It became obvious to Belle's companions that something was going on between her and Adam, even if it wasn't obvious to Belle and Adam themselves. She viewed her friendship with him as natural, seeing as she saw him every day for almost the full twenty-four hours. Either way, it was entertaining to hear her friends spout out their opinion of him as well as their theories of her relationship with him.

"I think he's marvelous. Anyone from France is perfectly fine in my opinion," Duchess twittered, her comments seconded by her boyfriend Thomas.

Dodger was more reluctant to accept Duchess' praise of Adam. Belle wasn't surprised by that at all though. She marked it up to ex-boyfriend jealousy, which he adamantly denied.

"I just don't want ya to get hurt Belle. Guys like him wouldn't think twice about harming a hair on your head."

Guys like Adam. That comment always got to the senior. For one, Dodger didn't even know what "kind of guy" Adam was. She did. No matter how aloof he was, Belle knew Adam really did care about people. He was a good person. He wouldn't have saved Belle that day in the library if he wasn't. His past left scars though, visible and unseen ones that hardly anyone witnessed. But Dodger wouldn't understand that. He hadn't when she explained it at least. Instead, he got angry that she hadn't called him to help her. They got in a fight because of that, one that lasted a full day (quite long in their books). Dodger did apologize for overreacting, and he did reluctantly thank Adam for coming to Belle's aid. Still, he wasn't willing to let his suspicion of Adam drop.

As expected, Milo and Quasimodo were terrified of Adam. Well, intimidated at least. Whenever he turned the corner to walk with Belle to class, the boys said their goodbyes and dashed off. She could understand their fear, seeing as Adam's stature was intimidating to most people, but at least they hadn't bashed their friendship.

"If you feel safe with him, then I won't say a word. Just don't bring him to our study sessions," Milo half-heartedly joked. She had a feeling she could wear him down though. After all, the boys were her close friends. If she could hang out with all three of them during school, it would make the occasion all the more inviting.

Belle thought she would have to put up with Esme's dark side when she first introduced her to Adam, but they got along surprisingly well. Adam mentioned something about Notre Dame and Esme went off about her visit there. Since then, Esme kept bugging Belle to go on a date with Adam.

"If you two start going steady before the semester's over, we can double date! Phoebus would love another guy to talk sports with while I try to expose him to some culture."

The brunette had to admit the idea sounded appealing. She never doubled before, let alone dated seriously to the point where she was "going steady" with someone. Yet the idea of dating her technical boss seemed cliché and uncalled for, even if she did go to school with him and thought he was nice. Well, more than nice, but she wasn't going to open that can of worms, not yet.

Either way, no matter what her friends thought, Belle liked having Adam in her life. She enjoyed working at his home, socializing with his friends (who soon became some of her closest ones), and learning more about his life. She found out he used to take surfing lessons (his parents forced him to) when he was a kid at the same place she did. David, the boyfriend of Nani who was the elder sister of Lilo, a classmate of Belle's, taught Adam to surf a year before he did Belle. Although neither could recall the skills, Belle made him promise to take her surfing before he left for France and she to university. He agreed, under the pretext that they would go to a restaurant together after at the one Nani and Lilo worked at along with their adopted brother Stitch. Belle wasn't sure if she could call it a date, but in her mind she toyed with the thought. Saying it aloud though might break the spell.

Anyhow, it was the weekend and Belle, having already finished her homework that morning, went over to Adam's to pick up some extra hours as well as to greet the night owl. On the weekends he usually wasn't up before noon unless there was a wrestling practice and if Belle recalled correctly, Coach Gaston let the team have a day of rest before their next tournament.

She let herself inside the villa and greeted Melanie in the kitchen. "Bonjour Melanie," she said as she snagged a roll for breakfast. The blonde turned and hugged Belle tightly, almost getting flour on the girl's green camisole.

"Belle, what a surprise! I thought you were off this weekend?"

"Well technically I am, but I got bored at my place and decided to pop over and pick up some extra shifts. Is that alright?"

Melanie grinned. "Of course! But I think Adam is waiting for you."

"But I didn't tell him I was coming over."

The girl shrugged. "He's been in the library all morning and when I gave him breakfast he asked if you were working today. I told him no and he muttered something about calling you later."

"I'll go see what he wants. Where is he?"

"Down the hall to the right. The very last door."

"Thanks." Belle started off on her quest to find her friend. She had never been in the library here before and she wondered what he was doing in there. Of course she had wanted to go inside since she started working, but she knew if she went in, she wouldn't be able to tear herself away from the room. Now at least she had a reason to go in.

"Adam, are you in there?" she knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open. What she saw amazed her.

