Treacherous (4 page)

“
Two times in one day.
I really mustn’t start making a habit of this,” he
joked.

I stepped back. It
was the guy who had knocked into me earlier this morning, making me
fall on my butt and lose my phone, the new guy in class, a Mr
Wright, was it?.

“
Or maybe it was
intentional,” I smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. I hugged my
coat and scarf tighter around my body, and continued down the
ramp.

“
Hey, I have your
phone.” He called out. I stopped and turned back. The stranger was
standing a few metres away and coming closer. “You dropped it when
I knocked you over earlier. Again, I’m sorry about that. I’m
Nathan, by the way.”

I looked Nathan
Wright up and down. He was dressed smartly in a black military
coat. Army green gloves covered his hands, which were shoved into
his pockets, and a dark grey scarf surrounded his neck. When he got
close enough to touch me, he pulled a hand out of one of his
pockets and held out my phone. I sighed and decided he was only
trying to be nice by returning my phone.

“
Thanks. So… you’re
new here, huh?” I almost stuttered. Gosh, he was handsome. I
couldn’t decide who was hotter, Frankie or Nathan.

“
Yeah. I got here
early this morning,” he told me.

“
Good thing it’s the
start of the semester.”

“
Yeah.” His eyes took
me in. He was smiling at me in a peculiar way. It made my heart
work overtime. “So you didn’t tell me your name,” he added after a
minute.

“
I’m Charli.” I began
looking around awkwardly.

“
Looking for your
boyfriend?”

“
What? Oh, he’s not my
boyfriend. I should be going.” I turned to leave.

“
Will I see you at the
Roundhouse tonight?”

I spun back around. “I thought you were
new? How do you know about the Roundhouse? And that there’s a
concert on tonight?” I narrowed my eyes, unsure what he was getting
at.

Nathan shrugged. “I’m a local. The
Roundhouse is one of the best concert venues in Sydney. So, will I
see you there?”

I looked at my phone. I had to see if
Mia was going. I didn’t go anywhere without my best friend. “Sure.
But it’s a ticketed event. I don’t have one.”

“
No worries. I have a
few.”

“
Great.” I returned a
small warm smile before leaving.

As I walked to my
English Lit class, I smiled to myself. What was the chance of two
guys in one day asking me out? If Frankie’s weird behaviour was
actually an invitation. I shook my head. Of course it was. He was
playing games with me. And what about Nathan? He was so open. He
was the total opposite of Frankie. He seemed genuine enough that I
couldn’t help but feel my walls falling down. Two guys in one day?
Yeah, my life definitely was changing.

* * * *

When I reached the corridor outside my
dorm, I found Mia lounging against the wall beside my door.

“’
Bout time you
returned,” she said lazily.

“
Mia! Where have you
been? I’ve been trying to call you.”

“
Yeah… I was busy,”
she said, fidgeting with her phone.

“
Well, are you busy
tonight? There’s a concert.”

A grin spread across
her face as she squealed. “I’m so in! It’s about time you started
living up to your plan. Plan Rebellion, remember?”

“
Yeah, yeah. Come on.
You have to help me pick an outfit before tonight.”

“
I knew you’d need my
expertise one day.” I playfully shoved her as we entered my room.
“Have you talked to that guy lately?” asked Mia as she made her way
to my closet.

“
What guy?”

“
That guy I introduced
you to in the chat room.”

“
Oh, yeah. I
have.”

“
And? Come on, girl. I
am your best friend, and I expect details. So spill.”

“
Well… we had coffee
this morning.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh
My God! See, you
don’t
need my help.”

“
I never said I did,
Mi.”

“
Yeah, sure. But this
is terrific. It means you’ve put your plan into action. What’s he
like?”

“
If I were to describe
him in three words… tall, dark, and mysterious.”

“
Mm… Sounds hot. Is he
coming to the show tonight?”

