“Phil…” Adam began, only continuing once the door was shut. “I don’t have girl trouble.”
“Alright, cool, then school stuff?” Phil pressed.
“I lied. I don’t need advice.”
The words made Phil nervous all over again. He tried to keep up any semblance of a poker face, but the silence in the room clearly gave away his levels of discomfort. He chuckled in discomfort, trying to play it off as confusion. “So then… Why did you ask to be alone with me? Are you taking over the council or something?”
“I want to talk to you about Nicole.” Adam asserted.
This better not have been what Phil was thinking it was. “What do you mean?” He asked, his tone now no longer playing games.
“You two haven’t been really close lately, have you?”
This conversation needed to end immediately. “Adam, I’m going to be blunt with you: this is none of your damn business.”
“Nicole’s my friend.” Adam insisted. “I want to help you two sort things out.”
“That’s cool, Adam,“ Phil replied, his voice growing more tired, “but I really don’t want to have this conversation. Is that everything?” He began to make his way towards the door.
“So that’s it?” Adam asserted. “You’d rather be in this awkward situation and have Nicole want to leave the council, rather than stoop to my level and accept that a freshman might have some solid advice for you?”
Want to leave…? Phil froze. He really didn’t want to take the bait – it was clear Adam had not learned to be a better person at all – but he couldn’t resist. He turned around on the spot to face Adam. “This isn’t about you.” he found himself saying. “Nicole doesn’t want to leave the council, we’re just in a weird place right now.”
“That’s not what she told me yesterday.”
Phil couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. How was it this cocky little fuck seemed to know everything? Worse, he couldn’t help but get involved in everyone else’s business and play God, not realizing that anytime he himself did something, it was Drama City. He was just another freshman hypocrite, but he was scarier than that – determined to get what he was after, damn the consequences, and cunning. Well, he would just have to play Adam’s game, and he had to win. “And does she know you’re telling me this?” he asked Adam. “Would she be grateful to you that you’re talking to me about something she probably wanted to keep private?”
Adam didn’t respond. Hook, line, and sinker. Phil gestured with his hand for Adam to go on, and finally Adam admitted, “No.”
So I don’t want this, and Nicole doesn’t want this. Sounds to me like it’s not going to be helpful.” Phil said, his tone reflecting he was allergic to Adam’s bullshit since the start. “I’m not the big bad guy you think I am. Whatever she’s told you, take it with a grain of salt, alright? Just let us figure it out with time. I know you starry-eyed freshmen think that the right words said at the right time will fix everything, but I’ve been around this school a lot longer than you. I know firsthand…” He then thought of many situations, including that of Olivia. “…some things can only be solved with time.”
Phil wasn’t an idiot. Adam didn’t come here to change Phil’s mind, he came here to gather information, probably information that even Nicole didn’t tell him. He didn’t want to admit to Adam that he wasn’t sure if the whole ‘Nicole wants to quit’ thing was a lie or not, but if Adam wanted information, Phil was actually happy to comply. But Phil was going to give Adam information and advice on his terms, and if Adam was smart, he was going to use this information and advice to make himself a better person, and hopefully, stay away from Nicole.
Armed with that motive, Phil continued, chuckling. “I actually used to be a lot like you, unless you’re pretending to be someone you’re not.” Phil admitted, remembering when he was younger and frankly, scummier. “But still, this situation won’t be solved the way you think it will. And don’t worry…” Phil knew he had to supplement this with lies somewhere, to deter Adam and let him know Phil knew he was lying. “…Nicole’s told me how she feels. Many times.”
Phil strategized further, noting Adam wasn’t saying a word. Phil sat back on the table he was leaning against, crossing his arms as if he were lost in a monologue. “Hell, did you know… Did you know my brother used to date Nicole?”
“Really?” Adam asked, shocked.
Okay, so he didn’t know this. Phil thought. Play your cards right. “Yup,” he replied, shaking his head. “Apparently, he wasn’t the best kind of guy for her though. She wasn’t the same girl after they broke up. But after they did… She got this kind of confidence to her. It was like a side of her I never got to see before. Once I saw her come out of her shell, I used to ask her out, like, every week.” Phil couldn’t help but smile in the realization that he moved away from the lying and was actually trusting Adam with his own feelings. Hopefully, Adam would use this knowledge well. He knew he’d never forgive Adam if he didn’t. “Hell, before recently, I thought I finally got my chance, you know. But then… I dunno. She just kinda drifted away.”
“Do you know when she started?”
Phil shrugged, though something clicked in that moment. Adam knew something. It was time for Phil to extract some information, and play dumb. “Nope, not a clue.”
Adam shrugged in turn. “Well, I know that Nicole acts all tough and confident on the outside, but she’s kind of soft on the inside.”
“Yup.” Phil nodded. “It’s kinda cute when you have to work for it.”
“So maybe it was some kind of point of vulnerability for her, and you did something that’s totally alright in a normal situation, but she might have thought as uncomfortable.”
Adam’s face was full of intent. Whatever Nicole wanted this or not, it was clear he thought he was doing something on her behalf. Phil couldn’t help but bite. “Like what?”
“I dunno. Have you guys ever been in a really intimate situation?”
Phil cocked his eyebrow and gave Adam a small smile. Nice try, Adam, Phil thought. He wasn’t going to betray Nicole’s privacy to tell Adam Watson shit. “We didn’t take any pictures if that’s what you want.”
“Yeah, but sex can be a pretty intimate and emotional thing, and maybe Nicole was taking down her defensive walls when you guys had sex and something impacted her or something.” Adam threw out.
Phil couldn’t help but chuckle. Either Adam was playing dumb too hard, or he just was dumb. “Adam, I’d tell you to keep a secret, but this is pretty much public knowledge – Nicole’s known for never keeping her legs closed. I think we can safely say that if we did have some kind of misunderstanding, it had nothing to do with sex.”
“So just because she’s used to casual, emotionless sex means that she can’t have emotional sex?” Adam pressured.
Where was this going…? Phil realized only then he was made to discuss his sex life with a fucking freshman. “Adam, this isn’t really the conversation I want to have with you.”
“I know, just hear me out.” Adam said seriously. As if what he were saying was important. As if he had an agenda. “Was there a point where you guys were about to have sex, and she said no or something? I’ve heard from her that consent is really important to her, so that may be something.”