Chapter 2

STELLA STELLA I am trying my uniform on for the first time when a cute girl with shoulder-length curly hair and rosy cheeks bursts into the room. "You must be Stella," she pulls me into a warm hug without any warning. "Yeah," I awkwardly pat her shoulder in response as she giggles, "And you are?" "Elle," she beams at me, "I am your roommate! Sunray and a star, huh?" As she refers to our name meanings. "Maybe that's why they put us together," I wink at her, and she smiles. Her name fits her perfectly. She is like a ray of sunshine in this gloomy place. And she does not look like the loser Maddison described her as. She is anything but. "I'd be honest with you, Stella. I loved living on my own, but it seems to me like we are going to be just fine together! Before you, I lived with Maddie. You can't be any worse than her, right?" She carelessly bumps intomy bed and looks at me from head to toe. "I'll try my best not to disappoint you," I snort. She reminds me of Renee, my best friend from home. And for the first time since I arrived in this place, I feel like it's not that bad here. She helps me unpack, and I finally find out the things worth knowing about the school. "So, do you have a boyfriend back home?" She asks me nonchalantly while she hangs my clothes into my part of the wardrobe. "Nope. Haven't dated anyone for over a year," I honestly admit. "A whole year?" She gasps like it's the end of the world. "It was a very shitty year, Elle," I roll my eyes, and she nods in understanding. I told her briefly about my situation. "Well, you might find someone interesting here," she wriggles her brows. "Yeah", I snort, "Considering how guys here look, it shouldn't be a problem. What do they feed them here? Steroids?" "Yeah, we are lucky to have many handsome guys", Elle giggles, "My boyfriend Carter being number one, of course. Although some say that his brother Xave is, they are clearly wrong!" "Clearly," I chuckle. I love this girl! "I knew I would like you!" Elle laughs and pinches my shoulder in a friendly manner. "How could you not? I am adorable!" I laugh. I feel at ease with her, and it makes this day just a little bit better. After a while, Ella announces that it's time to go to the dining hall. I feel pretty awkward as she pulls me down the long corridors since it's my debut at the school, as well as my first time ever wearing the uniform. We arrive downstairs after what feels like an hour-long walk. We are in the middle of a grand staircase when I hear a male voice calling for my friend. "Elle, Elle!" A handsome guy waves at us. I realise that it must be Elle's boyfriend, Carter. She wasn't wrong when she described him as verrry good-looking. He is tall and has hazelnut hair with blonde strands here and there. He looks at Elle with his clear blue eyes as if she is the only girl in the room. And girls in this school are insanely pretty. So that tells me a lot about him. Adorable! "This is Stella, my roommate!" Elle pulls him to me after they passionately kiss right in the middle of the school. Seriously, I thought boarding schools would have stricter rules. "Hi" he waves at me, friendly, "I am Carter. You will be seeing a lot of me since I am this little devil's better half!" "I don't know" I giggle, "You seem to be as mischievous as she is." "You get us!" he winks at me and takes Elle under his arm. These two just can't get enough of each other. "Come on, Stella," my roomie insists, "We need to introduce you to everyone." "As long as it is far from Maddie's table," I snort, "As she has prohibited me to sit there." They both start laughing excessively. "Nonsense! She sits at our table, and if she doesn't like it, she can move," Carter says reassuringly, "My brother will see to it! Elle's and my friends are always welcomed there". "Only if you say so. I don't want any trouble during my first few hours here," I roll my eyes but follow them both. We fill our trays with food, and they lead us to their table, which is right by the many windows of the dining hall. It's pretty big and fits many people, but many places are empty. I notice Maddison, who is watching me like a hawk. "What do you think you are doing?" She demands immediately as we approach the table. "We are having dinner, Mads" Carter furrows his brows, "It's when people actually consume food, you know?" Ok, they are clearly not friends. But they still share this table. Why? "Come on, Maddie", One of the guys interrupts them, "Everybody wants to meet the new girl, and we are getting her first! Don't spoil the fun!" Well, I don't know whether that was a threat or not… But the guy smiles at me and bumps fists with Carter. So, I guess not a threat then. "I'm Gregor," he waves, "But you can call me