Chapter 1
"Oh, I'm so sorry, but it appears that all of the dorms are full," the desk lady said, scratching a red spot beneath her eye as she scrolled on her computer.
River Hatchins frowned, leaning against the counter. "Let me see that," he demanded.
She laughed nervously, gripping the monitor before he could turn it his way. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
"How are all of the dorms full? They weren't when I got accepted. The school guaranteed me a two room, full kitchen dorm!" he cried with frustration. "I already have my luggage!" He gestured wildly to the four suitcases behind him.
"I'm genuinely sorry. They must've messed up... Perhaps you can talk to the-"
"Bull. Let me see that," he wrenched the monitor from her hands and turned it.
She winced and stared at his face, waiting for his reaction.
"They were bought out," he stated flatly. "By an Asshole Loser."
"Ashton Koser," she corrected timidly.
"Yeah, that's what I said." He glared at the screen as if staring at it hard enough would fix the problem.
She gently took it back. "I really am sorry."
"Not sorry enough to not take his dirty money," he spat.
They say if you speak of the devil, he'll appear and River wasn't religious, but he was beginning to believe that was true when he saw Ashton Koser walk into the lobby, looking rich and snobby as always.
"You! Hey! Asshole!" River shouted when Ashton ignored him.
Ashton finally stopped at that and tilted his head, back to River. "Did anyone hear something? No? Must've been the wind."
River saw red and he wrenched the bracelet off his wrist, flinging it at Ashton's head.
He missed and it flew past the young man's ear, landing at his feet.
His buddies spun around to eye him, trying to decide if he was an actual threat.
Ashton bent down and picked the bracelet up, slipping his hand through it and turned around to finally look at River. "Still as bratty and immature as ever, apparently. You never stop helping me prove my point, do you?" he chuckled calmly.
"That's mine. Give it back," River snapped.
"I told the board you didn't deserve to be here and I was right. You're not worthy enough. Never have been and never will be," Ashton snarled. "I don't even know how you got in."
River scowled. "I'm just as good as you- No, I'm better than you!"
Ashton raised his brows. "No one is better than me."
"You arrogant prick!" River spat, stomping his foot. "This is why your parents hate you."
Ashton's eyes flashed and he strode over, gripping the collar of River's shirt and shoved him against the counter, pressing into his space. "At least my parents don't hand me off to the highest bidder," he said lowly, voice deep and rough.
River swallowed hard, feeling the rough marble of the counter dig into his upper back when Ashton pushed him back harder. "At least my parents don't try and control every inch of my life," he said loudly, attempting to gain the upper-hand.
"At least my parents don't sell pictures of me online," Ashton went straight for his throat.
River's heart raced and his mouth went dry, panic clawing at the edges of his mind. "That wasn't them," he forced out.
"No, but it happened because of them," Ashton reminded him. "My parents may hate me, but at least they've never neglected me. At least they never showed me what it was like to be loved by them before withdrawing and forcing me to work for it. At least they didn't feed me their love in small doses, just enough to keep me always wanting more and doing anything to get it."
River tried to find the rage he had a few minutes ago, but it had left as soon as Ashton grabbed him. "Maybe not, but perhaps that's why I didn't turn into a narcissistic, arrogant, supercilious, pompous clotpole!"
Ashton let him go and stepped back with a laugh, sounding genuinely amused. "Wow."
River straightened his shirt, dusting it off, flicking invisible lint off it.
Ashton stopped laughing. "Is that really the best you could do?"
"Just open up a room for me," River sighed.
Ashton raised an eyebrow. "Are you begging me?"
"I know that's why you came down here. You knew I'd be down here, and you want me to beg. You can shove that sick kink up your ass and go get your satisfaction from someone else," River huffed, turning back to the lady who looked terrified. "How much can I pay you?"
"There's an apartment building a few blocks from here. Just live there," one of Ashton's friends suggested.
"I literally have to live here, otherwise I can't attend," River reminded him with annoyance.
"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do," the woman whispered, eyes darting to Ashton who was still lurking.
River's eyes burned and he looked up at the ceiling, exhaling. "I need this. Please," he pleaded, hating how raspy his voice was getting, aching from the effort of holding back his tears, desperate not to cry. "Please. I'll do anything. Literally anything."
She shrank back, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do. Perhaps talk to Mr. Nevers?"
He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes until it hurt, and spots danced in the darkness. "I just... I... I won't tell anyone," he whispered quiet enough for just her to hear.
She slowly shook her head, staring at him empathetically. "I truly am sorry, but there's really nothing I can do. I just found out about this when I tried to check you in."
His shoulders fell. "Oh... Well, thanks," he muttered.
He turned around, grabbing two suitcases and walked out the door, feeling Ashton's smug stare following him.
***
He checked into the hotel, paying with cash so his parents wouldn't find out just yet and dropped onto the stiff bed, gazing up at the ceiling.
He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now, or where to go. He couldn't go back home. That much was clear.
He shut his eyes, sighing deeply. He had to find a way to get into that school or his life would officially be over, and he may as well kill himself. Maybe if he begged the board of directors, they'd let him in.
He didn't remember falling asleep, but he was rudely woken up the following morning from his phone ringing.
He answered it automatically. "Hello?" he rumbled, voice rough with sleep.
"River Hatchins?" the voice on the other end asked.
"This is he," he sighed, rolling onto his stomach and rubbing at his eyes.
"This is Mr. Thatcher from Faerial Prestige and it appears we have a room open for you. If you're still interested, you may come down and collect your key."
