Chapter 5

Not that he seems to be particularly worried. He's wearing a smirk as he stares down at his phone, shoulder slumped against the grey marble walls. Everything about him screams "I don't care!"- from his messy brown waves to his stance, but I can tell by the slight undereye circles and unfocused eyes that Jase is probably suffering from a hangover. Ha.

I wait for what seems like forever for Jase to put down his cell phone and start the stupid tour, but he continues ignoring me. I clear my throat. "Um."

He doesn't look up. I cough. "Sorry, is there some sort of global crisis going on right now? Tsunami? Volcanic eruption? Nuclear blast? I'm sure you have a very good reason to be glued to your phone."

He looks up at me, eyes squinting like he's seeing me for the first time. "What?"

"I said- "-he waves a hand in front of him to silence me but i ignore it- "I said that there must be a really good reason you're on your phone right now and ignoring the human being directly in front of you."

"Yup," Jase shrugs noncommittally and i fight the urge to scream. Fine. He wants to play this way. I glare at him, not breaking gaze as he looks just as intensely down at his phone. Don't break eye contact.

Finally, Jase rolls his eyes and looks up at me. "What are you still doing here... uh... Sarah? Right?"

Rage fills me like a balloon. "Sienna. My name is Sienna. Which you should know, since you had the nerve to hit on me at school last week." I smirk. "Oh, wait, sorry. I forgot, the powerful, fearless Jase Turner hits on girls all the time. Funny you still can't manage to get a girlfriend, though."

Jase keeps his expression as cool and indifferent as ever, but I can see by the way his left fist clenches while I talk that I hit a nerve. "Why are you still here again?"

"Because your mother told me you were going to take me on a tour."

Jase rolls his eyes again. I'm beginning to think that's all he's capable of. "Oh." He gestures around with one arm outstretched, clicking off his phone and shoving it in his pocket with one hand. "House. Trees. Driveway. Weird fountain with naked cherubs. That's about all you need to know. Now let's just spare the annoying details for both of us and call this tour over, alright? What my mother doesn't know won't hurt her."

I feel a painful stab of anger in my chest, bright orange and burning, an ember illuminating my heart. That is anger, right? I don't know why I'm so upset about this. It's not like I really want to spend any more time with Jase Turner than I have to. Obviously. And he clearly feels the same, turning back to his cell phone, and, I'm sure, the countless girls texting him. Anger burns inside me like a hot knife, and before I can think, I've snatched the cell phone out of his hand. "Yeah, I don't think so."

He looks up at me in shock. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"You," I snap back. "You're my problem. You had the nerve to be a misogynistic, creepy asshole to me the other day and now you can't even remember my name. Though, I mean, why the hell would you? You're Jase Turner, and you don't give a damn about anyone except for yourself and getting what you want. So this time, you're not getting what you want. If you don't show me around, I'll be sure to let your mother know. And maybe I'll add in the little bit about you being a misogynistic, rape-y, womanizing ass who harasses a girl in the hallway and can't even remember her name. Understand?"

I regret the words as soon as they're out of my mouth, panic filling my body. I just said that. To the son of my mother's boss. But Jase doesn't look too concerned. "Chill out, little red. If you wanted more of my time, you could've just asked." He gives me a flirtatious smile that makes me glow with anger so bright that I forget any feelings of regret. "It's. Sienna." I grit my teeth. What the hell is this guy's problem?

"Well, Red, something you'll learn about me soon enough is that I really don't care about you."

I snicker. "Oh, trust me, I already had that figured out. I know it's hard to understand, but some of us have functioning brain cells."

Jase rolls his eyes, ignoring my dig. "Are we gonna argue, or are you gonna enjoy the pleasure of my company and let me show you around?"

"Well, it certainly won't be pleasurable, but let's go," I say, attempting to move post him down the stairwell, but he puts a hand on my shoulder, holding me back. "Not so fast, Red," he says, a smirk on his face. He reaches out his hand. "Phone?"

