CHAPTER 2:Encounter

**Eagles University, Moscow, Russia.**

~ Engineering Faculty ~

"So Luxury, are you a foreigner?" Russell asked with food in his mouth.

"No! Half Russian, half Australian." she corrected as she ate slowly.

They finished their class and decided to have lunch at the faculty's cafeteria.

"No wonder your features are slightly different." Vincent praised and Elmira nodded in agreement.

"I will take that as a compliment!" she said and they all chuckled.

Suddenly, loud murmurs rippled across the cafeteria. Before Luxury and her friends knew was happening, Lustre and his crew came in and sat at the table opposite them.

Russell, Vincent and Elmira froze, wide-eyed

"What are Lustre and his friends doing here??" this was the question that was on everyone's mind.

" Why is everyone acting surprised?" Lustre whispered, pulling Vincent closer so he could explain.

"Girl! Can't you see the Mafia Kings are here! This has never happened before." Vincent replied with voice full of surprise. Luxury just mouthed a silent "oh!".

Everyone in the cafeteria kept adjusting their posture like they were being judged. The unnecessary awkward shifting irritated Luxury to her core. Despite the buzz and excitement, there was undeniable tension in the cafeteria. The students were all tensed. No one was trying to make mistake at all. The whole room felt like it was holding it breath.

Luxury gave an invisible smile. "Now, I want to know who these people are, for them to hold such aura! Ugh! I am obsessed!" She squealed in her mind.

"Okay, spill the tea. Who are these guys? I need details—like now!" she demanded, practically bouncing on her seat. Elmira leaned in and signaled them to come closer for some gossip talk and they did!

" You see that guy in all black?" Elmira began. "He is the leader of the group—Lustre Orlov. A silent killer. Cold. Dangerous. Ruthless. He belongs to the biggest Mafia family in Russia—Orlovs family. Cross him and you are done! He is basically a playboy. If he marks you, he will do anything to make you his prey—and once you are caught in it, it is a game over!!" Elmira explained and she nodded in understanding.

"The other guy beside him is Alexei—his closest friend. He is gay. He belongs to the second biggest Mafia family in Russia—Volkovs."

"I thought they are supposed to be, like, rivals?" Luxury asked.

"Yes, the Orlov and Volkov are rivals and that's what makes it weird. No one knows why and how!" Vincent replied and Luxury nodded in understanding.

"Alexei also has three brothers—two older and a younger one. He is a flirt and especially with guys. He is playful. Friendly and fun... but just don't cross him. He is as deadly as he is fabulous!" Elmira finished explaining.

Luxury mouthed an 'Oh!' filling every details mentally

"The other two guys are Jordan and Ivan. Jordan is the most quiet, he barely talks, keeps to himself and doesn't mingle with other people. Like...you know? Mysterious. Ivan is just a cool guy who is so obsessed with his reflection. They are both under the Orlov's Family." Elmira finished and gave a sigh at the end of her speech.

" Wow! This is so wild!" Luxury wowed with a little laugh." How about this Mafia Family of a thing, how does it work? I am curious" she asked.

Just as Russell opened his mouth to answer, the energy in the cafeteria shifted—Jade walked in.

He made a straight way directly to Luxury's table.

"Hey guys! Can I seat here?" he asked, his eyes locked only Luxury.

Vincent, Elmira and Russell tensed up immediately. Nobody responded.

"You...c...can..." Vincent started nervously but Jade cut him off,his eyes still fixated on Luxury.

Murmurs filled the air as everyone had surprised look on their face. Apart from Lustre and his friends, Jade doesn't come to to the cafeteria. So seeing all of them in the cafeteria brought surprise, fear, happiness and tension.

"I didn't ask you, I asked Luxury!" he said firmly, his eyes still fixated on Luxury even though she stopped looking at him.

Vincent just clamped his lips tight.

Luxury rolled her eyes at him. "Just sit down and stop making my friends uncomfortable!" she snapped, motioning to the empty space beside her.

