This was not what Cassie planned on happening.

August Berningham was certainly not on his knees, literally, to beg to her. It was all just in her imagination.

But no matter how much Cassie wanted to believe her mind, she couldn't. because this was the reality. August was really in front of her, and he was kneeling as his mouth kept reciting all the types of praise and worships that would make any other people do anything he'd want.

The Case: August had always gotten bad marks on Calculus. Cassie had always gotten the perfect score in that area. They sat next to each other in the senior year, so some interactions were bound to happen. Following the interactions was August becoming more and more dependant on her when it came to Calculus. And now, before mid-terms, he requested to her that she became his personal tutor.

This was probably the dreams of every single studious (nerd) female in this school. August was good-looking, just like every A-lister. He was a jock, he was the easiest way to get into Desmond's good grace. And best of all, August was the least mean of them all.

"Please Cassie," August's blue eyes tinkled in a way that Cassie thought only a puppy's eyes would. "Only you can help me! Please, just the Calculus!" August might talk about dumb things 90 percent of the time, but there was something about him that enforce people to make them care for him.

Aside from being a 200 pound athletic blonde jock, August Berningham was also certified as Desmond Arrington's bestfriend.

Actually, people didn't need to notice that August was charming, and blonde, and also super rich, and blonde, and that he had won a lot of football games. And blonde.

All people needed to know was that August was Desmond's bestfriend, and nobody would dare to refuse his demands.

Cassie was this close to refusing, but at the last second, August grabbed her hands, and at that she was lost.

At 18, Cassie had never been touched by anything male. More over, a hot specimen of male. She looked with horror at the seemingly innocent August. But August didn't seem like he had just used his sexual strength to make Cassie conform to him. He just seemed like he desperately needed help.

Finally, Cassie released a long sigh. "Alright," she said. "but you must know that I expect high salary."

"That's cupcake. I'll pay you so high you can update your entire wardrobe, Cass!" August finally got into his feet, genuinely relieved that Cassie obliged. "Or I can take you to some dates. You know, girls usually consider my company a good thing."

Cassie rolled her eyes. She forgot that she was talking with August Berningham, and if anything, he was an idiot. She'd spit him with sarcasm and he'd take it literally.

"I was just kidding, August. You don't need to pay me. Just make sure that you pick me up and drive me home."

"You're the best, Cass," August exclaimed as he proceeded to hug her. They were in such a public place that everyone could see this. Cassie blushed, partly because she was in the center of attention, and partly because of August's hard body was pressed into hers so tightly. Boys were warm, alright, and hugs from them felt so different, so comfortable. Maybe after she got out from this messy place, she'd find a boyfriend herself.

As August released her, though, Cassie saw someone behind his back. Desmond Arrington. This was probably the first time Cassie saw Desmond this close, even after twelve years being in the same school, and oh boy...

If there was any word to describe ethereal beauty without much sounding like how Bella described Edward, Cassie would have used it.

Desmond's eyes were darted to August, and on his face was a ghost of smile. His perfectly sculpted lips were not curving up, but his eyes were warm and smiling, a sure sign of fondness. It was altogether different from how Cassie wondered how Desmond would be, and it was also different from how all the girls describe him. Desmond might be a lot of things, but a warm-hearted boy he was not.

"You're such a whore, August," Desmond commented when August came to him. "I think you scare the poor girl."

"Asshole," August slapped Desmond's back, laughing. They almost looked like they're normal highschoolers, if only they weren't so good-looking.

Just as Cassie released a smile, her eyes caught Desmond's green ones. In that moment, his expression had changed rigorously into something different. For August, he showed his fondness, but for Cassie, it was something else.

Cassie was positive that it was curiosity, if not interest.

And if only she had had experiences around boys before, if only she wasn't also curious, if only she didn't reciprocate his curiosity, then maybe, maybe none of this would ever happen.

