Chapter 4: Chapter 4

AMY

“Come on, Amy!” Katie shouts. “Tell us what it was like to put him in his place.”

Our whole dorm floor is having a party, and I seem to be the center of attention. I should have expected it, given that Pacific Crest’s YouTube channel just released the episode of the opening ceremony a few hours ago.

I don’t know why I decided to join them. I hate parties, but after my conversation with Serena this afternoon, I needed a distraction. I can’t seem to shut my brain off. Thoughts of my meeting with Tristan tonight are racing through my mind.

Whatever happens, I have to seem aloof. I have to seem like I have no interest in him whatsoever.

I don’t, so it shouldn’t be hard.

Why am I so uneasy about the whole thing?

I snort. “He doesn’t think I put him in his place. He doesn’t even care.”

Katie’s eyes widen. “That’s not what I saw. He didn’t like it when you called him an asshole. You could see it all over his face.”

My cheeks warm even though I know she’s exaggerating. But Tristan did seem a little…affected today when I went on my rant about how he’s a sadist.

Maybe he’s just a good actor. Maybe he looked that way for the sake of drama.

“Honestly,” Katie says. “He seemed more into you than any of the other girls. He just made small talk with them, but with you it got ~real~.”

“He couldn’t keep up with you,” a guy whose name I can’t recall says. “You were sassing him the whole time, and he didn’t even know what to do. He’s a dumbass.”

An ominous chill skitters over my skin. Tristan might not have emotional intelligence, but he certainly has charisma. Dismissing him as a dumbass would be dangerous.

I take a sip of my drink. Fuck, why are my nerves still frazzled? This is my second beer, and I never drink. I should have a decent buzz by now.

“Hey, are you okay?” Katie asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“I’m fine.” I force a smile, trying to get my body language under control. I’m going to be in the public eye for the next several weeks. I’m not even that close to my roommate, and she can tell I’m upset. I obviously don’t have a very good poker face.

“Alright. If you say so…” She raises both brows.

I hate scrutiny. How am I going to get through this competition?

The third drink finally gives me the buzz I was looking for, and the next few hours pass by in a blur. Before I know it, I’m walking up the long drive to the frat house for my private meeting with Tristan, my hands trembling. The sounds of laughter and music resonate from within, and I take several deep breaths to calm myself.

~Stay aloof.~

~Make him think you’d never want him.~

~Because you wouldn’t, damn it.~

“Well, look who it is.” A guy at the door smirks at me.

“I’m here to see Tristan,” I say, trying to sound confident, but my voice wavers.

“Tristan’s new girlfriend is here,” he yells back into the house, causing a chorus of laughter to erupt from the group of guys inside.

“Fuck off, Brody.” Tristan’s voice suddenly cuts through the noise as he emerges from the crowd, his blue eyes locking onto mine. “Come with me.”

He grabs my hand and pulls me past the room of guys, leading me up the stairs and into his room. As soon as the door clicks shut behind us, electricity skitters over my skin.

I can’t believe I’m here. In Tristan’s bedroom.

I glance around the area, unable to fight my curiosity. The room is huge—damn these rich frat boys—and dimly lit. The desk at the corner has a stack of books that I’m dying to search through. I can only make out one title.

~Pride and Prejudice.~

My heart thumps in my chest. ~Don’t ask him about it. He ~probably~ only put it there to taunt you, to remind you of how Harper humiliated you in the quad that day.~

~Don’t ask him. Pretend like you don’t care.~

“Sorry about that.” Tristan runs a hand through his hair. “Brody’s a dick.”

I wave a hand, straining for nonchalance. “He’s just your basic brainless frat boy.”

His signature smirk returns, but his eyes are much softer than usual. “Like me, you mean?”

“Yes,” I say immediately, and he bursts into laughter.

“Fuck, Amelia.” His voice is choked. “You’re not trying very hard to win this competition.”

~Oh, but I am, Tristan. Thanks to Serena, I have you all figured out.~

I smile, my cheeks warming. “I still maintain that you’re secretly obsessed with me, and that’s why you signed me up—” I make air quotes “—as a joke.”

His smile abruptly fades, and my cheeks turn to fire. I need to keep my mouth shut, or else he’s going to start thinking I’m secretly obsessed with ~him~. As arrogant and selfish as he is, he couldn’t imagine that a shy little nerd like me could be anything but obsessed with him.

“Alright, alright,” he says, his tone sharp. “Let’s get down to business.”

“Fine.” I discreetly wipe my sweaty palms on my T-shirt. “What’s your proposition?”

He stares at me for a moment. “I’m going to let you win this competition…for a price.”

A chill prickles over my skin, even as my lower tummy fills with liquid heat. What does he mean by price?

If this were one of my fanfics, Mr. Darcy would be about to ask Elizabeth to become his mistress.

“What kind of price?” My voice quivers.

“I want you to help me win Harper back.”

The heat in my tummy is doused as if by a bucket of ice water. Humiliation creeps from my neck to my cheeks. My skin must be bright red. Did I really think he was about to ask ~me~ for sex?

Stupid Amy. Life is not a ~Pride and Prejudice~ fanfic.

“What makes you think I want to win this competition?”

He smirks. “I know you’re not rich, Amelia. You want that ten-grand scholarship.”

A tingling heat ripples over my skin while my stomach sinks. Fuck rich kids like Tristan. They never resist an opportunity to throw their good fortune in your face. Tristan didn’t even need whatever football scholarship he was granted, but he got it anyway.

