Okay, guys! Here's the thing: My school's going to start up in a couple of weeks, so I won't be able to update that soon. :'( I know, I know, you hate me, but you can happily sue my school for giving me homework over summer holidays. *roll eyes* My history teacher can be such a pain.
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to my best fanfiction friend, Liz or her pen name, Chained Princess. I just want to say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you have a very good birthday, my Leo pal. I'm a Gemini, but we're compatible anyway. (Trivia tidbit: My partner, M's a Sagittarius.) Sorry for posting this a little early but maybe I'll have another treat by your bday, possibly something tragic. You like that stuff after all. :) Another reason for this dedication is a huge thank you for being my best friend, helper/co writer and mentor in all of this. You're phenomenal, Liz. :D
To Neko chan: I want to thank you for having a chapter on them. It helped me a lot through this.
Pairing: Julian x Elizabeth (OC)
Rating: T for language
Disclaimer: I do not own MFB nor do I own Chained Princess's OC, Elizabeth Johnson. I also don't own this song. I know you love Adele, Liz, but I thought this would suit the couple.
Hope you enjoy this, everyone! :D
Elizabeth Johnson was many things- smart and confident, generous and warm hearted, as graceful as a swan- but she was absolutely, positively, completely not proud.
She loathed snobbish people who were run only by their huge egos.
Then how come she had to fall for the proudest person ever to walk the whole Earth?
Elizabeth didn't have the perfect, sophisticated and polished childhood like he did. She had barely knew her parents, she had no siblings and she had nobody to guide her through her miserable life.
She had come from an orphanage, which was the worst place ever. Even Hell would have been better to live in. The walls had been shaggy looking, not a trace of soft or personal touches. The mattresses were lumpy and full of holes, ensuring an uncomfortable night every time you slept on it, the insects crawling around in dark corners, the sad, hopeless expressions worn on the children's gaunt and hollow faces . . .
The bluenette still shuddered at the memories. They had been tortured by those so called caretakers and all of those limited classics and books she was allowed in there had been read so much the spines were creased with dents. Elizabeth knew how Oliver Twist felt, living in his own orphanage. It had made her wallow in even more self pity.
Thankfully, the minute- no, second she turned sixteen, she had sped down to the office to turn in her dismissal form. She finally got to leave that wretched place and journey out into the real world. To experience culture and joy and life in general.
She remembered how she had been invited by her cousin, Wales from Team Excalibur and visit Italy. She had swooned at the word. Italy, the perfect place to see! The food, the music, the arts . . . It was perfect.
But upon arriving, she had met him once again.
The way he dressed in such expensive and smooth and bright fabrics that had been woven into suits by the finest and talented designers, how his golden hair shone in the sunlight's rays, his royal blue eyes narrowed in an icy glare whenever his pride and talents were in question . . .
And who was this person she was talking about? The answer was pretty obvious. It was actually as clear as the crystal ornaments decorating every corner of his dining rooms. Yes, the plural version.
Julian Konzern.
The captain of Team Excalibur. The heir to the Konzern family fortune. The one who wielded a Bey with a hero's name. A boy who had more money than God and almost enough power as Him, too. He believed everything good in life would come so naturally to him.
It was ironic. A girl like her, who was orphaned at birth and had to work extra hard for everything she had today, and a boy like him, who was born with a brightly shining silver spoon in his mouth and had all of his possessions presented to him on a silver platter, falling for one another.
But it was as hard as it sounded.
Sometimes I hate every single stupid word you say
Sometimes I wanna slap you in your whole face
There's no one quite like you
You push all my buttons down
I know life would suck without you
Elizabeth swore that sometimes she despised every word that came out of the rich Italian's mouth. The words were always dripping with superiority and pride and matched perfectly with the extra proud smirk playing on his lips. It made her want to tear all of her shiny dark blue locks out of her scalp.
She felt like slapping him, but that would be downright rude and she never did anything unnecessary. It was better for her to endure it since she would hear all that for pretty much the rest of her life. Plus, she wouldn't want to put a red mark on that infuriatingly and strikingly handsome face.
