Felipe is Innocent, So Was She.

TEN YEARS AGO

The clock struck 8:30 and Raven dashed out of her room, fumbling to slip in her shoes. She ran down the stairs.

"Mom! My transport fare! I'm gonna be late!"

Today was her first day at Gomez University, the most reputable and prestigious university in Chicago, only meant for the higher upperclassmen. Not anyone was capable of being admitted into the university — but she was. And not only was she admitted, she'd been offered a full-time scholarship.

Her joy knew no bounds! She had studied harder and harder, trying to secure a position there, and miraculously, her hard work had paid off. She'd made both her and her family the proudest people on earth.

She was excited about this new experience of being a naive college student, making new friends, partying, attending clubs, and all the fun things college kids do. She was dressed to the nines, obviously trying to impress the college kids there, her dark her hanging free on her lovely shoulders.

And of course, she wasn't staying in the dorms as most students there because the boarding fees were so expensive it could feed their family for months. Besides, their house was closer to the school and the dorm wasn't even necessary.

"Mom!" She screamed again. "I said I'm gonna be late!"

"I'll be down in a minute!" Her mom screamed back from upstairs.

"Geez! Are you both planning on screaming this whole house down?" James, Raven's big brother said, walking up to her, his hands in his trousers pocket. He was tall and charming with dark hair and brown eyes. "You know it's old right?"

"Well, maybe we are." Raven joked, "And then you can build us a new one. You're the one that said it's pretty old."

James stared at his sister. Clearly, he could see the happiness radiating from her — it was contagious. A nineteen-year-old girl excited on her first day of college, unaware of what it holds. It was typical. But he didn't want her to have high expectations and end up being disappointed in the end.

"Hey, Raven." He called.

"Hmm."

"What do you think college will be like?"

"Exciting, of course!" She beamed happily. "I'll meet new friends, join the drama club…" she gasped. "And I'll meet my favorite professor, Mr Dave Hennessy…"

"Don't you think you're too overexcited?" James inquired carefully, interrupting her. "I mean… you're behaving like you've never been to college before and…"

Raven burst out laughing. "Do you even hear yourself? Of course, I've never been to college before!"

"All I'm saying is that you should lower your expectations." James adviced. "Things are not always what you expect them to be… and besides, are you even sure that there are people like you there?"

Raven frowned. "People like me?" She asked, confused. "What do you mean people like me?"

"I mean… all the kids there are loaded!" James replied. "They all have like rich parents, connections and all that and you're the first ever poor person to be accepted there. And you might feel so… out of place."

Raven frowned, her mood changing. "I don't like this James!" She snapped. "Why must you always put your stupid negative energy into everything? That's why things don't always work out for you! Every time a new opportunity arises for you, you always envision that it'll go bad, and then boom! It does! It's called self-sabotage, James, and I'm not a loser like you!"

"Raven…"

The hurt in James' eyes and voice was palpable, and it instantly made Raven feel guilty. Okay, now she went too far. Damn it!

"James, I'm sorry…"

"Screw you!" James spat and then angrily stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

"What's the matter?" Kacey, Raven's mom, asked as she strode down the stairs. "Why did James stormed out like that?"

"Well, your precious Raven called James a loser and told him to fuck off when he only tried to warn her about the realities of life." Layla, Raven's teenage sister, answered. Raven was surprised to find her by the doorway leading to the living room. She'd been listening in on the entire conversation.

"Layla, language!" Kacey warned. "Raven, why did you…"

"Mom, geez, just give me the transport fare!" Raven interrupted, not ready for her mom's prosecution and another guilt trip session. She snatched the money from her hand and stormed out.

She walked down the road and hailed a cab. She got in and told the cab driver to head over to Gomez University. The cab driver paused and then turned to stare at her.

"What?" Raven asked, irritatingly, not liking the way the man was glancing at her.

"Do you go there?" The man asked, his eyes sweeping over her.

Raven felt insulted by the question. Why on earth would he ask that question with such disdain and surprise in his voice? And why in God's name would he look at her like that? Isn't she worthy of being a student at Gomez University?

"Well, yeah?" She answered brusquely. "Got a problem with that?"

The man shrugged, facing forward as he started up the car. "Nothing, actually. It's just that I've never seen anybody like you being a student there."

Raven clenched her fist, trying to fight the urge to scream at this stupid driver.

Great! Just great! On her first day and she's getting this amount of bad energy! First, James, now this? Ignore it! She told herself. Ignore it!

The man drove down the streets of Illinois to Gomez University. The drive was tense, awkward, and silent, and all through the drive, Raven wanted to reconsider not lashing out at this stupid ass driver.

But she somehow managed to resist the urge. After some minutes of driving, the driver pulled up on the curb, and Raven got out.

She pulled out a few cash and this time, she also resisted the urge to throw it at the driver and walk away.

"For the record, Mister," Raven said before she could stop herself. She wanted to brag to the man's face. "I'm a scholarship student here and yes, I'm worthy of being a student at Gomez University."

The man shrugged. "Figures. Cause, as far as I know, a girl like you can't afford to school here. Only their dorm fee can feed your whole family for months."

