L'Amour

ii. August 10th 2009

poppy

    It's been a week since I've started at Harvard Law, and it's already been too much. You won't believe how many times I've called my mother crying about how I wanted to come home. My parents had gotten me a private dormitory which I'm thankful for because I wouldn't want my roommate to see me ball every night on the phone. 

    My mother forced my father to come to see me several times always claiming that he was in Boston for business. Yeah well turns out that he actually bought a house nearby me and just has been hanging around. Now some people would've been upset at this but I wasn't because I love my father and he knew me. He knew me well enough to know that with him hanging around yet keeping his distance but still being able to make it before me to my favorite restaurant did it for me. 

    Luckily for me, I've made a friend, her name is Blaire Savoy. We're in the same phycology class and she sits right next to me. I noticed that she was also a law student shockingly due to her short attention span. She was always on that phone always asking me what was going on which I gladly told her every time and we've been close ever since. Plus with me having such a heavy French accent she showed that she was a fluent speaker as well. 

    It felt nice being able to have a piece of home with me in a way. Also, she helped me with my English so that now my accent isn't as heavy. Also, it was amazing that she wasn't pride affiliated. That didn't mean that placed her in any danger because we were practically always together she was safe. Not saying she couldn't handle her own because she definitely can. 

    Not to mention this guy that sat in front of me. Justin Leroux, I believe his name was, I remember seeing him at my coronation when I turned fifteen. He and his twin brother are from Maison Venin de peur. I remember having such a crush on him, but that was the last time I would see him or at pride meetings. Which each time I've always noticed how much more attractive he began to get with time. Never spoke to him though. Apparently his family has tons of real estate here in the states that added to their fortune...amongst other things. 

                                                                            (House Venom of Fear)

    It's like God took extra time with him. He's just so gorgeous that it physically hurts. Yesterday he asked me for a pen and I gave him one, I almost died when he looked at me. I don't think he recognized me though. His eyes were the perfect shade of hazel that made them look more green than anything else.

    I brushed some of my curly hair from my face opening my rose gold MacBook Air in front of me on my desk getting ready for Mr. Marks to start with the lesson of the day. I saw Justin finally walk into the classroom rather hastily with his bag slugged over his shoulder. Justin was casually dressed in a white v-neck and dark washed jeans. His hair was softly shaven around the sides leaving a generous amount of hair on top of his head that he pulled into a mini bun. 

    Normally guys that carried themselves the way that he did wouldn't be attractive to me. Being as my parents would love for me to be with someone that's not in the French pride to ask for my hand in marriage; maybe a nice Italian boy just not a Russian...never a Russian unless you want to be disowned. Justin was nowhere close to that type. 

    He managed the being apart of the pride part and maybe it was his smile, who am I kidding it was the damn pens. "It's nice for you to have you finally join us, Mr. Leroux." Mr. Marks told him. "Please take your seat and prepare yourself." Justin nodded his head and took his seat in front of me. I pushed my square Chanel reading glasses up into my nose, I looked down at the extra pen that I already prepared for Justin for when he asked me. 

    I watched as Justin took out his laptop and notebook placing it on his desk going back into his bag pack digging for something else. I already knew what it was, it didn't take me long to figure out that it was his writing utensil that he was searching for. I took the pen that I had already had out for him and tapped his shoulder with it. Justin turned around smiling when he saw what was in my hand. "I'm getting pens today I swear." He joked before taking the pen that I offered. 

"Oh it's alright," It surely was, I would give this man a thousand pens if that meant that he would talk to me. "I have plenty," I reassured him, Justin smiled once more. 

"I'm making a vow right now to you now Poppy-"

"You know my name?" Oh my, the way he said my name just made it seem as if it was meant for him to say; but he knows my name? He knows my name!

"Of course I do, I have to at least know the name of the gorgeous girl who always supplies me with pens." He told me before turning back around in his seat. 

    I looked over at Blaire who was already smirking in my direction. I guess I won't be so homesick after all. "All right," Mr. Marks said clapping his hands together getting the class's attention. "I wanted to pair you guys up for a project that I had in mind." Half of the class groaned maybe not even from the fact of the assignment but maybe of the fact that they might get paired with someone that they've never been aquatinted with. 

    Mr. Marks held his clipboard looking down at whatever he had attached to it. "Alright so the first group we have," he paused scanning the clipboard. "Leroux and Bettencourt," my eyes instantly went wide, I looked over at Blaire who just couldn't stop giggling. 

    Justin turned to face me again. "I guess we're going to need more pens." I laughed nervously pushing my glasses up onto the bridge of my nose. 

