The talk about how the famous model Chelsea Meyer was enrolled in S University had spread like a wildfire in the whole campus. The students were all excited to see and get close to a superstar. The campus was abuzz with heated discussions regarding Chelsea Meyer. Several news outlet and lots of social media accounts already reported about it. Truly, Chelsea was undoubtedly one of the most talked about personality in the country.
Even Fran, who was busy spending his days in the school library heard about the student’s excitement concerning Chelsea Meyer. Even in the library, where the students were supposed to study—Fran heard some talks about the lady.
“Have you heard about Chelsea’s party?” one of the students asked. “I received an invitation through my instagram account!”
“Oh, I received one, too!” the other student replied. “I guess, the whole student body is invited to Chelsea’s party tonight! Oh, it’s going to be so much fun!”
“You bet!”
Fran closed his book. He stood up from his table and walked towards the shelves to look for other books. Fran was not bothered even a tiny bit by the students’ conversation. He was too busy with his books. He couldn’t care less about others.
When Fran finished his hunt for other books, he went back to his table and started reading again. He was too engrossed with what he was reading; it automatically blocked his ears from listening to his surroundings.
Fran didn’t know how long he was in that state. He only snapped out of it when he felt like someone was staring at him intently.
So, Fran closed his book and looked up. His gaze met a pair of beautiful eyes that were staring at him with overwhelming affection. Fran felt his heart leapt to his throat. He had been in a relationship with the owner of those pair of jewel-like eyes for many months now—but still, Fran couldn’t help but be swept off his feet every time Noah would stare at him like that. Fran knew it would still be the case even when he turned old and gray. His heart would always beat for Noah. Yes, Fran was that crazy towards his boyfriend.
“Hi, beautiful…” Noah greeted him with a lovely smile.
Fran blushed. “H-how long have you been there and staring at me?“
Noah looked at his wristwatch. “My last class finished thirty minutes ago.” Then, his gaze went back to Fran. “Go figure.” Noah winked at him.
“So, you’ve been staring at me for almost half an hour? Why didn’t you call me out? Are you crazy???!!!”
“Crazily in love with you. Hehehe…” Noah held his hand. “I love seeing you so enwrapped with reading your book. You look sexy and I’ve been having a hard on since.”
“You big oaf!” Fran was just acting tough on the surface, though, deep within—he was melting. How could his boyfriend be so charming? Ah, he really loved Noah to bits.
“Don’t mind me and just continue with what you’re doing. Read all the books that you want. I’ll wait for you.”
Fran shook his head. “No. I’m done with reading. Let’s go.”
“We have a rest day tomorrow and the day after, can you stay at my apartment overnight?” Noah said in a pleading voice.
Fran heaved a sigh. “I told you, my mom and I will attend Aunt Angie’s birthday dinner tonight. There’s a big chance that we’ll be staying over in my Aunt’s house.”
“Oh, I thought your aunt’s birthday is next week. Ah, what am I going to do without you?”
Fran raised an eyebrow. “You also have a party to attend to.”
Noah gave him a confused look. “Party? What are you talking about?“
“Chelsea’s party. I heard it’s tonight.”
“Oh, really?” Noah shook his head. “I won’t be attending that party.”
“Why?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Other than Chelsea, the rest of your friends will be there…”
Noah was still not convinced. “I’ll choose you over them in any given time.”
Fran felt overjoy, though, he didn’t want to be selfish at all. “Noah, have fun with your friends. You can come back to me anytime. I’ll always wait for you.”
“Are you sure, Fran?”
He nodded.
“Thank you. I love you. Don’t worry, I’ll be good.”
“I believe you.”
Fran was not threatened by Chelsea at all, so, it was easy for him to let Noah be with her for tonight. He trusted Noah with all his heart. Fran truly believed that his boyfriend would not do something to hurt him. So, he decided to let Noah have fun with his friends.
However, Fran would come to regret this decision later on.
*****
Aunt Angie’s birthday dinner was attended by the main branch of the Grande family. Fran’s maternal grandmother was also there. Uncle Steven, his wife, and their kids were all there. Fran and his mom were also present. Aunt Angie and her family were one short of a family member. The eldest son was currently attending school in L country.
According to Aunt Angie, she commissioned a master craftsman to make a long, sturdy, and beautiful dining table just for the occasion, so that, all of them could eat together. The table was made from Bubinga wood and cost a fortune. It was truly a fine piece of furniture, though what Fran liked about it the most, was the fact that it gave them the sense of family intimacy because they were using it to dine together.
Fran might act like he didn’t care about other people, but it was not the case for his relatives from his mom’s side. Fran liked them very much. They were the ones who helped and welcomed Fran and his family during the darkest time of his life.
“Fran, how’s school?“ asked Uncle Steven who was sitting across him.
“Hmm, just okay, uncle.” Fran replied.
Uncle Steven laughed out loud. “Oh? If you’re not enjoying attending university, why don’t you work in the company right this instant? I give books as a bonus!”
It was Fran’s turn to laugh. “No, uncle. I do enjoy being a university student. It has its own charm. I’m just a freshman, so, there are still many things that await me in university.”
“Hey, Fran, is it true that Chelsea Meyer is attending your university?“ It was asked by Kev, one of his male cousins.
“Yes.” Fran answered.
“Damn! I want to be schoolmates with her, too.”
“You already saw her during the promotional shoot for the hotel.” Aunt Angie reminded her son. “You talked to her, too.”
