Ricardo Slim-Helú's Story

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
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ccccccccccccccccc3:00 PM

The Saint Jude's school uniform never usually bothered Clifford. It was simple and classy enough, even if the options for each day's attire was limited to a few different styles of clothing that the school provided the students with. However, today Cliff felt oddly overheated and had to hang his navy blazer on the back of his chair. He wasn't overheating because of the room's temperature, as that was probably normal, and it also wasn't out of nerves. Today's weekly Student Government Association was being held in the Saint Jude's library conference room. Since classes had only gotten out minutes ago, Clifford wasn't surprised that he was the only one in the conference room, especially considering that the girls had to come from their campus across the street. He and Charlotte were the President of their school's student governments, but since the two schools worked so closely together, Clifford often felt like they were simply co-presidents of one club, rather than two separate ones working together. Sure, he hosted his own SGA meeting for St. Jude's separately once a week, but as he was sure on her end too, the biggest crowds usually came to the conjoined meetings. Events involving both schools tended to grab the attention of more students than the single-sex events, and Clifford didn't expect today to be much of an exception.

Today's meeting was a bit of an impromptu one, as earlier this week, it had been announced that the scheduled senior fall trip to Egypt had been cancelled due to proper accommodation issues. However plausible that that explanation was, he also wouldn't have been surprised if the abrupt, last minute cancellation had been because someone uppity helicopter parent had complained enough about irrational safety concerns about traveling to a country that didn't host one of the famous fashion weeks. That thought in itself bothered Clifford, considering that he had genuinely been looking forward to his first visit to Africa. In an attempt to not work himself up, he decided to just believe the public reason for the trip's cancellation, and focus on the three new options that administrators had given them until tomorrow to decide on. That was the point of this SGA meeting - to decide whether the senior class would spend a week next month in Paris, Berlin or New Zealand. The first two trips would be educationally based ones, focusing on learning about the history and cultures of the two European cities, while the third option would be more service based, getting students involved in learning about the country's ecosystem and helping to preserve it. Clifford had been to Paris years ago, but it wasn't a fresh enough experience where he wanted to rule it out, so he was walking into today's meeting with a pretty open mind. He would see what Charlotte and the other students who showed up were thinking, and go from there.

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
Hex Code: #FF8C00
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ccccccccccccccccc"What's wrong with wanting a girl with more than a nice ass? I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't blame you guys for some of your conquests, but I'm not really into that scene. I guess I just like knowing who I'm getting into bed with. Knowing what I'm getting myself into. I don't really have a type, in a physical sense, I don't think. I'm just attracted by girls who know what they want, or at least, know who they are." Maybe it was the lame and cheesy answer, especially coming from someone his age, but Cliff was mature enough to not care about. He was being honest. He could have lied and said he was into blondes or girls with a nice rack, just to appease the boys (or at least Vincent), but he wasn't that kind of person. He could take the playful taunts from Vincent and Rick. It didn't bother him that much, mostly because he felt like his answer was actually the respectable one to give. He wasn't ashamed about having morals. Besides, if he was forced to delve deeper on the subject, he was sure he could get respect for who happened to fall into that category of his tastes.

The two main ones at the moment were Sydney and Alexandra, but both of those crushes came with their own issues. With Sydney, Cliff knew, point blank, that he was not good enough for her. Sydneys standards were high - very high, and he knew without even really trying, that he held a permanent spot in her friend zone. Alexandra was the crush that he felt like he had more of a chance with, but that wasn't saying that he ever thought she would be an easy girl to wow. Alex was her own kind of powerful and strong and motivated, and that wasn't even mentioning the two bigger obstacles he would face. The first was the most obvious one; she was one of his best friend's exes. The second, was one that he had not told anyone, and was that he had actually asked Sydney to help set him up with Alex, and Sydney had lied (which he was still unaware of) and said that Alex had no interest him in that respect. Clifford was still crushing on her, but he wasn't like Vincent and Rick where he would chase a girl to the end of the earth, even after being told they weren't interested. He just assumed it wasn't meant to be, and put the thought to rest for the time being. "If this helps at all, I think I'll probably end up asking Charlotte to prom once that season rolls around. Not sure if she'd even say yes, but I guess girls like her, but versions of her that would actually be willing to give me some ass, are my type," he said, smirking some now. Yeah, he liked to think he had more morals than the other boys, but he still had needs.

