Chapter 4

Vegas Clairemont wasn't always the hot-blooded bastard everyone knew him to be but he'd slowly but surely grown into it. Being a Clairemont took guts and he realized he'd have to live up to the name sooner or later. 

He had it all, money, connections, attention, all with the snap of a finger. If there was one thing he badly strived to weld, it was control. Control gave access, it wasn't fleeting. He learnt that you truly had to be assertive to own the room. He just had to be in control.

“You wanna what?" Julian asked, raising his brows in astonishment, trying to search for any sign to prove that his best friend was apparently delirious this morning. “I said I want to know everything about this boy, what he does in his spare time, who he hangs out with, what he has for lunch, everything!" Vegas thundered exasperated. 

He'd told them about the boy earlier on the way to campus, since they'd taken his car for the day, being that both of his friends had been too lazy to drive. He personally loved driving himself to school, instead of the chauffeur and bodyguard his father tries to shove down his throat from time to time. 

He was determined to know who that boy from the club last night was and he knew just the person for the job; Aaron, one of his dad's secretary who'd been assigned to take care of him a couple of months ago. Something about that boy just ate at him and he didn't know why. 

During his first class, he kept scrolling on his phone, trying his hardest not to grab his things and leave. It was pathetic seeing a man in his fifties explain the same thing they'd gone over the previous semester. He didn't even bother taking notes since he had people doing that for him already. Sometimes he wondered what he really came here for when he was just going to inherit his father's company.

Then again, his father felt like he needed some discipline and to occupy himself for the time being. “Here’s your notes Vegas…I - uh” he looked up to see Hannah, the girl he'd had a little fling with for a couple of weeks. She took it upon herself to take down his notes for all the classes they had together. Although she was pretty loaded herself, she was yet another simp who couldn't resist his charms. 

Just then, his phone started to ring. He slid it to answer smoothly, taking the book from her hands and moved to the corridor. “Hey, what have you found out" he asked impatiently as his secretary hadn't yet said a word. “You were right sir, his name is Autumn Gene and he attends your school" he reported timidly.

“Tell me something I don't know" he said, rolling his eyes like it could be seen on the other end. “Right.. he's a scholarship student, lives on campus, his mom has a fruit stall in town” he rushed, seemingly agitated on his end.

It was dead silent on the other hand which only added to his terrified disposition. It took a good four minutes before he got a response. " That's so vague Aaron, anyone could come up with that. Are you tired of your job already” he remarked which earned an intelligible response from Aaron. 

“Sir, I promise I'm on it. This is a bit tough. His records seem to have been wiped pretty clean but I'll have everything by tomorrow.." he screeched. “Fine, you'll have it by this evening, no mistakes, in the meantime, send what you've got along with a clear picture of him” he cruelly spoke into the phone before pressing the end button.

In less than a minute, his phone pinged and he swiped to see the face of the boy in question along with a few details. ‘Architecture huh' he murmured to himself 

as he ran a hand on the picture shown on the screen. At the mole he hadn't noticed the night before, golden brown eyes, plump lips and a mop of bleached blond hair, he could tell from the obvious dark roots. 

A dark smile settled on his face as he thought about how fun it would be to mess with this boy. He was obviously helpless and wouldn't be able to escape him. He remembered how the girl from earlier had pulled him away, setting in a weird feeling like he had let something escape, something he was determined to possess wholly. 

He thought of a plan to go about this. He could probably have him cornered but… he was pulled by a greater desire to approach him subtly, to find out more about someone who seemed to be invisible, to watch.

“Clairemont", he heard from behind him. He turned around to see Remmy walking towards him from behind a couple of girls who seemed to be snickering about something or pretended to be as they stole glances at him.

“We have a match today, remember?" he said with an intense look on his face. He checked his phone to see that it was already noon. “We’re getting some food at Alvin's cafe before the match by 2. You coming bro?” "Sure", he said in a non committal tone, like he'd been in some sort of daze. “Let's go." 

They got to the cafe in a few given the close proximity it had to their campus. The sign ‘Simon’s Cafe' was boldly stated on the front window. The cafe buzzed with chatter as people sat at their tables, having conversations with friends. At a table close by, a couple of guys talked about something they'd seen online, with one of them annoyingly banging on their table. The weather was blazing hot which was contained by the AC which was on full blast. Vegas and his friends sat at a table at the centre of the cafe, close to a window. Their usual spot which was always reserved for them.

Julian waved a hand, signaling a worker to their table. “The usual", he announced which was acknowledged with a nod before the guy turned to leave. They were special and given the fact that they usually came to this place, they'd ingrained their orders to the point it was practically prepared, waiting for them.

“So how's the dig going?" Julian's eyes sparkled with excitement.