Zodiac University

The other students immediately started murmuring amongst themselves. Capricorn let out a gasp. Virgo was left shocked and had to force himself to stay focused.
What did this girl just say? Be her boyfriend?
Gemini was grabbing Virgo’s hand and looking up at him with a desperate expression.
What the hell? Virgo thought. Is she trying to distract everyone?
No. That wasn’t it. Virgo was looking into her eyes and saw that Gemini was being genuine. But there was also an unfamiliar sparkle—like she was asking for something.
What does she want? She just got here and she’s already stirring stuff up.
Virgo didn’t know what to do. The surrounding audience had stopped talking and was staring at him, waiting for an answer. Gemini stood there like an abandoned kitten, tightening her grip on Virgo’s hand. What was he supposed to say? If he rejected the transfer student, how would that affect his life?
There was clearly more to Gemini than met the eye, and Virgo felt a strange curiosity rising within him. He wanted to learn more about this mysterious girl, who shone in beauty like a queen and appeared to have multiple faces. He’d felt this weird intrigue ever since Gemini’s mean expression faded to a goofy one. He wanted to pick her brain, to figure out what she was getting at. He knew Gemini had let the information about her father slip on accident—but what was even scarier was that she’d tried to cover it up with such an obvious lie, and then did that.
She was an interesting specimen, and Virgo wasn’t letting her leave without uncovering her secret.
But then there was the fact that she was being serious about the boyfriend thing. And Virgo didn’t know what to do about that. Gemini was seriously asking to date? They’d just met each other!
And there was the matter of Taurus…
What to do?!
“Please,” Gemini said, disrupting Virgo’s thoughts. She let go of Virgo’s hand but didn’t move away. “Virgo…I…I want to know more about you. You seem so nice and popular…and you’re my type, so…”
She blushed and looked away. “…can you give me a chance? I want you to…be my boyfriend.”
Virgo felt his cheeks heating up and opened his mouth to respond, hesitating as he saw his classmates staring at him, their gazes boring into his soul. He glanced back at Capricorn, who was watching him carefully, as if saying ‘don’t do anything stupid’.
“Uh,” he started. “We aren’t—I mean, what do you—”
Gemini gazed up at him, but the look in her eyes had changed. Instead of the wistful, doe-eyed stare, the narrowed, serious expression had returned—almost as if she wasn’t asking Virgo anymore, but ordering.
Virgo quickly wracked his brain. What did he know about this girl? Had they met before, and he’d just forgotten? No, that wasn’t it.
She’s a very attractive young woman, Virgo thought. But she seems to be a bit scatterbrained. She said she’d seen me before and that her father was responsible for that. Letting such a secret slip is an implication that she’s a little ditzy.
He paused, staring silently into Gemini’s blue eyes. On the other hand, she acted fast. She’s cunning. She requested me to be her boyfriend, which was genuine. But now she’s looking at me like I’m her prey. Her strange behavior is not to be taken lightly. I’ll need to be cautious.
Virgo inhaled sharply and then reached out, gently grabbing Gemini’s right hand like she had done to him. Gemini was clearly taken aback by this, and gasped as she looked up at Virgo. Virgo simply pressed her hand to his chest and gave her his swoon-worthy grin.
“I’ll be your boyfriend, Gemini,” he said.
At this, the students started clamoring loudly.
“What?! Did he just—?”
“Yeah, he did!”
“Virgo’s dating the new girl!”
“It’s official, isn’t it?”
“I thought he was dating Taurus, though?”
“Shut up, clearly that was just a rumor.”
“So what’s Taurus going to do? I mean, they already kissed.”
“I wonder if Virgo is doing this to get back at him for that.”
Virgo tried not to let the comments get to him, instead keeping his composure and smiling coolly at Gemini, who was searching his eyes skeptically. She doesn’t believe me, Virgo concluded. Just as I thought, she’s a smart one. But, this works out for both of us. It doesn’t matter what the other students think. All that matters is that Gemini knows I’m faking. And now for the final move…
With a swift flick of his wrist, Virgo pulled Gemini in so she was pressed against his chest. The clamoring around them got louder as the two embraced. Gemini went along with it, a smile gracing her lips. Just as Virgo had figured, she was waiting for this—and now, since they were so close, they could whisper to one another without anyone else hearing.
