❝ 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 ❞

They clearly had something in common and Cassius wasn’t sure what to do with the information. Both of them preferred animals over people. He frowned slightly, but then nodded to show he agreed. “Yes, the unconditional love of a cat is much preferred to the judgement of others.” He was even more annoyed with being sat on this couch next to James, beginning to lose his sense of control. His lips felt slightly numb, and he reached up to touch at his lips before being blindsided by James’ hand on his cheek. His gaze slowly turned toward him, and he stared. Something about James’ low voice made goosebumps roll up the back of his neck. “I understand, I wasn’t going to tell anyone I -,” he swallowed, “I don’t really mind that you did what you did. I just mind that I was part of it without knowing.” What he wanted was protection from questioning. “If I do what you say … you won’t get pissed off?” He hated it, having to do whatever James wanted, but the part of his brain that was enjoying it was far more alert than usual at the moment.

Cassius was hot, it was like the whole room had been lit on fire. He barely even protested as his shirt was pulled away, teeth grazing over his bottom lip once he felt James’ fingers over his skin. “I can’t - we can’t. Not when I’m like this,” there was a protest still, especially as he couldn’t even tell if James actually wanted him or if this was all some sick part of his game. Would Cassius be next? No, not if James wanted him as his alibi. “You don’t even actually want ME, I know that, you know that.” He reached out with a hand to place it on the nape of James’ neck, trying to use him to sit up slightly as well. “I feel like … I don’t know what.” His gaze settled upon James’ face again, and as he stared at him he wondered how he couldn’t have noticed how beautiful he was before. It should have pissed him off, instead he just let out a soft laugh. “You’re so fucking gorgeous, that’s not fair.” He didn’t think it before, he must’ve been high on something, but whatever it was began to lift him so high up that he didn’t care anymore. His hand slid from James’ nape to his cheek and he leaned forward, pressing their noses together. “No …”

Cassius was now beginning to seem a lot looser and less uptight and James preferred him this way because he was FAR more interesting. Plus James could probably get him to talk about anything that he wanted to, though he wasn’t entirely sure if there was anything that James was interested in other than his mouth. Though he hadn’t been fully convinced at first that he wanted to sleep with Cassius, he was now completely sure of it because he could just tell that it was going to be good. As he stared at Cassius, he allowed another smirk to slip onto his lips except this one was softer and kinder. “I know you’re not going to tell anyone, babe. You’re a good boy, I know. You’ve learned your lesson now and you won’t get involved in other people’s businesses anymore now, will you?” His thumb traced the sharp edge of Cassius’ jaw and he moved in a little closer to him, if it were even possible to get closer to him right now. “No, I won’t get pissed off. If you do everything I say then I’ll be very happy.” Right now, he was feeling too drunk and high to really do much other than obsess over Cassius. He’d completed his mission and now he was just ready to get off. 

Why was he here? Cassius didn’t even need to go to the bar in the first place. He could have kept to himself and just lied and said he needed to do schoolwork, instead he’d gone. He was just curious about James and his lifestyle, a curiosity it seemed that could literally get him killed if he didn’t stay vigilant. “Right, this is a one time thing …” He responded because he hoped if he said it then it would be true. Newtie was a sweet cat and he was almost annoyed that someone like James got to have her. Did he even deserve companionship after taking another person’s life? “No, I don’t. She just LIKES me. I’m good with cats, I want to have several, I just don’t have the space or time for it right now.” The journey to the couch wound up making him realise just how drunk he was. As soon as he went to move, the world tilted slightly, and he had to force himself to stand up straighter, trying to get his eyes to stop rolling around. Carefully he sat down beside James, staring at the glass in his hand for a moment before finishing off the liquid inside it. He didn’t have time to sit here and contemplate what he was doing anymore and this was the quickest way to get his brain to turn off. “I don’t know what I am, but I at least know it isn’t straight.”

Sexuality was something Cassius had not really explored like several other people, but he did know that he liked men at least. Sometimes he thought maybe he could like women or anything else in between. Honestly, his issue was more that he tended not to like people at all. “James, seriously, I can’t lose what I have going for me. You have to promise me that no one is going to find out it was you or that I was there,” for a moment he allowed himself to pull off that mask of annoyance and show what was actually there. His fear for the future. He was realising that he didn’t even care about the murder part, he cared more that he had been involved. “Okay, if you’re sure that’s what’ll happen,” he murmured, reaching forward to set his glass down on the coffee table. It was in this moment that he began to feel his pulse quickening, and he continued to feel heat rush through his body, like someone had turned the temperature all the way up. His cheeks were flushed now, and he couldn’t help but reach to undo more buttons of his shirt, fully exposing his chest. “I don’t -” He was about to say he didn’t know if he liked figuring everything out, but as his gaze travelled back to James’, his jaw went loose. “Yes, I like being right … fuck, what did you just give me to drink?”  

