I walked into the house, immediately disappointed when I found a bunch of guys swinging punches in the living room and guzzling gallons of my mom’s favorite alcohol.
I sighed and started up the stairs to my bedroom. “Elizabeth!”
She came tumbling out the bedroom beside mine, looking half-dead, half-wasted. “Si, señior?”
“Take Spanish classes because you accent sucks,” I stated then. “And also, please, for the love of god… get at least fifteen guys out of this horror show before mom comes back.”
Elizabeth just waved off my response. “No can do! Mom ain’t coming back until Tuesday.”
My lashes lowered. “It’s Monday.”
“Yes, so we still have a day!” She wobbled around a touch, gazing over at her bedroom before she raised a finger. “Gimme a minute while I go puke.”
I rolled my eyes.
She dashed into her bedroom and I just started into my own room, gathering my previous school supplies from my desk and dumping into my backpack.
By the time I zipped it up, Lizzy came into my room, looking more sober now than before. “Hey… sis.”
“What?” I knew I sounded half-annoyed, but she already knew I was, so I didn’t care.
“Come downstairs,” she said then.
“No, I’m good,” I stated then, continuing to shuffle through my belongings.
She just caught my arm, making me yelp when she dragged me down the staircase.
“Excuse me?!” I argued.
“Oh, come on work-aholic. You can’t do homework ninety-percent of the time, alright?”
I glared. “Watch me.”
She just pulled me into the living room, and I growled low when she released me.
I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling particularly peeved right now.
Elizabeth was my twin sister, my fraternal twin, to be direct. And despite us only being three minutes apart, she considers me her younger sister because I came out last.
As you can tell… I was the scholar, she was the partier.
Everyone told me that twins were more alike, but she and I were complete opposites. Not that I didn’t like her… if I was being honest, I liked being around her because it brought some joy in my biology-filled life. But, in reality, she caused a lot of inconveniences… some good… some bad.
Lizzy caught my arm then and raised it, and I let her… because I had nothing else to do right now. “Everyone! This is my sister, Emma!”
All the guys just tipped their glass to me, and I closed my eyes, sighing.
“We are going to play a little game!” Lizzy said then, smirking.
I glanced over in annoyance. A game?
“Here are the rules,” she stated then, still clutching onto my arm. “I will put everyone in groups! In return, you must get to know each other in the span of twenty minutes. At the end, whoever shares the most wins! Alright?”
Everyone mumbled in agreement, apart from me.
“Alriiiiiight!” she said then, clapping her hands.
She gestured to a guy. “You, Alex. With Jamison. Cameron, with Dorthey. James, go with Alec.”
She then pointed to me. “And you go with Jase.”
I spared her an annoyed look. “I have to play, too?”
“Yes,” she said then, glaring slightly. “Miss, introvert.”
She then shoved me down onto the couch, and I gasped before I bounced back up.
“Alright, everyone. Have fun!”
The group yelled scattered cheers and yells of excitement, and I just sat there, numb as chatter burst among the room.
It was silent for too long… but then all the sudden a form stepped over, and a boy sat next to me.
I glanced over, sitting up straighter.
He was tall, thin, and lean. He had dark hair that looked half-messy, half-combed. He wore a dark grey T-shirt and some black Levi’s. Along with these, he had a long, chained necklace with a half-moon pendant at the end of it, although it was half-buried into the collar of his shirt.
I felt something deep in my chest thrash suddenly, and I gripped my shirt, trying to recuperate myself as warmth flooded my veins.
That was… odd.
I just smiled gently, ignoring this odd feeling. “You must be Jase. Hi, I’m Emma.”
He glanced over at me with his black eyes slicing deep into my skin, and a smile crossed his face.
Shadows of darkness crept through me at his expression, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise.
It wasn’t necessarily inviting smirk… no, it was the opposite. It was a dark smile that was half-seductive, half-menacing. It spelled the word dangerous with not so many letters. Danger with a promise.
Something told me he wasn’t thinking of something pleasant, and it made chills slice through me.
I swallowed something hard and stared forward, glancing around the room before looking back at him. “Uhm… we’re supposed to get to know each other.”
He just watched me with his dark eyes and an even darker grin, almost as if he was challenging me to pry something out of him.
I just lowered my lashes. “Are you going to stare at me all day or say something useful?”
The smile never left his face. “I like your dress.”
I stared for a moment, not expecting that answer at all. “Uh… thanks.”
