Nathaniel was on the prowl once again. It may have been rather early in the morning to be thinking about such things, but Nate was always scheming, always looking for his next target. He had to be if he was ever going to get out of this town and live on his own, away from his backwards family. Seriously, what had they been thinking? Did they really think springing an engagement on him when he was eighteen was going to go over well? Idiots.
As he strode down the sidewalks in the academic quad, he winked at everyone he passed, receiving some shy and flirty smiles in return. It was great to be him. Junior year of this shit and he’d managed to woo just about the entire campus. And those he couldn’t? Well, that was no matter. He couldn’t possibly be everybody’s type, no matter what smile he pasted on his face. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try.
Nate stopped mid-stride when he realized he’d spotted someone he’d never seen before. His eyes shifted to the left, using his periphery to judge if that first glimpse was indeed correct. And it was. But there something different in the blonde he’d spotted. There was a feeling in his chest, a sort of tightness he wasn’t used to. It was like… she was familiar? That couldn’t be possible, though. He’d never seen this girl in his life!
Yeah, he was probably just having a moment. Maybe he would need to get a good workout in to get rid of that tightness.
Most guys would have at least hesitated a little bit, but not Nate. He was a go-getter and thief of hearts. Couldn’t very well steal the riches off a girl if he didn’t even try to woo her, right? And even if this girl didn’t have anything he could steal, well. She was still hella gorgeous.
“Need help there, beautiful?” he called, sauntering over to the blonde beauty. His signature smolder took over his face, and he hoped it would work its magic. “Haven’t seen you around before—in need of a tour guide, there?”
Well, Patrick was already having a horrible start to his day. Seriously, why was his luck so bad? He’d never crossed paths with a black cat (much to his disappointment), so what was the deal?
He’d woken up to his phone ringing, as it usually was. Instead of ignoring the call, he’d made the mistake of picking up, and as he’d expected, his sister was on the other end, her smirk audible as she told him she was transferring to the same college he was this semester. Just by the way. She had “forgotten” to tell him this little tidbit, and now he was just having the most horrid day. Though he’d watered it down over the years living with his father and Pansy, his British accent reared its head as he cursed her out for daring to intrude upon the once place he had away from her. But naturally, she’d cackled and hung up the call, leaving him to go find his cat, Casanova, and hug him sullenly against his chest.
Maybe he just wouldn’t run into her today. Yeah, sure. When she wanted to embarrass him, Pansy would definitely come humiliate him. A part of him was hoping she had simply been joking, a lovely prank for the first day of the semester. I hate her so much.
Patrick pulled on his clothes and practically stumbled out of his dorm, already a wreck just from one phone call. He needed to get his mind off his sister and fast if he was going to get through the day. Surely there had to be something or someone to help him out of his funk. One of his mates, or even a stranger. Either would do! He just had to get the image of his twin’s smug smirk out of his head.
Thankfully, such a distraction came in the form of the most beautiful woman Patrick had ever seen. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her, not because of her beauty—although that had a lot to do with it—but because, for some strange reason, he thought maybe he knew her? But that couldn’t be true. He, uh, hadn’t exactly talked to girls back in high school. College was when he’d come out of his shell a bit more, thanks to the lack of Pansy. Maybe it was a coincidence?
His British accent was still very much active as he slowly approached the girl, hoping to make a good impression, unlike a certain mate of his. “Um, you look a bit lost there. Do you need any help, miss?” A bit formal for anyone’s tastes, but he wasn’t about to be rude. Besides, he’d thought he’d heard a bit of French from this girl. Nobility may not exactly have existed nowadays, but her silvery-blonde hair was enough to convince him that maybe he was wrong about that. “Unless I’m bothering you, of course. In which case, I’m so sorry to intrude.”
Well, he was making a right mess of this, wasn’t he?
It was a really sunny day and when that happened, Rosalie was usually in a very good mood. Or at least she was
In fact, the above statement was true. After feeling free from all the clasps that her family had on her. Free from the confines of the room she was locked in from her childhood. Free from the engagement her father trapped her in at a very young age. Even though she was not really free from the latter, it still gave her some time before her academic years finish and it is back to the betrothed life she was destined for. That being said, she was still awaiting a nice phone call from father dearest telling her the meeting spot or the day of her wedding at this point.
What did he think? That Rosa did not pick up the hints that he paid for this university specifically just so she would be in the same town he needed her to be in. As ignorant people made Rosalie be, she always loved to keep it that way so she was always at least a step ahead. The only thing that kept her from coming back to this university was her beloved cousin who was a year older than her but only she seemed to understand her predicament, even though she was tasked to look over young Rosa.
