27| Perfection Is A Mirage

The piercing rays of sunlight entered through the glass window and disturbed Travis's peaceful sleep. He rolled over the cozy bed to shield his eyes and snuggled deeper to the soft, warm pillow.

"Wait, since when did my pillows became so soft?" He thought to himself and opened his eyes, only to find himself tangled with a certain brunette.

He blinked few times to check whether it was a dream or not because this was not the first time he had woke up dreaming about Zoey. But when the feminine figure beneath him didn't disappear after blinking few times, the panic in his mind heightened.

"Zoey!" He called her name, trying to disentangle himself from her but there legs were practically laced together. Her hair was sprawled onto the white pillow and there was a bit of drool just beneath her soft lips.

"Zoey!" He said again and her face contorted. Slowly, she opened her eyes and when she found Travis hovering over her, her own eyes widened to saucers and a light shade of pink appeared on her cheeks.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath and immediately pulled away.

Travis rose to sitting position and thought about what happened last night. He remembered drinking a lot of fruit punch last night and then a certain image flashed in front of his eyes; the image of Zoey and him together in the shower.

"Shit... Did we... Did we sleep together?" He asked in panic.

"Sleep?" Zoey scrunched her nose and then her mouth formed an o. "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" He asked and gulped the thickened saliva down his throat.

She smirked on noticing his expression and leaned closer to him. "We did the tango."

"T... Tango?"

"I must say Travis, your looks are just above average but you are quite well endowed in some departments." She motioned towards his crotch and he immediately pulled a cushion over the said area.

"For God's sake Zoey, why didn't you stop me?" He shrieked in panic and noticing that, Zoey burst out laughing.

Travis watched her with confusion as she crunched forwards and held her stomach, chortling like a crazy person. "Nothing happened, Travis. Your virtue is still intact." She said in between the laughs.

A frown appeared on Travis's forehead on hearing this and he gritted his teeth. "You---" But before he could complete the sentence, they both heard a knock, followed by the sound of opening of door.

Hurriedly, Zoey moved forwards and encircled her arms around Travis's neck, pulling him forwards in a way that he ended up straddling Zoey.

"Miss. Zoey, your orange jui--- Ahhh... Sorry, sorry." Rose immediately closed the door when she found Zoey and a male figure in a very compromising position.

"Just wait for me downstairs, Rose. I am with someone." Zoey replied and Rose rushed downstairs in the fastest speed possible.

Both Zoey and and Travis took a long sigh of relief and then realized their position. Their mouths were just few inches away from each other, with Zoey's arms keeping him close to her and Travis's body almost grinding into hers.

"Thanks." He said breathlessly as his gaze switched between her eyes and her lips.

"You owe me big time, Anderson." She whispered while her own lungs stopped working. Up this close, his eyes appeared even more beautiful. She didn't even know hazel color could look this captivating.

"Zoey," he called her name in a gentle tone that made her heart pound.

"Hmm." Zoey hummed as she felt her ears become insanely hot. Was she blushing?

"Your arm." He said and she immediately drew it back, looking away from his tempting face. Travis did the same and hopped out of the bed as soon as possible.

"Does your head hurt?" She asked.

Now that she had asked, he realized that it did. "A little bit." He said.

"I'll ask Rose to send something greasy. It cures hangover like nothing else." She said and moved out of the bed.

Travis assessed her long legs covered with a very short pair of shorts and the tank top that was sticking to her like a second skin. His stomach tightened again and he averted his eyes before he finds himself in a very embarrassing situation.

"Hey Travis, you are drooling." Zoey commented on observing his not-so-subtle actions and Travis's hand automatically went to his mouth. Embarassment filled his face when he didn't find anything there and it just made Zoey's smirk widen.

••••••••••

Inside the Harper mansion, it was just like every other weekend. They have the ritual of every member of the house being there on the dining table sharp at 9. The table was filled with Daniel Harper's favourite poached eggs, Isobel's routine English breakfast, Zachary's pancakes, Althea's oats and a bunch of different food items.

"How was the bonfire last night?" Daniel was the one who initiated the conversation.

