and we fell

Chapter 5

SOFIA

I go around the canteen looking for a place to sit. Every table is full and every pair of eyes is on me. I can also see Darrel ready to attack behind me. Some students also take out their phones and clicking sounds can be heard in the background. I'm taken back to that day. The paparazzi. The reporters. All asking questions I didn't know how to answer. I didn't want to answer.

I swallow hard and put on a fake smile, still wondering around with my food. All of a sudden, I can hear a familiar voice shouting: "Soph". I turn in that direction and see a standing Nini waving at me. I hurry on my way to the table. There, I can see the table is already almost full. Nini moves in closer to April on the bench to make some space for me. Darrel sits down at a nearby table in my shadow. On the other bench, Nessie is sitting on Mark's lap and Dia is locking lips with a guy I haven't seen so far. She must have realized, since she stops and turns to me:

"Soph, this is my boyfriend Leo," she says, pointing to the black haired guy with a pair of the same intense green eyes as her. 

Leo nods his head like in a bow and says: "Your Royal Highness, it's nice to meet you."

"Please, call me Sofia," I say. He nods thankful and then turns back to kissing Dia.

Nini meanwhile started asking me minimum ten questions per second about my first day. To calm her down, I tell her everything about my classes so far, even my encounter with Tessa. I don't know why I've told her that, it just slipped out of me. Nini's face turns annoyed, so does April's who has listened to our conversation.

"That bitch," April says. Nini nods agreeing.

"I love your loafers," the redhead adds. Then continues: "I can kill her if you want."

April backs her up: "I'll bail you out of jail."

Nini looks thankful at her: "Thanks, babe."

I chuckle and let out: "No one is killing anyone. Plus, you don't even have classes with Tessa. When are you planning on killing her?"

Nini and April turn their heads in sync to the door, where as on cue Tessa enters with a guy holding a hand on her waist. She looks up and kisses him. The guy is tall, pretty tall, has dark hair and green-blue eyes, and is wearing a "Wrencore Hockey" hoodie.

"We could kill her now," Nini suggests.

"Want my knife?" April asks her helpful. I slap myself in the face.

Again as on cue, Tessa walks past our table and stops, looking straight at me. Then at my shoes. And she asks teasing: "Haven't changed them yet? I've told you they look horrible."

The guy who's with her seems a bit ashamed, since he looks to the ground. Nini snaps, so does April.

"Bitch, no one asked for your opinion," Nini says. 

April backs her up: "Exactly. What the hell are you doing here?! The loser's table is that way."

Tessa sighs annoyed. The guy still doesn't look up.

Tessa now looks straight at me and says: "I am sorry for you, Sofia. I really am. If you would have come to me sooner, I would have shown you better people to make friends with." The last sentence she says it looking at my best friends. Nini sighs furious. April shows her the finger. Dia and Nessie, who meanwhile stopped kissing their boyfriends and are watching the scene, also sigh annoyed. I knew I shouldn't make a scene. Princesses don't make scenes. Yet, these were my friends we were talking about. So I stand up. Tessa doesn't get to look at me from above.

"Better people to make friends with?" I ask her sarcastically. "Who, like you?" After that question, I step closer to her and bend to her ear, to whisper something. Because princesses don't threaten. Not in public at least.

"I don't think I've made myself clear. These are my friends. And you don't get to mess with me. Or my friends. So, I'll say this one time and I hope for your own sake, you're going to understand it. Do something against me or my friends again, and I will ruin you."

She gasps surprised. As I said, princesses aren't supposed to talk like that.

"You wouldn't dare. You're just a girl with her daddy's reputation and money. You wouldn't dare to move one finger against me," she whispers back.

Big mistake.

"I'm a princess, sweetheart. And the finger you said I wouldn't dare move... I can crush you with it," I stop before I continue: "So, better watch your step. Or I will destroy you."

She doesn't comment anymore. Just takes the guy's hand and walks away. I sit down again, as if nothing happened. However, my besties are too curious to let me go so easily.

"What did you say to her?" Nini asks. The other three, and the two boyfriends, look at me with their eyes wide-opened.

"Nothing much. Just asked her nicely to leave us alone."

April nods to point out she realized I lied: "Yeah, right. Because Tessa definitely backs out when you ask her nicely," she adds. I sigh amused, so done talking about this. I lost control for a few seconds. I shouldn't have had. I should have been perfect, as always.

"Anyway, who was the guy next to her? He didn't seem so happy to be there," I ask. 

Nini starts explaining for me. "That's Caden West," she says and looks after the guy, who is meanwhile sitting at a table with round ten guys and very few girls. However, every girl on a 2 km radius has their eyes on that table.

April steps in and adds: "He's part of the Fab Five."

I raise an eyebrow to show my confusion. They get the hint, since Nini continues her explanation: "The Fab Five are the five most wanted guys at Wrencore. They are the athletes and the rich guys. First, the athletes: Caden West, Noah Coin and Jacob Grant. Caden, Tessa's boyfriend, is captain of the hockey team. Coin, the one with the football hoodie and dark hair is captain of the football team and Grant, the blonde with the volleyball hoodie, is the captain of the volleyball team. The girls all have crushes on them based on that," she makes a gesture with her hand to point out to the guys, who were all sitting at the table. And I can see what she means. Their bodies are so well-shaped, it makes me wonder how on Earth are these guys real. They seem to step out of the cover of magazines.

"Who are the other ones?" I ask and April continues explaining.

"The rich ones. The two are best friends and freaking billionaires. And yes, you heard me right, with the "b". First, Alec Dunn. The heir of Dunn Leisures, the biggest hotel chain in the States. The guy will inherit the whole empire the moment he walks out of college in three years. However, he is the bad boy here."

"What do you mean?" I interrupt her.

"Drinks. Smokes. You know, bad boy stuff," Nini explains. I let out a snort. Whereas some girls might find that attractive in a guy, I don't. When I hear someone say a person drinks or smokes, all I wonder is why the person started doing that in the first place. But I could never look at that person thinking they're cool for doing that.

"And who's the other?" I ask, to change the subject. I don't think Alec Dunn is a topic I'll discuss much in the future.

"His best friend. Adam Cunnan. Tech genius. Has his own company. He's one year older than Alec, is a junior now. He's also filthy rich."

I look over at the table to search for them. The girls notice. "Oh, they're not here. Alec is probably wasted somewhere and Adam is probably at his office. One doesn't see much of them. That's why the girls all gather at the official events. The two are forced to come and every one of them tries to get the guys' attention."

"Even Alec's?" I ask confused. Why would one want that?

"You really underestimate the guy. He has half of the girls at his chokehold."

I nod, still not getting it. Why would anyone want to date a guy like Alec Dunn?