"Hey, Allen. You've been staring too much. Just what do you see in that girl!?"
A frustrated sigh came out from the blonde girl－Calia. She looked at her friend, Allen Coldwell, who now seemed lovestruck and giving the doe eyes towards a girl named Bella Schneider－a pathetic sight to see, honestly, even painful at best. Everyone in this campus is aware of Allen's obvious crush on the beautiful young lady. Because of his actions, most people labeled him as a creep.
Bella is known as the most beautiful girl in this school. If she were a royalty, her beauty would attract every single males in the country, including ones from different continents. Unfortunately, she isn't one from a high status, she is a commoner. Due to this, most people discriminate her.
Without money and power, she's one of those people that others likely prey upon. However, because of her unique beauty, she has a lot of admirers. Although being admired is nice, Bella is often a victim from others who has bad intentions, especially those with unhealthy obsessions towards her. Since she's a commoner, these individuals tend to be shameless and harrass her endlessly.
Allen's friend, Ryan, shook his head with disapproval. "Calia is right, man. I didn't mind this at first, but now it's getting out of hand! So I advice you to stop!"
Allen scowled, obviously annoyed at his two friends. "I'm just staring at her, it's not like I'm gonna harm her or anything." he drawled.
The both of his friends looked at him as if he's a lost cause. Allen's crush is already turning into obsession. And of course, he isn't aware of how concerning his actions are, and it causes them great trouble. If only they knew how handful Allen was, they wouldn't have agreed being friends with him.
Ryan slid a hand through his own blue hair, clearly stressed. Seriously, Allen had no idea how much distress he's causing to everyone around him. "Allen, I don't think you're aware of how concerning this is. Your behavior is unsettling－Moreover, outright creepy...." he pointed out, leaning forward to the table. "There's a possibility that your stalking might evolve to something..." he trailed off, a bit careful in choosing his words, "...extremely scary."
"Ryan, you're just overthinking. There's no way I'll turn into some creep. And seriously, I'm not stalking her." Allen chuckled, shoving off his friend's thoughts. He acted like everything wasn't a big deal.
The eyebrows of his two friends knitted together in a frown.
"Allen." Ryan's eyes narrowed, his voice becoming stern, "You're obviously stalking her. Everywhere she goes, you're always there following her."
Calia nodded in agreement when he said that. "Uh huh. If you continue that way, you might even go far—like barging in her house, sniffing her clothes and stuff." she added, trying to refrain from showing her disgust.
No matter what, she must get on Allen's good side, or else they will lose a benefactor from his family. Her family had gained a lot of profit thanks to their investment and support, she cannot afford to lose any of that. So instead, she will just endure hanging out with him for the sake of money. In all honesty, she doesn't really care if anything happens to Allen, but his actions are going to drag them in danger. And that, she cannot just standby and get themselves mauled by Bella's protectors.
Ryan is also the same. Like her, he also remains with Allen, because the Coldwell Family also provides him great benefits and goods of high quality. He honestly found Allen as someone talentless and a sad sight to see, a disappointment at that. Although Allen is a weak link, Ryan knew that the other members of the Coldwell family are wise, intelligent, and competent enough to match his ideal standards.
Meanwhile, Allen looked at them in offense. He's obviously disgusted at the accusations shot towards him.
He won't go around and sniff someone's belongings. He was raised properly as a noble, not a barbarian. It irritates him whenever his friends assume bad things about him. They've been doing it for a week and this annoys him deeply. He had enough about their negative words, so he decided to ignore them.
"Seriously? You're ignoring us?" Ryan gave him a pointed look. His respect towards him continued to go lower.
Allen proceeded to watch the beautiful Bella from afar, acting like he didn't hear anything that was said from earlier.
At this point, Ryan wants to strangle him. But obviously, he can't do that because he'll lose one of his great sources of income. He took a deep breath and hid his irritation with a concerned expression. "For at least once, listen to us." he tells him.
Despite hearing this, Allen didn't say anything, he still continued to ignore him.
"Allen, please listen to us. We are doing this for your own good." Calia says, gently touching Allen's shoulder. She acts like a saint that's trying to get someone repent.
Ryan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Unlike Allen, he knew very well how fake that was.
Naively, Allen looked at his two friends. Unlike them, he has a bit of conscience. He sighed, "Look, guys. Stop getting in my way. I can handle myself."
His friends just stayed quiet. Both of them crossed their arms, looking at him with a frowned expression. Allen sighed again, he really hates it when people try to lecture him. He was confident that he won't turn into something as they feared, so he wants them to stop and relax.
"Okay, fine. I'll stop." he lied. "So mind your own business."
Allen had no choice but to do this. What they're asking is impossible, so lying is the only option.
Calia and Ryan looked at their friend with doubt. But a moment later, they decided to believe him. In that way, their concern has finally lessened—well, that's what would anyone think. They aren't concerned at all.
"Okay. We believe you, but promise us, okay? That you'll stop." Calia said, acting like she's relieved.
"Yes, yes. I will." Allen grumbled, finally touching his dessert. "So, now that I promised. Shall we eat?" he reluctantly told them. He doesn't want to discuss the topic any further.
Meanwhile, his friends gave him a fake smile, nodding their heads in response.
Now that Allen he had finally convinced them with his lie, he started planning on how he'll approach Bella. It had been a month, and he hadn't got any proper conversation with her. All he had been doing was following her secretly. Allen is totally awkward when it comes to someone he likes. Because of this, it gives him a hard time.
