FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM - HER FIRST LOVE

Evelyn grinned in victory and arched a brow at Hera as if to say, "See I did it." Hera couldn't disagree. Evelyn had made the impossible possible. She made Bianca and Samantha apologise to her which Hera had never imagined happening. 

Evelyn clapped her hands, grabbing attention. "Everyone, this is my friend Hera. Whatever my friends said earlier about her, they were kidding. It was a joke. So I request you all, please don't bother my friend anymore. Unless, of course, you want to mess with Ace," Evelyn said and knew she'd drawn the line that no one would dare crossing after hearing her last sentence. Everyone exchanged glances before they nodded their agreement. 

Just like that, Evelyn set everything right, and Hera smiled in gratitude. Then out of nowhere, a boy pulled Evelyn to his chest and kissed her full on the lips.. Hera's eyes went wide, and she watched in shock while Evelyn pushed the boy into the pool. Danny appeared right next to her in no second, shooting death glare at the boy. He was about to jump into the pool, but Evelyn caught his arm and stopped him. 

Alarmed, the boy put his hands up in surrender. "It was a dare. Please forgive me. I promise it won't happen again," the boy shouted from the pool in his defence. Watching Danny's furious reaction, Evelyn smirked in satisfaction and jumped into the pool, swimming towards the now panicked boy. She grinned wide when Danny also jumped into the water right behind her. 

Hera gasped while Evelyn didn't waste any time and kissed the boy as soon as she reached him. The kiss turned into a full-on the make-out session, and they both got lost in it. Everyone hollered cheering for them and jumped into the pool one by one to join them. Hera moved back frantically to avoid the splashing water. 

Danny pulled them apart and punched the poor boy in the face, and Hera turned around, not wanting to witness the drama. As she walked away from the pool, Hera heard Abby yelling her name. Abby was sitting with a random guy at the edge of the swimming pool. Hera could tell, they're having fun. Her cousin being an extrovert was very much outgoing and sociable unlike her and could make a stone talk if she wanted to. 

Smiling, Hera mouthed, "I'm fine," walking past her. She found an empty table for herself. 

A few minutes later, she was bored to hell and thought of ditching the party as she didn't have any company. A tap on her shoulder startled Hera, and she turned around coming face to face with a handsome boy about Danny's age. He was holding a plate filled with Sandwich biscuits in one hand and somehow effortlessly managed to carry two cans of beer in the other. He smiled, and it was too cute to ignore. 

"Do you mind if I take a seat next to you? I'm kind of alone and bored," he said in a sweet, requesting tone. Hera smiled and gestured him with her hand to take the seat. She did a quick survey of his appearance, and he's certainly a sight for sore eyes. His brown eyes and his smile were very captivating. His nose was short, but it suited him. Though not as tall as Hunter and his friends, the boy was fit and fine. 

Dressed in faded blue jeans with a grey dress shirt, he looked like he worked out regularly in a gym. Hera was pleased by his physical appearance. 

He cleared his throat, and Hera blushed in embarrassment.

'Oh, my God! He caught me checking him out.' 

"No, no, please don't stop. A beauty such as yourself admiring my looks is truly a privilege, and I'm certainly not complaining," the boy said and winked. Meanwhile, Hera smiled shyly. 

"It's your party, I guess?" He asked. Not knowing what to say, she simply nodded in response. "Not a social butterfly?" He questioned. Shrugging, Hera replied, "Me either." 

He chuckled at her reply, and Hera looked at him, frowning in confusion. "What's so funny?" She asked, looking at him sharply. "That was supposed to be a question, you know? Never mind, you answered it anyway," he said, still grinning and Hera pursed her lips in embarrassment. 

"Oh! Sorry, I'm slow sometimes," Hera admitted awkwardly. 

"Don't be. Noel Russel," he said as he extended his right hand, offering her a handshake. 

"I'm Hera," she smiled and shook his hand. He then lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, making Hera blush. Attempting to perfect his not so perfect British accent, he bowed in front of her before saying, "Pleasure meeting you, my Lady." 

