Things Fall Apart

Andy typically found clothes shopping tedious, but he had thoroughly enjoyed his afternoon with Tamara. It still continually took him by surprise just how easily and naturally he got on with the heiress without ever needing to be anyone but himself. He had initially thought of her as someone who came from a completely different world to him, and that they couldn't possibly have anything in common, but she was as down to earth and self deprecating as any of his friends back home.

There were still unavoidable, and fairly frequent, reminders of the difference in their class, social status and lifestyles though, some of which were apparent that afternoon. Firstly, the cost of every dress Tamara looked at was eye watering. Andy knew she wasn't trying to be showy or flaunt her wealth, it was just what felt normal to her, but it did give him pause to wonder if he had any chance of fitting into the kind of social settings she would return to when she eventually left university.

The fuss made of Tamara by the staff in every shop they visited, without fail, was also something to behold. She was practically treated like royalty and, although she always politely refused any special attention, it nonetheless highlighted just how different nearly every social interaction was for her compared to him. She was also, on more than one occasion, offered the clothes she tried on for free in exchange for publicity shots for the store. Again, this was something she would always decline, but it seemed very unfair to Andy how such perks were only made available to the kind of people who clearly didn't need them.

Eventually Tamara settled on a classically stylish green dress she and Andy both liked, but the trip wasn't over as she decided to treat her date to his outfit for the evening. This time she did agree to take a publicity shot with the store's owner in exchange for the thousand pound tailored suit that Andy now owned. He was sure she had only done that as she realised it would have made him uncomfortable if she had spent that kind of money on him. He was extremely grateful for the gesture, of course, not to mention relieved that he wouldn't be standing next to a gorgeous aristocrat in his fifty quid job interview outfit that evening, but it brought into even sharper focus the potential unevenness in any potential long term relationship between the two of them. What would he be bringing to the table for her, exactly?

As they walked into the social together, Andy decided to put all of those concerns to the back of his mind and just enjoy his evening with his stunning and sophisticated companion.

If someone had told him before he arrived at university (at least, on the first occasion) that he would somehow manage to bag Lady Tamara Sutton-Campbell as his date for the Fresher's week social, he would have genuinely assumed they had gone crazy. However, it was happening, and he wanted everyone to know about it and witness them together as a couple.

It was a perfect example of pride coming right before a fall.

The first familiar face Andy chanced upon as he and his date circulated the venue was Kara. She didn't look too impressed with him.

"Um, hello Professor" he greeted her awkwardly.

"Andrew" she answered curtly before turning her back on him.

It had only been twenty four hours since he had semi-successfully made a move on his tutor. He had figured that, since she had ultimately shut his advances down, Kara wouldn't mind him dating someone else, but perhaps this was a bit too soon.

"Gosh, what have you done to annoy her?" Tamara wondered.

"Uh, I missed a couple of lectures I guess" Andy shrugged as he tried to brush off the awkward exchange.

Moments later Gemma spotted Andy and rushed excitedly towards him, only to be stopped in her tracks when she then noticed Tamara.

"Oh, you're with someone already"

"Yeah, I....."

"It's fine, don't worry. Enjoy the rest of your evening"

Andy tried to steer Tamara away from Gemma before she realised anything was amiss, but it was impossible not to notice how crestfallen his former date had suddenly become.

"Is she okay?" Tamara asked with concern.

"Yeah, she's a friend, she's fine"

Of course Andy felt awful to see that he had hurt someone he cared deeply about, but he knew this wasn't real. In a few hours it wouldn't even have happened for anyone but him. In fact, last time it had been Gemma who he had chosen to take to this event over everyone else. He just wished he had any realistic way of explaining that to her.

Next in line for him to upset was Sara. That definitely wasn't going to go well. She had literally woken up in his bed that morning, and she was a lot feistier than Gemma.

"You have a date for this evening?" she snapped at him as he tentatively said hello.

"Um, yeah..."

"And when was that arranged?"

"Er..."

"Tuesday, I think" Tamara chipped in helpfully.

"Fucking Hell! What's wrong with you?"

As Sara stormed off, Andy spun around to see Elaine had been watching the sorry spectacle, with a look of bitter amusement.

"Oh, hey Elaine"

"Loyalty" she laughed to herself, before rolling her eyes and walking off with Leah, who was also staring daggers at Andy.

"Andrew, what's going on here?" Tamara wanted to know "Why is every woman in the venue upset with you?"

Before he even had a chance to answer, Tina had strolled over to make things even worse.

"What are you doing here? This is mostly for Freshers?" she asked in confusion.

"We are Freshers" Tamara explained.

"You're a Fresher?" Tina asked Andy pointedly.

He nodded guiltily.

"Then why the fuck did you tell me you were a third year who had been studying abroad? Was it just so I would.......because if I'd known that you were new here I never would have....UGH!"

As Tina marched off in disgust, it was finally Tamara's turn to lose patience.

"Andrew, I need you to tell me now just what is going on here. How many women have you dated this week, exactly?"

"I don't know" Andy tried to do the maths quickly in his head "I guess five, six if you count my professor"

"What?!" Tamara asked in wide mouthed astonishment.

"I mean, isn't that what Fresher's week is for?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Andy had never seen Tamara angry before, but it was something he wanted to make stop as quickly as possible. There was nothing he could say to achieve that except...

"Pittsburgh!"

---

Still feeling somewhat shell shocked, Andy found himself safely back outside the university gates. He was able to compose himself well enough to arrange his by now almost traditional first night dinner with Leah as she stepped out of the car opposite him, any grudges from the previous run clearly forgotten.

Andy decided there and then that he needed to take a new approach to this. He didn't feel like he had reached the end game yet, as he still didn't have a clue which of the eight very different, highly eligible women he had been dating was his favourite. However, it was no longer early days either. He had reached a point now where he didn't have to wait for time specific events - like Tina's football match or Sara's philosophy class - to introduce himself to people. He knew where everyone lived and had built up enough affection to be able to approach anyone he wished on day one and take things from there.

He also saw no further need to make it all the way to the social - in fact, it was probably best avoided. That last one had been carnage - the only person he hadn't pissed off was Aurora, and that was only because he had technically not yet met her. From now on he would end each run by fucking someone, whenever that happened. He had only managed sex with Leah so far and, with it being his first time, it could have gone a lot better. From now on this experience would be about seduction, sex and getting to know each of the girls he liked on a deeper level until, eventually he hoped, the person he was supposed to be with beyond Fresher's week became clear.

He was about to go and track down his first target when he was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice he hadn't heard in a while.

"Oh dear, that last social was a bit of a car crash wasn't it?"

He turned around to see the Spirit of Fresher's Week hovering in front of him, chuckling jovially.

"What are you doing back here?"

"I've never been away. In fact, I've been following your romantic journey with great interest. I must say, you have performed rather more competently than I had anticipated, at least until the end of the latest loop. Why are you so determined to always get to the social? Most people prefer to avoid that and end the run via sexual intercourse"

"Yeah, I'd just figured that out" Andy admitted "Look, I really can't stand here talking to you. I'll look mad"

"Don't worry about that, I've put things on pause, so to speak. We are free to converse without interruption for as long as you wish"

"Then what do you want us to talk about?"

"I thought it might be beneficial to give you something of a progress report, and provide you with some personal insight on each of the lovely young ladies you have been dating. Is that something you would find helpful?"

"Yeah" Andy shrugged "Go on then"