Above is the pic of Xaiden! ;)
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Ella's POV:

"Good. You can have a seat beside Miss Anderson." Miss Ruby pointed towards me, making my eyes shot up. He nodded his head and started walking towards me as my hands started shaking, and my heart doing strange things - things it had never done before. My mind constantly praying for one thing. Sit somewhere else but please not here.

I was not loving the way my heart had skipped a beat, a few moments ago, and just by his mere smile. I had never reacted this way, not with anyone. He headed towards me still smiling and I cursed under my breath. Not knowing what to do, I quickly stood up with the only one thing in my mind, I need to avoid him. The students and teacher looked towards me at my sudden out-of-the-way movement.

"Oh, please sit. I'll just take another one, you can have yours. Thanks." His voice was so smooth and gentle. His deep accent, so strange to my ears, and the fact that he was standing just beside me, made my body shudder. At once, I felt my stomach turning upside down making me cautious about what was happening and what this strange feeling was? Was I ill or something? Why my stomach acted that way? Was it due to the lunch I had eaten just a few minutes ago? Maybe the sandwich was just going through the process of digestion.

He looked at me with a smile while I stood there dumbfounded. Why was he looking at me like this? Didn't he say that he'll move to another seat? Why was he still in front of me?

"OK?" He questioned. His lips curled up in a smile and his smiling lips again doing the same weird out-of-the-order things to my heart. I wanted to yell at him to stop with his smiling. His smiles were not pretty,  they were creepy - at least they were doing creepy things to my heart - and I was not liking it in any manner.

I simply nodded and averting my eyes from his smiling face, I sat down. I sensed him looking around the class through my peripheral vision and then he went to the back of the class as I released a sigh of relief. Thank God! I was glad that now he would be sitting somewhere else and not with me. My heart was finally getting its normal beats back until the next moment when I heard a seat being placed next to mine. I looked at my side to see no other than Xaiden.

Damn it! I cursed at this messed up day of mine. Why was he back? Didn't he say he would be taking another seat? Then what was he doing sitting right beside me?

"So... I'm Xaiden and you are?" He turned his head towards me and with a smile plastered on his lips, he asked.

I stared at him confused. Why was he talking to me? Why was he asking about me without any reason? Why was he smiling so much? Couldn't he just shut off his damn smile for a while? And the thing I hated the most was, why was it bothering me?

Ella! Don't talk to him. Avoid him, ignore him. You'll be in trouble if your father finds out. Ella! Ignore him, avoid him. I recited those words in my mind trying my best not to answer his question. I turned my head towards the other side and acted like I was busy listening to the teacher.

"Hmm," I felt him shrugged. "I guess... You aren't a friendly one." I heard him mumble but still ignored him.

"So today, we'll have a combined practice. Everyone check your instruments. See if the long summer vacations hadn't done anything bad to them," Miss Ruby chuckled, trying to make a joke. "And prepare yourself," she said, clapping her hands together and the whole class started preparing themselves for the practice.

I played one or two notes to see if the piano was still working the same way it worked before summer vacations. Yup! Working all fine. After a while, the whole class started playing. A sweet melody engulfed the room as I closed my eyes and let my fingers move smoothly on the keyboard.

We were playing the melody of a simple slow country song. The melody smooth, gentle and when it would strike my ears, it would make me relax, giving me a soothed feeling. The music was so magical, soothing and like a dream, it was enchanting and gentle.

We ended the song as the bell rang. I opened my eyes and sighed. I felt fresh and relaxed while playing it like it was just me and my piano in my small world. A world where there were no rules, no goals and no boundaries. A world where I was free without any fear, without any responsibilities.

A smile took its place on my lips and I turned my head to the side, coming face to face with Xaiden. My smile vanished as our eyes met and my stomach again turned upside down. He was staring at me with an odd expression. I didn't know whether it was a surprised one or something else.

I had completely forgotten that during this whole time; he was sitting just right beside me and he must have been watching me this all time. I was so lost in the music that I had forgotten that this boy - who was doing strange things to my heart and my stomach - was sitting beside me and must have been observing me. Darn it!

His grey eyes locked with mine as if they were trying to find something, to search for something, and I wasn't liking the way it made me feel. It felt like they were drowning in mine, like I was drowning in his eyes. As if searching for the moonlight in my darkest life.

He opened his mouth. "You... You played..." he paused as if trying to come up with the right words. I was still looking at him and I hated myself. My self-defence system was going through a process of a power outage and my eyes not moving from his handsome face - correct that, not handsome, not at all - his gentleman's face.

He ran his hands through his light brown locks and gave me a sheepish smile. He then continued his words. "It was beautiful! Wow! I was totally lost-"

Before he could finish his words and gave me another one of his smiles, I grabbed my bag and quickly left the class, away from him, away from his smiles and away from his eyes. His whole presence made me feel strange. It made me feel something I had never experienced before, a new thing, a strange thing.

I felt my cheeks burning up, my whole body as if on fire and I started to feel hot, like I had just gotten a fever.

"Hey, Wait!" I heard his voice followed by a chair being pulled away. The mere thought of him following me was scaring me, making me nervous. I didn't know what he wanted from me but I did know that whatever it was, I couldn't give it. Whether a simple friendship or more. I needed to avoid him and ignore him because he was nothing but trouble. I hastened my steps trying to get away from him as far as possible. I went into the girl's room knowing that this was the only place where he could never follow me. I looked at myself in the mirror, surprised to see my face all red.

"Oh God! What's happening to me?" I grabbed my face and lightly tapped my cheeks, trying to bring myself back to normal. My cheeks were deep red, and I was heavily breathing. It looked as if I had run for my life. I looked like a mess. Sweat beads were there on my head and my chest rising and falling from all the running.

