JEOPARDY: The Cursed Soldier.

5. WTF?

Ivan was used to attention.

Wherever he went, men and women gawked at him. The men with envy. The women with appreciating or lust-filled eyes.

Depending on his mood, he either fed on the attention or outright ignored it.

Today, he wanted to make a statement. Establish a reputation. 'There's a new hot guy'. That was what he wanted whispered on every corner of that school.

By the looks of it, he was doing a great job, so far.

But he was a careful guy. He never counted his chickens until they hatched. So, he ran a thorough gaze through the crowd gathered around him.

About a hundred students were staring at him. None approached him. Probably deeming themselves beneath him.

He had anticipated that, so he kept reading their expressions. A mixture of awe, envy, and... indifference?

He stopped and let his gaze stop on the blue-eyed, dark-haired, pale beauty who looked distracted with who-knows-what, even though she was standing in the crowd of his admirers.

His feet — of their own accord — strode her way. The crowd parted for him. No one tried to talk to him, as their eyes followed his every movement.

He didn't pay the crowd any mind, focusing solely on the beauty who had just noticed him walking her way, and now she was as attuned to him as he was to her.

Everything and everyone else disappeared. But her. And the first thing he discovered was that, no, her eyes weren't blue. But teal — light blue, with dazzling specks of green. And they were gorgeous.

The second thing he noticed was how tall she was. She wasn't as tall as his 6'3'', but she stood taller than everyone else around her. Tall and firm.

Everything about her was firm and impenetrable. From the thick, dark clothes was wearing. The tight ponytail on her head. The pale plains of her face. To the cut of her crimson full lips. She was like a sharp knife waiting to strike.

And she was absolutely immune to him. His looks, his aura, and his magnetism. In all his life, he had never met someone who was immune to him. People either hated him or adored him. No one was indifferent to him.

Ivan reached the girl and her blank but beautiful eyes widened. Uncertain.

Ivan grinned.

He knew nobody could resist him. Even gorgeous-non-feminine-tomboys-who-dressed-liked-displaced-soldiers.

His eyes feasted on her beauty from up close. She was divine. Perfect. Even though the rest of her face gave no reaction to his proximity.

But that didn't matter. She had his full attention. Every part of him was zeroed on every part of her. He grinned wider and introduced himself. Making sure to ooze all the charm into his rumble-like voice that always drove girls crazy.

"Hi, I'm Ivan. And you are..."

The girl just blinked.

And instead of answering him, she ran her eyes over him, perusing him. Her gaze stocking a burning fire every where they trailed and had him wondering.

Who is this girl? Why do she have this effect on me?

Acting like he couldn't feel a thing, he pushed his shoulders back and focused his gaze on her face: She was frowning. Slightly. A single adorable fold between her thick eyebrows. Nothing else.

She has something against facial expressions, then. Good to know! I can work with that.

Maintaining his smile, he tried something else. "Everyone's staring. A response would elevate my humiliation."