Shuffling in her locker for her art supplies with a soft sigh, she tried to find her apron. Rosa wore one of her favourite outfits which screamed happy for her. Some nice bleached blue ripped jeans topped with an olive green flowing shirt with sunflowers on it, her favourite flower to say the least. Knowing she had art class, she was most likely to end up with paint all over her. She wanted to at least keep her clothing semi-decent for her other classes. Yeah, she had accounts first thing, then art and some general classes later on. Something she had to take to shut people up from taking back her funds.
Rosa slowly tucked a golden blonde wave behind her right ear as she chewed on the inside of her cheek in an effort on trying to understand what she was about to face. Sure, Accounts was an elective choice but Rosalie hated not understanding what she was learning.
Amidst her trying to reason out, she huffed in annoyance at it before she slammed it shut, causing some of her baby hairs from her fringe to fly at the breeze effect. Before a smooth voice brought her back to reality. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed a rather familiar face. It was not really that she knew him personally but more like knew his reputation.
"I'm good thank you," she said as she slammed shut her locker and took her accounts school book, hugging it to her chest. As she turned around to face the male, he greeted her with his smoulder which earned him a good eye roll and side grin before sighing. "I am sure you never did, considering the number of females you try to run after. Besides, I think there are much better things to do than being my tour guide, no?" Rosa recommended with a raised eyebrow.
It was a matter of time before she thought she was going to get picked up on his radar. She managed to survive a good year without being picked up, record. It was bound to happen and well not that she did not find him attractive but he was a player. That did not go down well with dear Rosalie. "Plus, I am not new. I know my way around..."
Despite being in her second year, Rosalie was her first time in Accounts. That department she had never been in but she knew she could figure out where without his help. The blonde looked from side to side as she was in the conversation for any sign that said, Business Department or something remotely related.
No matter how much this little exchange irked her, she couldn't help but still engage. Why? She did not know but he seemed to have an aura that glued her instead of making her walk away.
Nerves were simply an understatement for the young female who was on her first day in this large university in her third year nonetheless.
Desirée had just recently moved to the warm climate of California from the coldest climate of Toronto. That in itself had already been a major shift in her life given she barely had any summer clothing, to begin with. In fact, the female went for a nice short, flowing floral skirt with a nice white blouse to keep herself from not overheating. In fact, she even had a nice pale pink trench coat on for protection from the sun. Just by walking to campus, her very pale skin had some red blotches that were covered by the coat now. It was safe to say the sunny weather was not proving to be healthy for the young female.
With a soft sigh and smile, she was determined not to let these minor issues ruin her first day of university. In fact, she had needed to get her roster done and even sign up for clubs which to her knowledge was supposed to be later tonight at the festival. At least that is what the nice lady at the information desk told her.
Desirée looked down at her phone, catching up on her likes and follows in her latest blog entry. It involved her new arrival in the United States and how she was adjusting and her goals to be achieved for this year. She loved keeping her followers entertained and pumped for what was to come next. They seem to love looking forward to what has been achieved and what new ventures and creations she manages to cook up. Of course, travelling most of her supplies will need to be re-bought but at least she managed to get most essentials through. That was one of her major concerns. Starting over.
As she was satisfied enough and reading through the comments of what designs she was being requested to do, a notification with her first alarm popped up which meant she needed to get her timetable together. She hummed and kept looking at her phone before looking around for some sort of school map that could help her navigate through campus much easier. Desi, despite being Canadian and speaking mostly fluent English, sometimes still had trouble reading English, not that she loved to expose. A map was a bit challenging but better than nothing nonetheless.
As she was in her loss of wondering, a kind voice brought her back before a small smile danced on her lips, "Bonjour monsieur (Good Morning sir), you are fine. If anything, I am very lost."
Not that she loved to admit but knowing she was at a loss and the person in front of her offered help was something she needed indeed, "Oui (Yes), I am new here. I would appreciate the l'aide (the help) if it does not take much of your time.". Desi did not want to waste any of this gentleman's time. Being an online persona, one would think she was very outgoing but in reality, she was really introverted with new people in particular. However, there was something with this handsome tall brunette that lured her in. His accent in particular was very intriguing and she did not feel alone with her French accent when speaking her trained English after.
