Are you mine?

Chapter 5

"The plan is simple."

Tyler says putting his hands together conspiratorially and gives me a serious look, pausing for dramatic effect.

"I'm listening!" I say impatiently.

"Hey, do you want my help or not?" he warns.

"Fine," I say, putting my arms up in surrender, "What's your master plan?"

"Okay, for now, we're focusing on Mason, alright?" Tyler starts.

"Go on." I urge, my interest piqued.

He glares at me before he continues. "As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, if you want to get back at Mason, you have to hit him where it hurts the most."

I frown, confused.

"You're face tells me you're thinking about a kick to the balls but, while that would be terribly amusing, I'm talking about his ego."

"Right," I nod catching up to his train of thought.

"You're dealing with a guy that picks up girls for sport. He knows he's good-looking and charming and all that shit, and he uses that as his weapon of choice against innocent girls such as yourself. We've already established that all he wants is your attention and that he knows exactly how to manipulate you into giving it to him. Now that you realise this, all you have to do is turn the tables. You have to show him you are not that easy to manipulate."

"I'm listening..."

"We'll start off easy, with the cold shoulder. All you have to do is resist the urge to give him even an ounce of your attention. That's the only rule. You have to pretend like he doesn't exist. If he texts you, you delete it. If he looks at you, you don't make eye contact. If he wants to talk to you, you walk away before he gets the chance to.

"Then, as he starts craving you more and more, which he will, we move onto phase two. That's when you start talking to him again but you act nonchalant. Just give him a little taste and keep him wanting more. It's simple. But you have to handle this in the right way, like you're completely indifferent to his presence, not like you're scared or embarrassed around him. If you cut him off without an apparent reason and don't give him what he wants, you'll have him at your feet in no time."

"I don't care about 'having him at my feet'. I'm not even sure I want him to like me anymore," I reply. "He was pretty sleazy the other day, and it doesn't sit right with me. It actually made me feel kinda gross. You guys are right, he's no good for me and I've only fixated on him for his looks rather than for his personality. I just want to teach him a lesson about playing with other people's feelings."

"Then stick to the plan, and learn he will."

"So..." I smile conspiratorially, "We're pulling a John Tucker?" I ask.

Tyler sighs, running his hands over his face as he shakes his head, "I hate to admit that I know what you're talking about, but yes," a mischievous smirk appears on his face, "We're pulling a John Tucker, baby."