|T W O| ~ Whipped!

Mark

I ran a hand through my hair out of frustration. It's been an hour now. What is she doing inside? Why is she not coming out? My angel is already so adorable that she doesn't even need to put effort into getting ready. I am getting impatient now. Taking out my phone I messaged her.

'I've been waiting for so long, sweetheart'

I know I sound creepy but I can't help it. I haven’t had anything since morning despite my mother scolding me. What can I do? I was excited to see her. Yesterday she disappeared without my notice. I was too busy explaining things to some plastic dolls that I didn't care about my surroundings. How dare they try to hurt her? My blood boiled remembering the events of yesterday.

NTY University of New York. Sigh.

It's a renowned university for business education and related fields. This is the last year of our major and the next step for me would be to join dad's company. I was transferred to this university around 5 months ago as my dad decided to fulfill my mother's dream of getting a mansion in New York. When he was finally able to get something made as per her expectations we moved here from London. I absolutely adored my parents, they were my dream couple. I wanted a love like them. While I doubt I would get that lucky, I was fortunate enough to find the one for me.

A pair of heavenly blue eyes caught my heart the day I joined She did absolutely nothing to gain my attention. She did the opposite instead. The day I was introduced to the class she was completely immersed in her books. She did not even raise her eyes to look at me. The teacher told me to sit next to her, which was the only empty seat in the class. There was no reaction from her. I was amused at the fact that a person did not even care to glance at someone sitting beside her. I wanted to write what the teacher was marking as critical, but I did not have a pen. Her eyes didn't even focus on me but instead, she looked at my irritated self who was tapping his foot constantly. She looked at the blank piece of paper on my table and she did not lend me a pen. Instead, she tore out a page from her notebook, scribbled something on it, and kept it above the blank page. She wrote all the key formulas for me. She did not even look at the person she was helping. For a popular person like me, it might have been an insult but I found myself stealing glances at the beauty sitting next to me. I was jealous of the book that had her attention that she did not even spare me a glance. Since I joined the university with a group of friends, I asked my closest circle for information about this girl. Throwing herself at me was a faraway concept; she wasn't even interested in knowing me. Sophia told me that her name was Hailey and she was an introvert. That's all!

As my friends explained it, it should have been love at first sight, but sadly it wasn't. I did not fall for her blue eyes. Her antics had me smitten. As she kept tripping here and there, I became a sucker for her cuteness. I fell for her helpful nature. I fell for her small smile. I have been observing her for three months now. I found my girl to be different from the rest. She liked to remain hidden and she hated being in the spotlight. She panicked as soon as she felt the attention of people getting diverted to her. Recently I discovered that she was subjected to bullying and she did nothing about it. Not even complaining to the student department. After finally concluding that she was my one and only I decided to approach her. Instead of that, something completely different happened.

The principal, which happens to be my uncle called me and my girl to his cabin to participate in some sort of competition. Perks of being excellent in academics!

I noticed an unknown fear in her eyes whenever it came to public dealings. Her eyes exhibited discomfort whenever people tried to contact her. I am glad to work with her on this project. I hated it when she tried to quit. Like I would let her!

Finally breaking out of my thoughts the door flew open and there stood my sweetheart dressed for university. She looked so beautiful. A few tendrils came out of her messy bun as she scrunched her nose trying to push them back. So freaking cute!

Her simple appearance made her look more alluring to my eyes. I waved at her and she was focused on her path. I straightened up from my previous position of leaning on the frame of my car and said “Hey! You look so pretty."

That was the first thing on my mind after seeing my angel.

Finally, she noticed me and heard my compliment. I expected anything but the reaction she gave me. Her eyes widened at my sight. She looked around as her eyes roamed all over the street and finally stopped at a girl coming from the adjacent lane. Her eyes took in the appearance of that girl while I was busy adoring her. She took a step ahead and said “Dude! She won't be able to hear you from here. You need to move closer to her."

What am I supposed to do with my silly girl? Laughing internally, I reached out to her with a smile. When there was only a narrow space between us, I stopped. Her eyes popped out and she nervously played with the hem of her classic black bag. Making distance between us quickly, she shot me a questioning glance.

"You look so pretty. Are you able to hear me now?" I asked softly. Her look gave me the impression that she intended to run away, but she kept fidgeting instead.

"Umm….why are you here?" She stuttered.

