Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1)

by Brittney Musick

  “And this was the best you could find?” Scott snorted. “Sounds like you guys need to buy some new movies.”

  Skylar scoffed. “Like there are actually movies still worth buying?”

  “I don’t have to,” Jackson grinned. “I get to watch the same things over and over again for weeks at a time. Kind of gets old, though.” He grimaced before adding, “Or gross. I was so glad when Hostel 2 was done.”

  “I’ve never even seen the first one,” Scott commented.

  “Don’t,” I warned him. “Especially if you have a weak stomach.”

  Jackson glanced at me. “Same goes for the second one.”

  “They looked pretty gory from the previews,” Scott nodded.

  “Oh, they are,” Jackson assured him.

  “They’ll probably make a million sequels like they’re doing with Saw.” Skylar rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe they’ve made three of those movies already. The first one was fine, but the rest? Talk about overkill.”

  I was surprised to find myself agreeing with Skylar. About the only time we watched movies together was during the holidays, or rare situations when we were both extremely bored. Even though I liked a variety of genres, there was usually a debate involved when it came to deciding what to watch. Skylar usually turned her nose up at anything I suggested, so I wasn’t exactly sure—aside from the romantic comedies she pretended not to—what kinds of movies she actually liked.

  “They’ve been showing previews for a new horror flick called The Messengers,” Jackson shrugged. “It doesn’t look terrible, and the new one with Nicolas Cage—Ghost Rider—might be okay too.”

  “We should all go to the movies sometime,” Scott commented. “Jacks can get us a discount.”

  I hadn’t thought about it before, but I hadn’t seen Jackson and Scott speak to each other at all during school over the last few months. I suddenly wondered if the debacle with Skylar, Jackson and myself had cooled their friendship for a time because Scott’s suggestion almost sounded like some sort of peace offering.

  “Yeah,” Skylar grinned, oblivious to the look Scott and Jackson shared. “It would be like a double date.”

  I managed not to make a face. The mere thought of going on a double date with my sister and Scott was far from appealing; however, that seemed to answer my question about what kind of relationship she and Scott had now.

  I was happy for them. I’d always thought Skylar liked Scott more than she dared to let on. Even though a double date wasn’t ideal, I thought it might be worth it if it would help mend fences between Jackson and Scott as well.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Mom used to watch this show when I was younger called Love Connection. I couldn’t have been very old at the time—or she was just watching reruns—but Mom watched it religiously the same way she’d watch her soap operas. I hadn’t thought of the show in years, and if not for my impending promise to Mark to open Tegan’s eyes to his feelings for her, I probably never would have again.

  The whole idea of setting them up was easier said than done. Luke kept nagging at me about getting a move on it. After talking to Mark, though, Luke relaxed a little, but I knew he was impatient for me to get the ball rolling. Mark, on the other hand, seemed uneasy about proceeding.

  Considering my relationship with Jackson had progressed quickly, I really had no clue how to go about helping Mark. Jackson was the one who set things in motion for us by telling me, plainly, in a letter how he felt about me. He’d then left it up to me to come to him and let him know the feeling was mutual, which was scary, but in the grand scheme of things, I thought I got off rather easily.

  When I suggested to Mark that he put his feelings for Tegan out there, he quickly shook his head. The discomfort was clear in his expression.

  “Why not?” I pressed. “It worked well for Jackson. And look at the great prize he got for his trouble.” I grinned angelically.

  “Trouble?” Mark rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Everyone already knew you liked him back.”

  That drew me up short. “What do you mean everyone knew?”

  “Silly, Silly, Silly,” Mark sighed. “It was as plain as the nose on your face. I think the only people who didn’t know you liked each other were you and Jackson.”

  “You lie,” I said, blushing, while mentally adding Skylar to the very short list. I didn’t think it was as obvious as Mark was making it out to be. Still, his situation was different, so a new approach was probably for the best anyway.