Jade raised his hands in mock surrender, a smug smirk dancing on his lips as he sat down.

Lustre on the other hand pretended not to care about what was happening at all—but oh...deep down he was concerned.

"Why do I feel like history is gonna repeat itself?" he thought darkly watching them from the corner of his eye.

Meanwhile, the students around kept taking pictures sneakily and whispering at the same time like wildfire. The cafeteria became so lousy and had literally turned into a reality show.

At that moment, Lustre stood up—the caferia became dead silent again. Just his movement caused forks to drop and students to freeze like statues.

He didn't say any word.

He just walked past her table but as he passed behind her—he stopped. His hands barely brushed her back—but was enough to send a shiver down a spine.

"History doesn't repeat itself!" he said quietly that no one could barely hear only Luxury. His voice as cold as Russian winter. "It hunts them!" he added then walked away as if nothing had happened—as if he wasn't the one that just dropped a whole threat-poem to her.

It was as if everyone had held their breath all this while because once Lustre left the cafeteria, the tension started fading away.

"Oh! Can't believe he just ditched us just to cause a scene" Alexei muttered in disbelief. Ivan was the only who laughed while Jordan just kept eating without minding them.

After Lustre left their table—Vincent, Russell and Elmira held worried looks on their faces as their eyes were fixated on Luxury.

Luxury gave an innocent laughter "Don't worry guys, I am okay!" She assured them but the worried look won't leave their faces.

"I am taking my leave now! See you later Lux!" he said ignoring the fact that her friends are still around and not statues. He tapped Luxury's shoulders and walked away.

Elmira scoffed in disbelief "Does he see us as some log of wood. He only talked to you and ignored us. So rude!" she complained—anger boiling within her.

"Just ignore it, Mira!" Russell pacified her and rubbed her back gently.

"Lux! You should be careful with Jade, he isn't innocent at all. He is just as dangerous as Lustre. The only difference is his smiling face." Vincent warned seriously and she replied with a salute sign "Yes boss!" her raised chest looking so funny and they laughed. She suddenly felt something loose around her chest. Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

"Damn it!!! My chest bandage!" she panicked and screamed inwardly.

"I am coming guys, I need to do something!" She announced and before anyone could say anything, she ran off with lightning speed.

Vincent, Russell and Elmira looked at each other trying to find clues but couldn't find anything.

Alexei,Jordan and Ivan looked at her with facial expression that was hard to read.

"So weird!" Jordan muttered talking to no one in particular.

**At night, Lustre's house – His private room**

Lustre sat on his bed and balanced with his laptop in his dark illuminated room.

His room wasn't just dark, it devoured light—bathed in black... but bled in red.

The room was shrouded in black walls—so merciless and cold.

Amber lights shone softly and dimly from a chandelier which hung overhead. Thick shadows lurked arounf at the corner of the room as if there were watching.

The deep wine-red velvet curtains hung over the windows blocking any sign or glimpse of the outside world. Even during the day, daylight wasn't welcomed and he didn't even care to open the curtains for that. Even people aren't welcomed here.

The bed he sat on was so massive, big and intimidating—stood as the center piece. Black satin sheets covered the mattress with blood-red pillows which stood out perfectly arranged—untouched and undisturbed. The bed stood on a red Persian rug—their patterns so twisted like it was encrypted.

On the other right corner of the room stood a black cabinet houses with some set of weapons—black blades, pistols and a silencer which was already soaked in past sins.

A black glass surface at a another part of the room—cold and spotless held some laptops and some journals.

A black leather armchair stood near a fireplace which has never been lit or needed.

Lustre didn't crave warmth.

He was the fire!!

This place wasn't just a room. It was another house in his house which held kitchen, bathroom and other rooms you could find in a house. All every inch were bathed with darkness—and bled black and red.

Black for his soul!

Red for his rage!

This...

This was his lair!!!

Lustre fingers kept dancing on his keyboard until a notification popped up on his phone.