"Perfect, if we ignore the fact how my dearest brother and his friend spiked the fruit punch with alcohol." Althea said and Zachary glared at her.

"Nobody likes a snitch, Althea." He gritted his teeth.

"For your kind information, being likeable isn't exactly my priority. I have bigger things to achieve." She glared at him with her piercing eyes.

"Like what? Being a killjoy?" He glared back at her.

"Enough, both of you." Daniel said and they both huffed, turning their heads back towards their respective plates.

"Daddy, I want to renovate my room. I am tired of seeing the same purple colour again and again." Althea said once she had finished her oats.

"Sure, sweetheart. I'll ask our interior designer to meet you directly." Daniel smiled at her precious daughter and Zachary sulked.

"Why don't you buy a whole island for her?" He muttered dryly.

"Don't be a jealous, Zachariah. Didn't you just get a new car?" She hissed at him.

"I needed the car, unlike someone who just got bored of staring at the same walls." Zachary retorted.

"Enough. What is wrong with you both? Will you stop fighting like a bunch of middle-schoolers?" Daniel groaned once again and they both immediately silenced as they knew angering their father third time in one sitting won't be good for either of them.

"Hey, how is everybody?" Ethan's voice boomed in the dining table as he excitedly hoped towards the empty seat beside Althea.

"Hello Ethan, how are you?" Isobel asked him as a maid poured some orange juice into his glass.

"I am perfect, Isobel. You look absolutely radiant." He said and placed a pancake in his plate.

"How is Samuel?" Daniel asked.

"Dad is fine. With Mom's death anniversary coming up, he is mostly holed up in his study." Ethan replied and took a big bite of the pancake.

Once he was sure Mr. Harper wasn't looking, he leaned towards Althea and whispered into her ears, "Good morning, Princess. How did you sleep last night?"

Althea who was already pissed at him didn't want to ruin her mood so instead of acknowledging him, she just excused herself and made her way back to her room.

But to her annoyance, Ethan followed her to the room, not leaving a chance to irk her. She contemplated between letting him in and throwing the vase towards him. At the end, she decided against it as she didn't want to breath the fancy vase.

"All this anger for just a party? You can't be this petty, Thea." He said as he sat in front of her on the bed, cross-legged.

"Yes, I am this petty." She said and started scrolling her phone screen to avoid him.

"What is it? The real thing that's bothering you?" He said but she ignored him completely, focusing all her attention on the mobile screen.

It wasn't until when Ethan pulled the phone out of her hand when she finally screamed, "What is wrong with you, Ethan Hickory O'Connell?"

"What is wrong with you, Althea Madeline Harper? Why do you care so much about such trivial things like a bonfire?" He asked in a frustrated voice.

"Because that's what I do. I want everything around me perfect. And that's what you do, you ruin everything." She shouted back at him.

"What else did I ruin?" He asked politely because he knew how to handle her. She was angry at this moment and soon, she would explode if he doesn't let her vent out.

"Everything, with your shitty actions and even shittier choice in girls." She scowled.

"Girls? Are you jealous, Thea?" He smirked and Altheas's face became more red, if that was even possible.

"Jealous? Are you even listening to yourself, Ethan?" Her eyes became impossibly large.

"Then tell me, if you aren't jealous, why do you care what I do?" He asked once again.

"Because unfortunately, you are my friend, Ethan. You are failing both Physics and French, your GPA is less than 2.5, you might not even graduate if you keep up with this attitude and there you are, sticking your penis into anything that breaths." She said in one breath and Ethan just keeps staring at her as if she was talking in a foreign language.

"What is it to you if I don't graduate?" He asked in a somewhat annoyed voice. He knew his shortcomings and he didn't need a reminder for that.

"Because as I said, I hate imperfections." She snarled.

"So that's why there isn't anything between us? Because I am not perfect?" Ethan said hurtfully.

"Maybe. In fact, the way you behave, you will never find a girlfriend." She said flatly.

"Perfection is a mirage, Althea." He whispered. "Nobody is perfect."

"I am, or at least I try to be." She replied.

Ethan wanted to say something more but he knew she won't listen, not at this moment at least. Letting out a disappointed sigh at her way of thinking, he made his way out of the room.

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