terrible writers block and exam pressure made me take forever to update, but this is a long ass chapter so... love me please

Anastasia

"This is fucking stupid!" He said in an irritated tone and I sighed loudly.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. "I swear to god, one more word from you and I will chop your dick off and feed it to my dog." I growled. "You don't have a dog." He pointed at me and I growled at him and he raised his hands in mock surrender.

Turns out His Highness can't go even into a convenience store without a bunch of crazy fools following him around flashing their stupid cameras and taking his pictures.

So, we somehow found ourselves in my room, looking for some clothes for men as I happen to have a stash of the clothes left in the room by many of my one night stands.

"I look like a fucking joker wearing this shit." He snapped back at me. "You don't need those clothes to look like a joker, your personality is enough." I gave him a sarcastic smile, he squinted his eyes at me and flipped me off.

"This is all I have, take it or leave it princess." I said to him as I again rummaged through the closet, looking for anything better.

This man is a serious headache, I should carry a weapon around him, or maybe just a very strong coffee.

Finally, after one hour of whining and screaming, I was able to get him into a grey t- shirt and pants with a pair of sunglasses. "Wait!!" I said to him as I realized a very important thing.

The paparazzi can still recognize him, which is bad. I took out a beanie from a drawer and walked over to him.

"What is this?" He quirked up his eyebrow. "Safety measure." I simply said and he nodded understanding. Huh, that's a first. We actually had a normal conversation, short, but still a conversation.

I would actually consider being nice to him, but too bad he is a demanding asshole.

I stood on my tiptoes to reach his height to pull the beanie over his head. Instantly the smell of his fresh aftershave engulfed me, making me stagger a bit.

Why is he hot?! It would be so much easier to hate him if he wasn't.

I raised my arms and glided my hands over his hair, which were surprisingly super soft, and pushed the beanie on his head.

His grey eyes met mine and my breath hitched in my throat, noticing the intensity of his gaze on me. We held each others gazes for a moment until I snapped out of whatever trance I was in. What the fuck.

I cleared my throat and turned around, obviously regretting it, and started checking my hair in the mirror until I noticed what he was doing through his reflection.

"Where do you think you're going?" I turned, crossed my hands, staring at him as he made his way towards my bedroom door.

He quirked up an eyebrow. "Out?...."

"We are not going down from there." I stated firmly. " We are going down from here." I said, pointing at the large french window that led to the balcony of my room.

He scoffed. "We came up from there didn't we?"

"Yes, but now my parents will be home soon, so can't risk it." I shrugged.

"Why does it matter if they see?" He gaped at me.

"Stop asking me questions and jump of the damn window!"

"No, have you lost it? I'm not doing it." He sighed and stepped towards the window. "Oh you're doing it, I do not need my family getting even a whiff that you were in my room." I retorted back. 

"I don't care, this body takes effort I'm not risking it." He said gesturing to himself. I scoffed. "Just say you're scared." 

His eyebrows rose to the ceiling.

Hook, line and sinker.

"I am not scared." He shakes his head at me. I give him a shrug, "Seems like you are." 

"You know what fine watch me." He stated determinedly and walked to the edge. He took a look down and paused then turned to me and cleared his throat and motioned his hands at the window. "Actually, I don't know how to do this."

I rolled my eyes and chuckled and sauntered over to him and pulled both my legs over the railing and supported my hands on the edge of the railing from the other side, and placed my feet on the small step near the pipe that went all the way down.

Thankfully, we were just on the first floor, so a lesser risk of getting injured.

This escape route has been my routine since I was about fifteen. There were no windows in this side of the house, so no one could catch me. It was at way back, and very close to the back door, so sneaking out was an easy task for me.

I supported my feet by planting them firmly on the pipe and placed my hands above me and slid down.

I looked up at him, squinting my eyes slightly, and motioned him to come down. "Get down."

He made a thumbs up motion at me and then followed my movements, surprisingly landing perfectly on his feet.

He made a 'hmph' sound as as his legs touched solid ground and we walked out the back door.