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
Hex Code: #FF8C00
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cccccccccccccccccClifford was surprised when Alexandra's name was brought into the conversation by Ricardo, and he was even more surprised when Vincent actually seemed to advocate for him pursuing her too. The surprise about Vincent's role was pretty expected, given that Cliff definitely didn't think that Vincent would be okay, nonetheless support, the idea of one of his friends going after the girl he had seriously dated. Hearing her name at all, was surprising in itself, though, because Clifford figured that it was common knowledge that she was out of his league, just like Sydney was. That was the way that Sydney made it seem, at least.

"Actually, I already know that I'm not her type. Don't kill me for this, man," he said, looking to Vincent with that comment, "But last year I kind of had a thing for her. I asked Sydney to ask her to feel Alex out on it, for me, because I wasn't going to make it a big deal and make a move or ask you about it until I knew that I had a chance, but she basically said she only saw me as a friend when Sydney asked, so... yeah. I think I'll leave that one where it is," he said, smiling only to signal that his rejection story wasn't being told for pity or to make things awkward. It was definitely a bit embarrassing, as rejection always was, but there wasn't any brutal sting attached to it. He appreciated Alex's honesty (or what he thought to be Alex's honesty), and he was moving on. That didn't mean that he didn't find Alex to be attractive in a million different ways, but as one would imagine, he was no longer realistically seeing her as a possibility. "If I'm never going to hear the end of it for asking Charlotte, though, maybe I'll ask Kat," he reasoned, as they sat down in the restaurant. He thanked the hostess for seating them, before turning his attention to the menu, though he was still mulling over Ricardo's words. He was right that Sydney would eat him alive. Clifford thought of Sydney as being a close friend, but even then, he knew that she was way out of his league. She was way out of 99.9% of the population's league, really. He was surprised that Rick thought he stood a chance with Alex, but he figured that if he thought he stood a chance there, Kat was a safe option. It wasn't like she was any easier to obtain than Alex, because she sat way up on the top of the social ladder as well, but she didn't share that "eat you alive" trait that Sydney, and even Alex, seemed to have. "Have either of you tried the Big Kahuna burger? I've never had pineapples on a burger, but maybe I'll try it," he said, attempting to thoroughly distract himself with the menu now.

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Alex's Party
Hex Code: #FF8C00
Outfit: Outfit, Vest, Temporary Tattoo
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cccccccccccccccccClifford wouldn't have bet against Vincent's guess on where Ricardo was and what he was doing, but even if he wanted to, Sydney came over before he could counter the idea. As always, she looked absolutely stunning. There wasn't a single thing out of place with her outfit, and as one could only expect, she pulled off her look flawlessly. That was the thing with Sydney, though. She could have showed up dressed like a garbage can, and somehow, she still would have looked classier, prettier, and just overall more desirable than 99% of the other girls in the room. But she's out of your league, remember that, his mind reiterated, when he caught his eyes staring just a little bit too intently at her barely clothed chest. "Thanks, Syd," he chuckled, as she expressed her approval of his outfit. It was juvenile, but Clifford was sure that any guy, and even girl, who grew up around Sydney would attest to the fact that her approval somehow did make you feel better. Even if you were like Clifford, and liked to think that you controlled your mind fully and weren't susceptible to superficial influences. When she pointed her gun, which he honestly couldn't tell whether it was real or fake, towards Vincent, her words had him smirking, and yet subconsciously, nodding along too. They didn't need drama tonight, and Cliff only wished that Ricardo was here to receive that same little warning.

