Chapter 4

Rose Ashcroft “Rose?” My body feels like struck by lightning. Nathaniel came to the worst possible time. Leonard still had one arm around my waist, leaning close to me while locking my hands. Nathaniel stopped in the middle of the hallway, his eyes widening at the sight of us. Heat rushed to my face. Before either of them could say a word, I shoved Leonard away and ran. Nathaniel probably thought I was pathetic. First, he'd seen the ugliest side of me. Now he'd caught me in an awkward position with his own brother. I was heading back to my dorm when I suddenly stopped. Several campus security officers were carrying boxes out of my room. My heart nearly stopped when one of them carelessly dropped a box filled with my notebooks. I tried to stop them as watched them almost throw away my expensive notebook. “Oh, it's you.” One of the officers recognized me, pointed toward my suitcase lying in the hallway. “This room has already been reassigned. You need to pack your things immediately.” “What?” My voice cracked. “B-But that's my room—” “That's not what I was told, kid.” The officer sounded impatient. “You need to pack up or else, we’re gonna throw all of this.” “B-But—” “Tsk. How annoyed.” He shoved me. “Administration informed us that you're no longer a student here. Move out of the way if you're just going to stand there.” The moment they kicked me out, only one name came to mind. Leonard. While the officers continued emptying my room, I pulled out my phone with trembling hands and stared at his contact. For several seconds, I hesitated. Then another box hit the floor, and panic overpowered my pride. I tried to call him but keep being rejected. I rushed my step to the practice room, hoping that Leonard still there practicing for his next match. My eyes roamed to the empty skating area. The was door still opened, yet Leonard wasn’t here. I walked around to search him, that when— “Ah!” —I almost fell, bumping into something. I almost tripped my legs if a strong arm hadn't grabbed me and pulled me hard. “Four eyes?” An annoyingly familiar voice growled above me. My face heated up noticing that Leonard held me tight before I fell. For a moment, I'd completely forgotten his nasty personality. I quickly straightened myself, pretending my heart wasn't pounding as he stared at me. “Here I thought who dared to disturb my practice.” He clicked his tongue. “What happened? Get lost on the way here? Those glasses really aren't helping, are they, four eyes?” ‘Wow. Still an asshole.’ I growled inside. For one embarrassing second, I'd almost been distracted by how attractive he looked. Then he opened his mouth and reminded me exactly why I hated him. For a second, Leonard’s gaze scanning through my body. In this cold, damp skating area, the air makes my thin skirt even see-through. I didn’t know what’s Leonard was staring so intensely at my body, but I felt like his irises turned red, when our bodies almost touched. “W-We need to talk.” My voice came out weak. The scent of his pheromones made it harder to focus. “What?” Leonard frowned. He turned away after a brief sigh. “Go home, Shrimp. This place isn't safe for a shrimp like you. And don't ever interrupt my practice again—” “L-Let's do it!” My voice echoed across the empty arena. “The fake dating! Let's do it!” Opps. I let out my voice too loud. For second, I feltLeonard’s gaze piercing me. He walked toward me. Before he got any closer, I raised one finger between us. “B-but, I have conditions,” Somehow, I managed to keep my voice steady. “I want everything written down in a contract.” I pointed at him. “And you're signing it.” My heart was pounding like crazy. He leaned against the wall, while staring at me intensely. I thought first he’s gonna throw a fit, but suddenly, Leonard put his helmet down and approached me. “Contract, huh?” He smirked. “Fine.” He folded his arms. “Let’s write that down. Go with yours first, then we'll talk about mine." I swallowed nervously. We moved to one of the benches near the rink, borrowed a notebook pen from a passing student. I wrote my ‘rules’ with trembling hands. After I done, I raised the paper. “First,” I lift my finger. “I need my scholarship back.” “And?” he said. I flinched as didn’t expect he’d going along so easy. “Let’s keep our relationship in secret from Nathaniel,” My fingers tightened around the fabric of my skirt. "No matter what happens, he can't find out." Leonard let out a low laugh. “For real, four eyes?” He pushed himself off the bench and leaned closer. I can feel his lower body pressing against mine. His was face already so close that I had to turned my face