Sᴇᴘᴛᴇᴍʙᴇʀ 23. 2024
Monday morning is buzzing. Everyone has a new thing to talk about, frowning, gaping and staring baffled at their phone's screen.
Vincent arrives at school in his new, white BMW i4, but no one notices the brand. There's something more entertaining to them surfing on the internet. Neither his friends seem to be aware of the car, but they're aware of him as he parks and steps out onto the compound. One by one, eyes begin to flit in his direction and his name, combined with another, linger on the tongues of his schoolmates.
He sees his buddies waving at him frantically from their spot beneath a cluster of Palm trees on the lawn. He heads over with a short greeting, "Yo."
"Whaddya gaht to report for dis weeyken'?" His Southern friend, Alex, approaches him first, grasping his left shoulder proudly with his ears cocked.
Vincent shakes him off in an instant, "Nothing. I didn't see her." He had brought his car hoping it would be a distraction, but that isn't working at all.
"This footage tells another story, mate." Douglas chimes in, shoving his phone in front of the boy's face.
Familiar, loud, club music emits from the speaker, catching his attention before his golden brown eyes dart to the screen. He grabs the device, glaring at the clip that starts with a view of the dancefloor and two guys talking in the background, until one of them spots Alessia.
"That girl goes to our school!" Shouts the guy whose face is blurry as the camera zooms to him, then to the white-haired girl in a second.
Alessia is at the bar, downing a shot like she was planning on letting go of her morals for the night. When she looks up suddenly, staring across the room at Vincent, to which the camera follows her line of view and zeroes in on him as well.
"Guiseppe is here too?! Did they come together?" The guy shouts again, way too enthusiastic about seeing his schoolmates at the club.
And the one behind the camera mutters, "I doubt it..."
"Oh, but look at that."
Alessia gets up from her stool around the bar and makes her way to where Vincent is lounging. The video doesn't pick up their conversation, but the look on his face is clear, while her back is to the camera. She turns away from him, ready to leave, when he grabs her arm, says something and stands, following her into the back.
"Hey, let's follow them." The enthusiast suggests, but the camera guy sounds bored out of his mind.
"Nah, that's not any of our business." Any of it wasn't their business! The guy was obviously catching footage of his time at the club and recognized a schoolmate. He didn't need to video what happened next and the video most definitely didn't need to be posted on the web.
The clip was cropped to only that part, edited and posted. It stops when the uninterested camera guy turns back to the dancefloor. So, that means—Vincent clenches his jaw—the one that was so gOdDaRn-Ed shocked must've gotten his hands on it somehow.
Lee's voice tears through his thoughts with a provocative question, although his head was in his phone, as usual. "Please say you got some. She's hot."
If eyes could kill, Alex, Douglas and Lee would have been six feet under within the past 15 minutes. Vincent might have accepted the dare and completed it in just a weekend, but he made a promise. Even if he didn't, he doesn't feel like letting these buffoons know.
"Incoming." Douglas sings quietly, peering over the boys shoulder at the 6'3 soft-boy, who doesn't look too soft at the moment, charging at the Italian boy with his hands folded into fists.
However, he didn't need the warning as he side-steps the angry punch thrown his way. The British boy stumbles from the amount of wasted energy he had put into his attack and missed.
Tsk-ing, Vincent wonders what the fuck is up with this dude now. If he wasn't so focused on himself all the time, he would've known from the beginning. "Come on, Phil. You can't even swat a fly and you want to start something with me..."
He turns around quickly after balancing himself. His combed hair has come loose and sweat is already rolling down his face. He breathes heavily, "Why'd you do it?!"
Vincent folds his arms over his chest, looking strictly at his friend who's aspiring to become a cop and fails to know a situation first before acting. "Now you feel like talking? After trying to hit me?" He sneers, then rolls his eyes, "Do what exactly? I met her at the club coincidentally and we went out for air. She wasn't well and was happy to see a familiar face."
"Eh, that's not believable coming from you, bro." Lee states.
"Fresh air? Really?" Douglas sniggers, causing the boy that he's trying to reassure frown in confusion.
Vincent sighs, "Great. I don't give a fuck about whether I'm believable or not." He shakes his head in ridicule, ruffling his hair as he turns his back to them and starts for the school.
However, he isn't finished calculating what just happened. Not the clip, or the stupid trio, but Phillípe. He has a thing for the girl, doesn't he? It's fucking obvious. How did he not realize this when he was practically begging him not to do the dare last week?
He chuckles, "That boy will need all the luck he can get." Alessia isn't just anybody you can have a crush on.