Corrupting Ms. Popular

P R O L O G U E

Olivia

There was something about the house before me that just didn't sit right with me. I had no idea whether or not it was the rusted iron fencing, the broken windows or the lifeless concrete porch. There was an eerie air surrounding it that caused an involuntary chill to travel down my spine.

I allowed my eyes to drift to my father, who was talking on his phone with a clipped and obviously annoyed voice. For the millionth time, I wondered why my mother had ever married him. They were like polar opposites. My eyes drifted towards my mum, who was dutifully directing the movers where to place the furniture. I couldn't help but frown as I realized that she was still wearing those impossibly high heels of hers. I understood that she wanted to maintain her perfect housewife image, but wearing flats on moving day wouldn't ruin her reputation.

I came to the startling realization that my parents did indeed have something in common. They were both perfectionists. It must have been what had drawn them together, because heaven knew that they despised everything else about each other.

That was what my parents had in common-they were both perfectionists. And I guess that was what had drawn them together. They were both obsessed with what people thought of them and wanted nothing more than for everyone to envy them so much it would hurt.

My older brother-Will-was standing next to me with his hands in his pockets and he was smirking at me in a creepy way. It looked like he was sexually frustrated and trying to talk to a donkey with a peacock sitting on its head.

We were total opposites... He had the brightest blue eyes that anyone could ask for and I just had brown eyes. He had perfect blonde locks that would make Barbie jealous while I could resemble a chestnut horse.

It was like I was born in the sun and someone forgot him in the shade. Sometimes it was even hard for me to believe that he was my brother...

“What do you think?”

He asked-obviously referring to the house, but he still used hand gestures.

I looked at the three story house with a frown etched into my forehead and decided to answer him.

“That Mum will enjoy herself while fixing the house. And that we will have the time of our lives unpacking.”

He groaned and face-palmed himself which made me smile. He clearly didn't think about that when he so easily agreed that we could move. Karma is one of my best friends...

“She'll make us fix our own rooms and you know that. But I guess it's our price of happiness.”

He groaned again and I smiled brightly while he started following me into the house. He knew I was mocking him and he wasn't planning on taking the bait.

We had been standing outside for about an hour since we arrived and just stared at the house while Mum took control and Dad took a call. In my opinion they should have it the other way around...

Once we were inside I scrunched up my nose and sneezed because of the dust in the air. There were cobwebs in every corner and it reminded me of the houses serial killers hide in and I shook my head at my stupid thoughts. Always trust me to think of some TV scenario in a normal situation... Not that anything about this was normal...

I started climbing the stairs and chose to go left instead of right-which is where my brother was going. I walked slowly and I noticed that their was some furniture covered in white cloth that had dust coating it. I walked past doors and doors and at one point I thought I got lost but then I realised that I had been walking straight the whole time.

I found a small spiral staircase and decided to climb it. It was made of white wood and it sort of clashed with the white walls but I knew Mum would make it look pretty either way. The stairs themselves were black which gave a nice contrast to the white. I climbed and pushed open the door and flipped the switch beside the door and light flooded into the room.

I gasped at the sight which resulted in me coughing because of the dust. Once I had calmed down I took proper note.

There were red velvet curtains lining an entire wall and I pulled them apart and realised that it was a wall made entirely of glass with small windows lining the top.

I smiled since I knew I had found my bedroom. There was a door on the opposite end of the room and I opened it and found a bathroom in need of some repair. Knowing my Mum she would have at least fifty different repair men here tomorrow to fix up the place.

I sighed and realised that there was also covered furniture in this room and I started making my way down to the front door again.

I met Will where I left him and he had the same cynical smirk on his face. He really needed some lessons on smiling...

“I found the best room.”

I rolled my eyes at his childishness. He always believed that everything that belonged to him was the best of the best. I gave up on trying to disagree with him.

We walked down together and I heard my Dad shout into the phone outside and I shared a look with Will. It was clear that Dad was frustrated already...

My Mum was sitting on a box and making phone calls to people who I assume were handy men. What did I tell you?

The space in front of the front door was big enough to hold most of our furniture. There was a door at the back and most of the boxes had been packed there, so I pulled Will towards it.

Once inside I sighed in relief when I noticed that all the boxes were stacked according to names. It meant that we wouldn't have too much trouble with getting them to our rooms.

“Ok, so we take the boxes and go to our rooms and then help the one who isn't done?”

Will suggested and I shook my head because I knew he would dilly dally so that I would help him-I wasn't that dumb.

“Then we start cleaning. Our rooms look like a mess so I suggest that you we start cleaning because Mum won't be too worried about our rooms. She will focus on the rest of the house.”

I state as I grab my first box and start jogging to my room despite the weight of the box slowing me down.

I was huffing by the time I got to my room, but according to my Mum, I needed the exercise.

I put the box on the floor and took a few moments to catch my breath before I started making my way back down and I realised that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take one of the farthest rooms.

I decided to open the curtains and I cautiously pushed them to the side and held my breath as I waited for most of the dust particles to settle down.

I switched off the light and went and stood against the far wall to look at the view... Which basically consisted of my neighbours backyard...

I made eye contact with someone standing in a room right across from mine and I felt my jaw dislocate when I realised it was a guy... A very blessed guy...

He had this smirk on his face, but he made it look hot instead of cynical like my brother and I couldn't help myself from looking at his tattooed arms and my felt my mouth drop a little lower. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt and I could see that he had more tattoos on his chest.

He had a slight stubble on his face and his hair reminded me so much of Zayn Malik that I could've mistaken them for the same person at first glance. He winked at me and I felt my face heat as I turned around and walked away.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

Help me...

I walked out of my room and as I got into the hallway I saw my Mum coming towards me with one of my boxes in her arms. I smiled as I took the box from her and the relief was visible on her face.

“I want to see the condition of your room. I booked every handyman and carpenter and gardener and any anything for the next three days. They might not be needed for that long, but I want this house done by then.”

She informed and I realised that even with the box, I was out walking her. When will she ever learn not to wear those ridiculously high heels at home?

“Oh my goodness, Mummy, my room is so pretty! One wall is made of solid glass and the view is so pretty if you look past the neighbors house. I want to take the curtains off because they seem like they will hold a lot of dust, and I want carpets because the floor is hardwood and I don't want to have noise when walking. The room has its own bathroom so I won't need to look for one somewhere else in the house, but it needs to be repaired completely, because it is in such a bad state...”

I stated as we entered my room and the first thing my Mum did was run her hands across the hardwood floor and then she took off her heels... She actually took off her heels...

She walked to the large closet than ran on either side of the door. It seemed as though she was talking to herself with the way she was moving heer head but I decided not to comment on it. She walked to the bathroom and she made a 180° turn and came to me with a forced smile.

“Firstly, we are not replacing these floors. They are still in excellent condition and do you know how expensive this floor is? And if we put carpets in the entire room will be thrown off balance. The bathroom will be fixed and I think the main colour scheme of your room should be white and beige. Secondly, we should have those windows tinted, because the sun is too bright.”

And just like that my Mum walked out of my room and I sighed as I put the box down above the other one. I couldn't help the disappointment building up in me.

I should've known that my Mum would want to make the room the way she wanted and not take it into consideration that it was my room and I deserved at least some say in how it was going to look.