Chapter 4: Back Hug

N A O M I

"The most awaited queen is next! The school beauty! The student council president! From med department, the top singer of the university, and the leader of the bloody demons!" The deafening cheers of the crowd followed. I went to the stage and forced a smile.

"500,000!"

"700,000!"

"1 million!"

"100 million!" A man sitting in a golden chair shouted. My suitor, Hephaestus Inverno. "No one else?" The host asked.

"500 million!" A cold shout coming from the back of the crowd. Cold voice? Ares? Wait, they are brothers?

"Yo, brother," Hephaestus said, with emphasis on brother. "I don't have a brother," Ares stated coldly. Woah. So step-brothers?

"600 million! I won't let you have her~" Hephaestus said with a smirk. What's with these two? "I will get whatever I want. 1 billion," Ares said, and the crowd starts gossiping. Rich people, hayst. Oh, right, I'm also rich, but not as insane as them.

"Tsk. I will let you have her for now. But let me remind you, SHE IS MINE," Hephaestus walked out, and Ares won. What is Hephaestus saying that "she is mine"? I'm ignoring him though.

Ares went to the stage and walked towards me. He hugged me. Wait, what? Why is he hugging me? "I will never let you go, Naomi. Don't leave me again, my queen. Stay with me, please," He whispered, making me stop.

What's going on? This is only the second day since we met, so why is he acting like this? What does he even mean by "Don't leave me again"? I haven't met him before, so why is there "again" in it? My mind is a mess again, tsk. Yes, I'm falling for his voice and eyes, but only that! I'm not falling for him, maybe a crush is applicable-- nevermind.

He then pulled me out of the auditorium. "Do you have any private room that we can go to?" he asked, his voice is not that cold anymore. What I meant was, his voice itself is cold but his tone is sweet, weird, right? "I have. My office, the headquarters, or my hideout?" I asked.

"Hideout?" he asked. "Underground house? Just follow me," I held his hand and pulled him towards the headquarters. The others are probably there. When we arrived at the headquarters, the other pairs are there too. The girls squealed, while the boys have a bright smile on their faces. What's going on?

"Is the leader, in love?" Julia asked with a teasing smile. "What the fudge?" I asked, and glared at them. The hell is going on?

"Uhm, Naomi?" Ares asked, so I looked at him. "What?" He raised his hand that I was holding. Oh, fudge! So that's why. Issues again, aish. I do admit that his hand felt strong and safe--- nevermind.

I immediately let go of his hand and pushed him. "What the hell?" He said when he fell on the floor. "Are you shy? Embarrassed? Did the queen lost her cool?" Alexa teasingly asked. "Shut up," I stated coldly and walked towards the bookshelf.

"Hideout?" Thea asked. "Yeah, wanna come?" I asked. "Sure! I missed staying there," Nike cheerfully answered. "You can come, but please keep the place clean and do not touch my private stuff," I said and pushed a button on the side of the bookshelf.

The middle part of the headquarters opened and an elevator popped out of it. "Cool!" Chase said. "Go in," I said, and everyone entered. This has fifteen capacity, so we have quite some big space left. I pushed the knife-shaped button, and the elevator moves downwards. "Why knife?" Elijah asked.

"Why not?" I answered. "She loves weapons," Alexa said. Is it weird for me to list weapons or any sharp things as the fourth most beautiful thing in the world?

"Not really. I just think it's beautiful. Especially if it's black," I added.

"We know. That's exactly why almost all of your things are black. And there is a bit of white, blue, or violet," After Julia said that, the elevator door opened, revealing my hideout.

"Holy--" I heard Apollo said. That boy can curse? "It's not obvious how much you love black, am I right?" Kyousuke asked sarcastically. I didn't know this gentleman knows how to piss others. I guess the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover," applies to them.

We are in the living room right now. Black interior design with white, blue, and violet highlights. The design of this room is modern with a mix of vintage. A circular room with four corridors connected to it.

"Fun fact, Naomi has four bedrooms of her own with four different themes and it is connected by her big wardrobe in the middle. It's like a big rectangle cut into four then a square inserted in the middle," Nike stated proudly.

"The themes are; black roses, white cherry blossoms, blue sea, and violet galaxy," Thea added. I just heaved out a sigh. They love to brag about my own things since I don't care, but they should limit it.

"The left corridor is off-limits. The guest rooms are in the right corridor. If you want to go to the kitchen, music studio, dance studio, or library, just go to the north corridor. If you want to play some sports, to train, go to the pool, or have a drink in the bar, just go towards the south corridor. There are labels on it so you will surely not get lost, right?"

"So this is directly under the whole university?" Chase asked. "Yup, her uncle loves her too much, so this was created especially for her," Julia answered. Uncle loves to spoil me 'cause he doesn't have any children and I grow up with him. He used to live with me and my parents, but he moved here 2 years ago. The reason is still a mystery to me.

"You guys can do whatever you want. Your clothes are in your rooms. Let's meet up here by 6 for the party," I said, then they left by pair.

"Where should we go?" I asked Ares. "Is it alright...if we go to your room?" he asked, I nodded in response. I walked towards the left corridor and opened the only door.

"This place is off-limits, right?" Ares asked. He is hot-- I mean he has average looks but no common sense. "Yeah, 'cause it's my room. But it's fine to enter here as long as you're with me," I answered.

This is my favorite room. The black roses themed room. Everything is black and the walls are covered with black roses. The floor is glass, and under it is a bed of black roses. Everything here has black roses as its design.

"Your fave?" he asked. "Yup. Black is the second most beautiful thing I saw."

He sat on the edge of my bed and looks at me intently. "You're more beautiful than anything, Naomi," he said. His voice is like music to my ears. Cold but sweet and kind. Aish! I'm falling in love with his voice--nope, I'm definitely not.

I went to my computer and played piano covers of Billie Eilish songs. I'm in love with music, and yes she is one of my faves.

"Can you sit here beside me?" he asked. What's up with him? He is cold, but he has this side? I then sat beside him. He suddenly hugged me from the back. "Let me stay like this for a while," He said, so I let him do what he wants while I read a book.