Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) (61 page)

He
was groggy and disoriented at first, and I smiled at the cuteness that was a
sleepy Jackson. “Hey, sleepyhead,” I greeted, motioning off to the side toward
Skylar and Scott. “We have company.”

“Oh,
hey,” he yawned, sitting up. “What’s up?”

“Not
much,” Scott shrugged. “Can you believe this snow?”

“Was
it bad around you?” Jackson asked. “After the plow went by a couple of times,
it was nothing on my street. I couldn’t believe they let us out for the day.”

“Me
either,” Skylar said. “The street was covered this morning, though. We had a
two-hour delay at first, but they cancelled it when the plows hadn’t been down
half the roads yet. Mom and Dad had to dig their way out of the drive.”

“Bet
Dad wasn’t too pleased about that,” I grinned.

“He
was cursing something fierce,” Skylar replied. “Mom made me come downstairs and
back the car out of the drive while they were digging.”

“Oh,”
I said, nodding. She must have read my mind because I was wondering how she
knew.

“Yeah,”
Skylar sighed. She glanced back at the television screen. “So, what is this
crap you two are watching?”

Jackson
was quick to say, “Silly picked it,” placing the blame on me.

“Gee,
thanks.” I made a face at him. “If I recall, you were no help whatsoever and
just said ‘just pick something.’”

“And
this was the best you could find?” Scott snorted. “Sounds like you guys need to
buy some new movies.”

Skylar
scoffed. “Like there are actually movies still worth buying?”

“I
don’t have to,” Jackson grinned. “I get to watch the same things over and over
again for weeks at a time. Kind of gets old, though.” He grimaced before
adding, “Or gross. I was so glad when
Hostel
2
was done.”

“I’ve
never even seen the first one,” Scott commented.

“Don’t,”
I warned him. “Especially if you have a weak stomach.”

Jackson
glanced at me. “Same goes for the second one.”

“They
looked pretty gory from the previews,” Scott nodded.

“Oh,
they are,” Jackson assured him.

“They’ll
probably make a million sequels like they’re doing with
Saw
.” Skylar
rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe they’ve made three of those movies already.
The first one was fine, but the rest? Talk about overkill.”

I
was surprised to find myself agreeing with Skylar. About the only time we
watched movies together was during the holidays, or rare situations when we
were both extremely bored. Even though I liked a variety of genres, there was
usually a debate involved when it came to deciding what to watch. Skylar
usually turned her nose up at anything I suggested, so I wasn’t exactly
sure—aside from the romantic comedies she pretended not to—what kinds of movies
she actually liked.

“They’ve
been showing previews for a new horror flick called
The Messengers
,”
Jackson shrugged. “It doesn’t look terrible, and the new one with Nicolas Cage—
Ghost
Rider
—might be okay too.”

“We
should all go to the movies sometime,” Scott commented. “Jacks can get us a
discount.”

I
hadn’t thought about it before, but I hadn’t seen Jackson and Scott speak to
each other at all during school over the last few months. I suddenly wondered
if the debacle with Skylar, Jackson and myself had cooled their friendship for
a time because Scott’s suggestion almost sounded like some sort of peace
offering.

“Yeah,”
Skylar grinned, oblivious to the look Scott and Jackson shared. “It would be
like a double date.”

I
managed not to make a face. The mere thought of going on a double date with my
sister and Scott was far from appealing; however, that seemed to answer my
question about what kind of relationship she and Scott had now.

I was
happy for them. I’d always thought Skylar liked Scott more than she dared to
let on. Even though a double date wasn’t ideal, I thought it might be worth it
if it would help mend fences between Jackson and Scott as well.

Mom used
to watch this show when I was younger called
Love Connection
. I couldn’t
have been very old at the time—or she was just watching reruns—but Mom watched
it religiously the same way she’d watch her soap operas. I hadn’t thought of
the show in years, and if not for my impending promise to Mark to open Tegan’s
eyes to his feelings for her, I probably never would have again.

The
whole idea of setting them up was easier said than done. Luke kept nagging at
me about getting a move on it. After talking to Mark, though, Luke relaxed a
little, but I knew he was impatient for me to get the ball rolling. Mark, on the
other hand, seemed uneasy about proceeding.