He stopped and looked at his phone trying to consider if he should continue with what he was doing or just have a look at the notification that had just popped up.

Eventually, he decided to check it.

Behold!! It was an anonymous message.

"I KNOW THE PERSON YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AND WHERE SHE IS.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, FIND ME!"

He read it and gave out a devilish laughter—his expression changing so suddenly from his laughter to a sinister look—deadly glare as if the person that sent the anonymous message was right in his presence.

He felt so insulted—as if he was indirectly called a fool.

"Am I fucking stupid? Do I look like a fool to pursue or go after some imbecile being?" he muttered with rage building inside of him.

The atmosphere in the room changed as if everything in the room feared him. The heavy curtains move with the rhythm of the wind.

The air grew colder, like as if the wind was on his side—while every other thing in the room didn't dare to move.

"when I find you, I will make sure to take your life and not your information. Make you beg for mercy that you won't get. Destroy you for messing with me and Angel!" he thought darkly—already thinking of the best death that would suite his murderous intent.

The devilish grin that settled on his face was enough to show that he wasn't joking about what he said.

**The same night—Luxury's house.**

Luxury laid on her bed wrapped in silence as darkness engulfed the whole room.

The only light in the room was the one that came from the moon.

A single silver ray that slipped through the curtains, casting a faint—dim glow across the room, but the deep onyx painted room seemed to be absorbing the little light that shone—as if it was hiding secret... Her secrets!

Her bed stood on a black fluffy rug with simple designs.

There was a wooden desk at a corner of her room where her PC stood untop and some other valuables—a shelf which held so many types of books—journals, magazines, novels and other types of books.

The room was silent but not peaceful. There was tension in the silence.

Her mind—noisy, busy and loud.

She laid on her bed—still in silence, just staring at the ceiling, eyes open but barely blinking.

Lustre's words echoed in her ears for the 100th time like a lullaby.

"History doesn't repeat itself... It hunt them."

She pondered so hard on those words but couldn't pinpoint what he meant.

"No one knows who I am, right? Not even Lustre?" she asked unsure in her mind.

She exhaled and turned to her side, waiting for when sleep will carry her onto another world free from the reality.

"Romeo should be asleep by now!" she gave her last thought and drifted to the other side of another world.

**The next day–Eagles University.**

Luxury roared into the school in her black power bike, the engine growling like an unleashed beast. The school wasn't as busy as it should be since students hasn't resumed fully from their vacation.

She was dressed in her normal disguise of being a boy—black-on-black outfit as usual and with black boots. The early morning air blew her short hair which was still damped and tied lazily in a half-ponytail.

Eagles University—nestled in the heart of Moscow. Eagles wasn't just a place of of education—it was an empire itself.

A place of intellect, power and wealth. The campus stretched across several acres of land.

The building screamed with architectural intelligence having a blend of Russian charm with modern sophiscation.

Massive columns guarded each faculty beautifully and dominantly.

At the center of the school stood an iconic Eagle tower which showed the school's symbol. This was also where the school flag flew endlessly and majestically—moving to the rhythm of the wind.

But beyond the prestige and reputation of the schools lies some unspoken rules. Not written in handbook—but known within. Mafia heirs, political lineage, corporate heirs—the elites all were gathered in this school.

So you really want to know what you would face if you didn't belong... right?

You would be a target.

You would be made a slave because you have no power—weak and vulnerable.

Bullying wasn't just rare but it was a tradition. The weak were being preyed on and devoured on by the strong.

But at Eagles University, you don't just graduate with degree—you graduate with secrets that stays with you all your life.

You graduate with pain, trauma, experience, scars or other untold emotions.

With memory that would either haunt you or crown you.

This was what Luxury would face—but we don't know if it would be a good thing or a bad thing.

She didn't belong to their level.

Would they know? Would she last in this mysterious and powerful school?

But that was what she liked—mystery!

That's why she was in the school—it might be a perfect place to hide.

Or to get burned!