Operation: Tame Her

9. GUILTY CONSCIENCE

The sting on his left cheek helped Greyson pull himself back to his senses. That was when he realized what an asshole he was as he stared at her farthering figure. His expression softened in guilt as he sighed. He wasn't actually that much of a jerk, but at one point, he acted out of character because of societal pressure--- until it just became a habit for him to talk like that to the women who approached him. If he didn't act like a jerk, he'd have most of them clinging and stalking him day and night.

Grey closed his eyes and before he knew it, he heard his own voice shouting loudly and clearly.

"I'm sorry!"

Venus stopped in her tracks the moment she heard the high-pitched tone of the boy. She wanted to raise her eyebrows at the sudden turn of events, but she knew how hard it was for some people to even utter those two words so she decided to go easy on him. A little bit of humility in a stone-hard, proud heart is already a huge progress.

She turned her face towards him once more. "Say again?" she said, wanting to confirm that she heard him right.

"I said," he sighed as he paced towards her. "I'm sorry. I was rude and arrogant." There was no longer a taint of fury or sarcasm in his voice. Only guilt and shame. Perhaps he misjudged her before and that made him treat her like trash. Either way, it was all his fault and doing.

"And?" Venus spoke, not content with his apology yet.

"And I disrespected you in more ways than one. I'm sorry for dragging you into my mess and saying that you're my girlfriend without your consent. And I'm sorry for insulting you even after you helped me."

"And?" she said again, sounding quite insisting.

"And thank you for helping me out there. I..." he cleared his throat. He didn't know if what he was saying now was more shameful than how he acted like a total jerk. "I appreciate your help. Let me make it up to you properly."

There was a smile that painted Venus' visage upon hearing the sincerity in his voice. 'Amazing! This guy is a total bipolar,' she thought, amused by the 180-degree turn of personality.

"Alright," she decided to utter. "Apology and gratitude accepted."

That lightened up Greyson's face. "Cool!" he excitedly said before grabbing her wrist, "Now, let's go!"

Venus flinched when he grabbed her hand again– pulling her back to the path they trailed a few minutes ago. So instead of raising her eyebrows, she ended up knitting them. 'What the– don't tell me we're back to dragging me somewhere again!'

"Where the hell are you dragging me again?" she snapped at him before they could even move away far enough from their last position. "You have a terrible habit, you know that?"

Grey stopped and glanced back with a shrug. "In the cafeteria, of course, I figured I owe you one and it's almost dinner so I thought you'd be hungry," he reasoned.

"No way!" Venus argued using the same stubborn tone he had been using all along. She pulled away from his grip and that caused the both of them to stop in the middle of the trail to the cafeteria.

He looked at her impatiently as if waiting for a reasonable explanation, and couldn't help but wear the same irritated face. He wasn't really in the mood for dramas and he was not willing to face one just because of her. Still, he sighed patiently. "Look, I already said sorry for offending you and you already slapped me for it. I'm just trying to feed you so my conscience won't bother me afterward."

Venus snickered at the boy. "Oh, that is just so nice of you!" she sarcastically exclaimed. "Fine. But not in the cafeteria, no." She shook her head.

Since he mentioned free dinner, anyway, why waste his money in the cafeteria? Grey wanted to roll his eyes at her unpredictable mood. He just couldn't fathom the girl.

"That place is full of idiots!" she claimed with a deep sigh as she shook her head. What can I say? Six words say it all.

What he did next made her almost drop her jaws.

He just... she thought, perplexed at the angelic sight of him, --chuckled! That's a genuine laugh, right?

As if suppressing his amusement in her words and (s***h) stubbornness. His face turned a bit brighter than his pitch-black aura. His lips were no longer tensely pressed as if they carried his weight: they, in fact, looked so light and inviting. His forehead was now unkinked, showing how fair the skin of his face was. His deadly glare became playfully clever-- making her understand why he was branded as the Charmer.

He looked like a devilish angel: An undoubtedly ravishing creature.

Before Venus even knew it, Greyson took her hand and began to walk again. This time, not to the way to the cafeteria, he was gentler. He was not dragging her along anymore, more like leading the way. Their hands clasped together; his grip was not too tight but also not too loose, just enough to not prevent her hand from escaping off his grip.

Students' eyes were on them. Of course, their attention was on them all along. Just that, their stares now looked more curious than intrigued-- more like they were watching a cute love story than a funny debate between two stubborn yet gorgeous people. Her ears caught some unflattering phrases from the crowd, yet she couldn't care less and she was too smart to know she shouldn't care at all.

Nonetheless, she felt his grip tightened, but not painful, as if assuring her that it was okay and that he was there for her. It was such a contradiction to his words, making Venus wonder what the real face of the boy truly was.

Venus Jung didn't know why she just followed him without hesitation. She didn't say anything-- nothing at all. She felt like the moment would break if she'd utter even a single word or even a single letter... and she didn't want to break the chant.