  Even I didn’t know how Tegan would react to finding out about Mark’s feelings for her. I knew she was warming to our friendship with him, but a romantic relationship was completely different. While I’d forgiven him for the things he’d done weeks ago, I knew Tegan was still wary at times and maybe even a little scared of him.

  I couldn’t begrudge her that. I’d been afraid at first too, but in the time I’d gotten to know Mark, I realized that underneath that rough exterior, he was really just a lonely, misguided and misunderstood guy with a less than idyllic home life.

  If I truly believed he was a bad person that wasn’t good enough or might hurt her in any way, I never would have agreed to help Mark woo her. Admittedly, I was a bit worried about the repercussions should Tegan flat out turn Mark down, so I decided it would probably be best if I eased her into this.

  First, a makeover was in order. I didn’t want to change who Mark was, but I thought if he wanted Tegan to care about him, then he first needed to look like he cared about himself.

  We began with a haircut. Well, we actually started with a good, thorough washing after purchasing some new shampoo and conditioner for oily hair. Since neither of us could afford a professional haircut, I worked up the courage to ask Stevie to help. She fancied herself a beautician in training. She’d been cutting and dying her own, as well as other people’s hair, for years.

  When I asked her about doing something with Mark’s seemingly unmanageable hair, she was tickled with giddiness. She kind of reminded me of a mad scientist once she had Mark seated in a chair in the bathroom I shared with my siblings and looked the situation over. Then she picked up the scissors I’d found in my parents’ bathroom and started cutting.

  Thirty minutes later Mark emerged looking like a completely different person, but not before Stevie forbad him from using hair gel ever again. On top of his hair being naturally oily, we’d discovered that he was also using gel to tame the slight curl to his hair, which only resulted in making it look like he hadn’t washed his hair in a week. Without the gel, his hair was soft and clean, and with his hair tamed into a more stylish hairdo, he looked softer and more approachable.

  Next, we went to work on his wardrobe.

  “But black is my favorite color,” Mark complained when I broached the subject.

  “No, really? I never would have guessed.” The sarcasm was not lost on him. “But maybe if you don’t always look like the Prince of Darkness, Tegan might be more receptive.”

  Mark made a face, but he didn’t argue. He allowed me over to his house one afternoon before his dad got home from work. His wardrobe was sorely lacking. Pretty much everything was black, white or gray. Since our funds were limited, I suggested we check out Goodwill.

  Mark was uncomfortable shopping there. “I’m going to look like a poor, hopeless loser,” he muttered as we walked toward the entrance.

  “You will not,” I said. “Plenty of people who aren’t poor shop here. Skylar and Stevie swear by it.”

  “But they’re girls.”

  “Yeah, but my mom buys stuff here for Luke too,” I informed him. “Luke doesn’t care. Besides, it’s not like anyone is going to know the difference.”

  Mark rolled his eyes, obviously unconvinced, and followed me inside. A little over an hour later, we had several bags full of gently used clothing that fit Mark nicely.

  I felt like Mom when I made him come out of the fitting room to let me see each piece he tried on. I realized that Mark looked slimmer when
he wore color. Getting the right size clothing also helped.

  So much for black always being slimming, I thought as we made our way back out to his white Chevrolet Cavalier.

  With Mark looking less surly and intimidating, it was my turn to go to work trying to sway Tegan. I thought the fresh new look might intrigue her and be a good conversation starter. Tegan usually preferred “pretty” guys. I suspected she’d have fallen head over heels for Jordan Hart on sight.

  Mark was not the pretty type. However, when he was relaxed and being himself, he wasn’t unattractive. Still, the point wasn’t to change him into someone he wasn’t; it was merely to make Tegan see Mark for who he was on the inside. The Tegan I knew was open-minded enough to try and see beyond the surface.

