CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of Poverty, Drug abuse, and Classism

Francis was from a long line of archdukes who all had one thing in common. They all had amazing love stories. His full name was Francis Lal Bonheur-Amore. Essentially, his name meant that he was supposed to be lucky in love and be loved by the people in his life. The Bonheur-Amore family were all lucky with love, all meeting their soul mates and having dramatic story-worthy romances with them. The first archduke was like this, his grandparents were like this, his parents were like this, so naturally, Francis thought. He would be like this.

To say that he was obsessed with the idea of love was a bit reductive. He didn't want just anyone, he wanted someone that was meant to be with him. Just like his fathers. They had such a loving relationship, it wasn't perfect but they understood each other. They smiled and laughed more than they cried. Francis had been an only child and extremely lonely, so the idea of having someone with him forever was amazing. He had thought he had found that in the gentle and quiet alpha named Dallas West. But she was engaged and August wouldn't let her go. But to be fair, Dallas didn't look like she wanted to leave.

Francis knew he could be a bit much, dramatic and out-spoken. Things that, most alphas in higher society didn't care much for. Demure well put together omegas were the ideal on campus. Everyone saw Francis as a needy omega desperate for a mate. But he had brought that reputation onto himself. Causing drama and humiliating himself. The extra sting he felt when he saw Dallas walking around with a new mark on her neck... Was indescribable.

Perhaps he was the only Bonheur-Amore that was unlucky with love? Francis sighed as he kept his head down working on notes. His partner for this project was asleep, a lazy alpha female named Quinn Ramsey. She was a transfer student here on a scholarship somehow? Francis had no idea how that was. The alpha only slept whenever he saw her. She also always ended up as his partner on many projects and always seemed to be in at least one of his classes. Francis was beginning to think they had the same major. "You're quiet." Quinn's voice spoke up with a yawn. "Is that a problem?" Francis asked sighing, he sat down his pencil. They were working in the library today. Well, Francis was working. Apparently, Quinn already got her part done. "For you... It is." Quinn shifted sitting up, "What's up buttercup?" She asked stretching.

"Not anything I feel comfortable talking to you about." Francis sighed, Quinn, rested her face on her hand and eyed him. "Why?" She asked, "You'll laugh or make a sarcastic remark like everyone else." Francis spoke honestly, he was never good at hiding his feelings. Quinn was quiet for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm not going to force you to talk about it if you don't want to. But, if you do talk about it. I promise I won't laugh or make fun of you. I'll just listen." She promised stretching out her arms in front of her. "And," She laid her head down on her arms again, "if you'd like I could probably help out with whatever's bothering you." She offered.

"Why would you offer something like that?" Francis was suspicious, "You being mopey and sad doesn't suit you. Everything feels right whenever you're bouncing off the walls or causing trouble." Quinn said grinning at him. Francis felt his heart skip a beat. He quickly looked away trying not to get himself carried away with that one sentence. But hearing someone say that, made him happy. He tucked some hair behind his ear out of habit and sighed. "I really liked someone and thought... We were going to end up together. But I just ended up humiliating myself again." Francis confessed.

He looked over at Quinn who just stared at him quietly, she didn't make any remarks there was no judgment in her eyes. "That must have been rough." She remarked, Francis gave her a small sad smile. "It was." He said sighing. "Rejection's hard man. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Nothing wrong with being upset about that for a while." Quinn told him speaking in a relaxed tone. Francis sighed, "I know. But, I'm pretty used to rejection. I'm just..." He trailed off wondering if he should even be talking to Quinn of all people about this.

Then again, Francis didn't have very many real friends. Everyone always just told him he was too much. Quinn was probably the closest person to a friend he had on campus. "Just what?" Quinn asked, "Worried." Francis replied in a small voice. "About what?" Francis sighed, "My family is known for great love stories, and I... I wanted one too. But, what if I'm just not meant for anyone?" Francis felt vulnerable speaking like this but it felt nice to get it off his chest. "A love story doesn't need to be dramatic to be good Francis," Quinn replied after a moment. "Love is love, whether it's loud and dramatic or quiet. You don't need to fight off rivals or have thunderstorm confessions to have a good love story. Mundane can still be magical." Quinn spoke sitting up.

