Chapter 240 - The Transformation Of An Innocent Girl

"I-I'm not threatened by her!" Tanya replied as she backed away.

She didn't expect Danson to see her like this.

"I was simply scaring her so she would stop bothering you."

Danson smirked as he stretched out a hand to help Marissa up, "She hasn't bothered me at all...but you have! Don't let me see you ever again!"

Tanya looked at her friends nervously. There was nothing she could do. So, she waved her hand and they all quickly left.

After they were gone, Danson glanced at Marissa. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Marissa nodded her head as she looked at Danson. She recognized him. He was Emerson's best friend. She had been spying on Emerson since the first year of high school and this guy was always next to him so she naturally knew him well.

"Don't worry, they won't bother you again," Danson said.

Even though Marissa wasn't very good looking, there was an innocence to her that made him want to protect her.

"It's OK. I'm used to it," Marissa quickly replied as she began to walk away.

Danson watched as the girl walked away and felt the urge to chase after her, "I feel like I should make up for the bullying since they did it because of me. Can I treat you to some ice cream after school?"

"I don't like ice cream," Marissa replied.

"What about cake? All girls like cake," Danson persisted.

"No, I don't like sweet stuff."

"How about BBQ? I'll treat you to BBQ!" Danson said.

Marissa stopped and looked at Danson, "You don't have to apologize for what they did. You had no control over it. You've already done enough by saving me."

She then sped up and disappeared around the corner.

However, Danson did not give up. For some reason, the more that Marissa tried to avoid him, the more he wanted to get to know her.

"How about hotpot?"

"Oh...you must like Malatang!"

"What about pasta?"

He hassled her for weeks, trying to think of different dishes that she would agree to. But, he was rejected every single time.

Eventually, the other students at school began to notice this weird phenomenon. One of the best looking boys was following a not so good looking girl around school! Most importantly, he hadn't dated anyone for 3 weeks! That was unheard of.

Then, one day, as Danson and Emerson were leaving school, Danson spotted Marissa again. He ran over to her and said, "Emerson and I are having sesame noodles this afternoon. Would you like to join us?"

For the first time in 3 weeks, Marissa did not reject him straight away. Instead, she turned and glanced at Emerson. Then, after a bit of hesitation, she looked into Danson's eyes and nodded her head. 

Danson looked at the girl in surprise as his heart lit up. He had never felt so excited to eat with a girl before. It was like winning the jackpot!

He immediately grabbed onto her wrist and dragged her over to Emerson, "Emerson, this is Marissa, she's joining us for sesame noodles this afternoon." 

Emerson looked at Marissa and smiled. It was the first time he had ever looked Marissa in the eyes and smiled at her and she felt her heart race a million miles an hour. "It's nice to meet you," his charming voice echoed through her ear.

His voice melted her heart like butter.

After that day, Marissa began to realize that her only way to Emerson was through Danson, so she began to talk to Danson more and hang around with him more. And she was right. The more she saw Danson, the closer she grew to Emerson. Slowly, the three of them became good friends.

Danson had no idea that Marissa liked Emerson, so he genuinely treated her like a friend. He even invited her to the amus.e.m.e.nt park for her birthday because she mentioned her family was too poor to afford tickets. There was something sweet and innocent about her that he couldn't explain, and every time he saw her, he just wanted to make her smile. 

That day, at the amus.e.m.e.nt park, Danson couldn't take his eyes off Marissa. Her smile was pure and when she screamed, it was the cutest thing he had ever seen. The other kids at school said she was ugly, but he didn't think so at all. Underneath the braces and acne, she wasn't the most beautiful girl in the world, but she wasn't ugly either. She was just right.

Danson felt his heart race when he thought about this. He had never felt this way about a girl before. Sure, he had many girlfriends in the past. But, none of them lasted for more than a week because none of them gave him the urge to hold onto them. They were just for fun; there were no emotions involved. But, Marissa was different. She wasn't his girlfriend, but he had kept her by his side for 6 months at this point and he didn't want her to ever leave his side.

He had fallen in love with her.

However, he had no idea that Marissa only got close to him because of Emerson.

At first, Marissa was happy with just sharing a meal or sitting with Emerson. He was never interested in any girls, and she was the closest girl to him, so she was satisfied with that. But then, one day, Emerson arrived at school with a huge grin on his face.

"We danced," he said to Danson excitedly.

Danson gave Emerson a pat on the back. "You finally did it!" he cheered.

Marissa didn't know what they were talking about at first, but she quickly figured out that they were talking about a girl. A girl that Emerson had had a crush on for a long time.

That was when jealousy struck and she knew she had to do something. Emerson belonged to her. Who was this girl?

"How's she like? What do you like about her?" Marissa asked one day as she sat down with Emerson.

"She's kind, innocent, and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Plus, our parents are really good friends," Emerson replied.

Marissa frowned. In other words, this girl was rich and beautiful; two attributes that she didn't have.

So, she began to wonder: if she became rich and beautiful, would Emerson like her too?

With this thought, she began to set out a plan, a plan for the person she wanted to become. She started to do research on cosmetic surgery and makeup and she started to save money.

But, the costs were obviously too high for a high school student from a poor background like her to afford.

So, she had to find another way. How could she make money fast?

That was when Danson decided to invite her to dinner. And it was at that dinner that she made a decision that changed their lives forever.