Duplicitous (F.C)

Academic Literature

Oliver's point of view

      As the night plays on, everyone is either getting progressively hammered or devilishly high off of whatever they can find. The green lights are occasionally mixed with the flashes of disposable cameras that'll most likely turn into blurs once they're developed. Every corner in this club must've had a speaker, because I honestly couldn't hear a single thought of mine as the night went on.

      "Wanna dance?" Anyone would probably crucify me for turning my nose up at a 5'6 blond with a modlish figure. "I think I'll pass." She mirrors my look of disinterest. "And they say the weird lads are more fun." She scurries off to her friends; most likely gossiping about the interaction that we just had. I shrug it off, knowing I just gave Farleigh another thing to gossip about.

      "Even I would've given her a minute of my time." Speak of the devil. "Just not my type." My attention stayed on the dance floor as I waited for Farleigh to lose interest in turning my night sour. "Would your type happen to be a 6'5 socialite from the prestigious town of Saltburn?" His eyes trail to Callie sitting on the bartop, her arms hanging off Felix's shoulders. "Or perhaps you fancy the 5'5 brunette American, holding onto him like a trophy?" A scoff escapes my lips at Farleigh's childish ways. "Are you always this insufferable?" He chuckles. "Pardon me, I'm just looking out for my cousin." He rests his arm on my shoulder.

      "Ollie, come do a shot with us!" Felix waves me over to join the duo at the bar. "Pardon me, I have business to tend to with said cousin." As his smirk falls, mine begins to form. "Please tell me he's not troubling you, Ol's." Felix drunkenly rests his arm on my shoulder. "Oh, not at all." Callie frowns as she looks past my shoulder. "Don't tell him I told you this, but I like your company much better." She hugs me before taking the shot in front of her.

      Her usual fragrance of freesia and pear barely covers the scent of the alcohol she has consumed and spilled on herself through the night. "We're studying in the library after class tomorrow if you'd like to attend." Felix offers, making me hope it wasn't a drunk, pitty invitation due to his cousin's ill mannerisms. "Erm, I think I'm booked all day, mate." I make my body still to not show any signs of fidgeting. "I get a sense that someone is telling a fib." Callie gets down from her seat, softly placing her hand underneath my jawline.

      Her charming brown eyes, instantly darkened as she looked into mine. "Now look me in the eye, and tell me differently." Something about her stare was captivating. "Erm, I-I-" I've never seen this side of Calliope, looking over at Felix, he was just as gobsmacked as I. "I'm only joking, Ollie." She chuckles, falling back into Felix's embrace. "Farleigh has class during noon, so I thought it would be a good time to get to know one another."

      Felix continues but my gaze is still on Calliope. "I'll see what I can do." The short moment our eyes met, she made me feel like I was see-through like I was in a glass house and was walking around with nothing on. Like she knew what my plan was, barely even knowing me. "Let's dance." She pulls Felix to the dancefloor, leaving me to ponder if I knew the actual Calliope Sinclair.

~~~~~~

      My drunken slumber is erupted by the alarm clock on my bedside table. Mindlessly, I try to navigate where the snooze button is, the sounds of everything on said table falling onto the floor, making me regret drinking the three extra Smirnoff's. "For fucks sake." I pull the cord from the wall, aimlessly throwing it across the room. My phone vibrates somewhere between my sheets, a smile forms on my face when Felix's name runs across the screen.