Lucien is the devil incarnate. All the angelic potential twisted into something darker and far more indulgent. He existed with a general air of apathy that suited his needs and made it clear to anyone he gave attention to that that attention came with the thrumming undercurrent of a threat. One never knew quite what to expect from Lucien Belmont. There was only the universal truth that once you were in his line of sight there was no getting out of it until he had decided he was done with you. This is why Lilly Darling wore her anonymity like a shield.
A long time ago Lucien’s father had briefly married Lilly’s mother for the fairy tale ending of all of one year and six months. Her mother, desperate for anything with a dollar sign attached to its name, had blissfully ignored the raging alcoholism and violence of her new husband. Lilly hadn’t been so lucky. Hiding was a skill she’d become well adept in. Lilly had utilized her previous name Belmont exactly once her entire life and it was to claim affiliation with Manchester College. The school that could open every door that had been closed to her her entire life. Why should the privileged be the only ones with easy access. The only catch had been the need for a full ride scholarship every other school she had applied to had let her in but hadn’t offered more than partial scholarships. As a legacy Manchester College was open to some… persuading. What followed her acceptance to the college was a series of wiggling and pretense of being in contact with her “family”. The weight they carries was enough to push her way into a full ride. A necessity as result of the airtight prenup after the divorce the only thing she’d been left with was a desire to leave every part of that time of her life behind her. So here she was hiding from her past all in the name of obtaining a degree without the crippling debt attached to it. She still felt bad sometimes hiding from Lucien, he had been the only one in that house who had actually tried to protect her but there had always been a possessiveness to it. The kind that Lilly knew never went away and of he knew she was here she would be thrust right back into the life that she had tried so hard to forget. Lilly shook her head, dwelling on the memories never a good idea for too long, it had been on her mind only because of all the rush advertisements to signal the beginning of the new year. Another thing to avoid entirely since Caroline was now president of Delta Phi. The campus sometimes felt like a noose constricting around her neck, more and more areas becoming off limits. This year though she was determined to enjoy it a little more. After all she had managed to make it through her entire freshmen year without incident. After being admitted she had changed her name to who she was before ever meeting the Belmont family and that was the way it was going to stay.
Lucien did not understand the concept of shame. Living unhindered by the embarrassment of one’s own existence is far more enjoyable. He possessed life like he did everything, with an intimidating intensity and ease. A lot of people assumed impulsivity was the only way Lucien knew how to navigate life but in truth he knew how to play the long game. Even better than his dear sister Caroline who set her eye on a prize and let it consume her. Lucien could understand balance, circling the problem, when he cared to at least. It was what made them such a good team. Right now though any thoughts were far from his mind as the sun broke through the curtain warming the sharp edge of his cheek and the tops of his eyes. Beside him lay panting his latest indulgence. He stretched his arms up smiling and stood. Grabbing his phone and re-dressing he left without a word. The greatest thing about having a reputation is the lack of expectation.
“Hey man do you know where Zoe is?” Tom, one of his brothers at the fraternity asked.
“Saw her in your room. You know you really shouldn’t leave your door open, never know who might wander in.” Tom instantly looked alarm and hurried down the hall Lucien had just come from. The screech that followed had Lucien smirking all the way out the front door.
Lilly stood in the medicine aisle at the student store. She’d finally scored a position as a TA for the poly-sci department. She herself was on the computer science track but it’s been one of the only open positions left on campus this semester. She’d studied enough to convince the professor she could explain the content and boom. Enough money for NyQuil. Life is good. The only interruption from her intense decision on whether Dayquil would be a better option was the chime of someone else walking into the otherwise empty store. Lilly didn’t let it distract her; she had to make a decision. Whatever illness she’d managed to obtain was a punishment form the universe for avoiding the freshmen flu. What did pike her interest was the not customer service voice welcoming that Lilly had been given.
“Well, hi there, let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.” The flirty voice of the cashier welcomed the new comer. Still this was a college nothing unusual.
“Oh I will.” Now that had her interest. It was the low familiar male voice that sounded a little too much like Lucien. So dignity forgive her for immediately hitting the floor in a very clumsy attempt to remain unseen. Ok breathe…. Better than that come on Lilly. What honestly could be the worst thing that happens should she be forced to come face to face with Lucien? Lilly never actually did anything wrong besides disappear off the face of the earth leaving him alone to cope in the house from hell. And probably leaving what was a huge gap in what had been just one giant attachment issue of a relationship. He wouldn’t hurt her though. But that left a whole lot of room for unknown consequences should he lay eyes on her again. She heard him walking down one of the parallel aisles and she shifted closer to the front, ready to make a break for it should she need to. The shuffle of his feet headed back to the front and from her new vantage point she saw him place a large box of condoms on the check-out counter. She rung him up and then asked –
“Can I help you with anything else?” The cashier leaned forward, long chestnut hair framing her chest in a way that made the question clear of any confusion of what she was really asking.