“
Umm, not sure,
probably. Unless he’s a bookworm and doesn’t party.”

“
Hmm… Sounds
familiar.”

I sat on the bed and
threw a cushion at her. She ducked, and it missed her head, landing
inside the closet.

“
Then, we’re perfect
for each other, right? Your matchmaking worked,” I asked,
hopeful.

She turned and smirked at me. “It
always does.”

Chapter
Seven

Nathan

“
What have you got for
us, Nathan?”

I glanced around to make sure no one
could hear. “I met Charlotte. She calls herself Charli.”

“
I know. And good.”
Tension seemed to lift from my shoulders. Mrs Jayne sounded like
she approved, which was a good step forward. “What else? Did you
connect?”

“
If by connect, you
mean asking her out, then yeah.”

“
Very well done,
Officer Wright. Keep playing the game. She will soon
fall.”

The conversation ended after that, so I
didn’t get to ask about what she meant by ‘she will soon fall.” Was
she implying that Charli was easily persuaded? If that was the
case, then Mrs Jayne didn’t know her daughter very well. I glanced
at my watch. 5.30pm. It was almost time. I decided to head back to
my room to wait until show time.

Charli

“
Charlz, hurry up! Get
your butt movin’.” I heard Mia yell from the other side of the
bathroom door. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror as I ran my
fingers through my bangs one last time. Perfectly straight. Good.
My hair was such a pain to style sometimes being dead straight. But
luckily, tonight it was behaving. Everything was on my side, except
time. I checked my watch.

“
Shit.” I grabbed my
makeup bag, checked my wristbands one last time, and yanked the
bathroom door open, almost colliding with Mia on the other
side.

“
Whoa! Schmexy!” she
said with an added wolf whistle.

“
Shut up. Lookin’ this hot doesn’t happen over night.” I
joked. I often over compensated with sarcasm because I was
uncomfortable with who I was. That was my theory, anyway. My outfit
consisted of a plain black tank top, black metallic jeggings, and
black high-heeled boots, which came up to my knees. I didn’t
look
that
hot. Even with the added touch of red
lipstick.

“
That’s not what those
two boys thought earlier. The one’s you’re planning to meet up with
tonight?”

I turned to glare at her.

“
How
did you know there were
two
guys?”

“
Oh, puh-lease! I see
everything.” I rolled my eyes at her and finished packing my
essentials for tonight. “You’ve got a problem on your hands, you
know that, right? You can’t have two.”

“
What? You’re not
jealous, are you?”

“
No! No way.” She
replied lightly. I wasn’t convinced. She was beginning to act a
little weird.

“
Whatever. Let’s go.”
I checked my phone as I grabbed my leather jacket, and I
immediately wanted to die.

“
Oh My God! The
jerk!”

“
What?” Mia asked as
she closed the door behind us.

“
Uh…
when I bumped into Nathan yesterday, the guy who has the tickets,
I
literally
bumped into him. Well, he bumped
into me.” I was rambling. I always did it when I was
nervous.

“
Ooh! And…”

“
When he knocked me to
the ground, I dropped my phone. I didn’t even realise I had lost
it, but Nathan found it. While it was in his possession, the sneaky
jerk put his number inside.”

“
Sneaky… and
smart.”

“
Yeah. He just sent me
a text saying he’s at the venue and waiting for us.”

“
What about
Frankie?”

I looked at her for a
second and felt a pang inside my chest. I felt bad for Frankie, but
the guy had left me no choice. And I didn’t have his number. I
shrugged. “Nathan asked first.”

Charli

When we arrived at
the Roundhouse, we found Nathan straight away. He smiled as we
approached, and I smiled back.

“
Hey, where’s your
other friend?” he asked.

“
What other
friend?”

“
The guy you were with
in Social Studies. I thought he would be coming with
you.”

“
Oh, when I said he
was a friend, I meant he wasn’t exactly a friend. He’s just a
guy.”