Learning things about Cassius like the fact that he liked cats wasn’t a good thing because he didn’t WANT to know anything about the man in front of him. He was supposed to be a stranger, just another body for him to discard when his use had been fulfilled. “I don’t need anyone else but her. She’s all I need.” James shrugged as he looked at his cat. It wasn’t even a lie, he didn’t need anyone else but her because she was his entire world and the only person who loved him unconditionally and always wanted him around. Maybe most of that was self-caused but he also knew how much his parents hated him too. As he looked at Cassius, he could tell that he was getting drunk too and though he knew that it shouldn’t have, it pleased him because at least he would be more malleable. Plus, the little added extra was also going to hit him hard soon enough. He took a sip from his drink, then paused, and grinned at Cassius. “Good. No straight people around here. That would please my parents far too much and we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

Apparently fucked up was his type considering this was one of the only dates he’d ever been on and it was with James of all people. He didn’t let James know this, he just shook his head at him, “No, I don’t really have a type at all. I’m more focused on anything else.” These words coming from James’ lips were all the ramblings of a man who was so high that he probably could barely feel anything, but Cassius had to take some of them as fact. He could get away with this, and he could do whatever he wanted to make Cassius shut up because he had the funds to do it. There was something absolutely terrifying in that. One person could destroy his whole life if they wanted. He had to destroy him first, or at least manipulate his way out, it was all he could see moving forward. “I’ve grown on you … you did do all of this just to force me to be near you and to coerce me further.” Though, whether murder had been involved or not, he was genuinely going to go to James’ flat no matter what. He wanted to see it for himself. Yet when he got there, he grimaced slightly. God, he needed help, this place was a disaster. Of course he didn’t have the experience Cassius did, being whipped with a belt when so much as a can of soda was left out on the table rather than put in the recycling. “Your abode could certainly use some freshening up,” he murmured under his breath.

He followed James to the kitchen, eyeing over the cocaine on the counter, he reached down to slide his fingers over it then dusted the powder off on his trousers. The meow, however, caught him more off guard than James’ tongue on his face had. His weakness … cats. James should have opened with that. Immediately his eyes were on her, and he moved toward her, holding out her hand so she could sniff it. Once she had, he began to give her long pets along with scratching under her chin, grinning as she accepted and didn’t run from him. “I don’t know, she seems pretty nice to me. Isn’t that right, you’re so sweet, yes you are,” his voice changed and he crooned to her like she was a baby. He couldn’t help himself even in his current situation. His hand suddenly became occupied with a glass, and he’d stopped questioning it so he easily put the alcohol to his lips and just drank. He finally forced himself to look at James again, already feeling hotter in this apartment. He undid the first button of his shirt, then the second before nodding. “I think you’ll be disappointed to know that I’ve not been with many people. I’m not sure I’ll be the high you’re looking for.” He’d had sex before, it’d always been a mistake. “Talking … like about how you just poisoned a man in front of me and are now going to be able to hold it over me. You let me talk to him, fuck, I wouldn’t have even looked at him if I thought you would do something like this. I just thought you were trying to fuck HIM.” It was a near perfect crime, Cassius was the only one who knew the truth, he had to come to terms with it and he kind of already had. “Why did you bring me with you to watch? Did you know I would figure it out?”

Right now, James couldn’t really tell if Cassius absolutely despised him or was a little intrigued by him but really, he just didn’t care. Especially because soon enough, Cassius would be all over him anyway. He’d already had a few drinks and come back to his apartment -- two things he said wouldn’t be happening tonight, so it wouldn’t exactly be difficult for James to get him to do anything else. Then the night would be over and James could get rid of Cassius and they’d never have to see each other again outside of class. “Your abode could certainly use some freshening up,” he mocked in a childish voice before snorting. “I don’t care. It’s not like you’ll ever have to come back here ever again after this.” James had been expecting Newtie to hiss at Cassius and run away, the way she usually did whenever she was introduced to new people but to his astonishment, she actually let Cassius PET her and he was pretty sure he could even hear her purring. “Have you got catnip hidden on you or something?” he asked suspiciously as he watched the two of them. A stupid part of him wanted to be annoyed with Newtie for sucking up to Cassius of all people. Usually he trusted her judgement but clearly today was an off day. 

Cassius was terrified, to say the least. Terrified of his entire life coming crashing down around him because he’d finally become what everyone said he would. That he would never actually be what he wanted because instead he’d be in prison for something terrible that James had done. He’d only really properly spoken with James for about twenty four hours and already the man had somehow ruined his future. He stared right into his eyes as he grabbed him, searching his enlarged pupils for any recognition or regret for what he’d done. Instead he could only see how pleased he was. “I knew you were fucked, I didn’t know how fucked,” he muttered, letting go of his arm a hand running through his hair in aggravation. “Yes, it is a terrible thing to do, which is why I can’t believe you just did it. You … well you’re not even watching it - I thought that was what murderers did I -” Everything was confusing and coming at him too quickly, he had to focus on something, and it didn’t help that he was already tipsy, verging on being properly drunk. 