River bolted upright, gazing in shock at the blank tv. "Wait, for real?"
"Yes, sir."
"Great! I'll be there in a jiffy! Thank you so much!" he exclaimed, hanging up after the man laughed and said farewell.
He scrambled off the bed and dashed into the bathroom, taking the fastest shower of his life and threw his things into his suitcase, collecting them and calling an uber.
When he finally got back to the school, he strode inside and smiled at the woman from yesterday. "Mr. Thatcher said there's a room for me?" he asked cheerfully.
She smiled back warmly. "Yes, sir. Here is your key. Top floor, room thirteen."
"Thank you!"
He hauled his luggage to the elevator and pushed the button to ascend to the top.
He hummed along to the music as he watched the number climb from one to five.
The doors finally slid open and he walked onto the carpeted hall, looking at the door numbers until he found his.
He inserted the key and turned it, smiling at the sound of the click and pushed the door open.
The first thing he noticed was the smell. It stunk like someone trapped ten skunks inside until they died.
He wrinkled his nose, covering his nose and mouth with his hand, walking deeper into the room.
He jumped when something squished under his foot and spurted out on the floor.
He looked down and gagged when he saw the used, now broken, condom.
He approached the bed and groaned at the stains on the sheets. What was this? Was it some kind of joke? He should be getting a discount if this was to be his room!
He was almost scared to check out the bathroom, but he turned on the light and gagged, quickly turning it off.
The shower and sink were filthy, the toilet had dozens of stains all over it and he swore he saw feces smeared on the wall in the shower.
He was surprised he didn't find a body, though he was afraid if he checked in the closet, he might just!
Thankfully, there was no body in the closet, (although it smelled like one had once been in there) and there wasn't one under the bed. Luckily, he had brought cleaning supplies with him, so he spent the majority of his day cleaning the room.
There was a knock on the door when he had just started on the toilet and he sighed, standing.
The knock quickly turned into pounding, and he scowled. "I'm coming!" he shouted, stripping off the gloves and tossing them into the giant trash bag he had sitting out.
He opened the door and Ashton grinned at him. "Hell no." River threw the door shut, but Ashton caught it with his hand, stepping in.
"You don't look like you're coming. You do look gross, though," Ashton commented, inspecting the room.
"Go away," River spat.
"I just stopped by to hear you thank me," Ashton told him. "Then I'll be on my way."
"Fuck. You."
Ashton smirked. "I only top, honey."
River wrinkled his nose at him and held up his middle finger. "Get fucked."
"Such a dirty mouth," Ashton tsked. "That won't be good for business. Want me to clean it?"
River scowled at him. "You're the dirty one," he snapped.
Ashton looked him up and down before checking himself out. "No, I don't think so. Did you hotbox the place or something? It smells awful in here."
"I bet you're the reason it stinks," River huffed, crossing his arms. "How'd this even happen at a place like this?"
Ashton walked to the window. "Rumor is a girl killed her cheating boyfriend and shoved him in the closet, got high and jumped out the window. Her best friend came in, found his body, saw hers outside, got high and hung herself."
River swallowed hard. "That's absurd."
"You can still see the bloodstains on the cement below." Ashton dragged a hand through his perfect hair, turning to River. "Some idiots came in with a death wish." His eyes locked with River's. "They tried to talk to the dead. A week later, they all committed suicide."
River couldn't look away from his stupidly, perfect eyes. "That's just a rumor."
"Mm." Ashton walked into the bathroom. "They went insane." He stared at the shower. "Fucked in the shower. Fucked on the bed. Fucked on the floor. Wrote their death dates in blood on the ceiling."
River looked up at the ceiling and while it was dirty, none of the stains looked to be dried blood. "They hid in here up until their deaths."
Ashton walked back into the room, smiling at River. "Good luck on sleeping."
River tapped his foot to seem impatient instead of anxious, making sure he looked annoyed. "All of that is just a rumor. Some made up story by a student with an overactive imagination."
Ashton held his gaze. "If that helps you sleep at night."
"Where's your room? First floor?" River grumbled.
"Twelve."
River scowled at him. "Are you for real? Why are you so close to me?" he snapped angrily.
"Someone has to keep an eye on you. Make sure you don't also go insane. And while you may come across as nutty to everyone else, I know it's normal for you. I'll know what insane looks like on you," Ashton answered, voice nonchalant. "You won't make any friends here, River," he said, voice suddenly serious. "No one will have your back or watch out for you."
"Whatever, I don't need any of that," River scoffed, not believing him for a minute.
"You will. You'll need someone to confide in when the nightmares become too much. When the anxiety starts eating you alive, keeps you locked up. You'll need someone to check on you. When everyone finds out, you'll need someone to know you." Ashton moved to the door, grabbing the handle. "And you won't ever have that. The only one you can rely on will be me, but that comes at a price that you aren't willing to pay."
"And that I never will," River snapped, glaring daggers at him.
Ashton cocked his head, studying him for a moment. "You will. When you become desperate enough. You will pay."
"Go find someone else to harass and leave me alone!" River nearly yelled. "And you still need to give me back my bracelet."
Ashton didn't budge. "I'm still waiting for a 'thank you'," he reminded him. "I won't leave until I get it."
And River knew he was dead serious. "Fine, thank you," he grumbled.
"You're welcome," Ashton said cheerfully, opening the door.
"Hey! Why'd you let me come back?" River asked quietly before he could disappear.
Ashton seemed to hesitate. "I liked seeing you cry," he finally said, shutting the door.
River flipped the door off. "Asshole," he muttered, stomping back to the bathroom.
