Cursed by Fate (COMPLETE)

Chapter Three

One of the good things about having money was I didn’t have to share a room with strangers. Yeah maybe it would have helped me make friends quicker, get acclimated into college life faster, but right now I’d rather be alone. So I rented a small two bedroom apartment close to campus. Staying in an apartment would be easier than a dorm room anyway. With an apartment I had a kitchen, my own bedroom and my own bathroom. Something the college dorms didn’t have. 

Once I finally got everything in the apartment and unpacked I went grocery shopping. I would need food if I was to be living on my own. And without anyone to remind me to eat I was sure I would have to set alarms to remind me. Cooking wasn’t an issue. Thanks to my mom I knew how to cook pretty well, it was just the remembering to eat part that got me. 

The small town’s grocery store didn’t have much. I guessed I’d have to drive to the neighboring town or the city to get things I needed from now on, but for now this would have to do. I was hungry and tired and ready for bed before class started tomorrow. Thanks to my major I only had about three classes a day and they were pretty well spread out. I had one at nine in the morning, one at one in the afternoon and the last was at six in the evening. So early morning or late evening shopping would be easy to deal with, especially seeing as how I made sure to have weekends off to give myself time to snap photos of the locals and the scenery around here. 

I was different than my other photography counterparts. I didn’t just want to photograph people or nature or animals. I wanted to do it all. I didn’t want to limit myself to just one thing, and why should I? There was a vast array of subjects just screaming to be photographed. Without someone like me, who would take the shot? 

I sighed heavily as I came to a stop in front of the poorly stocked freezer section. Maybe I should just go out? I thought to myself as I took in the measly options the store offered. Deciding to just get essentials such as milk, bread, sandwich meat and drinks that’s exactly what I did. 

I took my few groceries back to the apartment and put them up, grabbed my camera and left once again. I saw a cute little dive down the road that was calling my name. I thought it would also make a nice black and white vintage type photo to add to my collection. Call me weird if you want but photographing things that stood out to me is what got me here in the first place. Majesty University was highly impressed by my work and praised my creativity. 

Parking in front of the little dive I pulled my camera out and sat on the hood of my car. It put me at the perfect angle to get the best photo of the old looking structure. I of course would have to take it back to the apartment and edit it to make it really stand out. 

After a few shots a large man walked out holding the door open for his friends. He laughed as he looked back over his shoulder at one of the other men. I snapped a few shots of them, unable to stop myself. The men were gorgeous. Each of them was tall and muscular, blonde hair covering all three of their heads in different lengths and styles. From here I could even see the rich, vibrancy of their blue eyes. They had to be triplets; there was no other explanation for the likeness. 

A man walked out behind the three men causing my heart to pound so hard  I was sure it was going to burst through my chest at any second. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. His shaggy black hair reached his angular stubble covered jaw. He wore dark jeans paired with a white T-shirt and leather jacket. And to complete the whole bad boy look, he matched it with biker boots and a beauty of a motorcycle. 

Capturing a photo of the four of them together made me feel like I was one of the lucky few able to photograph a god. They each gracefully mounted their own perspective motorcycles, making me smile as I captured a photo of them on their bikes smiling widely. They looked so happy and so carefree that I was sure my photos would win the entrance competition once I got home and edited the photos. I was so excited to do so I tossed my camera into the passenger seat and briskly walked towards the dive. 

I could feel the eyes of the four men boring into the back of my head as I entered the dive, and I had to stifle a shy smile at the fact. I’d never really caught the attention of men before, and I’d honestly never really been interested in any kind of relationship. Even now, with the four god-like men staring after me I didn’t feel the urge to jump into a relationship with any of them, even if they tried. I had to focus on school right now and couldn’t get distracted by a man, no matter how good looking he was. 

“You must be new in town.” The perky girl's voice trilled in my ear. I had to suppress the urge to wince as her tone drilled into my ears like nails on a chalkboard.

“Yeah, I’m here for school.” I said with a smile. 

“Oh really? What are you studying?” 

I furrowed my brow at this complete stranger that has taken such an interest in me. “Photography.” I answered hesitantly. 

“Oh that’s wonderful.” She squealed. This time I was unable to stop the wince her high pitched voice caused.  What was up with this girl? And why was she so excited that I was here for photography? It couldn’t possibly be that unusual. The university here offered the best photography courses in the US, surely more than just me got accepted. 

