Mmn, mmf. Mnn…”
Unaware of the presence of the voyeurs on the other side of the wall, Lawrence continued to share a passionate kiss with Suzie that befitted two lovers sharing a private moment with one another.
Of course, to Lawrence, she was nothing of the sort. Suzie is the head of the debate club. She lives in a world completely separate from him, who led the basketball team to the current glory they’re enjoying. So how did they become like this?
Due to an array of circumstances, the girl had caught Lawrence’s eye. With her pigtails, freckles, and large, rounded glasses, Lawrence would normally never cast a girl like her a second glance. But he is someone who fancies his own ability to see the true beauty within women, to the point of obsession.
He believes that he can tell a woman’s body-type behind a nun’s gown, and he could tell what a woman’s face looked like even if she wore excessive layers of make-up. Any of the noise that obfuscates a woman’s potential beauty doesn’t exist to him. He sees the real girl hidden beneath.
And after taking a look at Suzie, he had decided, in his own head, that if this girl simply straightened her hair and got rid of her round glasses, that she would be a beauty worth conquering.
And so, he set his plan into motion. He attended a few of her public debates, just enough to have a fair grasp of how these things went, then afterwards, he decided to make his move. He weaponized that smile of his that had won over many before Suzie, alongside his signature sense of humor that played on his exaggerated self-confidence, and, with very little effort, he managed to sink his teeth into the girl before him. He sung her sweet songs of her beauty, and spoke highly of how attractive she was as an intelligent woman, and, without much effort, her hair and her glasses both came down.
What Tristan and Zoey happened to be spectating was simply the result of those weeks of steady peeling away of her shell. He took the final step toward conquering his prey, who all this time, had still selfishly and naively decided to view him as her lover. And just as he was beginning to ready her to go further, the low buzz of a cellphone filled the room.
Mm, wait, hold on.” Lawrence pulled himself away from her and looked down at his phone. He input his passcode and found that he had received a text message from Gwen.
Ben’s skipping class and won’t respond to my texts. I don’t know what he’s planning, but I’m worried.
The sight of the message took Lawrence out of his rendezvous with Suzie completely, as he had already witnessed the mood his friend was in earlier today. He shoved one of his juniors in the halls when he was asked how Zoey was, and he completely ignored Lawrence’s attempts at being calmed down.
Gwen going off is one thing, but someone as uncontrollable as Benjamin acting out would spell trouble for both the homecoming game on Friday and his friend group. In fact, even without both of those things being in jeopardy, it wouldn’t be surprising if his emotions were running wild to the point where he did something dumb enough to get suspended.
Ah, shit. It’s Ben. I might need to leave.””
Huuuh? Come on, that can wait. I finally have you all to myself, I don’t want to let this chance slip...” Suzie placed her arms around his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him again. The action irked Lawrence.
If there’s one thing he disliked, it was pushy women. Understanding boundaries when they are put up is an integral part of maintaining interpersonal
relationships, and he had no respect for women who couldn’t do the bare minimum. However, he decided for the time being that it would be best to placate her with a short kiss rather than showing his frustration.
No, I should probably get this. He got dumped by Zoey and he’s been really down about it all morning.”
Wait, dumped? Already? I thought they started going out yesterday?”
Lawrence suddenly thought that, for all her intelligence and quick wit on the debate stage, Suzie was just as vapid as the average cheerleader. Her lack of emotional intelligence was setting him off. However, he decided to swallow his frustration once more and began typing up a response to Gwen.
Well, that’s how it goes with girls like that,” he said to Suzie.
Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Zoey’s not a bad person. She goes out of her way to show up to our big debates and take pictures. She’s a real sweetheart.”
Yeah, I’m sure Ben’s learning just how much of a sweetheart she really is right now.”
Fair enough. Though I will admit, dumping someone after one day is a bit of a statement. She must really hate your friend, huh?”
After finally sending off the message, he looked back up at his prey.
Sorry Suzie, you know how breakups go. We have the homecoming game on Friday, remember? I really need to get ahead of this so it doesn’t affect our performance.”
But… They were only dating for one day. He can’t be that beat up about it, can he?”
Oh, if only she knew, Lawrence thought. Like everything he touches, the nature of Benjamin Otto’s desires for Zoey Brahm was obsessive in nature. The only reason the school’s basketball team was any good in the first place was because Ben’s excessive lust for victory caused him to live and breathe basketball to the point where he could score points in any situation.
To Lawrence, Benjamin could only be described as a demon.
An insatiable, lustful demon.
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And right now his eyes were focused on Zoey Brahm.
Yeah,” he muttered. But all he could do was reluctantly agree with her. He felt that he couldn’t tell that to Suzie. He wouldn’t let some innocent bystander get involved in the things that he knew. Lawrence read the new message that Gwen had sent his way.
I’m certain. I know him. We’re like, soulmates, I swear it. Look, if he’s anywhere, it’s probably the men’s room. I don’t want to go in there because it’s dirty, so do you think you could go in there and talk to him?
Lawrence did his best to ignore the fact that Gwen’s only issue with entering the men’s room was related to germs. He couldn’t deny that she was right to be worried. Ben had been acting strangely after the break up. But there was a part of him that couldn’t help but wonder how much of Gwen’s inferiority complex was playing into this.
The fact of the matter was that Zoey had completely won over her.
Whether she intended to or not, she had not only shown Gwen that she could have Benjamin if she really wanted to, but she also discarded him and left him off worse than before, which was almost just as harmful to Gwen as outright dating him.
Lawrence wasn’t sure just how well Gwen was handling any of this. Was she truly focused on Benjamin, or did a part of her feel complete and utter hatred for her nemesis?
Alright, fine. I’ll drop it. Go help your friend.” Suzie’s voice brought him back to reality.
Regardless what the truth of the situation was, he had to calm Benjamin down. There were too many things riding on him right now. Lawrence thought that this should be Warren’s job as his best friend, but for all his insight and wisdom, his social skills left a lot to be desired so he couldn’t be depended on.
Yeah, thanks. Let’s go,” Lawrence replied. Without looking away from his phone, Lawrence walked Suzie out of the empty club room. After dropping her off to her class, Lawrence swung by the men’s room in the main building.
One of Lawrence’s free periods is on Wednesdays at 10am, so he usually spends those 50 minutes fooling around with whatever girl he’s interested in at the time in the empty clubroom he found as a sophomore.
The room was technically reserved for the Political Science club, but the club leader who had graduated two years ago was one of his close friends. He made him a spare key so that he could make use of it during school hours.
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