She slowly turned her head, blinking at me. After another second, she let out a scoff, rolling her eyes. "As if you could ever actually get one," she muttered insultingly.

Except, I didn't really care about it. Instead of causing me some sort of emotional damage, it merely grazed past my stone-cold countenance. "I could, if I really tried," I corrected her. "But that would require actually trying or caring about the idea, which I do not."

"Good for you," was all she said as she pulled out a lacy, strapless teal bra and dark grey panties with little white cloud designs scattered all over them. I closed my eyes, feeling as if seeing such articles of clothing were something she'd rather I not see. But considering the height difference I had over her, it was very easy for me to see over her slightly hunched shoulders without even having to try. Twenty seconds later, I opened my eyes, seeing that she had bundled up all her clothing. "I'm going to get changed now," she sighed as if speaking just to break the silence. She passed by me once again, though this time she wasn't violent about it.

Once she was gone, I followed after her enough to close the door. Going to the closet, I pulled down a T-shirt and denim pants. Laying them out on the bed, I took off my sleep shorts and changed into new boxers. Charcoal grey in color with a checkered twill design, they'd cost $70 through the Burberry website. But Mathew hadn't cared about price, giving me fifty thousand dollars to spend on a new wardrobe alone when he'd snatched me up from the McGuire ranch.

The shirt and pants were both Gucci, bringing the cost of what I'd pulled out to wear nearly to a three thousand and a half dollars alone. Still, the quality of these high-priced brands did tend to be leaps and bounds better than the cheaper ones. The pants were straight-legged, black-stone denim, with no curve to them. The ends were pre-folded over, with red cuffs at the bottom, to the sides of the ankles. The T-shirt was a black cotton crew-cut. I lifted it up, starting to pull it over my head. A knock on the door made me pause, turning, shirt still in my hands. "You can come in," I called out.

Selena did, dressed in a pair of zipped pocket skinny jeans and black lace-up ankle boot heels, giving her an extra two inches. She'd put on a plain black camisole to cover up her body along with a skin-revealing cobalt blue top. It was very loose-fitting, held up with an inch of material that wrapped around her neck and laced down her back to just past her shoulder blades. The front and more solid parts of the back were covered in hundreds of tiny, triangular holes in circular starburst designs. The bottom of the blue top gently curved downward, lifting up along the tops of her jeans, before curving down at her back again.

I raised an eyebrow, sizing her up. "You certainly dressed up for an outing that is 'not' a date," I observed.

She stuck her tongue out at me as she passed by, flipping me off as well. "A girl doesn't need an excuse to look good, Seok. Besides, don't flatter yourself. I'm not even trying with this outfit."

"Evidently not," I agreed. I turned my attention away as she started applying makeup, using a hand mirror she kept on the white shelf. I quickly pulled on my shirt, jerking it down to cover my torso. She was standing in front of me and I let myself take in the way the tight fit of the jeans accented her lower body.

If she's going to show it off anyway, who am I to not admire?

"Trust me, I could knock you dead—if I wanted to," she boasted a little.

"I seriously doubt that," I told her calmly. "You are welcome to keep dreaming such fantasies though if you would like."

She twisted, sticking her tongue out again before returning her attention to her makeup.

Really, her actions were so childish...As well as disturbingly inviting.

She needs to stop that.

Once she was done, she'd applied just a light hint of a silver-blue massacre and some eyeliner, as well as a faint pink lip gloss. She returned her tools to the shelf and faced me, looking me up and down slowly. "Hmm...Kind of bland," she observed critically. "Black is a good color on you, sure, but you've used way too much of it." Slowly, she frowned, staring at my T-shirt. "What's with the weird tiger head and...French?"

I glanced down at my shirt as well. In embroidered appliqué was the iconic motifs of a roaring tiger. The motif came from Alessandro Michele and was also joined by the printed phrase "L'Aveugle Par Amour." The phrase translated to "Blind For Love" and I found it very ironic at that moment. I'd never 'loved' a person before, not even myself. Now I was about to venture on my first 'date', even if my partner half-refused to admit that this was what we were doing.

"It is a shirt I feel is very fitting," I answered truthfully.

She frowned more, her brown eyes filled with suspicion. "Well, I know enough to know amour means love."

"Should we not be going to the dining room for lunch?" I asked. Not waiting for her response, I started out of our bedroom.

I heard her following behind me, huffing in irritation. "You can slow down a little, you know," she grumbled. "It's not like the food will walk off or anything."

"Perhaps not," I agreed evenly, turning the second hallway corner, passing the laundry and garage doors. In the kitchen, I nodded my head at Mackenzie, who was standing by the island, staring at the two of us in surprise. "Hello, again. Good morning, Maria," I greeted the younger girl as I moved to the dining room table.

"Hey, Seok...Selena, what's with the 'stare at my ass, please' outfit?" Maria frowned in confusion at her older sister. "You only pull out your booty jeans when you're wanting to impress," she commented suspiciously.

