Marvin Troupe

"Alright, Ramirez. Spill. Why don't you want your friends to know what you look like?" Markus asked as we walked out the library.

Why does he have to catch on fast? "It's none of your business."I snapped back. Geez, is silence not an obvious gesture of discomfort in this country?

"Fine, I'll wait for you to trust me enough. But until then, I guess I should probably assume that you had plastic surgery before you moved here." Markus shrugged, leading me to the greenery I could only assume was a courtyard.

"Assume what you like. All I'm saying is that I'm far too poor to afford plastic surgery that either way my grandfather would disapprove of." I reply. Damn this reminds me of... him.

Markus stared at me as if he was going to devour my body and invade my soul. That is way el creepo right there, no doubt about it.

"Fine. Before I moved here, I was a little fat, alright? I had chubby cheeks that made people think I was a kid, and my and arms thighs were all flabby but for some reason, I never had a problem with my stomach. Anyway, here's a picture." I said, opening my bag and showing him a picture of me six months ago, a week after I moved in with my aunt.

"Hot diggity. Are you sure this is you? Because you totally look like..." Markus drawled, suddenly staring off in the distance. A hurrah for the dum dum please.

"Like who, Lurky?" Is it possible for him to be... but why would he undergo a name change? That's impossible.

It took him a while to answer. Around the same time it took use to get to the courtyard, which was a bit far. Dang the dude must've been thinking deep thoughts. If only I could read them...

"And over here, we have the courtyard, where most kids eat lunch and just chill."

"Did it seriously take you ten minutes to make that up, Genius? We may not have stuff like that back at my old school but I sure saw them in movies." I reply almost snarkily. Way to be mean, stupid.

"Alright then, since you know what this is, then maybe I should show you the best hiding places where you can spy on the populars." He said, motioning for me to come closer.

"We need to get those populars a new name. How about Marvin? It's inconspicuous and I love that name." I said, following him to one of the cool-looking mahogany trees.

"True. So, from this tree, I call him Yokai by the way, you can easily listen in on a lot of conversations if you climb the right height and ease up the right way." Markus blabbed as he put down his awesome-looking backpack.

Within seconds he was up and out of sight in the large tree. I so need to learn how to do that.

I walked around the tree and still no Markus. Did he teleport. Geez, thanks for leaving me behind, Lurky.

"Hey Ramirez, your a*s, I need it up here with beside mine. And could you throw my bag up? Lunch is about to start for the Paulson crew and they're gonna have it right here." Dear god. He was not kidding when he meant well hidden. If he didn't want to be seen, he couldn't. That's genius!

I scurried up as fast as I could to where he was sitting after I threw his bag up and no sooner than I had plunked my sexy posterior on one of the sturdy branches, the lunch bell rang.

"Just in time, Ramirez, just in time..." he murmured, looking at the ground. What the hell are you thinking about, Lurky?

"So, when they get here, you're gonna want to be quiet. You'll most likely be the subject today." Markus pointed out.

Five minutes later, Jason Paulson and a few other people parked their keisters under the tree.

"Have you guys seen the new kid?" A skanky-looking girl asked.

Am I supposed to be happy that they all know me or scared that they might criticise me? Let's go with the former. It seems much less of a possibility.

"She seems nice and and it doesn't hurt that she's got a great a*s." Jason, my fake baby daddy, chirped in.

I have a great a*s? I looked over at Markus and saw that he was silently laughing his a*s off. What a geezer.

"I'm with you on that note, Jace." His friend said while high fiving Jason.

If I wasn't supposed to be hiding from these people I'd probably be punching the daylights out of them.

"Oh please, that b***h must've got plastic surgery. There is no way an a*s like that could be natural." A girl with heavy makeup said.

Markus must have known I wanted to drop-kick that w***e because next thing I knew, his hands were around my waist and stopping me from falling.

He breathed into my ear and spoke, "Whoa there, Princess. Take a deep breathe. I don't need anyone knowing my hideout."

My heart skipped a beat. This is too movie-esque to be true.

"Ohmigosh. Guess what Jan texted me!" The girl said again, looking up from her phone.

Not even waiting for a reply, she continued. "Apparently, Ethan is gay. And he's going to ask Josh out. We have to be there for poor Josh, you guys. We can't let that gay idiot taint our friend!"

The Marvin troupe then collected their things and went off to "support" their "poor" friend.

Markus let out a sigh and jumped down as soon as they were out of sight.

"That... was close." He said. No duh genius.

"So let's go on with the tour. All they even talked about was my a*s. Geezus." I said.

Soon enough, we had ended up laughing our butt cheeks off on the school roof.

"So you just sat there while your friend spilled spirit of ammonia on that poor kids wound?"

I just nodded. "I didn't know what she was doing and Kyle was busy crushing ice for the ice pack!" I defended.

"You just suck at first aid, man. How were you even president of your schools Red Cross club?" Oh god. Don't even get me started.

"Well, we decided on a democratic approach and I knew most of the student body. So yeah, they voted for me." I shrugged. Hey, it's true!

Markus was about to say something when his phone rang. He excused himself and I was all alone in the panoramic rooftop overlooking the beautiful town with the wind whipping my face.

The view was exhilarating

When he came back, we continued the tour of the school and when we were finished, it was last period and we were waiting for his ride, talking about the books we've read in the past.

"No way! You've read I am Number Four too!?!" He exclaims, his eyes widening and his pouty lips forming an 'o' in shock.

I shrugged. What can I say? James Frey made me want to be an alien. "I have to admit, I finished the entire series. PLUS novellas." I reply, hoping he isn't one of those people who reads the book right before the movie premieres.

"Me too! Damnit, Chris, you are one hardcore girl! It's a miracle you aren't one of those stuck-up girls who read books to impress people. Or impress people in general."

Before I could reply, the simultaneous honks from two different cars signified the end of our conversation. Recognizing the sound, I knew it was my aunt and quite possibly, Markus' sister's car. I looked Markus beside me but only to be greeted by an empty space of where he used to be. I raise my head to the cars again and realize he's walking towards it.

God, I'm such a bird-brain. How did I not hear him stand up?

I shake my head and follow him, running to catch up. When we reached the cars, my aunt walks out and so does Markus' sister.

"Oh my stars! So this is your niece, Shawna. She seems absolutely terrific! She even got Markus to smile!" His sister said, squealing as she did. She turned her head towards Markus, "Oh don't think I didn't see that, buddy. I saw, I definitely did!"

I turned to my aunt and she dismissed my glance, proceeding to say her goodbye to her friend as I walked over to Markus who was already inside the car with the seatbelt in place and nodded.

I leaned down to level myself with him, the car window lowered so we could talk. "We're gonna be here a while. If you're tired you can go ahead and wait for your aunt in the car. These two," he points towards my aunt and his sister, "aren't finishing anytime soon."

I nod, turn my back on him and straighten myself, realizing how tired I really am. It's not like I ran a movie marathon, so why the hell am I so tired!?!

Before I could walk away, Markus grabbed my already sweaty palms and pulled me so close that his lips were almost kissing my ear.

"Oh and, by the way, you do have a great a*s. Just saying." He whispered, making me fall in love with his vocal chords even more. Gah. I cannot even describe how hot his voice makes me. It's just ah.

And before I could react, his lips touch my cheek and I am released from his grasp to stagger towards my aunts Forrester.

Author's Note

HERE. THIS IS WHERE THE WRITING SHIFTS. RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CHAPTER, THERE IS A SHIFT. AND IT'S BECAUSE I WROTE THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS IN 2012 AND THE REST IN 2014.