There was no one, absolutely no one like Julian Konzern. He was one of a kind. Sometimes, Elizabeth wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
He was also the one who could say the words and do the things that would annoy her to no possible end. Like how he would snatch at her notebook whenever she was scribbling away in deep thoughtfulness, her dark blue orbs bright with creativity under her dark and curly lashes. The way he always said that infernal nickname, 'Little Li' . . . Ugh, how she detested that diminutive! She was not little and she didn't like the downright obvious superiority in his tone and how the common smirk tugging the corners of his lips, although his mouth was usually set in a serious and tight line; smiling was not second nature for the heir to the Konzern fortune.
Elizabeth found these actions both irritating yet unbearably endearing and sweet. She was the only who Julian showed any- even if it was a little- emotion to.
She wasn't the kind of girl to be falling at a boy's feet for Julian's blatantly obvious points.
Was it because he was enormously wealthy? Well, that would bear the question of if she was a gold digger. The answer to that ridiculous query would be a big, fat NO.
Was it because he had the most striking looks she had ever encountered? Uh, she wasn't a vain woman, so that was a negative answer too.
Was it because he had more power than everyone else she had met, having established thousands of companies belonging to the Konzern family name? Nope, that wasn't it either.
Honestly, it was for the things that Julian didn't show openly exactly. He was awfully intelligent just like her, since he had been brought up to know everything, such as mathematics, sciences, the arts, everything from A to Z. But of course. half the time he did brag that out, but that smart mind helped him in a lot of tough situations.
He was also extremely determined. He fought for what he wanted if it didn't come easily, such as his victories in Bey battles and many other kind of battles.
Not that Elizabeth didn't like him for the other points. But she believed that a truly beautiful person came from the beauty of their personality and soul, if they were helpful and compassionate and owned a good heart. Cheesy, she knew, but it was nice in execution.
Of course, she also liked a challenge. And Julian Konzern was a name synonymous with many words, including 'challenge'. Elizabeth was tough. She had grown that way or perhaps she was born that way.
Yeah, life would be really, really, really boring if she didn't have Julian. He made her life interesting, despite his personality flaws.
At the same time, I wanna hug you
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck
You're an asshole but I love you
And you make me so mad I ask myself
Why I'm still here, or where could I go
You're the only love I've ever known
But I hate you, I really hate you
So much, I think it must be
But while she was hating him and how he made her fuming with anger, she loved him so dearly. Like she said, she was not a proud person, but she just couldn't say those three little words out loud because she was sort of afraid. She never had anyone to love, but meeting Julian had changed her heart just a little bit.
Finally, she had found someone to love. She had the brain of a scientist but strangely and definitely believed that 'opposites attract' sentence.
But they also had a lot in common. They were both intelligent, self possessed and sure of their abilities, they had an iron hard determination and fought for what they believed in. Only thing was, Liz was not too full of herself.
She would love to wrap Julian's elegant frame into a deep hug and to inhale the rich scent of him, of expensive soap and the very, extremely rare detect of sweat since he did everything so effortlessly.
Sometimes, she did wonder why she stayed with the blond man and put up with his infuriating antics, but then another part of her would question about where would she go if she didn't stay with Julian. He was the only she truly opened her heart too. Like she had said a billion times to herself, there was no one like him and he was the only love she'd ever known.
She hated him at first. So much. But that hate had been most probably herself refusing to love someone when everyone in her life hadn't been so loving and caring. Julian hadn't been in the beginning.
But now, she was very sure that he was 'The One' as other girls would gush in a swooning tone.
True love, true love
It must be true love
Nothing else can break my heart like
True love, true love
It must be true love
No one else can break my heart like you
It had to be true love.
The day Elizabeth finally admitted it, she had been hanging out in Julian's very elaborate library, snuggled deep down in one of the many plush chairs scattered among the lush carpet. They had been in the super early stage of their friendship, so they still spat out rude remarks to each other, but had more civil conversations. Of course, that stage had past and they had a decent friendship.
She didn't know what to read from the several books adorning the ridiculously tall shelves, so she merely flipped through a fairy tale book. She wasn't one to read fantasy, but it was more to annoy Julian.
She had been skimming the pages of the story Snow White and rolling her eyes constantly at it. She was muttering to herself how Snow White hadn't even known the prince for that long and how his kiss bringing her out of her curse was way too easy and didn't make any sense. That was when Julian entered.
