Author's Notes: This was supposed to be an absurdly long chapter but I chose to split it in half for the reader's sake. Eh. I hope it wouldn't disrupt the flow of the story much.

Episode 4

Extra Cheese Please!

The first day of classes, March 2, 6:24 AM

It was time for the students to go to school again.

A white collared polo shirt which was overlapped by a black European coat with an alternating white and black lined-hemline and tightened by a silvery yellow necktie, black dress pants, plain black socks, and of course, black half-inch heeled leather shoes completed the uniform of the male students in South Concord Academy. For females, any blouse was permitted, but black sweater vests were suggested. It must be also worn under a black blazer very similar to the males' and secured with a silvery yellow ribbon necktie. Instead of pants, they wore a black skirt with thin, red checkered lines, which ended half-way to the knee. They had no implementations on socks or stockings but wearing black shoes were required.

Leon fixed the bag strap on his shoulder. Passing through the hallway leading to his classroom, he felt the eyes of the girls he walked by bore holes into him. He ignored their gazes and headed to his classroom.

Turning around the nearest corner, he found the classroom he was assigned to. He stopped in front of the door as if hindered by the mystery and uncertainty of the world behind the door.

"Are you just going to stare at the door like that?"

Leon spun around. It was a girl.

Leon examined the girl in front of him. From mere observation, Leon knew that her height was around five and a half feet, which was half a head shorter than him. The girl was attractive, limitlessly noticeable even from a good twenty feet away. She had an appearance of a young Korean actress. Her face was smooth and roundly curved, not too long, not too circular. Sharp hazel eyes shaped like carved diamonds that stood out with black eyeliner, a rosy, creamy white complexion and naturally pink plump lips were her striking features. Her hair was a shade in the middle of medium and dark brown, similar to dark auburn. Her thick locks were smoothly curled toward the ends, falling in straight lines around chest level, and were parted sideways from the left, with her thick fringes hanging just above her eyes, speaking loudly of her inclination to Korean fashion and culture. Her blazer was tightly fastened with one button around her waist, accentuating her curvaceous, slim form. Her shoes had arguably high heels, complementing the black leggings that started from her feet and ended just above her knee. Clearly, she was stunning even only in her school uniform - not that it interested him. Albeit her attractive appearance, something was not right. She looked very gloomy and low-spirited. She appeared to be terribly dejected, but that didn't hinder her prettiness from blossoming. Then, Leon realized who the girl was.

Leon narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

The girl grinned at him idiotically. It was Natalie.

"You study here too?" She looked intimately adorable: the way her cheeks slightly rose and how her lips parted to show her pearly white teeth in a grin. Her smile was one of those natural, instantly-fall-in-love-with-me smiles no matter how stupid it looked to Leon.

"That much is obvious."

She stuck her lower lip out in a cute pout. **

It was the first time Natalie had seen Leon's whole face in the light. His black onyx eyes were a safe shelter of calmness and determination. They gave her the distinct impression that he was trustworthy and loyal. His black hair was the second thing that caught her eye. It was slightly wild and waxed, with his long, sharp fringes combed in a wave. He looked exceptionally mature compared to the other male students of his age, which added to his somewhat darkly alluring aura. Unlike the usual way of dressing, his coat was buttoned only in the middle and his collar was crisp and slightly raised, giving him a well-suited bad boy look. The cuffs of his white shirt ended a few inches after the cuffs of his black coat. His gentleman-like stature, chilling stare and chiseled features complemented all these. With his physical god-like perfection, he looked more of a mix of European and Korean lineage. And his voice. His voice. She would melt into a puddle of girly-goo just by hearing it. It was low, but clear. In one word, charming.

"Thank you for helping me yesterday," Natalie expressed in her voice which was slightly deeper than that of female teenagers of her age had. Leon glanced at her from the corner of his eye, slightly amazed at her fluent English. They were studying in an international school, but that itself didn't imply that all students enrolled there were excellent in speaking and writing English, which was the official language used inside the campus.