"I am here to pick you up for university. Come on! We are getting late" I said and opened the door for her.

"Thanks but I will walk," she said trying to move away but my huge frame stopped her tiny self from moving ahead.

"Don't tire yourself sweetheart and sit inside" I said.

"So you sent that creepy message," she said as she placed a hand on her mouth.

I kept a hand on my heart and said "You wound me, sweetheart. You could have called me anything but creepy"

She made an apologetic face and rubbed her palms together. Deciding not to play with her anymore, I said "I was just joking. Now come let's go"

"I am not going to university" she blurted out. She sucks at lying. When she found me looking unconvinced she said,

"I don't sit in cars"

By now I was controlling my laugh. What sort of excuses is she making?

"I don't like the white color" ok so she doesn't like my white car then why is she wearing a white shirt?

"Is that all?" I asked and she scratched her head trying to find more reasons for not coming with me.

"If that's all, then get inside the car" I ordered.

"Why are you here? I will be fine by myself" she whined like a kid.

"I know you can but I want you to come with me. You shouldn't deny your partner" I said and she glanced at me.

"Competition partner" I clarified and she nodded.

After not being able to find any other option, she sat inside, though she was very close to running away. I know she did not want to be seen with me but I wanted to be seen with her.

She sat inside and said "Just this once"

'And many more to come' I replied in my head. I have already reserved this seat for her.

"Pick up the packet from the back seat and have breakfast," I said ignoring her previous words. She made a face and said "I don't want"

"I will stop the car then and you will be late," I warned.

"You will also get late then" she shot back.

"I am Mrs. Jones' favorite student so only you would face her wrath," I said smartly. She made a crying face and quietly started having breakfast. I got sandwiches for her. As she was running late, I figured she had not had breakfast.

"How mean! Nobody asked me if I was hungry or not'' I said, deciding to tease her. Instead of offering to feed me as I was driving, she said "I swear I did not touch your sandwich. You can have it"

I chose not to reply and focused on the road though her fragrance was quite distracting.

"STOP!" she said a tiny bit loudly.

I pressed the brakes firmly and looked at her in worry.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Seeing my concern an emotion ran through her eyes but she quickly averted her gaze.

"Just drop me here," she said meekly. She scared me. I understand why she wanted that. Not arguing with her I let her get down.

"Thanks for the ride" she muttered and walked away.

As she went, I kept watching her. As she disappeared I called James, my friend.

"What do you want, Anderson?"

"Smith, call and remind Mr. Stone that he had an urgent matter to discuss with Mrs. Jones"

"Why are you late?" He asked.

"My angel was caught up in something I guess so we got late" I shrugged.

"Ok! Is our baby sister fine?" He asked.

"When did she become your sister?" I asked

"The day she became your angel. It's a bro-code that the wife-to-be of any of us will be a sister for others," he reminded me. Ain't these guys too fast? I mean my to-be wife? Here the girl does not wish to breathe the same air as me and they are calling her my wife already.

"Whatever. You do your job," I said.

"On it, Sir," he said and hung up.

I parked my car and made my way toward the class when I caught sight of her just a few steps ahead of me. Catching up with her I walked along with her and she slowed down not wanting to enter the class with me. I had other plans this time. I slowed my pace as well and walked with her. She sighed and let me have my way.

I could see she was afraid of Mrs. Jones' reaction as she was late. Don't worry sweetheart, I have it under control.

As we entered we saw Mrs. Jones busy in a discussion with Mr. Stone and I looked at James who winked at me. A look of relief passed over her face and she quietly slipped towards the last desk. I followed her and sat beside her while she made no effort to acknowledge me. While I was lost in her, she looked out of the window lost in her thoughts.

Why does she avoid me so much? Time passed by and it was Professor Kane's class. She took out a few files and passed them to someone sitting ahead of us. As I understood what was happening I was angry. Is this why she looked like she had a sleepless night in the morning? She completed their assignments as well. I am gonna bury these mean guys under the ground.

After the class ended we both headed toward the library to discuss the presentation and prepare for the competition. I opened my laptop and shared the points with her while she kept looking, not saying a word. After finishing the slideshow I asked her for suggestions.

"Delete it," she said instead. She closed her eyes, expecting me to scream at her. I wanted reasons but that doesn't mean I was about to yell.

