Chapter 17

"Aminah, you're here! What took you so long?" Belle spotted Artemis entering the classroom and lightly yelled to attract her attention but also attracted the student's attention.

"I got some candy on the way" Artemis smile as she walks straight to Belle, pulling the seat next to her and sitting down.

"Luckily the next professor wasn't come here yet" Belle spoke, smiling as she looks at Artemis.

"What kind of candy is that? Can I have some?" Belle asks extending her hand to Artemis.

"Where's Felicia?" Artemis asks, grabbing a random candy from the pocket of her sweater and giving one to Belle.

Artemis changed back to her outfit earlier before going inside the class.

"Thanks~ and Felicia went back home after last class" Belle thanks Artemis, unwrapping the candy, and putting it in her mouth as she answers Artemis's question.

"!!" Belle immediately covered her mouth when the flavor finally kicks in, Belle let out a disgusted face but quickly stop herself, letting out a forced smile to Artemis.

Artemis immediately notices the changes in Belle. "What's wrong? You don't like the flavor?" Artemis asks Belle in concern, raising her eyebrow as she looks at Belle.

"No, it's just that the candy is bitter that it took me by surprise" Belle reluctantly swallow the bitter candy with a bitter face, covering her mouth to avoid puking.

Artemis found it amusing, she let out a giggle. "Ah, sorry about that, that was for someone else" Artemis apologize with a smile on her face, giving a teasing look at Belle.

"You're teasing me aren't you!" Belle pouted, gently smacking Artemis's shoulder. The students who stare at them immediately blush, some of them secretly took a picture of Belle while the others ship the two immediately without hesitation.

They didn't see this kind of Belle even when she was talking to everybody. And the reason why they won't talk to Belle when she's with Artemis is that they don't want to ruin the harmony between them.

But of course, not all student agrees to leave them alone, saying that it is shame to destroy the chances of being with Belle or Artemis.

It wasn't unusual for a woman to love another woman in this type of generation, all countries allowed same-sex marriage and some of them even have a technology for the same sex to have a child.

Hence it wasn't unusual for people to pair/ship a woman to another woman or a man to another man.

"Here, here, this one will be sweet" Artemis let out a chuckle as she coaxes Belle, the corner of her eye that have formed a tear while her glasses lifted up a bit.

Artemis took another candy on her sweater, making sure that it was sweet-flavored before giving it to Belle.

"Thanks" Belle grab the candy and tilted her head to the side as she gave Artemis her sweetest smile.

[Thud][Thud]

The sound of heavy footsteps that sounded like heels stomping on the floor, caught the student's attention, and immediately face the blackboard in silence.

"Sorry class I was a bit late but who cares about that," a female professor wearing a branded white coat dress along with red six-inch heels said to the students as she places her things on the table.

The students began to listen as well as Belle while Artemis secretly chatted with unit 99, giving further instruction to them.

It's not only that Artemis didn't listen, some of the students didn't listen. Busy arguing who is much better, Artemis or Belle. but Belle would always win.

The moment Artemis took down the guy in the judo class, she already attracted many attentions of the student.

While Belle was known for being gorgeous and sweet, Artemis was known for being a cool, attractive tall woman who's friends with Belle. but that kind of title of course changes as the time pass.

"Although I agree with you that Belle Thompson is top tier but listen Aminah is cooler than her" the girl whispered to the other girl, proving her point as she points out some cool features of Artemis with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Ughh…I can't believe you're right but Belle is still on top with Aminah on the second while Felicia is in the 3rd place" the other woman let out a groan, agreeing with the girl but still insisting on her rank.

"You two girls, stop talking shit and listen or you're going to fail this semester," the female professor notices the two talking, giving them a warning before going back to the topic that she was discussing.

"…" Artemis glanced at them, staring at them with her sharp cold eyes. Artemis heard their whispering earlier; she ignored their whispering and focus on the lesson.

"??" Belle look back, she thought she heard someone call her name and Artemis's name. Although she would always hear her name from other people's words, she was curious as to who was talking about Artemis.

---

Artemis's class for the afternoon is done, if she didn't have a mission, she would've left after class. But now that she has a mission, she has to stay in the school to protect Belle.

Seeing that Belle entered the room for the next class, Artemis glanced at her for a moment before letting Agent 3L1 observe her by the drone while she takes a quick phone call.

"Unit 99, send the two to the Thompson company and tell them it's from Foster" Artemis dialed the number, and after someone pick it up, she ordered the unit 99.

"Yes, Miss Foster" a male voice with a stern tone on his voice answered Artemis's call, he immediately ordered unit 99 as Artemis say.

"Good, don't leave them there, wait for me later" Artemis nodded in satisfaction, she informed them before hanging up. Artemis went back to the hall where Belle's current room is.

Knowing that she has time to do something, she took out her phone and swipe to the left. A hologram appears on her left side while her phone is in her right hand.

Artemis began to type on her phone, while the hologram shows the price of the things that she was search and the data of the other things.

'Ahhh~ I'm going to get rich with this~' Artemis couldn't help but grin as she thought about the money she would get when the product will be released to the public, maniacally grinning at the hologram.

The students who passed by Artemis saw her grin; they were stunned to see the "Cool transfer student" maniacally grinning at her hologram.

Artemis notice the stares that she's having, she looks at the students and narrowed her eyes as she also stares back at them.

"EEEkk!!!" some students who saw Artemis stare let out a loud shriek, causing the professor from Belle's current class to frown, stop the class and walk outside the classroom.

"Can't you see that we're having a lesson here! If you want to play with your friends go to where there's no class!!" The professor scolds the students with a terrifying gaze before going back inside.

