7 Part 6

[Past-Lucien]

He looked at the blackboard on which Mr. Winston was drawing the diagram of an amoeba.

"Now," he turned to face the class. "Can anyone tell me what an amoeba is?"

Tiny little things that don't matter shit to me, he thought.

"Ms. McEnroe?" he asked Lara and Lucien looked at her. She was completely zoning out but he knew she was real smart and knowledgeable. She had probably finished the chapters the day she got the book.

"Microorganisms," she replied shortly, not offering any explanation. Rodrigo was hyper so Mr. Winston turned his attention towards him without probing her for more information on the boring topic. As if Lara could feel him staring she turned to look at him. She always sat up front while Lucien sat all the way in the back. He knew what he wanted from her and he decided it was high time she knew, too.

She wanted to keep her distance from him knowing that he was dangerous and the way he spoke about other people showed exactly how much he hated them and wanted to hurt them. During the time they worked on their assignment she was exposed to a little bit of his sadistic side and that was enough for her to realize she needed to stay away from him but in the same time he was interesting, an excelled listener and full of the best quality of dark humor.

She loved the way he spoke to her. He was more intelligent than he let on for sure and he was also someone who could think of just the right thing to say at the right moment. She loved the moments she spent with him and she wished he felt the same.

She could not help but like him.

So in the end when he did ask her out, she agreed. The next few weeks the students noticed that Lara – the prettiest girl in the entire school – was hanging out with the quiet creepy handsome kid. They would spend all their time together and hang out at the back of the school after classes ended. Lucien often would just put his head on her lap and she would play with his hair as they talked about nothing in particular.

She liked him and from the looks of it, he liked her too. In her mind she had even agreed to let him torture her if that meant she would get to be with him and be loved by him. Being cherished by him felt like a rare miracle – an opportunity that not everyone received in their lives.

Everyone was jealous of their relationship. Boys because they couldn't have her and girls because they couldn't have him. And from outside it looked like they had the perfect relationship. They never argued and always were either smiling or laughing.

So far it seemed like a fairytale to her and she wished it lasted forever.

"Come with me." Classes were over for the day and Lara couldn't decide whether to go with him or not but curiosity got the best of her and she obediently followed him.

"Is there something you want to show me?" she asked and he nodded.

There was a stream by the boy's hostel which carried water directly from the mountains up ahead. It was a relaxing spot and students often had lunch picnics there. There was a large tree casting its shadows on the green grass and Lucien studied her as she looked into the dark waters.

"Are you going to throw me in?" she asked slowly.

"Do you really think that?" he chuckled. "I can, if you want me to."

"No," her eyes widened. Lucien's stomach turned into knots because that was something his mother did and the resemblance of her face with Lara's never failed to unnerve him. She sat down on the grass and patted the space next to her "Come, sit."

He sat down and looked at the darkening sky. Nobody was there except them he figured they might be getting their evening snacks. Technically they should be in the dining hall right now, not sitting by the river still in their school clothes.

"Lara," he said and she took her time to respond.

"Yes?" she didn't turn to look at him.

"Do I make you afraid?" he asked. She slowly tilted her head back towards him and looked him in the eyes.

"You intimidate me, yes," she admitted, wondering if it was the right thing to say. She never wanted to tell Lucien exactly how much his mere presence disturbed her for reasons even she didn't know. He was the right kind of mystery, a puzzle she wanted to solve but knew she shouldn't get lost in the maze of lies he creates around him like a cobweb.

His finger trailed along her face and without even wanting to, her eyes closed automatically in response. She wouldn't deny her body his touch for a few seconds. She wanted this so bad but she knew she must be in control of her emotions. She couldn't let things get too far.

His hands stopped at her cheek and she leaned into the palm of his hand.

Her eyes opened and met his calm grey ones, he was studying her cautiously. He leaned forward and his lips met with hers halfway through.

Lara suddenly realized at the back of her mind that even though she had told him almost everything about herself she had no clue who he was.

"Lucien," she pulled away. "You always ask me about myself but I don't even know what your favorite food is."

"That's easy, it's soup and noodles," he touched her face affectionately.

"Oh okay," she looked at him. "But honestly I didn't mean just that. I don't know anything about you at all. Hell, I don't even know if you have siblings or what the name of your mother is."