  Phase two began the day after our shopping trip. Tegan—along with several other people—immediately took notice of Mark’s new wardrobe and haircut when he stopped by her locker that morning. He was shaved clean with his hair soft and neatly styled. He also smelled nicely of a mix of new cologne, shampoo and laundry detergent.

  Despite how nice Mark looked, it was clear he was uncomfortable. The people who looked at him just a little too long as they passed us in the hallway were rewarded with a glare that quickly sent them scurrying off.

  “Doesn’t Mark’s hair look nice?” I prompted Tegan while sending Mark a look that, I hoped, told him to relax.

  “Yeah,” Tegan smiled. “I like it.”

  “Thanks.” Mark looked away nervously as he self-consciously ran his fingers through his newly shorn hair. Luckily, it was short enough that it didn’t do anything to mess it up.

  “Stevie did it,” I said conversationally.

  “Oh, she did a good job,” Tegan nodded as she dug through her locker for her books. She glanced over her shoulder at Mark as she asked, “What made you decide to cut it?”

  If he’d been more confident and smooth, he’d have told her then that it was for her, but no such luck. Instead, he shrugged and muttered, “Just thought it was time for a change.”

  I could see then that this was going to be a grueling process if he didn’t snap out of it.

  Luckily, over the next few days, Mark seemed to warm up to his new hair and clothes and people stopped staring as much. He also quit acting like a shy schoolgirl and instead of waiting for me to prompt them, Mark started engaging in conversation with Tegan on his own.

  Sadly, he was mostly limited to these conversations before or after school and occasionally between classes because Luke was still dictating lunch. Sometimes, though, Mark would lose focus on Oxide or just ignore Luke in favor of talking to Tegan. Thankfully, Luke was able to back off during those times.

  At home, he parroted the philosophy, “Once they get together, there’ll be no more distractions. He won’t have to worry about getting her interested. Once he’s got her, all he’ll need to focus on is impressing her with his excellent band.”

  Because I didn’t want Luke to mess up things for Mark, I opted not to burst his bubble, but I was certain he was wrong. Still, I thought Luke would be in for a rude awakening later on. For the time being, the band was getting better and Mark’s focus on the band remained unhindered despite his efforts to pursue Tegan.

  Mark could be surprisingly gentlemanly, holding doors and paying compliments, when he felt so inclined after he got over his initial bashfulness.

  This did not go unnoticed by Jackson. “What is up with Mark lately?” he asked one afternoon while hanging out at my house.

  I frowned. It had been days since the haircut and wardrobe change, so I figured he had to be referring to something else. “What do you mean?”

  “Yesterday morning he told Tegan he liked her shoes, and then today at lunch he went on and on about the half of a sandwich she gave him,” Jackson retorted. “Unless he’s been abducted by aliens, something is going on.”

  I tried to be coy by answering with the question, “What makes you think I’d know what it was?”

  Jackson just looked at me, and I caved, explaining the situation to him—including Luke insisting I do something about it; he merely laughed in answer. If his laugh wasn’t so much like music, I would have been annoyed with him. Instead, I demanded to know, “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” he shrugged, trying to hide a grin.

  “Jackson Parker Hart. Why are you laughing?”

  “It’s just funny.” He tried, unsuccessfully, to suppress more laughter.

  I glared without any real heat and slapped him playfully. “What would you have done if one of your friends asked you for help?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “So, you didn’t ask anyone for advice about what do when you liked me and didn’t know how to tell me?” I tried to sound diplomatic, like I was merely trying to prove a point, but now that the question was out there, I found myself genuinely curious.

  Immediately, Jackson sobered and a tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks. “Well,” he shrugged, obviously embarrassed, “I might have.”

  “Who’d you ask?” I sounded more eager than I liked.

  He looked away, his cheeks growing pinker, as he answered. “Eric. Jordan. Clare.”

  “Gee, needed a whole panel of advice just for me, did you?”

  “You are a rather unusual girl,” he grinned.

  I stuck my tongue out at him; laughingly, I then wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “I’m sorry I’m not normal.”

