CHAPTER 1

Dante

“Beep, beep, beep,” my alarm clock buzzed, pulling me from my beautiful slumber.

“Shut up,” I mumbled, turning off the alarm and turning to the other side of my bed to continue with my sleep. A few minutes later, the clock buzzed again.

God, I hate Mondays. I hate my new life. Life was perfect till my mom got transferred to another city and that meant I had to change my environment. Although I’m already used to the constant relocation, I thought that would be the last since I’m entering university, but according to her, she can’t handle me staying back alone.

I had a life for crying out loud. My girlfriend, buddies, and the amazing grandma that lived next door, name them. At this point, I think my alarm clock and I should switch places. Maybe I wouldn’t have to worry about preparing for school. I grumbled and pulled the duvet over my head to think about my life.

Just then, I heard a light knock on my door but I decided to ignore it. The knock came again along with my mom’s voice.

“Dante, you are going to be late!”

I pulled the pillow over my head and grumbled out my frustration. I puffed a resignation sigh, and said, “I’ll be down before you know it.”

I got up lazily from my bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. A few minutes after I was done, I walked down to the kitchen to grab my food and followed my mom to her car. The ride was a quiet one and I guess it must be breaking my mom’s feelings. She immediately raised the topic of her hopeless romantic dramas and inspiration in life.

That was the one thing that made her different from other moms; she was a hopeless romantic kind of person. In a positive prospect, it was effectively uplifting when you are down, but can be annoyingly depressing when not in the mood, and today is one of the annoyingly depressing days.

“So tell me, have you had sex with her yet?” she asked, referring to my girlfriend.

“Eww. Mom, I don’t want to talk about this with you,” I said rolling my eyes in hopes of shutting her down.

“Come on, Dan. I’m your mother and supposed to know about your sexual life,” she said, smiling in a dreamy manner that seemed very inappropriate at this point.

With a resignation sigh, I plugged my earphones and played some Billie Eilish song in maximum volume so I wouldn’t have to hear her say anything.

 We finally got to my new school, New Dowel’s University, and I must say it wasn’t what I expected.

I saw young people my age, chatting as they made their way to their dorms with their luggage. The school was huge and the environment was better than my high school.

Maybe, schooling here wasn’t a bad idea after all.

I adjusted my glasses and was ready to step out of the car when my mom spoke.

“Dante, I know you didn’t ask for any of this, but I promise you that it’s going to be a whole new experience.”

I nodded. “I know, Mom,” I said, stepping down from the car and making my way to the boot to grab my suitcase. I waved my mom goodbye and watched as she zoomed off.

Standing in front of the lavish campus entrance gate, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of hope. I think I’m going to enjoy my stay here. The ladies were beautiful and endowed, and as a guy with a pretty face, I just hoped one of them would notice me. As I tried to make my way inside, someone nudged me from behind.

“Try not to die by tripping over yourself, nerd!” a boy shouted down the walkway, laughing uncontrollably right after.

I dismissed the petty mockery and carried on walking down the campus corridor.

“Nerd? Who was he calling a nerd?” I thought, pulling off my glasses and putting it back in its case. Today is my first day in this school and I can’t risk giving them the impression of being a nerd. Just while walking down the hallway, my eyes caught sight of someone walking towards me. A guy I had never seen before, and he was unbelievably handsome.

When he got closer, I could see just how striking he was. His sharp jawline, those intense eyes, and that small knowing smile. It all caught me off guard. A strange feeling twisted in my stomach.

Damn, he’s hot!

His curly dark hair, those intense ocean blue eyes. How could someone be godly built like this? He looks like a description of a Greek god.

“Hey, watch where you are going.”

 A cold, yet steady voice came. It escaped from his succulent pink lips, which jolted me back to reality. I must have lost it that I didn’t even know when he got closer. I was completely mesmerized by his beauty.

How can I be tripping for a fellow gender?

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you coming,” I apologized with a little chuckle, lifting my glass case for him to see.

“Then put it on, weirdo,” he spat rudely.

Despite his beautiful features, I think he is just a jerk who wants to pour out his frustration on other people.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized again, adjusting my backpack on my right shoulder.

“Keep your sorry to yourself,” he mumbled, cleaning off the invincible dust on his shirt.

Was he indirectly portraying that I stink? What a jerk.

Already getting pissed at his arrogance, I frowned my brow, lifting my head high to meet his gaze.

“Do you have anything to say, weirdo?”

I scoffed aloud at him, “Stop calling me a weirdo.”

“Or what?” he asked coming closer to me so that I could feel his hot breath.

“I…I’ll…” I stuttered, taking a few steps backward.

“You’ll what?” he breathed out softly.

Everyone was staring at the both of us now and I could hear them whispering among themselves.

“Is he crazy? Who puts up a fight with Asher?” came the whispers.

“What are you going to do, weirdo?” he repeated.

Anger flared up inside me, and without thinking, I hit him in the chest. Everyone around us went silent. I heard a few gasps too.

“Oh no, he’s dead,” I heard a guy with a Latino accent say.