Chapter 76 - Evening Rendezvous

Winter couldn't believe what she saw when she followed as she was told and looked out of the window.

Standing beside a light post just across the street is none other than Marcellus. He appears to be in his office uniform, meaning that he probably went straight there right after work. She also saw that he had his car with him, but she couldn't see anyone else. He must have driven all the way there on his own. 

Then, Winter locks eye contact with Marcellus at that moment - with her gaping a little, and him smiling up to her. 

"What are you doing here...?" she asked, stunned and confused. 

"And you already came back? Since when?"

"Just this evening..." he replied, still beaming up at her. 

"I thought of seeing you first before I go home."

"Idiot, you should've rested first! You must be tired!"

"It's fine, it's fine~ I'd rather see you than do that." 

"Are you for real? I can't invite you inside, you know. August is here."

"The thought is more than enough. It's alright."

"I'm going down there, okay? Hold on."

With that, she ended the call and turned away from the window.

Preparing to go out, she then pulled out a cardigan from her closet and put it around her. Like what she thought, she is going to stay up late tonight. She just didn't expect that he'd visit unannounced, though. Now, she had to go out there without getting noticed. It would be a mess if she was to get seen sneaking out.    

"Luckily, August is already asleep. Probably."

Soon enough, Winter reached where Marcellus was.

From there, she thought that the usual would only play out - she'd approach him, give her greeting, and go straight down to business. But then, she remembered all those text messages, their phone calls, his cheesy pick-up lines and love quotes, the late night talks and his romantic advances overall. In only a matter of days, he has turned from a massive flirt to a dorky helpless romantic. 

Now, he is right there before her, smiling oh so delightfully.

Never did Winter imagine that Marcellus could be this endearing - gone was the playful, mischievous facade he would always wear whenever he wanted to charm someone. The way he smiles at that moment is so sweet and loving that even his eyes are brightly grinning. If he so hopes for, he can light up this whole place with that look alone.    

"Lovely evening we're having, isn't it, princess~?"

Yet as soon as Marcellus started flirting again, Winter forced herself to snap out her trance and pretend to be indifferent.

She kept it cool and walked up to him, letting him set the conversation in motion. Only then did she realize that she should have braced herself for another round of his theatrics. 

"Been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me?" Marcellus cooed, reaching out to pat her head.

"No, I did not. How could I when you're annoying me everyday?" Winter grumbled and turned away, unamused.

"Don't be such a grumpy little lady. I just didn't want to make you feel lonely."

"I'm not being grumpy. And I wasn't lonely." 

"That's good, that's good~ All thanks to me, right?"

"Ughhh... For your information, I do have friends to hang out with. I even went out with Ace earlier-"

"You what?"

As she was about to tell him how her day went down, he cut her off all of the sudden, a little taken aback by what she said.

If he heard it right, she went out with her classmate who also happened to be crushing on her. He would've let her tell him the rest of the story had he not already known a part of it - he knew because an anonymous number had sent him a picture of them together in a coffee shop.

At first, he didn't believe it was her who's with him at that time. Since he's a bit concerned, he did try to know whose number it was. He also decided not to pay too much attention to the content since he didn't know who took that photo and what was the context behind it. 

What Marcellus only knew was that it showed Ace embracing some girl whose face was hidden - but now, he's getting the idea that she turned out to be Winter in the end.

"So, you two went out together, huh...?" he started again, his smile dimming and dropping slightly.

"Was it at a coffee shop?"

"Oh, you already knew...?" she said, looking so calm and unconcerned about it that he could not help but think she was taking it to be less of a big deal than he believed it was. 

"I guess pictures and videos did spread, after all. I didn't expect that you'd see it so soon, though."

"What was it all about? Care to explain?"

"What did you see, anyway? I'm betting you've misunderstood."

"So, you're saying it's not what it seems at all? I saw you being hugged by that kid."

"By that what?"

"That kid. That Miller kid, I mean."

It seemed like Marcellus and Ace had agreed to use some unique nicknames for each other.

Winter only lets out a sigh at this, having no choice but to tolerate their nonsensical, trivial banter. She'd understood it if it was Ace, but to think that even Marcellus would play along, she could only wonder if he could get any more childish than that.  

"That hug doesn't mean anything, Sir Lexington. It's not what you're thinking," she clarified and continued to explain the situation to him, including why she had to pretend to be her classmate's girlfriend and what had really happened back there.

Winter trusts that Marcellus is more sensible than he lets on.

He may be short-tempered and impatient sometimes, but at least, he remained quiet for the whole time he was hearing her out even though he still couldn't find it in himself to brighten up once more. Despite her reasons, he couldn't cheer up knowing that she had to be taken on a fake date by some guy and had to pretend to be his fake girlfriend to boot.

At most, he's relieved it's only an act. But still, fake or not, he's nowhere near pleased about it. 

"So, yeah, that's it. We're just pretending," Winter finished with a shrug, keeping it casual since she did not want to appear like she was still hiding something from him since she was really not. 

"If it's only an act, you'll let a guy hug you like that?" Marcellus said with a small smile, looking kind of passive yet strangely ambiguous at the same time. 

"Wait, what?"

"I mean, you did let him do all those things to you. Whether it's an act or not, you got to have a thing or two to say, no? Since you allowed him, then a part of you were most probably willing."

"Okay, you're not making any sense now, Marcellus-"

Before she could make another retort, he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him out nowhere, throwing her off guard. He then spun her around, switching positions with her, before he went ahead and backed her to the light post, giving her no choice but to lean on it.

Her eyes went as wide as saucers right then. She could only hold her breath as she looked at him in thunderstruck silence. He stayed collected through it all, showing her how he was in control. The way he stared down at her was gripping and intense - almost like he's piercing her straight in the guts. 

"If you're a guy who likes a girl and you find out she's volunteered to be another guy's fake girlfriend, I wonder how you will feel..." Marcellus muttered, voice thick and vehement.

"Then, you learned that she let him touch her the way she wouldn't let you touch her - pretense or not, wouldn't that feel like a punch on your face?" 

"I don't know..." Winter sighed in exasperation, unfazed. 

"First of all, I'm not a guy. And second, I've never been in love."

"Then, let's just say you wouldn't understand. You can't blame me for acting this way 'cause you yourself don't understand."

"Now, that's kind of unfair-"

"I don't really understand it well either. I never felt this thing before, after all. All I know is that I don't like it. I don't like how other guys touch you like that. It makes me angry. It drives me mad. You don't know how much I tried to resist it. This is why I wanted to see you right away. I can't bear this feeling."

She was still, but within her, she was disquieted and distraught.

He is honest and sincere, she can tell - and for the first time, she hopes he's not. Ever since he confessed to her, she wasn't sure if he was really serious about her, but at that very moment, she realized she couldn't possibly continue thinking like that -

Not when Marcellus is baring his heart open to Winter and looking so pathetically in love.