Chapter 17: Three's a Crowd

Tristan found Cassie right before her free period. Cassie had to groan because she thought that she finally could get forty minutes alone. But of course, when she was involved with The Grand Scheme, none of her time would be private.

"Hey girlfriend," he took her bag casually.

Cassie never called him 'boyfriend'. Not even once. "Hey, you."

He slung an arm around her. She didn't mind. She hadn't minded for a while. And sometimes she thought that this gesture was friendly, amiable, platonic. Or was it? "Anyway, I heard from Tyra."

"Heard what from Tyra?"

"That you liked men with great bottoms."

Cassie's face felt hot. Okay, so groping Desmond in public wasn't exactly how she planned to start her day, but there she was.

"She saw it?"

Tristan rolled his eyes, he looked amused. "You're getting very brave."

"Is she angry?"

Cassie expected Tristan to laugh. To start snorting in his usual devil-may-care attitude and tell her that it's nothing. To give her a snarky answer to her stupid question.

But Tristan stayed quiet, and that meant trouble.

"With her, I could never tell." He finally muttered. "One day she'll be nice and sweet to you, the next day she won't even look at you."

Cassie nodded. That was how she felt with most of the Club members as well. Maybe that was a code with popular people? To never let the others know where they stand. To always let them guess. When you managed to get people confused about how they felt about you, you would gain a certain power over them; because they'd be thinking of you.

"But Cassie," there was something in the way Tristan called her. A modicum of caring, something that she hadn't felt in a long time. That made her look up.

Tristan's dark eyes were looking back at her. And they were beautiful. "He's not a good guy, you know that, right? You're not the kind of girl who will be his first choice. If you get lucky, you might get six months before being replaced by someone else."

Something inside Cassie broke.

"And you shouldn't look at Tyra too much, too," Cassie said coldly. It was just a test, really. A trial of the new thought that had just recently formed inside her head. But Tristan's reaction was what solidified her speculation.

Tristan froze, and he actually stopped breathing. "I don't-"

"I'm not blind," Cassie put a hand around his waist, since his grip around her trembled a little bit. They walked side by side along the hallways, their bodies pressed together but they had never been so far apart mentally. "You think Tyra is the most beautiful person in the room."

"Can you blame me? I think everybody who has seen her will think the same thing."

"She's doing this behind her boyfriend's back. Your taste in girls is no better than mine. Maybe if you stop pining after her, you'll know what I'm talking about."

"I don't. Pine after her." Tristan's hand hardened around her shoulder. "And what's up with your clothes? You look like you're wearing lingerie. I can practically see the lines of your breasts with all the alterations you're doing to your shirt."

"Oh, so you can be a slut, but I can't look a little sexy?" Cassie snapped. "What is it? Are you afraid you won't be able to control yourself around me?" She hadn't meant to, but something about the way Tristan talked set her off. He knew he was picking a fight with her, and she was just responding. After all, she wasn't exactly in a good mood.

They stopped in front of her locker. Cassie deposited her books inside and slammed the locker shut. Tristan was standing in front of her, and since they were so close to each other, he had to tilt his head to see her eyes. There was nothing but muted fury on his.

"Careful, Cassie. I heard Desmond doesn't like easy girls."

Cassie huffed. Her temper was rising and it was all she could do before she started yelling at everything for being so annoying. Damn her hair for being too straight. Damn her chest for being too easily hurt. Damn her shirt for being too tight. Damn Tristan for reminding her about Desmond's preference.

"He wants me," Cassie breathed, low enough so that no one but Tristan could hear her. "Your brother showed up in front of my house yesterday."

If Tristan was surprised, then he didn't show it. "Really? Did that make you happy? Made you feel you're wanted?"

The content of his words were anything but menacing, but his glowering expression betrayed the otherwise friendly conversation. In fact, he moved even closer, one of his hand was digging to the locker behind her, trapping her. It was a power move, and all Cassie had to do was show how uncomfortable she was for him to back down and savor his win.

But Cassie wasn't in the mood for losing.

"What is it with you, Tristan? Are you angry that I figured you out? You didn't agree to this," she gestured to herself, "because you wanted a nice, sweet girl to notice you and become your date to prom, isn't it? You wanted Tyra. Still do."

Tristan's eyes narrowed. Cassie couldn't help laughing. He tried so hard to hide his feelings, but he wasn't Desmond.

"Stop talking," Tristan hissed.

Cassie touched his cheek. Sometimes she wondered how come the two boys became as different as they could be. Tristan's feelings could be read like an open book. He let everything out in the open, and he never pretended to act one thing when he was feeling the other thing. It created a sense of sincerity around him, despite his brash fortissimo.

