Chapter 3 Trending Cautiously

Vanguard University.

As I pulled my car up to the entrance, I took in a deep breath as the mighty cathedral-like buildings felt like they would suck me in anytime soon.

“Remember honey,” My mom had said to me before I left the house. “Aurick had pulled a lot of strings just to make sure you get in. So do not disappoint us and try to blend in.”

Blending in won’t be easy when I’m wearing a thrift store leather jacket in the midst of people with cashmere.

I was staring at my phone, trying to navigate the Academic Commons when the air around me shifted. The chatter of the students suddenly died down and was replaced by laughter.

A group of guys were standing across from me. Their height and athletic build differentiated them from the rest. Standing in their midst was Barth.

He was his team jacket, deep navy with Ice Wolves emblazoned at the back. He was also as arrogant here like he was at home, he barely acknowledged the smiles, waves and stares he got.

Then, his eyes met mine.

His smirk he was sharing with a teammate disappeared as they walked towards me.

“Look at that,” one of the guys, a blonde, grinned. “Who’s the new girl? She seems lost.”

Barth’s cold gaze swept over me. “This is the new house guest and careful Miller or she might cling to you so you can feed her and take her home.” 

The guys erupted into laughter. My face flushed with anger but I refused to look down. “Actually I’m looking for the Academic office. Too bad they don’t have a sign for illiterate athletes.”

The laughter died out instantly and the boys’ eyes widened, glancing from Barth to me. No one spoke to Barth Vanguard in that manner.

Barth walked away from his friends and stepped right in front of me. “Listen here, Brooklyn,” his voice sounded like a warning. “You are a long way away from home and people here value status. And your status right now is zero so you are just like a ghost.”

“I will rather be a ghost than a statue,” I snapped.

Barth leaned in, making me subconsciously take a step back. “Stay out of my way. If I see you anywhere near the cafeteria or around me and my friends, I will make sure your honors are short lived. My father might have secured a place for you here but he didn’t buy a space for you at my table.”

With that, he turned and walked away with his friends. One of the girls tailing him, wearing expensive clothes casted a pitiful look at me before following him.

…

I spent the next four hours trying to understand the Intro to political science and Microeconomics. I felt the eyes of the other students on me, word did indeed travel fast. Whispers of ‘oh, that’s Barth’s new sister’ lingered the air which felt suffocating.

By lunch time, I retreated to sitting in front of the library on a stone bench, trying to avoid cafeteria drama. I pulled out a sandwich I had snuck out from home and just as I was about to dig in, I felt a presence. 

This time it wasn’t Barth. It was the blonde girl from earlier who had looked at me with pity.

“You should probably hide that,” She said with a friendly smile, nodding at my sandwich. “Tan would probably go crazy seeing it. She kind of has a thing for poor aesthetics.”

I looked up. “I don’t care what Tan or anyone thinks.”

“Well you should. She is Barth’s ex and seeing how Barth behaves with you, she might try to hurt you considering the fact that she is trying hard to get back into his life.”

The girl sat down beside me giving me a hand. “I’m Chloe. I felt bad seeing someone getting slaughtered on their first day.”

“Is he really this bad?” I couldn’t help but ask as I glanced at the athletic center.

“Barth? Not really, he’s just… empty,” Chloe said thoughtfully. “Ever since his mum left years ago, he’s been obsessed with control. His dad, his team, his reputation. He’s been trying hard to keep up with this Vanguard image but then you and your mum came and sort of brought turmoil along ruining the image he tried so hard to keep.”

“He’s a jerk to his dad as well,” I added.

“You think?” Chloe arched her brow. “Or maybe he’s just being protective. His dad is all he has and so Barth has taken it on himself to keep the wolves away, no offense to you though.”

I wanted to answer but my phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from an unknown number.

Meet me at the back of the library in five. Don’t make me wait. Brooklyn.

My eyes rolled mentally. I could recognize that Brooklyn anywhere.

I stood up. “I’m sorry but I have to go.”

Chloe nodded. “One more thing Yvonne, do not let Barth see that he can control you as well. He feeds on it.”

Barth was standing in front of the school’s founder statue, staring at it intensely. He had ditched his jacket and was now clad in a white shirt with its sleeves drawn towards his arm.

“You called.”

He turned around. “Father called. He wants us to take family pictures this afternoon for the university gala brochure.”

“So?”

“So, you will go home, put on the dress my father bought and you are going to smile and act like you belong here,” he walked closer, his eyes intimidating as they bore into me. “And if you try to make my father look like a fool in front of the board, I will have you sent back to Brooklyn by sunset. Is that understood?”

I scoffed loudly much to his dismay. “You seemed to be burdened so much by what people would think or say, don’t you Barth? Doesn’t it get exhausting? Being a fake person in a fake world?”

Barth’s brows furrowed. “You think you’re real right?” His thumb grazed my jaw sending electric shocks through my body. “But I can see you through you, you are just as fake as everyone here. Addicted to power.”

“I don't need power,” I responded, my cheeks flushed.

Barth chuckled. “Well I do see a girl who needs to be ruined. Ruined by me.”

He pulled away before I could respond, leaving me shaking in fury and desire as I watched his retreating figure.