away. I kept my face straight although my body feels burning. “T-That’s my condition. Y-you can do anything to me as long as you guarantee my scholarship back, and don’t ever let Nathaniel know about this.” “Pffttt. ‘Anything’ is a dangerous word,” he chuckled. Leonard seemed to ridiculed me, but at the end, he signed the paper. He gave me suspicious smirk as I didn’t understand what’s was going on his head. “And yours?” I asked. He grabbed back his Hockey helmet. As he headed to the ice rink, he slightly turned his face to me. “Just show up whenever I call you. Remember, I don’t tolerate any late even for seconds. You know, I’m not a patient man like my brother.” After that, he merged with an ice rink. Only after he disappeared, my legs gave out and I flopped to the floor. Glancing at the paper, my heart pounded with anxiety. I still couldn’t still believe it, now that I’m Leonard’s girlfriend. Although this was all fake, why my heart couldn’t stop pounding? *** "What!? He actually said that to you? What an asshole!" Rebecca slammed her headphones. I'd only just finished telling her what happened in President Gavinsky's office. She'd already spent the last hour cursing Leonard in at least ten different ways. “Fake dating with this ugly duckling nerd? I’d rather die! He said? Then f*****g die!” Rebecca mimicked how cruel Leonard had spoken to his father back then. We were currently in Rebecca's dorm room. Tonight was the Champions Party. And since I had absolutely nothing to wear, I'd come to borrow something from her. Rebecca was a professional stylist, my only best friend, the only person who knew everything Leonard had done to me over the years. "How dare he call my prettiest, most beautiful, absolutely gorgeous best friend ugly?" Rebecca stormed toward her wardrobe busted with angry. "I can't believe you let him walk away. If I were you, I would've punched that ridiculously handsome face." I chuckled, "You're the only person who thinks that, Becca." I stood still, letting her sorting through outfits for me. Rebecca had always insisted that I looked better without my glasses. My features were completely hidden behind thick lenses, and switching to contact lenses would change everything. While we talked, she pulled a bright red dress from her wardrobe. My jaw almost dropped as I saw how tight and short that red dress was. “I will only forgive you if you wear this.” Rebecca forced me to put that dress on. The dress was so small and tight, yet, I had no problem putting it on. The dress actually just curved my body perfectly. Rebecca screamed when I took of the glasses, let my long hair down. She grabbed her make-up tools and put some on me. She couldn’t stop taking a picture of me. “I’m f*****g genius,” she said, glancing at the picture she took. “I know this dress would be perfect on you. I told you before, you need to be my model! Your body and face are just perfect!” “And stop wear that s**t-thick glasses,” she threw my glasses away. “If you want Leonard stop harassing you, you need to put up more.” "Rose," She grabbed my shoulder. “Let’s make Leonard all over heels to you tonight.” *** Leonard Gavinsky’s POV The entire bar pulsed with flashing lights and deafening music. Students crowded the dance floor, drunk on alcohol, victory, and excitement. Harverd University had rented the entire venue for one night to celebrate our hockey team's championship. “Drink up, man!” Daniel, my teammate, poured me a liquor after coming back from dancing. “Wow. She’s crazy hot. What do you think about her, man?” he pointed at the dancer on the stage. Daniel kept talking. He joined the rest of the team, dancing with girls with other members. Everyone seemed determined to enjoy the celebration. Except me. I emptied my glass in a single gulp. The alcohol did nothing. My breath raged as Rose’s last words keep filling my head since yesterday, making me unable to enjoy the party. ‘What the f**k did she mean when she I need to keep our relationship a secret from Nathaniel? Does she still have stupid feelings for him?’ My jaw tightened. The more I think about it, the more annoyed I became. I felt my head unable to focus. “Move. I’m going home.” I snapped my friend’s hand when they’re about to ask me to dance. I grabbed my belongings and car key, about to headed out when the crowded suddenly went so noisy. Just as I was about to head for the exit, a sudden commotion erupted near the entrance. I glanced toward the entrance. Someone had just arrived. Everyone at the bar couldn’t stop murmuring. “Damn. Who is she?” “She’s super-hot!” “Is she celebrity?” “She’s hotter than Violeta from Class-C!”