Chapter 25

If there's anything Lorelei was waiting for the whole week, it is the weekend and finally, here it is!

Lorelei woke up pretty early (as she put it) even if it was the weekend. She peeked at the wall clock to check the time. It was still nine in the morning, which means she has two hours to prepare before going out. She got out of bed lazily and went to her bathroom to do her morning routine.

She had plans with her friends which was initiated by her despite their hectic schedule. It was so not like Lorelei knowing her non-procrastinator characteristic. Amari and Sam were even flabbergasted by her sudden invitation to hang out, not that they disliked it though. She would probably regret it later but who cares, it's her problem to worry anyways.

Lorelei was now busy styling her hair, preparing herself to look "presentable" as she was planning to go out. She sprayed some perfume for some final touches and voila! She's all ready, looking radiant as always (because who wouldn't when she's taking extra care of her appearance), and off she went to meet her friends.

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Haaa. The weekend. Jace jerked up from his bed with the sound of his alarm. It was already ten in the morning which means he has to get started with his cleaning.

In contrary to what other people do during the weekend, Jace is not the type to sleep in and laze around the whole day. He prefers to spend it productively because his body is always itching to do something to keep him busy. This time, it was his schedule for some general cleaning of his apartment. He usually does this but he would move it a day or two depending on his prior engagements. Luckily, he doesn't have anything to do except for some studying after this.

Jace's place is not filthy at all. In fact, it was so tidy that even the floor looks so squeaky clean. It is a good thing though. Lucky for him, he does not have much to clean since he constantly keeps his place spotless. The only time his apartment gets messy is when Shane visits or even spends the night at his place. Seriously though, the boy could literally make his place upside down which is one of the reasons why he's skeptical about letting his friend in but the guy is still his friend so he just lets him be.

Jace decided to take out his trash and recyclables first. He sealed the trash bags and carried them all the way to their apartment's general trash bin for segregation. He then put the bags in their designated bins and immediately made his way back afterward.

There were no people outside their apartment building. It was kind of peculiar since Jace was expecting some people, or maybe even just a person, to go in and out of the place. He continued walking but then he saw a familiar figure walking out of the building. It was Lorelei leaving the place in her all-pink attire. She reminded Jace of those Barbie movies his younger cousin used to watch and even the characters from the movie Mean Girls! Heck, and she even looked... shiny? sparkly? Whatever. She was literally shining as sunlight shone over her maybe because of her accessories or the glitters on her clothes.

"Jeez," he murmured to himself. It's not that he cares about anyone's preferences in clothes but he couldn't help but think that the only thing Lorelei lacks is a white poodle with jewelry of its own. He let out a snort trying to push back the thought at the back of his mind.

The girl continued walking as if she was on a runway until she reached the drain and got her heel stuck in it. She yelped and went flying for obvious reasons. The comical sight made Jace burst into laughter, loud enough for Lorelei to hear since they were the only ones there anyway. She turned to face him from where she was standing with one foot completely bare because her shoe got stuck.

Lorelei's face formed into a scowl, clearly irritated by his sudden presence and hysteric. "WILL YOU PLEASE STOP LAUGHING?" she yelled and was followed by a growl.

Jace tried to control his laughter and as soon as he felt composed again, he slowly proceeded to where Lorelei was and said "I thought you wanted to see me laugh? Hmm?" He gave her a boyish smile to tease her more.

"Shut up! I never said that!" Lorelei rolled her eyes at him and then went back to the drain to set her shoe free. Gosh, she can't believe she had to see him two days in a row

Jace's amusement just grew more. Lorelei's fury was so entertaining that he just wanted to see more of it.

"Where are you off to wearing..." Jace paused for a second, thinking about the word the would best describe Lorelei's outfit of the day. He couldn't think of anything though so instead, he just said, "that?"

Lorelei looked at him. She didn't know if that was an insult or not but whatever the case, she felt like he didn't seem to compliment her. "None of your business," she replied. She then crouched to reach her shoe and tried plucking it from the drain. She tried again but still had no luck. The shoe still won't come off. "Damn it," Lorelei whispered.

"Hey. Move it," Jace tried to shoo her away. "I'll get it for you."

Lorelei thought it was strange of him to do such a thing though. Sure, she knows that Jace isn't exactly the type of person who asks for something in return for his help but she couldn't help but have a bad feeling about it.

Jace fixed his grip on the shoe and then tried to pull it. Lorelei's eyes were focused on it but then suddenly he kind of pulled it a bit too hard that she thought the heel would get disconnected.

"HEY!" she shrieked in terror.

Jace in return jumped out of surprise. "Why do you keep shouting?!" His ears were still ringing because of Lorelei's shout. Just how in the world could she have such a high-pitched voice?

"Careful! You're gonna detach the heel if you pull it like that!" she protested.

Jace shook his head. "My goodness, woman. Chill! I know what I'm doing, okay?" he replied and then returned his gaze to the shoe. He tried pulling it again. Luckily, it came off without any scratches.

"See?" He showed Lorelei the shoe. "I told you, I know what I'm doing." Jace placed the shoe near Lorelei's bare foot and then held her ankle to guide it into the shoe. "You should be the one to be careful, dummy. You're no Cinderella with a prince charming to get your shoe just like this, you know."

After making Lorelei wear the shoe, he got up and shook off the dust from his hand.

"Gosh, I really hate to say this but thanks. You didn't have to put the shoe on my foot though," Lorelei muttered. She looked away from him.

"Yeah. No worries," Jace took a deep breath. "I'll go back inside now." He turned to his back and made his way inside again.

Lorelei was left standing there. She stared at her foot with the shoe Jace had put on. "Gosh, he always does the unnecessary," she whispered to herself with a smile plastered on her face without her thinking.