“But, I want to be close to her.” After saying that, Kev turned his attention again to Fran. “Hey, Fran, are you close with Chelsea?”
“No.” Fran answered right away.
“Damn!” Kev exclaimed.
“Well, I heard, Fran is very close to the Alva siblings.” It was Uncle Steven again.
Fran nodded. “That’s true.”
“How can you befriend someone like Nigel Alva? He’s too cold and aloof!” That comment belonged to Rose—Uncle Steven’s daughter who was five years older than Fran.
“Hmm, actually, it’s Noah Alva who I am very closed with. To tell you all the truth, Noah Alva is my boyfriend.”
“What?” It was Cindy. The youngest daughter of Aunt Angie. “Noah is your boyfriend?”
“We’ve been going out for almost a year now.”
“No!” Cindy looked defeated. “Noah is my crush since 8th grade.”
Fran smiled at his lovestruck cousin. “I’m sorry, Cin. Noah Alva is mine.”
“I hate you!” Cindy wiped the gloomy expression on her face and eventually gave Fran a smile. “But, I am happy that you’re happy now. You deserve it, Fran.”
“Thank you, Cindy…”
“Hmm, so that’s the story.” Uncle Steven looked serious. “I have to talk to Nigel Alva and his brother. I will warn them, especially Noah, not to hurt my precious nephew. I don’t want you to get hurt again, Fran.”
“Thank you, uncle. But, you don’t have to. Noah won’t do anything to hurt me.”
“I agree.” It was Fran’s mom who said that. “I consider Noah as my very own son, too. He’s head over heels in love with Fran. I am a witness to that.”
“Then, I’ll take your word, sister.” Uncle Steven said. “But, I won’t be too complacent until they get married.”
Fran being gay was known and accepted by his relatives from his mother’s side. They embraced and celebrated Fran’s sexual identity since day one. That was one of the many reasons why Fran loved his maternal relatives. They were all great people.
The dinner continued on. Fran felt the phone inside his pocket vibrated. He brought it out discreetly. He saw a text message from his boyfriend.
Noah: “I am here at the party.”
Fran: “Have fun!”
Noah: “No. I want to go home.”
Fran: “What?”
Noah: “I miss you, boo.”
Fran: “I miss you, too. But, you have to meet your friends once in a while.”
Noah: “You’re really the best boyfriend. Though, I don’t really want to see my friends. I want to be with you. I love you.”
Fran: “I love you, too. Next time, I’ll introduce you to my relatives. I already told them about you…about us.”
Noah: “Yes!!!!! I love you. I love you. I love you.”
Fran couldn’t help but giggle. He immediately covered his mouth when he remembered he was in the presence of his relatives.
Fran: “Enjoy, your night with your friends. You don’t have to text me for the meantime.”
Noah: “No way!”
Fran: “You’re really a stubborn one. But, I still love you.”
Noah: “Hehehehehe..”
The two continued to text each other. Noah reported to Fran everything he did with his friends. He even received photos from Noah. Fran looked at them one by one.
Noah took photos with his friends. Fran already knew all of them. In one of the photos, he noticed Nico and Addie looked stiff; maybe their fight was still on going?
But, the thing that Fran really took notice of was the fact that Chelsea Meyer was not in any picture Noah took. It was Chelsea’s party, but Noah was not with her? Well, that was funny.
Fran and Noah kept on texting each other. His boyfriend only stopped texting Fran after informing him that he was going home. Noah didn’t drink any alcoholic beverage, so he was able to drive home.
Fran waited for Noah to reach home, so that, they could resume texting each other again. So, he spent his time waiting by chatting with his cousins.
Half an hour later, Fran’s phone rang. He expected the call was from Noah, but it was from Natalie.
“Hi, Nat.” Fran immediately answered the call.
He heard sobbing sounds from the other line.
A sudden chill rose up from the pit of his stomach. Fran was alarmed. “Why are you crying, Nat? What happened?”
“F-Fran, my brother…N-Noah got into an accident. H-he’s… Oh, Fran!” Then she started to cry again.
Fran’s phone slid down from his shaking hand and fell on the floor. Fran felt his knees became weak. An inexplicable pain was piercing through his heart at the moment. Suddenly, Fran forgot how to breathe. He felt lost. He was unable to speak.
But most of all, Fran felt scared. Noah was the center of his universe. Fran couldn’t live without him…
*****
Author’s Note:
Hello! Thank you for reading my novel up to this point 🙂 I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I consider Fran and Noah as my precious children (which my mom is actively asking from me to have IRL. Lol). I know, we all hate Chelsea the bitch Meyer, however she is vital in the last phase of the story between our MC and ML. So, please bear with me. We only have a few more chapters left until the ending.
Moreover, I have a small announcement to make: Unfortunately, there will be no chapter updates for the next couple of weeks. This author will be extremely busy because of some personal matters. I hope you understand.
ACY will be back on January 2022.
Happy Holidays! 
-chasingnem
Dear author, thanks for the chapter. Have a good break and I look forward to the remaining chapters.
Thanks ❤️
Thanks for the story! Happy holidays! Also looking forward to what happens next in the new year…
❤️❤️❤️
ah no, cliffhanger!
good luck with life! see you in the next year
thanks for the chapter <3
Thanks ❤️
What happened to Noah?! Did it have something to do with Chelsea?
Thank you for the chapter <3
Suspicious that Chelsea wasn’t there and then Noah had an accident!
Author, why?! Why did you say he would regret?