Tristan caught up with Tara after class, grinning like there was no tomorrow. She saw him heading her way and had to suppress another eye roll.
"Now, now Tara, we'll be working together pretty closely, don't you think you should at least attempt civility?" Tristan laughed, spotting the less-than-thrilled expression on her face.
"Only for the sole reason that I won't let some pretty boy ruin my grade," Tara answered defiantly. "This is worth a quarter of our term mark and I'm not going to bomb it."
"Ah. So you care about your grades. Lucky for me." Tristan nodded.
"Please, please, tell me you are not one of those people who don't have much else behind their pretty faces?" Tara sighed.
"Are you asking if I'm stupid?" Tristan gasped in surprise. "You think I'm dumb?"
"No- I mean, I don't think you're," stammered Tara. "Tristan, my grades mean a lot to me and I just want to know if you'll help me out with this project or if it's just an excuse to force your company on me."
"Do I look stupid?" Tristan crossed his arms. "Or do you think that just because I have looks, I can't have brains, too?"
"Don't get so offended," she told him. "I didn't mean to insult you. All I'm saying is, if you bring down the first major project we have to do in senior year, I will make it a personal mission to kick your ass."
"Oh, threatening me now, are we?" Tristan raised his eyebrow.
"Stop playing around. Will you help me work on this project or not?" a hint of anxiety was in her voice which brought Tristan to finally give her an answer.
"Don't worry, I'm not brain dead, I'm not going to mess up your precious GPA." Tristan told her.
"I didn't think you were brain dead, you go to Chilton so you must have some intelligence. Well, either that or your parents are heinously rich." Tara said.
"That's about as close to a compliment as I'm ever going to get from you, isn't it?" Tristan shook his head. "Aw well, I think the next three weeks will be fun, partner. I'm sure you'll view me differently by the end of it."
"Cocky though you may be, I highly doubt that." Tara rolled her eyes. "Just because we have to work together does not mean we're in any way friends, nor does it mean that I have to enjoy it."
"You can act like you're being dragged into this kicking and screaming all you want but you know you're glad you're with me. Hey, if you hated me that much, you would've asked for a partner change." Tristan pointed out.
"I did." She replied with a snort. Not the answer Tristan was expecting. "I asked and she declined, saying that seeing as though I was new and all, getting partnered with the social butterfly in the school might do me good."
"You're really that repulsed?" Tristan frowned. "You've known me all of five minutes and you're already set that you despise me. That's not exactly fair."
"Don't talk to me about fair." Tara snapped. "It's people like you who stopped me from getting into Chilton until now. I was on the waiting list for two years because the rich kids with contacts get priority. Anyways, no matter what Ms. Wyrnell seems to be expecting, she's delusional. As if I'm going to spend a single moment with you outside of school."
"Right. You're new. You're not aware of Ms. Wyrnell's teaching style, are you? For any given partner or group project, she'll give you one class per week until it's due to talk it over with your partner and to make plans and get started but that's it. The rest you've got to do on your own time. She likes to encourage social interaction between classmates. So unless you really believe we'll be able to cram a three week project into three hours, you'll have to spend more than a moment with me outside of Chilton." Tristan informed her.
"I have to get to class." Tara said.
"All right, partner, but try to be more pleasant next time we see each other. Three weeks is a long time." Tristan answered smugly as she strode off.
Rory happened to be walking behind the pair and once Tara started walking off, she made her presence known. "Tristan, don't make her first month here hard."
Tristan turned around and took in a breath. Rory Gilmore. With her long chestnut hair and bright innocent eyes, she was quite pretty. She was also highly intelligent, confident, and a little on the shy side. The only other girl who seemed to have zero interest in him. Though she was a nice kisser…
"I wasn't planning to." He said.
"Really, if she's not interested stop irritating her about it." Rory told him.
"Having flashbacks of your own first year at Chilton?" Tristan grinned. "Or maybe you're a little jealous that I've set my sights on someone else?"
"Drop it, Tristan, honestly. As if I haven't seen you grope every female in this school. I'm with Dean and I've never been happier." Rory rolled her eyes.
"Still with bag boy?" he chuckled. "It's all good, Mary. Tara over there is even less keen then you were but I'm sure that'll change."
Rory gave him a look and shook her head, walking off to class as well. Tristan watched her go with a wistful look on his fine face. She was one of the only girls he truly cared for. Two brush-offs in one day... Tristan sighed and shook his head. He'd wasted so much time thinking about Rory Gilmore already... He would not waste another minute on her. She had never really cared about him; it was Rory who gave Tristan his first experience as being the rebound guy. Tristan had been pained when Rory chose Dean over him, and a part of him liked to pretend that she was delusional and questioned why the hell she would such a thing. Inside, though, he knew why she chose Dean. Dean was practical and loyal, stable and sweet. The model boyfriend. On the boring side, for sure, but perfect for Gilmore. Tristan was too flirty, too unpredictable, too out going. As time passed, Tristan had come to terms and actually embraced her decision. He wouldn't have been happy bound to Rory anyways. Added to that was the grudge Tristan was harbouring over the fact that he had just came back from military school after being gone for half of eleventh grade and aside from a short, awkward greeting on the first day of senior year, Rory hadn't spoken to him until now. On their first day back, Rory had seemed somewhat pleased to see him back and she had asked how he was doing, but Tristan would have been shocked if she hadn't. She was a nice person who was concerned for everyone. After seeing him together in one piece, she went back to ignoring him and this time around, Tristan let her. She thought that he was the same as he always was, everyone did. As if he could return from a few months in military school and come back unchanged. It was gruelling; his father had wanted to stamp out whatever rebellious streak Tristan had going on. In that respect, military school didn't change him, Tristan's rebellious side was too much a part of his character. He was still cocky and smooth but he was definitely not as reckless. Those stupid pranks he had pulled were a thing of the definite past. His father had made it very clear that if he did anything like that again, it'd be a full year at military school. It was something that quite frankly unsettled Tristan. He would not go back there, he couldn't.
Of course, no one knew what really happened at military school. No one noticed a change in Tristan Dugrey upon his reinstatement at Chilton. Tristan wouldn't allow it. He had a perfectly constructed reputation that he would never tarnish. He missed the carefree days of freshman year, the days where his aloofness wasn't an act. Now, though it was still there, a certain aspect of it was a mask. He wasn't as happy as he made himself out to be and he doubted he ever would be. A part of him was angry with his classmates for not seeing this. That was one of the reasons why the new girl, Tara, intrigued him. She hadn't known Tristan in his pre-military school days. She among his peers couldn't be blamed for not seeing a change in him, as she had nothing to compare it to. If only she would let him get to know her… All in good time, though. Three weeks together was a nice chunk of time and Tristan was confident that even if she still didn't like him by the end of it, they would at least know more about each other.
"Mr. Dugrey, you're late for class." A stern voice told him. Tristan shook away his brooding thoughts and flashed a smile before joining his classmates.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews :) And actually, Kimberly, I was planning to make it darker. It's not going to be straight fluff, there are secrets and such to the characters.