Jason was always an easy pushover. He was meek, quiet and didn't have the confidence to stand up for himself, and this made him a great target for Tyler, who was the complete opposite. Tyler was brash, confident and arrogant. He came from money and had the attitude that came with it. He was an asshole in short, but he owned that fact and was perhaps paradoxically popular. Tyler was part of the football team, tall, athletic and handsome, with windswept blonde hair. Jason on the other hand was below average height, skinny and academic.
They were both enrolled in the same college and Tyler had been using Jason to complete his schoolwork for practically the entire time they had been there, whilst he himself had been off partying.
The arrangement worked nicely for Tyler. Well it did until one day when Tyler dropped off his coursework for the week at Jason's and instead of accepting it like he always did, Jason instead said. "This is the last time I'll do any work for you you got that. If you try it again I'll go to the dean and prove all the work you've ever submitted is mine."
Tyler rounded on him and coldly stated "Was that a threat?"
Jason visibly backed down but nodded very slightly.
"Maybe there is some backbone to you after all bitch." Tyler said, laughing at the absurdity of this wimp standing up to him all of a sudden.
"Now make sure this is done by Tuesday, I'll be back to collect it Tuesday night, and maybe if it's done well we can discuss our arrangement." Tyler didn't outright threaten Jason, but he leered over him, causing Jason to step back again and look down sheepishly.
"Oh...okay." Came Jason's soft voice. He had lost most of that backbone he had showed earlier, that was good, thought Tyler.
"Good to hear then buddy." Tyler said in a jovial tone, clapping Jason on the back hard, which caused the smaller man to wince. Tyler held the hand on Jason's back for a couple of seconds in a display of dominance then smiled again and left.
'Where did that come from?' Tyler thought later as he lay in his room in his off campus housing that his family money had paid for. 'Little Jason has never had a spine, something must have changed, and I'm going to make sure it doesn't get in the way of anything.'
Over the next couple of days, Tyler started asking around to see if anyone knew what might have happened. Most of his crew had no idea, not wanting anything to do with someone like Jason. He was about to give up when Michael, another member of the football team, mentioned that he had seen Jason hanging out with a girl at night.
'So little Jason's got himself a girlfriend has he?' Tyler thought, 'And now he's confidence is growing. Well that has to be stopped.' At that moment he started hatching a plan.
When Tuesday came around and it was time to collect his work from Jason, Tyler put his plan into action. "If you check your email their should be a surprise for you." Tyler said. "We'll call it a bonus for doing such good work for me these years, but the catch is, I want to see your face when you receive it. "
Jason looked at him incredibly suspiciously but Tyler nodded in a way that said he wasn't going anywhere until Jason did as he asked. With a sign Jason picked up his phone. Tyler came in close to watch his unlock code as Jason unlocked his phone and brought up his school email. "Not college emails, your personal emails." Tyler stopped him "Can't have it be through the college's system now could we?"
Jason looked at him with more suspicion but opened up his personal emails instead. There at the top of his inbox was a message with the subject line "CONGRATULATIONS". Jason clicked on it, curiosity creeping further into his face.
"Congratulations on your tremendous effort to support the school's football team. In exchange for your efforts, you are hearby offered a weekend's stay for you and up to one person, at the Graham Family Cabin. This location is a short three hour drive from Campus and sits on 20 acres of pristine wilderness. This cabin is the perfect place for a retreat." The email read. A scattering of images showing the views and interior of the Cabin lay under the text and Tyler watched with satisfaction as Jason's eyes widened and his eyebrows climbed into his hair.
"Are you serious?" He asked, shock clear in his voice. "This isn't some prank is it?"
"Jason, Jason, Jason." Tyler tutted. "You think so poorly of me, I'm hurt. But no, this is real. Let's just say I don't want us to end on bad terms and I wanted to give something back to you. After all you've done."
Jason was clearly in shock and struggling to regain his composure. "Well that's what I wanted to see." Tyler said, stepping towards the door. "I'll leave you to it, think about who you want to bring with you, it's a truly lovely and romantic place up there." Tyler winked as he pulled the door open, stepped into the hallway and then closed the door behind him.
He didn't move away however, instead he crouched down and put his ear to the door, listening intently. He didn't stay in the dorms on campus, but if there's one thing he knew from his friends that did, it was that the rooms were notoriously not sound proof, and that often times the hallways in particular were loud from all the noise coming through the doors.
He heard exactly what he was hoping for, Jason's voice, clearly talking to someone over the phone.
"A weekend!"
"It's a cabin in the mountains, surrounded by forest."