"Hey." He said and waved casually while I was busy gaping at him in disbelief.
What the hell is he doing here!? "You!" I screamed. I didn’t bother to hide the tone in my voice that was laced with fury.
"Me!" He repeated cheerfully and batted his eyelashes at me like a little girl peering at her doll.
That gesture alone set my mood into a blazing ball of anger. I marched over to him in rage. I looked at the door lines and breathed out a sigh of relief when he hadn’t entered. For a moment, I feared that he might have been invited in by my dad, but that was thankfully not the case. "The hell are you doing here? Get out!"
"I haven't been in your house yet." He countered with a sly smirk.
"Then get the hell away from here!" I yelled.
"That's not very nice." He tsked.
"Gabriella." My father called, making me bring my attention back to him. He was looking at Al curiously with a slight frown. "Who is this boy?"
"No one." I answered at the same time as Prick said, "Her admirer."
At that, my father's eyes grew wide in shock, and I turned to Prick and glared daggers in his way. "H-Her admirer?" My father stammered.
"Dad, don't listen to him! He's crazy!" I said as I tried to snap my father back to reality by waving my hands in front of his face. He looked like he was in shock.
"Yeah." Prick agreed with a nod. "Crazy for your daughter, that is." Then he turned to me with a wink. I just grimaced at the garbage lines that I heard from him just now.
"Gabby? Ronald? What's going on?" Mother stepped out of the kitchen to see what was going on. She came over to us and saw Prick. "Who's he?"
"No one," I answered.
"Her admirer." Prick answered.
"Gabby's admirer." Dad followed.
My mom's eyes grew wide. "Her what?" Mom ask looked at Prick carefully before looking back at me. Even though she wasn't saying it out loud, I could see her thoughts through her eyes. She wondered how I was able to fish such a fine and good-looking guy such as Prick that even Dad looks like he approves of him. My mom gave me a once-over and stared at my clothes.
I was wearing an old baggy jersey shirt that ended at my knees and completely covering my gym shorts. My hair was down, and I was wearing a headband and showcasing my oily forehead.
"Gabby dear, can we have a moment?" She smiled brightly, but underneath I could already tell that it was a trap.
I gulped nervously and followed her through the living room until we paused in front of the stairs. "Gabby, I know you are beautiful, but seriously. This is ridiculous." She said and gestured at my clothing.
"Mom, I wore this all the time around the house." I calmly answered her.
"Yes, but this is different." She whispered and looked back at the living room where Dad and Al were talking. She looked back at me, her smile so wide it was blinding. "Honey, this time, there is a boy out there who is willing to date you!"
I raised a brow at my mother for her choice of words. "Why do I think that is insulting?"
She grabbed my shoulders before I could even take a step back. "I want you to go upstairs and change out of those clothes. Wear something nice. Maybe one of those dresses that you never wore."
"Mom, no!" I said and moved away from her.
"Don't you ‘no’ me, young lady. It's not every day a fine young man such as him would come up to date you. This is your chance, no go!" She attempted to push me up the stairs, up I retaliated.
"I don't want to! He's not important. Just close the door on his face!"
"Gabby!" Mom gasped. "Do not be rude to your admirer! It's hard enough that the young lad came to a girl’s house to introduce himself as your admirer! You don’t see men do that nowadays. Now go!"
"But-"
"Don't make me cut off the internet connection in the house." She threatened.
"You wouldn't." I gasped. Horrified. Not the internet connection!
My mom smirked. "Try me."
I looked into my mother's eyes to see any signs of hesitation or humor in them. Nothing. She was serious about this. To be fair, it was the first time that a boy approached me like this. But the boy outside isn’t even normal!
I wanted to scream and tell them the truth about Prick, but they obviously would not believe me.
"Fine!" I said and angrily turned my back to her and stomped my way up the stairs.
"Make sure to wear makeup and a pretty dress. I'm not kidding, Gabriella!"
"Alright already!" I growled and ran back to my room. I went to my bed, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it.
I was so pissed off!! It's his fault! If he hadn't shown up, then my parents and I would be having a nice dinner by now!!
This isn’t fair!
I marched towards my closet and the forbidden corner. My mom used to buy me dresses, but I never wore them, so I hung them up in the banned corner. I began flipping through them until I came across a simple white off-shoulder dress. No, I'm not wearing this dress to flaunt. I am picking this because it seems like the most decent one among the others that have cutoffs at the side, backless, low backs, plunging neckline, and cutoff's near the boob area.
I don't even know what my mother was thinking when she bought these dresses. I don't even know how my dad would react when he saw me in them.
I looked into the mirror and saw how well the dress fitted my figure. My brown hair was in a mess, and my blue eyes stood out well from the dress I was wearing. I don't even care about my appearance anymore and was just about to leave it when I saw the makeup thingies on my vanity table. My mom told me to put on some makeup, but she didn't tell me how to apply it, right?
Plus, what if I act like a pig and unappealing in front of Al enough so that he would find me creepy and run away himself?
A bad idea started to form in my head, and I quickly remembered a silly make-up tutorial that I saw on YouTube.
I snatched up my laptop and rushed through some failed tutorials. As instructed, I clicked one and proceeded to get eyeliner and draw an actual cat eye over my lids. On one side of my cheek, I even drew tree whiskers. Then I got some red lipstick and smudged it all over my lips, making sure it didn't follow the shape of my lips. My reflection in the mirror is so absurd that I would laugh if I knew how.
Surely Al would run away when he sees me now.