What was worse was knowing that the man didn’t even do anything to James … he’d just done it for fun. Cassius stared at him as he laughed, “Of course there are assholes, but just because people are the worst doesn’t mean you kill them for it.” Except the final bit caught him off guard, being called gorgeous after watching as someone was poisoned in front of him was certainly a 180 that he wasn’t ready for. Then he froze as he was touched by James, odd sensations of goosebumps rising over his neck. Shouldn’t he be disgusted? “What are you talking about, you hate me. This was all just some sort of game to you.” Yet as the taxi pulled up, and James got inside, he followed. He couldn’t let James frame him, he couldn’t go down for this, and he also had to get away. Fuck, he’d talked to the man, which meant that if someone there other than James knew his name he’d be in trouble. But no one had seen it, he hadn’t even been carded, James never said his name, he didn’t know anyone there. So that made James his only liability. Which also meant James had him wrapped right around his finger, because when the police eventually questioned notable people who had been in the bar and James’ name came up on the list of patrons, he could slip them his name. But if he made James happy then he wouldn’t say a word. “As if I have a choice,” he responded as he entered the taxi.

People called James fucked up all the time but if only they knew HOW fucked up James was. In fact, Cassius was probably the first person to truly find out. Maybe his parents knew that their son was quite literally insane and maybe that was why they hated him so much but THEY were the ones who had driven him to insanity. “Oh darling, is fucked up not your type? Shame, because it’ll have to be tonight.” Maybe that made him even more insane but James didn’t even care to watch it sometimes. The thrill of doing it and getting away with it was enough for him. But more so, he just enjoyed running away and then searching the news the next day to see what had been reported and if there were any suspects. It was never him and it never would be. “Why not? Why CAN’T I get rid of people who are assholes? I’m a fucking POTTER, I can do whatever the fuck I want without any fucking consequences.” He laughed again at the sight of Cassius’ face. “Everything is just a game to me. Maybe tonight I don’t hate you. In fact, maybe you’ve even grown on me.” He knew that Cassius would follow him into the taxi -- technically he’d been given some sort of ultimation but James had known all along that he’d be coming home with him tonight. No guy went on a date with him and didn’t end up in his bed at the end of the night. 

Even though Cassius was currently drinking and allowing himself to become inebriated (which he rarely did), he was always one to say that control was what people needed in their lives. If he didn’t have it, he was afraid of what he would turn into. Letting things like drugs or alcohol take him away and release his inhibitions didn’t seem to be a good idea whenever his inhibitions were one of the few things keeping him sane. “I find it necessary to have control over my actions. Who is to say what I would allow to happen if I weren’t alert and aware? I don’t want know.” Cassius shook his head at James’ explanation. He didn’t understand it at all, he would rather have his face completely hidden from the world with only his name floating around. “Most people that hate themselves do everything that you’ve been doing. And if you actually liked yourself, maybe you’d stop fucking around with all of this nonsense.” 

His trip to the bar had the effect it needed to, and it only made his suspicion become reality. When he sat and analyzed James’ face, a smirk fell on his lips, he enjoyed being right. “For someone who wasn’t interested in him, you look rather upset. Keep scowling and people might realise you actually aren’t here for me.” As soon as James got up, he followed him with his gaze. Strangely enough, his whiskey went down far smoother now that he was actually feeling the heat of the other drinks catching up with him. No one else was paying attention to James, but of course Cassius was. So when he saw the switch between the drinks, his eyes widened. Envy had been a far smaller sin than the one that James planned on committing, and somehow he’d now made Cassius part of it. “Okay, yes, sure,” but as soon as they had exited the building, Cassius grabbed hold of James’ forearm and moved closer to him so he could whisper in a voice low enough no one else would hear. “What the fuck did you do? I know I was calling you fucked up before but I didn’t think you were insane. I am not going away for murder for you.” Because it was something that had crossed his mind hundreds of thousands of times, but he’d never been dumb enough to do it. “Who was that man, did he do something to you?”

The adrenaline rush that James always got after doing this was better than all the fucking drugs he was on. If he could feel this way all of the time then he wouldn’t even NEED all of the shit that he used to make himself feel better. And somehow it was even more fun whenever he dragged somebody else into it, it just made the risk even more fun. James could see something in Cassius and though he didn’t quite know what, he just knew that Cassius wasn’t going to dob him in. Not that James worried if anyone would -- his family had enough money to make any convictions just magically vanish, or he could just simply push the blame onto Cassius if he made any threats. He was practically bouncing on his feet as they left the bar and when Cassius grabbed his arm, a shit eating grin appeared on his face. “What do you THINK I did, babe?” They were so close that James could smell the whisky on his breath and he could see all the flecks in Cassius’ eyes. God, they were going to fuck so good and hard tonight when Cassius got over himself. Maybe he just needed more alcohol and James had plenty more in his own apartment. 

They both knew he was, especially right now. Cassius stared at James’ grin for a moment, and he wondered why he even was here. Sure, James was somewhat attractive, but he was annoying, and he didn’t care for rules or structure. Cassius cared deeply about both of those things, even if he also tended to take the rules into his own hands. The difference was, no one knew. “I don’t think it, I know it. I wonder what you’re like sober, because something tells me even you don’t know what that’s like anymore.” At least they had something in common - wondering why people gave a single fuck about James did. “Why people care is beyond me. I have never had anyone look at anything I did and analyse it the way they analyse you. It must be exhausting being a vessel for everyone’s entertainment. But you also aren’t really doing anything to counteract it. If you cared that much, I would think you’d try to disappear from the view of the world. Like I said before, you clearly enjoy the attention as much as you despise it.” In a way, Cassius was even treating James like an animal right now, watching him and trying to piece him together. Learning about him up close.

