The library where all four of them are currently seated is awfully quiet. Even if there is a pin dropped on this table, the sound will echo to the end of the earth.
"So…" Tony manages to say somehow. He is sitting right next to Mia at this table of four. There is unwanted tension built between all of them. "We can just do our own things and combine the project to present it at the end." He continues. His laptop is opened in front of them where he starts typing as he goes on.
"I agree," Mia says finally. Her eyes are still fixed on her phone. Carys looks at Mia and then nods.
"I'll do the case studies," Lily announces and rests her head on the desk. She is sitting right in front of Mia.
"I will make the PPT," Tony says and then looks at Carys. "I can handle the statistics," Mia spoke before Carys could say anything.
"Statistics," Tony repeats, "that can be a lot to do alone." He says as he scrolls down his laptop. "Are you sure you can handle it alone? And besides, that Carys needs to do something too." Tony is aware that Mia will not in any circumstances work with Carys. Also, he knows that taking up the statistics part of the project can definitely be a hurdle in Mia's mission. He can also go back to the house and work on her behalf but he already has so much on his plate.
"Then I will also work on statistics with Mia," Carys says and Mia immediately looks up from her phone screen to stare at the man.
"Then work alone." She says and looks back down at her phone screen. "You sure you want grades for this project?" Carys asks, raising one eyebrow towards Mia and Mia sighs.
"I don't, really." Mia then says, eyes still not meeting Carys'. "I can work with Carys, you can work on the PPT." Tony interrupts the catfight.
"Why would you?" Mia questions, finally looking at Tony. "He can do it alone." She then looks over to Carys. Carys smirks and then rests his face on his palm taking support from the table. He leans in towards Mia and smiles, "Bracelet Girl, are you afraid of falling for me if we work together?"
These words come out more as a challenge. Mia cannot really understand how someone can be this annoying. She has dealt with numerous psychopaths in her lifetime but Carys undoubtedly tops the list for her.
"No," Mia says after a second, "I am afraid that I will kill you." She says. There's a hint of truth in that sentence or maybe it is the whole truth but Carys don't know. The expression on Tony's face changes but he is clever enough to not give out anything.
"Death from your hands might just teleport me to heaven." Carys has dreamy eyes and he looks straight at Mia.
"Trust me, they don't want you in heaven."
"How do you know, sweetheart?"
"My guardian angel just spit on you."
"You sure they were not aiming for you?"
"Disgusting," Mia says scrunching her nose and throwing daggers with her eyes at Carys. Never in her lifetime had Mia thought that she would be called sweetheart and especially from the mouth of the person that she is supposed to kill.
"Come on, don't sabotage the project just because you hate me." Carys showed a little sense in his tone and opened his laptop in front of him.
What could Mia possibly say to that? She had a million ways to get away from the project but it would only mean more work on Tony's shoulder. Unnecessary fights would also attract attention to Mia which she didn't want even in a million years.
The ringing of Mia's phone made her drift away from her thoughts for a millisecond and she fetched it out of her pocket. Leo's name flashed on the screen and she stood up from her seat immediately. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." She announced and sprinted towards the exit of the room.
Tony looked back at her walking outside the library and then swiftly looked back at his laptop. "Do you like her?" A sudden question made it to Tony's ears and he looked straight up at Carys who had obviously asked this question.
"What?" Tony replied. Lily had also put her head back up when she heard the curious question coming out of Carys' mouth.
"You mean Mia?" Lily asked, darting her eyes between the two boys.
"Yeah," Carys said and nodded.
"What… no," Tony replied and went back on his laptop, typing aggressively. "Then why do you look at her like that?" Carys asked another question.
The next question was genuinely a question for Tony because he didn't really understand what Carys was trying to say. How do I look at her? He thought to himself.
"How do I look at her? What do you mean, dude? Today was the first day I even talked to her." Tony explained and the fact that he was telling the truth made him surprisingly confident. Today was indeed the first time that Tony had talked to Mia in college.
"Really?" Carys wasn't half convinced but he let it slide somehow. He has seen Tony looking at Mia, even on the night of the party Tony had stolen glances at Mia when nobody was looking. Carys has seen it, noticed it and engraved it in his heart.
"Why is she taking so long?" Carys tapped his fingers on the table.
"I'll go check." He finally said after a few minutes and stood up. Tony looked up at him but he knew better than to stop him from going after her. He was already on the suspicious side of Carys.
Carys walked out of the library and walked slowly in the hallway eyeing each and every person standing there. He couldn't see Mia no matter how hard he looked. He finally reached the end of the long hallway and turned left to see Mia facing the glass door and still talking on the phone. The outline of Mia's body was petite. Her hair ended right above her waist. Her body had a perfect hourglass figure. Carys couldn't help but admire Mia's body like he was in a museum and she was a statue of some Greek Goddess.
"I'll meet you there," Mia said and peeled away the phone from her ear.
"How long will you stare at me?" Mia questioned and it took Carys a minute to realise that she was talking to him. She has of course seen Carys' reflection on the glass door in front of her.
Mia was thanking her stars and the founders of the University for building a glass door. She had seen Carys approaching her and pausing at a distance. She had seen Carys looking at her like he was engraving her inside his brain for some reason.
"I… I wasn't staring." Carys spoke in between his stutters and Mia turned back to return to the library.
"How will it work then? When can we start working on the project?" Mia spoke walking ahead of Carys.
The question has definitely thrown Carys by surprise but also Mia wasn't someone who would sabotage the group's effort for her own sake plus this will be an opportunity to gather more information on Carys. "You can come over to my house," Carys says and the answer makes Mia's inside anxious.