"Why should I give it to you?"

He shrugs. "No phone, no tour."

"Fine." I put on my most impressive glare, slapping his grey cell phone into his outstretched palm as hard as I can. Maybe a little too hard, I think, as he winces. "Careful." He says it casually enough, but my skin prickles at the words, the way, hidden underneath the nonchalance, it sounds like he just made a threat. My heart clenches in my throat as I bite back any response. No matter how much he irritates me, no matter how much of a jerk he is, I have to remember one thing. Jase Turner will always be my superior. He will always have the power to kick me out, the power to ruin my life forever. And he will never hesitate to use it.

With that cheery feeling, I'm starting to regret this whole tour idea. "Maybe you should just tell me what part of the..um... house I'm staying in. We don't have to do this whole stupid tour thing," I say, biting my lower lip.

Jase gives me a puzzled look. "Wait- hold up. First you practically beg me to show you around, and now you're getting shy?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm not-" he reaches a hand out, silencing me. "No. You're coming with me."

I feel a pit in my stomach as he winks at me, a strange rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. It must be fear, I think to myself. What else could it be?

Jase doesn't seem to notice, though, as he steps down the curved stone stairs, looking back up at me. "You coming, Red?" he holds a hand out, large and tan and slightly calloused, and for one, strange, glimmering second, I almost take it.

And then I remember who it is. And immediately snatch my hand back, face flaming as I turn around. My god. What is wrong with me? Am I this antisocial and awkward that I can't even talk to someone remotely popular without turning into a bumbling mess?

I guess this tour might not be the worst idea after all.

Turning around, I give him my best, most cold, collected, confident glare, ignoring the small quirk of his mouth as he smirks. "Let's go."

His triumphant smile sends fuzzy waves of what must be annoyance over me as he steps down the stairs backwards, still looking at me. I almost tell him to be careful, but then realize that I don't really care if he's careful. Because I don't really care about him.

15 minutes later and I want to kick Jase in the face. Instead of showing me around the looming grounds, he's paid more attention to his cell phone, calling me Little Red every time I try to say anything. Shaking my head as we pass a large marble statue of a naked man and Jase doesn't even look up, I finally say, "Can you stop looking at your phone for a second?"

Jase looks up at me, sliding his cell phone into his back pocket. "What?" he monotones, rolling his eyes like he couldn't possibly care less. I clench my jaw with annoyance. "Maybe we should just go back. Clearly neither of us are particularly enjoying this." He shrugs. "It's not like I care. This was all your idea, anyways." He runs his fingers through his hair, confidently tousling the dark, cropped waves. "I thought you were at least a little bit interesting, Red," he says, turning around and walking away from me.

Anger spikes in my chest. "Excuse me?" He continues walking away and I try to catch up, but my legs are too short for his long, confident strides and I have to run to keep up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He shrugs. "You know, most girls would be thrilled to be talking to me right now. My time is very valuable, you know." He turns his head to wink at me and I feel a flood of anger ripple through me. "You're such a dick, you know that?"

"Interesting observation."

I glare at him. "Am I just a joke to you?"

"Of course not! More like getting a root canal."

"15 minutes ago you were all 'you coming, Red?' and now I rival getting a root canal? What is your problem?"

"You can still improve your status, you know."

He flashes me a charming smile. Or at least, he flashes my boobs a smile. "Oh my god, Jase! I am not having sex with you! Why would you-"

He smirks. "I never said that. It's funny that you did though. I mean, it's never going to happen, obviously, but I'm certainly flattered. You-"

"Oh my god. Shut. Up."

What the hell is going on? Why is Jase suddenly acting like even more of a douchebag than usual? Like, to be fair, him being a douchebag is nothing new, but somehow the way he's treating me right now feels... different. "Just tell me the direction of the house," I say. "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Fine by me, Red" he says, pointing in the direction of a bunch of pink rose bushes. "Follow that path, then take a left." Without another word, he picks his phone back up from his pocket and turns in the opposite direction.