Clifford found himself stifling back a laugh when Katherine and Thylane joined their trio, and Katherine made it more than clear that she absolutely detested Vincent. He was somewhat aware of this before now, but he had always assumed that Vincent had made peace with Alex's friends to an extent where they could be civil. It wasn't like Katherine and Vincent had never been forced into the same circle since the breakup happened, so part of Clifford suspected that maybe Katherine had some alcohol in her system already, but then again, you never knew with Katherine. She was full of life, and he couldn't put speaking her mind in a way that made someone uncomfortable past her. It was only really funny to Clifford because Vincent was the kind of guy who always acted like he was the most well-liked person in the room (especially in terms of girls' opinions). He could walk over to just about anyone and get a warm greeting from them, so watching him be put in his place, so to speak, by Katherine, deserved a laugh. Her presence brought on a little bit of a mini-group within their group, as she and Sydney seemed to delve into their own one-on-one conversation, and Clifford was on the verge of attempting to strike up a conversation with Thylane (even though she had always seemed a bit cold towards him), when Ricardo made his debut.

Nighthawk. It was a fitting costume for the boy, and Cliff watched intently as he slid an arm around Katherine's shoulder, before Sydney and Katherine seemed to welcome him into the conversation. It was only then, and maybe a few seconds before as Sydney acknowledged Katherine's costume too, that Clifford realized what she was. He would never admit it because he was sure that the boys would ridicule him for not realizing it immediately, but Sydney had stated clearly that apparently, Kat was a dominatrix. Initially, Clifford had honestly just assumed that she was dressed as a goth girl, or something to that degree. This was definitely... unique... to say the least, and for some reason, it had him wanting to laugh again at this version of Katherine's boldness. He didn't dislike it, it was just surprising; amusing, even. "Kat's right, she is a perfect perfectionist, so whatever she's wearing, black or not, you know we're about to be in for something really cool," Cliff added in, only saying so after he reminded himself that it had been Vincent who had agreed that he should consider pursuing Alex harder.

Outfit: Here

Hex Code: #000080

Location: Alexandra's Long Island Residence
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"That makes more sense. So Kat dressing like this came right out of one of your wildest fantasies," Sydney had said, and maybe it was dramatic, but the words felt like a punch in the stomach to Thylane. She hated overthinking, but at that, she couldn't help but to think that somehow, Sydney knew. She knew that she had an inappropriate crush on her friend, who was completely straight (as far as she knew), and given Thylane's relationship with Sydney, Sydney was the last person in the world that she would ever want to know (or possibly know) about that. When Thylane first moved to New York and transferred to Constance Billard, she was in an off stage in her life mentally and emotionally, so her guard was definitely up. She did her best to remain as under the radar as possible, and that was why, before she met Katherine, she felt indifferent towards Sydney Persson. She heard things about her that made her seem intimidating, and yet alluring at the same time, but Thylane didn't want anything to do with the spotlight at that point. It was when she began to get closer with Katherine that she learned things about Sydney that made her seem less like a good person, and more like a bully. Katherine seemed to be enthralled by Sydney to an extent that to this day, Thylane still couldn't understand. In Sydney's defense, a lot of that had to do with how Katherine loved to vent to Thylane about the issues within their friend group, so she heard a lot more of the negatives than the positives.

In all honesty, the first time that Thylane had actually ever interacted with Sydney in a respect that was personally offensive and impression-damaging was this past summer. In the wake of feeling guilty over finances, Thylane had very reluctantly offered a small photoshoot gig with H&M. It wasn't anything big, just a few features in their catalog and website, but regardless, the six hour shoot was still grueling for her, simply because she was no longer comfortable with people looking at her. She didn't like her photo being taken; being postured and commanded to do things while everyone stared at her. It would have been bad enough if that had been all that the shoot entailed, but leave it to Thylane's luck to allow Sydney to be there. It wasn't that random, given that Sydney's father was the CEO of H&M and she modeled for the brand as well, but it was safe to say that if Thylane had realized any of that beforehand, there was no way that she would have agreed to participate in it. She gladly would have taken up a job working at an H&M store, instead. The atmosphere of having Sydney watching her doing something she already felt uncomfortable doing, would have been bad enough in itself, but when Thylane overheard Sydney make a comment to someone about how Thylane was "good enough" for catalog ads but there was "no way she would ever make it on the runway", she wanted nothing more than to walk out then and there. Thylane was not the type of person who translated her frustration and anger into wanting to come at Sydney. For her, she just never wanted to see her, or hear about her, or deal with her again. However, she was too good of a friend to tell Katherine not to bring her name up anymore, so she just did her best to avoid her otherwise. She chose seats on the opposite side of the classroom when they shared classes, she rejected invitations from Katherine when she knew the blonde would be involved, and she turned down different hallways if she saw the blonde headed her way. If Katherine had not had a hand around her arm, it was likely that Thylane would have excused herself before Sydney could even say those words that made her stomach drop.