    After class finished Justin and I both wanted to get a head start on our project so we went to a local lounge area located on the campus. Justin ordered me a cranberry muffin with a bubble tea. I looked over at Justin who lazily slouched back into the sofa propping one of his feet on the coffee table. He had his notebook positioned on his leg writing down ideas for our project. 

    I tried to divert my attention to the cranberry muffin that he got for me, I picked it up almost dying at just the smell. I have a strong addiction to cranberry muffins and roses. My grandmother always made the best cranberry muffins, I remember when I was around thirteen my mother had to tell my grandmother to stop making and giving me those muffins because they went straight to my tush.

    I peeled back some of the paperback from the muffin taking a bite moaning lowly. "Such a reaction to a cranberry muffin," Oh great Poppy, now he thinks you're weird. I placed the muffin back on the plate brushing any crumbs from my fingers. Justin took his feet down from the coffee table sitting up next to me. "Oh, by all means, finish your muffin, it's a breath of fresh air being with a girl that actually eats." 

"I don't know whether that's a compliment or you're just making fun of me." I blushed to tuck some of my curly hair behind my ear.

"Trust me, Poppy, that's a compliment." I turned to prop my legs up on the couch getting more comfortable. 

"Did you think of anything?" I asked changing the subject, finally looking up at him meeting his beautiful eyes once more. I bet he has a line of ladies just waiting for his attention hell, I get excited when he asked me for pens so I'm definitely sure that he does. I know that his twin brother Jason is known for being the wild card that loves when his vacation scandals are plastered over gossip magazines. 

"Yeah, I was thinking of doing something like 'Does your taste in music reveal information about your personality?'" I nodded my head in approval. 

"Sounds interesting," I told him bringing my MacBook onto my lap opening up pages. "Would you like to start it now or later?" 

"Well if it means getting to spend more time with the girl with the beautiful accent who always supplies me with pens, by all means." Where has this boy been all my life? Mysterious yet very charming also. "Where are you from?" He asked I tore my gaze away from my laptop screen meeting his once more.

"I'm from Paris France," I smiled, I loved growing up in Paris. My father knew of my mother due to her being tied to the Nagasi family who is apart of the four that makes up the pride. Think of these four as the last level when it comes to your sentencing. Then the head or godfather above the four is a widowed woman from the De Luca house. Before wars start in our world if the four can't come to an agreement between both sides then it's taken to Queen De Luca. Who then calls every house in the pride for an underground meeting. Also if you've broken any of the Pride oaths then you will be called upon for a trial that it's up to you to be found not guilty because if do...it's death. 

    My mother would always tell me that my father would always go out of his way to have her go on a date with him. They were both French natives—well my father more than my mother since she and her family were born in Ethiopia but after my uncle, Hakim died from an assassination attempt. Her parents separated them taking her brother to England and her to France. 

    My father would travel back and forth just to be with her. His love. His l'amour. I just knew that I wanted someone to love me with that much passion. Until then my man is my future bar exam.  Due to my father's successful political career, we were able to relocate to Boston. It took a while for my family to adjust to this America and the people that live here. It was harder on my mother especially with her going into a Barney's and getting racially profiled after buying almost half of the store. 

    Apparently my mother held the associate at gunpoint until my father showed up to calm her down. In France everyone knew who we were...hell we're like the royal family and my mother grew up in that world of people that knew not to get on the bad side of any of us but leave it to the Americans to set my mother off. 

    Also, my family, as well as another secret family, was being recruited for the fifth seat at the Pride table. If my family were to be apart of the table...is something that the other member of the pride would fight to the death for, but the fact that they just reached out to my father wasn't the normal protocol...in order to have a chair you must fight to the death, but my father didn't. 

    Justin reached out touching some of my curls pulling on a few gently, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. It was like he's never seen anything like it before, the way he just looked as he continuously touched my hair it was amusing yet cute. He looked like a two-year-old experiencing something different for the first time. "Where are your parents from?" 

"Are you asking about my ethnicity?" I giggled as he nodded. 

"Well my father is Maximus Bettencourt and my mother Jacqueline is Ethiopian." Justin took his fingers away from my hair looking slightly confused from my words. 

"Your father is Maximus Bettencourt?" he asked his brows knitting together in shock leaning back a bit.

"Is that a bad thing?" I haven't been in America long enough to know how people felt about my father, and we all know that my mother isn't going to give me the full details about him being as he's a saint in her eyes even though he still sneaks a beer or two after she's told him not to drink anymore because of his health. 