"Are you angry because the girl you want and the girl you're fake-dating both want the same guy?" she was being nasty and she knew it. But it felt like the ugliness inside her kept devouring her, consuming her thoughts and words and heart. She wanted to stop hurting him, but everytime she tried, the darkness just came back stronger.

Tristan's hand went to the side of her neck. Cassie drew a sharp breath, waiting for the incoming hurt. Tristan gritted his teeth, and she could feel him refraining from doing something that could leave a bruise to her skin.

The clanging sound was very close to her ear. Tristan punched the locker behind her, before stalking off.

Cassie exhaled loudly. She put her hand on her chest, and the beating inside her heart was thunderous. She often heard stories about Tristan's short fuse; how he wouldn't hesitate to pick physical fights and throw everything that was in front of him. What she had done was stupid; provoking a guy like that.

"Trouble in paradise, sweetcake?" Lucas asked her.

Cassie nearly jumped.

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Once they were comfortably sitting outside, Lucas gave her a carton of yoghurt. "Eat this," he ordered.

Cassie didn't wait before she snatched the food out of his hand. Partly because she was hungry, and partly because she was afraid Lucas might change his mind about feeding her.

"Tristan looked like he can kill someone," Lucas observed. "It doesn't happen often, but it can happen."

"We had... an argument."

"Really? Because before I got close, I thought you guys were having the most intense 'fuck-me-later' routine. And then of course, I had to eavesdrop because that's what I do," he trailed off. "Cassie... Cassie, Cassie..."

Lucas always used singsong whenever Cassie made a huge blunder. "What did I do this time?"

"Oh Cassie, you played with fire," Lucas said, his tone filled with worry, but his mouth quirked up in glee. "You never mention Tyra to that guy. Well, you can mention her, if it's in platonic nature. But talk to him about wanting her or even liking her romantically, and you'll wake the beast."

"Lucas, I know that you're having fun speaking in riddles, but I really don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"Tristan and Tyra used to hook up," Lucas finally said in normal english words.

Cassie nearly choked on her yoghurt. "What?!"

"It was on sophomore year. You know, before the rumor of Tristan's," Lucas waggled his eyebrows. " Anyway, word was, Tyra didn't want to define the relationship and left him heartbroken."

"Ugh..."

"Now that's when the rumor began."

Cassie counted the dates and blushed. "Does that mean...-"

"Yeah, the one who started it was most probably Tyra. She was, after all, the first girl Tristan ever dated-" Lucas clamped his hand over his mouth immediately afterwards. "Oops. She wouldn't call that dating. But they definitely had shared a bed together. And maybe a table. A chair. Anything that could prop two humans together. Shame that they're never officially together, their alliteration could make their couple name a bomb."

Cassie was reeling. Was that why Tristan was so angry to her before? Because there was history between him and the Queen? Tyra had such a clean page. She didn't date often, and when she did, it was only with the best-looking, richest guys on school. Tristan wasn't a pauper, sure, but he wasn't one of their kind.

Then her train of thoughts stopped. Oh. She realized it. Tyra had wanted to hook up with Tristan, but she hadn't wanted to date him.

Cassie remembered the palpable pain on Tristan's eyes, the slight tremble on his jaw, as he watched her going off about Tyra. Now she felt a hundred times worse than before.

There was a certain satisfaction about anger. It made her feel whole and powerful, and the more she fed her anger, the better she felt. It wasn't everyday she lost the reins that she had self-imposed to herself, and Tristan had been a really good bucket to dump all of her pent-up anger. But regret always came hand in hand with anger, although it often came a little late.

And now regret was eating Cassie from inside out.

"That was awful," she cringed. "So Desmond...?"

"Tyra knows what she wants. And she wants an heir of a powerful family, not a black sheep who will only get the backdoor access and monthly allowance."

Cassie shrugged; she wouldn't begrudge Tyra for acting smart. She remembered how her parents taught her. And she knew that was probably how most parents taught their daughters who was born in this society. Don't go for the boys who would give you trouble. Just go for the safest choice, even if that safest choice wasn't the best one for your heart.

"Anyway, you know Tyra wasn't this pretty when she was a sophomore, right? Nobody was. And she was stuck in A cup for longer than most girls. So how did she manage to get Desmond's attention?"

Cassie shook her head. "No idea."

Lucas gestured her to come closer. Cassie did, and he whispered something.

Cassie turned red.

"By having a threesome with both Arrington brothers."

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poor tristan just wants to warn cassie about what had happened to him... :( but oh well. 

anyway, i'm back from bali!! i'm going away for another trip next month (it's a long trip and it's related to the novel i'm making for query) so i'll be stocking up chapters for this story. i'm aiming to update at least 3 times a week :) 

see you on the next chapter! don't forget to vote and comment! i love hearing your thoughts and your predictions!