If college wasn't hard enough for Charlotte Schmit, being in the same major as Francis Bonnefoy sure didn't make it any easier. She shared nearly every class with him and wanted to tear her hair out. How could one person be so beautiful that everything he does can be so distracting? At the beginning of the semester, he had sneezed near the end of an exam and she was so distracted by it that her mind went into a frenzy and she barely finished in time.
Wherever Francis was, there was also a crowd. People flocked to him from all over the campus. It was almost as if he were his own sun and everyone else was orbiting him as if they were planets dragged into his gravitational pull. His presence was like something from one of those far-fetched love stories for hopeless romantics, the kind where the man was almost otherworldly with his popularity where the girl was one that stuck more to the background. To Charlotte, it was almost comical how cliche everything about his existence was.
And then there was Charlotte. It wasn't like she wasn't popular. She was friendly with everyone and had a very supportive and wonderful circle of friends. But she wasn't nearly as popular as Francis was. For that, she was grateful. Charlotte couldn't imagine for even a moment how annoying it would be to be followed around the campus like he was. That was why her main rule for herself was to avoid that man at all costs. It didn't matter how handsome he was or how charismatic he may be; she needed to stay away from him. After all, if she was going to follow what the love stories always proclaimed, someone like him meant nothing but trouble for her.
Then it happened, that fateful day when their professor paired them up for a partner project. Charlotte deflated in her seat while Francis began to apologize to his "fan club". She rolled her eyes at the glares she was receiving, wishing that she could have been partners with literally anyone else. Knowing the women who surrounded him, there was no way this would end without a fight, and Charlotte didn't think she was prepared for something like that.
For an assignment that was due in two weeks, Charlotte found herself struggling to even remotely meet up with Francis. Every time she approached him to discuss it, one of the girls near him would suddenly sweep him away with false urgency. It ground on Charlotte's nerves until she finally cornered him on his way out of the bathroom, backing him into a wall.
"Hey, we need to talk," she growled at him.
"I've been trying to talk to you, I swear," he yelped, holding his arms up in surrender. "I'm sorry that those girls are behaving that way. I swear that I have nothing to do with it." His blue eyes pleaded to her. "How about this?" Francis pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen from his pocket before scribbling something on it. "Meet me here after classes. We can talk about the project and get started there, okay?"
Charlotte inspected the scrap and noticed it was an address. "You'd better be there," she told him. "I'm not getting a bad grade on this project just because your bitches are being petty, got it?" She shoved the paper into her bag and stomped away, relieved that she was finally given a chance to confront him.
.
After her classes that day, Charlotte found herself in a small park a few blocks away from the school. She looked around it, caving in to the peaceful atmosphere as she sat on a bench. The sun shone warmly on her face as she basked in it. Her eyes drifted closed as she took in the peace of her surroundings.
"Did classes tire you out that much, mon cherie?" Francis joked, standing before her when she opened her eyes. "I apologize for taking so long. My condo isn't too far from here. Would you like to come over and work on the assignment?"
"With your reputation, I'm not sure," she joked, standing up. "But yeah, why not? If anything happens, I'm confident that I could break you like a toothpick if I needed to escape."
He laughed loudly. "Please break me if I do something out of line! Maybe it will get those girls to leave me alone, non?" With his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he led the way to a beautiful building that housed many expensive-looking condos. "Please come in," he said, opening the door to the building and leading her to the elevator.
Her eyes widened as she stepped into Francis's home. She could hardly believe that a college student could afford to live in such a lavish place. Then again, if he had wealthy family, this could be their doing. "Wow," she breathed.
"Please make yourself comfortable. I'll make us some tea." Francis took off his shoes and headed off to the kitchen.
Charlotte slipped off her shoes and sat down on the plush couch in the living room, setting her backpack at her feet before grabbing her laptop out of it to pull up a document to write their ideas on. She was so comfortable that she didn't notice Francis until he was sitting beside her.
"I see that you are prepared. That is a good sign. Shall we begin?"
The two worked together for a few hours, fleshing out the project and each of their roles in it before finally giving up and turning to each other. Charlotte's stomach growled loudly, causing her to blush and duck her head out of embarrassment.
Francis laughed. "Shall I order some food?"
"I-I-I can make something at home. It's no big deal."
"Please allow me to feed you. You are my guest." He swiped through his phone, looking up restaurant delivery apps. "What sorts of food do you like?"
"Anything is fine. I'm not a picky eater. Let's have what you'd like."
.
Later that night, the two sat around an empty pizza box, the glow of the television screen the only light in the room. Charlotte wasn't sure how it happened, but they had decided to watch a horror movie while they ate and she somehow ended up curled up into Francis's side, his arm around her as if he were protecting her from the monsters in the movie. Though she wasn't scared of the movie, she found herself not wanting to leave his arms.
After awhile, she decided to sneak a glance up at him and noticed that he was gazing at her as if she were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Feeling brave, Charlotte decided to shoot her shot with him. Leaning upward and sitting up straighter, she pressed her lips to his, feeling his arm wrap around her waist as he kissed her back.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she shifted to his lap and began running her fingers through his hair as they kissed. She felt his hands on her back, pressing her body to his as she opened her mouth, welcoming his tongue inside. Charlotte's body felt white hot as the sensations she felt began to overwhelm her.
The two broke apart to catch their breaths, and as the oxygen came back to her brain, Charlotte quickly realized what she had done. Her cheeks felt overwhelmingly hot as she buried her face in Francis's chest. "Oh, my fucking God! I am so sorry!"
"What are you sorry about, Charlotte?" he asked, confused. He placed a gentle finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look at her. "Don't feel as if you have pressured me into something. I've liked you for a long time, you see. No other girl can compare to you. I mean, you even ignored me for quite sometime and never fawned over me on campus. How could I not be attracted to you?"
"If those girls find out what I did, they'll kill me!" She jumped to her feet and shoved her laptop in her back. "I have to go!" she stated, slipping her shoes on. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, okay?"
Francis sat on the couch, speechless. He wondered just how rude some of those girls on campus could get if Charlotte were reacting in such a manner.
.
The next day, any time Charlotte saw Francis, she would quickly dart away in case he tried to speak to her. She couldn't understand why she was being so cruel to him when he had nothing to do with the girls, yet she couldn't bear to be around him because of them.
"Hey, Francis!" one girl flirtatiously said as Charlotte was about to come around a corner, stopping her in her tracks. "You seem a bit distant today. Is something wrong?"
"Have any of you seen Charlotte anywhere? I need to talk to her about something."
"Nope, haven't seen her," the girl answered casually. "Do you have plans after school today?"
"I'm trying to," he replied. "But I need to find her first."
"Why do you need to find Charlotte? You two can talk tomorrow in class about your project. I was just coming up to ask if you wanted to grab dinner tonight?"
"I don't," Francis firmly replied, causing the girls to gasp. "Now, I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone. I need to find Charlotte."
"What, you like her or something?" a girl bitterly asked.
"Why else would I be trying to find her?" he simply asked. "I've been crazy about her for so long, and I'm dying to know how she truly feels about me."
"What's so good about her anyway? She's stuck up and snobby."
"Then you obviously don't know her."
Charlotte slowly came around the corner and instantly noticed his eyes on her. Yet immediately after, she felt the piercing glares of every girl surrounding him. She began to waver as Francis pushed past them to get to her.
"It seems you and I have some talking to do," he stated, blushing. "Let me clear all of this up with these ladies, and then I'm all yours. Would you mind waiting for me at my home? I promise I won't be too long." Francis leaned in and kissed her cheek. "The key is under the mat."