"He is a Zaveri?"

"So, he is the son of one of the richest families in the whole world?"

"And his family is one of the founders of Magsville University."

Those are just some of the gossips I have heard everywhere I go here in Magsville. Everyone is talking about him. Francis here, Francis there—his name is everywhere. Even the girls, just mentioning his name will make their hearts pound so fast.

I mean, is he that good-looking? Well, I know he is but he is making the whole school so crazy about him.

The entire squad is in the open field right now and is sitting at a vacant table. My friends are so busy talking to each other while me, my face is buried in my arms above the table.

"Francis is still well-known here until now, you see?" Sam chuckled while I was just listening silently.

He is not with us today since Mr. Touchwood ordered him to go to his office to discuss some matters.

"Yeah, he still did not change. He is still the same old Francis that we know and our friend." Lainux said and everyone agreed.

Except maybe me who is still embarrassed for what I did and happened when I was running late this morning.

I mean, after Francis introduced himself in front of our class, that is when I realized that he is the Francis that my friends were talking about. Who would not even feel so ashamed of what I did? His family is one of the founders here in this university, prominent, influential, one of the wealthiest, and the newfangled news I learned—the grandson of Mr. Touchwood.

"HEY, Minerva! Snap out of it!"

"Holy flying mother of the entire nation!"

"Jesus, Minerva. Why do you get surprised so easily?"

I did not even know what expression I just said. They all made fun of me because of that so I glared at them.

"Chill out, Min," Neal tried to stop himself from laughing. "We were just kidding."

I just let out a huge sigh.

If you guys were not my friends, I would have killed you by now.

I just rolled my eyes at them as a reply and buried my face again in my arms on top of the table.

"H-Hey, Min," I felt Lia sat on the space beside me. "We were just trying to make you laugh. You were spacing out. It is not like you, you know?" She gently patted me on the back.

"Why are you so down today, girl? It is ruining your beauty." Sam said softly.

Instead of saying anything, I just raised my head and smiled at them. It is the least I could do since I can not express my current emotions.

"Guys, I am okay. It is just that...I think I am crazy."

"So, it is confirmed then. You are crazy."

"Didn't I ju—" Hold on. This voice is familiar.

I slowly turned around to see the owner of the familiar voice behind my back-then there he was. Standing so perfectly with hands in his pockets and soft, black hair dancing in the wind.

"Francis, dude!" I watched him as he slowly walked towards our table.

"How is your summer vacation? You did not hang out with us for long when we had our summer dinner together." The boys gave each other high-fives, which is kind of cool to look at.

"It was entertaining," He answered calmly. "We spent most of the time hitting the roads in Los Angeles. Cooking steaks. Grilling cheese. Stuff like that."

Damn. Why is it so cool when he speaks like that? So charming and...whatever. We are still not close yet so I should not idolize him like this.

"Don't you have any souvenirs for us?" Lainux threw a half-meant joke.

Everyone laughed. Even I heard Francis' laugh and it is so good to hear. His voice is charming and as I look at them talking and smiling to each other, they look so good together. So this is how happy they were before they met me. I hope Francis and I will get very close even though it seems impossible.

I just came back to reality when I felt their gaze on me. Including his.

"Min, why are you not saying anything?" Sam asked me.

All of them are looking at me with worry. I can not read Francis' expression, though, since it looks like he does not care at all.

Moreover, I am aware that there is a group of three girls who are standing far away from our table. I admit that my eyes are not really in good condition, but I can see very clearly that they are looking at Francis. I do not care even if he melts by their stares but it is so annoying. It is quite bothering me for some reason.

"Minerva Yoshida."

"Ye—" I was not able to finish what I was about to say again when I realized how Francis is so close to me.

I tilted my head because he is taller than me. He looked me straight in the eyes and it was like I was mesmerized by it. He is so close, and it was not a question when he called my name. It was a statement. A statement that I could not fathom why it is making my heart pound so fast.

"You are red."

"W-What?" I lifted my hand to touch my cheeks and I could feel them burning. Damn it. This is exasperating.

"Francis, your fan club is coming this way." I sighed in relief when Lia joined the three of us and pointed at the group of three girls who are walking towards us.

Francis turned his back against me and walked a little further away, which made me feel even better.

Francis was so close to me! What was he thinking?

"My friend was blushing." Lia laughed and poked my cheek.

I pouted. "Shut up."

She laughed again. "Do not worry, he can deal with his fan club."

"I am not worried." I gave her a quite confused look. "And a fan club?"

Lia and I walked back towards the squad who are looking at Francis as his fan club started talking to him.

"Hey, Francis!" The short-haired girl started.

I thought Francis was gonna say anything but he did not. He just looked at them without any emotions and I feel so odd about it. I looked at my friends and they just shrugged their shoulders.

"How was your trip to L.A?" The girl flipped her shiny hair as if she is some kind of a model.