“Well, it is important to test the quality of the product before committing to it.” Lilly could only see the back of his head, the brown curls still the same since he was thirteen years old. He reached a handout, guiding the cashier around the corner of the counter. Lilly ducked back before they finished turning. “I just can’t wait to get my hands on you.” He growled out. The sound of them passing by and the swing of the back door signaled that this was as safe as it was going to get to escape. She almost made away with the unpaid for pack of NyQuil but threw on the ground before fully sprinting out of there.
After a long weekend of Lilly shutting herself away studying and trying to kick the cold she was still suffering through unmedicated. After the incident she had firmly put the student store in the no-go zone and the closest CVS is over a mile away. Plus, she just didn’t want to leave her dorm. Four walls of safe no contact with the outside walls. It was hard trying to talk yourself out of not being afraid of your shadow and then immediately seeing your shadow buy condoms and fucking pretty girls in the back. She really needed to join a club or something. But now it was time to go to work. Poly sci. Yay.
She arrived early, meticulously making sure everything is in order. Nothing would go wrong. Today was only a seminar type of situation so her jib mainly consisted of just clicking the presentation forward and fixing any tech issues that might pop up. At Nine AM the steady flow of student arrived, the professor coming in at the same time. Lilly greeted him and they dimmed the lights, casting an intimate shadow across the large, tiered lecture hall. After nearly half an hour of punctual button pressing the door at the top of the hall opened, assuming it was just a late comer Lilly glanced up and that is when everything stopped. Loud buzzing filled her ears and her vision blurred. She felt like she would topple over. Lucien. Lucien. Lucienlucienlucien. His eyes locked with hers, a dangerous on his face as he sauntered down the stairs leather jacket over one shoulder. Each step down the stairs felt like a predator, every sway of his hips a threat.
“Next. Slide.” The irate voice of the professor called. Lilly blinked, hard, and with almost superhuman effort tore her gaze to the left.
“What?” Her voice came out achingly soft and yet seemed to echo around the hall. Lucien had at this point managed to make it to the front and sat almost directly in front of her in the nearly empty front row.
“Ms. Darling move to the next slide. Now.” Lilly looked at the computer, just catching Lucien mothing the word ‘darling’ in some form of amusement. She clicked the presentation forward unable to utter any kind of response. Lucien made himself comfortable, sprawling in his seat, no intention of hiding the fact that she had his whole attention and stared directly at her. 45 minutes to go.
Lucien had spotted Lilly the second he’d turned into the student store thanks to high angled mirror just behind the cashier counter. Having had a lifetime of practice in bottling his emotions he didn’t let the anger and knee buckling relief at her presence get the better of him. Not even when he watched every moment of her seeing, recognizing and refusing to come to him. He’d meant what he said. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her. After all once a Belmont, always a Belmont.
Class ended and Lilly didn’t know what to do. Try and wait him out? Make a run through it? With the dense crowd of students moving at this pace she’d take two steps and all he would have to do is stand up to catch her. Maybe he didn’t care. Maybe he just wanted to say hi. Maybe she’d spent over a year of her life being paranoid as shit for no reason. Tik. Tok. Lilly. Even now Lucien stared, never once straying and they refused an respite now. Ok the professor. He was gathering the last of his items, the rush of students starting to thin. Just as the professor finished collecting himself and began his exit Lilly moved toward him with the hope that with enough enthusiastic filler conversation Lucien will magically disappear until she’s ready to deal with this whole thing. She was just behind him, opened her mouth and only a soft gasp came out at the shock of firm hand trapping hers and dragging her back like a fish on a line. She stumbled back a step immediately met with a firm chest. Arms instantly coming up wrapping around her.
“Hello sister.” The professor, oblivious, carried on his way the door closing like a nail in the coffin. Lilly’s breath became heavy, her hands shaking slightly but she didn’t resist as he tucked her closer, head coming over to rest on her shoulder. He took a deep inhale, breathing her in. “I’ve missed you.”
“Lucien…”
“Hmm?”
“I-“ He shushed her before any weak attempt at explaining, justifying, bartering, anything could escape her. Tutting Lucien unwound just enough to take her shoulders and slowly spin her around to face him. A finger brushed stray hairs away and tucked them behind her ear. She couldn’t look him in the eye anymore it was too much. His hands cupped her face then stroked down her arms, pausing… Lucien pulled Lilly into a crushing hug. She buried her face in his chest as he ran his hand up and down her back.
“I’m going to chain you to my fucking bed.”