une.
chapter one.

xxx.

           There is something to be said about a school where half of the oncoming students paid to be there, and the other half had to be paid to attend. You can usually tell, who's there on scholarship and who's there because their parents only wanted the best for their darling children that couldn't write an exemplary essay to save their life.

Farleigh Start, for example, lived, breathed, oozed 'I'm here because I'm rich'. He's always dressed to the nines, appearing more like a fashion student than a classics major, and the way his everlasting smirk pulls his lips to the side of his mouth showed he never worried about studying for a single exam. He walked through the courtyard with a cigarette between those same lips and wandering eyes, looking to lock on to their next target.

His body connected with them before his eyes managed, though, and he bumped into the opposite type of person.

Oliver Quick screamed, cried, whined scholarship student. His clothes are very clearly a size too big for him, he looked disoriented when Farleigh's arm nudged him, sharp blue eyes flickering around as he tried to take in the people before him. There's something not-so genuine about it, though. Like he's a sheep in wolf's clothing, he wore it, not proudly, but as a disguise to appear less threatening.

It only works on his fellow sheep, though. It's why Jade Christensen looked at him like he's a smear of oil on her blouse despite not being the one that touched him.

" Hey, nice jacket. " Farleigh remarked, his lips parted with a condescending grin as his eyes glance over Oliver fast, like he's barely worth wasting more than a second on. He moved on quickly, walking past the shorter boy with two girls on either side of him.

Oliver broke his persona, only for a split second, but it's enough. While Farleigh is already more interested in bothering the short girl beside him, the tall, lanky brunette stared at him with a quirk of disgust in her pursed lips. Her head stayed in his direction until they were too far for it to be comfortable, and she only tore her eyes away from the odd boy when she heard part of the conversation happening beside her.

He's forgotten just as quickly as he was regarded, both fleeting moments with disgust. Disgust for a stranger they knew nothing about.

" So, was the trip up here everything you imagined? " Farleigh asked, plucking the burning cigarette from his mouth, holding it loosely between his fingers, his elbow against his side as he stopped walking. The tall boy leaned against the brick wall, looking down at the shorter girl expectantly.

" I didn't really imagine much, I slept for most of the ride. " Eleanor admitted, tilting her head to the side, her ponytail falling to her shoulder as Jade joined their conversation, though her arms were crossed and her head still remained turned in the opposite direction.

Eleanor Kim-Roth and Jade Christensen fall somewhere in between. They're surrounded by wealthy students, their clothes are steamed and void of wrinkles, and they're both too pretty in their own rights to be too lonesome. However, Nell's sunny disposition was the biggest thing that set her apart from the rest. She never voiced complaints, and to see her with a frown was to not see her at all. Nell was kind, often too forgiving, and gave too many chances to people who didn't deserve it. In a pit of snakes, she was a mouse trying to negotiate peace.

             Jade Christensen was not a snake, but she certainly wasn't Nell either. She wasn't mean, or at least not in her opinion; she was blunt, she refused to lie to spare the feelings of someone else, and she absolutely couldn't stand when people tried to pretend to be something they weren't. It's why she got along so well with her cousins and their friends. Not all of them, though, that's an important distinction.

            Jade and Farleigh weren't quite related, but they didn't discern the technicalities. They were both cousins to the Cattons, which made them cousins enough. She appreciated his honesty, and though he was a bit more mean spirited than honest for the sake of honesty, she didn't really care.

           " 'Course you did. You could never sit through a movie without falling asleep, much less a boring car ride. " Farleigh commented with another drag of his cigarette, a distant smile on his face as he flicked the ash off the end. His attention was swayed though, looking over at Jade. " What are you staring at? That dork? "

         " He was staring first. " She stated flatly, crossing her arms as she finally looked up at Farleigh with an annoyed expression.

         " Don't worry, I don't think he was looking at you. " He insisted with a teasing expression.

          " I'm sure he was just curious. " Nell said before Jade's twisted mouth could retort back. The conversation fell off rather quickly as the pale girl spotted someone approaching them across the courtyard. She raised a hand, though Farleigh's stature was more effective as a beacon than her, and waved him down, " Felix! Over here! "

         Jade was glad for the change of subject, if either of them had asked her how her ride was, she would've had to find a way to avoid answering. Nell internally agreed with the sentiment, happy that Farleigh didn't press any further.

          Both girls' hidden weariness faded when Felix Catton bounded over to them with an unusual spring in his step, a wide smile on his face as he joined them. His brow piercing moved with his forehead as he became their fourth, sparking conversation as soon as he opened his mouth.

         Oliver couldn't hear what they were discussing, not from where he stood at least, but it was amazing how much you could gather from body language alone. From the distance, he's able to notice so many things about the four friends, who slowly became more and more surrounded by people, an ever growing crowd to the spectacle that was Felix Catton.

        Felix Catton was a spectacle. He drew attention like it was natural, from both men and women, from desire and envy. He was tall, taller than most with his only real competition being Farleigh himself, and his dark brown eyes crinkled sweetly when he laughed. Oliver couldn't hear his laugh just yet, but he knew it must sound as nice as it looked. It wasn't really Felix's fault that so many people attached themselves to him, he was born with his last name and a charm that only enhanced his appeal.

        It wasn't his fault that people latched onto him like a leech.

        Oliver had never compared himself to a leech before. He wouldn't now, either. Perhaps someone else would, and he wouldn't deny it, though.

        As Felix spoke, eyes locked onto him as if the words falling from his lips were the most important, coveted thing in the world, but when he wasn't speaking, he watched and listened intensely. His eyes locked on, and he became lost in whoever was speaking.