Greg, beautiful!" He winks at me, and I blush. He is hot as hell. This school is going to be the end of me! "I'm Stella", I mumble. "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Greg smiles playfully. Suddenly, I hear a strange noise right behind me. It seems like a growl. Everyone stiffens, and I know that it wasn't just my imagination. Is there a dog inside these premises? Is that even allowed? I turn and bump into something hard. Gasping from the scare, I lose my balance, and my hands let go of the tray. I am seconds away from the embarrassment of my life. Closing my eyes, I prepare to hear the sounds of food falling to the floor and then landing right on top of it. But nothing happens. I blink a few times and find myself wrapped in the arms of a stranger. He holds me in one hand and my completely intact tray in the other. How on Earth did he do that? Is he a ninja? For a moment, I just take it in, as I've never seen a man as beautiful as him. He is at least twice as big as I am, and his body seems to be carved out of stone. His sun-kissed, hazelnut hair reminds me of someone. I look at him in surprise and see that his dark blue eyes are looking at me as if he expects something. I jump up from his embrace as soon as I realise that. He wouldn't want to hold me in his hands all day long, right? "S-sorry," I stutter, "Thanks for your help." The gorgeous man doesn't say a word. He stares at me, and I feel like I need to do something, but I don't know what. Right! The tray! "Uh, thanks." I try to take my tray back from him, but he doesn't let it go. What the hell? "Bro, give the girl her food!" Carter snorts, "She's had a long day and must be starving!" I sit on the right side of the table next to Elle and Carter, and my savior sits just next to me at its head. The guy lets go of the tray but keeps looking at me like I owe him something. What is wrong with him exactly? Oh well... I guess a super sexy guy couldn't be too perfect. He has to have some flaw, and it's something mental... "Xavier," he stretches his hand to me. Really? What are we, fifty? But I shake his hand, and I feel a slight prick of electricity when I touch him. Ouch. "Stella," I smile at him when he squeezes my hand tightly and doesn't let go. I look at him questioningly, but he seems surprised. What did he expect? The conversation at the table died down, and all eyes are on us now. Xavier is still holding my hand. "Xave, baby, let her go," Maddie's arms are entwining around his neck, and a chill goes down my spine. Is that the almost-boyfriend she was talking about? I am in a seriously red zone now! I forcefully pull my hand out, and he doesn't look too happy about it. He follows my gaze at Maddison, and it's like he only notices her now as he quickly takes her hands off him and stands up. "I need to go", he suddenly announces and glances at me once more before he leaves. "I'll see you around, Stella." He storms out of the dining hall, and for a second everyone is quiet. Wow, this guy really has them under his spell or something. "What was that about?" Maddie plunges into the seat next to me and eyes me aggressively, "Have you met before?" "Not that I can recall," I shake my head apologetically. I hope she doesn't think that I am playing with her man. God, help me. "Xavier is… " She starts speaking, trying to choose the words. "He is the guy you've been telling me about," I help her out and smile as nice as I can only master, "Nice choice, Maddie." For a second, she relaxes, and then I hear Carter start laughing. "If only it was your choice that really mattered in this situation," he snorts, and I feel a lot of tension between the two of them. "It's none of your business," she stands up and leaves the room. And I don't know if what she said was directed at me or Carter. "Shush, babe," Elle kisses her boyfriend's nose, "Don't start another war with her, and don't put my Stella in the middle of it". "However, you saw that, right?" he smirks at her, and I have a feeling they know something that I don't. "What do you mean?" I can't help but ask him. "He means nothing!" Elle giggles. "Don't pay him any attention. He doesn't know what he is talking about." We continue eating, and the group asks me question after question about my life. Everyone is eager to find out as much about me as possible. I am not used to this much attention, even though I was popular in my previous school. But this is a whole new level. Don't they ever have new students? This so doesn’t go well with my plan. Which is to lay low, become eighteen, get back home, get my money back from my aunt, and live happily ever after. But it’s okay. It’s only my first day and they will forget about me in a week or so. Of that I am sure.