-

Chapter One: Royally Fucked

-

"He was staring at her. She knew that exactly. She saw how his eyes moved to the places she went. She saw that he was shifting whenever she made a move, an obvious reaction that he acknowledged her. But she wasn't sure how she'd react to that kind of attention: flattered or anxious?

He was, after all, the King of St. Pulkeria, the object of desire of nearly every feminine being around that area. He could snap his fingers and girls would present right in front of him, girls far more beautiful and interesting than her.

Cassie checked again, just to be sure.

Yep. That guy was staring at her.

-

If there was one good thing that Cassie could say about him, then that would be he had a set of really good eyes.

First of all, his eyes were green. How many people in this world could possibly have green eyes? She could only count so many people that she knew who was bestowed with that color, and his was the most hauntingly beautiful.

She admitted, it was at first his eyes that made it hard for her not to look at him. She may dislike his guts, but is it such a crime to look at those gorgeous eyes?

-

His green eyes were still at her when he spoke to August. They were beguiling her, watching her every step, waiting for her to look back at him.

Oh, no, she wouldn't.

Cassie knew better than to fall to the King of Womanizer's charms. Desmond did have the reputation of breaking girls' hearts. Not only that, girls also claimed him as an excellent wooer.

But for someone of Cassie's echelon, who had never had a boyfriend nor a fling all her life, Desmond's most basic moves could be perceived as Godly.

The fact that Desmond hung around August's house a lot didn't make it easier for Cassie to ignore him. she knew that both boys were bestfriends, but she had no idea that they were at the point where Desmond should be charged for living on the Berlington's residence.

Everytime August brought Cassie to his house for their tutoring lesson, Desmond would always be there, watching quietly, doing his own business, not bothering them. Not at all.

But that wasn't what happened in Cassie's mind. Desmond, in Cassie's opinion, was doing everything he could to bother her.

It's as if Desmond was trying to torture her. His mouth wasn't making any sound, but the shape it made when he saw her was daunting. He would smirk, snort a laugh, sometimes he would even smile at her approvingly. Desmond almost always brought a book to read whenever she was around, but his eyes were nowhere around the book, but around her, and the expression he made when she caught him staring at him was... priceless. It was a combination of pleasure and mock-embarrassment, he clearly waited for her to notice him.

If only he was bald, and middle-aged, and ugly, Cassie would have thought that he was a rapist. But Desmond had a mop of thick, stylized dark hair, he was of her age, and for the love of God, he was gorgeous. Cassie, just like any other 18 year old girls, thought that him staring at her was a huge compliment.

She tried to resist, though.

At that time, after all, Desmond was having a high-profile relationship with the current Queen Bee of St. Pulkeria, Tyra. It was suicide to mess with them.

But God, with all those little signs he sent them, and Cassie's own realization that 18 year old was a good year to finally have her first boyfriend, it was getting harder and harder not to fall for him.

She was such an easy prey.

-

Cassie stood alone in the room full of people. It was originally August's study room with her, but upon one day, it has transformed into a party cell. Dimly lit, with disco lights, music blasting from August's favorite speaker, a lot of chips and drinks, and of course, people.

Half-stoned people. Crazy people. Dangerous people.

She knew half of them, they were students of St. Pulkeria, the Elite ones. But she never expected meeting them like this. When they were serving their duty time at school, they were all uniform-laced, neat, and for the most part, clean. They'd sometimes greet her at school, a nice and polite greet. They wouldn't be ripping off their expensive shirts or dripping alcohol to their own body, or start licking each other's slick wet chests/breasts.

It was, to Cassie's virginal eyes, horrifying, the dark side of these Elite's lives. Now she was even more content with her position in school. A lot of juniors have started to try to kiss A-lister's asses so that they could be included in their exclusive, A-list-esque clubs. Cassie wondered if those juniors would still be on if they saw this was how their idols behaved outside school.

Wait, no. She thought that maybe they would still be on, if not more driven. These kind of parties, these animalistic behavior were the exact things that those juniors were longing for.