I leaned into my left to whisper to Sam.

"Is she a model?"

She whispered back, "Not a model, Min. A bitch."

I stopped myself from laughing at what she said. She just winked at me, though. I stood up straight again when I heard Francis spoke very calmly yet a little bit harsh.

"What do you want, Sania?"

"Nothing much." The girl laughed sarcastically. Then she pointed at the two girls behind her back. "Meet my friends, Dastrih and Norel."

"Hi, Francis!" Her two friends waved at him, flirting.

I just rolled my eyes. I do not like girls like them. They look like the typical popular mean girls at school who does not do anything else but seek attention.

Sania walked closer towards Francis and with her voice full of a flirt she said, "Wanna hang out with us today? I am free, we can go to wherever you want."

I felt like vomiting in front of them. Sania is just so disgusting and I can say she is a trying-hard bitch. But before I could vomit, Lia spoke with annoyance in her voice.

"Sania, Francis is with us. We want to hang out with our friend, too."

Sania turned to face her and placed her hands on her hips. Geez, the typical mean girl. After all, she is the leader of her petty squad.

"So? What is the significance of the study, Natalia Crawford?"

"Significance of the study? This ain't a research paper," Sam scoffed. Then like Sania, Sam placed her other hand on her hips then pointed the other at the mean girl leader. "You bitch."

"What did you just call me?!" Somehow, Sam triggered Sania and went in straight to fight her in just a snap.

Sam managed to have a tight grip on Sania's hair first, which is very good since of course, I am on my friend's side. But this is no time for a show! The five of us quickly meddle with their fight to stop them.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME BITCH, YOU BITCH!!"

"S-Sania, stop! Calm down, please!" The girl named, I think Dastrih tried to calm her down while their friend is still trying to escape Dastrih and Norel's tight grip.

Lia and I are the ones who are holding a tight grip on Sam just to stop her from fighting Sania. Oh, God! This is getting worse than I thought.

"THEN STOP BEING A GODDAMN BITCH!!"

"SAMANTHA, STOP IT!" I also could not help not to exclaim because it is not easy to hold her down like this.

"OH, REALLY NOW, SAMANTHA?! MAYBE YOU ARE JUST INSECURE OF ME BECAUSE I AM WAY MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU!!"

"Sania, stop it!"

His voice was calm, but it was full of authority. It was like the world has stopped when he spoke. Like, he was some kind of a noblesse who leads, controls, and executes. Everyone around me, even the people who have gathered just to see what happens, all of their eyes stopped at the one and only Francis Zaveri.

"F-Francis..." Sania quickly plastered a fake, hurtful expression on her face as if she is the victim. "It is her fault. S-She called me a bitch and—"

"I am not buying your priceless acts, Sania." Damn. Is this the kind of guy he is? He looks so different from the guy I bumped into the corridor this morning. "You hurt my friends. If you hurt them again, I will not gonna forgive you. You know what I can do, right? Your family is nothing compared to mine."

He turned his back against him then started walking towards us. Sam managed to calm down, so Lia and I let go of her. Lainux and Neal are both silents as well. I think they already knew that this would happen. They never told me about Sania and her squad, but it looks like there is a background that I must know about.

"F-Francis, are you...m-mad?"

He stopped, then he replied to Sania without facing her. "Very furious."

Lainux smiled. "He still really is the Francis that we know." Everyone agreed.

The people are still staring at us, especially at Francis. They looked so impressed but scared at the same time at him. I can not blame them. Francis' aura is so intimidating at the moment. Very different from the 'innocent' guy I met this morning.

"Are you alright?" He asked Sam whose face is still red because of irritation.

"Never better. I have always wanted to fight that girl. Who does she think she is anyway?" She fixed herself and breathe heavily.

"Thanks, guys, for stopping me."

"We are used to it. You have always been the warrior queen." Neal joked but Sam just rolled her eyes at him.

It made me even more curious about my friends' relationship with Sania. I know I should not be feeling like this but I think there is something that I must know. In the amid of thinking about it, I decided to take a glance at Sania. When I glanced at her, coincidentally, our eyes met. However, it was like the air in the surroundings changed when I saw a flash of horror in her face. I could not see her expression properly because her friends immediately pulled her out of the field.

What was that?

"Min, let us go. Francis said he will be treating us to a classy restaurant nearby." Excitement devoured Lia's well-being as she was jumping up and down.

"Um..." It was kind of awkward and I do not have any idea what to say. I mean, me and Francis are not that close. It would be bad if I go...right?

"You can come. After all," Francis spoke and turned his back at me. But then, he looked by his shoulder and said, "You are one of us now."

With just that short statement, my heart started racing so swiftly. His voice was kind of cold, but it was so hot. From that moment, I was captivated by him like a firework's show.

Dammit. I think I am in love.