Chapter 1: Juliet and Her Charm
The sun had just peeked up over the sky, illuminating the fresh world and burning my eyes with the horror of a new day. Groaning, I slid up from bed and rubbed my eyes; today was the day. I could not afford to sleep as I pleased. As I threw the white comforter away and hoisted myself out of bed, the mere touch of my body to the ground signaled a rush of servants to my call(even if I never uttered one).
"Young master, how might you be this morning?" a maid asked as she dressed me.
"Tired." I replied, as I stared at myself in the mirror. The outfit was slick with a loose white shirt, adorned with a small, blue, plaid tie that was just the perfect length to not collide with the navy vest about my chest. The shorts were fairly close to my standard attire, knee-length and plaid with optional buckle-socks. As the maid flipped my collar down, she stared at me for a bit and then poked in her glasses with a flush amazement.
"Young master," she said with a smile, "have you grown?"
"I wonder, maybe..." I replied.
It had been some 7 years since I had moved to this country, abandoned by my foreign parents, both famous for various reasons that both entitled them to being more suited to their profession had they not had a child. Naturally, I was given a small fortune and a mansion with life-time servants—all in an effort of my guilty parents to make themselves feel better. At the age of 6, I was abandoned...And ever since, my servants had cared for me until they felt I was mature enough to handle the "outside world."
I stepped outside the manor and looked upon the busy streets of this society, so far off that the hordes of people looked like a grouping of caterpillars to a tree, squashed and brainless. This time in the sun would be interesting, I thought, as I stepped onto the pavement of my driveway. There was a war just outside this place, in the zones of combat. A war between the country I came from, and the country I was currently in. As the maids and butlers said, all humans carry grudges, and it is never a bad thing to hold one; yet it is with humanity to call its own actions to condemn. Therefore, the product of my presence would likely bring bullying at my new school—as will be always a difficulty of living my life when of foreign blood.
The outside world...
The school was the same as in the website photos; a high rise, old plantation on top of a hill, overlooking the city. It had been modified to consist of several facilities, flora, and a clock tower that framed the courtyard fountain, flowing steadily before the original 19th century manor. The red roses bloomed full against the green grass and white marble of the facilities, while the bright colors of the blue uniformed students made the atmosphere rather aristocratic; it was fitting considering this school was charging and $500,000(353,500 € or 39,570,000 ¥) fee per semester. The students walked with their friends, laughing and socializing with their books pressed to their chests, or dangling inside messenger bags(it had long since been too informal to use backpacks here).
The gray stone was paved directly to the tall cherry wood doors of the classroom building left ajar. As I exited the car and entered through the iron gates of the school, onto the path, a sweet wind blew east, taking with it roses petals and the scent of flowers. This place was the all boys private school, Le Prince Academy. A fitting name, I now saw. And my body reared forward with a sudden weight, I glared behind me to the boy who'd just flung over me.
He whispered softly, "Ciel-chan, don't confuse the readers with your emo monologs; you've already been attending this school for 3 weeks."
I thrashed and pushed him off to where his light feet danced backwards to stand before me, a precarious smile across his face and hands held behind his back. He was older than me, and bigger, with a tall posture and deviant cyan eyes that sparkled through his blonde locks, draping lazily before his eyes.
"And since when do you know what's in my monologs, Alois Trancy?" I retorted.
"Oh I know everything, including that you have a class to get to in about 30 seconds." his grin widened as he pointed to the clock tower.
"You ass, making me hurry!" I exclaimed, gather myself and scurrying off.
He followed and laughed, "If you go that slow, you'll never make!"
And, all of a sudden, he lifted me up into his arms and sprinted for the main building.
"Alois!" I exclaimed, " Put me down you fool~!"
"You run slower than a snail, I don't want to be late, you know."
With that, I huffed out a sigh and angrily obliged to his actions. Why hadn't I woken up earlier?
"What's with that sour face, Ciel?" he asked, letting one of his hands mischievously slide further down my back until it struck me rear.
I shuddered, "No, Alois!"
He whined in reply to my dog-like orders, but ran off into the classroom without another attempt. He was my only trusted friend at this school, but sometimes I wondered if that was an accurate dubbing.