Leon kept his silence and chose to reply with a nod. It was what he would normally do. She sighed softly at his shallow response.

They shared a brief silence as feelings weren't turned into words.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?"

Slowly, Leon tilted his neck to Natalie's direction. His stare, which appeared as a glare, scared her. Maybe he didn't like talking.

He returned his gaze on the blackboard. "You're supposed to be in the hospital resting."

"I hate hospitals," she said, puffing out her cheeks as she stared at her desk. She then turned to him and flattened her lips against each other to form a slight curve. "Besides, I feel fine."

"You had a knife lodged in your chest."

"Then how about you? You were stabbed...twice?"

"...That is none of your concern."

"Then so is mine." Natalie crossed her arms and faced front. When she saw him frown, she snapped back to him and smirked. She held out an open hand. "I almost forgot. I'm Natalie Song."

Her vibrant smile wiped the frown off his face. Leon took her hand in a handshake. "Leonhart Chatelier."

The following silence was broken by the female. "Why are we here?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Natalie was actually surprised to get an answer from Leon this time. "And when is soon?"

"When we are complete."

"Others are coming?"

"Three of them, to be exact. That's why there are still three empty seats."

Natalie looked around and noticed that there were three unoccupied chairs. "Atta," she squeaked. "Dumb me." Natalie pursed her lips and did a facepalm.

"Who do you think the three are?" Natalie asked as she subconsciously observed Leon's pose. He had his back straight against the chair and one of his hands was buried in his pocket while the other one was on the desk. He looked quite charming in his uniform. As the cold breeze from outside the classroom whipped him from the front, his dark coat billowed behind him like a cloak. A cloak that represented something. Something he was hiding from everyone.

Leon cut her off from her staring. "One of them is Kim Yun-Hee."

"Kim Yun-Hee?"

"A classmate of mine since elementary."

"Oh." Her eyes fell to the floor. "A childhood friend?"

"You could say that."

"Wait. How did you know that she was-"

"It's posted there." He pointed at the glass window of the classroom. A regal-sized bond paper was taped on it. Natalie, feeling dumb again, slapped her forehead, plaguing Leon to smirk.

She sighed, glancing at her watch. "Classes don't start for another hour."

"Hn," was Leon's response. Silence followed. An idea popped in Natalie's mind like a suddenly flashing light bulb.

"Leon," she called. It was the first time she had spoke of his name and it definitely made her feel unavoidably awkward. The boy kept his eyes on the wall on his far front and didn't even glance to regard her.

"Do you want to have some breakfast?"

"I already ate." Lie. He hadn't eaten absolutely anything in the past few days.

She pouted, feeling rejected.

"If you haven't, you can go ahead if you want to eat," he offered, displaying his pensive character. "The cafeteria is already open by this hour."

"Are you sure you won't come?"

He shook his head and carried on with staring at the wall, as if nothing fascinated him more. Natalie rested her chin on her desk. "I'm hungry."

"Go and eat."

Withdrawing from the comfort of her chair, she dragged her feet lazily across the cement, pouting all the more. "Alright. I'm going to the canteen then."

Leon nodded. "Go and have breakfast," he repeated.

"I'm really leaving," she stated, her assertion threatening him. All she got back from him was an indifferent nod. She turned around and headed for the classroom door. She grew disappointed when he didn't even glance at her to watch her leave.

Furious, she marched back to him. "God, this boy is so insensitive." Natalie grabbed Leon's sleeve and dragged him to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was already open since they had to prepare a lot of things before the day started. Tables made for six people were arranged across the long hall. Similar to that of the classroom's case, the pungent smell of newly furnished wood filled the area.

A bowl of noodles was neatly placed in front of Leon. A pair of wooden chopsticks held the lid down, preventing it from opening. The heat and flavor was sealed inside, protected by a flap of foil. On its right was a glass of water. Leon did nothing but stare at it. The meal was given to him by Natalie through direct persuasion and force, presenting it to him as what she had called 'a token of her gratitude' for his kindness. He was later joined by the giver of the gift, who also placed a similar bowl on the table as she sat down beside him. She glanced at Leon, and an amused smile appeared on her lips.