Cassie searched for August, at least someone familiar and friendly. But once she spotted him, every urge to approach him had been zeroed. He was in the center of the crowd, bottles of reeking alcohol were all around him, and he was gulping more and more and more. The crowd was pleased to see him drinking a lot, and they handed him more and more and more bottles.

Maybe they wanted to see him dead drunk. Maybe they secretly wanted to kill him so that the slot to Desmond's bestfriend would be open. Either way, Cassie was even more horrified when August could finish all the bottles and still managed to stand.

"Suck that, SUCKERS!" he shouted, much to the applause of his crowd.

"This is the best party in this semester!!" another girl (who was standing on August's hardwood coffee table) shouted on top of her lungs, before she hit her head to the chandelier and fainted.

This place, Cassie decided, was fucked up. She even had forgotten why she had agreed to come to this party. But before she could pivoted and get away from it, someone caught her hand.

It was Desmond Arrington.

-

"I got a B!!" August announced at Cassie after he brought her to his house. "I got a B!"

"Congrats," Cassie said, with much less enthusiasm that August had. She was happy, however, seeing that her first student finally upgraded his usually D to B.

"You gave me this B, Cass. Hell, you threw it for me to catch," August started to go overboard about it, like always.

"And you caught it."

"Fucking yes, I did," August saw at his papers, a big fat B stamped on it. It was probably the first time he got this letter in Calculus, that is, without cheating.

"Stop gloating, August, it's getting annoying," Desmond said, but his eyes flickered with the very same delight. August had this effect of people. He just radiated happiness.

"Maybe we should celebrate it?" August said, completely ignoring Desmond. "What do you say, a party at my place? It'd be Vertigo-like, with all the lights and my speaker."

Cassie blinked. There was one stray word in August's sentence. "Vertigo?"

"It's the name of a club," Desmond filled her in. "One of the best in the city. Exclusive invitation, you have to be somebody to get in."

"Oh," was all Cassie could say. "That sounds... great." It came out more like a question mark than a statement.

Desmond smiled, and that smile made her blush. She had never been to a club, and she hadn't planning to be anytime soon. Her tolerance to alcohol was pushing zero.

"We should celebrate it," Desmond turned to August.

"Yeah! Tonight, everything will be ready tonight! Our study room must be the dancefloor!" August had started to run around his house, assigning what room should be what and letting his imagination ran rampant.

Cassie watched him scrambling here and there, and another smile broke. It was like watching a very happy child getting a candy. But soon, her happiness crumbled and all that was left was anxiety. August was already nowhere to be found or heard, and here she was, sitting together in the same couch with Desmond Arrington, at the Berningham's living room.

And worse, Cassie could feel how Desmond's eyes were trying to undress her.

She bit her lip, and started counting how many patterns that the wallpapers have. She was already at 57 when Desmond cut her off.

"So, I assume you're not going to August's party?"

"Um, no, I think..."

"Why?" Desmond's green eyes were fixed onto her, leaving her no space to run away.

"I-I guess it's... it's not for me."

"Because you're not one of 'us'?" Desmond almost seemed innocent, with his big eyes and his questioning tone. Then, in a second, he turned again to the ruthless Desmond she knew. "But I think it'd be fun to have you around."

Really?

"Really?" she said.

"Really," he put his hand on top of hers.

All of a sudden, he was already so close to her. She could even feel the warmth emanated from his body. She stared down, looking at their touching hands. She was unable to think clearly. Haze filled her head with gray illusions, illusions about the unthinkable. Illusions about the owner of these hands, dancing together Disney-style.

"Hey," Desmond called her gently. "Hey, look up,"

And when she did, she finally caught his green eyes right on. They were unreadable, but out of many things that flashed on those eyes, Cassie could catch one that looked very prominent.

Desire.

Desmond Arrington, King of St. Pulkeria, desired her.

This was really happening.

"Just come tonight, 'kay?" he asked, so softly, so alluringly, that Cassie forgot how to say 'no'.

and hell, how could you say no when he added this:

"I'll protect you."