The pale female slowly looked down at her heels before slowly looking up meeting the male's gaze with a shy smile, "Non, non (No, no) you are not a bother, quite the contrary kind sir.". Her voice was rather soft-spoken, delicate even. It showed a certain class to her. Some may misread her to be snobbish, preppy and prissy even... but in reality, she was none of those things. Or at least she hoped she did not come across that way.
She was not coming across as instantly needy, was she?
Based on the tone of the answer she immediately gave him, this beautiful lady already knew of him. That was fine. Not a problem. He’d encountered plenty of that before. Either he would have to be candid about it, or he would have to somehow convince her that she was different than all the others. Which, wow. Looking at that gorgeous face? She was different than the others. In a weirdly familiar, model-gorgeous way.
Her question made him rub his chin. Did he have better things to do? Probably. Would he do them? Not with her around. “You’d be mistaken about that, blondie, I have nothing better to do than talk to you.” He grinned, hoping it would work on her, but it seemed this one was going to be a lot harder to charm than most. While he liked a challenge, he wondered just how long he could stand to be amused by exchanges like this. At some point, one of them would probably get hurt. And it would most likely be him. Getting punched by her.
Although, he always did enjoy having something to remember a pretty girl by, even if it was a black eye.
“In my own defense, I go after plenty of men, too. I’m not picky.” It was a pretty solid defense for a well-known womanizer like him. Couldn’t be entirely blamed when he found men just as attractive, now, could he? “But I’m surprised to hear you’re not a new student, I would’ve remembered eyes like that. They’re even prettier than mine.” He leaned forward just a bit, but not enough that she would need to punch him, smiling at the crystalline he found there. “Breathtaking.”
Nate leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. “Now, I’m going to give you one more chance to take me up on my offer. Why? Because I see the way your eyes are darting around, and I can tell you’re looking for something. Based on that accounting textbook you’ve got, I’d say it has something to do with finding the Business Department.” It surprised most people to know that he was that observant. They tended to think he was only looking out for pretty faces or bodies. But no, Nate had to be good at observing all kinds of things—his fortune and future depended on it.
“Luckily for you, I happen to be very familiar with that department, being a full-fledged member of it myself.”Not that it’s necessarily my choice.“I’d be happy to take you there, but if you’d rather get lost, I will happily accept that answer as well. Up to you, princess.”. Yeah, that nickname suited her. “Blondie” was too classic, and while cheesy, she did look like a princess. Why not?
God, even her voice was beautiful. Patrick knew he was going to make a fool of himself with this woman, but he wasn’t about to run away like a idiot. Especially when she needed help. “Bonjour, mademoiselle,” he replied, thankful for his years of French classes (and Pansy had doubted him!), “I’m sorry to hear that. I’d be happy to help you, if I can.” Man, would Nate be impressed if he saw him now. Not that they were flirting, but he was talking! With a pretty girl!
His brain took a couple moments to translate the bits of French she included in her English speaking. Franglais was not exactly a strong suit of his, but he was willing to try. Plus, the way the French syllables sounded in her voice? Divine. Absolutely heavenly. He smiled. “It’s no trouble. I’m not in any rush. What’s the trouble?”
It was official. He was downright smitten with this woman. They had just met, but he suddenly wanted nothing more than to talk to her, ask where she was from, anything. That was his curse as someone who hadn’t had much practice speaking to girls in high school—he was bound to fall instantly in love with the ones he did speak to. Patrick nearly died when she looked down at her feet before looking back up at him. How was he supposed to breathe when someone this beautiful existed? He needed Nate’s advice, stat!
No, he had to pull himself together. She needed his help! “I’m happy to hear that. Is there somewhere in particular you’re trying to go? If you’re not sure, I can help you find a map to help you figure out the direction.” Patrick slipped his hands into the pocket of his leather jacket so he wouldn’t be tempted to fall to this woman’s feet and pledge undying loyalty or something else embarrassing to her. “Um. I could also just… walk you there, if that’s alright?”
Rosa arched an eyebrow, her lips curving into a sardonic smile as she listened to Nate's confident banter. She had dealt with his type before, the smooth talkers who thought they could charm their way into anything. But she was no stranger to holding her own. Especially ever since she stepped foot in this school, many pursuers were following in Nathaniel's footsteps. It was bewildering and amazing how someone as small as her caught the attention of so many heads in her first year here, last year. It was sweet almost as if she was unaware of the reputation and trail of heartbreaks girls had to endure just by being in front of her right now. He was attractive, for sure and if she didn't know his rep, she would probably give in but no. That would be too easy and it would suit that narcissistic ego way too much.