What was more frustrating about James than anything was that he now refused to admit that he’d been looking at the man at the bar. Cassius wanted to be REWARDED for noticing, not told he was wrong. He frowned, playing with his glass between his fingers, “I don’t know how someone can think so highly of themselves but also hate themselves as much as you do.” If this were all a game, then interacting with the man that James had been looking at may have all been part of the plan. Though not doing so also meant that he would be admitting he was wrong. Cassius’ frown deepened further as he figured that by calling James out he’d essentially already lost. “Then I don’t understand why you care about him. Or why you keep looking.” Cassius gazed down at his glass again, then he lifted it to his lips and finished off the liquid. “I need another drink. I’ll put it on your tab.” He stood from his chair, then he went to the bar. Usually he would never be this forward, but it was part of the act. He went beside the man that he just KNEW James had been peering at, and he ran his hand through his hair. He could have immediately gotten a hold of the bartender, but instead he allowed himself to look like a lost puppy who needed help. The man was loud, obnoxious, Cassius couldn’t see what the point of James paying attention to him was. He made a joke, one Cassius didn’t really think was funny, but he let himself laugh enough that the man looked at him. They shared a glance, Cassius got his drink, and he knew now that at least he would be forced to keep gazing over at their table. Maybe he’d even wind up recognizing James if Cassius was lucky. “After this we can go to yours, if you’re really that sure about it.”

Sober James didn’t even exist anymore. He hadn’t seen the light of days for years and it didn’t bother him because inebriated James was far happier. At least he called this happiness because James didn’t want to admit how sad and fucked up he was. What was worse was that somehow Cassius appeared to see right through him and he just didn’t understand HOW. Probably because nobody had ever bothered to look close enough. “Why would I even WANT to know what it’s like to be sober? It’s fucking boring from what I remember.” Awful too, he felt like shit in the mornings until he’d had his fix, so evidently he was right about the way he was living being much better. “It’s complicated. I don’t hate the attention and sometimes I will do shit to create more of it. But it’s mostly for other purposes.” He shrugged. Usually the negative attention was to bring that negative attention onto his parents and his family name and to piss off his father and watch him desperately scramble to clear up his image again. Though it was proving to be fairly impossible these days considering everyone knew what a fuck up his eldest son was. “Hate myself? What makes you think that I hate myself?” His lips formed a frown and he remained quiet as Cassius knocked back the drink and stood. 

James’ life sounded like a sad one to him. Why anyone wanted to live that way was beyond his understanding. Cassius’ goals in life were to be at the top of it all, and that meant working hard. One day even his parents would be proud of him, enough so that they wouldn’t think of him as a waste of space. “Just trying to be yourself? Do you even know what that is? I barely do and I’m clearly not as fucked up as you are.” His words weren’t supposed to come off as angry, just factual. Someone actually knowing themselves while they were in university filling their bodies up with drugs and alcohol, partying every day, that didn’t seem like a person who knew who they were. Cassius looked at James dumbfounded as he gazed around them, clearly he thought himself far more aloof than he was. “People like you are hard to forget, I doubt you can really go anywhere more than a few times before others start recognising you. Maybe you think of that as a compliment, but I see it as a liability.” The idea was to be famous and rich, but have no one actually really know who he was.

If James was serious about taking him home, Cassius wasn’t even sure drinking would be enough. Honestly, just to get it out of the way, Cassius was figuring he might pretend a bit and let James take him wherever he wanted to go. But at this point … he had begun to catch on to the way that James kept scoping someone out. He was a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid. When James went away to the restroom, Cassius began to watch the individual himself. What exactly did James want with him? He hadn’t even said hello, or smiled at the man, it was like he was trying to keep tags on him while still remaining a ghost. James’ return to the bar only made him realize it further. He accepted the drink that was offered to him, but his eyes slowly narrowed. “I don’t drink, so not very high.” He took a sip from his glass, then let his gaze very clearly flick to the person of James’ attention. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Do you think you’re that clever or good at hiding things?” He shook his head, forcing himself to look back at James. “What is all of this? He hasn’t even looked over here once. I thought maybe you were trying to use me to make him jealous, but I don’t even know if he knows who you are.”

Cassius had a point, not that James would ever admit that. He did have no idea who he was, though that wasn’t exactly a brand new revelation considering he’d never known who he was outside the rebellious disinterested rich boy act he put on most of the time. It was just easier to act like he didn’t care because then eventually he just didn’t. “You think I’m fucked up?” James raised an eyebrow at Cassius and then leaned back in his chair before a wicked grin appeared on his face. He knew perfectly well that he was fucked up and he didn’t try to pretend otherwise. The fact that he was sitting here high on cocaine, downing whisky until he was drunk, whilst scoping out a man he was about to poison really said it all. “I knew I was recognisable but I don’t exactly see myself as infamous.” Though now he thought about it, he supposed that was rather stupid considering everyone in this city knew the name POTTER. His father was one of the richest men in New York and James was his erratic and rebellious child who made headlines left, right and centre. “I don’t know why people care,” he said with a scowl on his face. Maybe he liked the attention but he still didn’t understand why he got it. “People treat me like I’m a fucking zoo animal sometimes, like they enjoy watching my fuck ups and my spirals. Why does anyone CARE that some rich boy is stumbling out of a club off his head at 6am for the fourth day in a row?” 