Did he just compliment me? Out of all things, that was something I did not expect in the slightest. Especially with that dangerous aura surrounding him.
His outfit was cool, too, but I wasn’t going to say anything.
“So are you going to speak?” I asked him.
“I just did,” he stated then, tone dripping with amusement, “I said, I like your dress.”
“Thanks, but that’s really not helping my case here.”
“I never said I was helping your case,” he stated then, lashes lowering with his smile.
I did not like the look in his eyes. They suggested something dark was happening in that head of his.
What was he thinking about? This was going to kill me.
I cleared my throat and stared back forward. “Alright, I guess I’ll start. What’s your name?”
“Jase.”
“Jase, what?”
He inhaled through his teeth. “That’s classified.”
I glanced back at him, annoyed. “Can you be of help, here?”
“I think it’s my turn,” he said then, smirking. “Your name is Emma?”
I narrowed my eyes slightly. “Yes.”
“Do you sleep shirtless?” he said then, eyes glowing as if he was about to break into laughter. “Bra-less?”
I was more annoyed than concerned.
“Damn,” he said then, “I guess you’re hard to scare off.”
“Can you ask me something normal?” I said then. “Like… my favorite color?”
“Ah, but I already know that,” he said then, leaning back in his chair. “It’s blue. Turquoise with a mix of purple.”
I stared even longer.
How did he…? It’s one thing of he said blue because you know… blue is a normal color, but why was he so specific?
And why was he spot on?
“Fine, then… what’s your favorite hobby?” I asked him.
He thought this over for a moment, but I felt like he was mocking me. “Mmm… I like games.”
“Games?” I said then. “Can you be more specific?”
“Games,” he said then, smile still there, “regular games.”
“So like console games and stuff? Like the PS4?”
“I’m more of an old-fashioned guy.”
“So… PAC-MAN?”
“Nah,” he said then, tone dripping with amusement as he kept smiling, “I like fighting games.”
Of course, you do.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a criminal record the size of Santa’s “naughty list”.
“How many times do you shower in a day?” he asked me then. “Is your hair hard to tame?”
“Are all your questions going to be related to me being naked?” I asked him, annoyed.
“I was asking about your hair this time,” he responded, reaching out. “It’s so fluffy. Can I touch it?”
“No touchy.” I slapped his hand away. “I shower once a day. Like a normal person.”
He chuckled and set his hands in his lap.
“You look like a twice-a-day person,” he said then. “You look like you like cleanliness. Not germ-wise but organization. Do you reset everything in your room every night the way it was the day before? And then you sleep under blanket on top of your comforter, so you can easily make your bed in the morning?”
I stared at him again, jaw dropping. “How do you do that?”
What bothered me is that’s not something you recognize by stalking someone… that’s something you realize when they tell you. Because it happens in their head.
He grinned. “I can read people very well.”
Something told me he was lying. Something told me he knew me better than I wanted to admit.
But I shoved it down. “Favorite music genre?”
“You like electro-pop,” he said then.
Was this a joke? He was messing with me.
I wouldn’t let him scare me.
I glared despite the cold feeling sticking to my throat. “I meant your favorite genre.”
“Oh, my bad,” he smirked, “I like dark music.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“Nope. My turn,” he sighed, “have you ever dated before?”
“Can you just ask me what my favorite food is?” I said then.
“Why would I ask something I already know?” he said then, sighing. “It defeats the point of the game.”
Your every existence defeats the point of this game, Jase.
“Fine, whatever. Ask me something normal.”
“But that’s boring,” he said, drawing out the last word for dramatic effect.
I ignored him then.
“Your favorite number?” I pressed again, getting more random.
“303-223-2254,” he said then.
“That sounds like a phone number.”
“It is,” he said then, winking. “Call me.”
“I think we’re getting off topic.”
“Well, I think we’re on topic.”
“And I think you’re irritating.”
It was a lie. I was tangled in a web of whether I determined him attractive or full out stalker. Because he was two opposite sides of the spectrum right now.
He chuckled but said nothing more.
“Fine,” I growled then, “what are those marks on your arms from?”
He just glanced down at the line-like inky body marks on his upper-chest and neck before looking down at me. “It’s called tattoos. They’re very common now-a-days.”
I glared, not particularly happy with him right now.
“What do they resemble?” I asked him.
“I believe it’s my turn,” he said then, tipping his head to the side.