Alexandra's entrance began just after that, and Thylane hoped that that was enough of a distraction for everyone, where her face turning ten shades paler wasn't noticeable. "I'll be back in a minute," she said to Katherine as the music changed over, to really draw everyone's attention to the scene that was about to unfold, and with just how hyped up things quickly got, Thylane wouldn't have been surprised if Katherine and everyone else didn't even notice that she was gone. Although she was interested in seeing just how extravagant Alex could be in her entrance, Thylane had to get away from that group, and that led her to finding the bathroom to collect herself in. While she took a few minutes in there to convince herself that she didn't need to go home over one stupid comment from Sydney, she texted Cassidy and Brent.

To: Cassidy, Brent
Where are you guys?

K A T H E R I N E - A R N A U L T

Outfit: x, x
Hex Color: #CF009F
Katherine did not have enough time in between Sydney and Ricardo's exchange, and the start of Alex's entrance, to comment on the former, but if she had, it definitely would have warranted a reaction out of her. Kat had always seen Sydney and Rick as being similar. Most people could probably attest to that, given that even in just very obvious and social ways, Sydney and Rick shared the similarity of possessing power. Beyond that though, Katherine could name a few other commonalities between them. She and Ricardo were not particularly close, but they had known each other for long enough, that running in the same social group meant that they knew each other well enough, and Kat liked him. He was fun and entertaining and charming, and especially given his compliment to her tonight, it was easy for her to think of him as a friend. He was just a friend to Alex and Sydney as well, as far as Katherine knew, which was why Sydney flirting with him in such a blatant manner was surprising. Kat wasn't opposed to it, per se, especially in her mood right now, but it caught her by surprise, and that was probably because after all of these years of knowing Sydney, Kat still felt like the blonde was reserved... secretive, even, when it came towards relationships and flirting and all of that. Sydney was the receiver of flirtation nonstop, but Kat rarely witnessed her reciprocate such a think, nonetheless actually initiate it. She had to admit, though, that if she could imagine Sydney doing it with anyone, Ricardo was the only one who seemed even close to being worthy of such a feat. At the very least, Katherine was happy that it wasn't Vincent, who for no specific reason, received a sharp glare from Kat as her eyes passed over him, while they focused in on the belly dancers making their entrance.

If she hadn't been wearing such high platform heels, she literally would have been jumping up and down in excitement, glee, and appraisal, by the time that Alexandra's entrance had concluded. Belly dancers, fire, fangs and all, Alex never failed to put on a show and be the perfect perfectionist that Katherine would label her to be, any day of the week. All of the extra-ness made it extravagant, but Katherine was even more in awe of how flawless her friend looked. Between the costume, and just how naturally beautiful Alex was, Kat felt the first wave of insecurity that she had felt since drinking her fears away earlier in the day. Before the little show was even over, Katherine had drifted away from their group ever so slightly, just so that once the performance really was over, she could be the first to embrace Alex in the tightest of bear hugs. “If I didn’t love you enough to care about not messing up your makeup, I would literally make out with you right now. I’m so in love with you and this party,” she said, finally releasing Alex from her squeeze, but maintaining a solid grasp on one of her hands. Katherine was already in a good mood upon arriving to the party, but an entrance like that, one that was such a crowd pleaser, only upped her excitement for the evening. Katherine was an emotional person, and just as it was easy to upset her, it was easy to enchant her as well, and Alex definitely had her in the partying mood now. "Let's do shots!" she suggested, because... well, when were shots a bad idea? "I would say we should be nice and do them with the rest of our friends," she began, nodding to where the others stood, just a few feet away, "But I don't want you anywhere near the devil in plaid," she continued, making reference to Vincent. "No matter how much you drink tonight, you promise you won't do anything with him, right?" Her puppy eyes came out momentarily, only to be replaced by a smile with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Because I don't care if this is your party or not. I will have no problem tying you down to a bed upstairs and leaving you to think about betraying me, with a few painful reminders on why you should never do that again," she warned, though she couldn't keep herself from giggling as she toyed with the whip that in her hand.