“Let’s go somewhere private,” she said, her warm breath tickling Virgo’s ear. “My dorm?”
Virgo smirked. “I know a place where we can go. The dorms would draw too much attention.”
Gemini went quiet for a second and then laughed softly.
“I knew you were interesting, Virgo.”
*
After they pulled away from each other, Gemini started walking towards the crowd, which parted almost instinctively, allowing her and Virgo to march through. Capricorn trailed behind, still unsure about the whole development, so Virgo turned and gave her a quick wink, beckoning her to let them be. Capricorn sighed and stared after them with another ‘be careful’ expression.
Fortunately, nobody followed them and Virgo was able to lead Gemini through several hallways until they arrived at an empty classroom. During his time at Admirant, he’d discovered the vacant room through idle chit-chat. Apparently, it was an old biology lab but the professor had been fired due to unknown reasons. Virgo figured Taurus probably had something to do with it and hated him for costing an innocent person their job. On the other hand, it provided a secret meeting room for students and, lucky for Virgo, it was empty at this time of the morning.
Virgo held the door for Gemini and locked it when they were both inside. He ran a hand through his long, black hair and looked at Gemini expectantly. Gemini had made herself comfortable on a desk and was grinning mischievously at him.
“Would you kindly explain?” Virgo asked.
“I will,” Gemini said. “But first, you should explain why you said yes to my request.”
Virgo smiled. “I thought you were worth getting involved with. That’s all.”
Gemini seemed to like this answer. She crossed her arms and nodded. “Okay, fair enough.”
“Your turn,” Virgo said, stepping closer to her. “Who is your father? I know he’s not a teacher here. And how’d you know about me?”
Gemini sighed and looked out the window for a few seconds. Then she glanced back at Virgo with that same narrowed-eye expression. “Promise you won’t tell anyone, okay? I had a brain fart and let that slip. The other students let it go after I asked you to date me.”
“So it was a distraction,” Virgo said.
Gemini smirked. “Yes, but no. I did want you to be my boyfriend.”
Virgo looked at her, confused, and Gemini gestured to the desk next to her. “You’d better sit down.”
*
“My full name is Gemini Shion Origard-Diamond,” Gemini explained. “And my father is a high-ranking government official. My mother is, as well, and so are other members of my family. We have a separate sector that is completely under our, and our subordinates’, control. It’s called the Origard Branch.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Virgo said.
“I’m not surprised,” Gemini said. “It’s not something that’s well-known to the public. But let me finish.”
“Sorry,” Virgo said. “Continue.”
“I enrolled at Admirant University for one reason,” Gemini went on. “And that was to support my family. We’re already incredibly wealthy in money and influence, but there is a current threat to our sector…and that is the Campbell Branch.”
Campbell… Virgo thought. That name sounded familiar.
“Trust me, you know the student who is a large part of that sector,” Gemini said with another grin. “You know him very well. He’s—”
“Taurus Campbell,” Virgo finished.
“Yeah,” Gemini said. “I suppose you know of his rankings, too?”
Virgo nodded. “I’ve heard from rumors that his family has ties to government officials.”
“Not just ties,” Gemini said. “They’re very influential politicians. In fact, if not for the Origard Branch, they’d be the leading sector in our field.” She paused and made direct eye contact with Virgo. “My mission was to successfully enroll at Admirant to keep an eye on him. It may not seem like it, but that Taurus is a sneaky one. He’s constantly on guard, working with his parents to ensure the downfall of our Branch. I arrived here as a transfer student because living on campus will give me ample opportunity to study him.”
“Okay, but why did you take an interest in me?” Virgo asked, already knowing the answer.
“It’s because you’re the closest person to Taurus right now,” Gemini giggled. “At first, we were going to focus on Leo, but we have eyes all over campus and news of him and Taurus’s falling out quickly became apparent. But then, we heard of you and Taurus getting…intimate.”