“
Yeah, she has a very
complicated love life,” added Mia. Oh My God, could she be any more
embarrassing? I wanted a black hole to open up right then and
swallow me. She was totally ruining my chances with the gorgeous
guy standing in front of us.

“
I see. Well, should
we go inside? I have your tickets.”

“
Sure.” I glared at
Mia and she shrugged. We followed Nathan through the door into the
darkness.

* * * *

The Roundhouse was
already pretty packed with mingling concertgoers by the time we
arrived. I was surprised Frankie hadn’t made an appearance
yet.

“
Do you girls want a
drink?” Nathan practically had to yell into my ear to be heard. I
jumped and shuddered at his sudden proximity.

“
Yes, please! Such a
gentleman,” said Mia. “Rum and coke for me!” Nathan nodded and then
looked at me.

“
And, for
you?”

“
Um… I’ll just have a
gin and tonic, please. Thanks, Nathan.”

“
No worries. Just wait
here so I can find you again. I’ll be back soon.”

“
Okay.”

As soon as Nathan was
gone, the vultures descended.

“
He’s so hot!” Mia
exclaimed loudly.

“
Ssh! Mia, keep your
voice down,” I said, looking around for Nathan, but he was at the
bar.

“
Who’s hot?” Said
another voice from behind me. I was about to ask him how he had
managed to get our drinks so quickly, but when I turned I saw it
wasn’t Nathan. My heart just about leaped out of my
chest.

“
Frankie. What are you
doing here?”

“
I couldn’t miss a
chance to come and mingle with you.” I resisted the urge to roll my
eyes this time. I looked to Mia, but she was no longer there. Where
had she gone?

“
Want to dance?” Was
it just me or had he moved closer to me?

“
No. I can’t dance.
Plus I’m waiting for my friend.”

“
Your bodyguard? Don’t
worry, he’s busy.”

I glanced over
towards the bar, and I saw Mia very noticeably flirting with
Nathan. The bitch! I couldn’t believe her! Frustrated, I turned
back towards Frankie, and my chest brushed against his. He was
standing so close. But I didn’t mind it. If this was part of my
plan, I had to go along with the ride.

“
Oh, what the hell.
Let’s dance,” I said. Plan Rebellion, Plan Rebellion, I kept
repeating in my head. Frankie smiled and took my hand, leading me
into the thick of the mosh pit.

* * * *

It was hot inside the
mosh pit, and not just from all the body heat. Being with Frankie,
it did something to me. He pulled me closer to him, still holding
my hand. My breasts brushed up against his chest once again, and I
felt his hand hover above my butt on my hip. I shivered.

“
Are you cold?” His
voice was low and hot against my ear. I felt him rocking me gently
from side to side to the rhythm of the music playing through the
speakers. The band hadn’t appeared yet. This was just the prelude
music to get everyone in the mood.

“
No, I’m… I’m fine.” I
looked up at him. He made me so nervous it was hard to relax. Then
I heard his chest shake. I realised he was laughing.

“
Are you
nervous?”

“
No! I mean… a
little,” I confessed.

“
You don’t need to be
nervous, Charli.”

“
I hardly know you,
Frankie. And I’ve never really had a boyfriend before, or even been
on a real date.” I didn’t want to tell him I was still a virgin,
but it was probably written all over my face like a bright neon
sign.

“
It’s okay. I’ve never
really had a girlfriend before.” He smiled down at me and then he
was touching my cheek, and my hair. I smiled back and settled
against his chest. Then I heard what I thought sounded like
thunder, but really, it was the sound of the crowd screaming and
the stamping of feet. With my petite frame, I couldn’t see over the
sea of heads, but I could see what was on the stage. The band had
arrived. I looked around for Mia and Nathan but couldn’t see them.
I glanced at Frankie, and he smiled at me then looked up at the
stage. I stood beside him, hoping my uneasiness would fade into the
music.