The world is unfair.

“I got a scholarship,” I say in a small voice.

That malicious smile grows. “A full ride?”

I raise my chin, refusing to cower. “No, not a full ride.”

He sets his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “You need this scholarship. Let me give it to you.”

I groan. “You of all people should understand why I’d be reluctant to do anything for you or Harper.”

“Yeah, I can see why you wouldn’t want to help me, but a part of you still feels something for her. You know you do. Harper’s still messed up from her dad’s overdose, and I know the end of your friendship was…complicated.”

My face grows as hot as a furnace. Fuck him for using the pain of our ruined friendship to get what he wants. He’s the reason she and I aren’t friends anymore.

Still, he’s right that I could use that scholarship. I already have a mounting debt from living expenses. An extra ten grand would mean less time working my ass off to make my monthly loan payments years from now.

I need to be objective here.

He nods. “She broke up with me at the beginning of the summer because of a stupid argument she might not even remember, but she’s stubborn and wants to punish me.”

My smile must look like a sneer. “Smart girl.”

He narrows his eyes, though his lips quirk. “I didn’t ask for your opinion, just if you’ll help me win her back.” His face sobers. “Will you?”

I want to say no. That childish part of me that never wanted him with her in the first place is screaming inside me. But I can’t listen to it. There’s no hope for me and Harper to reconcile. Her life—and who she chooses to date—is none of my concern.

“Yeah, I’ll do it.”

Tristan stares at me for a long moment, his eyes narrowed. Why does he look disappointed that I said yes?

He’s up to something. That’s what this is. He’s not really trying to win Harper back but colluding with her to embarrass me again.

I wish I knew exactly what his game was. He’s constantly keeping me guessing.

“What exactly do you expect me to do?” I ask.

He leans against his wall, studying me intently. “You know Harper loves attention. And she gets jealous easily. We need to make her think that we’re really falling for each other during this competition, but without letting anyone else in on our secret.”

My palms tingle. I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. The idea of getting that close to Tristan is…uncomfortable.

But then again, isn’t it the perfect opportunity for me? If I want to get revenge on Tristan, this is my way in. This is how I’ll show him that he can never have me. That no matter what he tries, I won’t fall for him. I just have to make sure I can keep calm and aloof.

“Fine,” I say. “I’m in. Reluctantly.”

His gaze grows hooded. “That’s my girl.”

Warmth creeps into my cheeks. ~My girl~. Why do I like it when he says that? Just like this morning when he called me his nerd.

I’m pathetic.

“But why me?” I ask.

His brow furrows, but he doesn’t answer.

“Of all the girls in the game, I make the least amount of sense to pick for this. Why wouldn’t you pick someone who’s gorgeous and popular?”

Tristan averts his gaze from mine as he scratches the back of his head. “You don’t think you’re gorgeous?”

I snort. “Don’t patronize me. You know what I mean.”

He sighs heavily, but he doesn’t meet my eyes. “Harper never liked…when you and I used to talk… You know, back in high school. She didn’t like it. She’ll be extra jealous if she thinks I’m falling for you.”

His words hit me in the chest. What the fuck is he talking about? Harper never gave me any indication that she didn’t like me talking to Tristan. She encouraged it when they first got together.

Until one day, she didn’t. Shortly after I started getting to know Tristan, she cut me out of her life entirely.

No, that’s not really true. She didn’t fully reject me. She never straight up said she didn’t want to hang out with me anymore.

But she distanced herself from me, and I got the message. Our friendship transformed into what felt like a shallow acquaintance, and the difference between that and what we had before was stark. She was once my comfort, my warmth, and for the rest of high school, I felt like I was watching her through a foggy window.

“So what do you want me to do?” I try my best to sound bored.

Those blue eyes grow bright. “First, we need to be seen together more often. Studying, eating, hanging out. Everything. We’ll become inseparable. We need to make it seem like what we feel for each other has nothing to do with the competition.”

“A win-win for me. You know how much I love your company.”

He narrows his eyes, but he doesn’t call me out on my sarcasm. “This is only the first stage. As the competition moves on, we’ll start touching each other casually. You know, like holding hands, brushing up against each other, that kind of thing. Nothing too obvious, but enough to catch her eye.”

A pleasant thrill runs down my spine. I shouldn’t be excited about Tristan touching me. I didn’t think I was this shallow, but I guess I’m just like every other horny person in the world. He may be a total fucking bore, but he’s utterly gorgeous.

He smirks. “Lastly, we’ll make her think we’re fucking.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

“Relax, Amelia.” He draws out my name as if caressing it with his mouth. “We don’t have to actually do anything. You just have to stay in my room for a night. That’ll be enough. Harper will hear about it from one of the guys.”

“Right. Okay.” I take a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. “I can do this.”

He smiles at me, but it doesn’t look like one of his normal smiles. This one is warmer. If I didn’t know any better, I’d describe it as tender.

“Trust me,” he says, his voice gentle. “We’ll pull this off, and you’ll win that ten grand.”

“Alright,” I say, swallowing my reservations. “Let’s make Harper jealous.”

And I’m going to make Tristan want me.

Maybe he’ll win Harper in the end, but I don’t give a fuck. I don’t care about either of them anymore. I’ll show them both that they can never break me, no matter how hard they try.