Turnabout and Unfair Play pt. 1

Opportunity knocks, or so the saying goes. Marcus’ typical demeanor and general understanding of irony, however, took no particular issue when the door buzzer to his sparsely decorated apartment pulled his attention from the mindless dross playing on his television. Mostly unannounced visitors were practically nonexistent to grace the humble rented space, which the somewhat pompous blonde could only interpret to mean one thing: the number of times he’d pestered Lucian’s seemingly recent girlfriend, Holly, about pointing any friends of hers in his direction had finally paid off. Taking a moment to tame the mess of wavy hair that he left somewhat unkempt when not going out, Marcus did a quick once-over of his attire, intending to give the best first impression he could to this blind date.

The lady standing on the other side of the peephole was a little short, a ruffled nest of raven hair just barely giving way to smooth creamy skin just a few tones light of a rich, luxuriant chocolate. Without the door in the way, Marcus could more clearly see her youthful visage, green eyes with flecks of yellow peering up at him entirely unimpressed by the height difference, a cocky smirk like what Marcus would so often wear finding its place on her lips. A plain, black spaghetti-strap top cut off just before the hem of some slightly baggy shorts, leaving a tasteful sliver of midriff exposed right above the asymmetry of a partial skirt that danced down the front of her right thigh, but vanished before it made it around to the front of her left, the off-white of her pants given a literally hip flare by the crimson accessory. She shifted her hips to one side as Marcus rather clearly took his time taking in her appearance, easily settling at the rather prominent feminine attributes she sported.

“Eyes are up here, ya big lug.”

“What?” The modest Bow Bell accent caught Marcus off guard, though not enough to break his attention from her prodigious curvature.

“If I wanted me knockers being ogled, I could jus’ flaunt ‘em on camera.” The spritely girl folded her arms, which only served to accentuate her bust, though the defensive posture did draw the blonde’s attention upward. “And ‘ere I was, thinkin’ ‘Olly was settin’ me up with a decent lad this time.”

“To be fair, miss, they are really hard not to notice at the moment.” Opening the door wider, Marcus shifted to the side, bringing his free hand up to wave his guest inward, following her gait as she passed, and enjoying the view from behind as much as he did from in front. He smirked a bit, knowing she couldn’t chastise him for what she couldn’t see.

“An’ to be fair, ‘Olly told me she knew a decen’ lad who I’d take a real shine to. Din’ say nothin’ about ‘im bein’ a pig.” It was impossible to tell whether her glances all around Marcus’ apartment were merely appraising, or actually appreciative. As she ceased her rotations, she flashed a smile over her shoulder that suggested the latter. “But, let it never be said I’d ignore a good ol’ fashioned challenge.”

“So… that’s… what? You’re going to take up dating me as some kind of challenge?” This woman baffled Marcus, her seeming vocal reluctance throwing off all his assumptions that women couldn’t resist him, yet slightly assuaged by the fact that she seemed to be supporting the notion all the same. “Because between not knowing your name and you being rude, I’m getting mixed signals from what you’re saying.”

“Judy. And don’t get too far ahead of yourself there, boyo.” Pivoting on the spot, the English lass stood toe to toe with her host, her tone edging on commanding. “See, me and ‘Olly do things a certain way, prob’ly seem a bit odd to you, but it’s ‘ow we do. Ev’rything ‘bout this works like a deal. Barterin’ an’ all that. If I find meself wantin’ somethin’ from you, I ask you, and you can tell me to piss off if you don’t like the sound of it, or you can tell me a condition you want in return. Same goes for you. So ev’rything we do is give and take. Fair’s fair. So you tell me, do you want to date me?”

Judy practically pushed herself against Marcus, giving him a sample of how her body felt. A tantalizing tease of what he could enjoy if he were to say yes. To him, it seemed like he was getting a solid deal out of it, the worst of it being trying to understand her dialect, which wasn’t altogether to his preferences, but for all else that he could visibly enjoy, wasn’t so bad, either. The few seconds of consideration that the blonde pretty-boy seemed to take in consideration were hastened along as Judy let her hands do a bit of exploring while the two of them were so close together. Nothing too intimate, but working with a skill that promised so much more if that state were to change.

“Well, I don’t think I could refuse that offer.” A wicked smile crossed Judy’s face as the words seemed to leave Marcus without any consideration. Her grip shifted to his shoulders as she pulled him in tight for a kiss, reveling in his surprise at the sudden action, though he couldn’t complain too much about the apparent jump in her behavior.

“An’ I might’ve forgotten to mention, if one side is agreed upon without the condition being set, that gets left up to the other’s discretion. No arguments.” The raven-haired girl pulled back just enough to murmur the vaguely menacing warning in Marcus’ ear before she pushed him back, sending him tumbling over the arm of his couch. “So, ‘ere’s the deal. We’re going to work on you being a pig, one way or another. For starters, since you were so keen on eatin’ all the eye candy I could be, I think it’s only fair that you can be eye candy yourself for… let’s say two days. Now, since I’m not cruel, you can take a break anytime you like, just by admitting that you’re a little piggy. Catch is, you’ll be behavin’ like one too, until you decide to claim you ain’t a piggy.”

“Or, how about no?” Marcus recovered with a small grunt at the soft impact, rolling off the sofa and quickly getting his feet back under him. A split-second from wheeling about, he noticed an itchy sensation, like the faintest brush of wool over his skin, or a mosquito biting for too long, only all over. Had she drugged him? He never even considered getting into those sorts of things, and what he was feeling was unlike anything he could compare. The distraction wasn’t enough to stop him, though. Judy had overstayed her previously generous welcome. “I don’t know what you must be smoking, but there’s not a chance in fucking hell that I’m going to dress in drag and go out for your amusement, or behave any differently beca-ee!”

Judy was right up against Marcus again, the smug grin that usually belonged on his face stolen by the impish girl. Maybe it was the suspected addition of chemicals into his system; maybe he hadn’t been paying attention by enjoying the view rather than minding details. But Judy seemed a bit taller than what felt right. Not helping was the fact that while they had been just about the same height, Marcus could feel his hair brushing his shoulders, despite not having to tilt his head nearly enough for it to happen. His voice seemed stuck in his throat, wanting to tell his agreed date to move back, to stop resting her chest against his. And if any delusion of normalcy had remained through that, it didn’t survive the sound of his voice jumping up two octaves and taking a distinctly feminine lilt.

“Should’ve figured ‘Olly didn’ ‘splain anythin’ to ya.” Weaving her arms behind Marcus’ head, she forced his eyes forward for a perfect view of four wings, tops layered over bottoms with tiny protrusions, a mosaic of symmetrically shattered glass in stark black and white as they unfolded from an impossible space behind her. The wideness that had overtaken the boy’s eyes told her all she needed, that he couldn’t process what he was seeing within his obstinately narrow view of reality. He couldn’t accept that fairytales weren’t as fake as he’d have liked to believe. Yet. Her eyes glimmered gold with flecks of green, bemused at her new toy’s confusion. “Short version: monsters an’ magic are real, the agreement we made is bindin’ and for the next two days, that makes you literally my bitch. Oh, an’ ‘fore you make the mistake, I’m a pixie, not some pansy fairy.”

“Yeah. No. I’m leaving.” The statement was utterly flat with disbelief, with little effort from Judy to stop him before the door shut behind him.