True Intention

Ch 11- Carla zeroes in...

Naomi POV

I was beyond pissed that some random had tried to beat Ren into avoiding me. Seriously, what is wrong with people? Girls acting like they can force me away from him, and guys doing the same. Are they actually okay? Does the water need to be tested to make sure there's no contaminant causing people to go insane? I mean, I know this has always been a thing on some level, but I truly feel like I'm part of this tiny nucleus of sanity sometimes, while insanity rages around me. It simply does not make logical sense that interference will somehow make your crush more interested in you. Has it ever really worked since the days of finding people in "compromising positions" guaranteed marriage? I don't think so.

And yet, games of manipulation are a never-ending source of pain and inspiration. Pain for those that live it, sometimes turned into inspiration for fantastic works of "fiction." As an artist, I get it, but on a human level, the sheer amount of material that isn't fake should disturb anyone with a heart.

After I sat back down and focused on my food instead of staring at Ren, I realized Carla was within my line of sight. And then I saw the most awful thing I'd ever seen in my life. She was staring at Ren with adoration. Oh, no no no no no. This was not happening to me. This was worse than when, after what he did to me, Robert started dating Carla. I'd been worried about her until she started her vicious attacks and vitriolic rumors. Ren caught my expression and looked before I could stop him. s**t. The moment he saw her, and inevitably made brief eye contact (because he immediately looked back at me once their eyes met and he knew he'd f****d up), she was like dog with a juicy bone. She beelined straight for him, pushing random people out of her way to get to him. Ugh.

This girl was seriously one of the rudest, cruelest individuals I had ever met. If I was honest, she bothered me more than Robert ever did, and he'd had the balls to lay hands on me.

I popped my hood back up and faced the table, looking down. I did not need to get noticed, especially not when the guy she had just set her sights on was interested in me already. Our friends all looked up, eyes narrowed as Carla made her way over with fierce determination, wearing matching expressions of disgusted distaste.

"That's her, isn't it?" Heidi said, sounding like she just smelled rotten eggs. "The dreaded Carla?" I just nodded and they all groaned. We were all aware this was going to be ugly and unpleasant. She was everything that my new group of friends was not, and they knew it.

"God dammit! I looked at her." Soren bemoaned, running a hand through his hair, something I noticed he did when he was stressed out. Most of the time, he was as cool as a cucumber, but the action was a sure sign even he was on edge.

"Yeah, I bet she thinks you like her already." Enzo laughed out loud, snorting. The botch continued her approach, violently removing obstacles and ignoring pretty much everything else but the man she wanted. They all went silent, eyes watching carefully, when Carla walked up to Soren, smiling with what she considered to be her cutest expression. His hand clenched.

I suddenly realized that he wasn't one to really enjoy fake social s**t, either. The only people he really spoke to were the people already seated at this table. He wasn't one to smile and laugh with people he didn't care about personally. I'd go as far as to say that while he didn't hide like I did, he wasn't exactly a super social guy, either. Seemed pretty obvious that girls chased him regardless of what he wanted, and I understood that while the context was slightly different, we were often in a similar situation.

"Hiiii, I'm Carla. I haven't decided my major, buuuut I saw you looking at me from across the room and I was like, damn I better get to know this cutie." She said fatuously, and I cringed. Did this s**t actually work on normal males with functional brains? Yet again, I wondered if people in general were really okay. We all hear about crappy pick-up lines, but... wow.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't actually looking at you, just that general direction. Total accident." Soren announced bluntly and full of discourtesy. Good for him, the only language she actually hears is asshole. Everything else gets steamrolled. Even then, it was unlikely that she heard anything that she didn't want to.

You know, classic delusions of grandeur.

"Oh." She pouted, once again trying to look cute but managing barely awkward instead. "But come on, I'm the prettiest girl here, right?" She whined, her voice loud and grating as she ran a hot pink manicured finger up his arm. I couldn't help but be curious how she wiped her own ass with nails that long. It was something that had always bothered me when I saw it, because the reach around was kinda... risky already. Can't see what you're doing back there, after all.

"Actually no. You're not pretty, not to me. You are a dime a dozen. Maybe there are guys out there that like that, but I don't. What you are saying and doing, tons of girls before you have tried and failed. You know what else you have in common with them?" He asked contemptuously as her face contorted into a mask of pure rage once his words penetrated her thick skull. "You are making me want to vomit, just like all the rest too. Run along, little fly." He said icily, flicking his hand away in a shooing motion. Damn. He'd been so nice to me that I guess I didn't really notice how he treated others.

