Intermission - The annoying guy.

By noon, Sarah had a very mild headache. The introductory classes to these new subjects had been dense, and she still had a couple more to go. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait in the long, loud cafeteria line to buy lunch since Oliver had made a big spinach quiche yesterday for all of them to take for lunch today. It was apparently his third time making it, and after asking Sarah’s mom for tips, he believed this one had turned out better than before.

Sarah sat down at a table with enough open spots for Yasmine and Josh to join her after they bought their own lunches. She was excited to dig in, but before she could even open her violet-colored container, someone else approached with a tray in hand.

“Hey, Sarah. Mind if I join you?”

Sarah swallowed a groan. Yes, she did mind. She should’ve just said no, but… this guy was a classmate and no other tables around were open. She sighed.

“Go ahead.”

The man smiled. “Thanks.”

Jason was a troublesome case for Sarah. Not exactly a bad guy, and among her classmates, he was one of the few who seemed to take his studies very seriously. If that was it, the two could probably get along fairly well. The issue was that Jason REALLY liked Sarah.

“Say, what did you think about the Genes, Memes and Behaviour class?” he asked, getting comfortable across from her.

“That it’s gonna be a year of pretty annoying jokes about memes,” Sarah answered.

“Well, yeah, aside from that,” Jason said, chuckling.

Sarah sighed. “Sounds interesting. I’ve read a bit of The Selfish Gene already, so I’m familiar with the concepts.”

“I figured you would’ve.” Jason then looked around. “Hey, why are you eating alone?”

“Yasmine and Josh are buying their lunch,” Sarah said, not meeting his eyes.

“Isn’t your boyfriend also studying here? Why aren’t you eating together?”

There it is. Start approachable, then change the topic to what he really wants to talk about. The guy had enough common sense not to bring this stuff up during classes, but outside it was all fair game to him.

“We’re all busy,” Sarah said succinctly.

“Are you okay with that? I mean… isn’t he dating five other girls? It seems to me like he’s neglecting you, and you don’t deserve that.”

Sarah wanted to let out a loud groan. She had told him everything in hopes that he would understand that she wasn’t interested, but instead he was spinning things around to try and be the ‘supportive friend that’s there when you’re feeling down.’

Jason was, bluntly speaking, very good looking. A well-kept mane of chestnut colored hair, 1.85 meters tall, so about as tall as Diana, fit frame but not bulky, and strong facial features. Aesthetically speaking, he was an 8/10.

The problem is that he knew it. He’s the type to be handsome and charming enough to never have been told no before. Rather, the type to never settle for a no and continue his pursuits until he got a yes.

“I can’t say I feel neglected,” Sarah said, casually. And it was especially true after a great weekend of sex and a home cooked quiche, which she finally was able to try and HOLY her mom must have given him the sacred tips because this was so good.

“I mean… Are you sure he’s not with someone else right now?” Jason asked.

“He probably is,” Sarah said with a shrug.

Yasmine and Josh were taking too long, but she was thankful that the buzzing of her phone gave her an excuse to look at it. It was just an annoying notification from one of her apps, but she treated it like an important message she had to answer.

Fuck it, it was time to deploy the ultimate weapon. If she didn’t, Jason would just continue to annoy her.

She messaged Oliver.

-Sarah: Hey babe. Are you close to the cafeteria by chance? The guy I told you about the other day… Think you can come say hello to him?

She didn’t dare to say something like ‘come get him off of me’ or ‘come threaten him’ or anything like that. Because… Oliver would. For her, he would, and she didn’t want him to, for his own mental health more than anything else.

Oliver answered after ten seconds.

-Oliver: Where in the cafeteria are you?

-Sarah: Close to the middle entrance, around one of the pillars.

-Oliver: Omw.

Sarah put her phone back in her pocket.

“And it doesn’t bother you that he’s not with you?” Jason asked.

“Look, Jason, for the last time. Stop meddling. Don’t think you’re being sneaky.”

Jason grimaced and looked hurt. “I’m… I’m sorry, Sarah, but it’s hard to stay quiet. I mean, don’t you see it? This guy clearly sees you as nothing more than another one of his women. He doesn’t care. Why else would he be dating several women? He doesn’t care enough to commit to just you.”

Under any other circumstances, Jason would have a point. This wasn’t just any situation, though. And perhaps more importantly, the spell Oliver had in place, one that worked so long as all his girlfriends gave their consent, made it so people would, for the most part, find their relationship a normal thing. It was iffy on how well it worked, but even the most skeptical still accepted it. That Jason was saying something like this just confirmed Sarah’s belief that he just wanted to turn her against her boyfriend.

Yeah, she’d take that previous statement back. Jason was pretty scummy.

“Sarah.”

Oliver’s voice came from behind her, and she could immediately feel relief washing over her.

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