“Yes, I suppose it is.” I said narrowing suspicious eyes at her. 

“Oh, you’ll have to forgive me. I tend to get over excited about things.” She said waving her erratic behavior off like it was nothing. “It’s not much we get outsiders around here.” 

My eyes snapped from the menu to hers. “Surely that’s not true. The university here offers the best photography courses in the US. I can’t possibly be the only one to have been accepted for the class.” 

“You’d be surprised.” The girl smirked. “The university is very, very picky about who they let in. No one usually meets their expectations.” She shrugged. 

“Darla, stop bothering the tourist.” A raspy male voice spoke. My spine straightened and my entire body stiffened at the sound. My hackles however rose at the nonchalant way he called me a tourist. I was no tourist I was a student. 

“But Elias, she isn’t a tourist. She is a new student at the University. She actually made it into the photography course.” She said in a knowing tone. What was going on here? I wondered. 

“Oh really?” The man I now knew as Elias answered appreciatively. 

I finally turned to the man and my breath caught when I saw the leather jacket dude behind me. He was bulkier closer up than he looked while I was snapping my photos. His light brown eyes had a golden halo around the pupil making it look as if his eyes shined. He was most certainly gorgeous, and more stunning than I ever imagined he was. 

“Yes really.” I intercepted their conversation. “Now if I could please order my food and eat I would love to be able to get back to my apartment and edit my photos before class tomorrow.” I said haughtily. 

“Of course.” Darla beamed. “What would you like?” 

I ignored the scathing stare Elias was giving me as I rattled off my order and handed Darla the menu. But no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t ignore the stare that was burning a hole into the back of my head. I swear I could feel the heat of his eyes on me. With a heavy sigh I turned to him. “Are you going to just stand there and stare all night?” I asked, getting irritated. 

A smirk graced his lips as he ate the short distance and plopped down in the seat across from me. I just rolled my eyes as I rested my chin on my hand and watched him with an arched brow. “You don’t know who I am, do you?” He asked lightly. I just shook my head. I honestly really didn’t care who he was either. 

“No I don’t. And I can’t say that I care to know.” I responded. Anger flashed in his eyes as he grit his teeth. What the hell was up with this guy? He must have woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Or better yet, he was probably used to girls throwing themselves at his feet. And yes I said girls, because no self respecting woman would throw themselves at a man. 

“I am Elias Orion, and I own this town.” He seethed. 

“Your point? I am Nicole Legend and I own the County back home, literally. I own the land and titles of over half the County. You don’t intimidate me. I’ve dealt with men like you my entire life.” I informed him. 

Elias’s eyes brightened at my words though I really didn’t know why. It’s not like I enjoyed flaunting my money or assets, but this asshole brought the asshole out in me. I narrowed my eyes at him as he smirked back at me. His cocky attitude was getting under my skin. “Can I help you with something?” I finally huffed. 

“No.” He smiled. “Just curious about the new recruit.” He answered before getting up and sauntering out the door without another word. 

What was up with the people of this town? So far they were either overly bubbly and perky, or brooding and an asshole. Couldn’t there be someone that was in between? Someone a little bubbly with a hint of asshole? 

“Sorry about him.” Darla said putting my food in front of me. “He is so used to people following him and falling at his feet that meeting you and you not immediately not falling for his charms intrigued him. He was right though, he does own the town. His family founded the town over a hundred years ago.” She informed me, her perkiness breaking a little. 

“I take it you only put on a show around him.” I said taking a sip of Dr. Pepper. 

“Being around him isn’t easy.” Darla sighed. “You’ll see. Me, him and the infamous triplets are in the photography classes as well.” 

My head fell backwards against the booths back and I groaned. I so did not want to put up with him for the next two years. I had a hard enough time in my hometown with assholes who want to be around me for my money. And now I had to be around an asshole because I wouldn’t bow. I would never get away from people like him. 

“Don’t worry. The novelty of being the new student will wear off soon enough.” She said patting my shoulder. 

I just smiled up at her. I wasn’t so sure that was true. If people didn’t usually get into this university, but I did, then I was going to be in the spotlight. And there was really no telling how long that would last. I hated attention, I would rather blend into the background and meld with the shadows. But here it seemed like that wouldn’t happen. At least not for a long while.