Tyra.

I like being 178cm.

I like that my BMI is less than 20, but a little over 18. Just a on the low spectrum of normal. But with my height, I look imposing and it's hard for me to get fat.

I like my caucasian features, and I like it even better because combined with my dark skin (but not too dark), they become even more striking. Sometimes I look at the mirror and say thank you to whoever up there, for giving me these features that will help me soar in life.

Because I'm not a kind person. I can't do kind. I can't do generous. I'm not the kind of person who, after seeing someone struggling and unfairly treated, will get up and help them. So my being attractive really makes up with what I lack in compassion.

I've never seen any girl do the things that I do better than me.

Until I meet Cassandra.

Truth to be told, maybe I'm the stupid one in this scenario. I made her. I just didn't know that she would be so hard to control. Not with her big doe eyes and awkward behavior.

Cassandra looks innocent. Unlike me, Cassandra's height is very average, bordering to a little short. Unlike me, Cassandra will always carry a little chub around her arms and stomach, and her skin can't tan. She is what you'll think a sad lonely cat-lady would look like.

Except she's not. She's ruthless, she's vicious. And worst of all, she has successfully hid her malice behind her non-threatening exterior for years.

I am a wolf through and through. But Cassandra is a wolf who gets mistaken as a sheep, and that's the type of woman you should be wary the most.

↣↣↣

Cassie found Tristan on the parking lot, not surprisingly. She brought ammunition with her; chocolate, cup noodles, and a thermos of hot water.

Tristan was smoking on top of his old car. Cassie felt a strange knot in her chest as she witnessed the display; a young guy who wasn't supposed to be able to buy cigarette by himself was burning his life away. The smoke that curled around him created an image worthy of an instagram post. Maybe something to post as a profile picture. It would drive a lot of girls crazy.

Cassie herself never really liked destructive behaviors like this. Which was, maybe that was why she was so attracted to Desmond. For all his scheming and his cruelty, he was actually really clean. He didn't drank too much. He never smelled like smoke. He worked out regularly and kept on a healthy lifestyle.

Tristan, though, judging from how he sometimes replied to her texts at ungodly hour, seemed to be the exact opposite. He could afford to do this because of his age, but Cassie wouldn't want to see how he would look like when he was twenty years older.

He didn't notice her, so she knocked on the metal of his car. "Want to get even unhealthier and eat some cup noodles?" she offered.

Tristan blinked twice, the surprise was evident in his face. He recovered quickly, though. "Cup noodles? Because I'm Asian?"

Cassie recoiled. She wasn't expecting this reaction. "I also bring chocolate."

"I'm just kidding," Tristan said flatly. He jumped off his car and landed right beside her. The smell of smoke still wafted around him and Cassie nearly gagged herself. Noticing this, Tristan opened his car and rummaged through, before spritzing something around him. It was odor eliminator.

"Bought it the first day you agreed to be my pseudo girlfriend," he grinned. "Figured that you might not like the smell."

Cassie appreciated the sentiment, but she didn't want to confirm this. She just gave him the chocolate.

"What? No, I want this. It's my favorite kind," Tristan snatched the cup noodle from Cassie's hand. "I rarely eat this because the cook insists she can make a healthier and better version than this. But there's always something tasty about eating this junk."

"I bought a six packs of them the first day you agreed to be my pseudo boyfriend," Cassie confessed. She didn't even know why she had done that. But she asked her chauffeur to drive her to the biggest asian market and stock up on lots of asian snacks. The noodle was too spicy for her, and she was afraid that it contained a lot of sodium. But she had seen that lots of people liked it and always bought it in bulk, so she had added the noodles in her basket.

"A girl after my own heart," Tristan joked. Cassie poured hot water to the cup and as they waited for the noodle to cook, they fell into an awkward silence.

Cassie knew that she had to be the one to break this. "I'm sorry."

Tristan started eating and not saying anything.

Cassie nibbled on her chocolate. She tried not to. But her body demanded food under moments of stress. She didn't even get a single nod or a vocalization or anything. It was as if she hadn't said anything.

A little while later, Tristan croaked, in an exaggerated manner. "What? You mean that's your idea of apologizing? Try harder."

And just like that, Cassie's worry washed away. She knew that Tristan wasn't going to hold it against her. He just wanted her to put a little more effort, and maybe embarrass herself a little bit. Just normal stuff, especially after you've truly hurt somebody.

