Chapter 75 - Late Night Visit

Not wanting to get caught by Ace and August, Winter just decided to deal with Marcellus later in the evening when the coast is finally clear. 

Knowing him, he still probably kept sending her text messages even though she told him not to since she would not be able to reply to them while she was out. If she is to open her inbox and read them now, she doubts she can keep a straight expression for too long. That's not only because he's such a dork who has the cheesiest pick-up lines she's ever come across with, but he's also fond of bragging his qualities as a potential 'boyfriend material' and embarrassing her with his cringey sweet-nothings.  

'But even with all of that, I still can't find it in myself to believe that there's a deep meaning to this love of yours, Marcellus Lexington...' Winter thought, thinking that Marcellus would get tired of her sooner or later.

'Instead of pushing you away, I'd let you see for yourself that doing all of these isn't worth it.' 

It may be bitchy of her to let a guy go 'round and 'round in circles for nothing, but this is her only way to see if he really means everything he says. Besides, she herself is still not sure about what she truly feels about him. Nonetheless, she is not making him pursue her on purpose just to give him a taste of his own medicine, and she is definitely not trying to get back to him for being a douche of a husband. 

In the end, this is only yet another matter that is completely out of her control - she'll have to let her present decisions lead her to a future that she hasn't experienced before.

"How about you, Winter?" Ace chimed in, making Winter snap out of her thoughts and look back at him.

"Huh? You said something?"

"I'm asking if you don't like horror movies."

"Oh, ummm... Not really, I guess. I enjoy them from time to time. I don't really get scared that easily."

"What about this movie? Do you find this one scary?"

"Oh, yes! Very."

From there, he regards her in silence, contemplating about something she can't quite figure out. She's not sure why he asked that, but she could tell that he seemed to be somewhat expectant - and even kind of pleased, for some reason. 

'What is he up to?' she wondered, getting a feeling that he was planning something. 

But then, she completely forgot about that when she started to get too caught up in the movie.

Little did Winter know that Ace did want her to get a little scared - maybe just enough to make her want to hold his hand or cling onto his arm or something like those. He has that boyish side of him, after all. For once, he wants to look manly in front of her.  

"Kyahhhhhh...!" she screeched out loud in surprise when a certain scene came in and scared the living daylights out of her - it was when the villain appeared out of nowhere and pushed the main character into a hole at a cemetery which turned out to be a burial pit.  

"Gosh! That gets me every single time!"  

That's when Ace had his chance.

Seeing Winter get so frightened that she curled into a ball like one adorable hedgehog and started hugging her knees for comfort, he pulled out some smooth move and scooted closer to her. He then stretched out one of his arms and reached behind her before putting it around her shoulders. She was too focused to take notice of this small yet meaningful gesture, which did nothing but make him want to see it through even more.

But that's until someone suddenly appeared behind the two of them.

"Boo!"

"Kyahhhhhh!"

This time, Ace joined Winter in her Screaming Fest™.

They felt their souls left their bodies right then. It was so sudden that it startled them to the point they almost staggered. While she got extra in her reaction since she was watching a freaking horror movie, her classmate, on the other hand, was taken aback since he almost got caught making an advance on her. 

Dumbfounded, the two then turned around in sync to see who gave them quite the scare.  

"Hi there, Winter...!" Violet greeted with a beaming smile.

"And hello to you too, my lil' bro~" 

"Ms. Violet...?!" Winter exclaimed, sharing the same nonplussed expression as Ace.

"How come you're here?"  

"I invited her to come over." 

August then appeared at the side, carrying two bowls of popcorn with him.

Violet grinned at him in gratitude to which he simply nodded in return. Going by that short interaction as well as the fact that it was him who told her to come, Winter could tell that they had gotten a little closer. Much like her, Ace was surprised about this too. They glanced at each other as if they were having the same thoughts before they looked back at them once more.

"How could you hog Winter all for yourself, Ace?! Siblings should know how to share!" Violet started to rant as she joined them on the floor and sat in between them. 

"V-Violet... T-That's not... It's not what you think," Ace tried to reason out, already getting overwhelmed by the presence of his doting sister as well as his crush's overprotective brother.

"You can join us if you want, Ms. Violet. We don't mind..." Winter reassured her, much to her delight.  

"Isn't that right, Ace?"

Defeated, he could only nod at that. 

It seemed like he had to abort his mission to make his crush see his manliness. Not that he didn't want his sister to be there, but he's more than certain that she'd be hogging his classmate's attention all to herself from that point on.

'And I bet that's what he wants...' Ace begrudgingly thought as he took a glance at August who then gave him what seemed to be the smuggest smirk he saw on someone.  

'Ughhh... Talk about meddlesome.'

--- 

"Fifty eight text messages and ten missed calls, huh? I don't even know if I should still be surprised or what." 

Winter couldn't help but sigh the moment she saw her inbox that evening.

Their movie night ended just a moment ago - with the Miller's joining them for dinner and staying for a little bit longer after that. She's in her bedroom right now, having only finished taking a shower. Yet sleep time still feels like an eternity away for her. There's one last business she needs to deal with, which she feels will make her stay up late tonight.  

Winter was about to send Marcellus a message. But that's until he called her out of nowhere, throwing away her idea to make one brief yet comprehensive explanation of how her day went down. 

"And now he's calling. Great..." she muttered to herself first before answering the call.

"You know, Marcellus Lexington, I'm starting to get skeptic if you're really on a business trip. How come you have all that time to send me fifty eight text messages and call ten times? Aren't you busy?" 

Winter didn't hear Marcellus reply.

There's nothing but silence at the other end of the line, making her feel a little guilty as it goes on for the next seconds to come. She probably went too far with that greeting of hers, and she really came out like she was complaining. But she kept her pride. It's not like this is the first time she talked like that to him.  

"I was on a business trip. And I really didn't have that much free time..." Marcellus answered at last, and Winter swore she could feel him smiling as he did so. 

"It's just that I always make sure I have time for you." 

She went still at that.

For some reason, she felt her heart flutter and did a somersault. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew she was pleasantly surprised by what he said. But she kept her calm and cool. She then forced herself not to pay much attention to it. 

"Hmmm... Yeah, well. Tell me about it," Winter flatly said, acting bored.

"Can you save my love letters for later? You can read them for as long as you like. In the meantime, I want to talk with you. It's been a while, after all," Marcellus continued, carrying on with his flirting. 

"What do you mean it's been a while? You call me everyday."

"I'm not talking about merely talking through the phone. I'm saying I want to see you."

Once more, she went still, her eyes widening.

She can't keep her heartbeat from picking up pace. No matter how hard she tried to repress it, she couldn't help but feel this way. Then, before she realizes it, she's starting to feel expectant. 

"Look out of your window, Winter."

And when Marcellus said that with that soft, gentle voice of his, calling her name like the cool, soothing evening breeze, Winter found herself blown away at that very moment.