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Alex's Party
Hex Code: #FF8C00
Outfit: Outfit, Vest, Temporary Tattoo
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cccccccccccccccccCliff nodded when Ricky commented on how this should be interesting. It was what Clifford was thinking too, because with Alexandra, things were always interesting. She was so talented in that sense. She knew how to captivate an audience, be it in her social life on a more intimate level, or with something that was meant to be public, like this party. As the soundtrack switched over, all he could do was keep his eyes glued on what was playing out in front of him. At the end, Rick's comment about how she didn't burn herself seemed to fall on deaf ears on Cliff's end, and if he were a cartoon character at that very moment, his jaw would have been hanging agape so far that it probably would have been touching the floor. Maybe that was a bit dramatic, but still, Clifford was impressed. He wasn't just impressed with the performance, and how cool it was that Alex seemed to know how to dance so well to such a specific style of dance, but also in her costume and how intricate it seemed, and just simply how great she looked. Alex always looked great. Her whole friend group was like that, really, where they could wear anything and still look flawless, but right now, when Alex was all made up and decked out in this costume, she looked really good. So much so, that Cliff was already reassuring himself that he had gotten not only Ricardo's approval and insistence that he try and make a move on Alex, but Vincent's approval as well. It was the latter that really mattered, morally speaking, but Rick was also a big enough influence that his word meant something too. Though Ricardo could definitely be an asshole at times, Clifford didn't think he would steer him towards a girl who he had absolutely no shot with at all.

"That was amazing," he found himself saying aloud, in a tone that expressed how in awe he really was. He had barely noticed Charlotte's arrival in the midst of it all, and he certainly had not noticed Thylane leaving, but as the party seemed to resume from where it had left off, he processed Charlotte's arrival more thoroughly, because that warranted a reaction of it own. She looked amazing herself, and Clifford couldn't help but to smile at the fact that Charlotte was clearly stepping out of her comfort zone with this look. "Hey Lottie. Nice costume, you look great," he smiled, though even she couldn't keep his attention for long, as Clifford found himself glancing back at Alex, who was now talking with Katherine. I what was probably a tiny step for most people, but a giant leap for him, he found himself walking over to the duo then. "That was awesome, Alex. I don't think anyone was expecting anything as cool as that," he said, upon arrival. "And that outfit is sick. Did you design it yourself?"

Vincent’s attention was completely captivated by Alex when she entered the room, and unlike Clifford, it took him a little bit longer to process what an entrance that was, before he was even thinking about going over to her. By the time that Cliff had beat him to that, he caught the excitement he had for the night draining from his mood very quickly, and he explicitly avoiding meeting the glances that he could tell Ricardo was shooting in his direction. He pretended to be interested in Charlotte’s costume when she came over, and maintained a distracted smile on his face to feign involvement, albeit distant, in the conversation between her, Ricky and Sydney, but really, they were the last thing that he was focusing on. He wouldn’t dare to look back at Clifford and Katherine and Alex, because he knew that he wasn’t going to like whatever he saw, and suddenly, he hated himself for having to play it cool the other day and pretend that he was okay with Cliff pursuing Alex. He should have shut that down immediately, and told Ricardo to fuck off with whatever else he had to say about it. But he couldn’t—he didn’t, because as always, Vincent struggled with the perception that others had of him. He held on to his image too tightly for his own good, and once again, it was coming back to bite him in the ass. “Sydney, can I steal you from these two for a moment?” he asked, looking only to her, because he knew that if he gave Ricardo even a second to open his big mouth, he was going to hear something that would only irk him further. That was why he didn’t even pretend to make up a lie about why he needed to speak to her alone, or further explain himself on the matter. He just prayed that she would say yes and wouldn’t give him a hard time.

