The Mafia Magnate

3

*Rowan Pinada's POV*

"Party at who's house?" I asked Amelie once more like the loud noises of the highschool hallway seem to talk louder than I could.

"Party at mine, Rowan." A voice called from behind me. A familiar voice that sent me to places I didn't want to think of. I turned in place to see the one and only, Carlo.

"I missed you dearly, mon petit chou." He whispered as he cupped my face in his hands. I'm a sucker for the bilinguals, what can I say?

He was tall and slender, smelled like cinnamon apples, and had a sharp jawline. His eyes were cold and grey, the same way they looked the last time I'd seen him.

I gently grabbed his wrists and left them at his sides. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline the invite, amour," I said in spite. Like hell, I'd go to a party run by him. It was only a matter of time until the entire school found out about what a sick bastard he was, strutting around like he owned the school after what he'd done to multiple girls he'd dated. It was my fault for not listening to them when they warned me, "It would be fun. I promise, just try."

I looked over at Amelie who shrugged, "You know I hate the number of people who show up, Carlo."

He thought for a moment before speaking again. "I'll limit it to three high schools this time," I frowned, "Better than the usual five."

I laughed, why did I laugh? Just let him walk over you why don't you. "I'll think about it."

The speakers played a loud high pitched sound that they called the bell. "That's the bell!" Amelie reached for my wrist only to be stopped by my body frozen in place. "We'd better get going, Rowan." She tugged at me.

"Right."

She led me down the hallway following with the crowd of other students alike. "I didn't expect him to show his face around here." She chuckled. I could tell she was nervous, or awkward, or both. "I didn't expect for me to be able to even talk to him without shaking." I laughed and elbowed Amelie, "Didn't you see it! I didn't even flinch!"

Amelie's face went blank, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I mean it like the figure of speach-"

She laughed, "I'm joking!"

Once we made our way into our first-period class all my nerves went away when I saw him sitting in my seat. At that moment I'd realized the fact that I never actually caught his name. I'd only told him mine but he'd never told me his. I walked towards my usual seat, the seat I'd sat in every year for almost three years. He'd come in halfway through the year and stole my seat? No way.

"Excuse me," I cleared my throat, "neighbor. This is my seat."

He looked up to meet my eyes. "Ah, Rowan. Nice to see you again," He paused to clear his throat and scan my body. "with clothes on this time."

I fidgeted with my thumb, remembering the moments we shared last night. "I already said, this is my seat."

He smiled before standing up and pulling out the chair for me to sit down in. "Anything you for you." He winked at me. Jesus, he's kind of cute?

"Mon amour!" I heard an annoyingly familiar voice call again from the doorway. "I see you've met someone?" Carlo stopped in front of both of us. My neighbor was still holding onto the chair he was pulling out for me, and I was frozen sitting on it. What do I respond with, will he respond for both of us? I hope Carlo doesn't suspect anything, that'd be worse for my new neighbor than myself. "Yes, ahem, this is.. uh."

My neighbor placed his hand on my shoulder and leaned down to place his head on top of mine. "Pietro, and you are?"

Pietro, what a unique name. I've never heard anything like it and the roll of the r on his tongue as he said it made me double-take. "Pietro," I whispered to myself out loud.

"Carlo, her boyfriend," Carlo said with a frown.

"Ex. Ex-boyfriend." Amelie chirped.

I pulled the hand sitting on the shoulder off of me and pulled my chair into the desk in front of me. Amelie met my eye as I looked in the opposite direction of the boys eyeing each other in front of me. Carlo had always been an overprotective friend. Sometimes, almost too overprotective of people who didn't want it. Now, Pietro was new and didn't know the ropes. But there would be no way for him to notice unless someone told him, and that had to be me. "Alrighty, boys, Pietro you can sit next to me so I can explain the class." I took his arm and pushed him to the desk next to me, Carlo's old one. "And as for you," I stared through this soul like a hungry demon, "You can go find Katherine."

Carlo scoffed before walking towards Katherine who'd just entered the classroom. He wrapped his hand around her waist and kissed her neck quickly, catching my stare at him."Sorry about him, he's weird."

"Rowan," Amelie whispered from next to me. "What the fuck?"

I opened my eyes in surprise, "What?"

"You have two guys fighting over you! Didn't you see the way Pietro was looking at you? Like you were his territory, lucky he saved your ass from Carlo's bitchass." Amelie shifted in her seat to face me, excitement splattered across her expression. "What the hell happened in that driveway?"

I laughed, "A lady never kisses and tells."

As the lunch bell rang during our fourth period and Amelie and I led Pietro to the cafeteria doors. "Hey, Pietro." I stopped in front of the doors, turning to him. "Wheres your friend? Th-The one you were movin' in with?"

Pietro crossed his arms in front of me, "My brother?"

Oh shit, he has a brother? I mean they did look a little similar, but brothers? "Brother? I didn't know he was your brother!"

"Calm down, little one." He put his hand on my shoulder and bent down to face me, "He's only my half-brother."

"Half?" I asked. I prayed to god in that instant that his mother didn't die or something because we were in no way that close with each other and every time someone or something dies I start to cry a little bit.

"Where is he?"

He totally thinks I'm thinking of fucking his brother. I mean...

"I'm actually not sure, probably cheating on his girlfriend for the gazillionth time." He combed through his hair and looked around before stepping on someone. "Excuse me." He said as he tapped my shoulder and made his way down the hallway until he was out of sight.

"Where the hell is he going?" Amelie asked. I forgot she was there for the few seconds we were talking. "I don't know." Curiosity kills the cat, right? well, fuck that. "But I'm gonna find out."