"Blondie, huh?" she mused, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the nearby locker as it clicked underneath her with her body weight shift. "Well, lucky for you, I've got a weakness for cheesy nicknames. You got away scot-free. For now," she retorted, her tone laced with amusement. True, she earned her fair share of nicknames along the year and blondie was most common as if it was meant to insult her. Jokes on them, she doesn't mind it. Rosa loved her precious golden locks so blondie was more than a meaningful compliment to her. Although small, she does throw a mean right hook but he didn't deserve that. Yet.
"Oh? An all-rounder, then. A player supporting all teams. That's considerate of you," she mused, twirling the ends of her hair she did not flinch as he leaned forward to gaze into her eyes, briefly letting her own gaze meet his own dark chocolate one. However, his attempt at flattery earned him a sceptical glance. "Smooth, but I've heard better lines from telemarketers," she teased, though a hint of genuine amusement twinkled in her eyes as she noticed his attempts at flirting with her. Rosa could never understand why was she worth the hassle to flirt with. Especially with how hard to get she loves to play. A free spirit is how she had always been. Especially coming from a childhood where she had been controlled and confined. Do this and do that with no say. Relationships were not any different.
The blonde tilted her head, considering his offer, especially after that display of perception that truth be told, took Rosa off guard. She needed someone like that. She was hopeless when it came to picking up on certain cues. With that, she let out a soft sigh, still hugging the aforementioned book in hand. "So, you're offering to be my personal tour guide to the Business Department, huh?" she mused aloud. "I suppose it's a tempting offer, but forgive me if I'm not convinced of your altruistic motives just yet."
“Luckily for you, I happen to be very familiar with that department, being a full-fledged member of it myself.” Not that it’s necessarily my choice. “I’d be happy to take you there, but if you’d rather get lost, I will happily accept that answer as well. Up to you, princess.”. Yeah, that nickname suited her. “Blondie” was too classic, and while cheesy, she did look like a princess. Why not?
She pushed off the wall, taking a step closer to him, her gaze steady. "But I'll play along," she said with a smirk. "Lead the way, Nate. Let's see if you're as good at navigating as you are at talking your way into conversations." She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his nickname. That was the one nickname she did not really like, it got a bit under her skin, since she was nowhere near that. If only. Rosa wished that she was. Honestly. Life would be so much easier if she was.
With a flick of her hair, she gestured for him to take the lead, her glass-like eyes twinkling with a mixture of challenge and amusement. She might have been amused by his antics, but she wasn't about to let him think he had her figured out just yet, even if it was a small fraction.
Desirée blinked, caught off guard by the sudden rush of earnestness from the stranger before her. His attempts at French were endearing, if a bit rough around the edges, but she appreciated the effort nonetheless. It was sweet, cute even. She was quite relieved that someone took the time to aid her in a time of need. Her peers were usually rather selfish and never really gave you the time of day unless you were a part of their... group? clique? Yes, something along those lines.
"Merci beaucoup (Thank you very much)," she replied with a soft smile, her own French accent colouring her very soft spoken words. "You are too kind. I am trying to find the library, but I seem to have gotten turned around. A lot," she glanced around, feeling a bit embarrassed at her predicament. She prided herself on her sense of direction, but this campus was proving to be a maze. A challenge.
Very kind and very handsomely easy on the eyes if she had to admit. His mere presence painted a very faint pink tint to those porcelain cheeks of hers. However, it could also be how warm the weather climate was in these parts. Very warm. This situation was not helping. Desirée was a firm believer in acts of service. His offer to help was unexpected but welcomed. She couldn't deny the flutter of warmth in her chest at his genuine willingness to assist her. "Walking me there would be wonderful, thank you," she said gratefully, her cheeks flushing even more of a rose pink now.
"I am aware it is somewhere into the north of this quad but that is as far as I go," she proceeded to walk before Desirée fell into step beside him, stealing occasional glances at his profile. He was charming in a slightly awkward, endearing way, and she found herself inexplicably drawn to him. "So, do you know your way around campus well?" she asked, hoping to keep the conversation flowing. It was rare to encounter someone so willing to lend a hand without expecting anything in return, and she wanted to make the most of their time together. Even if it was their first encounter.
First impressions are important after all.
She hoped that Rosalie would not see her. Desi had made it a point to her younger cousin to put her focus on her studies rather than foolish encounters but at the same time, she felt like a little hypocrite from this little walk. Even if it was what Desi needed right now.