Although Vincent was the last person that she wanted to be seen alone with at this party, she was oddly feeling uncomfortable by whatever this was between Ricardo and Charlotte. She wouldn’t put it past him to just be bluffing about the costume coordination, just to throw her off, but she didn’t like not knowing for certain if there was actually something going on between him and Charlotte, so the discomfort associated with that allowed her to feel more inclined with nodding in response to Vincent’s inquiry. “Mhm,” she agreed, though not before addressing Ricardo once more. “I’m glad you know me well enough to know that I work alone, Slim,” she winked. “As they say, there’s only room for one at the top.” She left it at that, and though she was confused as to why Vincent was quickly leading her through groups of people, until they were a good distance away from the party, and in a back, isolated hallway, she followed him silently. Warily, but silently.

Vincent knew that he was lucky that Sydney came with him in the first place, so while he was tempted to roam so far away from the party that they ended up on a different floor, he wasn’t going to push his luck. After a minute or so of wandering, they were far enough away from the sound of music and chatter that he felt safe enough talking to her about what was weighing on his conscience. Though he was no longer worried about anyone overhearing him, he was worried about how she was going to react to all of this. It was definitely going to be peculiar having this conversation with Sydney, given their history, but Sydney was the girl who had answers to everything. If she couldn’t help him, then at least he could tell himself that he was justified in drinking himself into a hopeless drunk stupor tonight. “Look, Syd, this is going to be a weird request. I know that, and I know that I’m lucky that you’re even letting me ask you this right now, but just hear me out, all right? I don’t really know how to put this...” he began, suddenly wishing that he had spent more time during the conversation between Ricky and Sydney and Charlotte, actually planning out what he needed to say here.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Sydney to decide that she didn’t want to be having this conversation with Vincent. His tense body language and anxious expression told her that this was going to be an unnecessarily emotional or awkward conversation, and she didn’t need that. Not tonight. Though she knew it was unnecessary to think that way, she couldn’t help but to tell herself too, that now that she was trying to turn over a new leaf, she didn’t want Alex to eventually find her alone in a side hallway with Vincent, when she should have been following Katherine’s lead and showering Alex in attention. It wasn’t like Sydney had initiated this, or was even doing anything wrong, but it still made her feel like she was being counteractive against her newfound initiative to be better at being selfless, and putting her friends first in their friendships. “Spit it out, Mast. My time is valuable.”

“Clifford wants to get with Alex… and… and I can’t let that happen.” She wanted him to spit it out, so there it was. He didn’t know what to say, and could only flash her a helpless look, as if he hoped that she would somehow have the answer to the problem right away.

Yup, she knew it. She knew that she should have just remained where everyone else was, found herself a nice, cold cocktail, and enjoyed her night. She did not need to be standing here, listening to Vincent tell her how badly he wanted Alex back, and about the drama within his own little friend group of guys. Normally, the latter piece of conversation would have interested her enough, because she was always a fan of some good gossip, but this involved her, even if it was indirectly, and so it seemed like a lot more trouble than it was worth. “And you’re telling me this because…?”

“Because I know you don’t want it to happen either,” he responded, attempting to level the playing field a bit, though he knew to be careful with his tone. The other day, when Clifford had mentioned that he had a crush on Alex a year ago, but Sydney had deterred him from pursuing it, Vincent had initially been too concerned with shielding his dismay and shock to think it through. Later that night, though, when he couldn’t get it out of his mind, he started to doubt that all of that was true. He didn’t think that Clifford would lie about being rejected, because who would bring such an embarrassing thing up to begin with? What made less sense, though, was Alex rejecting Clifford, and Vincent only hearing about it right now. He hoped that Alex would have even subtly clued him in on one of his closest friends pursuing her, if that was the case, and to make the theory seem less believable, Vincent was one of the few people who knew that Sydney and Alex hadn’t been extremely close, even last year. It was possible that they had been on good terms, but discussing future relationships didn’t seem like something they would feel that comfortable delving into.

“You don’t know anything,” Sydney had to correct him first, and her tone was as sharp as a knife at that. She didn’t know if Vincent was insinuating that she wanted Clifford for herself, or that she didn’t want Alexandra to be happy, or that she didn’t want her dating anyone other than Vincent, but whatever he was thinking, Sydney decided that she needed to put him in his place and remind him who he was talking to. Notably, she took a softer tone; quieter, even, as she admitted, “I want Alexandra to be happy. That’s all that I care about, Vincent.”