       It would be nice, Oliver absentmindedly thought, to have someone lost in you.

       He had to pull his focus away from him for a brief moment, though, to observe the others. There were a few other girls, ones that had to keep at least a hand against Felix's shoulder to make themselves feel relevant, and Farleigh is a character of his own, but Oliver is more interested in the two girls that were at his side before.

        Jade Christensen, he would later learn, is Felix's cousin on his mother's side. They had only met a few years ago after her mother insisted she get to know her cousins better while she and Mr. Christensen tried to sort things out at home. Spoiler alert, they never did.

        She was a pretty girl, that there was no doubt, but she often downed her own looks, whether purposefully or not. She had pink, full lips but managed to sneer or frown at almost everything, even when she smiled, it was barely more than an upturn of her mouth. She had wide, brown eyes that asked to be stared into, only if they weren't always scrunched by lowered brows or dismissive eye rolls.

        Oliver would come to learn that Jade was rarely seen without Felix on campus, but they weren't all that close at all. It made him curious as to what tethered them together. There was something about the way she stared at him for so long after Farleigh had already begun to forget him. Something that intrigued him.

        Nell was different. Not just different than the girls that hung around Felix, but she was different than everyone at Oxford. Not in a way like she was trying to be different, but she just..was. She, too, was pretty, but whereas Jade looked like a sad renaissance painting, Nell felt like the physical embodiment of the sun.

        Those were Farleigh's words though, not Oliver's perception.

        She didn't really pay much attention to conversation, always appearing like she was somewhere else. She wore a dreamy expression on her face, and it made Farleigh wonder what was going on in her head as he kept stealing glances down at her beside him. Nell's slicked back, dark hair shined in the sunlight, the ribbon in her ponytail matching the laces in her shoes. It was a detail Farleigh had noticed the first time they met, and everytime after that.

        The conversation droned on, and it was obvious that Nell wasn't listening. And if Nell wasn't listening, neither was Farleigh, really. He'd watch her from the corner of his eye, not as subtle as he'd like to imagine, and Felix would catch him from the other side of the group. He never said a word, though, he would just grin stupidly and shake his head at Farleigh when they met eyes.

         Acting as if he was clueless to Felix's silent accusations, Farleigh simply raised his shoulders and nudged Nell, bringing her attention back to Annabel's story.

xxx.

         It was sort of weird, for someone like Farleigh to have a crush on someone like Nell. That's what Oliver had decided as he ate in the dining hall later that night. It was even weirder that he hadn't tried to pursue her if so, and the two just appeared as friends. Oliver was busy pondering it as he poked around his plate, mindlessly nodding as he listened to his new acquaintance begrudgingly, Michael Gavey talking his ear off.

         His multitasking and his questions about the peculiar pair were halted when he felt a pair of eyes burning into him. Never one for much shame, Oliver quickly turned to look over his shoulder, finding Jade staring at him from the other table. She seemed unfazed at getting caught, if anything, her eyes narrowed further.

         Oliver slowly turned back around, another thought popping into his head just as Jade's own thoughts 'popped' when Felix's voice intruded her train of thought.

          " What did you say about Venetia? " She questioned, leaning further in towards the table as she blinked a few times, looking over at Felix expectantly.

          The boy paused with his fork midair, chewing his bite as he watched the brunette with mild interest and amusement. Once he swallowed, Felix cleared his throat comically and said, " Welcome back, mate. Did I really simply have to mention my sister's name to get your attention? "

         Farleigh scoffed out a short laugh from beside Felix, though Jade barely reacted. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and just answered, " Go on with your story, or I can help that fork show you some attention. "

         " Can we not be violent at the first dinner of the school year? " Nell wasn't all that sure on the logistics of Jade's threat, but it was one she was sure to follow through with regardless.

           " Mm, " Felix made a sound to pull the attention again as he took another bite. He improperly pushed the food to the side of his mouth as he asked, " where is Nick, Nell? It's not like him to miss dinner. "

          " It's plenty like him. " Nell said with a bit of an exhaustive tone, like she knew Felix already knew that.

          " Shouldn't you know where he is, Felix? " Farleigh remarked rhetorically, a knowing face as Felix shook his head dismissively. The curly haired man feigned innocence as he added, " Whaat? You two are roomies after all. "

         " Shut it, Farleigh. I haven't seen him yet. " Felix insisted, but it was a lie that not a single one of them believed. Except perhaps Nell.

         Under the table, Farleigh gently kicked Nell's foot with his at Felix's response. She only gave him a questionable look though, but he laughed nonetheless. Felix decidedly became interested in his dinner, rolling his eyes and turning to the other side to listen to whatever conversation India and Annabel were having beside him.
      
         Nick Kim-Roth was an enigma, even for the most observant. He was Nell's older brother, only by a spare minute or two, and he was rarely seen outside of his dorm room or a lecture hall occasionally. He was a paradox, he was intelligent enough to be at Oxford on a scholarship though he didn't need it, but he also never had to attend more than one lecture to be able to pass a class with flying colors.

        What was more interesting was his relationship with Felix Catton. Something that felt..impossible, really. Oliver would soon come to realize that Nick Kim-Roth was a factor he wasn't anticipating. He'd have to recalculate a few things, that was for certain.

xxx.

so this feels extremely confusing in my opinion but I wrote 2000 words..I'm not changing it. maybe it's because it's not usually the style I write in, idk. hopefully the next few chapters won't feel like that.

anyways this was mostly just a mere perspective introduction of the characters with a few little subtle hints towards plot and stuff. next chapter will be a bit more characterized and in depth, as I also usually write 3-4K words in a chapter.

xoxo