Where His Obsession Began

Yanina’s POV

The intense scrutiny from the three boys was starting to make my chest tighten with anxiety, but one of them wasn't just casually glancing my way. He was staring at me with a heavy, magnetic intensity that sent a sudden shiver straight down my spine.

When I finally braced myself to look up, his gaze hadn't wavered. I found myself completely paralyzed, drowning in a pair of deep, rich chocolate-brown eyes. For a split second, a wild thought flashed through my mind—that I was falling completely in love with hi—wait, what?

No. Absolutely not. I mean, yes, his eyes were incredibly beautiful, but what on earth was I thinking? My brain was clearly malfunctioning from a severe lack of oxygen.

Thankfully, someone loudly cleared their throat, breaking the spell and dragging me back to reality.

I blinked, realizing it was Amadine who had intervened. I let out a massive, quiet breath of relief.

"Well, well. Look what we have here. Is this the new girl?" The boy with the hazel eyes asked, a cocky grin spreading across his face. I couldn't help but notice the faint, distinct trace of a British accent woven into his words.

My face instantly caught fire for no good reason, forcing me to snap my gaze away from the brown-eyed boy. Come on, Yanina, pull yourself together. It’s just a basic question!

"Umm... yeah. Hi," I finally managed to stammer out, forcing a polite, small smile onto my face. "I'm Yanina Miller."

"I'm Rio Wood. It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Yanina," he said, his easy grin widening as he extended his hand across the table.

I hesitated for a fraction of a second before reaching out to take it. The moment our fingers brushed, he didn't just shake my hand. Instead, he smoothly guided my knuckles up to his lips, brushing them with a feather-light, theatrical kiss.

A deep, burning blush crept up my neck at the ridiculously charming gesture, a small smile slipping past my defenses.

"Dude, let go of her hand already," the boy with the curly black hair muttered, rolling his eyes in sheer annoyance.

Embarrassed, I immediately pulled my hand back into my lap.

Amy didn't miss a beat, gesturing toward the black-haired boy. "Anyway, Yanina, ignore him. Meet Lestrade Hemsworth—officially the nicest guy in this entire school."

"Hey! I can be nice!" Rio protested, crossing his arms and pouting like a disappointed child.

Amy rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. "Shut up, you massive player. You don't have a single nice bone in your body."

"Ah, princess, you’re breaking my heart over here," Rio wheedled, dramatically clutching his chest as if he’d been physically wounded.

The ridiculous banter was surprisingly comforting. I let out a soft chuckle and said, "Don't worry, Rio. I'm sure you have your moments." Finally, the suffocating nervousness in my chest began to evaporate.

"See? Look at that! She gets it!" Rio cheered loudly, throwing his hands in the air and blowing a series of ridiculous flying kisses in my direction.

I laughed, but as I did, I noticed Amy had suddenly gone completely rigid, looking anywhere but at our side of the table, while Amadine was hiding a Knowing smirk. Had I accidentally stepped on a social landmine?

Lestrade cleared his throat, offering me a genuinely warm, polite smile. "Hey. It’s really nice to meet you, Yanina."

"Hello. Nice to meet you too, Lestrade."

"And finally," Amy sighed, her voice dripping with mock exhaustion as she pointed toward the final member of the trio, "the school’s absolute favorite boy, Callum Bradshaw."

Favorite boy? I blinked.

"Hello, Yanina," the boy with the chocolate-brown eyes murmured. His voice was smooth, low, and sent another tiny jolt through my nerves. Oh. So his name is Callum.

"Umm... hey, Callum," I replied, that familiar, suffocating wave of shyness crashing right back over me.

As the conversation drifted, I couldn't help but notice that Rio’s eyes were completely glued to Amy, while Amy was putting on an Oscar-worthy performance of pretending he didn't even exist. A lightbulb went off in my head. Is this the Rio that Amadine was warning her about earlier?

"So... Yanina," Amadine said suddenly, leaning over her tray. "Give us the details. Tell us about yourself."

"Umm.. uh.. wh-what exactly do you want to know?" I stammered, the old anxiety clawing its way back up. I really didn't want to dive into my personal history, especially not with three intimidating, popular boys hanging on every word. I desperately didn't want them to think I was some sort of social freak.

"EVERYTHING!!" Amy yelled, slamming her hands down.

I jumped, completely taken aback by her volume.

"Woah! Chill out, woman," Rio laughed, putting his hands up. "Don't go scaring Yanina away on her very first day."

Amy flushed, instantly looking apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Yanina! Seriously, I just get way too excited sometimes."

"It's totally fine," I assured her, offering a genuine smile. Realizing I couldn't avoid the question entirely, I swallowed my nerves and decided to give them the truth. "So... today is my first day here, obviously. But honestly, it's kind of my first day experiencing... well, everything."

"Everything?" Amy repeated, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I swallowed hard. "Actually, I’ve been stuck in a strict boarding school for the last fourteen years."

The entire table went dead silent. Every single one of them was staring at me as if I had just confessed to a crime, or grown a second head.

"Uhh... guys? Did I say something wrong?" I asked, my heart sinking. Great. Now they definitely think I’m an absolute freak. Good job, Yanina.

"Wait... you were in a boarding school for fourteen years? Like, fourteen actual years?!" Amy and Amadine gasped at the exact same time.

"Uh... yeah. That's what I said."

"Wow..." they breathed in unison, the three boys looking equally stunned.

"Man, that must have been incredibly brutal," Rio said, his usual playful tone completely vanishing, replaced by genuine, deep sympathy. The others nodded in agreement.

I blinked, totally thrown off. "What? You guys don't think I'm some kind of weird antisocial freak?"

Amy reached over, gently squeezing my arm. "Why on earth would we think that, Yanina? Everyone has to deal with a bad hand in life sometimes. It doesn't make you weird."

A heavy weight lifted off my shoulders. "Thank you so much, guys. Seriously."

"You're very welcome, love," Rio said smoothly, leaning back. "But now I’m curious—why did your folks send you away for that long?"

"My parents are intensely strict and completely overprotective," I admitted with a heavy sigh. "They basically wanted to keep me locked away from the real world."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore," Amadine said, her eyes lighting up with determination. "You’re with us now, Yanina. We’re going to make sure this is the absolute best year of your entire life!"

"Yeah, babe," Rio added, giving me a playful wink. "It’s going to be an absolute blast having you around."

I laughed at his ridiculous enthusiasm, my cheeks flushing slightly at the casual nicknames he kept tossing around.

"Yeah. It’s definitely going to be fun," Callum spoke up, his voice cutting through the noise. I looked up, and he was smirking directly at me with an intensity that made my heart do a dangerous flip. Seriously, what was his deal?

"Yanina, Amadine! Come with me to the restroom right now," Amy suddenly announced, glancing at her phone. "We only have about ten minutes left before lunch is over."

"Okay, okay," Amadine and I mumbled, grabbing our backpacks from the floor.

"See you later, girls. Have a good afternoon," Lestrade said, offering a polite wave.

I waved back. "Bye, guys."

As we pulled away from the table, I caught Callum’s eye one last time. His smirk widened, and he deliberately gave me a slow, devastating wink. My face instantly erupted in flames again, and I hastily turned away, scurrying after the girls.

Once we safely made it into the restroom, I waited until we were standing by the mirrors to finally voice the question that had been burning in my mind. "Hey, Amadine? If Rio, Lestrade, and Callum are supposedly the dangerous bad boys of the school... why were they sitting with us?"