"Don't you like Korean noodles?"

Leon gave the girl beside him a sideways look. "No."

She smiled sweetly at him, her cheeks and lips cheerfully tugged upwards. "Just try it."

"I think I'll just have the glass of water."

"It isn't that bad, you know."

Taking Natalie's assuring smile as collateral, Leon broke the chopsticks into two individual pieces and flapped the lid open. An outburst of gimchi and braised beef filled his nostrils. He could already taste the exuberant flavor just by inhaling the smell of the soup. It was the perfect meal for a cold day. He folded his hands to pray and valiantly dug in afterwards.

Five seconds later, Leon realized what the purpose of the glass of water was. He quickly grabbed hold of it and chugged down the liquid. His free hand clutched the table as he coughed, the burning in his throat growing less tolerable by the second. He let out a strangled groan as Natalie gently patted his back. Leon, being of English decent, was not used to large intakes of hot and spicy seasoning unlike people of Korean and Indian decent. He was sure his body wouldn't adjust in his desired alacrity.

"A-Are you okay?" she asked, unsure whether to laugh or be concerned. Leon gave her a pained glare when she finally broke into soft chuckling.

"Here." A glass of water was shown to him.

Desperate to exhaust the raging flames in his chest, he took it without hesitation. He downed half of the liquid in one go.

"Wa-The...I..." Natalie, surprised, stared at him.

Leon swallowed painfully, the burning now gone. He gave a grateful nod to Natalie, who was now slightly blushing for a reason he was unfamiliar with.

A few moments after, Leon was barely suppressing a smirk, or a laugh rather, from coming out. For once in his life, someone had almost made him laugh. Almost. Natalie had tears in her eyes. She apparently forgot to dissolve the flavoring of the noodles while the water was boiling. She accidentally ate the cube floating in the soup, which was akin to eating a handful of fully-grown chili, and chose not to drink from her glass despite the murderous burning both in her throat and chest.

Noticing that the matter was serious, Leon hastily jumped from his chair and asked for two glasses of water from the nearest catering service. The extra one was for safety measures. He went back, only to find her dripping with sweat, albeit back to normal.

Natalie's glass was now empty. He placed the two containers in front of her, examining her for any reaction.

His eyes flickered back to the empty glass marked with light pink lipstick.

"Oh."

Now he understood.

She frantically looked up at him. He blinked back, face lacking any expression. It kept bothering her as she thought how it served as an indirect ki-

"Drink this," he said in a very commanding tone, cutting her from her thoughts. He pushed a glass toward her with his hand. She reached out her hand to grab it and accidentally held Leon's hand which was at the other end of the glass. She quickly retracted her hand as she flushed, spilling the liquid on the table. Leon took out a handkerchief and cleaned the mess.

"Sorry," he muttered while in the middle of drying the table. Natalie looked up at him, cheeks remaining stained with red.

Intending to please his curiosity, Leon placed his hand on top of Natalie's. As expected, she took it back at record speed. "W-what?" she questioned in less than a second.

He gestured to the glass of water that had been waiting for her. "Drink."

She extended a hand to reach for the glass but habit made her glance at the pink watch strapped to her wrist. It was 7:46 AM. Classes were supposed to start at 7:30 AM sharp.

"We're late!"

"Wha-"

"Hurry up!" Natalie gripped on Leon's forearm and dragged him out of the canteen. As they went up the first flight of stairs of the main school building, suddenly, the heel of Natalie's shoe broke, causing her to lose balance. The inevitable happened. She tripped; her skin collided with the jagged cement steps. Leon immediately came to her aid. Her already scratched knee was now bleeding and her left ankle was sprained. To make things worse, her leggings were torn.

"Ow, ow, ow," she muttered with one eye open as Leon examined her knee with his hand. Surprised, Natalie let out a faint gasp as Leon lifted her from the ground. Leon carried her, supporting her back and legs with his sturdy arms.

She stared at him, not expecting his actions.

