Tristan

Of course I remember Cassie.

Cassandra. Cassandra. Oh, Cassandra. Poor meek, blond, pale woman whom Desmond invited to spend the night with him, only for him to bolt out within five minutes, scowling in disgust. It was a night that everybody remembered. There was no secret that Desmond would talk and flirt or sometimes sleep with other girls if Tyra didn't come to the party with him, but he never actually left the room within five minutes. Desmond, after all, was a fit guy who relied on his reputation. He only left after hours of vigorous exercise with the lucky girl of the night.

So, after Desmond left with a scowl and a stiff jeans, the rumors started to spread.

Cassandra Bellington has a third nipple.

Cassandra is a freak. But definitely not in the sexy way.

Cassandra this. Cassandra that. I actually stop listening after a very weird rumor that consisted of a criss cross vagina and dual-colored skin. People are fucked up.

I never officially talked with Cassandra, but I notice her alright.

She was a little pudgy, which was something new in a sea of stick-thin girls who never ate and had bad breath due to them not eating. She had soft skin and soft hair. She always had her nose up in her kindle and when she thought no one was looking, she always stared lovingly towards Desmond from the very back of the class. It was the classic definition of a nerd-in-love that I almost always laughed whenever I saw her staring at my despicable half-brother.

Because contrary to what other people might believe, I felt that Desmond would be poison to her.

And when I never saw her anymore, I didn't pay attention. I had way too many things to think about, anyway; mainly how to make girls who come to me want to spend the day with me, too. Come to think about it, there would be hordes of guys who had the exact opposite problem.

So when Cassandra re-appeared a few months later, much skinnier, much more prettier, and losing the gleaming zeal that was always ever-present in her eyes, TI knew that someone had messed her up.

I wanted to say, 'I told you so,', but unfortunately, I never told her anything.

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Chapter 8: Streamlining the Narrative

Tristan was fifteen minutes /late/.

For someone who had insisted she came to his place of choice, he definitely didn't show enough enthusiasm to match with his persistence. Cassie tried her best to not order a second milkshake. /He/was promising her this. And now she had to buy it for herself.

Not that she minded monetarily. She had plenty of money. Sometimes even too much to spend for herself, given her disinterest towards the usual mumbo jumbo girls got into. There were just so many things to get obsessed about: healthy living, yoga pants, cruelty-free skincare and even plastic surgery. Thankfully, Cassie's interest remained firmly in her little web of internet connections.

She looked at her watch again. /Seventeen minutes late/.

When Tristan finally came, she didn't even need to see his face to quite realize it. The people around her had given her enough indication that someone astonishing had gone through the door. All their heads were pointed into a single area, and true, not longthereafter, Cassie could hear his voice.

"What are you doing here so early?"

Cassie had to hold her breath.

She never saw Tristan out of school. In fact, she barely even saw Tristan afterall, but for all the times she did, he only ever wore the school's standard uniform. And yes, St. Pulkeria had great designer and the faculty only allowed the students the best uniform to represent the wealth and prestigiousness of their resident. But she never would have guessed that she would meet with someone who wore clothing that had actual /rips/ on it.

The rips were on his knees, and then on his elbows, and if that wasn't enough, there was even a little bit of ripping on his canvas bag. Either he had a very distinctive preference in his garment of choice, or he was extraordinarily clumsy. Because Cassie knew Tristan had enough money for proper and regular-exchange of clothing.

That, and the ripping seemed too aesthetic to be unintentional.

"You show a lot of skin," Cassie said, trying not to sound too judgy.

"And you're so awfully covered up," Tristan nudged his head towards her, referring to her turtle neck and the skirt-legging.

Cassie consciously put a hand over her stomach, on her muffin top. She over-ate a little yesterday and it was showing everywhere. She had been on such a strict diet lately that one single mistake would be fatal for her. Right now, she was not in the mood to show fleshy chunks of meat.

Tristan took a seat across her, because this was a business meeting, not a fun date. He ordered some drink and some appetizer and when the waiter hurried off to the kitchen, he put his chin on his palm and stared at her.

"You're very punctual."

"Like you mentioned, I'm a friendless, perpetually single girl with no plans."

"Likewise," Tristan said, but not in a sad way. He pointed at himself. "Friendless and perpetually single."

"Really? I thought you're always busy with various girls throwing themselves at you at a regular basis."

