Chapter Sixteen

n.

I made plans with Rhys Arrowood to meet up with him in the DC for dinner. Happiness that I could finally start having my plan fall into place was combined with even more serotonin when I walked into the DC. Everyone had come back to their rightful positions, circling my table as if nothing had changed. It felt nice. I assumed it had something to do with the Purge- everyone unsure of who'd be kicked. It felt nice to have my power back.

"Nastassia" a warm and sensuous voice says from behind me, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

I pivot to face him, flashing my sexiest smile. Rhys Arrowood in the flesh, and oh was he gorgeous. His pure black hair was styled in a way reminiscent of Elvis Presley, but with a lot less grease- slicked back with just a bit falling down into his face and tangling with his lashes. And definitely lacking the disgustingly thick sideburns, as well.

One of his eyebrows had a cut through it, separating the two sections right at the arch. His skin was slightly tanned and his lips seemed permanently set in an arrogant smirk. His build was one of a swimmer, which he was, and he stood at just about hit six feet tall.

"Hi, you. I was hoping you had at least one class with me, but you didn't, unfortunately" I say, looking up at him through my lashes. I'd done a little extra mascara just for the special occasion.

"Yeah, sure. I wanted to talk to you in person, to let you know that THIS wasn't happening".

It takes everything in me to keep my mouth from dropping as he motions between the two of us.

"Right. Um...may I ask WHY? You gave me your number, called me pretty and came here just to tell me THAT?".

"That's not exactly how it happened, but sure" he says, leaning against the door frame to allow a couple to pass by.

"So, how DID it happen?".

"Your friend, Selah, came up to me and took my phone out of my hand without a word. She's really bold, by the way. And then she texted herself from my phone so that she'd have my number. I asked her what she was doing, and she said you were interested. The deed was already done, so I just accepted my property back, and told her at least you were pretty. She walked away, and that was that".

"One, Selah isn't my friend. And two, I still don't understand why it can't happen between us".

He brushes past me and into the DC, heading for the salad line. "Because I enjoy living for myself. I don't want any dead weight or burden holding me down. I'm SELFISH, Nastassia. And I like it that way".

"So am I. Maybe we could be selfish together" I suggest, never the one to give up quite so easily.

"Or, maybe not. I like that idea even better. It comes second best to the one about you dropping this entire thing and going about your day like a good little girl". My face turns a shade almost as red as my lipstick.

"But, I need something from you" I protest, grabbing his arm as he goes to walk away.

"That's unfortunate".

"At least sit at my table, Rhys".

He looks up and around the DC, and then back down at me. "The one with all of those people sitting there waiting for their star to come back and entertain them? No, thank you. I'm not interested in putting on a show. Is it surprising to you that some people prefer being alone?".

Ouch. I know they say that words don't hurt, but I'm pretty sure that sharp pain in my stomach came from his little monologue. "Look, asshole, I'm just trying to make someone jealous. All I want is to use you, okay? I was going to do it without your permission, but you ruined that possibility".

"Is he in here, now?" he asks, looking around as if he'd know who it was.

"Yes, b-". My words are cut off by him grabbing my chin and pressing his lips to mine once and then twice.

"There. Now, fuck off" he says against my lips as if he's whispering something dirty that he'd do to me.

He leaves me standing there, stunned, at what just happened. And why it felt like I'd never have a kiss like that again in my life. My entire body was buzzing from it and I wanted MORE. But I wasn't supposed to, because that wasn't a part of the plan.

Control, Nastassia. He was only a stepping stone to the better guy, okay? He meant absolutely nothing, and he made it much easier by being the rudest human being you've ever met. Control.

I release a shaky breath and let it all go. I'd get a lot more kisses out of him than that, but it wouldn't be because I wanted them. I needed them. Everyone in the DC had taken notice. But, of course they did. I am Nastassia Petrov. There was no other option.

sky.

I was ANGRY. I requested another meeting with the Dean about my blog and she denied it, saying that there was no way anything would change. And I could think of no loop holes, since I was forbidden to post on Blogee, or I'd be expelled. Shouldn't I be able to sue them for taking away my freedom of press, or speech, or something.

I storm out of the Main Building where I stood outside of Yarby's office trying to be let in to no avail. And to make it worse, Damien had ignored every text message that I sent. They were ruining my entire plan and I could do nothing about it.

On the plane here, I'd created a five step agenda to social success at ICBS. I even typed it up and printed it out upon my arrival- post NO stay. It was taped to the inside of my history binder, officially the only interesting thing that would ever enter it.

Becoming             Popular- The ULTIMATE Goal

1.             Make a dramatic entrance.

2.             Scope out the IN- Crowd.

3.             Meet hot guy from said crowd.

4.             Infiltrate the IN-Crowd through said boy or lower-tier member.

5.             Once in- work way into top 3.

Obviously there were some miniature goals in between, but those were the main things I wanted to accomplish. My first one was ticked off, albeit, in a pretty weird way. And it gave me access to one of the most popular guys in school, which was supposed to check off my third goal.

The IN- Crowd part of things was a little complicated. There were two separate crowds, and to join one was to alienate the other. I was leaning more towards Nastassia's group, since she seemed to hold the most power. But Selah seemed to hold the most sway and influence. People WANTED to be around her. They were scared NOT to be around Nastassia, for fear of losing their Alpha spot.

In other news, Damien wasn't interested in talking to me, anymore. And none of the really popular guys hung out with Nastassia. So, he wouldn't have even given me access to that crowd, since they don't like each other. And the friend thing was quite hard with Nastassia, since her and Peyton couldn't be infiltrated. There was no way to REALLY become friends with them. She hasn't cared about a word I said since she took my meeting. It was expected, of course, but now I don't know where to go from here.

"Skylar, I've been meaning to talk to you" Blake says peppily, stepping into my line of sight out of the blue. Without letting me get a word in she starts to talk again, taking place beside me as she does. "I have an idea for your blog".

"That's great, Blake, but there isn't one. Talk to the Dean about it" I tell her, trying hard to mask the anger in my voice.

"Yes, I know. But, I have an idea on how you can do it, anyway. Without the risk of jeopardizing our school's relationship and making everyone hate you, of course".

"And how, exactly, could I do that?".

"Don't put it online. It's kind of obvious, really. We could type it all up and put it in cute little envelopes with wax seals to be slid under everyone's doors once a week. And we could have a tagline that says BURN AFTER READING. How ADORABLE would that be?".

I stop walking, turning to her with a raised brow that was a bit over-plucked. Sometimes I get a bit excited with a pair of tweezers. "What do you mean WE?".

"I mean I want in on it. It's my idea, and I want to help execute it. I don't want anything like Nastassia walking into the quad waving fake results like some kind of flag to happen ever again" she sighs, rolling her eyes in disgust.

"What ARE you talking about?".

"Forget it. Look, either I'm in, or it doesn't happen. And you'll need help doing all of that work anyway. So, what do you think?".

Did I really have any other options.

"It's a deal".