My Rival My Lover

The thrill of rebellion pulsed through my veins as we sprinted across the campgrounds, skipping the last class of summer camp. It wasn't just any class, it was the final gathering before everything came to an end. But that didn't matter now.

"Miss Benita needs to get laid," Jacob, my best friend, grumbled, his breath heavy from running. He pulled out a cigar, lighting it with a flick of his wrist before offering it to me.

"Nooo, Remember that I don't smoke," I smirked, remembering him, for like a hundred times since we started coming into this abandoned closet to stay and have some fresh air devoid of Miss Benita and her serious vibes that follow her.

He chuckled, giving me a teasing look. "Come on, Alex. Live a little. It's our last day of freedom." His green eyes sparkled mischievously, and despite myself, I found it hard to resist.

Okay, but just this once," I sighed, taking the "nutrient cigar" as he calls it hesitantly. As soon as I inhaled, a violent cough ripped through my chest, and Jacob's laughter echoed through the abandoned closet we always snuck into.

"Little short Alex, don't worry, you will soon grow," he said, messing my hair. Doing that one thing, I always hated people doing that to my hair.

"I am not short", I stomp my foot in anger, "I am 5.6 foot, and that's the last I checked."

"That still makes you short, see" he comes close to me, measuring our height, which he was taller. I can't help sniffing a little of his cologne. It always smells like lavender, and a mixture of his cigars he always insists that can't be found elsewhere.

I tried not to show it, but I was attracted to him. To guys in general. It wasn't something I flaunted, but I didn't hide it either. At my old school, I was bullied for my height, for my dad, for everything, really, making me withdraw to myself often.

My mom had sent me to this camp to help me cope with myself, but I think she just wants to get rid of me; she is not always at home, and sometimes she stays a few days away before coming back.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" Green eyes filled my vision, and I jerked in the realization that I had blacked out.

"You did it again," Jacob said, smiling, "Come, let's not waste our last... hours thinking of the past," he said; I couldn't help noticing his hesitation in saying "last."

The atmosphere became unnatural, sad, and gloomy. Today was the last we will see each other. Sometimes his bright smile made me forget that we would soon return to our homes, back to my miserable life.

"About that...." i was saying but he cut me off, catching me off guard and caging me to the wall.

"No time for that," he said softly, coming closer to me. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

He was standing close to me, much closer than how friends were supposed to be. "Ja...cob, what's the problem? what are you doing?" I stammered,

"The problem is today is the last day of our stay in this hell hole, and probably the last we see of each other," he said, his voice dark and husky.

"I...we can call, or maybe visit..." I was saying when his lips crashed on mine, everything else melted away.

*********end of prologue******

Alex pov

The beauty of the green lush scenery stretched for miles, I was looking out of the car window, but the beautiful vegetation might as well jad look bland in my eyes, thinking about the past six hours of my was like a torment I don't know how to stop, the pain was there and it's still there, and I fear will still be there.

He had left without saying the final goodbye we had promised each other; we had planned to meet up in the morning and exchange numbers and even agreed to introduce our parents, but I had stood for close to two hours waiting for him.

"Alex, did you hear me?" The voice of my mum sounded distant in my ears.

"Huh??" I tried to get myself together, but it was not just happening.

"Oohh my baby, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" My mum saw my puffed and red eyes.

"It...its...nothing I stammered" to my horror my anxiety that had disappeared since three months I had been in camp, kicked in.

"Sweety, pls tell mummy what happened, were you bullied again or harassed..."

My mum kept on pressing me, her annoying voice pounding in my head, I just needed quietness and calm. I wanted to be on my own and wallow in my mystery; I wanted to blame myself for falling and falling so hard for a green-eyed boy. I didn't want to talk about it.

"Just...t shut up, mum!!" I snapped at her, cutting her short and plunging everywhere in an awkward silence. My mum's unbelievably wide eyes daring at me through the rear mirror. It was like she was confused about which emotion to show the case.

I felt a little guilty at the way I snapped at her, but I was stubborn. I refuse to open my mouth to apologize.