"OK! Get a grip. Avoid him, Ignore him. Stay away from him, Ella! He's trouble!" I looked at myself in the mirror giving myself an order.

"He does not know you. You are Ella Anderson! A Mafia princess. A Mafia's daughter. Don't you ever dare talk to him. He is trouble. Pure trouble," I whispered every word to myself clearly and repeated them in my head. I was trying to calm my nerves down.

I had to be careful from now on. I didn't want my dad to find out about any of this. Although I haven't talked to that boy still, I'd be scolded, and the little freedom that I'd be getting after my sixteen birthday, would be kissed goodbye. As long as I knew my dad, he would probably kill that boy out of his own fear and his only crime would be, talking to this Mafia princess.

But wasn't he a little bit cute? A part of my brain whispered as my mind drifted to the moment I saw his face. Grey eyes, dirty blonde hair, well-built masculine jaw, his sharp facial features-

Damn it! What was I thinking? No! He's not. Don't think about him, I scolded my brain trying to forget him.

But maybe you could have been friends? My brain again pushing forward a possibility, making me wonder. Can we?

No! I push the thought away at once. I didn't want anyone to get hurt and all because of me. I knew my father and how he was really possessive and controlling. He would never like the thought of me hanging with a boy. He will surely kill him and I would be severely punished.

No! This should not happen! Never! I have to avoid him.

I looked at myself one last time and headed towards my next class. The rest of the day went like this. I didn't see him after that and I was glad for it.

"OK students! We will finish the discussion here. See you tomorrow and do prepare yourself for the coming tests."

The bell rang and everyone hurried out. I placed everything in my bag and hung it on my shoulder. Finally, the day was over and I could head home.

"Princess!" I turned around to look at a man having black eyes and his hair glistening with almost white locks. Mr. John - our English teacher - or should I say, uncle John called me. He had been a bodyguard of my dad and they had been like brothers who grew up together. Mr. John was appointed as the bodyguard of dad when dad was around fifteen and he was twenty. He was five years older than my dad and my dad got most of his training from uncle and still, now, they would have morning practices. I grew up calling him uncle and he had always loved me like his own daughter.

When I entered high school, he was appointed as my bodyguard. He became an English teacher at my school so that he could always keep an eye on me and keep me safe. But no one knew about it and nor about me being a Mafia's daughter, not even my best friends. I was afraid of losing them. I was scared that I would lose them once they came to know of my secret and I didn't want that to happen.

"Yes, uncle?" I smiled at him.

"Have your parents arrived?"

"Yes. They had just arrived yesterday." I informed him and he smiled.

"Good. I'll visit tonight," he said while gathering all the papers from his table.

"Okay, I'll tell them. Bye, see you tonight, uncle!" I waved him bye and headed towards the door.

"Bye, princess." I heard him say and with that, I left my class and headed towards my locker.

"Hey, Ella!" I turned around to see Sara and Jessica as soon as I reached my locker.

"Hi, guys!" I took my Chemistry book out of my locker and placed my English book in it.

"So what's with that Emiliano guy? Huh?" Jessica nudged me with her elbow and I could sense a teasing tune in her voice.

"Yeah! He was completely lost in you. When you were playing the piano, he was like lost somewhere. It seems like he... I think he likes you." Sara smirked and I didn't reply.

"But why did you run away?" Jessica questioned, looking at me wide eyes but still, I remained quite. I didn't know why I ran away or why his presence made me feel strange. All I knew was that it seemed the right thing to do at that time.

"Yeah! We know you haven't ever hung out with a boy and had never dated. But this guy, he looks like a gentleman and he's good looking too."

I closed my locker and went towards the school gates, trying to avoid the topic my best friends were talking on. They were back to being those friends giving me a push to start a relationship, to start a new experience of being a teenager and I knew that it would never happen.

"Yeah! What if he really likes you? Well... He's cute too."

I remained silent, not giving them answers as they both continued their ramble.

"Ella! We are talking to you!" They both stood in front of me and stopped me in my tracks. Their eyes shooting me glares for ignoring them as I bit my inner cheek. I wasn't ignoring them.

Yes, you were! My brain retorted and I hated the times when my brain sounded right.

No. I wasn't! I was avoiding that topic. I retorted at my brain's remark. I heard a snap of fingers in front of my face. "Ella! Back to Earth!"

Damn! I zoned out again.

"Look, I'm not interested. I don't want him to like me or be friends with me. I'm fine as I am, and as long as you two are with me, I don't need anyone."  I smiled at them and stated the truth. I didn't really care about him or what he wanted or anything.  All I cared about was my friendship with my best friends.

"But... Ella! Don't you wanna live like other teenagers? Going on dates, falling in love, and then experiencing new things, new feelings, new emotions? Ella! What are you afraid of? Why are you so afraid to fall in love? Let alone, to even talk to a guy?" Jessica held my shoulders and looked me straight in my eyes. Her voice sending off a hint of sympathy and I didn't like that. I wished that I could tell them but I wasn't that brave.

Her question lingered in my mind. The question which I could never answer. I could never tell them my darkest secret, that I was the daughter of a merciless killer, a daughter of the world's greatest Mafia leader. A leader whose life knew no mercy, who would kill people just by the snap of his fingers. I could never tell them my deepest fear.

"Nothing," I whispered and plastered a big OK-I'm-fine smile.

"My rides here, bye!" I spotted the car from the school gates and after bidding them goodbye, I went towards it. My mind was filled with questions and possibilities that shouldn't be on my mind. The possibilities which were impossible yet my mind was still thinking about them. What if he really liked me? What if he tried to talk to me again? Could we be friends? And could I ever give my best friends the answers they wanted? Would I ever be able to choose and experience new things? Would I be able to avoid him and bury the strange things he made me feel?

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