"Seriously, Little Li?" he crooned, raising a fair eyebrow while he leaned over from behind and peeked over her shoulder. His royal blue orbs were narrowed in suspicion. "I didn't know you were one for fantasy and fairy tales."
"I'm not," Elizabeth retorted and tossed the book onto the table, ignoring his proximity and the tugging at her heart. "It's far too impractical. Magic and all that. And don't call me Little Li." She fixed a dark blue glare at him over her dainty shoulder. Her features then softened when she asked, "Do you believe in true love?"
"No," he replied quickly, not looking at her. The bluenette had wondered if he was lying.
"Julian, do you know what love is?" she snapped back.
"Of course I do. Why?"
"Do you love or care for anything?" Elizabeth bent her head down, letting her curtain of glossy, dark cobalt blue hair frame around her face like a veil, hiding away from Julian's intense cerulean gaze as he pondered her question.
"A number of things," he finally replied in a sigh, staring out the huge window overlooking the well manicured garden of exotic plants and elegant yet simple flowers, like white roses.
The girl next to him sighed out the breath she hadn't been aware that she was holding. "Care to elaborate then, rich kid?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Why does it matter?" His royal blue orbs sliced over to her own eyes.
She shrugged, pretending not to care. "You act as if nothing can get under that flawless skin of yours, that no one can break that ice cold barrier around your heart. Are you sure you feel nothing at all for anyone?"
"I'm not exactly one for romance," he said, still not looking at her and the lack of eye contact now was beyond irritating but Elizabeth bit back any sharp words lingering on her tongue. What a coincidence, Elizabeth thought wryly. Because all she wanted was a bit of romance herself, to live in one of those novels she had read before. This tale reminded her of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Just once try to wrap your little brain around my feelings
Just once please try not to be so mean
Repeat after me now R-O-M-A-N-C-E-E-E-E
Come on, I'll say it slowly (Romance)
You can do it baby
Could he at least try to understand why she was asking this? But no, Julian had to be the only anti romance man on the planet. Even Gingka Hagane had a better chance at expressing his feelings. Guess she had to put matters into her own hands.
"So, a charming and wealthy man like you, not necessarily in that order, has never found a girl worth fighting for, so to speak?" She arched an eyebrow again in a seemingly playful manner and shifted in the chair to face the blond boy.
"I would be lying if I said no," relented he and Liz couldn't help but smirk just a little.
"Mind describing this girl?"
"I don't believe I have to. Tell me, where do these desires come from?" He looked back at her curiously. He was definitely changing the subject.
"Desires, you say?"
"Yes, these romantic fantasies. You read many novels."
"So? Have you read Jane Austen before?"
Julian just shot her a strange look.
"What? It's not a crime for a boy to read Jane Austen." But then again, Elizabeth couldn't help but let a giggle full of mirth escape her full lips. She never took Julian for a boy who wouldn't read Jane Austen because it might interfere with his masculinity.
"I have read them!" cried Julian indignantly with an icy glare. "Once," he quickly amended when her laughing continued. "I have been raised in the finest education possible. Of course I had to read the finest literature as well."
"Of course, o wise one," she replied with a chuckle. "But for once, can you not be so mean and cruel all the time?"
"Would you like me better if I wasn't mean and cruel?" he said in an almost challenging tone.
Elizabeth felt herself blush. "Maybe, but why would my opinion matter to you?"
At the same time, I wanna hug you
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck
You're an asshole but I love you
And you make me so mad I ask myself
Why I'm still here, or where could I go
You're the only love I've ever known
But I hate you, I really hate you
So much, I think it must be
"You have good taste," he responded.
Good taste? Did he know? And if he did, was she supposed to make the first move? Ugh, if only she could call Katherine and ask her. She wasn't necessarily the queen of romance, rather modern day situations of things she didn't want to do until she was well into marriage.
"Well," started she, "I think it would be better if you weren't mean and cruel."
"Why?"
Elizabeth resisted the urge to roll her dark blue eyes in their sockets. Why did he always need a reason? "Because beauty should come from the inside, clueless." Like she had thought before, it was good advice to follow. She hated snobs and phony people.
