Checkmate？Soulmate！

Chapter 6 The Stolen First Kiss

Javier's POV:

I couldn't believe it—I'd been slapped by a girl, right there in public.

"Y-you..." I stared at her, fury blazing in my eyes. But then her words sank in. I touched my stinging left cheek and blurted out, "Your first kiss? No way. That can't be right."

I took another look at her. She was short, but showing up here meant she had to be at least in the ninth grade.

"Wait, you're fifteen, right? You've never been kissed before?"

I was genuinely stunned. She wasn't much to look at, but she wasn't unattractive, either. There was no reason boys wouldn't be interested in her.

"Yes! It was my first kiss! And I'm sixteen," the girl insisted, wiping her lips fiercely with the back of her hand. Her eyes welled up with tears, making her look disheveled and upset.

"You got lucky," one of the boys interjected, trying to defend me. "Half the girls at Rosewood would kill to be kissed by Javier." The comment was followed by a round of snickers.

They likely thought they were trying to comfort her, but their words did the opposite. She kicked me, hard.

It didn't hurt, but I stared at her, puzzled. Then it hit me—she looked incredibly familiar, almost like—

"... Eleanor Shaw?" I squinted, scrutinizing her closely.

Eleanor Shaw, the chess prodigy—anyone who read "Chess World" magazine would know her.

She froze mid-step as she was about to leave. "... You know me?"

I could hear the buzz of speculation around me—people eagerly betting that this girl would soon be the talk of the school because of me.

Please. She didn't need me to make her famous—she was already a star in her own right.

"Hey! Quiet down! Take a look at who's here," I called out, waving my hand to draw everyone's attention to Eleanor. "Eleanor Shaw!" I pointed at her.

"Eleanor Shaw, the reigning New Zooland State Chess Champion... I never imagined she'd be at our school." Someone finally pieced it together.

"A plain-looking girl—how absurd. Even if the news calls her a genius, I don't buy it. Fame can easily be exaggerated."

How ridiculous! Who were they to doubt Eleanor Shaw's talent? These guys couldn't even beat me! I was about to let them have it when a shrill voice interrupted.

"Champion? So what?" Queenie shot back, her voice grating as she glared at Eleanor. "She's sixteen, and no boy has ever wanted to kiss her. She's not anyone's type!"

I glared at Queenie. 'What an i***t!'

Queenie stomped her foot, defiant. "Javier, you're going to regret this!" she yelled at me before storming off.

Ha. Regret? Not likely. She was just another girl in my past. Now, I had more important things to focus on than calming a jealous bedfellow.

"Hey, Eleanor, don't let it get to you... It's not a big deal that I took your first kiss. There are plenty of girls waiting in line for mine," I said with a casual shrug, trying to brush it off.

"Get lost! Do you think every girl is obsessed with you like Queenie? You're a pompous jerk! Disgusting!" Eleanor snapped, her tone sharp as she looked at me like I was something vile.

That stung. Honestly, I had always liked her. I'd watched countless matches of hers.

"Disgusting? No one's ever called me that before," I muttered, running my fingers through my brown hair, suddenly uncomfortable.

It was a strange and unpleasant feeling to be called disgusting by someone I admired.

I wanted to change her mind about me. After all, I was the one who had messed up and stolen her first kiss...

She shot me a resentful look, then walked over to the club president to grab a chess club application form.

"Wait, I'm sorry for what I did. How about a game of chess?" I called out, trying to smooth things over. I wasn't expecting her to agree, but I wanted to at least make an effort to fix my image in her eyes.

I gave her a genuine smile and added, "You look even better than those photos in the magazines."

Honestly, I meant it.

In those photos, she always wore formal outfits, which looked fine but a bit off. But now, in her short sleeves and jeans, she seemed so much more natural and charming.

Eleanor froze, then suddenly laughter erupted from the boys around us, and her expression soured.

Dammit! What were they laughing at? I was being sincere!

Seeing her goodwill fade, I quickly waved at the boys, trying to silence them.

"Wait... Stop laughing! I'm seriously asking Eleanor to play chess!"

But it was too late. I watched helplessly as tears began to fall from Eleanor's eyes.