"I'm sorry I was a jerk," Cassie began. "I'm sorry I'm saying things that I shouldn't be saying. We're starting to become good friends and I take your weaknesses into a weapon in our argument. It's low and petty and it's totally unacceptable... but-"

"Of course there's a but," Tristan cut her off. But it was friendly, and he accompanied it with a chagrined grin.

Cassie smiled. "Yes, there is. You gave me unsolicited advice. That's a first. And you also used my weakness to hurt me. I just... well, I just did what you did to me, but better."

"You mean, you did it way worse," Tristan poked Cassie's forehead lightly. "Because your words were not only designed to hurt me, but you wanted me to break."

Cassie gulped. The guilt that she had repressed resurfaced, coming in torrents. She bit her bottom lip, and even as she tried, she couldn't conjure any response that might be appropriate to this.

"We weren't this... bad, you know," Tristan sighed. He put down the cup noodle. It was unfinished. "Desmond and I. We weren't like this before."

"You mean there was a time when he really acted like your brother?" Cassie meant it as a joke, something to lighten up the mood, but the way Tristan set his jaw made her realized that the effect was quite the opposite she hoped. "I think I should just shut up and let you talk."

"We were just two kids who had a shitty dad. That was enough reason for us to bond with each other," he lighted up another cigarette, but not before looking at Cassie intently, as if asking for permission. He waited until Cassie nodded before he took a long drag. "And since our dad was, and is, so shitty, he didn't even bother to properly introduce us. Maybe that's what made us got along then. There was no difference between us. We were just two boys who wanted the love from the same maddening, ignorant man. "

Tristan looked at Cassie. "Have you ever felt like that?"

Cassie shook her head. "I've never wanted to be loved by one particular person."

"Even Desmond?"

"I want him to acknowledge me. But love? Will I call it love? He hurt me, humiliated me, made me feel ashamed about myself. He's a monster incapable of selfless love, and I won't ask him that. But there's also something beautiful about him. Something vulnerable. That's what I want from him."

"Oh you girls and your obsession with fixing guys," Tristan laughed. "You didn't see something beautiful and vulnerable in Desmond. You're just horny because he's handsome."

Cassie reddened. "That's a vulgar thing to say."

"But the truth," he flashed his whites. "Good looks always help people. Desmond is a monster. But he's a good looking monster, so people -especially girls-, see something deeper beneath his cold-blooded treatment to the others. When he lashes out and bully people, girls think he just needs love and warmth to bring out the good in him. Well guess what? There's no Deep Down. There is no secret mystery about why he acts the way he acts now. People are the sum of their actions, and Desmond is just a bad person who happens to win the genetic lottery."

"That's awfully bleak," Cassie mussed, but nevertheless she knew that she would be thinking about his words for the days to come. "But it's different with you. You're also not ugly," she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'handsome'. "But I don't feel like you have hidden depths. You're just a brash guy who needs to spend a few more session in the etiquette class."

"That's because your heart is taken," Tristan shrugged easily. "Tyra is a bitch, too. But I still want her nonetheless. Logically, I always know that some people are intrinsically wicked, but that's the thing about feelings, right? We can't always choose whom we're attracted too."

"Or maybe you're just horny for her."

"Damn right I am."

They stood side by side, silence once again surrounding them. But it was a different kind of silence. One that didn't inspire panic inside Cassie's chest. She found a new understanding with Tristan, and she found herself liking him more. Wanting to talk to him more. Of course, she wanted to talk to him about how on earth Tyra managed to bed both him and Desmond, but that was a conversation for another time.

Because for now, they were just talking as two people who was starting to get to know each other. There was no scheming, no plotting, no planning. And it was, Cassie decided, something that she enjoyed very much.

↣↣↣

halp.

i play too much mobile legends. that's the reason why this update comes waay too late. the game's season is ending, though. in fact, it ends today, which might be the only reason why I'm writing this chapter. :')

i want to have more in this chapter, but this feels like a good place to stop. I'll update tomorrow with a more faster plot. sometimes, in stories, there has to be quiet scenes like this, y'know? and i don't usually do this because i know that in serials, people like it when the plot jumps fast and juicy, but well, i guess i'm just trying to do something different in this chapter.

see you soon ! and thank you for your support for this story! I'll be making a special announcement/update for Pizza Delivery Girl VS The Rich Kids this week. :) So stay tuned and follow me for more stories.