Cassius regarded James for a moment while he spoke, his brows creasing slightly. “I don’t … know how you are so nonchalant about it. They want you to be a poster child and you just keep fucking them over but what will you do once they DO cut you off? Once you reach a certain age they might give up on you for good. Then you’ll have to get someone else to give you all the money you need.” The drink in his hand was empty now, ice rattling against the glass. “You have an interesting image anyway. I can’t tell what you’re trying to play as. Wild bad boy maybe, but you don’t really seem that bad to me. Just annoying, which is far worse than doing things people may not agree with.”  

The question made Cassius snort at him, “Are you joking? You wouldn’t do all the shit you do if you didn’t want attention. Nor would we be in a bar where people will definitely know you. I am sure that you like it that everyone knows of you, plus you just assume everyone wants something to do with you too.” If Cassius were going to a bar it would be somewhere quiet that was exclusive, hard to get into. That was the sort of thing he was into, but he just pressed his lips down into a line, shrugging off James’ comment. Despite not having a drink to sip on, he nearly choked on something. “Back … to yours … you must actually have a screw loose. Or three. I’m not here for you, I’m here for me, and I am definitely not drunk enough to even imagine going to your place.”

Evidently Cassius didn’t understand James at all -- not that James really expected him to considering they’d barely ever spoken and James had never given Cassius the time of day until this week. “By the time that happens, I’ll have probably overdosed or found some stupid rich man to marry. So who fucking cares? I would rather focus on what’s happening right now, rather than what could happen in however many years.” He wasn’t stupid -- he knew one day his parents weren’t going to let him be a parasite for eternity but right now he was getting away with it and didn’t care that he was essentially being paid to shut the fuck up and do whatever he wanted in the background, as long as it didn’t disturb them. “I’m not trying to play ANYTHING. I’m just trying to be me.” Though wasn’t that a lie? He didn’t even know who he was, let alone how to be himself. If anything, he was trying to play the character of what he should be, just to cover up the fact that he had no idea who he was outside of this empty shell full of alcohol and cocaine. 

A date implied that they were seeking some sort of relationship, Cassius was seeking the opposite. He frowned at the other options, though, because they didn’t really sound correct either. “For now I will describe it as a case study,” he muttered, reaching for his drink and finishing the last bit of it. “And then they wonder why you do not want to do what they say. Parents are … never what they are supposed to be.” Cassius was sure that James minded very much that they treated him the way they did, but there was little prying he could do without much information to go off of. “I would figure you to be the sort to shut down conversation about your parents. Why are you speaking about them so freely with me?” Maybe because it was easier to tell someone who didn’t really care or want to fix it. Cassius figured that if James told several people they would want to help him, but Cassius had little desire to try to help him out of his situation.

Mystery had nothing to do with it, but Cassius assumed that was what James saw himself as. Mysterious, untouchable, whatever else made him feel better. “I don’t know, I think you like that people see you as that. Because then you can get attention that you usually can’t. It also makes it easier for you to get whatever you want when people are more inclined to want to be around you.” Cassius had already clocked James as being manipulative. After all, he assumed he could make Cassius do whatever he wanted just with a few words. “Do you feel like you’re doing me a favor or something by taking me out to some bar? Showing me the ways of the world? I could experience it if I wanted to, I just don’t really care for it. I would much rather be alone than be around this many people.” 

James didn’t mind talking shit with Cassius for a few hours before he sent him on his merry way. It was easy for James to talk to people, despite how most of the people at this University he wouldn’t trust as far as he could throw. “I don’t really mind talking surface shit about them. Especially if I get to shit talk them. Maybe most people here don’t know me that well but everyone knows I don’t get along with my parents. They might try to paint us as the picture perfect family but everyone knows that isn’t true. People aren’t stupid and neither are they. Which is why they keep me in the picture to make sure I don’t stray too far.” James didn’t have high enough morals to care about his silence being bought. If it meant that he could do whatever he wanted, he would let his parents throw money at him to force him to behave when it actually mattered. 

How this had turned into a date, Cassius wasn’t sure. He had never phrased it as such and even then he had never told James if he was into men at all. Slowly, he took another sip of the whiskey that had been supplied, it gave him something to do when he wasn’t talking. Deep down, he knew that James had probably planned that. “I do not remember this being a date. When did you decide that was what this was?” His gaze fell back onto James after surveying the room again. Just in time, of course, for him to see James’ fingers gliding over his arm. His lips thinned slightly as he recoiled, his arm sliding back to his side. “I am surprised they allow you to spend their money at all. Though if you were cut off, something tells me you would still just spend other people’s money rather than finding a way to earn your own.” James was lazy and arrogant, the sort of person that Cassius hated.