"Kids these days" The professor let out a mutter, letting out a sigh.

The students who got scolded immediately left the hallway immediately. If Artemis wasn't in character, her stare would cause the student to piss in their pants or worse would feel the terrifying pressure Artemis unconsciously released.

"??" Belle looked at the hallway, she immediately spotted Artemis leaning on the wall, staring at the hologram.

'Why is Aminah here? Are all of her classes done?' Belle thought to herself, she keeps staring at Artemis until Artemis notice Belle's gaze and look at her.

"!!" Belle flinch when their eyes met, she looks away with her heart thumping.

"Ms. Thompson, answer the question on the board" The professor called out to Belle, staring at her as the professor point out the board.

"Yes Professor" Belle didn't panic, she quickly took a glance at the question before standing up while the answer is already in her head.

Artemis quickly went back from looking for materials on the hologram after Belle look away. She didn't mind Belle's action; she was confused for a second before turning back to normal.

"Hey! Watch out!!" a distant voice sounded in the hallway. An object came flying in the hallway, heading towards Artemis.

Artemis easily catch the water bottle with her hand without looking, she then threw the bottle into the nearby trash, perfectly shooting it into the trash can.

'Ah, fuck…I caught it with my reflex' Artemis thought to herself, letting out a silent sigh before looking at the stunned students.

"…Be sure to throw it properly or you're going to hurt someone" Artemis warned them as she slightly narrowed her eyes before looking back at her phone.

"…Yes…we're sorry" it was the freshman students who accidentally overthrow the bottle of water, they were stunned for a moment before apologizing.

'Is she still looking at me?' Belle secretly glances at Artemis, checking if she's still looking at her as she walks back to her seat.

Disappointment spread to her when she saw Artemis looking at the phone, she lightly shakes her head as she sits down.

'Why am I even feeling disappointed?' Belle questioned herself, she rests her chin on her palm while looking at Artemis.

---

Belle last class finished. She excitedly left the classroom, hoping to see Artemis. Belle stops walking when she sees no sight of Artemis in the hallway, she looks left and right to find her but still has no sign of her.

"Oh…I guess she left" Belle muttered to herself, feeling down but quickly cheer up when some girls approach her.

"Are you free today, Belle? we should totally hang out today!!" the girls invited Belle to hang out with a smile on their faces, with hidden intention in their eyes.

"Sorry but Belle already made plans with me" Just as Belle's about to reject their invitation, Artemis's voice sounded as she walked toward Belle's side with a small smile on her face.

Belle's face looks stunned for a moment before quickly turning back to normal, she let out an apologetic smile to the girls before speaking.

"Sorry about that, maybe next time~" Belle spoke to them before leaving with Artemis on her side, waving her hand to the girls.

"Thanks, Aminah but are we really going to hang out later?" Belle thanks Artemis with a sweet smile on her face, she asks a question to her with hope in her heart.

"Being rich and popular sure is hard and sure, but I can only accompany you for 30 minutes" Artemis added a comment before answering Belle's question with a smile on her face, fixing her glasses with her thumb.

"Great! 30 minutes is enough since I'm going home early~" Belle respond with great enthusiasm in her voice, she narrowed her eyes to light.

---

"Is this the store where you brought the coffee?" Belle asks when she saw the familiar branding on the cup, she looks around inside the shop with the biggest smile on her face.

Just as they enter the shop, many people already stare at the two. To be precise, many people already staring at Belle.

"Hello, Miss! You're here again, do you want your usual miss?" the cashier immediately notices Artemis entering the shop and greeted her with the biggest smile.

"Yes, the usual please" Artemis respond with a genuine smile that she, as Artemis would give. She respected and love people who are easy to talk to and who make sweets and coffee thus explaining her attitude toward the cashier.

"What about you miss?" After nodding, the cashier looks at Belle and asks with a smile.

Belle looks at the menu at the top for a moment as she ponders for a moment.

"Latte and one strawberry shortcake" Belle didn't take a lot of time of thinking and immediately stated her order right after she decided.

"2 strawberries shortcake, that will be a dine-in" Artemis added right after Belle finish her word, she even precedes Belle by taking out her spare credit card and giving it to the cashier with a small smile on her face.

"You can sit on the empty tables miss and I will call you if you're coffee and cakes is ready!" the cashier let out a big smile as she points out the empty tables.

"What's your order miss?" After Artemis and Belle left the line, the cashier went and ask the other customer who took a step forward.

"The cashier seems to know you means that you've been here for a long time, miss regular~" Belle pulls the chair to sit, she teases Artemis as she rests her chin on both of her palms.

"What are you going to do? Miss?" Artemis pushes her glasses with a smirk on her face, leaning with her hand on her glasses while her elbow resting on the table.

"…" Artemis and Belle's faces are just a few inches away from each other, Belle went silent before avoiding eye contact with a beating heart and a flush face.

'No, no! it's still early for that Belle!! but…dang it!!' Belle began to calm down her messy heart with a messy thought, trying to deny the situation even though she knew it deep down.

"What's wrong?" Artemis asks when she notices her weirdness of Belle, she takes a look at her watch before looking at Belle.

"It's nothing" Belle quickly dismisses Artemis's question with a short answer, fanning her hot face with her hand while trying to avoid Artemis's sharp black eyes.

'Geez…it's going to take a while before I can look into her eyes' Belle thought to herself as she let out a sigh, secretly glancing at Artemis through her bangs.

Little did Belle know that Artemis knew and felt the gaze that Belle secretly give to her but just ignore it since it wasn't her business.