"Why’d you tell Cliff that she said that he had no shot with her last year?”

How dare he! Right now, Sydney’s initial anger was towards Vincent, but she also wanted to hold some of that anger against Clifford, for sharing their discussion with others. She couldn’t blame him, really, for discussing such a thing with his close friends, because that was probably what boy talk consisted of, but she would definitely keep that in the back of her mind the next time Cliff reached out to her. Though it seemed like Sydney was caught in a lie, she didn’t see it as being a big enough lie that it warranted any true worry on her part, though the annoyance over it wasn’t going to fade as quickly. “Alex wasn’t ready to start dating anyone, nonetheless the best friend of the ex-boyfriend who cheated on her,” she reasoned logically, remaining calm, though she maintained strong and sharp eye contact with Vincent, as if to dare him to accuse her of anything like that again. “I was looking out for her,” she added, stating it in a declaring manner, as if she was trying to reassure herself of it just as much as she was to him. “Now, if I’m done being interrogated, I’d like to get back to said best friend’s party.”

Reasoning with her apparently wasn’t going to work, so it looked like Vincent’s only option now was to beg. He took a quick glance around, confirming that he and Sydney were still the only people in earshot before he reached out and grabbed her arm as she turned to walk away. “You’ve gotta help me, Syd. I can’t let her slip away again,” he insisted. If Vincent had an idea of his own on how to fix all of this, he wouldn’t have been reaching out to Sydney. If he thought this was as easy as sending Alex some sappy text message, or getting drunk enough that he could convince her to spend a night with him was the solution to it, it would have been said and done by now, and maybe if Clifford had not suddenly decided to enter the picture, he could have gotten away with something like that. Now, he had competition. It wasn’t like he never had competition before, because obviously, Alex was a beautiful girl and there were tons of guys who were interested in her, but none of them had ever been competition that Vincent had to take seriously. None of them were his close friends, and none of them were being egged on by Ricardo Slim-Helu, and apparently, Katherine. The latter was less of a threat to Vincent than the former in a direct way, but Vincent wasn’t dumb enough to underestimate the power that girls had over each other, and he (as well as everyone else who had been standing in their group a few minutes prior) knew good and well that Katherine was not shy about her distaste for him. While that had not stopped Alex from allowing him back into her life as a friend, he wouldn’t be surprised if he faced bigger obstacles on that front, if he tried to reestablish something more than that.

“Okay, you’re not going to let this go.” She opted against snapping at him for touching her, in favor of exhaling a deep breath and turning back to face him. There was a small part of her that actually felt bad for Vincent right now, because clearly, he was really distraught over this. Though Sydney knew Vincent on a more personal level than most people did, even she wasn’t used to seeing him in such a vulnerable position, and just as much as it made her uncomfortable, it also made her sympathetic. “I’m not here for drama tonight, Vincent. I’m not here for boy tears, or stupidity, or you acting like a damsel in distress. If you want Alex, you need to win her back. You stole her heart once, you can figure out how to do it again,” she stated plainly. That much was common sense, and although she was tempted to leave it at that, and maybe even throw in something about how he had caused this problem, so he needed to fix it on his own, there was a semblance of warmth in her, and that sympathy overtook the coldness for a moment as she continued. “My advice to you, though, is to think before you do anything. It took longer than it should have for me to realize that I want that girl to be happy, regardless of what I want or get for myself. Unless you’re sure that you’re never going to hurt her again, maybe the best way to show her that you love her right now, is to let her be happy with someone else. Forget what you want, and focus on what she wants… what she needs. I think that’s the least that the two of us can do for her.” A moment of silence followed that, and Sydney told herself that she had done enough deepness for a lifetime in the last few days. She deserved a drink, and she deserved a drink now. “So, on that note, I’m going to go enjoy my night, and I hope you can enjoy yours too.” She already felt weird about disappearing with Vincent like this, so she definitely wasn’t going to wait for him now and return to the party with him. As she told Rick, she felt far more comfortable doing things solo.