The rest of the ride was done in silence, with my mum giving me looks every five minutes of the journey, but I didn't care. I might as well have doomed off throughout the journey. Waking up when we reached my house.

My house was a very big property in the streets, probably the biggest. My mum always says it is an inheritance from my grandparents.

But that was all I knew about that. We have a miad by the name Shirley, a woman in her forties who has taken care of me since I can remember.

"Mum I am...."

"It's fine, sweety; I guessed it's not easy to change the environment; take your time to get used to home," She cut off my apology, patting me on my head before going into the house.

"Remember to get your luggage from the trunk, honey!"

"Yes, mum," I sighed at my failed attempt to apologize. My mum has been doing a lot, and I know, plus the problem with my father, she doesn't need more problems on her plate right now.

"Hey, the weird kid is back!!" My neighbor, good for nothing, kids shouted across their fence, making me roll my eyes at them. I immediately carried my luggage and hurried into the house.

"Hey waste of space, how is your father!" I heard their laughter and voices taunting me. I shook my head, closing our door and blocking their sounds. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes.

"Welcome, young Alex," Shirley's voice came from behind. She was normally on her Beeb,

"Thank you, Shirley; tell my mum I am in my room," I said, rushing upstairs so that she wouldn't see that tears had already welled up in my eyes.

Once in my room, I collapsed on the bed, the tears burst open like a dam, and I cried till I had no tears to shed, thinking about the happy times I had, those were the happiest moments of my life.

"It hurts" the pain, knowing the fact that I will never see him again, his charming smile, and his piercing green eyes that I still imagine will come out anytime and tell me it's just a joke.

My lips still tingle from that kiss. He had caught me unawares. I never once thought Jacob had seen me that way. We had just been very close, and I had tried my best to keep my feelings and fantasies to myself, but in that abandoned closet , when we had gone to hide like usual, he had done something unexpected, he had kissed me. And more so, he had stolen my heart away with that one kiss.

Andrians pov

The ride back home had been filled with awkwardsilence, and I was bubbling with anger.

"Haven't we reached the damn house!!" I scowled at my driver, Enzo

"No master, we are yet to reach" my driver Enzo replies respectfully.

"Incompetent fool" I cursed under my breath.

I was happy to be done with this stupid mission. My father, out of nowhere, had given me a mission. He had termed it a grade A mission, stressing the importance of the mission.

The mission was so simple to be true, I had thought it was a joke, but on reaching the camp, I realised that I was in for the most simplest overrated mission in the wide world.

"Get close to Alex" that was his words, before he handed me a heavy portfolio filled with his info, and a picture that will help me recognize him, alas, I didn't need the photo because Alex stuck out like a sore thumb from the rest of the kids.

He was a quiet kid, so quiet you wouldn't realise someone was there, and those blue ocean eyes....

"Master we have reached the mansion" my driver's voice pierced through my thought.

" finally" I muttered under my breath, throwing away my remaining cigar in my mouth. I had to return back to myself, to my old self, nothing ever happened.

the camp was the sight of the mission,

My identity, Jacob, the easygoing, always smiling, mischievous boy, was just a facade for me to fit in. That was what I had been training since I could crawl.

The relationship with him was just to get close to him and solve the damn mission.

"What about the kiss?" A tiny voice in my head whispered to me. I suddenly stopped, trying to make out a reason for that, but I had no explanation for that.

"Welcome young heir" the chorus voice of the servants and maid echoed throughout the mansion compound.

I nodded in satisfaction, lifting my chin high up, to fit into the role and birthright of the heir of the Rufus family. The strongest, well to do family in the whole of Manchester city.

I walked into the gigantic mansion through the red carpet that started from the door of my limousine, down to the front main door of the house. I was contented at the reverence from the servants. "It's good they know their place"

I said, but one young girl was not standing at attention. She was sporting a bandage on her hands.

I felt a spike in my barely suppressed anger, "hey, who is she" I asked my personal assistant, who was nearby.

"She is Debby, the new maid, that was employed just a few weeks ago" my PA replied sharply.