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Loud chatter filled my ears, as I felt a wave of familiar scent wash over my nostrils. The street swarmed with people, talking and laughing away, some hurrying to get the chores done, while some lazily chatted with the shop vendors.

Achats Street is one of the busiest places in St. Lo. Almost everything can be found here, and this is the most popular hub in common people for buying everyday needs.

Nate and got out of the car and walked towards me.

"So, where are we?" He asked me, checking his surroundings. "Achats Street. It's the most common place where you can observe your people and what they do everyday. I thought we could start with something simple." I shrugged and walked down the lane,  knowing he was following me.

He looked at everything. I mean everything. He observed everything. How the people acted, how they talked, even what all things they bought.

My feet halted in front of the familiar shop as a smile etched on my lips, looking at the elder woman.

"Marie!" I called out to her and she looked up from the paper she was staring at and instantly gave me a bright smile. "Ana ! Ça fait longtemps qu'on ne s'est pas vu."

Long time no see!

"j'ai été un peu occupé"

I've been busy.

Marie owns a small pound cake and ration shop, which is actually well known amongst people. Her husband died a long time ago, so it's just her and her dog. But I swear her heart is made of gold. Her warm smile and kind eyes draw people in. She has a soft spot for me, she's been giving me free cakes for as long as I can remember. Sometimes we would just sit in her small living room and gossip while sipping tea and playing with Murray, her dog.

"Comment allez-vous mon cher" She asked me in a motherly tone.

How have you been, my dear?

Marie was born into poverty, so she never had the chance to learn English, she could understand it, but speaking was difficult for her.

"J'ai été bon. Comment va Murray ?"

I've been good. How's Murray?

I ask her and as if on cue, a large fluffy figure wraps itself around my legs.

I instantly lean down, smothering him with kisses as he licks my face completely, showing me he missed me, his tail still wagging.  "Who's a good boy? You are, yes you are." I coo at him, cradling his furry face in my hand as he still moves around excitedly.

"Qui est-ce?"

Who's this?

Marie asks me, looking at me. I completely forgot about him! Can you blame me? I mean there's a dog in front of me.

I look up at Nate from my kneeling position, as he stares at me with an indecipherable expression. He looks at me for a moment too long, but then looks back up to the older woman.

"Je suis Noé. L'amie d'Ana."

I'm Noah, Ana's friend.

He gives her a charming smile, and raises his hand in front of him, as Marie eagerly shakes it back.

She looks at me and not so subtly says. "Very handsome." Her thick accent coating her words, as I just laugh back. "I know."

I look at Nate and catch him raising his eyebrows at me, his lips pulling in a cocky smirk as I just roll my eyes.

"Alors depuis combien de temps es-tu en couple ?"

"So how long have you been dating?"

Marie asks, looking between the two of us as my eyes widen and I shaked my head continously.

"No no no, I'm just showing him around town." I say quickly as Marie nods, but doesn't giving up the playful smile on her face.

"Gâteau?"

Cake?

I stood up from the ground and faced Nate. "Want some? I can assure you that her pound cakes are the best ones in the world." I gave him a slight smile and he stared at me amusingly. "Sure." He nodded his head and we looked at Marie.

She made a gesture with her hands, as if saying 'I'll be right back' and disappeared behind the curtain.

Murray barked, catching my attention as I noticed his ball in front of him, I picked it up and pretended raising the ball higher, making him jump on me. I laughed out loud seeing his excitement.

"You love dogs don't you?" Nate looked at me and asked. "Yeah." I warm smile took over my face as I stared at Murray.

Nate opened his mouth to say something but Marie appeared again, holding two rather large slice of sponge cake with chocolate drizzled on top.

My mouth instantly watered as I walked over the small wooden door, seated in middle of the small entrance in the booth like stall of Marie.

Nate followed me and took the plate in his hands as I took the forks out of Marie's hand.

Nate took a bite first, and his expression instantly changed.

"Oh my god..." He closed his eyes, savoring the taste fully, he looked like he was heaven.