"Are you claiming that I'm beautiful?" A proud smirk was already on his lips and this time, Liz did roll her eyes.
"No. Just, if you're a truly compassionate person with a good heart, that's real beauty."
"But I am handsome, don't you think?"
"Once again," sighed the girl, dropping her face into her hands. "Why is my opinion so important to something you constantly brag about?"
"I've never bragged about my looks."
"Seriously?" She internally rolled her eyes.
"When have I?" he asked, not catching her sarcastic tone.
"Did he just say when . . . ?" Elizabeth sweatdropped and didn't bother lifting her head. "Never mind."
"You dismiss everything," muttered the blond man.
"Excuse me? I'm not the arrogant one!" exclaimed Liz indignantly, looking up at him. "You don't understand what it's like to be without your loved ones, with no parents, nobody to be with you or care for you." She then halted. She was a usually quiet and calm girl who didn't display any unnecessarily emotion. She never showed any strong emotion like anger. Then why did she just say that? She never revealed what was really getting on her nerves way deep down. But Julian just made her so mad it was impossible to control her emotions. There were so many mixed up feelings knotted up in her chest, which made her ball up her fists to keep them in check.
True love, true love
It must be true love
Nothing else can break my heart like
True love, true love
It must be true love
No one else can break my heart like you
The boy looked down at the bluenette with a curious expression present on his sharp and aristocratic features. "That's not true," he said in a low voice.
Elizabeth rose from the chair and stood right in front of them so their eyes were met in an intense staring match. "Excuse me?" asked she.
"That's not true," Julian reiterated in a clear voice. However, his voice was also colored with rare emotion. It was sad, wistful and almost understanding. "I'm surrounded by people all the time, but I never feel like I'm with company. You won't believe how lonely I am."
She blinked in brief surprise. Julian actually felt lonely. "How so?"
"People only spend time with me because I'm rich and powerful, but with you, I know you only spend time with me because you like me for me."
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?" But inside, she was touched by that very sentence and all she wanted to do was to hug him and stay safe inside the armor of his arms, protected by everything.
"Really. Do you think I'm a liar?" he said with a frown.
"No."
"Good." He looked haughty once again and Elizabeth could have let that destroy the moment, but she was determined to keep this moment for as long she could have it.
Why do you rub me up the wrong way?
Why do you say the things that you say?
Sometimes I wonder how we ever came to be
But without you I'm incomplete
They were so close to each other, so close Elizabeth could feel the blond man's body warmth. She couldn't help but focus on his lips, the elegant curve of his lower lip and the sensuous appeal of the upper one. Just a lean forward and the distance around them would evaporate. She wondered what it would be like if her own lips were pressed warmly against his . . .
Whoa! Where had that come from? She hoped she didn't look tense at that moment.
"Elizabeth," Julian whispered, his breath cool against her nose.
"Liz," she corrected, not unkindly.
"Liz," he repeated after her and Elizabeth just adored how it sounded coming off his tongue.
Eh, what the hell? screamed a voice inside of her and she tilted forward, her mouth finding his in a chaste lip lock.
I think it must be
True love, true love
It must be true love
Nothing else could break my heart like
True love, true love
It must be true love
And no one else can break my heart like you (like you)
No one else can break my heart like you (like you)
No one else can break my heart like you
Elizabeth wasn't one for fairy tales or love stories, but a little romance was comforting. And now feeling Julian's lips on hers, she now knew how the heroine of a love story felt when she got her man.
The feelings in her chest immediately evaporated and were replaced by a soft and warm feeling that made her feel giddy. His lips were as soft as the petals of a rose and his hands slid up her arms to cup her face in his smooth palms. The kiss eventually grew more passionate, but Liz could have waited till the end of time for Julian. She had for a while now.
And now looking back on their first kiss, it made the girl smile and snuggled even deeper in the warm embrace of Julian's arms as she peered up at the sky that matched her hair color and the glittery stars.
Yes. It was most definitely true love.
How was that? I am so sorry, Liz, if that sucked or if it was OOC or anything in those categories. Please forgive me. Once again, happy early birthday. I love you, sister (in a friend way, of course. :P)! For other readers please leave reviews and favorite. Thank you! And be expecting some tragedy now. :') xoxo -N