The classroom's hardwood floors shook as hordes of boys rushed toward me after Alois reluctantly set me on the ground.
"Juliet-sama, Juliet-sama how are you?" A boy asked, taking my had up in his. After that, all other words blurred into one mass and I couldn't make out anything but unanimous tones of infatuation.
"That's really none of your business," I told the boy, wrenching my hands away from his own, "and what's with this 'Juliet-sama?'"
All the boys were quiet as their supposed leader, the one who previously had taken my hands, prepared himself with the most dramatic of poses.
"Ciel Phantomhive, the notorious cute doll with glowing royal blue hair and elegantly long eye lashes. With cherry, perky lips he verbally slays all who love him with cold, merciless stares; rejections of dishonorable love and desire! The boy known for even attracting straight men with his charm and destroying all hope of the taboo of boy love! Juliet-sama, Juliet-sama, why must thou be straight? Cute, bi-colored eyed wonder, we worship you!" He exclaimed.
I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to this shock. Alois fell over laughing behind me. Juliet? The boy rushed up to me and grabbed my hand once more,
"Oh alabaster beauty, I ask once more, why are you straight?" he pleaded.
Who in the hell was this guy? All suited up in a frilly uniform shirt with abnormally love-struck blue eyes and blonde hair. Had he not been so tall, he might have passed for someone Alois's age.
I seized my hand and began irritably, "I never said I preferred any gender, I just don't care for romance...And, at any rate, who in the world are you? You're too old to be in Jr. High." I immediately registered that he may have been a psycho boy that was held back for his stupidity, but I shook the idea off.
"What's this! Juliet-sama is not denying the possibilities of a relationship! Just like the beauty to leave me hanging on her words; dear I, the son of the Viscount Druitt—"
Alois interrupted the boy's rambling with a death stare, "Touch Ciel again and you die." Flames burned from his eyes and the crowd scattered away.
Druitt—I guess I'd call him since I didn't hear the rest of his sentence—exclaimed, "Demon thief, you! Stealing away our Juliet from her dis-love of all!"
Alois grinned proudly and snagged my hip, "A thief? I like that title. It is true, I have stolen his heart!"
The boy growled at his next move. I muttered and "eh?" as Alois drew my body flat up against his as he traced his fingers across my cheek and snickered at the jealous boys, licking his lips.
"Quit it!" I wailed.
"That's right, give only that cute expression to me," he lowered his gaze seductively and I shut up, knowing that anything I'd say would immediately backfire.
A boy raised his hand in the crowd. He had an innocent, flush face as he questioned, "Juliet-sama, may I touch you too?"
Alois and I replied simultaneously, "No."
But our small quarrel was halted as the teacher emerged from the white hallways and all heads were quiet and in their desks by his entrance. He was the youngest teacher in the academy and many of the female teachers had crushes on him(not to mention a few of his own students). With mature, auburn—almost red—eyes that glittered against his pale skin, his gaze was mesmerizing. His did have a clean, sharp look with his black hair cut to frame his knowledge-hungry eyes, clouded by his reading glasses and mysteriously benevolent smile.
The instructor before me, the famous, tall English professor, taught in the high school sector, but rumor had circulated that he'd be my class' sub. A book was on his shoulder as he glided into the room and stopped before the chalk board(he was the only teacher who still went "old school"). I might as well have assumed he'd sparkle in the sun, from the way everyone fawned over his looks. I was neither interested in them, nor attracted in any such way to his other qualities.
"Good morning, class. Today I will be taking the position of your English teacher. Encase it may have slipped your mind, your original teacher has been pregnant for the last nine months and is now on maturity leave. This is an advanced class, and such 'as you know' statements will be rare and otherwise intolerable in this class. No jesters, no cell phones, no gum. Be attentive and you'll pass this class; do more than memorize and you might learn something for the future."
I noticed his words were crisp and distinct but somehow smooth and elegant. I began to get lost in that voice when I heard and shrill exclamation.
"Ciel! Ciel! CIEL!" obviously stated by my insane friend, Alois, who looked very pissed. "Are you even listening to me?"
"Oh sorry," I began, "were you talking?"
