Pretty Poison - Saltburn

001

The first time Oliver saw the two of them together, for a moment he believed that he must be dreaming, hallucinating perhaps. They could have been actors in a movie, models taken straight from the runway, unhuman even. If someone had told Oliver that they were Greek Gods gracing earth in their human shape, he would have believed them at an instant. Because how could two normal human beings be this unbelievably beautiful, so pristine?

They seemed perfect in every sense of the word, too perfect to be real and every time that he looked at them, Oliver's skin prickled, turning piping hot as if on fire. If this was caused by jealousy or sheer desire, he couldn't determine. Perhaps even a mixture of both, a mixture that made his head spin and mind reel.

It was a bright day. The sky was an incredible shade of light blue, no clouds in view and the sun drenched the whole campus into a warm, melancholic light.
Or maybe it was only Oliver who felt this sense of melancholy, this utter sadness.
He stood inside of his new dorm room, staring out of the window at the small groups and crowds that were scattered all over the lawn.

In the short time he had spent in Oxford, it had transformed from his lifelong dream to a nightmare. He wasn't sure why he had expected to fit right in, to find many, cool friends; like-minded people who valued him for his wits and character. He hadn't fit in back home either, so why would he here?

It was naive from him to believe that the Oxford crowd was so much different from the Prescott one because in reality it was even worse.
Most people here didn't care for how nice or how smart you were but who your family was, how much money there was to your name.

Or at least that was the kind of crowd that interested Oliver. He very much didn't care for being a major loser and being proud of it even, not like Michael Gavey did. He couldn't comprehend how someone could flourish in their unpopularity the way he did.
Oliver was different, very much so; he felt he could only bloom if he transformed from a nobody to a someone. From a dried-out houseplant to a fucking bouquet of orchids.

He wanted more, deserved more.
He deserved to be one of them.

One of them in that little group just outside his window. As if moved by some magical force, his gaze instantly caught two of them. The ones that stuck out like a sore thumb, not necessarily because of their eccentricity or because they were unappealing to the eye, no. The opposite actually.

It was a tall boy, dark hair disheveled, a small smile on his lips between which a cigarette was tucked. He had the kind of look that just instantly made you fall in love with him, movie-star like even. Too unreal, too handsome for a simple college student. And it was obvious that Oliver wasn't the only one who seemed to notice his alluring presence. Everybody in the group  gravitated towards him, hanging onto his every words.

He had their attention without even trying but the girl, around who he had his arm wrapped was the same, worse even.

Oliver moved closer to the window, so close his nose touched the glas.
He watched as the girl brought her cigarette to her pouty lips and took a long drag, exhaling the smoke as she nudged the taller boy in the side. She then said something to him, grinning teasingly and he listened, laughing as a reply.

They seemed familiar, close, and there was a sort of intimacy in their movements. One on which Oliver couldn't quite put his finger on.
Were they together? Simply good friends?

She certainly could keep up with the boy in terms of beauty. Her honey blonde hair cascaded down her back in soft, messy waves and she had big, wide doe-eyes. The kind that usually held a sense of innocence, but not hers. In the girl 's eyes all Oliver could see was complete wickedness and utter recklessness, glinting mischievously in the summer sun.