As far as Cassius was concerned, the only reason he was here was indeed because of the promise. But if he had to try to piece things together, he was also interested just to see what James did with his time. “I was curious about why you invited me. It is mostly because of our deal, but I can’t help but wonder what it is you do with your life. You act like you don’t care about anything, I want to see what you fill yourself up with to keep pretending.” His eyes scan the room again, not fully focused on James in a place where there was so much happening. He could hear broken bits of conversation, notes of songs he didn’t know, laughter, crying, heels on the floor, it was enough to over stimulate anyone. “I can barely concentrate on my own thoughts, I figure that’s what you like about it.”

“How else would you describe this if you wouldn’t call it a date?” James asked with a raised eyebrow, lifting his drink to his lips so he could take another sip. “A meeting? Two people who vaguely dislike each other attending a soirée together?” He grinned, the same grin he often used when his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Though he thought Cassius was a bit dull, he wasn’t sure if he could say that he HATED him. More like tolerated him, which was how he felt around most people. Used them when he needed them and then discarded them whenever he was bored or no longer needed them. At least Cassius was voluntarily discarding himself. “They know it’ll shut me up if they let me use their money. They’re so worried about their image that they’d rather just allowed me to be a leech instead of putting shame and negative attention on the family by disowning me.” He shrugged as though it didn't bother him, which he told himself it didn’t because as long as he had access to their unnecessarily large amount of riches, he didn’t give a fuck and would happily carry on doing whatever he felt like. 

When he received the text with information, Cassius almost ignored it. He’d started a particularly interesting mystery novel and he was starting to get clues to the puzzle. Luckily for James, the idea of getting to no longer associate with him after this was more alluring than his book. Cassius had taken his time to pick out well pressed clothing, not a full suit, but nice trousers and a button up with a tie. On his wrist he wore an expensive watch that his parents had given him as a sign of their pride, which he only wore on special occasions and he supposed this was one. The bar wasn’t one he would ever go to even if he decided to go to one. He tended to like places that were more historical and lowkey than a place people went to actually party. Cassius had calculated for James’ lateness and arrived ten minutes after the time he was told. Even then he had to stand around and wait. “I was even late for you and you still had the gull to be later?” He asked the other when he finally appeared. The loudness of the bar was already making him uneasy, he could never concentrate in places like this.

The plan had been not to even have a sip of alcohol while here. Plenty of people were already getting drunk, but that didn’t mean Cassius had to as well. He stared at the whiskey offered to him, it was something he had tried before, and he’d enjoyed the taste when he did but that didn’t mean anything. He pressed his lips together before finally succumbing to the temptation, taking the glass in his hand and taking the smallest sip before placing it back down. “I did not come for you. I came so that you would leave me alone as you said you would.” He gazed out over the people for a moment, “You said that you had an errand to run, this doesn’t feel like an errand. Or like a party either. No one has a party at a bar, it’s cheaper to buy everything and just get drunk at a house.”

Of course Cassius was going to whine about his lateness even with a pre-warning, James had expected that the second he set up the date. He rolled his eyes at the predictability but didn’t bother to comment any further because frankly, he just didn’t care. It wasn’t as though Cassius would have to deal with it ever again. He was only there so James had an alibi tonight and also a reason to be here, he didn’t actually care much for his presence. Like he’d expected, Cassius did end up taking a sip of the drink and James grinned because it really was so easy. Maybe he could get him drunk too and drag him back to his apartment for a bit of fun. James often brought people back but they never got to stay until the morning. James preferred to kick them out or get rid of them by other means, depending on who they were. Though he knew that Cassius would be lucky tonight because his real victim was right in front of him. Cocky, rich, arrogant -- in fact, he was probably similar to James, not that he’d ever admit that -- but he represented everything James hated and he wanted him to go. 

James’ comments fell onto ears that had heard it all before. Cassius didn’t really care what James thought of him, so he just shrugged. “Better than being whatever you are.” How sending their child to a place with little to no rules or supervision sounded like a good idea to James’ parents Cassius wasn’t sure, but it also was not his place to try to gauge their intelligence. “It seems as though parents are a sore subject for you. I am not surprised. Usually it takes some sort of trauma to facilitate the growth of unhealthy addictions. I assume for you that means your parents have been the source of that trauma.” For Cassius, it was easier to pretend that everyone else had things worse than him. Whatever issues he had, at least he wasn’t completely miserable or searching for vices that could fuel him just a few more days.

The promise seemed too good to be true, but what did Cassius really have to lose? “I won’t be drinking anything, and I certainly won’t be partaking in anything you hope to have me do. I will simply watch. Don’t expect too much.” At least he could use this as an experiment of sorts just to see the people who enjoyed going to these things. “Very well, I can manage the charade of being partners if it means I no longer have to deal with you afterward.” A sound of protest left his lips once his phone was taken, but he was forced to watch as James held his privacy in his hand. “You seem like the type to be late to everything, so should I expect whatever time you give me to actually just be a suggestion?”