The villa wasn't large, but it was a decent enough size to hold a plethora of rooms. Belle just hadn't imagined the library would be one of the largest. It was composed of two levels with pale teal walls and oak banisters. Statues of lions were perched near the entranceway as well as on top of pillars. It was one of the only carpeted rooms in the house and Belle admired the soft texture as her socked feet got used to the feel of it between her toes. There was a couch near a fireplace with a massive painting of Adam and his parents above it. The curtains were open so light could shine in through the giant windows. Belle was in awe. She didn't even notice Adam till he called her name in surprise.

"Belle! I thought you were at home."

She looked to see him to her right and a blush lit up her cheeks. He was still in his striped pyjamas, well at least the pants. His button-up shirt was discarded on a chair and he only had a tank top underneath. She watched him at wrestling practice ones with only a t-shirt and shorts, but this encounter felt much more intimate than those. Belle shifted most of her weight to her left foot and directed her gaze to one of the lion statues.

"I—I was, I mean I don't work today but I—well," she hadn't realize she could muddle her words that much until now. Adam put down a book and walked over to her, pulling his tawny hair back in a ponytail.

"Melanie said you were in here."

Adam nodded. "And that you were going to call me later?" Again he nodded, this time his cheeks rosy like hers.

"I was; I wanted to show you the library. Lumiere told me you hadn't been in here yet and I wanted to give you a tour. Is . . . that alright?" It was amusing how shy Adam could be under certain circumstances, especially ones including Belle. Then again, the tables did turn concerning him.

Belle glanced at him again, this time focusing solely on his face, and nodded. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

It turned out a tour meant grabbing as many books as they could and squeezing onto the small couch to read them, not that Belle minded that particular definition. Although it did make forgetting Adam was in his pyjamas extremely difficult. She kept her gaze directed on her page though, settling her back against the cushions and let out a content sigh. This was much better than staying at home with her books which had each been read dozens of times.

"Have you gotten any acceptance letters back yet?"

She looked up from her copy of "A Tale of Two Cities" and shook her head. "None yet, no. Most will probably come in March I think. I've got a few more weeks of waiting left. You?"

Adam smirked. "I never sent any out, remember?"

That's right, he hadn't. Adam was going back to France to live out his days in the city of love. Her cheeks flushed and she poked his leg with her foot. "Don't look at me like that; it makes me get all flustered."

"Look at you like what?"

"Like that! With that—that-"

"Admiration?"

"That is not admiration but hilarity. You're laughing at me."

Adam rolled his eyes playfully. "You are taking me far too seriously Belle."

She did not reply, instead focused back on her book.

"Do you have any ideas of where you're going to live if you get accepted to certain places?"

Belle had no idea why he was so curious all of a sudden, but decided to humour him all the same.

"Well, Jane said if I got accepted to a school in London I could stay with her and her father. I don't know anyone from Italy or New Zealand, so likely in residence or an apartment on my own."

"What about Paris?"

"What about it?"

"Where will you stay if you get accepted there?"

Belle shrugged. "I don't know. I'll manage somehow. I always do," she grinned. Adam gave her a tight lipped smile then went back to his book. She followed his lead, but minutes later she heard him put the book down and she was forced to see what he was doing. Adam leaned over the couch and fumbled for a blanket. She watched as the quilt landed on their laps and pulled a corner up towards her. When he didn't grab his book, she wondered what he wanted now.

"Tell me a story."

"What?"

"Tell me a story," he repeated.

"A please attached to that might help."

Adam sighed dramatically. "Tell me a story please?"

Belle smirked. "That's better." She picked up a copy of Romeo and Juliet and opened it to the first page.

"Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean . . ."

Belle slammed on the gas and took off from school. Thank God her papa let her borrow the car today. If there was ever a moment when she needed to get as far from the school grounds as possible, today would be that.

After the Saturday she spent in the library and the Sunday working, Monday held promise, until John Prince confronted her outside of the school yard. She was with her friends, including Adam, and while she hoped John wouldn't start anything, that was a fruitless wish. Belle attempted to ignore his prattling but he caught her attention when he said something about Adam.

"Honestly Belle, I can't imagine why you would bother with such a monster. Haven't I seen you in the haunted houses scaring children with your ugly mug?"

"He is not a monster!" she shouted. She wanted to throw John to the ground just like he did Adam and make him see what it felt like, but Adam's grip on her arm prevented her from trying it.

Her defense of Adam caught John off guard and he grinned. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you feelings for this beast."

"He's no beast John, you are!" she broke free of Adam's grip and took a few steps towards him until they were inches apart. She glared up at him, her voice now lowered. "You're a coward and a liar and if you ever set foot near me or my friends I'll get you suspended, and that's a promise." Before she slugged the jerk, she turned on her heel and disappeared in the parking lot, too upset to say farewell to her friends. She heard Adam calling her name but didn't turn around. Belle drove for home, hoping her papa would be away from his inventions long enough to share some hot cocoa with her.

