The next morning, Merida invited Yuri and Leo to a group study. Their examination week was coming up and so she wanted to try what a group study was.

"Hmm... I volunteer! It'd be fun to do it at my house!" Yuri yells, excited about the idea. "We should invite more people."

Merida nodded, agreeing to Yuri.

"Hey, you!" Yuri calls Leo with a glare.

Leo raised a brow at his cousin.

"Invite that guy named Brandon. I like him," Yuri commanded which Leo scoffed to.

Merida just giggled. Leo and Yuri are cute cousins. They sure don't like each other but they get along and they're open to each other somehow.

"D-do you have a moment?"

They looked up to see who spoke and it was Lisa. Yuri cleared her throat fiercely looking at Lisa while Merida was surprised she came up to them.

"Aye, you want another fight?" Yuri coolly asked, twitching her upper lip up.

"No! I came to apologize for that. I'm really sorry about everything, Merida." Lisa looked down, waiting for a response from them.

And as always, Merida smiles and hugged Lisa. "You should come and join us for a group study."

Lisa's eyes went round. She never thought Merida would still accept her apology. What a really stupid girl, she thought in her head. Lisa smiled, if Merida wasn't being stupid then she wouldn't have accepted her apology.

Yuri was still glaring at her though. So Lisa faced Yuri and bowed down. "I'm sorry too."

"Errr," Yuri grimaced. She wasn't used to people bowing down to her like how Lisa was. It seems like her spine had broken. "Yeah! Get up! You sure just needed that bang on the wall to wake up, huh? Tch!"

Merida softly laughed. She's happy that there are more people to their team now. Still, Yuri doesn't seem to have like Lisa's style but oh well! She's going to have to deal with it from now on.

As the girls were all busy, Leo looked at Jacob with an evil face. Jacob frowned at Leo.

"What the hell are you looking like that?" He asked.

"Oh well, I'm inviting your shit ass to come and study with us. It'll be boring with the girls so, what do you say?" Leo invites him, showing his signature cute smile.

"Your smile is so annoying," Jacob remarks.

"The right word is charming. We'll be expecting you then." Leo ended the talk with him resting his head on the desk. And well, what else? Of course, sleeping!

On lunch break, Merida gets to sit at a lunch table now. Together with Leo and Yuri and well now... Lisa too. It was such a surprise because Lisa was so talkative and she always gets into a fight with Yuri.

"Do you think Lisa means it this time?" Merida asked Leo.

"Well, she seemed sincere," he muttered. "Tell me, why forgive Lisa that fast and not Jacob?"

That caught Merida off guard, she wasn't expecting him to ask that. "I-uhh... I don't know. Because I think Jacob hurt me so much? And c'mon why does it matter?" Merida then laughed awkwardly, shifting her gaze to her food.

"Do you want to go sailing sometime?" Leo asked her all of a sudden.

Merida beamed and nodded. She pinned a slice of meat with her fork and moved it close to Leo. "Open your mouth," she ordered.

Leo opened his mouth and she stuffed the meat in.

"Do you think it tasted good?" She asked him.

"Hmm... it doesn't taste that good. A pin—"

"Pinch of salt would've made it taste perfect!" She finishes his sentence.

Leo chuckled at how cute Merida just sounded. He continues to chew on his food as he watches Merida stop the argument between Yuri and Lisa.

"How come Leo always get her?" Brandon asked, growling and clutching on his fork. If you could see him, he probably looked like a charging gorilla ready to jump and fight with Leo.

"Yuri is hosting a group study. You want to come?" Jacob asked, shifting his gaze from where Leo's at to an irritated Brandon.

Brandon glares at Jacob. "How are you so chill with that scene? Merida just fed that—"

"Are you coming along?" He asked with a straight face.

"Yeah, yeah," Brandon replied, rolling his eyes.

Jacob trusts Leo's words. He's going to keep trying until Merida notices him again. Until Merida at least forgives him.

***

Saturday. The girls were already gathered up at Yuri's place. Her house was huge and Merida didn't know that. Lisa thought her house has no say with Yuri's.

"You're freaking rich!" Lisa yelled, making a face at Yuri.

"As if you're not. Stop gawking around and let's head to the library." Yuri told Lisa.

Merida just giggled at her friends.

"Those guys are so late," Yuri stated.

Just after she said that the door opened and there they saw Leo, Brandon and Jacob.

"Brandon can't go on and study without chips so he stopped by a store. Explains why we're late," Leo lazily explained and took a seat besides Merida. Jacob then took a seat in front of Merida and then Brandon next to Yuri.