Sitting down to Maria's left, I turned my head to stare at Selena, who was standing still in the entrance of the main part of the house. "Hmm...I'm still quite alive. You will have to try harder to knock me dead, Selena," I commented.

Maria's hazel eyes widened in shock and she raised her hands up to her mouth. "Oh my God! Are you serious?! Selena, you pulled out your booty jeans for Seok?!"

"Selena has agreed to go out with me today," I continued to explain as Mackenzie placed a plate and cup of ice water in front of me. "Thank you."

I glanced up for half a second, catching Selena's reddening face. "Seok!" she growled at me. "Shut your big fat mouth!"

"Kids," Mackenzie warned sternly, though it was half-hearted. She got a plate for herself and began to eat. It was lasagna with garlic bread.

"Wonderful cooking, as always," I complimented Mackenzie after taking three large bites.

"Now that I know how much you eat, I made sure to prepare enough for everyone. I have to say though, there'll never be leftovers in the house again," she chuckled.

"Was the four hundred I gave you yesterday not enough?" I wondered as I took a sip of my water. "I can spare another hundred if you really need it, but that would be more than the agreed upon half of my income."

"No, no, you're just fine, Seok," she was quick to assure me.

"Um, still reeling from a date with you two involved," Maria interrupted. "I didn't think you'd ever ask a chick out, Seok. If you wanted to go on a date, you could have just asked me out."

"I would normally not," I nodded my head, glancing at her. "Selena's a bit special though," I decided to reveal.

"Oh? Special how?" Maria asked, finishing off another bite.

The person in question sat down beside her mother, across from me. Her expression was twisted in a sour scowl as she started eating in brooding silence.

I eyed Selena for a few seconds. The idea of how she'd react to my words I was about to say made a burning light of amusement try to flare to life. Would she freak out? She was mildly cute when she did. Would she even remember? Most likely not. Would she deny everything? Most definitely.

"I asked Selena out because of the promise she made me make as a child. Don't you remember, darling?" I asked, straight-faced as I stared at her across the table.

Her fingers around her fork tightened in irritation as she slowly lifted her gaze up to my own. "What are you talking about now, Seok? I never would have thought you'd have such an overactive imagination. I never forced a promise out of you. I didn't even meet you until just two weeks ago."

My voice and face held no sign of sorrow, but my words did. "You mean...You don't remember demanding that I marry you? You were so adamant, I never thought your love for me would ever fade."

Mackenzie glanced up, her expression startled.

Maria let out an excited, gushing squeal of delight.

Selena stared at me, blinking, looking as if she had lost all sense of the world around her. Her brown eyes were wide and dazed, her skin tone fading as some of the blood left her face. I fought the sudden urge that tried to come over me to smirk.

Why would I ever want to do that?

I didn't understand this and I realized my 'practical joke' was going too far. I needed to stop, to take a few steps back. I needed to return to my carefully perfected world of black and white, cold and silence.

"What are you...? I never—" Selena's voice was a strangled, breathless mess.

I tilted my head to the side slightly, eyeing her. "Yes. I see you have chosen to go the route I figured you would. You are in complete denial over the things that took place between us as children. So, Selena, where would you like to go out for this date of ours?" Thinking about it, I turned my attention to Mackenzie. "Might I be able to borrow your car today?"

"Y-yes," Mackenzie responded quickly, still looking a bit lost for words.

Perhaps, then, she did not witness Selena's threat to my life?

Honestly, childhood promises had no real meaning, especially at the age we were at now. But it wasn't boring to poke at Selena with a stick. Pushing her buttons seemed to be much too easy for me, especially since most of the time I didn't try. Reaching up, I used my free hand to brush back some of my hair, taking a bite of the garlic bread. It was warm and lathered in the tomato sauce of the lasagna, the acidic taste a welcome spark on my tongue. "Selena?" I tried again, once I'd finished off that particular bite.

She was staring down at her plate blankly. "Earth to Sis?" Maria tried, stretching over the table to wave a hand in front of her sister. "Hmmm...I guess you'll just have to figure it out and surprise her," Maria murmured as she lowered back down to her seat. She tossed me an encouraging smile. "Good luck. Sis is prickly, but maybe she'll take down some of that armor of hers and let you in. Who knows, if you play your cards right, maybe you two will get hitched after you guys graduate this year?" she teased.

I blinked, staring down at the younger teen. "Perhaps," I agreed vaguely. "Well, Miss Porcupine, I suppose I'll just have to guess what sort of things you enjoy to do on a day out around the town."

That finally got her attention. She sucked in a sharp, confused breath. "What? Porcupine? What are you talking about, Seok?" she frowned, glaring at me.

I tilted my head to the side again, shrugging. "Who knows? I suppose it's a surprise and you'll just have to find out when the time comes."