I looked at the mirror one last time in satisfaction before I headed out of my room and back into the living room. Once I did, I saw something that made my heart pound a thousand times that I almost took a shit right then and there.
Mom and Dad were still there. They were talking and laughing with Al, who wasn't outside of the door anymore. He was inside.
He was invited in by my parents.
"You have a good sense of humor, Aelfric. I like you." My dad laughed.
"Does that mean I can get to call you dad for future references?"
"Don't get too excited, child."
"Mom! Dad!" I screamed and ran towards them. They all turned in my way. My father looked horrified, my mother looked like she was going to murder me, and Al, well, he looked away.
Yes!! Fear me, Al. Fear me! I sent telepathic messages to Al.
"Gabby," Father paused. "What on earth did you do to your face?"
"Mom told me to put on some makeup."
"That is not how you put make-up!" My mother was outraged.
"You could have been specific about your instructions." I pointed out. I heard someone snickering behind me, and I turned to see Al pretending to cough as he hid his laughter. I saw him looking at me and observed my face.
I let him. Let him see me and run out of this house and steer clear of me forever. But the next thing that he did was unexpected. He started to laugh so hard that he doubled over.
I was furious. It was not the reaction that I was expecting! I turned back to my parents. "I can't believe you let him in!" I screamed.
"And invite me to dinner," Al added, still chuckling.
I gasped. "And you invited him for dinner?!"
Dad shrugged. "It's only natural that we let him in. He's your admirer, after all. We want to know more about him."
"I like your parents, Gabriella," Al said, who was snow standing close to me. "They are nice and...hospitable for letting me in." He grinned, and I saw the shadow over his eyes. It was a warning for me that he finally had control over our home. The hair on my arms stood up as I realized the kind of danger that my parents had invited.
"Aw. What a nice man for our daughter." Mom cooed.
I let out a grunt at mom's reaction and pointed at Al. "You guys can't possibly believe this guy! He's a weirdo!"
"I consider myself as unique."
"He's a creep."
"She's so cute when I tease her." He cooed.
"He's a stalker!" Why can’t my parents believe me on this?
"I only do that to make sure she's safe."
"He even knows where I live!"
"Who doesn't?"
"He follows me to school!"
"Like I said. It's for her safety."
"Well, he peaks through my win-"
"Point is," He quickly cut me off. "I want to court your daughter. If that is okay." Seeing my pissed-off look, he flashed me a million-dollar smile.
The look on mom and dad's faces was priceless. Mom looks like she is going to pass out while dad looks like a fish out of water. "Well," He said. "If you are asking for our permission to court her well......the decision is entirely up to her."
"I say no," I said.
"Like that. I'm sorry, Al. But we could still have dinner, though." Said my father, acknowledging my decision. This time, he looked supportive of my choice and looked like he would still side with me no matter what.
This is what I like about my dad. He's always concern about me and thinks of my future. All I could do at that moment was look at my father with tear-filled eyes because at least one of them knows how to prioritize their daughter.
"My father is a businessman, which means the our family is loaded." Added Prick in a deadpanned tone.
My father threw his head back and laughed while clapping his hands merrily at his words. He suddenly stopped and gave me a serious look before looking back at Al. He moved behind me pushed me closer toward the hybrid. "I approve!"
"Dad!" I screamed and immediately moved away from Al. "Great!" Al said and pulled a chain necklace with a yellow smiley face emoji charm. "This is for you. My first courting gift."
I slapped his hand away and glared. "I don't need it," I yelled at him and turned to my father. "I can't believe you!"
Screw what I said earlier. My family doesn’t care about me at all.
He only gave me a look and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's for your own good."
"No!" I screamed. "Dad, you can't just approve a guy because he's rich!"I said and looked at my mother for help. "Tell him, mom!"
"It is true that dating a person for his riches is not love." Mother said, making me throw my fist up in glee.
"Yes! See? Now, this is why mom is my favorite. She-”
"But the more you spend time with the man, then the more you will learn more about him that usually ends in love. Just look at your father and me. I dated him for his riches once."
My dad then turned to my mother, looking shocked and surprised. "Wait, what? You agree to date me because I was rich?"
My mom ignored my dad as she looked back at Al with a sweet smile."A pleasure to have you with us then, Al."
"Mom, no!"
"Thank you, ma’am. The pleasure is all mine."
"You kids relax a bit in the living room. Watch some tv or talk about something. I'm going to go and prepare our meal." My mother turned around and headed back for the kitchen. My father followed close behind her.
"Rebecca, are you serious about dating me because I was rich?" My dad persisted.
"Oh, hush you! It was a long time ago. I love you. I don't even care that you’re not rich anymore!" And my father and mother continued that conversation in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, I was left alone with Al. Somehow I couldn't shake off the fear and the thought that a vampire-werewolf hybrid was in our house!!
He managed to get an invite! Unbelievable.
"Well, that was fun." Said Al as he started to clap his hands. "Encore!"
"Will you quit that!?" I said in annoyance.
Al laughed and thankfully stopped. "Oh, and by the way, about me having a buck load of cash? That was all a lie! I'm broke. Hahaha!" He laughed. "So, what do you want to do now?"
"For you to get the hell out of my life!"
"You better watch your tone now, angel. You wouldn't want to anger me now, do you? Especially since I can finally go in and out of your place as I wish." His voice dropped dangerously low. My jaw dropped in utter disbelief and horror.
I truly felt fear of what he was and what he could do to my family and me for a moment there. Now that he can finally come and go into our house, there is no more safe place for us to hide.