Now here she was, racing away from school as her anger mounted.

'Why do people only see what they want to see? Why is it always black or white, ugly or pretty, this or that . . . it's never anything deeper, nothing sustainable.'

Belle remembered the first time people started noticing her. At eleven, she got called beautiful, radiant, dazzling, all those synonyms on a daily basis. Yet when she tried to talk to them, it was like they weren't really listening. They just stared at her, nodding, then made a comment about how pretty her hair was. As she got older, girls became jealous of her outward appearance and rumours were spread about her to try and bring her down. She never listened to them, but it still stung. Now she was confronted with the other side of the spectrum, ugliness, and she realized it was the same for Adam as it was for her. The people at school didn't listen to him either. They pitied him, were horrified by him, or simply ignored him just because his features were something unseen in common society. She hated how he was judged like her and she wanted a way for it to stop but she realized long ago there wasn't a way. All she could do was value herself and know who she truly was. She saw the same with Adam. He took refuge in his silence; that was how he protected himself from those awful comments.

'And now I've given him a new headache, John of all people.'

She pulled into the driveway and saw her father was out. He must have had a meeting of some kind, or still at work. She couldn't recall if it was his day off or not.

Belle's home was simple, as all her homes had been in previous homes. It reminded her of a cottage, but hers had a windmill on the room and other gadgets attached. She went inside and up the staircase to the room in the attic where she changed into her favourite blue dress with white flowers weaving over the fabric. She wandered back to the living room, tiny as it was, and slipped into the kitchen where she put on the kettle. There was no television in the house (her father said it was pointless since both liked the radio better) so she picked up a book from the counter and sat on it as she waited for the water to boil.

The neighborhood she had lived in since she was thirteen was a relatively quiet one. Children were still in school right now, but even when they weren't their added noise wasn't too awful. Belle liked watching them run around the cul-de-sac with their bikes and dogs in tow. But because it was usually quiet, especially at this time of day, the sound of an engine caught her off guard. She went to the living room window and gasped.

'How does he know where I live?' Belle bolted the door and stuck a chair underneath it. She drew the curtains shut and turned off all the lights. She crouched underneath the window and shut her eyes tight.

'Please let him not come over here.'

There was a knock on the door. "Belle, open up!" John shouted.

'Damn it.'

"Belle, I demand you open this door! I want a word with you."

"Not on your life!" she replied loudly.

"What are you doing here, get away from her door!" There was another voice outside which Belle could barely make out.

"Not on your life! I need to talk with her," John said.

She caught the sound of shuffling feet and someone falling to the ground.

"Get out of here now!"

"Who are you to defend her, boogie man? I'm sure hanging around you has given her nightmares!" John spat at the stranger.

There was silence and Belle stood to see what was going on. Adam (she should have known he would come to check on her) had launched himself at John and the two were wrestling for control on her front lawn. Adam was winning, for now, but John was a dirty fighter and she could only imagine what would happen if John gained the upper hand.

Belle ran to the kitchen and grabbed the cordless phone.

"9-1-1 what's your emergency?"

"There's a fight going on outside my house. A man has been stalking me and he's fighting my friend. Send someone over!"

"Calm down ma'am, I've dispatched someone to your location. Please stay on the line."

"Just hurry!" Belle hung up and ran for the door, forgetting to put on her boots. She slid over to the boys and tried to figure out how to help. Adam had John pinned but she saw his hand moving towards an ice chunk on the lawn.

"Adam, look out!" The youth narrowly missed the ice chunk but that didn't stop John. He flipped Adam off him and crawled away, looking for a weapon of some kind.

"Belle, get back inside!"

"I'm not leaving you to fight him on my lawn!"

"Belle, I can handle this!"

Just as he said that, John kicked his legs out from underneath him, sending Adam onto his back. John pinned Adam, his one arm across his neck like Adam had done to him in the library, and Belle was horrified by how demented John looked in that moment.

"Are you in love with her Adam, is that why you're being so heroic? Do you honestly think she'd want you when she can have me, the most handsome of people?" he whispered, but Belle could make out what he said. Just as she made her legs work to get John off Adam, a police car pulled up, sirens going. Belle had never been so relieved in all her life. Well, second to the library incident.

"Sir, put your hands where we can see them!" Belle smirked as she watched the colour drain from John's face as he realized what was going on. He did as he was told and stepped away from Adam. Belle went over to her friend and knelt beside him. She fumbled for his hand and gripped it tightly as she watched one of the officers cuff John. The other policeman came over to check on the others.

"Is he the one that was causing the trouble ma'am?"

She nodded. "Yes, he's been harassing me at school, but this is the first time he's come to my house."