Considering
my relationship with Jackson had progressed quickly, I really had no clue how
to go about helping Mark. Jackson was the one who set things in motion for us
by telling me, plainly, in a letter how he felt about me. He’d then left it up
to me to come to him and let him know the feeling was mutual, which was scary,
but in the grand scheme of things, I thought I got off rather easily.

When
I suggested to Mark that he put his feelings for Tegan out there, he quickly
shook his head. The discomfort was clear in his expression.

“Why
not?” I pressed. “It worked well for Jackson. And look at the great prize he
got for his trouble.” I grinned angelically.

“Trouble?”
Mark rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Everyone already knew you liked him back.”

That
drew me up short. “What do you mean everyone knew?”

“Silly,
Silly, Silly,” Mark sighed. “It was as plain as the nose on your face. I think
the only people who didn’t know you liked each other were you and Jackson.”

“You
lie,” I said, blushing, while mentally adding Skylar to the very short list. I
didn’t think it was as obvious as Mark was making it out to be. Still, his
situation was different, so a new approach was probably for the best anyway.

Even
I didn’t know how Tegan would react to finding out about Mark’s feelings for
her. I knew she was warming to our friendship with him, but a romantic
relationship was completely different. While I’d forgiven him for the things
he’d done weeks ago, I knew Tegan was still wary at times and maybe even a
little scared of him.

I
couldn’t begrudge her that. I’d been afraid at first too, but in the time I’d
gotten to know Mark, I realized that underneath that rough exterior, he was
really just a lonely, misguided and misunderstood guy with a less than idyllic
home life.

If
I truly believed he was a bad person that wasn’t good enough or might hurt her
in any way, I never would have agreed to help Mark woo her. Admittedly, I was a
bit worried about the repercussions should Tegan flat out turn Mark down, so I
decided it would probably be best if I eased her into this.

First,
a makeover was in order. I didn’t want to change who Mark was, but I thought if
he wanted Tegan to care about him, then he first needed to look like he cared
about himself.

We
began with a haircut. Well, we actually started with a good, thorough washing
after purchasing some new shampoo and conditioner for oily hair. Since neither
of us could afford a professional haircut, I worked up the courage to ask Stevie
to help. She fancied herself a beautician in training. She’d been cutting and
dying her own, as well as other people’s hair, for years.

When
I asked her about doing something with Mark’s seemingly unmanageable hair, she
was tickled with giddiness. She kind of reminded me of a mad scientist once she
had Mark seated in a chair in the bathroom I shared with my siblings and looked
the situation over. Then she picked up the scissors I’d found in my parents’
bathroom and started cutting.

Thirty
minutes later Mark emerged looking like a completely different person, but not
before Stevie forbad him from using hair gel ever again. On top of his hair
being naturally oily, we’d discovered that he was also using gel to tame the
slight curl to his hair, which only resulted in making it look like he hadn’t
washed his hair in a week. Without the gel, his hair was soft and clean, and
with his hair tamed into a more stylish hairdo, he looked softer and more
approachable.

Next,
we went to work on his wardrobe.

“But
black is my favorite color,” Mark complained when I broached the subject.

“No,
really? I never would have guessed.” The sarcasm was not lost on him. “But
maybe if you don’t always look like the Prince of Darkness, Tegan might be more
receptive.”

Mark
made a face, but he didn’t argue. He allowed me over to his house one afternoon
before his dad got home from work. His wardrobe was sorely lacking. Pretty much
everything was black, white or gray. Since our funds were limited, I suggested
we check out Goodwill.

Mark
was uncomfortable shopping there. “I’m going to look like a poor, hopeless
loser,” he muttered as we walked toward the entrance.

“You
will not,” I said. “Plenty of people who aren’t poor shop here. Skylar and
Stevie swear by it.”

“But
they’re girls.”

“Yeah,
but my mom buys stuff here for Luke too,” I informed him. “Luke doesn’t care.
Besides, it’s not like anyone is going to know the difference.”

