While I'm sitting at the sushi bar, I lick my lips. My eyes follow the sushi plates lining up and moving in front of me.

They all look so tempting. In a heartbeat, I grab one plate that has salmon sashimi.

I'm pouring the soy sauce over it when I feel Vaughn's gaze on me. I turn my head towards him and find him staring at me in amusement.

"What?" I ask him nonchalantly and waste no time to put the food into my mouth with the chopsticks.

"Nothing." He smiles, still gazing at me.

I would be shaking if I allowed myself to be completely affected by Vaughn's Effect, but fortunately, my favourite food is such a good distraction. Tasting the sweet favour of the salmon, I close my eyes, enjoying every bit of it. It tastes like heaven.

Even Jake once told me that I ate it like I was in a TV commercial.

"You know," Vaughn begins. "This is quite a sight."

I raise my brows.

"Usually, girls tend to eat more carefully in front of me," Vaughn says. "They tried to maintain their image, even some of them chose the dish that would not ruin it." He chuckles. "But you, Mel, practically devour all the things catching your eyes right now."

I almost choke. I don't know whether it should be classified as an insult or a compliment.

"Don't worry," he adds. "I'm enjoying it." His tone is still rich with amusement.

I glance at his plate, which is still empty, while I just finished my second one. "I thought you said that you're hungry."

"I'm already full just by watching how you eat," he jokes, and I roll my eyes.

It's not my fault. He's the one who suggested what to eat. And that happens to be one of my favourite foods.

A while later, he joins me, and we eat in silence before I start talking again.

"When will the internship start?" I ask, somehow feeling a bit excited about what the company can offer Vaughn.

"I'll be working in their office three months from now," he says. "For now, I'll just carry on with my project and give them updates ahead of time before we can adapt it in the real environment."

I nod, listening intently. I'm happy for him.

"How did you do it?" I shake my head, laughing.

He raises his brows.

"I mean, you excel in everything," I say. "Academics. Sports. Career prospects."

He stares at me again, and I can see that his eyes are glinting with something I can't describe. But it's something good, I guess. A smirk touches his lips.

"What can I say? When it's your passion, it just happens," he says. "I'm not saying that it was always easy for me. No, it wasn't like that. I had ups and downs, Mel. I fell too. I fucking did. But that didn't stop me."

I stare at him in awe. He's the kind of person who also thinks that nothing worth having comes easy. We apparently are similar. And that gives me warmth.

"I chose my major because I had a vision about it," he adds. "I love working with companies and strike a mutually beneficial business deal. And I fucking love football."

I feel those butterflies again in my stomach. Right now, he looks so sexy.

And he still has this bad boy aura that I always wonder how. But it's not like some destructive, wrecked bad boys many girls sometimes fantasize to sweep off their feet. Those who are insecure and have tattoos plus guns and whom their parents definitely won't approve. This bad boy is different. It's the kind of those bad boys who are driven, intellectual and have mastered self-control to really kick ass in the real dog-eat-dog world.

For me, the latter is the real bad boy. The winners.

My kind of bad boy.

My face is flushed from my own thought. Oh Gosh, Melanie. What the hell are you thinking about?

"But you do too, Melanie," Vaughn's voice echoes back, snapping me out from my daze. "You excel. Your academics are something you should be proud of."

I sigh, smiling softly. "I just want to make my parents happy."

Speaking of them, I wonder about Vaughn's parents. They must be proud of him. I haven't heard about them, but I've heard that Vaughn is the only child.

"What about you, Vaughn?" I can't help but ask. "Your parents must be proud of you." Unlike me and Jake, Vaughn has never been accommodated in terms of money and material by his family. He has no such privilege, struggling from ground zero before finally getting the scholarship.

He scoffs. "They are the hardest to please."

Wow. That surprises me. I look away, unsure of how to respond.

"But at least, they don't complain," he adds. "Fucking great that they let me play football."

I laugh at the tone of his voice, which sounds like he's somehow annoyed but that it's actually not a big deal for him. It must be tough for him, but he survives.

"Speaking of it, you should come to the game," he says, making me look at him.

"When?" I remember Jake telling me that they would have a championship soon. Sadly, Jake won't be able to join it because things are getting pretty hectic now in his internship place.

"This Friday," Vaughn says. "It's the least you can do for our beloved captain." He smirks.

I roll my eyes. "Of course I'd love to come."

"Jake won't be around, so I have to take charge on his behalf, for temporary," he says, and I totally understand. It's nothing new. Vaughn is the one Jake trusts the most among his team to lead while he's absent.

"Should I be worried?" I tease.

Vaughn smirks. "Not a chance."

I laugh, shaking my head.

I can't help but think about how his parents are hard to please when he is such an adorable young man. With Vaughn, there's definitely so much more than meets the eye. And I'm curious to find what is more behind those exteriors.

Like he has this mystery that I can't put any word to it. And I want to know about it.

I want to know more about you, Vaughn.

That voice inside me makes me startled. What am I saying? I'm acting like I want to be the girl whom he would pour out all of his buried secrets to. Even if it's dark.

Now that thought is... creepy.

And embarrassing.

So much for Vaughn's Effect.

At this moment, I realize that many pairs of eyes are on me. It even almost feels like piercing me. I glance at the corner of the room where a group of girls at a table are watching the two of us.

I'm supposed to get used to this kind of thing. Jake is very popular, and I'm used to catching girls attention when I'm with him.

But ever since I moved to Boston, I've been experiencing something different, especially when I'm with Vaughn. These stares are not the usual stares I got.

Before, it was just girls admiring, swooning over my brother. But now, these stares almost feel like painful. I can feel those hates. Judging. Disgust.

Hurt. I can even see it on those faces.

Seriously, what's going on in here, exactly?

"Who are they?" I whisper, cocking my head towards the girls.

Vaughn glances at them before looking at me again. His jaw is clenched, and irritation is evident in his expression.

"Just some girls from the dance club," he says.