Leon caught her stare. "What?"

She uncontrollably blushed as his eyes locked with hers. "N-Nothing."

Lowering her head to extinguish the flame in her cheeks, she awkwardly swung her arms around his neck.

Leon dashed to the clinic and gently laid Natalie down on the bed. The nurse produced the first-aid kit from a multi-layered shelf. Recognizing who her new patient was and the fact that her shoe was broken, the nurse sighed hopelessly.

"You should be more careful," the nurse said while taking a pack of disinfectant and clean gauge out of the white toolbox. "It's just the first day of school and you've lost a shoe already."

Natalie bowed her head down ruefully. The nurse gave Leon a thankful smile and gestured him to take a seat adjacent to his new classmate. He reluctantly obeyed.

Shutting her eyes, Natalie groaned in pain as the nurse applied an alcohol pad on the cut on her knee. The pain made her flinch and grab the nearest thing to her, which in that case, was Leon's arm. She quickly let go and bashfully looked away. "S-sorry. And thank you. Again."

Leon nodded, his refined face filled with silent concern. The nurse taped a clean gauge on her wounded knee. She gave it a light tap and finished the necessary measures of immediate treatment. Natalie's ankle, however, could not be dealt with at once. The nurse gave her a cold compress for it in the meantime.

"Would you want to go to the hospital and have this examined?" the Korean nurse asked in straight English as she lightly tilted Natalie's ankle from left to right. The girl shook her head as fast as she could. "Are you sure? Does it still hurt?"

"Only a little."

Leon promptly knelt beside the nurse and took a look at her ankle. He ran his hand against the swollen part with a gentle, feather-light touch. Natalie suppressed a shiver as a warm, blissful sensation coursed through her body.

"It's nothing serious," Leon assured, taking his hand back. He gave it one last look before he stood up. The nurse raised an eyebrow at him, questioning his validity. She took a deep breath and pulled herself up from the floor. "Would you mind looking after Natalie? Both of you are in the special section, right?"

Leon nodded, not that he wanted to take care of his classmate, but to confirm that they were two of the five chosen students.

"I'm busy with arranging the student records. Would you?" Being a nurse of a school of such class and caliber not only meant treating the students when they complained that they were dizzy, feel sick, or suffering from stomach aches. The nurse also had to take care of the documents and medical records of students – arranging them, correcting them, updating them.

"I will, Miss Hyun," Leon finally claimed. The nurse patted him on the back before she headed for the door. She closed the lights before soundlessly shutting the door behind her so that Natalie could relax. Leon hastily turned the lights on without seeking Natalie's opinion. He sat on the bed opposite to where Natalie was. His abdomen churned in pain and his face expressed it.

Feeling drowsy, Natalie proceeded to taking off her shoes and stockings. She smirked when she saw that Leon was staring off at a totally different direction for obvious reasons. His face was lacking any distinguishable emotion all morning but at that moment, she could sense a slight hint of a timid, embarrassed expression in his face. If she was honest with herself, she found it kind of...well...cute. She took off her watch and prepared to take a nap. Leon approached her and took her things for safekeeping.

"Kamsahamnida," she thanked whole-heartedly. He nodded, as always, and returned to his bed. Her soft yawn was muffled into silence as she covered her mouth with her hand. She slipped into the bed sheets, careful not to inflict pain on herself, and lied down on the comfortable bed. Depending on her right side to carry her weight in order to prevent further injury of her left ankle and knee, she rested her head on the soft pillow and faced Leon. As she had predicted, he simply stared back, sitting idly on the white mattress. After a while, he looked away from her, having perceived that his gaze was keeping her awake.

"Sleep well."

She nodded and habitually replied in Korean. "Ne." Under the bed sheets, a giddy grin slowly crept unto Natalie's lips.

Author's Notes: What do you think? I wasn't going for a cheesy chapter but I somehow think my attempt at slight fluff and romance ended like that so I decided to name this chapter as it is. Were you constantly awake while reading this? If yes, then I'll be darned. That's awesome. If not, then...okay. Thanks for reading.