Mark
rolled his eyes, obviously unconvinced, and followed me inside. A little over
an hour later, we had several bags full of gently used clothing that fit Mark
nicely.

I
felt like Mom when I made him come out of the fitting room to let me see each
piece he tried on. I realized that Mark looked slimmer when he wore color.
Getting the right size clothing also helped.

So
much for black always being slimming, I thought as we made our way back out to
his white Chevrolet Cavalier.

With
Mark looking less surly and intimidating, it was my turn to go to work trying
to sway Tegan. I thought the fresh new look might intrigue her and be a good
conversation starter. Tegan usually preferred “pretty” guys. I suspected she’d
have fallen head over heels for Jordan Hart on sight.

Mark
was not the pretty type. However, when he was relaxed and being himself, he
wasn’t unattractive. Still, the point wasn’t to change him into someone he
wasn’t; it was merely to make Tegan see Mark for who he was on the inside. The
Tegan I knew was open-minded enough to try and see beyond the surface.

Phase
two began the day after our shopping trip. Tegan—along with several other
people—immediately took notice of Mark’s new wardrobe and haircut when he
stopped by her locker that morning. He was shaved clean with his hair soft and
neatly styled. He also smelled nicely of a mix of new cologne, shampoo and
laundry detergent.

Despite
how nice Mark looked, it was clear he was uncomfortable. The people who looked
at him just a little too long as they passed us in the hallway were rewarded
with a glare that quickly sent them scurrying off.

“Doesn’t
Mark’s hair look nice?” I prompted Tegan while sending Mark a look that, I
hoped, told him to relax.

“Yeah,”
Tegan smiled. “I like it.”

“Thanks.”
Mark looked away nervously as he self-consciously ran his fingers through his
newly shorn hair. Luckily, it was short enough that it didn’t do anything to
mess it up.

“Stevie
did it,” I said conversationally.

“Oh,
she did a good job,” Tegan nodded as she dug through her locker for her books.
She glanced over her shoulder at Mark as she asked, “What made you decide to
cut it?”

If
he’d been more confident and smooth, he’d have told her then that it was for
her, but no such luck. Instead, he shrugged and muttered, “Just thought it was
time for a change.”

I
could see then that this was going to be a grueling process if he didn’t snap
out of it.

Luckily,
over the next few days, Mark seemed to warm up to his new hair and clothes and
people stopped staring as much. He also quit acting like a shy schoolgirl and
instead of waiting for me to prompt them, Mark started engaging in conversation
with Tegan on his own.

Sadly,
he was mostly limited to these conversations before or after school and
occasionally between classes because Luke was still dictating lunch. Sometimes,
though, Mark would lose focus on Oxide or just ignore Luke in favor of talking
to Tegan. Thankfully, Luke was able to back off during those times.

At
home, he parroted the philosophy, “Once they get together, there’ll be no more
distractions. He won’t have to worry about getting her interested. Once he’s
got her, all he’ll need to focus on is impressing her with his excellent band.”

Because
I didn’t want Luke to mess up things for Mark, I opted not to burst his bubble,
but I was certain he was wrong. Still, I thought Luke would be in for a rude
awakening later on. For the time being, the band was getting better and Mark’s
focus on the band remained unhindered despite his efforts to pursue Tegan.

Mark
could be surprisingly gentlemanly, holding doors and paying compliments, when
he felt so inclined after he got over his initial bashfulness.

This
did not go unnoticed by Jackson. “What is up with Mark lately?” he asked one
afternoon while hanging out at my house.

I
frowned. It had been days since the haircut and wardrobe change, so I figured
he had to be referring to something else. “What do you mean?”

“Yesterday
morning he told Tegan he liked her shoes, and then today at lunch he went on
and on about the half of a sandwich she gave him,” Jackson retorted. “Unless
he’s been abducted by aliens, something is going on.”

I
tried to be coy by answering with the question, “What makes you think I’d know
what it was?”

Jackson
just looked at me, and I caved, explaining the situation to him—including Luke
insisting I do something about it; he merely laughed in answer. If his laugh
wasn’t so much like music, I would have been annoyed with him. Instead, I
demanded to know, “What’s so funny?”