Author's note: Wow... a flashback in a flashback? What is this, inception?
Félix
Two weeks earlier
Félix was in his seat as the airplane as it reached cruiser altitude. At his right, his mom was reading a book. She was the twin sister of Emilie Agreste, his aunt and wife of the world famous Gabriel Agreste. His father had died a year ago, some time after Emilie's death. Since then, Félix felt empty and people around him found him more revengeful and reactive, as well as extremely cruel towards everyone that displeased him.
"Can you please explain me again why the hell I have to do this exchange program in Paris?" he asked to his mom.
"Félix, language." she said, reprehending him "And, as I told you before, I think that getting experience aboard will be profitable to you in a close future."
"Yes, I agree with you. But why Paris?" he questioned again.
"What's wrong with Paris?" she asked back.
That was the moment Félix understood that was a lost battle. His mom simply didn't hate the Agreste family that much, mainly after recovering one of the rings. Of course she wanted to recover the second one but... it wasn't a priority for her...
He was close to the window in the plane, but he didn't want to look through it. He was thinking about his new school. It was a boarding school outside of the main zone of Paris, but sadly close enough to the Agreste's mansion. He made all that was in his power to avoid Adrien or Gabriel to find out he was going to Paris, and it appears to have worked out well.
He checked his clock, that was marking twelve twenty six. The flight was supposed to land at half past one in the afternoon, so he had time to sleep during the flight.
***
"Good morning, passengers of the flight BA5477 with destination to Paris, this is your captain. It's now 1:12PM and we are approaching Le Bourget Airport. Atmospheric conditions are great and we'll begin the landing procedure in two minutes. Please return to you seats and put back your seat belts. Thank you for choosing British Airways."
The captain's message woke Félix. They were almost at Paris. His mom was finishing her book and many of the other passengers were also waking up and putting their seat belts.
The landing was soft and easy, but not exempt of the omnipresent "people that clap at a landing". Félix wished he had a gun to shoot them all.
Baggage claim was quite peaceful and the trip to the school was pretty much the same. When they arrived, a tutor was already waiting for them. He gave a guided visit to Félix, showed his bedroom, classrooms and the general school. It wasn't as great as his particular school in London but it would have to work.
His mother said good bye to him and wished him luck, to what he answered with a high quality fake smile that could fool the majority. But deep down, he was sad and anger.
He would have to get used to that new life style.
***
In all schools there are the ones who serve and the ones who are served. Félix is the third type, the one that is served by the ones who are served.
Some of the most influential groups wanted him to be their friend and member, to what Félix answered with fake promises and smiles. The girls had a crush on him, the boys had admiration. French were all he expected to be: servants to the English kind. (Author's Note: What I believe Félix's opinion is, not mine)
Of course he had to keep the appearances and, from time to time, go out with the guys. He usually would pretend to enjoy whatever they were doing and be careful to go out with different groups the same amount of time so they all kept scurrying after him. But there was one time that he did like it.
It was Thursday afternoon after class. The group was a pack of wealthy exchange students from all over Europe. In general, an extremely boring group. They went to Place des Vosges, which looks like it's a place they hanged out before, so they could eat ice cream in that particularly hot day.
Félix didn't take ice cream from himself, even if a girl in the group called Mia Thompson insisted to have ice cream with him. Something about the guy selling it being a match maker or something, bud Félix didn't believe in that kind of nonsense.
While everyone was eating their ice cream, Félix was sitting on a bench and looking to the cars passing on the street. Sport cars, vans, lorries... and a limousine.
A silver colored limousine that stopped close to a girl sitting in the other side of the Place. A tanned girl with long brown hair and mud green eyes. She was reading a book but, when someone in the back seat opened the window she started talking. After a while, the window was closed and the limousine was gone, yet the girl remained.
Félix didn't see who was in the limousine, but he could swear there was a blond, almost white haired, tall man. And also, the limousine was just like the one that took him to the Agreste's Mansion just a couple of months ago.
Could it be...
He quickly approached the girl and cleared his throat to call her attention. She looked at him, at first, with surprise, but then she smiled.
"Oh, hi Adrien." she said.
Adrien? Was she confusing him with his second class cousin? And then he remembered that she obviously didn't know Adrien had a cousin that look almost the same.
"I'm sorry, you must be confusing me with my cousin." he replied.