"Oh no he's a very respected politician," Justin reassured. "as well as in our world too," he said grinning back at me. "It's just," he paused. "I knew he had kids but I didn't know that he had a daughter, so beautiful too." Now are the times when I'm thankful for having a darker skin tone because I'm blushing like crazy.

    My father's very protective of his family especially me, his princess. My brothers win my mother's eye and affection while I win my father's. I could never do wrong. The only time when I hate my father's protectiveness is when men come into the picture. Before I came to America my father gave a speech about how you can't trust American boys and if a boy ever came into the picture he's giving them a background check. Or simply off them if they make me cry. So you better believe that I'm keeping my little crush on a Prince from the French mafia house a secret.

"He's very protective of me." I simply said. 

"I can understand why," he said brushing his fingers along my cheek softly. "You're completely gorgeous." How do you handle such a handsome guy telling you all of these things? I haven't gotten the chance to visit the side of the opposite s*x like my brothers. My parents had me in an all-girls private school so boys were nonexistent to me, but now I have this wonderful piece of vanilla man candy and I don't know how to react. 

I placed my hand over his that was still against my cheek pulling it away, "we should start on o-"

"Aren't you going to ask about me?" He suddenly asked me.

"I'm sorry-"

"I asked about you, wouldn't you like to know some thing's about me, pen girl?" What could I possibly ask this guy? 

I looked around slightly before glancing back into his playful eyes. "It depends on which you I'll be questioning." Justin only chuckled deeply as he sat back into the sofa with his eyes still on me.

"The one that can't seem to bring a damn writing utensil with him ever." He joked as we laughed together softly.

"Um, what's your major?" I wanted to just kill myself, out of all things I could think of I ask him about school; yep after this project, he's not going to want anything to do with me. 

    Justin let out a small chuckle, "business, my father wants me to be prepared to take over the family business. Amongst many other things that I'm sure you're familiar with. So I applied to Harvard and oddly enough got accepted and now I'm here talking to you." Can someone die from blushing too much? "La belle princesse." Because I think I'm starting to feel a little something. 

(The beautiful princess)

"What's your family's business?"

"My family's known for old real estate and some are congressmen and women." Oh my, that Justin Leroux. His family is very old money, half of Manhattan and Toronto belongs to Leroux's. Our world, the mafia and pride world gives us a lot of leverage and advantages to their worldly lives. Trust that even though our family's house controls all of France Justin's families come second. My father never wanted to ally himself with another French house after my uncle's assassination. He feels as if the Russians along with them set us up and if the plan had gone as planned we all would've been dead. I'm just happy that my cousin Preston and his mother were alright.

"So you are like the most eligible Bachelor?" Justin nodded.

"Oh, you know it." He teased. 

 "You must have women throwing themselves at you from left to right." I mean with a face like that along with what comes along with his last name would make any woman's panties drop. Unlike me who sees his womanizing ways a bit basic and unattractive. 

"I do, but I never pay them any mind." I highly doubt that a man as beautiful as him wouldn't pass down any kitty kat. 

"I find that hard to believe," I said honestly. 

"Why?" I glanced over at Justin who has had this playful smirk plastered across his face, I just rolled my eyes because that's the most unintelligent question ever. He knows why. 

"I don't think this is the time to play dumb, with you already getting into the most prestigious school in the country." Justin ran his fingers through his now messy hair, leaning in a little closer towards me. I didn't know what exactly what was going on, was I supposed to kiss him? I mean that's usually what that meant in the movies: the boy leans in, the girl leans in, then they kiss but it didn't seem as if it was heading. Justin's eyes never left my lips as mine never left his, as he leaned in more I followed. 

    Justin paused his movements hovering over my lips. "Well, it seems as if you see right through me Poppy Bettencourt." Oh god! Oh god! Even his breath is making me weak, ok Poppy just play it cool. "But you of all people should know how our lives go... I only stop for true love. What about you?"

    I smirked backing away while gathering my belonging and placing them back into my tote and fetching my drink from the table and standing from my seat. "And that's something you don't want," Justin just looked so bewildered as he looked up at me standing there, wow that just proves to me that maybe girls just fall into his lap automatically instead of actually having a brain. "Me seeing through you, are you scared I might find something about you that you never intended for me to know?" Justin quickly stood to his feet towering over me as if he wasn't intimidating already. 

"Don't get yourself tangled into something you can't get out of Poppy." He warned gliding his knuckles along my jaw softly tilting my head to meet his dark gaze. 

"What if I want to get tangled?"