7. Fractured desire
She wasn’t that pretty.
Certainly not as attractive as Carl was, Anderson thought. With her long, brown hair and ludicrous green eyes, Mia had the curves any girl dreamt of and every boy desired, but her face wasn’t much to look at. She wasn’t ugly, couldn’t be termed beautiful or pretty. One could say, you could look at her face while fucking her, at least.
They sat together on a table in the school’s café. She had ordered a latte for the both of them and insisted on paying even when Anderson dug his hands into his trouser pocket. He was relieved when she pulled out a credit card out of her purse. He didn’t have to spend the last cash he had.
“Anderson…Anderson what?” she asked, her perfectly manicured fingers tapping on the white, spotless table as she glanced over at the waiter.
He cleared his throat, “Wells,” he said, his voice sounding choked, “Anderson Wells.”
“Cute name. I am Mia Greyjoy,” she replied, offering her hand across the table, which Anderson shook. When she smiled at him, his expression remained deadpan and she immediately detected the resistance to any form of politeness from him. She sighed.
“I understand that Arnold can be a real pain in the ass, Anderson.”
Anderson froze and his face turned white, as if he had just set his eyes on a ghost. “W-What?” he blurted out, “I have no idea what you are talking about!”
Mia’s eyes flickered with surprise before she squinted at him, “I don’t understand…I, oh,” she scoffed, “I meant that he is a bully, Arnold.”
“Oh,” his mind stopped racing with countless possibilities, but his heart was still beating like a relentless rain pounding on a roof, “Okay…yes, I k-know.”
Mia relaxed, but her eyes were still very observant of him, “You don’t even have to get in his way for him to pick on you,” she said and thanked the waiter who delivered their orders, “you are more unfortunate though, because you are poor.”
Anderson suddenly recalled her threat to Arnold and it occurred to him that her father must be a very powerful man for her to threaten a fellow student in a school like this. He found himself wishing that he was just like every other normal student and not just here on a scholarship. He had no grounds to stand up to someone like Arnold, unlike Mia here.
“Thank you for helping me back there,” he replied, ignoring what she had said earlier.
“Aren’t you going to do something about it? You can’t let him keep bullying you just because you are poor, you do realize that, right?”
He shrugged and picked up his latte, “As long as my status remains the same, nothing changes,” he took a sip of the steaming liquid and nodded to himself, “thank you. This is really good.”
“The school’s café never fails,” she replied, a worried look in her eyes, “I don’t know how I can help you, Anderson. But if you can’t establish a position here at Beale Crest, then you’ll be done for. If your family name doesn’t work for you, then you must build a network of friends. Like me.”
He stared at the smile at the smile on her face, “We are…friends?”
She shrugged, “Yeah. Why not?”
“The question should be why,” he said, “we are clearly not in the same class, but here you are, calling us friends in a college that discriminates against the poor.”
She rolled her large eyes, “It’s not common here, Anderson. People like Arnold are just unfortunately rampant now,” she replied, “but believe me, I know where you are coming from, which is why I am here.”
She picked out a green notepad from her small purse, scribbled something on it and passed it across the table. She rose to her feet without finishing her latte and smiled at him again, “I saw you talking to Jason the other day. So, I guess you are somewhat close to him. That’s an invite to a party, you can start growing a reputation from there, Anderson.”
He stared at the green paper in surprise, it was merely a signature scribbled on it. By the time he looked up again, she was gone. He gasped, wondering how she had just disappeared into thin air when he saw her at the door. Her ass jiggled as she walked, the tight skirt she wore delineated the curves of her hips. Anderson stared at her with no interest.
Another party. He frowned and shook his head.
Why did he even need to attend this? He was cool with being in the shadows, he had always been the kid looked down upon and undermined, but then, a thought suddenly. A thought that caused his heart to thump with exhilaration. What if he was able to meet Nico again there? He wouldn’t be able to recognize Nico if he wasn’t wearing a mask of course, but something deep down told him that if he saw Nico, he’d just know.
He met Jason in the dormitory hallway and thanked his stars that he didn’t have to go looking for him.
“Hey! Jason, wait up,” he called and the first friend he made in Beale Crest beamed when he saw him.
“Bloody hell!” Jason exclaimed, “Look who it is. Andie!”
“Ah shit,” Anderson mumbled, he had completely forgotten about that nickname.
“How are you doing?” Jason added, a friendly smile making the flesh of his fat cheeks gather on both sides of his face.
“I’m alright. I got an invitation to a party, from a friend of mine called Mia and-”
“Hold on,” Jason interrupted, “Mia? As in, the Mia Greyjoy in your class?”
“Uhm…y-yeah. Yeah.”
Jason arched a thick brow at him, “That Mia invited you to her party?”
Anderson nodded, confused by the fascinated look in Jason’s eyes.
“Well, suck my cock and tell the cows to jump over the moon!” Jason suddenly exclaimed, “I have never heard that. Mia is a rich weirdo, doesn’t relate much with boys especially but has a very small clique of friends who love to drive on the fast lane of life. Unlike Mia.”
He placed a huge palm on Anderson’s shoulders and shook him slightly, “Do you know how huge this could be for you, Andie?”
“Huge? I’m lost.”
Jason shook his head, clearly disappointed. “This is the plan. You go to that party and fuck Mia. Don’t mess it up, just do it. Make her fall in love with your dick, give her little attention after that and your reputation and even finances will skyrocket. She’s generous.”
Jason winked at him.
“Go on. You’re going to get yourself some pussy tomorrow night, Andie boy!”
Anderson walked back to his room with that thought. He didn’t find Mia attractive, not in the slightest did she arouse him, but then, there was a slight chance she could change his life. But then Anderson didn’t believe in having sex with one whom he didn’t love.
“Hypocritical, coming from someone who got fucked by a masked stranger,” a voice in his head chastised.
Anderson frowned as he got to his bedroom door. He could hear uncontrollable moans bouncing off the walls. He froze instantly, his heart the only part of his body that was working perfectly fine was his heart that kept hammering in his chest.
“Oh fuck…Carl,” her moans flooded his ears, shattering his heart instantly, “right there…oh daddy…f-fuck this pussy! It’s yours…oh fuck-k-k-k!”
Anderson listened to the clapping sound of their bodies slapping together. It didn’t take long before he realized that his eyes had welled up with tears.
“Oh yes…aw! Fuck…fuck me, Carl…”
Anderson wiped his tears away before they rolled down his eyes. He couldn’t deny it anymore, he had feelings for Carl, but Carl would probably never love him the same way.