At this, Virgo’s cheeks heated up and he glared. “A bit invasive, don’t you think?”
“Relax, we didn’t see anything,” Gemini laughed. “It’s all strictly business. But to us, it was strange. Leo was simply a subordinate to Taurus. We know full well that that sociopath is a complete playboy…or at least was. It was weird when he became so attached to you. That’s when we decided to do a background check on you.”
Virgo shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t like where this was going.
“We found your image, date of birth, location, status, and so on,” Gemini continued. “And you have quite the stats, Virgo. You’re way too smart to be here at Admirant. So why’d you enroll?”
“I wanted a normal life,” Virgo said truthfully.
“Admirant isn’t exactly ‘normal’.”
“I know, but I felt like it was a good step to make,” Virgo said. “All my life, I’ve stood out—and just once, I wanted to act like a normal teen. But I couldn’t lower myself to going to any old school, and Admirant was close to my apartment in the city.”
He didn’t know why he was telling Gemini all this. Maybe because she’d been so open about her own life.
Gemini just nodded. “That makes sense. But seriously, you’re too good for Admirant,” she said. “We looked at your past achievements and your relationships—your parents are Dave and Sharon Clemson, right?”
Virgo smiled. “Why bother asking if you already know?”
Gemini smiled back. “Just checking. Dave Clemson is a famous astrophysicist, who has been published in several academic journals,” she said. “And Sharon Clemson works as a medical scribe, typically from home. Dave, in particular, has ties with the government, and often works as they tell him to.”
Virgo nodded.
“This caught our attention,” Gemini said. “That someone who also has ties, even small, to the government is involved with Taurus. Not only that, but you have a wide variety of skills and background knowledge that could put you on par with Taurus. The two of you were raised quite similarly, and my father thought this was interesting. So before he enrolled me at Admirant, he let me look at your profile. And…”
She paused and Virgo found himself holding his breath.
“…YOU’RE EXACTLY MY TYPE!!” Gemini squealed and started kicking her legs excitedly. Virgo blinked.
“Come again?”
“I mean, you’re soooo handsome!” the blonde gushed. “I love your hair, your height, your eyes, your intelligence—everything! After I saw you, I knew right then and there that I had to be involved with you—as a friend, or maybe even a girlfriend!”
“So that’s why you asked me to be your boyfriend,” Virgo said.
Gemini nodded excitedly. “My father agreed—he said being involved with me would be beneficial for the mission. Because you’re close to Taurus, and if I’m close to you, I can be close to Taurus. It’s perfect!!”
Virgo frowned. “Being just friends sounds fine, but I’m not sure about dating. I don’t want to get caught up with your family and this political stuff.”
“Of course,” Gemini said and tapped her head. “But I’m smart too, y’know? I have a plan—fake dating!”
“Fake dating?” Virgo repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s what it sounds like,” Gemini said. “We pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend and gather information about Taurus together. I’m sure you want to learn more about him, after all.”
Virgo cleared his throat and looked away. “I have no interest in his past.”
“Naturally,” Gemini responded. “But you do want to know what he thinks of you, right?”
Virgo cursed under his breath. Gemini was right.
“I could figure that out on my own,” he said. “Why do I have to go to the trouble of fake-dating you?”
“It’s the best option,” Gemini said. “Think about it: we fake date and piss Taurus off. I know enough about you two that it’s unlikely he won’t react to our new ‘relationship’. Taurus will likely try to split us up to reclaim you.”
“You think so?” Virgo’s heart fluttered and he immediately felt embarrassed for being hopeful. He was in love with Taurus…but did he seriously want a real relationship with him?
“I know so,” Gemini continued. “Anyway, when Taurus tries to drive a wedge between us, I’ll use that opportunity to learn more about his motives. And you can have Taurus wrapped around your finger!”
Virgo just stared at the blonde. She’s clearly thought all of this out, he thought, visibly impressed. Gemini put her hands on her hips and smiled.
“So, Virgo,” she said. “What’s it going to be? Will you be my fake-boyfriend and help me with my mission?"