, making my eyes gleam a little too bright, looking like it might pop off at any second.
        It started off as a chuckle at first then bloomed into a melodious fit of laughter. He lolled his head backwards in the process, giving me a view of his throbbing white throat. He had a fine set of teeth that could pass for toothpaste commercials. Boy was he hot! This was the first time I'd seen and heard him laugh and it was - well, it was something.
        He caught himself in time and immediately cleared his throat when he noticed some of the kids in school throwing him surprised stares. The glints in his eyes were still there.
       "Pretend I never did that". He muttered uncomfortably, while scratching the nape of his neck. "Don't make funny jokes like that, I don't like the idea of not being, Uhm - myself".
        I smiled to myself. "I guess in that case you need to get used to it. But really, what did you call me here for?"
       "You're not buying what I told you right?"
       "Absolutely not".
       "You're smarter than I thought". He remarked casually, making it seem like it were a compliment. It was a mild insult on my part, a poke to my ego, a blister to my woman hood, a - never mind. I could keep them coming but what gives?
       "Actually it's your first test".
       "My first what?"
        He crossed his legs at the ankle and gazed at me, eye to eye, pupil to pupil. "You heard me clearly and I'm not going to say it twice." He paused dramatically, taking in my puzzled face. "In order to help your pathetic deal of fixing me, I'm going to give you the space and opportunity of doing so".
        Yay me right? Quick question, was this supposed to make my day or what?
        He went on, unabashed. "So, your first test is to take me out to the nearest cafe".
       "You're seriously kidding right?"
       "Does this look like my kidding face?" Marcus retorted, pointing a finger at a face that lacked any hint of expression.
       "Consider this the first day of Christmas".

A/N: So chapter ten is finally out, yay!!! A big thank you for reading this book and coming this far. Also, sorry for not updating earlier, I kinda have problems with my phone. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though. I really wish to know what you guys think of my book and the characters. As usual, the comment section is open to you lovely readers to put in, one or more comments. And if you think it's worth it, which I sincerely hope it is, push that little star below.

Well, that's all for now. Aloha fellas!!