Hera grinned at his cheesy attempt but didn't feel awkward. His presence was projecting only positive vibes which made her comfortable enough and soon Hera found herself laughing heartily at his stupid jokes. For reasons unknown, he looked very familiar to her, but she couldn't remember ever meeting him. 

"You're eating those biscuits with beer? I haven't seen anyone doing the same until now," Hera asked, eyeing his plate and he looked at his plate as if he just remembered about it. "Oh, no, they're for you," with that said, he offered her his plate. 

"I found them in the kitchen when I was watching you from there. Thought it might benefit me. You know, like, making friends with you, talking and bonding over a biscuit treat?" He asked suggestively. She nodded while munching on the biscuit. He opened a can of beer, and instead of taking a sip for himself, he offered it to Hera when he caught her eyeing it somewhat intrigued. 

Dumbfounded, Hera straightened her back, not knowing what to do. He surprised her by offering it to her. She frantically looked around to check if any familiar pair of eyes were watching her before accepting it with a smile that very much appreciated his gesture. She had never tasted any alcoholic beverages until now, and she's afraid, if anyone from the Evil gang saw her drinking, she'd be in trouble. 

Hera scoffed inwardly and rolled her eyes. 

'What are they, my parents? Damn it! How desperate am I to taste it?' 

Hera had no choice but to wait as she felt eyes watching her. Pushing the beer can aside to her right, she settled for the biscuit instead. Noel noticed but didn't force her either. 

Hera's eyes darted to the high school teenagers dancing with no care to the wild music. She watched while those drunk, absent-minded, crazy, hormonal teenagers got busy rubbing each other's bodies inappropriately. She cringed with disgust but smiled when her eyes found a few familiar faces. Her friends, doing the same none the less. Andrew, Asher, Jarred, Celine, Brittany, all were drunk to the point of oblivious. But Hera knew, they're having the fun of their lives with hot senior high school boys and girls, grinding their bodies like some wild animals on heat. 

Hera's new roommate Adelaide didn't seem to have a problem in mingling with the drunk teenagers who were still strangers to her. Adelaide winked at Hera and mouthed "Boyfriend" when her eyes landed on her companion sitting next to her. Hera grinned and shook her head in denial. 

Noel saw their silent interaction.

"If I'm not wrong, she mouthed boyfriend," he stated, and Hera laughed. "My new friend is kind of obsessed with my boyfriend. She mouths the same every time she sees me with a new boy," Hera replied, still smiling. Noel didn't comment anything in return. Hera felt relief that he didn't dig more into that "boyfriend" saga. 

Hera's eyebrows went up as she caught him staring at Adelaide. She was dancing with someone Hera didn't know. She couldn't see the boy's facial features well from where she's sitting, but she could tell he's a good-looking guy. 

Hera observed as Noel ran his eyes over her new friend's form. He had a knowing smirk playing on his lips. Undoubtedly now he was staring at Adelaide. 

"You know her?" Hera asked him. She was curious to know why he was staring at Adelaide. He shook his head in a no but still had his eyes glued to the dancing duo. "The one she's dancing with or should I say, the one who's working his way to get into her pants, is my best friend," said Noel. His expression had changed, and Hera didn't know how to judge the look on his face. She decided to name it as jealousy, though she wasn't sure. 

"So, is he a French too?" Hera asked conversationally. He brought his attention back to Hera, and he looked surprised as his eyes widened and his brows rose. "How did you know that I'm French? I don't remember telling you," he said, and Hera laughed good-naturedly. 

"Don't look so shocked, Mr Russel. My friend over there with yours is French. And your accent matches perfectly with hers. So it's not exactly rocket science for me to discover," Hera clarified his curiosity, making him grin in appreciation. "Hmm, beauty with brains. I like that," he said, and the comment made Hera blush. 

'Bloody hell, why is he making me blush so much?'