"Damn it Ciel! Pay attention to ME!" he jabbed his finger into his chest and ignored the death glares Mr. Michaelis sent him from across the room, telling him passively to shut the hell up and also that my attention should always be on him, lest I would wish to fail advanced English. My previous teacher was neither interesting nor enthusiastic; who would be in a school full of spoiled rich bastards who already have money and status?
"Uhg! If you're so concerned about learning, just forget about the idea entirely and flunk all your classes like me! The trick is the threaten the teachers and make them give you good grades..." Just as he was about to go into an in-depth conversation on how to blindfold your math teacher during a pop quiz, I decided to do what I always did to shut Alois up. I picked up my pen and began to spin it around in my mouth.
I glanced at Alois—now gawking with a redness creeping up his cheeks—and said, "What?" in the most innocent tone I could muster with embarrassing myself.
Alois's whole face turned a light pink, even the tips of his ears. He jolted up and exclaimed, "Gotta go!"
And with that last statement, he darted out the classroom.
I didn't understand why everyone needed to feel like love was a necessary emotion. The idea of love didn't intrigue me so I had no idea why all these boys were trying to associate the feeling with me. Flirting and seduction never phased me as more than someone doing retarded things for another retarded person's attention. Alois was the only one so far who appalled me in such a way as to make me embarrassed...But that wasn't because I liked him, it was because he acted insane on a daily basis; his own ego boost. Maybe that's why everyone called me "Juliet;" because she ended up dead and unwed without Romeo. A tragic ending for the both of them; so did that mean being alone was bad for me?
And why does he always do that? I thought back on the array of times Alois had gotten flustered and then dashed away as if something bad was going to occur. Surely not even he was feeling this illness of affection coming over me.
"Pardon me," said a stern voice, "is there something wrong with the way I'm teaching. You don't bother to engage in my lesson, I see you and your friend have made a clear mark on my black list." Mr. Michaelis stared at me expectantly and I shut up, Alois shriveled his nose smugly and returned to his seat without hurry.
I attempted to focus on the lesson. Mr. Michaelis was better at teaching than my previous, his explanations clear and condensed. Apparently, we were learning of elocution.
"Regular schools train children to be classified and graded, herded and dominated by bosses their entire lives. You are at this school to learn to be leaders; to take over head businesses and create revenue on your own. Elocution is the execution of public speaking and con-"
My brain went blank...I couldn't do it anymore! It just entered one ear and came out the other. It was official: English hated me.
"You look like you're about to faint." Mr. Michaelis said, looking up from his lesson plans to consider my image.
"No, I'm quite fine, thank you." which I obviously wasn't.
"What was it they called you again? Ah, that's right! 'Juliet,' isn't it? What a delicate name for such an apparent trouble maker." he mused, and his glasses caught the light when he heard the ripple of sighs and romantic auras that spurred from the mere mentioning of that name. Great, now I was nauseous and about to faint.
Alois felt the boys of the room closing in their stares on me and he took this as his opportunity to assume his position as whatever-he-was-to-me, "Back off! Next person to look at Ciel gets a foot up their ass!"
He turned to Mr. Michaelis with what seemed like a I-hate-your-guts-already glare and drew up close enough to start a fire from the compacted heat in between teacher and student stares, "And that means you too, school lovin' pansy!"
Alois waltzed back to his desk, triumphantly and sat beside me. Everyone within 10 ft of us had moved to a different desk.
"See Ciel, I take care of people who think they can have what's mine."
I rolled my eyes and ignored the crazy blonde. To me, the rest of class was a blur in and out of reality. If Alois didn't insist to distract my attention and be annoying as hell, I might have followed this class better. But a 2 month gap of information from the time he came to my class made everything taught loose, as if I didn't know background information.
Alois often distracted me with mischief. Ah, I recalled when he started bringing bananas to lunch, except he'd never actually waited 'til lunch to "eat" them. No, I discovered he would enjoy bringing them to class to "play" with them. I can remember things he did to that poor yellow banana that should not be done. That's right, molestation.