So help me god, if he asks another question about me being naked—
“You run a lot?” he said then. “You’re skinny. Like a toothpick.”
“Sure.”
“That sounded like a question.”
“Well, it’s my answer.”
“It’s a very lame one.”
“ALRIIIIIGHT TIIIIIME!” Lizzy yelled too loudly.
Jase and I cut our attention to the front of the room.
“Alright, since she’s my sister, she gets first dibs!” she waved to me. “What did you learn about Jase?”
I stood then, not feeling nervous at this huge crowd because there were other things making me nervous, but I just kept my annoyed expression.
“I shall list the things I learned about Jase in a small, short poem.”
I could feel his eyes—and his smile—on me.
“Jase,” I said then, brows raised in boredom, “stalker, dickwad, self-serving, and incredibly needy. He smells like pine soap and has a suntan over his arms and shoulders. Little does he know that can give him skin cancer. And I hope he dies from it.” I then bowed. “Voila.”
Everyone stared at me, and I could nearly hear crickets echoing through the room.
One person started clapping, and it only took me a second to realize it was Jase.
“This girl and her vocabulary, perfection.” He smiled at me.
I could just hear him thinking, Pine soap? Very aware of me, aren’t you?
I glared.
Elizabeth stepped over to me, whispering. “Uhm… is this some kind of flirting technique between you two?”
I sent her a look.
She just shrugged and stood back in her original place. “Alright, Jase. It’s your turn.”
I glanced over at him suspiciously.
“Sadly, I am not poetic,” he said then, sighing as he kept the smile. “But as for my knowledge of Emma, well… her favorite flavor of food depends on the day. She likes sour foods on Mondays and Wednesdays, sweet foods on the weekends, and savory foods every other day. Her favorite sweet food is watermelon which she looks forward to every summer. She likes seedless specifically that are hollow like the sound of an empty tree-trunk. Let alone that she loves to use the specific scent of rose with her brand of body wash. She loved to write in her spare time, she loves to draw—specifically anime characters—and her favorite pastime is binge watching Black Butler every three months.”
I stared at him with my mouth dropped.
How did he…? How did he know all that?
He glanced over at me with a smile.
I closed my mouth then and swallowed something hard, as something cold, but hot developed inside me.
The room was—once more—silent.
“W…” Lizzy said, “wow. And in twenty minutes, Jesus.”
She sent me a dubious look, but I ignored her.
She then spoke up. “Can anyone top that?”
There were scattered murmurs of “no’s” and shaking of heads.
“Alright, then… GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”
They all laughed in response and threaded through the doors of the front room, and Lizzy went to the kitchen to down some more water and possibly eat all of my crackers again.
Jase just remained in place.
I gazed down at him suspiciously as he sat there, still smiling at me.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“Name’s Jase,” he said then, tipping his head to the side. “I meant what I said, call me.”
“There’s no way in hell I’m remembering your phone number,” I said then. “And I’m not done with you. I have many questions that I want answered, so you are going to stay here and answer them.”
“Questions?” he said then, tipping his head to the side. “For what?”
I gritted my teeth.
I couldn’t tell him I was interested in him. I couldn’t tell him he intrigued me… or that he was scaring me either. His eyes weren’t exactly inviting, and I would be an idiot if I validated my fear to him… because for all I knew, he wanted that.
“Psychology class,” I lied. “We’re doing a project on… behavior.”
“Ah, yes,” he said then, smirking still, “the psychology course we’re both in together?”
I stared then, heart pounding harder.
Shit… shit. Why did I pick that class?
“Yes,” I said then, continuing with my lie. “Future assignment. The teacher likes me so she told me.”
“Mm… I see,” he said then, clearly knowing I was lying. “Although, I’d hate to cut this party short, but I have things that need tending to. You know what I mean, don’t you?”
He winked.
I stared at him.
What…? What was he suggesting?
“You do love your questions, though, but I have a meeting with friends in about twenty minutes.” He just lowered his lashes, standing up.
I stared when he caught my arm and scribbled down something in blue ink.
I stared down at it, finding a phone number.
“There,” he said then, stepping past me, “now you won’t forget.”
“Hey, wait! What about my questions?” I demanded.
He turned toward me from the front door and winked. “Call me. If you come to me, I’ll make time for you.” He smirked and turned toward the door. “I’ll be at Fantastics. That arcade near here. Feel free to come by anytime.” He winked.
And then he was gone.
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