"You're an asshole!" She screeched angrily, then reached her hand out to grab something, anything, from the table to dump on or throw at Soren. It was then that Archer, who was sitting next to him, grabbed her wrist with just enough force to stop her and stood. His full height should have stopped Carla's mouth, but no, she's never been especially bright.

I truly suspect her grades were a result of bullying or paying people, not her own work or effort. Even then, whoever it was barely got her passing, and she seemed to think all C's were amazeballs. I remember her gloating and most people pretending to be thrilled for her.

"Listen, little girl. Very carefully. We." Archer pointed around the table when she went to open her dumb mouth yet again. "Don't take s**t from anyone. Especially you. Get your scrawny ass out of here." He intoned, menacing at six foot three. Soren grinned.

"Yeah, what my bestie here said. Stop disturbing our lunch." He shot at her. I'd never seen her face so red. We'd collected an audience. When Carla noticed that, she went all in, shrieking at the top of her lungs.

"How could you sleep with me and abandon me a week into school you heartless jerk!" She wailed at Soren. Soren didn't respond, his face a mask of calm disdain.

"You literally just walked over here to introduce yourself. We've never met you before, trash." Archer growled out loudly. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "On second thought, stay right here so I can have you dragged away by security." He said as he lifted the phone to his ear. "Hey Lou. Got a female student harassing Soren again, can you drop by and wrangle her?" He was silent for a moment. "Great, see you in two." Still grasping Carla's wrist, Archer grinned. "I'm so glad your dad runs security here." He said to Soren. Carla's eyes were huge.

She was not used to people calling her on her bullshit.

"I don't... you don't need to-" She started to stammer, suddenly backpedaling.

"We absolutely need to get security involved. You don't leave when asked. How do I know you're not going to do something even more underhanded than announcing bullshit in the lunchroom like you just did?" Soren stated, cold as ice.

"But I'm just a Freshman, a girl. How can you do this to me?" She began to fake cry, but there were no tears. Apparently, the audience she'd encouraged didn't believe her either because there were giggles. She stopped trying and stamped her foot. "I'm the best girl here though, you should want me! Ugh it's as if Naomi is here all over again. I should have just made sure that b***h died." She ranted, and Soren stiffened. "Robert could never stop talking about her the whole time we went out!"

I was in shock. Did she just say she wanted me dead? And Robert talked about me like we actually had something... romantic? What a load of s**t. The tension from my friends was not a good sign. Their eyes all went to me, and I shook my head slightly.

"Maybe we need to get the police involved if you think murder is in any way acceptable, girl." Lou, the security Archer had called, announced to Carla. Her head snapped to the guard.

"That's right, heard every word darlin'." He pulled out some cuffs. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. My suggestion? Come peacefully or you'll probably get expelled. And before you mouth off about that too, indeed, I can make that happen if I think you are a danger to anyone in this student body." He spoke firmly and calmly, taking over for Archer, leading the now truly sobbing b***h away.

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"Well, that's Carla, guys. You can see why I don't want her to notice I'm here." I giggled nervously.

"Even more reason why you can't be alone, Nao." Enzo said, more serious than I've ever seen him. "There is something absolutely not right about that chick."

"Ren, she is not going to just go away. She is going to hunt you down, and if she discovers I'm here and you're... you know..." I trailed off.

"That I like you?" He said boldly, making direct eye contact. I shivered at the passion staring back at me.

"Yeah, if she finds out about it, she will do everything she can to make us both suffer." I said. I wanted them to understand exactly what kind of person we are dealing with. She could not be reasoned with. He shrugged.

"All it means is you're getting fixed up with body cams like the rest of us." He insisted. "I am not giving you up, Nao, not as a friend and definitely not if I manage to get you to officially be my girl." He said, making me blush yet again.

My new friends all nodded their assent, making it clear that Carla was the one who was in the wrong, and they were not going to let her pull any tricks. It was great, until a girl in my next class came up to me and asked if I was the girl a new video on the student social media was talking about. She showed a video of the whole lunchtime fiasco.

"Your name... it's Naomi, right? Is she maybe talking about you?" She had asked curiously, tilting her head. There was something sinister in her expression as she stared at me.

"Just a coincidence." I said, as Soren watched her speak to me, his eyes narrowed in concern.

As much as I appreciated him, he really saw way too much.

I could not wait to get home and retreat.