This flipped her lid! She wanted nothing more than to smack this bald man across the face. Raven had never felt so insulted in her life! Even though the man was right, he had utterly no right! How dare he! She wasn't one to swear but this man here didn't deserve her respect.

"Fuck you, asshole!" She shoved her middle finger to his face and then angrily walked to the front gate.

But her self-esteem plummeted to a maximum extent like a landslide sweeping down a mountain as she gaped at what was beheld in front of her.

Students in flashy convertibles—both boys and girls—rolled into the school parking grounds with reckless abandon. They shouted at the top of their lungs, blaring loud music that drowned out any sense of calm, while some openly smoked and passed around drinks without a care in the world. Their laughter was wild, their behavior brazen, and not a single one seemed concerned about appearances or rules.

Watching them, Raven couldn't help but notice how effortlessly extravagant and carefree their lives seemed compared to hers. She wasn't one to envy material wealth, but the sharp contrast made her feel so… out of place — just as James had warned. The thought of him being right made her blood boil.

The driveway into the school compound was so long that her legs began to hurt and her mood began to dampen. This wasn't what she envisioned her first day to be like.

When she finally made it to the school's main compound, she was exhausted and wasn't in the mood to gape and marvel at the school's interior as she'd initially planned to. The place was bustling with life; students dressed in expensive clothing passed to and fro, and she couldn't feel more out of place than she'd already felt.

"Um, excuse me, where's the…" she tried to ask two girls passing by but they paid her utterly no attention.

She tried to ask another but received the same treatment, and another yet another. She began to question her existence. Do these people even see her?

She wandered around the compound searching for the orientation office to complete her check-in. After what felt like an eternity, she finally found it. She was checked in and provided with essentials, including school maps.

Her first class had already begun by the time she arrived, and she quietly joined the session. However, she didn't feel as enthusiastic as she had anticipated. The morning had been a string of unfortunate events.

After finishing all her classes for the day, she realized she hadn't been able to make any friends. Everyone she had tried to strike up a conversation with either scorned her or acted as if she hadn't spoken at all.

During lunch, she sat alone in a secluded corner of the cafeteria, finally accepting the truth in James' words when he warned her not to get her hopes up. Every single student seemed to come from a wealthy family or had special connections, but she had neither. And it felt like no one wanted her.

She had become an outcast just on her first day.

Amid her thoughts, a girl suddenly walked up to her. Her heart pounded as she saw the girl approaching. The girl was unremarkable in appearance, of average height with short blonde hair, and wore a condescending expression on her face.

Maybe this one wanted to be her friend. She thought.

But what happened next not only took Raven aback but also infuriated her. The girl opened her carton of milk and poured it all over Raven's head. Raven quickly sat up, ready to explode but a hot slap on her cheek cut her off. Followed by another, then another, and yet another.

Her cheeks were now red with crimson from the slaps and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.

She stared around the cafeteria to see if anyone would intervene and help her out— but no one paid her or the girl any attention. It was either they didn't care a dime, or were afraid — which she was damned sure they weren't — or they felt that she didn't matter — which was sure they do.

"You must be wondering what your offense is, freshman." The girl spoke. "Look around, is there any other person here dressed in rags like you? You should know your place. This place is for people like us. I give you twenty-four hours to be transferred to another school… or else."

---------------

PRESENT DAY

Those memories flooded in at the moment motivating Raven the more, overpowering any guilt she'd felt before about how innocent Felipe was. She too, was innocent.

If Lara hadn't been the first predator to prey on her, she'd have managed to finish her college life like a ghost, still being the outcast.

But it had all begun with her. Others, too found her weak and had joined in, causing more damage.

She opened her mouth, inviting his tongue as she kissed Felipe, their breaths mingling in the growing intensity of the moment. His hands roamed her body, firm yet gentle, exploring the curve of her back and tracing the line of her waist. Her fingers threaded through his hair, pulling him closer, her body pressing against his as if she couldn't get near enough.

"Oh, Lily…"

Felipe's lips moved from hers, trailing soft kisses along her jawline, down to the sensitive spot just below her ear. Her breath hitched, and her nails lightly grazed his shoulders, pulling him deeper into the embrace. His hands found her hips, gripping them with a fervor that matched the fire between them, as though he wanted to memorize every inch of her.

She tilted her head back, giving him full access as his lips explored the hollow of her throat, sending shivers racing down her spine. Their connection was magnetic and electric, as though the world outside had disappeared, leaving only the two of them and the heat they shared.

"Felipe," she murmured, her voice breathless and soft, her hands now sliding to rest against his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart beneath her fingertips. "This feels..." She didn't need to finish; the look in his eyes told her he felt it too.

His lips found hers again, hungrier this time as if he couldn't bear to be apart from her for even a second. Every kiss, every touch spoke volumes of the passion building between them, the world fading further as they became lost in each other.

She wasn't doing this because she was attracted to this man nor she wanted to get laid. She felt that if she wanted her revenge to have a more jarring impact on Lara, this was a necessity that had to be done, whether she liked it or not. He was attractive and nice, yes, but the trauma inflicted on her by her predators had made her heart as hard as stone, unable to reciprocate love.

Then, at that moment, they heard footsteps followed by Lara's voice, "Felipe?"