  “Don’t be.” He wrapped his arms around me as well, pulling me closer. “That’s what I like about you.”

  Aside from his amusement, Jackson didn’t have much to offer by way of advice. This left me at a bit of a loss. Even with Mark trying his hardest to gain Tegan’s attention, she didn’t seem to be catching on. Given Tegan was usually pretty perceptive, it was quite frustrating.

  After what felt like the most excruciating week without Tegan catching on, I’d had enough. Despite his best efforts, each day without even so much as a flicker of recognition from Tegan, I could see Mark growing more and more hopeless.

  I was fresh out of ideas, so I did the only thing I could. When I went to hang out at Tegan’s house on Saturday evening, I laid it out plainly for her.

  We’d just decided to watch season one of Supernatural when I said, without preamble, “Mark likes you.”

  Naturally, she was caught off guard. She turned away from the DVD player and stared at me for a moment, with her head cocked to the side, before she finally blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “Mark,” I repeated slowly, “likes you.”

  Her eyebrows drew together. “Where did this come from? And what makes you think that?”

  “I don’t think. I know,” I replied. “If you weren’t so oblivious, you might have noticed his attempts all week to court you.”

  The expression on Tegan’s face was full of doubt. After a moment, she sighed. “It’s finally happened, hasn’t it?”

  It was my turn to frown. “What’s finally happened?”

  “You’ve lost your mind.” Her words were filled with awe.

  I rolled my eyes, waving her off. “I have not. Mark told me he likes you. Why do you think he’s been dressing and acting nicer?”

  “He said it was time for a change.”

  “When did you get to be so dense?” I sighed. “He’s doing it so you’ll notice him.”

  “So you’re really serious about him liking me?” She still sounded incredulous.

  I never remembered Tegan being so exasperating. “Of course I am.”

  She pursed her lips, as if trying to process the fact this wasn’t a joke.

  “So?” I prompted.

  “So what?”

  “Surely you have something to say about Mark liking you.”

  “It’s more of a matter of figuring out what to say.” She tilted her head to the side, considering. “Why does he like me?”

  I shrugged. “What’s not to like?”

  Despite the truth of my words, Tegan smiled a littl
e and shook her head. She was such an amazing friend—kind, passionate and understanding—but compliments always seemed to embarrass her, like she didn’t truly believe in her own goodness. Or maybe it was just part of being brought up to be proud, yet modest, that held her back from accepting compliments easily.

  If she were a part of Oxide, Luke would have knocked that right out of her. He no longer knew the meaning of modesty. As far as he could see, he had put together the world’s newest and greatest rock band in history.

  “Tee,” I said when Tegan didn’t reply. “He really does like you.”

  She was quiet for a long moment before she finally admitted, “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about this.”

  That, at least, I could understand. When Luke first approached me about the situation, I’d been thrown as well. Even after getting to know Mark for a few months, the mere idea had seemed bizarre and unfathomable. However, knowing first hand how great Tegan was, I realized later I shouldn’t have been so surprised.

  “Are you freaked out?”

  “A little,” she nodded. “It’s just . . . being friends with Mark seemed strange enough, but this—this is a whole new realm of weird.”

  “But you should be used to weird after being friends with me for so long,” I teased to lighten the mood.

  Tegan laughed, as I hoped she would. We then fell silent.

  Finally, I cautiously asked, “Do you think you could give him a chance?”

  Tegan didn’t answer right away, and when she did, her words were thoughtful. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, what if it didn’t work out? Do you think he’d stuff me in a locker?”

  Even though I could hear the real worry in her words, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t think he would,” I answered honestly. “He apologized to me for the things he did.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

  “Yep,” I nodded.

  Tegan bit her lip while she thought. Then after a moment, she sighed. “I think maybe if—and this is a big if—Mark keeps up with this new attitude and stays away from the bullying, then I might consider giving him a chance.”