Francis looked out to the horizon from his spot on one of the school's many rooftops. The time was about ten minutes before classes started at United World Academy, and the sun had only just begun its journey across the sky. Francis relished in the feeling of the cool September morning breeze on his face before gently tilting his nose into the single rose he carried, taking in a good whiff of its scent. At this, he grinned; this would be another finale to a great tale of romance.

Only moments later, he could hear the door to the rooftop open. He swiveled around to see a pretty young girl approach, all freckles and big brown eyes and wavy red hair. "Oh, Francis," she began, "you wanted to meet me here?" She had a shy and breathless smile. Francis wondered with wry amusement what she could be anticipating. Despite this thought, he sobered up his expression before answering.

"That is correct, ma cheri. But first, I must tell you how lovely you are. Truly, you are the finest that all of humanity has to offer."

"Oh, Francis..."

"Which is why it is quite unfortunate that we must part ways." He paused for dramatic effect here, taking in the girl's shocked and devastated expression. "Please, do not take this the wrong way. It is simply, you see, that the heart is such a fickle creature. We have shared so many beautiful moments together. But l'amour is such a fleeting thing. It could not last."

For a few moments, the girl stood completely still, wide-eyed, fully absorbing the news she was given. She must have misunderstood, right? But one look at Francis' expression told her that she definitely understood what was going on. Then she needed a moment more for her to really understand, for the information to sink in, before she responded.

"W-wait... so... th-this is it?" She was talking around her held back tears. "You don't love me any more?" Right on cue, the tears started pouring out.

"Ma cheri..." Francis wore a somber expression as he placed his free hand on the girl's shoulder. "I brought you this. I can only hope that it will help you." Francis offered his rose.

With one hand rubbing the tears away, she took the flower with her other hand. Then she looked at the ground again, her hand squeezing around the stem, the prickling pain from the thorns going unnoticed. After a few moments of sniffling and sobbing, she finally managed to speak through the lump in her throat, "how could this possibly help me? The only thing I need is you..."

"I am... so sorry. But I did not wish to lie to you. Just as l'amour had left my heart, so your love for me will leave yours. I only ask that you look back on our time together... on me... with great fondness in the future." He gave a few gentle, reassuring rubs on her shoulders, though he made no move to get closer. The girl was now using both hands, even though one still held the rose, to try and get some handle on her tears. Her sharp, pathetic sobs were starting to build up, until finally she opened her mouth and loosed a particularly loud combination between a sob and a shriek. By now, her body was obviously shaking.

Francis merely sighed and whispered, "I'm sorry." Then he quietly exited the rooftop, leaving the girl to fall to her knees.

During lunchtime, Francis sat with his usual crowd of well-dressed high-school students who had much more of their parents' money to spend than sense. Even though Francis' family didn't nearly make as much as those of his peers, he still had plenty of fashion sense, charm, and grace to make up for it.

"Truly, it was such a sad scene," he concluded, shaking his head. Despite his words, a small, amused smile was on his face. The others at the table wore wicked grins on their faces, this was so typical of the Frenchman.

"Francis, you're so bad!" said one girl with curly brown-red hair between giggles.

Francis sighed dramatically, "But I cannot help it, Lyssandra! We both know how greedy the human heart is! It pines for this person or that, has its fun, and then moves on. L'amour is so wild and unpredictable!"

As the people at the table calmed down, another girl—dressed in a black leather jacket, with black eyes, and long, luscious black hair—spoke up. "Francis, I'm amazed. You've hooked up with so many people! I really think you could lay anyone at this school."

"But of course, Nadia. I am the master of l'amour, after all."

"Oh yeah? You want to bet?" She had a huge smirk on her face.

"Ah. It sounds like you have something interesting in mind, then."

"Yeah, it'll be pretty interesting for me. Interesting to see you try and woo Alfred Jones."

In a moment of shock, Francis sputtered. "Surely, you don't mean...?"

"Surely, I do. Why, there he is right now!" The grin never leaving her face, Nadia pointed to someone sitting about halfway across the cafeteria. He had long, greasy blond hair, tied back in a loose ponytail, round goofy-looking glasses, and a face full of acne. He currently wore a baggy and entirely unflattering hoodie—not unusual for him—had his nose buried in a comic book, and seemed to be trying to get more burger on his face than down his throat.

Francis simply gaped at the other boy before turning back to Nadia. He appeared to be bewildered, and for once, at a loss for words. After a beat, he finally managed to regain his composure enough to continue. "Honestly, every time I see him, I wonder how he even came to this school. Don't they only accept people with enough money? Or enough grace? Or, well... enough basic hygiene?"

At this, Nadia simply rolled her eyes. "I heard he had a scholarship or something. I also heard that he's into guys. Which brings us back to the original topic... you willing to sleep with him or what?"

Francis had a serious look on his face. "Surely you have a reward in mind."

"Of course, Francis. If I'm remembering right, you've always wanted a Ferrari. So, all you need to do is sleep with Jones before we're through with finals this winter. Then she's all yours."

Francis closed his eyes, deep in thought. Nadia was absolutely correct about the Ferrari. Even though his father offered a different, inferior car to him, he had his heart set on the Ferrari and couldn't take anything less. Without his father's approval, though, there was no way he could get his dream car. He glanced at Jones again. All he needed to do was sleep with him, once, and he could get that beautiful car in his hands.

Francis considered the proposition a little longer before finally settling on a decision. He gave a challenging grin to Nadia. "Just make sure to get for me a sky blue one. That is all I ask."