She noticed a strange look pass over his eyes. Was it anger?

"You really want to know?" he asked quietly and she nodded. She did want to know after all. "All my siblings are dead."

"I am so sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It doesn't bother me. In fact, I killed one of them."

Lara froze. What was he talking about? He was joking, right? He had to be. He wouldn't kill his own siblings now, would he?

"You're joking," she forced out a laugh. "Of course."

But the fact that he seemed dead serious when he said that didn't miss her eyes.

"And what if I was telling you the truth? Would you hate me?" he smiled. "Would you be scared of me? Would you run from me?"

She had no words. She was lost. She didn't know what to say. He seemed to be teasing her but his words had an underlying threat.

"I would no longer speak to you if that were the case." She abruptly stood up. Her insides were shaking. She didn't know one thing about the boy she was claiming to love until that evening. He had a calm demeanor, one that would suggest he was perfectly sane but sometimes his words took her off guard. She knew she had to find out more about him if she really wanted to know what he was capable of. She needed to make sure he was just joking and he was not actually planning to hurt her.

The next few days were spent by her in search of more information on him. And his background check threw her off guard.

She wanted to go through his admission file but she had no idea how to do that without making the teachers suspicious of her intentions. Not to mention the fact that Lucien stuck with her almost the entire day – because of them having almost the same schedule - making it impossible to ask around or find out more about him. He dodged her questions each time she brought them up and day by day she grew more and more impatient.

He had only one person who he could call a 'friend' called Rodrigo but he was an asshole and she doubted he knew anything about Lucien either.

Finally an opportunity presented itself. She had computer class while he had PE. This was the only class they didn't have together. She sat down by the window and turned on the computer nearest to her.

She looked down and noticed Lucien standing at the edge of the forest, staring at something. She had only thirty minutes and she intended to make the best use of it. The best way to find out about someone was to Google him but she wondered if that would be of much use. But for a fact she knew that he was wealthy and rich and his family was quite popular in the West.

There has to be something, she thought. She typed his name in the search bar and pressed 'search'. The amount of links that came up at the name surprised her. He definitely was well–known then. She knew she had never heard of his family but they seemed quite popular online.

She found out he was the only son to the head of the Lethar Enterprises, Mr. Mason Lethar. There was not much information available online about his mother except for her name.

Cardia Weighner.

Lucien was accused of murdering his own siblings and there was entire article on it. Both of his siblings had died of weird causes. One drowned in a bathtub and another was choked to death. The first one was deemed an accident and for the second one, one of the maids in their house was blamed. Lara felt the entire thing was kind of swept under the carpet. Seeing how influential and rich his family was she had no problem imagining their hand in the shutdown of the topic and blaming someone innocent for the horrible crime Lucien had committed.

She scrolled down the links one after the other, opening them one by one. One of them caught her attention.

SUSPECTED MURDER - FAMILY BLAMES LUCIEN LETHAR

All the blood rushed out her face as she read the entire thing which explained the death of a sixteen year old boy called Ben – he was apparently killed by a dog that Lucien and he cared for. The entire article argued on whether Lucien was guilty or not. However, it couldn't offer much explanation regarding his death except for a recollection of the events as told by Lucien which may or may not have been true. Knowing him, she knew he could sell his lies pretty well. Ben was supposedly afraid of dogs as his mother had said so they found it kind of impossible to believe the circumstances under which he died.

The date of Ben's death dated back to the same week when Lucien had joined the private boarding school. Lara wondered if his parents transferred him here in the middle of the semester to get him out of the media's clutches.

She suddenly realized with a jolt that she had also been manipulated by him.

She felt as if she had just been slapped hard across her face. She wondered how she could have been so foolish as to fall for him when she had previously promised herself that she would keep her distance and in the end had done the exact opposite.

She looked out the window as the bell rang and noticed Lucien entering the forest. Classes were over for the day and he was just going into the forest as usual. She had never followed him because she knew he liked to spend this time alone but for the first time she wanted to know what he did in the forest all by himself every evening.

Only if she knew what was waiting for her there.