One day Alois had brought a banana to class like he always insisted to do, but we had an important test that day so I had less patience than usual for his idiocy. At one point, I couldn't take it anymore and, in the middle of the test, I stood up and yelled at Alois, "Damn you and your seductive banana!"
Before I had realized that the class might have taken my outburst in the wrong manner, Alois hid what was left of the banana and said, "Ciel, don't fantasize about me in class, I'll satisfy you later, ok?"
To my horror, the class looked stunned then erupted into sobs of bitter cries and bickered over "Juliet's favorite," the Thief.
RIIINNNGG~ the school bell brought me back to the present. I gathered my belongings and attempted to leave the classroom; it became easier when Alois gave chase to the horde of boys stuttering their confessions outside the door.
"Please wait a moment, Ciel-kun, was it?" Mr. Michaelis said, leaning in the doorway. "May I have a word?" I stepped forward and heard the ripple of Alois behind me. Mr. Michaelis added, "Without Alois."
I turned to Alois and told him sternly, "I'll be fine." though hell knew heaven and Earth could never move that boy, and neither could I the majority of the time. It seemed Mr. Michaelis took note of that fact.
The tall black shadow of a man allowed me passage back into the classroom and stopped Alois at the door. Bickering and cursing, he herded the boy out the door and slammed it behind him with the click the lock.
"He's always so difficult..." Mr. Michaelis sighed to himself before turning around to face me, the never-ceasing bang of Alois's hands to the door. An odd statement to utter considering this was the first time he'd tutored in the 8th grade division, he should've known Alois unless the boy hung around High school grades often, which I doubted considering he was always around me.
"Ciel-kun, I checked my future students' grades two months before my time teaching was to begin. At that time, you had a D+ average. From what I saw in class today, you had a hard time focusing because of a certain boy beside you. I'm sure you have great language skills, you just need to properly learn the materials." he paused and found his words.
"That is why I am mandating you have an English tutor. I will be that tutor. I believe it will greatly help you catch up to the students in the advanced English class."
He looked at me with expectant eyes then said, "And that child outside the door needn't know of the tutoring; in my experience, he is rather protective of you and—mind my bluntness—best his involvement not obscure you even more."
Again with the hints that he knew Alois outside of today's introduction.
"And I have no choice in this?" I asked.
"Unfortunately not." he said, glancing over his notes and then pushing his glasses up again, eyes meeting my own, "You see, it's simply not logical to allow you control of your own study methods when your grades obviously reflect you have been taking that freedom for granted."
"Then when is it?" I sighed.
"After school would be fine. I will notify your parents-"
"Guardian." I corrected and he looked down, surprised. I didn't meet his eyes for the first time, "Parents ran out on me. They left the cash on the table and the house in my name."
"I see, then I will notify your guardian."
I bowed automatically, "Thank you very much." though I don't know why I was thanking him, I wanted to leave as soon as possible.
There was no reason for unnecessary work, but yet people seemed to want to waste time and put value on things like school. Since I happened to be unnecessarily rich, things like school were irrelevant to people of my stature. School in and of its self was for people to be measured for intelligence and worth so they could get a job. I didn't need people to tell me how intelligent I was. I didn't like extra work, especially having to do with school. But here I was having to spend extra time with a tutor and use more energy hiding that fact from a certain someone. That someone's only purpose was to protect me. However, lately, I'd been experiencing a whole rush of unneeded situations, spurred by Alois's will to make me "feel more."
When I exited the room, I saw Alois leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway. He saw me and jumped on me, knocking me onto the floor. It was like he was an animal and I flinched when his knees rubbed up too close against my crotch. I pushed him off and growled while brushing the dust off my uniform. The lustrous look his eyes disappeared when he saw the flame I had in his eyes. I thought he could read my monologs; didn't he get that I was pissed at him?
"What happened?" he looked completely insane with some for of worry.
"Well he told me that I needed to study."
Lying was one of my best suits and acting likewise applied. Alois would normally be the only one to catch my dishonesty, but his eyes now were glazed over in some sort of worry; I could tell he was searching for an answer that, if received, would blind all suspicion with a rush of relief.
And that he appeared to be with a heaving sigh.
"Well if that's all, then we can go to science class now."