A bored sigh left his lips and he rolled his eyes at Cassius. “Parents are a dull conversation topic, what can I say?” He had much better things to talk about, though he wasn’t really sure what to talk about around Cassius. Coffee? Maybe he just needed to spike his drinks too to get him drunk and hope he was less boring with some alcohol inside of him. “Unhealthy addictions? If having fun means having unhealthy addictions, then the entire fucking university are addicts. Minus you.” Already he was becoming irritated by Cassius and was wondering if he’d regret the decision, but he just wanted to see what he was like when he loosened up and pulled that stick out of his ass. “I’m sure I can get you to do more than that. I’m told I’m very persuasive.” He leaned even closer to Cassius as he said that, his lips twisting into another grin. Manipulative was the word people tended to use but James liked to translate it differently. “Just be there and I’ll find you. Comprende?” 

✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽ . ✽

Whatever Cassius said was going to bore James, obviously he knew this. Even as the other got close to him, he simply stayed put. He straightened, looking down his nose, eyes narrowed slightly. “I tend to read, or go and explore the city when I don’t have work to do. If I ever get the kitchen to myself I like to cook and try out new recipes. I recently went to a new coffee shop and tried a blend of espresso that I’d never heard of before. These are the sorts of things that entertain me.” Everyone was scared of rejection, and maybe to some degree Cassius had been afraid of all of those things. As soon as he stepped into a room, everyone would look at him, and he wouldn’t know what to do because he hadn’t ever been the center of attention. At the same time, he wasn’t sure they would even notice. He could look the part and blend in just like he had before. “So you are only inviting me as a joke?” He asked, raising a brow. “I’m not afraid to go, I just don’t see the fun in it, personally.”

Parents were something they were clearly going to have extremely stark differences with. Cassius’ parents didn’t like him either, but he at least planned to make them proud somehow. It was why he was here. “You pretend like you enjoy that they do that, but I doubt you do. Isn’t it frightening, knowing that the two people who are meant to love you unconditionally would do anything to get rid of you, pay any price? At some point … they’ll give up on you completely.” If they were trying to get under each other’s skin, then Cassius could play ball. “I am making sure that doesn’t ever happen to me.” Cassius did not have the time to teach someone about evolution. “Humans … are not shrinking. In fact we have begun to grow - listen I don’t have the ability to sit here and reteach you evolution since you didn’t pay attention.” Whatever he wanted. Now that was a proposition he could be interested in. “And what if what I want is for you to leave me alone afterward?”

Though James actually liked half the things Cassius mentioned, he wasn’t about to agree with him, as petty as that was. Maybe he did also like exploring the city and going to various coffee shops and other places, Cassius didn’t need to know that too. “You know this just makes you sound like a recently retired old man?” he commented with an arched eyebrow. Cassius was right and after this class ended they probably never would see each other again, so James had to make the most of the time he had right now. He wasn’t really sure why he’d twisted the conversation to land on the topic of PARENTS considering he did anything he could to not think about his, yet no matter what, they always ended back at the forefront of his thoughts. “Frightening?” he scoffed, “I can’t fucking wait for the day they give up on me and finally realise that I’m never going to be what they want me to be. Sending me here is probably my final chance.” What was worse, was that he knew that even if he DID do well here, they would still find something to nitpick at. He’d quickly learned that as a child, and now as a young adult, he no longer saw the point in trying to impress people who never wanted to be proud of him. 

The idea of attending an event with James made him want to keel over and vomit. “I have plenty of fun in my own ways. Just because I don’t enjoy drinking until I black out like you do doesn’t mean I don’t have my own forms of entertainment.” They also both knew that Cassius looked like someone who knew the definition to every word, which was part of the problem so he didn’t mention it. “No, I have not been to a party. And before you ask as some sort of dig, I’ve been invited plenty, I just have chosen to not go.” In fact, some of the more talented individuals here seemed to take on drinking as a vice. Now that they were free they used their freedom to dull their senses. Cassius just was not the same. 

It seemed a frown would just permanently be on his face around James, not that he’d ever had any hope otherwise. “And I prefer red,” he muttered, clearly thinking of what it would be like to just slice open the other man’s throat and leave him for dead. “Of course they do, you wouldn’t know hard work if it hit you in the back of the head. When was the last time you even had to work for something you wanted?” A rhetorical question, but he felt it would get an answer anyway. “Where did you even get that information? It’s factually incorrect. Evolution caused human brains to triple in size. The modern human brain is the largest and most complex.” His jaw clenched as soon as the highlighter’s ink smudged over his nose and he reeled backward, attempting to put space between them. “Fine, I don’t need to get rid of you. I doubt after this class ends I’ll ever see you again anyhow. I’ll do the project alone, I don’t need your help.”