"Why?" I asked. She looked at me bewildered. I wanted to laugh looking at her expressions.

"Three reasons. First of all, the format described in the guidebook is not being followed. Additionally, the points seem to be too detailed and leave little room for questions. This means we are not giving them an opportunity to check our knowledge base or to rely on a virtual source. Thirdly, the presentation appears to be profitable for consumers and indirectly benefits investors. The stakeholders here are the consumers. Let's take it the other way round and focus on the point of view of investors" she completed in a hurry. God! My little nerd is a freaking genius.

"Breathe," I said calmly. She got too worked up. She exhaled and relaxed.

"Okay, so let's make a revised presentation," I said and she nodded.

"Let's use charts to make it more presentable" I suggested and she looked satisfied with the idea. Suddenly there was the sound of a crash and a guy had broken a vase by mistake.

I looked at Hailey to find her covered in sweat, shivering. She got up from her seat with unsteady steps and ran away. I moved behind her and she entered the women's washroom. Goddammit! What just happened? I sighed as I felt restlessness creeping deep inside me. Why did a simple incident impact her so deeply? What made her run away like that? What was the reason behind that fear?

I had so many questions but it wasn't the time to ask. I had to wait.

As I waited for her in the library, I leaned back in my chair. I was getting more impatient every minute. Seeing her condition after the crash was very painful for me. When she did not come after 20 minutes my restraint gave up and I moved toward the washroom. During my journey, I spotted a familiar figure smiling politely at a boy.

I watched my girl who was chatting with the boy while he focused all of his attention on her. Marching towards them with long strides I looked at her questioningly. She looked away from me nervously. The boy turned to me and asked "Hey Mark! Do you need anything?"

He was clearly nervous as my cold eyes bore into his.

"I just called her about a project we were working on. What were you two talking about?" I asked him.

"I was returning the bag and spectacles to this sweet girl that you left with me yesterday. I offered her a coffee instead of a thank you, but she refused," he told me. Good!

"Ya! We are busy with the competition these days'' I told him not bothered about his presence anymore. Hailey looked uncomfortable and awkward. I am familiar with her antisocial traits. I know she was tolerating me around her only for the sake of competition or else she would have run away as far as possible at the first chance she got.

We walked away bidding bye to that boy while I asked "Are you fine?"

She nodded plainly.

"Let's go and have something first," I said. We have worked for a long time. Before presenting in front of the principal it was better to eat something first. I started to walk toward my friends and she glanced at the group nervously. She quickly stepped in the other direction trying to get away from me and my friends. James and Sophia only looked at us, so they saw what she had done. She needed time to get used to my presence so I let her be for a while and joined my friends.

As I sat with them I saw her exiting the canteen with a cup of coffee. This girl!

"So what is the progress in the mission to make Hailey our sister-in-law?" Noah asked.

"It seems to be one step ahead and 10 steps behind," I replied.

"Is she that tough?" He asked.

"Calm down man! It's just the beginning. It's not even a day," James said.

"Yeah! She is cute and worth it," I replied smiling.

"Aw man, you are so whipped!" Sophia exclaimed.

"It still seems like a dream to me that Mark Anderson is trying to woo a girl. I expected the opposite," Luke said.

Tina said "same" and they exchanged high-fives.

"I don't know why people keep on bullying my girl. I am not gonna spare them" I fisted my hands.

"Don't worry man! We will protect her. Let's catch hold of each one of them and show them the consequences of messing with our little one," Noah said seriously.

"Yup! We are gonna break some bones" Tina cheered.

"Ok guys, focus on food" and here foodie James is back. Nothing comes before food for him. Sophia picked some fries from his plate and then their fight started. They cursed, yelled, and scratched, making everyone in the canteen look at us. While we enjoyed their banter. I had my food and got a burger packed for my angel because she seems to care less about having food.

I searched the vast campus for her and found her in exactly the place I expected. The library!

Rolling my eyes I tapped on our table where she was busy writing something on her notepad. She looked at me and I said "Come with me"

She quietly obeyed not wanting to create a scene in the library, gaining the attention of people. Why was she always so scared?

I know she was getting fed up with my interruptions to her daily schedule. I know she wanted to get away.

After I handed her the burger, she became irritated by my domineering behavior.

"What do you want?" she asked in a low voice.

"You" came my instant reply.