-

Lucien noticed that Lara had been avoiding him. She changed seats and didn't sit with him during classes anymore. Each time he approached her she would give excuses and run away. The look in her eyes suggested she knew something about him and that it scared her. He just wanted to love her, what was so wrong about him that nobody wanted to love him?

First his mother. And now her.

He had initially planned to make her go through what his mother had made him go through and make her suffer like no other. He wanted to love her the best but hurt her the worst so he would always be the one on her mind. Forever. He knew he would love to torture her, see those big green eyes fill with so much pain and tears. But now she was avoiding him and it was making him very angry. He needed to teach her a lesson.

He looked at his roommate Parkinson, her one and only friend, putting on a shirt. Parkinson and Lucien were off the same height and had the same hair. If someone were to look at them together they would assume both were brothers. He suddenly knew exactly how he could hurt her.

The next second, he landed a blow on Parkinson's face.

"Why the fuck did you hit me?" Parkinson yelled and held his nose in his hands which had started bleeding by then. Lucien cocked his head to the side.

"Does it hurt?" he asked calmly. Parkinson's eyes widened as he realized that his roommate was not the least bothered by his bleeding nose.

"Of course it hurts, you fucking asshole," he grabbed tissue papers from the drawer in front of him. He pressed them to his nose and walked out of the room. Probably to the infirmary, Lucien thought.

He sat in his bed, waiting. Soon enough a boy came by to tell him that he was called to the vice principal's office. Her name was Nene Hastings and she was one fickle old lady. Lucien smiled as he stood up and straightened his shirt.

He loved drama.

"Good morning, Ms. Hastings. It's an absolute delight to see you on such a fine morning as this one," Lucien sat down across from her. She raised her eyebrows but didn't question. "I suppose you have some questions for me, isn't that correct?"

"I am the teacher here…" she trailed off. She wanted to tell him off for behaving so cockily but something about him always struck her as odd. He had a threatening aura around him, one that could not be overlooked. His voice and his stance barked authority if his posture and looks already didn't suggest that he was not someone to be messed with.

He was a mere student and she was much, much older and more experienced than he was on every field perhaps, she knew she should not be intimidated by a tenth grader but Lucien Lethar was creepy and freaked everyone out.

"Ms. Gray has reported that Parkinson sported a broken nose and the cause of it was you," she said, trying to stare him down. "You hit him for no reason at all, he said. Do you have anything to say to that?"

"I would tell you the reason which compelled me to display such violent behavior Ms. Hastings but I cannot rat a dear friend out."

"Lucien," she leaned forward in her teacher. "You are one of the most talented pupils around here. You are smart, cunning and intelligent and I also know you are a boy of reason."

"Then you would also know I would never knowingly get my friends into trouble," he acted solemn. "I would like to tell you very much but it won't be fair to him. I can't do this, Ms. Hastings. Punish me if you must but I can't tell you why I hit Parkinson."

"My boy," she tried to sound as kind as possible. "I wouldn't punish you if you have a valid reason for doing what you did. I can't take any decisions until I hear the whole truth so please tell me what he has done."

"He was threatening to rape a fellow classmate of mine who I happen to fancy." The lie came out smoothly, he didn't even have to think.

"That is one big allegation, Lucien," Ms. Hastings seemed doubtful.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you, I know I shouldn't have," Lucien murmured. "Nobody would have believed me because he always acts so well but I heard it and I lost my mind and hit him because…"

"You don't have to worry about anything," she reassured him. "We will look after the matter. Thank you for letting us know."

"He would deny," Lucien sounded helpless.

"That they always do," she smiled sadly. "But I trust your words, Lucien. You do know you can always trust me, right? If you have anything on your mind you can always come by. The doors will always be open for you."

"I know, Nene," he answered.

Nene was stunned. It had been a while since anyone has called her by her first name. She wanted scold him for calling a teacher by their first name but she was too stunned by his smile. She was around sixty but she could easily imagine her younger self falling in love with this boy. He had it all. He was charming, cunning, sweet and in the same time equally mysterious, edgy and had a dark side.

She knew she had to look out for him. He was a walking red flag but she could never bring herself to scold him or tell him off for doing anything wrong. "What is her name – who he threatened?"

Lucien smiled. "Lara… Lara McEnroe."