She took a couple of seconds to react. She blushed slightly, probably of the shame.
"I'm so sorry. Then, what is your name?" she asked.
"That would be Félix. Félix Graham de Vanily." he replied "Yours?"
"Lila Rossi. A pleasure to meet you, Félix." she greeted.
"A pleasure to meet you too, Lila." he greeted back.
The silence installed for a moment. She kept looking at him, as if she was trying to tell how different the two really were just by looking.
"Who were you talking to?" he asked, at last breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere he was feeling, but that Lila didn't make an attempt to avoid.
"Why do you want to know?" she counter-asked.
"Because I think you were talking to by uncle." he shoot "Am I correct?"
She smirked, giving away the answer without even speaking.
"I was, indeed. Why do you ask?" she asked again.
"Hey, I'm not done yet." he said with a smirk in his lips too "Are you friends with Adrien?"
"I'm not sure how to answer that question." she said.
"Why not?" he questioned.
"Because I don't know what do you want me to say." she said pushing her face closer to his.
She was good.
"I would like to keep myself unseen as long as I can, you see?" he answered "So it would be handy if you're not going to run to Adrien to tell him of my presence in Paris."
"I'll think about your case." she shoot back "And, if you're not supposed to be in Paris, what are you doing here?"
"Boarding school." he answered "Against all my wishes because of being too close from my aunt's side of the family."
"And you aunt would be Emilie Agreste, the actress that is missing for an year and something now?" she asked.
"Exactly."
She smiled as if she knew what was the need of being incognito. Félix felt he could trust her. But just how much?
"Then I've never seen you in my entire life." she said, acting life if she was talking to someone else "I didn't even know Adrien's mother had siblings, how could I know he had a cousin or that he was in Paris?"
Félix laughed slightly at the scene. She was so good at it.
"I think we're going to get along, Lila Rossi." he said.
"Here, take my phone number in case you need anything." she said.
He copied the phone number to his phone and gave his to her too.
"Maybe we should do something one of this days." said Lila.
"Yeah, maybe." replied Félix.
"Hey Félix!" called Mia "Are you coming or what?"
"Just a sec!" he replied "I have to go now. It was good to meet you, Lila."
"See you." she said
"See you." he replied.
***
Back in his bedroom, he dropped himself in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The day was not a total waste. He had to socialize with the jerks that thought they had interesting lives because their parents were diplomats or important people or something, but at least he got to meet a nice girl. And she was kinda pretty too.
He looked at his phone. He thought of calling her. What could he lose? He had nothing to do and talking to her was less boring than talking to the fools that were trapped in there with him.
He got up and picked up his phone, opening the contact list. He scrolled down until letter "L". Landon, Lauren, Leah, Leon... Lila Rossi.
He taped in the screen and selected her phone number, then put the phone close to his ear.
As the phone started counting, Félix's heart started beating faster, his hands got sweaty, his feat seemed to be unable to stop. Why was he like that? He was just calling a girl, not asking her to marry him.
He tried to focus in anything else. As the time went on, he coordinated his breathing with the calling noise. Ten seconds... fifteen... twenty... come one, pick up, pick up!
"You called Lila Rossi. Please leave a message." the voicemail said.
"Hey Lila, it's Felix." he started "I was just calling to talk with you, nothing too important. Call me when you hear this." and then taped in the end call button.
He heard a knock in his door. Who could possibly be?
"Hey, Félix!" said Mia "Me and the guys were thinking if you wanted to have dinner with us."
He quickly looked at his phone. Shoot, it was eight o'clock in the night. Soon the canteen would close and he hadn't eat anything since the lunch.
"Sure, give me just a second." he replied.
Picking up his stuff, he noticed that he had received a SMS. It was from Lila. He picked up his jacked and left the room while reading her message.
"Sorry, didn't catch the phone quickly enough. Anyway, I'm not supposed to call people after seven. If you like we can send text messages."
He quickly taped something to answer.
"Sure, I have to go have dinner anyway."
They kept exchanging messages, which Mia noticed.
"Who are you texting to?" she asked
"To a friend." he replied, not in his habitual almost insulting way but in quite a neutral and polite tone.
"Male or female?" she kept asking.
"Female. Why?" he answered.
"Nothing." she answered back.
Meanwhile, Lila and him were discussing where should they meet and when.