The thing was, James didn’t even know WHAT actually entertained him. The drinking didn’t entertain him and the people especially didn’t entertain him as everyone he spoke to was as empty as he was. He just prefered the feeling of drunkenness than sobriety and always had done, ever since he broke into his father’s fancy alcohol cupboard as a teenager. “What entertains you then, Wilkes?” he asked as he rested his chin in his hand and leaned uncomfortably closer to the other. Breaking other’s personal space was always one way to fuck with them that generally worked and he had a sneakily feeling that it would be particularly easy to get under this man’s skin. Not that he even knew why Cassius was such a particular target but there was just something about him that made James want to make him squirm. “Why not? Are you too scared to put yourself out there and go? Scared of rejection? Or that people are only inviting you as a joke? Or maybe you’ll arrive there and everyone will look at you like you don’t belong?” As he spoke, his voice got lower and his smirk got darker.

When the other man leaned over toward him, he already could feel the distaste boiling inside of him. Quietly, he watched people like James Potter make an absolute fool of themselves. Cassius very much doubted that James was here for actual learning, though he had hoped that by coming to a university he would find more like minded people. Instead he was stuck still with those who preferred going out to parties and wrecking their minds and organs just for a few moments of bliss that would eventually be forgotten with time. “Of course you are not going to work on the project, colour me surprised,” he rolled his eyes, making a disgusted face as his highlighter was used for coloring a nail. He had to keep note to throw it out later. “Why would I ever go to anything with you?”

When the highlighter ticked his notebook, Cassius balled up a fist then grabbed it before putting the lid back on and slamming it in front of James. “It is yours now, it won’t work the same now that you’ve destroyed it.” He frowned further at James’ statement, “I will tell the professor that you didn’t work on it at all. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure another zero on your record will only maybe get you kicked out.” He scoffed then began to shove things back into his bag. “Whatever you would contribute would probably only lend itself to be useless anyhow. I wonder, often, if you only got into this school on wealth alone considering your brain must be the size of a pea.”

If his parents ACTUALLY thought that throwing him into some shitty university would mean that he’d actually become the perfectly pruned child they wanted him to become, then they were more deluded than James realised. He knew this was also just a way of getting him out of sight so they didn’t have to think about their little problem child until he caused enough trouble for them to have to step in again. “Why would you go to anything with me? Perhaps because I know how to have fun and you look like you don’t even know the DEFINITION of that word?” Though a part of him was curious about what Cassius would be like at a party. He was probably a lightweight and would vomit after just a SNIFF of alcohol, though he was so stoic that he could tolerate heaps of it before even showing signs of inebriation. “Have you ever even been to a party since arriving here? It’s an integral part of student life, Wilkes. Work hard, party harder.” Not that James had any involvement in the working part -- all of his energy went straight into the booze and the drugs and the sex, the way it always had done. Being shipped off to university didn’t change that, much to his parents’ dismay. 

➵ @starredscars​ 

"Listen, I know we have that god awful project we have to do but I have other priorities to take care of tonight.” A cocky grin appeared on James’ face as he leaned over to Cassius’ side of the desk and stole a highlighter, flicking off the lid with his thumb and using it to colour in his nails as he spoke. “You’re more than welcome to come with me, but I don’t think it’s your . . .” He paused and then looked Cassius up and down before smirking, “. . . kind of scene. If you know what I mean.” 

James didn’t actually know MUCH about Cassius Wilkes from the few weeks they’d spent in this classroom together but he could just tell that he was not his kind of person. Maybe Cassius was attractive, if he tried, but other than that, James had zero interest in the man. He just seemed like the type of person who did all his assignments weeks before the deadline and had a precise bedtime of 9pm on the dot and probably enjoyed shit like early morning walks or sudoku. All the things that made James want to vomit. 

When he left that night and returned to his empty house with his cat, he found that he actually had a mission. He sat on the floor of his living room with a bottle of wine and opened up his phone. Not long after, he was searching for any sort of statement about Lukas Varga. He wanted to know everything about him. Where he was from, how long he had been in the industry, the artists he had worked with, anything that the internet could provide. Yet it was all so scarce, as if people barely knew he existed. And quite frankly, Alexander did not understand that at all. How could someone who looked like Lukas and possessed his talent not have a massive following online? Alexander eventually found his private Instagram, which he immediately requested a follow to, but outside of that it was almost as if Lukas were not a producer or writer at all. Which honestly infuriated him, because he just wanted to look at pictures of him and figure out his life. He began to write down his frustrations as lyrics and wound up at the piano, most of his wine bottle drained. He kept playing one of the melodies from Lukas’ notebook to the words, and before he knew it, he already had a sample idea. Part of him was angry with himself that it was about Lukas, after all they had just met, but he couldn’t pretend that he hadn’t been attracted to him no matter how brief their meeting had been.

The next day when he arrived, he was ever so slightly hungover, but ready to work. He came in with his music prepared, and yet as everyone worked together, he found that he didn’t want to show anyone other than Lukas. Everyone had finally left the room after a while, leaving the two of them alone again, and before Alexander could get his words out, the book was in his hands. “Really, you’ll let me?” He asked this, looking up at Lukas with shining eyes. “I actually … I have something for you too. That I wrote last night. It’s a really rough draft so I didn’t want to show anyone.” And for the moment, the song wasn’t for anyone else anyway. “But - I wanted to show you.” Then he opens up his phone and plays the sample for the other man. Once it is over he tries to hide the blush on his cheeks. He’d written songs for people before, but never this quickly.