-

"Leaving so early?" he said, and for once, Cassie noticed, there was no one behind Desmond's back.

"Yes, I think I've already stayed enough," Cassie tried to put a façade of politeness. "Besides, it's getting too late."

"Please. 10 pm is not too late. The party is just getting started," Desmond pressed, his hand held onto her harder.

The warmth that surged from his body to hers was surely distracting. "Well, not for you, but it's definitely late for me. I'm used at sleeping at ten thirty."

Desmond snorted. "I stopped doing that when I was ten."

Against her will, Cassie smiled. She could just imagine what Desmond would look like when he was young. Cute, short, and absolutely obnoxious. She tried to put images about how young Desmond demanded that he wouldn't be put to bed at ten.

Noticing her amusement, Desmond shuffled closer to her. It was easy to do so. The room was packed, after all. "You feel uncomfortable here?" he asked.

Cassie looked away. "I-I guess,"

Desmond thinned his mouth, thinking. "Wanna go somewhere else?"

"Like where?"

"Like, August's mother's room?"

The very thought of that made her shudder.

"August mother's room?" she repeated, enunciating every word.

"I think it'll be quieter there."

"August mother's room?" she choked one more time.

This time, Desmond only smiled. Slowly, he took her hand and tilted his head. "Come on."

And somehow, all the bravado she tried to put up had all broken down.

-

-

-

'He was going to do it with me.'

"D-Did you already tell Tyra about it?"

"About what?"

"A-About us... getting into August's mother's room... together."

Desmond's eyes glinted mischievously. The lights from the colorful bulb that August bought just for today's event danced on his skin. Desmond had always been handsome, but under this dark place, he looked dazzling.

"I don't think she would mind," he said with a smile.

Despite everything, that smile calmed Cassie.

August's mother's room was in the fourth floor, so they had to go through a lot of stairs. People were greeting Desmond, and a lot of them tried to look at Cassie's face. But Cassie was determined not to look up. Part of it because she was so embarrassed about having her A-lister classmates knew that she was going to this party. Another part because she felt as if her face was on fire.

Desmond never took her hand off the whole time.

As soon as they got into the room, Desmond's hand moved to her neck, and forcefully, almost desperately, kissed her.

It was Cassie's first kiss. It was Cassie's first kiss. It was Cassie's first kiss.

She didn't even have the chance to close her eyes, or pop up a leg like the movie-girl would. She only stared blankly at Desmond's ultra close up face like an idiot.

His lips were so hot, and slightly wet. She knew that lips were part of the skin, and them kissing is no less different than when her own skin touched her lips. But her body reacted otherwise. She was trembling, and the tremor that ran through her spine never stopped. She didn't want this to end, this touch, this kiss, and especially this sensation.

And it didn't. It became much more intense.

Cassie felt his lips moved. It tasted every corner of her mouth, and after a while, he started to gnaw on her bottom lip.

"Open," he whispered on her mouth. "Open your mouth."

Cassie's brain felt as if it stopped working. She couldn't control her body, and she felt a grasping hand on her breast. Normally, she would have slapped the hand. But combined with the wet kiss, the hand kinda felt nice there.

As Desmond got no response from her, he just stuck his tongue, forcing her to open her mouth. Their tongues danced for what seemed like a long time. He even managed to lead her to the bed, straddling her.

But just as abruptly as the kiss started, Desmond stopped.

"Do you not mind me kissing you at all?" he asked, his voice sounded normal, as if he hadn't just done anything. His hand still glued to her breast.

Cassie just stared at him, out of breath.

"Geez," a small smile came out on his reddened lips. "you're so easy."

And that was the last thing that Cassie remembered at that night, because everything else turned into a blur of hot breaths and major heart palpitations.

--------------------

picture on the side is how I imagine Desmond would look like.

And thanks a lot for your support. :) Really, thank you thank you thank you thank you. The story is sick to write, but I have a soft spot on it. Please protect my story, because I love them all to the bits, and because I'm trying to be a real published author. You guys are my rock, and I love you all.