"Where did you go yesterday?"

Augustine looked up from her coffee that was warming her face rather than actually drinking it. Placing the ceramic mug on the oak counter, she let out a sigh.

"Can you not talk so loud, this hangover is killing me," she said harshly, holding her pounding head. She didn't intend to be so mean, but her head was thumping aggressively, and it felt like absolute hell. Roncos, the little cafe with the exaggerated prices was her favourite place to grab a bite with Lenox, but she couldn't think straight, considering the fact that her head felt like a ticking time bomb.

Lenox was used to this. Irritable Augustine made an appearance after every party, and he knew what to expect.

"Did you at least take some aspirin?" Lenox asked, pushing the tendrils of hair from her face. This sudden proximity between the two, coupled with her sleep deprived state caused her to jerk her head back.

"Sorry," Augustine mumbled, holding a head that was now pulsing. She put her elbow down on the table, supporting the weight of her head with it, "sorry for everything," she said looking up at him. She was truly sorry, but it was like the events of last night were following her, the anger she had for Rieu oozing out of her.

She grit her teeth, and bunched her hair up in her hand, attempting to push off this mood.

If you were looking for some pity for your situation, there is none here. I don't want to deal with you any longer.

Look, if this has to do with whatever went on at school or whatever, I don't really care. It's beneath me to.

"I was thinking we could get away, just the two of us this summer," Lenox said snapping her back to reality.

"Summer is over 8 months away," Augustine said back, slowly picking up her mug and sipping on the dark roast inside. The slight hostility in her voice was not lost on him, wondering what he did for her to be so passive aggressive towards him.

He was used to aggravated Augustine, but she was never like this.

Moving closer again, he put a warm rough hand over her small cold one.

"You're still for us right?" He said, leaning closer to her in the slightest bit, anticipating her response.

Augustine sighed and murmured an "I am" before looking up at Lenox with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, seeing the pure love he had for her in his eyes, and reflected on the pure hatred she had for herself. Stringing him along even though she could never really reciprocate those feelings.

Taking another sip of her coffee, she then thought back to Rieu and the way she screamed at him. Augustine jumped at the onslaught of the memory, and Lenox jumped as well, a bit of the now warm coffee spilling on his khaki pants.

"Shit," Augustine said, grabbing a tissue to dab on the stain that now ruined his pants, but all Lenox let out was a chuckle.

"Sorry, there was just a draft," she said, cleaning as much coffee as she could dab off.

"It's fine August," he responded, his trademark smile slipping through. Augustine would have been a puddle by now if it weren't for the fact that she wanted to be home just about now, contemplating why she was such a horrible person.

Sighing, she put the now damp tissue on the countertop, the coffee now on her fingertips. Grabbing another tissue, she attempted to wipe the residue off. Adjusting her legs under the table, she banged her knee against the table. Pain shot up her leg.

Augustine whimpered, her drunken falls from yesterday coming back with a vengeance.

"Shit," she said, holding her eyes shut and gritting her teeth, the pain even worse now.

Twisting her seat towards himself, Lenox looked at the bruise, the unnatural purplish colour against her skin making him reel back.

"August, when did you get this?" He said, concern and pity in his gaze.

Augustine didn't fully remember, her mind still a haze from the activities of last night. She concentrated, thinking of what happened.

"I, I think I tripped, that's all. I think I was looking for the washroom or something," she said, her brain attempting to put two and two together.

Lenox suddenly paused, his face going blank for a moment. Augustine didn't know why his face changed, but she didn't question it, her hungover state preventing her from doing so. Turning back towards her cup of coffee, she sighed.

"I always get ugly bruises when I drink too much," Augustine said, holding her head up with one hand and her coffee with the other.

Letting go of her head, and swirling the coffee in the mug, she looked at the dark brown liquid, not wanting it any more.

Feeling a little risky, she then dipped her head close to his head, her warm breath fanning his ear, making the hair on his body stand on end "I'm also haven't had good sex in a while," she said, lightly brushing her lips on his ear.

Lenox moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She gasped when he pulled her closer, squeezing her against his side. With a low hum, and a husky voice, he whispered,

"I can fix that when we get home."

They both left the coffee shop, half of Augustine's coffee left in the ceramic mug, and wild thoughts in both of their minds.

════════════════

"Want something to eat?"

Lenox's nude form walked past, the sound of his feet softly padding against the floor, the only sound Augustine could hear. The soft light from the glass window was pouring in, giving him a soft glow in the noon hour.

"What do you have?"

She responded, wrapped up in his sheets with her head propped up on her hand. She could barely move, but it was worth it.

Throwing on a robe, Lenox looked back at the girl, the silhouette of her curvy body pressed against the soft sheets of his bed. How he wish he could look at her forever, he thought.

"Carry me?" She asked, stretching her had in his direction, the duvet slipping down even further. He was tempted, the slight whine in her voice enough to make him cave, but he grabbed a robe, and handed it to her. She then slipped it on, catching glances at her nude body.

Picking her up bridal style, he carried her down the stairs, the subtle looking at each other and laughing something that happened every time.

