Picture Perfect

Halsey sneezes out of cold. She’s in the car with Nathan, too nervous to talk. The events of the day had taken a toll on her. All she wants is to go home and hide under her blanket. No person ever scared her as much as Nathan Jacobs did.

“You live with the Wright’s huh?” he asks in a deadpan tone. 

She nods in response. “C-Charlotte is my godmother,” she says.

Nathan’s fingers clench around the wheel but he shrugs it off. 

“Is that your place?” he asks, pointing at a two storeyed house near the town’s cafe.

“Yes,” Halsey replies. “I should get going…”

As soon as the car stops, she runs out of it but to her shock, Nathan follows her. She instantly grabs her spare glasses from the kitchen counter.

“W-What are you doing?” She squeaks when he casually walks into the house.

“What? I need clothes too,” he smirks and sits on a chair in the dining room. 

“Charlotte isn’t home and I’m not supposed to bring any guy here when she’s not around!” Halsey pleads. “Please leave!”

Nathan scoffs at her. “You can’t bring a guy?” he sneers. “As if anyone will want you!”

Halsey looks down at her toes. He is right. No sane guy will like a plain jane like her. Nathan noticed her sad expression and simply shakes his head. He really hates this weak girl.

“My clothes are wet. Don’t you think you should thank me for saving you?” he demands.

Halsey panics. Thank him?

“I-I don’t have any clothes for you!” she mumbles.

“Lincoln’s clothes will fit me,” he shrugs. “I’m sure he’s got plenty of clothes even though they look like sh*t.”

Halsey frowns at him but Nathan hardly cares. “Bring me clothes otherwise I’ll tell the whole school about our kiss,” he winks. “Isn’t that gonna be spectacular news? I’m sure you’ll be the target of my exes too…”

“You’re the one who warned me not to tell and I didn’t tell anyone!” Halsey protests.

“Are you raising your voice in front of me, nerd?” 

He suddenly stands up and steps towards her. Halsey nervously steps backwards until her back hits a wall. Nathan completely corners her. Slamming his hands against the wall, he cages her in his grasp. His dark eyes are poring at her, scaring her. But for some reason, her heart is beating a little too loudly.

“I changed my mind,” he whispers. “Seeing your nervous expressions amuse me. I wonder what’ll happen if I do tell everyone that we kissed. Don’t you think you’ll become more popular among the students?”

Halsey’s lips tremble in fear. Popularity is the last thing she wants. All she wants is a peaceful life.

“But you don’t want to reveal it,” he guesses correctly. “Which only makes me want to reveal it.”

“P-Please don’t!” she begs. “I…”

Nathan grins and backs off. Taking her chance, Halsey moves away from him, putting several meters distance between them.

“You’re so easy to scare,” he yawns. “Now bring me some clothes so that I can go home. Alright?”

Halsey doesn’t wait any longer. She sprints towards the laundry basket and pulls out a fresh pair of pants and one of Lincoln’s blue t-shirts. She tosses it at Nathan, not wanting to go anywhere near him.

“Change and leave!” She begs.

Nathan flashes her an evil grin and starts to take off his shirt in front of her to tease her more. Halsey squeaks in fear and runs upstairs to her room, shutting the door behind her. Nathan laughs out loud, amused by her silliness. He heads into a spare room and changes his clothes. 

He looks down at the clothes he’s wearing. His earlier amusement starts to ebb, replaced with his hatred for the Wrights. 

“First strike, Lincoln,” he mutters. He takes out his phone and takes a selfie.

“And this…will be my second.”

A while later, Halsey comes out of her room. The house is awfully quiet which means that neither Charlotte and Lincoln were back yet. Is Nathan still here? She wonders.

She tiptoes down the stairs. To her relief, Nathan had left already. Then something hit her.

“Oh no!” she realizes. “He didn’t take his jersey!”

How am I going to return it to him? She wonders. 

…

Nathan pulls up in front of his house. After he left Halsey’s house, he went on a long hangout with his friends, making sure that they saw him in that blue t-shirt. For his plan to work, he needs everyone to see him.

It’s already past midnight but Nathan barely cares. He’s used to the routine anyway.

He lives in the only mansion of the town. The four storeyed mansion overlooks the sleepy town, the French architecture showing off its elegance. With a neatly mowed lawn filled with exotic flowers, the Jacobs are the epitome of fame and prestige. Nathan’s father, Daniel Jacobs, is the top cardiologist in the country and is the star of the town.

They are the creme-de-la-creme of the society. A picture perfect family.

Nathan enters the house and flings his key to the side. The lights are off but he can feel a dark aura coming from a corner.

Suddenly, the lights flickered on. Nathan doesn’t turn around but he can feel the cold gaze on him.

“Hi dad,” he greets warily.

“Where have you been?” A cold voice asks him from behind. 

“Out,” Nathan replies. There is a long silence between them. Nathan knows very well what is going to happen. It is a daily occurrence in his life. Everything is normal. Everything is fine. The Jacobs are the prestigious ones, the ones who are better than everyone in the town.

After all, they are a picture perfect family.

CRASH!

A large ashtray comes flying at Nathan but he simply tilts his head, the ashtray missing him by inches. He slowly turns around to face the monster who calls himself his father.

“You…you little f*cker!” Daniel curses. “How dare you disrespect me?”

Yes. We are the perfect family, Nathan muses.