"Since everyone is here let's start with Philosophy," Yuri said.

Time was ticking and it has been five minutes since Yuri said that and nobody is trying to talk. Leo was as always resting his head on the desk. Merida was quiet. Jacob was staring at Merida. Brandon is eating chips. Lisa is putting on her lipstick. Yuri is the only one trying.

"How does a group study works?" Yuri's voice loud, calling the attention of the others. They all shrugged.

Yuri facepalmed defeated. "Ugh! Let's just study independently."

They nodded agreeing to what Yuri said.

"Can you teach me the last lesson?" Brandon suddenly asked Yuri. Oh yes! He was the only class B in the room. Yuri grinned and nodded. So Brandon and her studied together at some corner in this huge library. Not wanting to get disturbed.

"Hey!" Leo called Lisa. "Help me out with something."

Lisa raised a brow. "What?"

Leo stands up and grabbed Lisa's arm dragging her away from that table and to the shelves. Merida thought something was up with Leo. He could've asked me, she thought.

Jacob cleared his throat that made Merida gaze up to him. "Do you want to study together?" He asked.

"We can study on our own." Merida took some of her notes and book. Then opened them to whatever page so she can start reading.

The corner of Jacob's mouth slightly curved up when he saw what Merida was doing. "You're reading pages that aren't tackled up yet."

Merida stopped and glared at Jacob. Her brow rose. "It's called advance reading." And then back to reading while biting her lower lip.

"You weren't advance reading when we were together," he started but Merida didn't listen to him. "You sure have a cute style of avoiding me."

Jacob opened his book and started reading while still being aware of Merida. He kept a grin in his mouth.

"Tch," She scorned.

"I have an idea about them," Jacob started a conversation again.

"What idea?"

When it comes to the street kids, he knows she will always be interested.

"I'm going to get them to the orphanage and then after the paper works... I'm adopting them."

Merida put down her book. "Them all?" She asked in disbelief. Her eyes were full of hope and happiness.

"Yep. So I need your help to actually convince them. You'll help me, yeah?"

"Of course, I would!" Then she looks down. "What about the expenses and are they going to live with you? You're just a high schooler."

"We're high-schooler that has privileges. Might as well use that to help them," he told her.

"I'm so happy, I don't know what to say..." Merida smiled genuinely at Jacob. "Thank you."

A real smile, he thought. It made the fire of hope burning within his soul. There's still hope that Merida will come back to him. He then smiled at her back.

"Wait! Why am I supposed to be here?" Lisa asked Leo.

"Well, to hold the ladder while I look for my favourite book." He answered, choosing something interesting to read. He's at the top of a ladder and he made Lisa hold it. He's just giving Jacob a chance.

"Is your home this big too?" Lisa wondered since Leo and Yuri are cousins maybe he was as rich as her.

"No. I don't have a home."

"Why not? So where do you live? Are you an orphan?" She continuously questioned him.

He sighed heavily. "No."

Lisa had then stopped asking for a second and then,

"Are you into Merida?" Lisa asked again so suddenly that made Leo closed the book in annoyance. "You look sad when you look at her. I've noticed."

Leo faked a smile. Well, well, it seems like Lisa wasn't all about royalties. She can be a normal girl too. "Why do you dress like that? Why force yourself to be someone you're not?"

"I know what you're doing! Avoiding my questions. Tch!" Lisa scorned.

"I am into her," he honestly answered. "So, why do you pretend to be someone you're not?"

Lisa sighed and her happy smiling face faded. "To avoid being treated like Merida. Candice would bully me like her but now after what Yuri did, it made me realize... things."

He glanced at Lisa for a moment and back to his books. "At least you realized things before it was too late."

With some books, Leo went down the ladder. Lisa thought they'd go back but then Leo sat down, his back resting against a shelf.

Lisa then frowned at him. "Aren't you going back?"

"I will after I finish this," he answered, opening a book. "You could've left since earlier."

"Eh!" She yells and then made a grumpy face. "I know what you were doing! You wanted them to talk!"

Leo raised his head to her and showed his signature smile. That made Lisa red and all quiet, sitting beside him.

"You know you could easily get her... Why are you not doing it?" Lisa silently asked, gathering up her legs and resting her head on her hand.

"It will eventually fall in the right places if she was really mine," Leo answered, his gaze still at the book. "So, you're giving up on him?"

Sadness clouded Lisa's face. "I did everything but he never liked me. Why force myself to someone who wouldn't even look my way?"

Leo laughed sarcastically.

"You're trying to make fun of me." Lisa pouted.

"Fate is making fun of us."