Meanwhile, a certain dark-haired man was eying Allen suspiciously. His name is Larence Rockefeller—son of the richest duke family, and also, one of the most talented students in the academy. As he watches Allen from afar, he was deep in thought. Recently, Bella had been suspecting that someone was watching her—it seems he had found the possible culprit. Once he connects all the possibilities about Allen being Bella's stalker, he will warn him first and threaten him to stop. But if Allen doesn't listen, he will finally sue him.
Allen Coldwell is his archenemy. He pisses Larence to the core, annoying him with his lousy insults—he also does such actions to humiliate him. Just because he can't talk to Bella like Larence does, he takes out his jealousy on him.
"Larence? What are you doing here? Everyone's looking for you."
A voice suddenly interrupts his thoughts. Larence turned his head towards the source. He sees his silver-haired friend, looking tired and exhausted.
"Einz, you seem a bit tired today. You didn't sleep well?" Larence tells his friend.
Einz Rutherfurd, the youngest prince of Sythdia. His father is Charles Rutherford, known as the country's king. Einz is Larence's childhood friend, and his family are very close with the Rockefellers. He sometimes visit Larence, asking him how was his day—then later on, they would play games like chess.
At first, there was a commotion among the other students. Having a prince visit their academy was overwhelming. Until now, they still have the same reaction, but it isn't as extreme as before.
Einz nods his head in response. "Yeah. The group project that we're doing was really exhausting." he yawned tiredly. Because of his lack of sleep, you could clearly see the dark circles in his eyes.
"I could see that." Larence stated, seeing the obvious.
Einz rubs his eyes, looking at Bella who was watering the plants. "It seems Bella wasn't also able to sleep well. Is she stressed?" he wondered as both of them watched the heroine's tired expression.
While Larence continues to stare at Bella, their eyes suddenly met. The heroine smiled so beautifully, causing the male to blush.
"Einz. Larence. Good morning." Bella walks closer to them, greeting them with a bright smile. The two can't help but awe on her beauty. As expected of Bella Schneider, she could make any man swoon over her.
"Good morning, Bella." Larence smiled. Then later on, his smile drops when sees again Bella's tired expression. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks in concern.
Bella nodded. "Yeah, just been busy lately." she says.
Larence furrows his eyebrows. "Are you still being followed?" he asks.
Bella flinched. She looks at him, covering it up with a smile, "No. I think I'm just mistaken." she lied. She can't bear to tell him. Because what if she's wrong? What if she's just overreacting? She would feel bad for being so accusing towards a person.
The guy sighed. He knows that she's lying. 'Right, I almost forgot. She's too nice.' he thought. He sighed again, thinking that he should really keep an eye on her.
As the two main characters continue their talk, Allen from afar, watched them in jealousy.
'There they go again.' Allen thought.
It seriously irritates him. Larence is good at anything—he's good in sports, he's smart, he's strong, and he's charming. He has everything. Whenever he wants something, he always gets it without a sweat. It's so unfair.
'While me, I am a sucker for sports, academics, strength, almost everything! All I have are my wealth and my looks!' Allen thought, clearly bitter on how he lacks a lot of things.
"Einz and Larence seems close with the new student." Ryan stated out, watching the three enjoying themselves. "She hasn't been here long, yet she's already friends with the popular duo. It seems she's more close with Larence, I wonder what's their relationship?"
Allen growled.
"Those guys are really good in a lot of things. I bet other girls think that Bella's lucky." Ryan chuckled.
"You're popular too, you know?" Calia commented. "There's a lot of admirers sneaking in gifts in your locker."
As the two continue to talk, Allen frowned even more. When Calia notices the redhead's expression, she quickly nudged Ryan's shoulder, telling him to stop.
Ryan gulped when he saw Allen's face. He quietly mouthed an 'oops.'
"But hey, about Einz and Larence — it doesn't mean that Bella will like one of them just because they're cool and stuff." Calia says nervously.
Despite hearing that, Allen's anger still remained. With a fork, he stabbed his dessert, looking absolutely murderous. His glare remained on Larence, Einz, and Bella.
"Hmph. Of course. Those two are nothing but a pile of shit. So what if they're popular? A goddess like Bella wouldn't even dare to like one of those bastards, she has standards." Allen said.
Ryan and Calia gave him a look.
---
Later on, when school's over, Allen was out again for Bella. The boy doesn't know what he's doing was already becoming unhealthy. Today is the day he should finally talk to her, but sadly, he didn't have the courage to do so. That's why he decided to secretly follow her again. After a few minutes later, the boy watched her go home. He stays outside for a while, looking at her through window.
Allen stared at the heroine. She is beautiful. Every angle, every move she does, she always looks perfect. He can't help but feel mesmerized by her calm and relaxed demeanor. He loves the way Bella reads the book elegantly, looking so charming as always.
Before he stays there for almost an hour, he decided to leave. His parents doesn't want him to come home late, so he had no choice but to go back.
Little did he know, that he's also being followed by a certain protagonist.
Larence had been suspecting Allen for a while, so he decided to spy on him. Judging by the actions he had seen, he finally confirmed that Allen is Bella's stalker.
As Larence watched Allen walk away, he frowned.
'Looks like I really found the culprit. Because of him, Bella couldn't sleep well.'
Larence thought. If anyone could see his face right now, his expression was truly scary. The dark-haired man continues to glare from afar, having thoughts of rage.
'Just you wait, Allen Coldwell.'