The Caucasian man nodded and glanced at Adam. "You alright son?"

Adam managed a nod, still trying to catch his breath. "I'll call an ambulance. You should get checked out."

"No officer, I'm fine," Adam insisted. "He got the worst of it." A purplish bruise was starting to form around John's left eye.

'He certainly did.'

The officer reluctantly rose to his feet. "Alright. Ma'am, could we go inside so I can take the report?"

Belle agreed and after helping Adam up, the three headed inside to get the details of what happened. After placing John in the back of their car, the other office joined his partner. It took almost a half hour to get the full picture, but once they had, it was decided John would be charged with aggravated assault with a stalking charge added on. Belle would have to go to court to get a restraining order, but she agreed with the officers it was necessary. After all, John would be sent to juvenile court for his offense and once he was out, he would likely come looking for Belle if she was still in town (not that she planned to be).

Adam and Belle thanked the officers and she kept their card in case she remembered anything else. Once the door was locked, Belle looked to her friend and took a deep breath. He sat there on the couch, watching her like he had when they retold the events to the officers, and her feet acted on their own accord, carrying her back to the couch where she proceeded to hug him tightly. Her head rested against his chest as they held onto each other and she felt his hand run down her back as they collected themselves.

After a moment or two, she relaxed enough to get comfortable on the couch. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this," she muttered against his long sleeved shirt.

She felt his shoulder rise as he shrugged. "You hardly dragged me into anything."

"Don't get technical on me. You know what I mean."

"Either way, apologizing isn't necessary." They were silent for a minute then Adam spoke up again. "I just had a strange thought."

"What is it?"

"I think we have to thank John."

"You must have a concussion."

He laughed at that. "I'm pretty sure I don't. But if you think about it, without him being such a creep, we never would have met."

"And you think meeting me was that important?"

Adam nodded vigorously, so hard that she shook a little as she rested against him. "If I hadn't I'd probably still be alone in my house without anyone to talk to besides the staff."

"Melanie's nice."

"That's not the point."

"I know," she smiled. "I'm still not thanking John though."

Adam chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not sending him a dozen roses either."

She felt him draw up his legs and spread them out across the couch so she was lying atop his chest. Belle heard the sharp intake of breath and moved to the side a little to keep from hurting his sore back.

"Why is it I always get hurt whenever I'm around you?" he teased quietly.

Belle shrugged, looking up at him through her lashes. "I'm bad luck, remember?"

Adam smirked and wrapped an arm around her waist. "You are indeed, how could I forget?"

"Well, getting tossed around by a football player can do that to a person."

"True, true."

Their conversation lapsed until she realized her tea was still in the kitchen. She didn't bother to grab it though. She had another thing on her mind.

"Is what John said true?"

"You'll have to be more specific. That oaf said a lot of things."

"The part about you being in love with me."

"Oh, that part," Adam gave an awkward cough, causing Belle to look up at him. His cheeks were dark red and he wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

"You didn't answer me."

"For who could ever learn to love a beast?"

"What?"

"It's a line from a book I read as a kid. It stuck with me after the burns and everything."

She sat up a bit and stared at him. "You're not a beast, Adam."

"I know but-"

"No," she placed a hand over his mouth. "There are no buts. Okay?"

His blue eyes held onto hers and he slowly nodded. She bit the inside of her cheek. "Do you love me?" Again, he nodded and her heart figuratively jumped in her chest. "You're pretty sure of yourself there," she teased, trying not to giggle. He shrugged then tilted back his head to free himself of her hand.

"Love is something that can grow quickly under the right circumstances."

She leaned forward and curled up at his side again, smiling. "It's a good thing I love you too then, huh?"

"It is, or I'd look like a royal fool here."

"So if I come to Paris for a visit, is that place by the river going to have an extra bedroom?"

Adam nodded. "I was thinking you might like to have a permanent place to crash when you're not in school. Or maybe while you are in it, depending on where you go."

"Did I tell you I applied to Descartes and Curie, as well as a list of other schools close to Paris?"

"You might have mentioned it in passing."

"Could mean you'll be seeing a lot more of me."

"I'm not complaining."

She glanced at the clock and frowned. "Damn, I've got to get dinner on. Want to stay?"

"Your father wouldn't mind?"

"I think after hearing how you saved me, he'd be more than willing to have you as a dinner guest."

Adam chuckled and sat up with Belle. "Alright, but I'm not making the salad."

"That's right, you're making the potatoes," she teased, helping him to his feet.

"Exactly."

He grabbed her hand as she went by and kissed her forehead. "I'm really excited you know."

"Me too," she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a tight hug before dragging him into the kitchen. "Now get to work you lazy oaf."

"Yes ma'am."