"I see. It seems like she didn't undergo training,... she is fired" I said, not missing a beat, enjoying the confusion and shock of everybody as I entered the house.

"Young heir, your father is waiting at the dining room" a maid told me, leading me to the room my father was probably waiting for me.

Walking down the hallway where my father was waiting for my reports, I couldn't help glance at the photos lining the wall, my mother, who died in an accident. Leaving only my father to manage the Rufus Corporation, and from all things, he is doing hard work.

"Good day sir" I greeted my father. He is a man in his late fifties, with his always clean shaved beard. He carried an air of a Rufus, like he used to say. He was reclining on a chair calmly, observing me, the unopened dish in front of him as if he was waiting for something.

He beamed a smile " Sit down, son, let's eat dinner.

My stomach churned at the mention of dinner, not after everything that had happened. Of course, he is a perfect man, always in control of everything, and he always gets his way. He was wearing a dashing tuxedo, I had to bite my teeth not to point out to him how inappropriate it was to eat dinner with tuxedo on.

"Okay sir" I forced myself to play his stupid game this evening.

"You are looking rather good. And dashing, I am proud you are growing into a proud Rufian" he said all of the sudden in the middle of the dinner, catching me off guard.

"How was your journey," he asked again, making me feel like ants were crawling through my skin. He was playing with me, bidding his time, and it annoyed the hell out of me.

"You mean the mission..."

No son, can't a father ask about his son's welfare" he said, feigning care.

"The camp was good," I answered absent-minded, choosing to concentrate on the spaghetti I was eating.

"And any friends...?" he asked, causing me to stop my eating.

"I make no friends. Therefore, I had no friends, just those I wanted something from" I answered cautiously, I know I am thresding on needles now.

This was not a normal dinner between father and son. It was like I was in an interrogation room where any mistake I made would immediately lead to my termination of contract.

"You can go back to your room, have a good rest, you have passed the first phase of the mission" he said, and immediately i stood up, like a fire was on my seat I almost ran straight to my room. Not before seeing the amused look of my fathers face.

"The stupid psycho." I cursed the tenth time since the last six hours. I was relieved to finally have clean air, away from my father's intimidating aura.

Stepping into my room, it was like how I had left it. Nothing has been touched or moved, and I liked it like that, I closed my door, making sure to lock it. I was in my safe haven, but it didn't feel like one.

For whatever reason, the memory of Alex and I in the unused closet we usually hang out in flashes through my head. His innocence and naivety strike me too hard. His expression was priceless when I llkissed him, it was like he was not expecting that but I waited for him to push me away, and scrunch his face in disgust but nothing happend, he kissed back. He wanted it!.

How his body responded to me, and jeez his moan was...

I clenched my fists, shaking my head violently to rid myself of the memory. This was not part of the plan. This was not supposed to happen.

"It's just a mission, Andrian. Get a grip," I muttered to myself, pacing the room

I needed to separate my emotions from my feelings, I have done that countless times. I had faked love with rich ceo daughters to foster partnership with their company and us.

Had impersonated the husband of powerful women just to get info to use in blackmailing her to cooperate with my Rufus family. So pretending to be a friend of a boy who doesn't know his origin should be a cup of cake. It should be the easiest test in all of my manipulative journeys.

But why can't I stop thinking about him? Why am I having this hollow feeling? like a part of me was gone. This being the first phase of the mission, what was the second phase supposed to look like?

A sound of knocking sounded on the door, " What do you want?" I snapped at the person behind the door. obviously irritated. But I relaxed when I saw it was my PA, After opening the door.

"I am here to give you the routine for tomorrow, jacob" My PA is the only trusted person I have. So he calls me my name when we are alone.

"Okay, I will look through it" I said, watching him leave. On a second thought, I called him back.

My name is Andrian now," I corrected him sharply. "Jacob was the facade."

"Yes, sir," he replied, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more.

I sank onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. The pain in my chest was unbearable, but I had no choice.

I had to move on.

Move on to the next mission.