Chapter 77 - Of Presents And White Roses

Seeing how stunned Winter looked at that moment, Marcellus started thinking if talking with her while he was feeling like this was a good idea after all.

Even though he used to break hearts and play around just a short time ago, he knew so little about falling in love with someone. All these brand new emotions felt like a whole other world for him. It keeps on making him do so many things that he thought he would never do. One of them is definitely this -

Marcellus finds himself acting without thinking again. And this time, it really had to happen right in front of Winter. 

"I never fell for anyone before, and I never thought that I would ever do so..." he muttered as he leaned over and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"But this is just how it is. This is how I feel." 

"Just so you know, you look pathetic right now..." she then blurted out bluntly, making him flinch.

"Won't you hate that feeling of yours if I were to say that?" 

"You sure doesn't know how to hold back, huh?"

He has no idea why she needs to be like this all the time.

It's hard to get a hang of her stubbornness, much more with how frank she can be sometimes. He can't blame her for being a tough nut to crack, though - he did use to be an untrustworthy douchebag. It's what he deserves. Besides, her being headstrong and candid are some of the things he loves about her.

And they're probably what he needed at the moment. He needed to put an end to this drama.   

"Don't worry. I'm not only aware of how pathetic I look - I also feel that way too," Marcellus sighed in defeat before he finally pulled away from Winter and looked at her once more.

"And you're okay with that?"

"You won't understand. You said it yourself - you've never been in love before."

"Sorry, I'm not trying to make fun of you or anything. I just find it hard to believe that you'd go that far. I always thought that you're one to never open up that much. You do hate showing your weakness, after all, don't you?"

"This is not really about me anymore. This is about me and you. Besides, you can't choose someone you'll fall for - neither can you choose the time for it. When it happens, all you can do is to take what's before you and go along with it."

On second thought, Winter can never see Marcellus as uncool no matter how pathetically in love he may look.

He's immature and impulsive at times, but he can be quite perceptive and profound too. Just the other night, he asked her about what falling in love meant. But now, he's able to learn something meaningful from his own experience. 

"By the way, I've got something for you," he brought up all of the sudden before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small rectangular box with a ribbon wrapped around it. 

"Is it a souvenir from your business trip?" she asked, taken aback.

"Yeah. I saw it and thought that it would look good on you."

She accepted the present and opened it up to find an exquisite pair of hairpins. They have these tiny little snowflakes that were embellished with diamond gems and emerald stones. Like how the hair accessories beam up to her, she can't help but brighten up in pleasant surprise. With one glance alone, she could already find a meaningful sentiment behind the gift. 

It's simple yet beautiful. 

"Thank you, Sir Lexington..." Winter said and looked up again but only to find that Marcellus was no longer there.

"Huh? Sir Lexington?" 

Baffled, she looks around for him.

She's about to think that she's been ditched until she turns to where his car is. There, she sees him carrying a fluffy white teddy bear and a bouquet of white roses. Her eyes flew as wide as saucers at the sight while her everything seemed to still. She went stiff on her place, struck stunned and speechless.   

"What are those?!" Winter bolted out at Marcellus, not expecting that there would be more other than the hairpins that he gave to her. 

"Uhhh... A stuff toy and bouquet?"

"No, I mean, what are those for?!"

"You know that I couldn't pamper you for the last days because I was away. I'd been wanting to do this since the night of my confession, you see. And I'm courting you, am I not? It's normal to do this when you wanna woo someone-"

"What if August sees them?! I'll be in big trouble!"

"That's why I chose white roses instead of red ones."

"Wow. Genius."

"Look, I don't really mind if he sees them. Just tell him that it's from me."

"He still thinks you're my sugar daddy-"

"Well, I'm not. I'm someone asking to date you seriously."

As much as Winter doesn't want to, she can't help but blush at how Marcellus declared that.

He makes it sound so easy, especially with how dead serious he is. If only he knows how August has been treating every guy who tries to get close to her, he will understand what she means. 

"I'm aware that your elder brother is strict, and to be honest, I'm relieved he is. I also wouldn't want any guy to go after you. He's only trying to protect you. ..." he continued, smiling in understanding.

"Luckily for him, I have now come to take that role and relieve him from his duty~!" 

"So, that's what you mean...?" she deadpanned and let out a sigh.

"He'll definitely demand to meet you if he finds out about this."

"It'll be my pleasure to meet him too."

"I warned you."

"Don't fret. I'll handle it."

While Winter only sighed once more, Marcellus continued to reassure her - and with that, their conversation that night soon comes to a close.

---

Now that Marcellus had returned from his business trip, Winter could finally meet up with George and talk about the deal they made during the night of the party.

She had asked to make her appointment with him to be a three-party discussion. Although it would still be alright if she went alone, she knew she could not for several reasons. Part of that list was the likelihood that she would give too much details about herself. Even though she knew the trends that would boom in the near future and even did some research to use as credible pieces of evidence that could back up her predictions, she should pretend she knows less than what she really does.

That's why having Marcellus around is a good idea. He's a knowledgeable individual himself. Besides, another reason why Winter had to be with him was because she promised to involve him on this one. He did throw a tantrum the last time she left him out.

"Oh, you're going already, Winter?"

Winter was about to step out of their classroom when Ace called her all of the sudden.

Classed already dismissed. Their other classmates started taking their leave - or so she thought. For some reason, she realizes that she is the only one who's about to do that. Everyone else is still there, hanging about and fussing over something.   

"What's happening?" Winter asked, confused.

"Huh? Weren't you listening to the announcement earlier...?" Ace asked back, incredulous.

"Senior Prom is just two weeks away. We're having a meeting for that. It's a requirement."

"What?! It is?!"

"Seriously, you... You can be such an airhead sometimes."

Of course, she wouldn't know since she wasn't paying attention.

What she kept thinking about was her meeting with Marcellus and George later that afternoon. She was even supposed to use this time to finalize her preparations. But now that Ace has come to her with that news, she can't carry on with that plan anymore. 

'And the Senior Prom, he says...?' she thought to herself and recalled something important.

'Why, that's my birthday!'

Winter has just remembered that her eighteenth birthday was only a couple of weeks away.

Before she knew it, so much time already passed. Soon enough, the Middleton's would be coming to get her. It was her coming-of-age that marked the beginning of a whole new life for her, and it was the much-awaited prom that provided the perfect setting for that. She thought it would be fun, and she thought she would enjoy it -

But the experience turned out to be nowhere near pleasant in the end.   

"Oh, look who's trying to escape~" Courtney chimed in all of the sudden, joining Winter and Ace at the doorway of their classroom.

"Sneaky little Wintry is at it again, I see...!" Maxine exclaimed as she walked up to them, looking ready to start yet another mess. 

"If I can't escape this stupid stupid prom, then so can't you, Wintry! We're all in this together!"

"You can just not go, you know. Delinquents like you will only cause trouble there."

"Shut up, Courtney. If it wasn't a requirement for graduation, I wouldn't."   

Hearing that, Winter finds herself in a more troublesome situation - indeed, she can't leave at all.