Francis quietly considered her words, "So rather than trying to find something dramatic, I should just try to find someone I like?" He asked, "Pretty much." Quinn told him, leaning back in her chair. "That answer is wrong by the way." She said pointing to a question he was working on in his notes. Quinn leaned over and corrected things for him. For the rest of their time there Quinn and Francis worked together. By the time they were done, it had started raining outside. "Ah, first spring rain," Quinn remarked, Francis reached into his bag for his umbrella and realized he had forgotten his. "I've got mine," Quinn said opening her umbrella as they stood under the entryway of the library. "Come on, I'll walk you to your dorm." She offered.

"But the alpha dorms are across campus." Francis tried to argue, "Don't worry about it, it's only 'proper' for an alpha to walk an omega to their dorm." Quinn said jokingly, but Francis couldn't help but smile. "If you insist." He said softly, he was probably one of the only omegas who actually enjoyed those kinds of behaviors. Quinn and Francis walked side by side across the campus in the rain headed for the omega dorms. Suddenly Quinn stopped and looked up at the sky curiously. "What's the matter?" Francis asked, "So, does this country get tornados?" Quinn asked. Francis looked surprised at the suggestion, "Sometimes." He admitted, "Why?" He asked.

"Sky's green. That's not good." Quinn remarked, then suddenly hail replaced the rain. Francis stood there confused and was about to ask Quinn about this but Quinn grabbed Francis's hand and ran back to the library. Just as they neared the library the tornado siren started going off and the wind died down. Quinn threw the umbrella to the ground and grabbed Francis running inside the door slammed behind them. "What's going on?!" Francis exclaimed startled. "The tornado's about to hit!" Quinn exclaimed just as the sound of a freight train became slowly louder. 

She was jumping downstairs at this point trying to get down faster with Francis behind her. At one point she just picked him up. She jumped down the last steps to the basement and ran into the nearest bathroom slamming up against a wall with no windows nearby. Francis was jerked and pulled in different directions before he was carried. His heart was racing and he yelped when he heard glass shatter. He buried his face into Quinn's chest shaking. He heard Quinn's voice shout, "I've got you!"

He had heard about tornados but they were so rare, he had never experienced anything like this before. It was terrifying. Quinn held him tightly as the roaring sound outside became louder and louder. Books, papers, and other things flew just outside of the bathroom they were in. Quinn curled up into a tight ball around Francis both of their heads were down and they hid for what felt like hours. But in reality, was just a few minutes. Then everything was quiet, Quinn raised her head and slowly relaxed.

The tight grip that Quinn had on him slowly loosened and the two of them panted softly. "Well that explains why there was literally no one else here," Quinn remarked resting her head on the wall. Everyone else must have gotten news of a tornado warning. Francis and Quinn just happened not to check their phones for any alerts. "Holy shit..." Quinn breathed running fingers through her hair. She looked over at Francis who was still clinging to her shaking. "Hey..." She breathed brushing hair out of his face. "It's all good." "I was so scared." "I know. Me too."

Francis collapsed resting his head on her chest, "How did you know?" Francis asked trying to calm down, "I grew up in an area with a ton of tornados." Quinn admitted, "That wasn't even the worst one I've been through." She added with a laugh, "Doesn't make it any less scary though." She added. "So do we leave...?" Francis asked in a shaky voice, he didn't know what to do. "No. The tornado just passed over us, it might come back. It's best to wait for a while." Quinn advised, Francis took a deep breath and choked back a sob. He didn't want to cry but he couldn't help it. They had been outside, what if Quinn hadn't been there?! He wouldn't have noticed!

"Hey... Hey..." Quinn comforted shifting him into her lap. "It's all good. We're safe down here." She said softly, "you sure?" Francis whimpered, "Hey I haven't been through fifteen tornados without knowing a thing or two." Quinn said with a laugh. "Fifteen?!" Francis exclaimed with tears streaming down his face. He felt so stupid getting upset over this one now. Which only made him cry more. Quinn just sighed and patted his back as he sobbed. An hour passed and Francis felt himself falling asleep, his eyes pulsed from crying. He glanced up at Quinn who was dozing off herself. He wondered how she could be relaxed enough to fall asleep like this? But despite that, Francis found himself falling asleep as well. The sound of Quinn's steady heartbeat slowly lulling him into the same slumber as her.