"They're not interested in a relationship with me," Tristan rolled his eyes. "And sometimes it feels better to be with someone who could show me a modicum of caring, even though it only lasts for ten minutes. So I don't mind."

Cassie might be sheltered, but even she could understand the underlying message behind this. Tristan was, for the lack of a better word, an /experienced/ man, although not necessarily in an area he wanted it to be.

"Poor you," Cassie cooed. She tried her best to imitate the way Tyra cooed, with a little bit of pity, but thick with derision. As if the supposedly sweet words would feel demeaning instead of lifting.

"Oh, no, that doesn't work with you, Cass." So now Tristan had already given her a new nickname. "You don't coo and act sweet while meaning the exact opposite. No offense, but that's not gonna be your thing."

Cassie was offended. "What is my thing, then?"

"You're a former fat girl/nerd who finally realized the power of beauty. But you've still got a little innocence within you and you still can't help being naive most of the times."

"Now you're just describing me. Not how I'll project myself."

"Exactly. Just be yourself. The way you are now is perfect."

Cassie could feel herself blushing. Hard.

Tristan seemed to realize the mistake of his wording. "I mean, the way you are now is great to make Desmond realize how very wrong he was to let you go. You're not quite in too deep as Tyra and the gang. But you're not as stupid as you were. So it's a good balance. Guys dig that."

"Thanks for the observation."

Tristan finally got his drink. It's a chocolate milkshake. He sipped from the straw and smiled. "So how do I ask you to be my girlfriend?"

Cassie nearly choked on her own saliva. To cover this, she sipped from her milkshake before she started coughing. "I'm sorry?"

"We're faking this thing, right? So if some girls ask you when or how this happened, how would you respond?"

Oh. Ooh.

"I... Well, I always liked a confession on the beach-"

"Too cheesy. Next."

Cassie then racked up to the second most romantic thing she could conjure. "Or when you asked me to see a sunrise at the hill."

"Who in their right mind would want to wake up at five in the morning and, on top of that, make another one mile hike to see the sunrise?" Tristan was still sipping on his chocolate. "There's enough videos on youtube to prove that yes, the sun will rise at six, and the sky will be full of warm colors."

"Okay. So if you're such an expert about this, how would you ask a girl out?"

Tristan tipped his chin as he thought about it. When the smile appeared on his too-red lips again, Cassie had to recoil so that she wasn't staring too much. "I will text her to meet me," Tristan started, his body was leaning towards her over the table. "Then I will ask her to meet me at my favorite restaurant," he knocked on the table. "Then I will ask her to go out with me while we're drinking milkshake."

Basically, what they were doing right now.

Still, as unromantic as it was, Cassie couldn't help the stampede that was happening inside her chest. Gosh. 17 years plus with no prospect of having a boyfriend really made her lower her standard.

"I can't believe that any girl would say yes to that."

Tristan chuckled. It was mischievous and too cute. "But you do."

"I am? That's the story that we're going to tell people? How is that supposed to help me? There are girls in St. Pulkeria who got asked out in a yacht, and here I am, being romanced in the cheap diner at the suburb."

Tristan put a finger over his lips. Cassie hated that his movements always revolved around his lips. "You could say that I gave you a flower."

"A bouquet," Cassie countered.

"That'll be too much. Those who know me won't ever believe it. Three flowers."

"And chocolate."

"Ugh..."

Cassie gestured to her milkshake. "Because you're paying for this, as per your text message."

Tristan laughed. "Okay then, Cass."

Cassie didn't understand how she became so bold, so comfortable, to the point that she managed to establish a rapport with someone like Tristan. She still didn't want to be associated with him, and given the choice, she still wanted to change her fake-boyfriend choice into Lucas. But Tristan was surprisingly easy to converse with. He didn't constantly talk in double entendree, and the fact that he had no standing in the social standing made easy for her to talk to him without fearing if he would be secretly laughing at her.

Well yes, he was constantly laughing at her. But sometimes, he laughed with her too. And that what was mattered. Because in a society where nobody could really trust what anybody was thinking, seeing someone like Tristan who wore his feelings on his sleeve was a breath for fresh air.

And Cassie had to admit, his good-looks were quite nice to look at, too.

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Author's note:
Thank you for reading this story! And guuyss, I can't believe that you guys like Tristan! It's a little untraditional for me to introduce a second guy character (that's actually better in prospect than the first guy character) so late in the chapters. But I'm glad that you welcome the addition! I'm liking the Tristan-Cassie chemistry! See you on the next update, which will happen very soon!