Chapter 55 - Favorite Things

(From Ella's Perspective)

"Huh?"

"Now, as you said, I'll show you my hobby."

"No..."

"Just kidding, Ella. I won't do anything if you don't want me to," he said. 

But I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted this so badly. But I could not tell him that. I needed to make sure that he was the right person for me before giving myself away. 

The moment he said he was going to mark me was one of the biggest shocks I got. I could not believe he wanted to do that. When Anders said that a shifter was going to mark me, not for once I thought about him. He was always off-limits to me. I thought that I was not worthy of him. He was so handsome, powerful, and perfect while I was just Ella, with no talents. How could he want to mark me knowing perfectly that it was going to be a bond till death? 

"I'll go cook then," he said and almost got down the bed.

"Wait," I said quickly. 

"What?"

"Well, if you mark me, then what would others take warning of this? I mean, it would be just a warning, right?"

He brought his face close to my ear, his breathing falling on my skin like a fire-breathing dragon. "If I mark you, it will mean you're mine. No one will dare to touch you. If they do, they have to face me. And no woman can touch me. If they do, they have to bear the consequences. Because_ I'm yours."

He stood up straight and left me, just like that. I was still processing what he had just said. He said those things with so much confidence that I felt that they were true. He said that he never lied. Then it was true. Everything he said...

"Wait! Let me help you," I said and ran behind him inside the kitchen. 

He was good at cooking. And I could not cook at all. I felt like a useless shit at that moment, standing there and watching him doing everything. 

"I want to do something too," I said. 

"You can't cook," he said placing the pot over the open fire carelessly. 

"But I still want to do something."

"You really want to do something?"

"Yes."

"Then sit on the table."

"What?"

"Sit on the table and tell me about your favorite things."

"You want to know?" I asked, finding it hard to believe. 

"Why not? Come on, go sit on the table and start talking," he said without looking at me.

I did not need to be told twice. I got up on the table and sat on it, swinging my legs. Even though most pretty girls were tall, being short had some advantages as well. I wanted to be tall, but sometimes, I enjoyed being short as well. 

"So where should I start?" I asked.

"You're asking this to me? You're the one who talks the most."

"You don't talk less either. These days, you talk a lot too. But it's cool, you know, to have a friend..."

"Friend?" he snarled, suddenly angry as he came over to me at the table with both of his hands on either side of me. "I think I told you that we aren't friends. We can never be friends."

"But why? Am I that bad?" I asked. 

"You don't get it, do you? Can't you sense the things that I want to do to you? Can't you find it hard to understand even though I kiss you? Do friends do that? Do they?" he asked firmly, his cold tone lingering in my ears.

"N-No," I mumbled. 

"See why we can't be friends?"

"But then what are we?"

"Whatever we are, we are definitely not friends," he said and backed away. 

"You confuse me, Leandro. I've never met anyone quite intriguing and caring at the same time," I said. 

"Caring, did you say?" he chuckled.

"Don't you care?" I asked, pouting.

"Oh, I do," he said and then added almost quietly, "More than I thought." 

"Anyway, so I'm supposed to tell you about my favorite things, right? Let's start then. My favorite fruit is watermelon. I like them a lot. I mean, really a lot. They are so refreshing, you know, and cold. I can't eat them much though..."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Well, Linda doesn't like them. Mom and Owen are not fond of it as well. So, they don't buy watermelons. Sometimes I buy with the money that I used to earn working in the cafe, but the salary isn't too much. So, I can't just go around and buy watermelons, right? I need to buy my clothes and other stuff as well. Anyway, what about you? What's your favorite fruit?"

"Do you like watermelons a lot?" he asked without answering my questions. 

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. And I don't have any kind of choice about these things, but I think strawberries are good."

"You like strawberries?" I said, grinning. 

"Why are you laughing?"

"No, I mean, I didn't expect you to be a strawberry guy," I said. 

"Strawberry guy? What kind of name is that?"

"I just made it up. But strawberries are good. Linda has them all the time. Well, she has those chocolate-covered strawberries gifted by that brat," I said. "Anyway, my favorite animal is... I don't know. I like all types of animals, except... What's your favorite animal?"

"What animal don't you like?" 

"It's not..."

"You promised me that you'll tell me about your before life."

"But you haven't taken me to the pub today."

"As I promised you, I will. Perhaps not today, but soon," he said. "Now tell me."

"I hate spiders. They are really horrible looking... Did you see the way they walk? Oh, that's disgusting! I fell in my bathroom once seeing a huge spider beside the toilet. And another time, I fainted after seeing one in the stairwell. I mean, seriously, why do these animals have to be on earth?" I said. "Now I said it. It's your turn. Tell me what's your favorite animal."

"I don't have any favorite animal."

"You like all of them?"

"No. I like none of them. But I manage to bear with them," he said coldly. 

"Okay. But you're weird. Alright, so I like this song 'Love Story' a lot. I know it's a very old song, I mean, it's about thirteen years old. But still, I like it a lot. Taylor Swift sang this. Do you know her? Oh, how can you know her? Anyway, she is this blonde artist with a beautiful smile and literally, a perfect face. Her voice is really great and she is an amazing person. I mean, I haven't met her in person, of course, and celebrities can be unpredictable, but as far I've seen her on TV and heard her speak, I think she is not a bad person. Well, 'Love Story; is not my favorite song, but I like it. I like a lot of songs. That's why I don't have any favorites. Sometimes, I like those rap songs with bad words in them. They make me feel badass in a way. Is it weird? Do you think it's weird to feel that way? Then sometimes, I listen to those sad songs and become sad for no particular reason. And other times, I listen to those songs that have way too many romantic words in them. Honestly saying, I like all kinds of songs as long as they make me get lost in them," I said. 

"Then I don't have any favorite movie either. I like all types of movies as long as they match my taste. I watched Marvel movies. I like Captain America, you know. He is_ handsome. I won't lie, but I was obsessed with the character for a few days after watching the first movie. But then, I went back to normal again. I can't just hold onto a character, right? But Zoe still hasn't gotten over that one character, I forgot the name. She has multiple crushes, you know. She..."

"What about you? Don't you have any crush?" he asked suddenly.

"Me? Huh! No, I don't have any crush. Why would I? I mean, I don't really find anyone that attractive to have a crush on. And besides, I still don't understand the thing going on with crush. I understand that liking someone excessively as possible. But I don't think there is a meaning of one-sided liking. It doesn't have any end in the end. If one finds another person attractive and the other person doesn't feel the same way and it's too obvious, then I think the best option is to let go. It will save two persons' emotional health."

"You seem to care too much about emotions."

"Only my emotions. I don't really care about others that much. Caring about someone's physical being is easy. Like you can save someone's life or something like that easily. But if you actually want to care about someone's emotions, then the person must be very close to you or special in your life.. I never had anyone like that. Why would I care?"