Although Augustine was riding the cloud of bliss, she knew that her and Lenox couldn't continue like this. She knew that this would be destroyed somehow. Halfway done the stairs, her grip on him tightened, causing him to look down at her.

She pressed her face into his chest, her whole body tightening under his grip.

"What wrong?" Lenox asked, his brown eyes looking down at the girl in his arms.

"Nothing" she said, looking at the loose knot tied in the front of her robe. She loosened her grip a bit, attempting to keep up the facade she had on.

Lenox placed her on a oak stool at his kitchen island, and walked over to the main kitchen, rummaging around for ingredients to make something. His robe was on the thin side, and Augustine saw the ripples of back muscles that drove her crazy.

"So what's for lunch, chef?" Augustine asked, a chuckle bubbling deep inside her at the use of chef.

"What do you crave mademoiselle?" He answered back, a fake French accent moving over his real voice.

With a chuckle, she answered, "some low fat oatmeal please."

"Ah, a meal I can make!" Lenox answered back, exclaiming with his accent.

She crossed her legs underneath the island, tracing small patterns of uneven shapes on the counter in front of her. Guilt settled over her once again, and her mind dove into the abyss that pertained to the man in front of her.

She was smitten, his kisses driving her wild, turning her into a savage. Her primal instincts would only come out around him, he drove her crazy, her unrestrained nature turning him on just as much. Too bad it was only the physical, she thought.

"Fini," he said, sliding the bowl of oatmeal to the girl.

"Merci Beaucoup," she said back, shooting him a half hearted smile.

════════════════

Let this be over soon, Augustine thought.

It seemed like time was always stagnant during Mrs. Helvig's Physics class. She droned on as the students zoned out, thinking about the next party or the next school scandal. Most students cared only for the drama in the academy, but others had real responsibilities on their shoulders. Augustine wished she had the freedom of other students, but while she tried to blend in, she knew an entire business was going to be dropped on her shoulders someday.

Looking down at her grey blazer, she tugged on a gold button, trying to preoccupy herself. Sighing, she turned a page ahead in her textbook, and read about a subject she was all too familiar with.

She was about to pull her hair out by the time she got to the third question of the section, but she was saved by the bell, it ringing throughout the whole school signalling for lunch. She packed all her things in her Birkin bag, and left the classroom to meet her friends in the cafeteria. Her pace was punishing, and was hard for anyone to keep up with, the light clacks of her Black Manolos lost in the sea of sound around her.

She made it to the dining hall, the place busting with life and busybodies. She sauntered over to her friends at their usual spot.  Holding her red skirt as she sat down, she let out a breathy hi to her friends.

"Hello you," Lenox said, kissing the side of her head. Augustine let out a low huff, and her cheeks had a faint tinge of pink, the regret flooding across her cheeks mistaken for embarrassment.

January dug his head deeper into his book, and Tilden looked away, staring at a brunette who couldn't keep an eye off of her. She knew her friends knew about their well planned escapades but they were never so public about it.

"Hey," she said, slightly moving away, "What on the menu today," she said, attempting to divert the attention somewhere else.

"Brr, that response was almost as cold as the sushi were having," Coco commented, making a shivering motion with a coprophagous grin falling over her features.

Augustine let out a snarky smile, pushing her chair out and walking over to the line. When it was her turn, she spoke up to the chef, asking for salmon, crab and avocado rolls with sashimi on the side. Before her order was through, a voice cut through the hazy noises of the dining hall.

"Avacado and crab are fattening you know," Achilles said behind her.

"And?" Augustine answered, turning around, not at all amused by the supposed prince of the school.

"Fat isn't great in all cases," he said, looking wearily at the bronze girl. He was judging her, and she felt his eyes roam over her body. With a shiver, she turned back around, facing in front of her.

"Why do you care," she said, her eyes narrowed, and her brows low. Picking up her bento, she sent a nod of thanks to the Japanese chef.

"I don't," he said, walking away with his own food. She wanted to tell him off, but he was gone before she could say a word. Sometime within that short encounter, the cafeteria has turned their attention to watch their prince talk to a peasant.

She was no where near the bottom of the food chain, set to inherit a bank empire, a fitting crown for a spoiled princess, but Rieu had a way of making the richest of students look like they were the dirt beneath his black Salvatore Ferragamos. There was no hierarchy to Rieu, only a dictatorship, where he was at the top, and all the students of the academy were at the bottom.

Murmurs followed her back to her lunch table, and she sat down at her table. She then picked up her bamboo chopsticks, and placed a crab avocado roll in her mouth.

"What was that about?" January questioned. Augustine shrugged her shoulders, just as confused as the person asking her the question. While she shrugged her shoulders, January thought better than to pry, shut his mouth, and picked at his katsudon.

Lenox offered her a spot, lifting his arm. With a shallow breath, and a small smile, Augustine melted into his side, the two fitting together like matching puzzle pieces.

She wondered how long she could have this for, how long it would last. Nuzzling into his grey vest, she felt relaxed. Augustine knew she was okay with Lenox by her side.