Alois was acting oddly off lately; what else could the conference had been about other than something to do with academics? The way he phrased, "...if that's all," made me strangely recall the times he'd also been acting off. When flustered, he'd always run away during class or PE...or anything. Then there was the fact that Mr. Michaelis seemed to know him. Secrets were something that pissed me off, that made me intimidated, not knowing something others did. But for Alois, time would make him speak.
I said goodbye to Alois and went off to my secret session with my tutor. When I got to the classroom, the first thing I saw was Mr. Michaelis's smile. But it wasn't a regular smile, more like the smile of a demon. He then shut the door and grabbed my wrists, shoving me atop a desk.
"Don't struggle, it makes it more painful." he said.
I thrashed and squirmed further up against the desk, grabbing desperately to it, trying not to realize his hands on my hips. I shut my eyes tight and bit my lip as he forced me around and leaned in close. I opened my eyes wide and yelped as he traced his fingers along my lips.
"It's quite pleasurable to see you blush. How cute, Juliet." he grinned, cherry eyes sparkling.
I gritted my teeth and hid my gaze from him, the hair raised on my back, barking, "Damned hentai!"
"Tsk, Tsk," he whispered, "that language deserves thorough punishment."
What was going on? Why was he t-touching me? This...No this couldn't be happening.
I held my breath in shock as he leaned in closer, closer than anyone had ever been to me; close enough to feel his heat—to feel his black bangs nuzzle across my upper lip. As I prepared for the expected impact, I felt that pang your heart feels when extreme, irrevocable change is in the midst of happening. Things were sure to become worlds more complicated if he stole a kiss(mind you, my first); I might have had to change classes...Or schools...Was this what it was like in the outside world? Always being wanted lustfully? Being inches away from your teacher's lips and feeling his hands rummaging up the back of your shirt? Or was this just some exclusively rare incident—it was frustrating for me not to know the norm.
Then suddenly, I heard a slam outside the door and a voice called out, "ASSHOLE! If you lay a hand on Ciel, I'll rip your d*** off and shove it up your a**! you m***** f****** man *****!"
I turned my head back to the locked door behind me, actually seeming to relish in the sound of that voice(which was a first for me).
"Alois!" I exclaimed, and Mr. Michaelis released me with a sigh.
"I'll be sure to finish this later," he said, smiling creepily at me as I tucked my shirt in and straightened up.
"Wait until the principle hears about this." I replied, unshaken, as I grabbed my messenger bag and exited the room where Alois immediately leaped for me like a lonely puppy.
"Ciel-chan! Did he touch you? That bast-"
"Not here, outside."
As we departed the main building, Alois immediately pelted me with questions, "Did he touch you? Why was he there? Why were you there? Do you want me to kill him?"
I saw no need to hide the fact from him anymore, considering I was certainly going to get that man fired if I reported him, "He told me he was going to tutor me but the-"
"That jackass, I'm gonna-" Alois hissed and paused in our walk for a moment, but started up again as I added,
"And no, I don't want to kill him. I'll just tell the principle. He'll be fired indefinitely." Alois halted again and I gazed back at him, face full of relief as if he'd discovered something significant that I hadn't.
"So he didn't kiss you?" he asked.
"No..." I replied, finding that fact rather irrelevant, he'd still touched me. Alois's blue eyes were fixated on me as if he were attempting to look through me. But how did he know Mr. Michaelis tried to do that? The classroom door didn't have a window.
Alois placed his hands on my shoulders and fixed his eyes to mine, "Listen, don't go to the principle about this and don't go to Sebastian's tutor session anymore; I'll teach you or something." His look was so serious, I could only nod in reply, noting again that Alois referred to him by his first name. Just how close were they? It started to freak me out.
But a question etched into my mind: Why was Alois so apprehensive about my alerting the head of the school? Had it something to do with his frequent disappearances in the middle of the day?
"I'm sure I didn't tell you where I was, why are you here after school? And how did you know what room to look for me in?" I questioned.
He rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed, "I wish I could lie to you, but after that promise, I can't. 'Sucks because you're really observant...All I can say is that I know everything. Sharp aren't you, Lady Juliet?"