I took a bite myself, the sweet taste spurting in my mouth, the familiarity and homeliness of the food soothed.

Marie looked at us, as if we were her children graduating from high school, with a big smile.

Murray barked from beside from me, asking for a bite and I took a piece out of my cake and held it in front of him.

He instantly lunged at it, licking my hand clean and I ruffled his fur.

We spend some more time with the dog and the older lady, then we excused ourselves and made our way ahead.

Nate took small pauses, checking all the shops and looking around the place. He even smiled and waved politely at some of the vendors, giving an occasional greeting.

After almost an hour, we stood in front of a small bar for a beer. The waiter put out drinks on the island and Nate and I clinked our bottles together, taking a sip.

"So, I was wondering...." Nate said, pursing his lips, as I looked at him mid sip.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows.

"You know a lot of people around here, so who do you know here, like personally?" Nate asked.

"I have a friend here, a lot of them, but I have like a small group with who I usually hang out. My best friend is from around here." I said to him. "Can you introduce me?" He stated. He still had his sunglasses on, making it difficult to know if he was serious.

"Seriously?" I gaped at him and he nodded firmly. "They'll crush your ego." I smirked a little. That would be a fun sight. "Don't be silly, my ego is unbreakable." He scoffed at me, downing his beer. I laughed at that and he let out a chuckle.

"So, are you calling them or not?" He looked me after a few moments of silence.

We had a small stare down, with me smirking at him amusedly. I knew that my friends can completely make his confidence go downhill. I gave out a little sigh and shook my head. I reached my hand in pocket and took out my phone, dialing Liv.

It took almost two rings for her to pick up.

"Hey you. How's it with the prince?" She instantly asked me.

"Well, I haven't killed him yet." I whispered discreetly. "Hey, he wants to meet the rest of us." I said, getting to the point.

She let out a loud laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, where are you all?" I asked.

"At my place. Come over, we'll see how this goes. Nothing has happened here since almost a month since Amelia and Leon went away." She giggled, reminding me to call my two other friends, and cut the call.

Leon, the one person I am not ready to see just yet. I stared at my phone for a minute but snapped out of it just as quickly and blinked the thoughts away.

I looked at Nate and nodded and he returned the gesture.

We finished our drinks and started to drive to Liv's home. We reached the door, as I searched through my purse for the key.

"Why do you have her house's key?" Nate looked at me incredulously. "She's my best friend, of course I do." I stated facts and twisted the key in the lock.

"I brought home a prince." I joked in a sing song tone and entered the home, but no one was listening.

I took in the scene in front of me.

Liv hand her hands pulling on Damien collar as if threatening him, with a lethal expression on his face. Damien looked like he was about to piss his pants.

Remi was Remi. He was just sitting at the end of the sofa, smoking away his thoughts.

"SAY YOU'RE SORRY!" Liv's loud voice boomed through the apartment, startling all of us. Good Lord not again.

Poor Damien.

"I'M SORRY!" Damien whined.

"AND WHAT ARE YOU SORRY FOR?" Liv questioned him further with a dark glare.

"I'M SORRY FOR SAYING YOU'RE AGGRESSIVE." Damien cried out and tried getting out of Liv's grip.

Remi shakes his head at them muttering a "Everyday" between his breath and continued with his joint.

Damien rushed towards me and stood behind me with a scared expression, holding onto my shoulders, I gave him an irritating glance back as he messed up my hair.

"She's a monster." He said to me in a serious tone. "She's going to eat me alive."

"Then why do you provoke her?" I stated matter of factly, looking at my best friend. "Secret of life." He says and rests his chin on my shoulder watching Liv as if she was an alien.

I looked back at Nate who had a stunned expression on his face, and he slowly turned towards me. 

"Welcome." I give him a big smile.

Liv cleared her throat and walked towards Nate. "I am very sorry you had to see that, but your cousin is irritating." She gave Nate a big smile, which he returned with a nod, agreeing with her.

"Can I interest you in a drink?" Nathaniel just stared at her with her eyebrows raised. "How about a sarcastic comment?"

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