Enraged, I took my bookcase and chased him about, threateningly; of all the people to call me by that name.
"Things sure have changed since you transferred. You used to be the Foreign Demon, now you're Juliet?" he laughed after I found myself too out of breath to keep chasing him.
We watched the sky fade to a bloody red, like the roses that bloomed so innocently and fresh in this summer academy for the young. Alois brushed his bangs back, letting them fall freely about his face like a prince. He plucked a rose from a bush; a premature, clothed, scarlet beauty, crying with the dew of the afternoon sprinklers, handing it to me with an elegant gesture.
"Won't you dance with me, Lady?" he asked.
"What a scrawny rose, aren't you supposed to give me one in full bloom, like a representation of my beauty or something?" I replied, unamused.
"You're not good enough to have a full rose, in my opinion." he responded. His wording got me pissed with the crush of humiliation.
Alois brought the rose up to his lips and said gently, his voice sweet as it filtered through the rose with a breeze from the east, "After all, I prefer roses like this. Petite and innocent, there's something about them that's more intriguing than those vein, lewd, mature flowers..." he lowed his eyes and gave me a seductive gaze, "But I'd be happy to take your innocence from you if you'd really want a rose in full bloom."
I blushed slightly by the undertone of his sentence and snatched the rose from him childishly. He grinned, knowing full well that my pride would never allow me to admit defeat.
"I was looking forward to becoming your Romeo, won't you reconsider that rose and let me come home with you tonight?" he teased.
"No way in hell." I replied and he whined. As I turned away from him, he could tell that I was smiling, a rare sight that he'd never had the grace to see, but always imagined in his mind; and I knew he was gazing far into the sky, like he always did when he was happy, but found no way to dismiss it with jokes.
"Too bad, I suppose it takes more than that to be your Romeo." he laughed, that grin of his transforming from mischievousness to benevolent bliss. He leaned in and I dropped my bag in shock and swatted him away, scared at how close he was from our pink lips brushing. It made me think of just moments ago, where the same had almost happened with another. I blushed.
Alois laughed, "How cute."
I would have to protect my first kiss, as it now seemed, at this school. Mirror events just occurred and I was almost brought down my two men; one with an unreadable smile, and one who treats everything as just a tease. Jeez, seriously, the more I thought about it, the more this place seemed to be too risky; so much could happen and my logic could totally twist in the wrong direction. And, no matter what happened, the outside was surely to be a hell of a dangerous ride; that became even more evident today where—plainly and bluntly—my teacher almost kissed me!
Passionate Tears' Author's Notes:
*Bows* Konnichiwa. Thanks you for reading the first chapter of Puppy Love. We would like to primarily congratulate you for living long enough to read all of this chapter(we ourselves were having massive nosebleeds writing this and even bigger headaches from writer's block). Though it is not likely, side effects from alerting this story and/or making it a favorite may result in death by blood loss.
At any rate, there are a few things that Passionate Tears would like to make clear to you before you saunter on your way without reviewing(yes, we are omniscient and we can tell that most of you don't even read the Author's Notes *cries in emo corner*):
Yes, Passionate Tears is a combination of two fanfiction users, RukiaRocks and FireFox1999. RukiaRocks will be referred to as Tears and FireFox1999, Passion.
Tears has a standard policy of not updating stories until they have X amount of reviews. In this case, she understands this story may take time to build up a fanbase, so she and Passion are asking for 4 reviews or more for this chapter in order to continue it.
Review please!
We hoped you liked this chapter, it was extremely fun to plan and to write. Though, we must say, we didn't know what audience to write for...Kuroshitsuji was something we were both interested in and we hope we get a nice return of reviews from you readers out their, proving we made the right choice choosing to introduce this story to this series' fanbase.
Concerning popular questions, we have anticipated the issue concerning our story's romance and if it will ever turn form Shounen-ai to Yaoi. And, as of late, the Yaoi fangirl of us(Passion) is still working with Tears on putting Yaoi into later chapters. Extreme ecchi-ness, teasers, and near-death moments will happen in this story, so don't think it's not worth reading just because there's no Yaoi.
Thank you for support our first work. Again, you have our regards *bows*,
Passion and Tears
