It was early morning and Lorcan made his way to the training building to lift some weights. He did not have physical training that morning. He had to do some basic training with the underbosses and of course do as Christian said. Even though that morning he had free time, he wanted to work out instead of sleeping for longer.

As Lorcan entered he was shocked to see Christian was doing pull ups. He walked to him slowly and before he could say anything, Christian said "Hi Lorcan... Good morning...."

Lorcan said "Hi... I don't know if I should say good night or good morning to you. It's still dark outside you know. What are you doing here?"

Christian said "This is a training facility. What does it look like I am doing?"

Lorcan walked to a padded surface and laid down. He started lifting weights as he was laying down but kept looking at Christian "I don't get it... You are the boss here... Do you have to come so early to train? Does your grandfather tell you to train before school so early?

Christian chuckled "No. I don't need to train this early. For your information my grandfather does not know how many hours of training I do every day... He leaves me to it... If none of his underbosses complain about me working too hard he never asks... He leaves me to make my own schedule for training, school and homework. As long as I get good reports he won't get involved..."

Lorcan said "Hm.... His underbosses... I have seen them a lot since I arrived... Sedric and Shane... They tell me you work too hard.... Tell me.... Why do you work so hard?"

Christian said "This is not me working hard... This is me challenging myself to be the best..." He then let go of the bar that he had used for doing his pulls ups and landed on the floor. Christian then started drinking from his water bottle and said "I am the only Kavannagh heir to this family. I can't afford to be weak in any area... Weakness means failure... To my grandpa, Shane and Sedric, I am doing well... I have exceeded their expectations... But no amount of preparation and training is enough in my eyes ... I can't let anything bring me down... I have enemies Lorcan... One of the reasons I have hired you is to be by my side... To stand by me no matter what happens... I need you to be a someone who encourages me to push myself hard and challenge myself on daily basis."

Lorcan said "Alright. I will do that. I will do anything you demand... You are the boss here Christian..."

Christian put down his water bottle "Excellent... You have caught on quickly... Come over here..."

Lorcan complied. He stopped lifting weights. Got up and walked to Christian.

Christian said "I have a task for you Lorcan... Follow me..."

Lorcan followed. He then was slowly putting the pieces together about what he wanted. Christian now had entered the boxing rink. He motioned for him to enter "Come in... Let's spar..."

Lorcan said "You want me to spar with you?"

Christian said "Yes... Come into the rink... I want us to have a proper hand to hand combat... You must not hold back at all..."

Lorcan entered the rink "I am not sure if it is a good idea... I can see you are trying to test my loyalty to you.... But I can't possibly not hold back... I mean, I know I am not supposed to ever cause any harm to you... How can I make sure you won't get hurt if I do not know your limits..."

Christian said "You are either one of my men or not soldier... You work for me... I want you to attack me now... You will not hold back..."

Lorcan said "You want me to attack first? Seriously?"

Christian said "Yes... I do... I spar with others too... But with them its training... With you its a fight... I saw you fight in the training session yesterday without you noticing it... You put up some good fights. Those men are the best at what they do and are trained by Sedric. They are gladiators. You did some good fighting there.... I need to learn from you... You have tricks I have never seen before... Attack..."

Lorcan hoped Christopher Kavannagh was not going to murder him for this but he liked Christian's determination and dedication to being the best. He attacked. Christian found himself in a headlock. Lorcan let go as he smiled "1-0 boss."

Christian turned "Game on Lorcan..."

Christian attacked and before Lorcan could react, he found himself thrown to the the floor. He looked up at Christian with wide eyes. No one had knocked him out like this for a long time. "How did you do that."

Christian smiled as he offered his hand for Lorcan to take "1-1 soldier."

As Lorcan took his hand and stood up, Christian said "I said you have tricks... But I have mind too Lorcan... I have strengths and weaknesses. And so do you... I want to learn from your tricks.... You teach me yours..."

Lorcan nodded "Deal boss..."

The two boys engaged in a long hand to hand combat session. They had reached the point of exhaustion now as they had been thrown around enough for the past hour. They were now both laying down on the floor of the boxing rink breathing hard.

Christian said between breaths "Lorcan... I have not been challenged like this in so long... I want you to meet me tomorrow morning here. Same time..."

Lorcan said "Yes boss..." His respect for Christian had just multiplied. His boss worked way too hard. Much harder than what was expected of him. Much harder than what was necessary. He knew he had met one special leader destined for greatness and he was honoured to be picked to serve him.

Christian had gained himself a loyal soldier.

****

At school, Christian had a few theoretical back to back lessons and then lunch time came. He decided to go over to see Gianluca for lunch. Gianluca had said he was busy that lunch time because he was helping alongside volunteers to finish off some preparations for the homecoming dance for their year group. The dance was going to be an opportunity for both schools to show case whatever they had, from dancing to singing, to making pies and fruit cocktails and much more. So they had some lunch times with workshops to help out each other to shine at the homecoming since their Irish school rivals were going to see them too.

Christian made his way to Gianluca's school and the crowd parted for him like their lives depended on it. No one wanted to be in his way. They knew who he was. He did not drop by often at the Italian school much to the relief of the kids. They did not want to cross him.

As Christian was walking towards the building where Gianluca was going to be he did not know he had audience.

Eden was helping with the homecoming preparations alongside Gabriela and Lena on the second floor. When she had been working, Eden's attention was caught by the boy who people seemed to be running from. She was watching the scene with curiosity.

Gabriela noticed Eden had stopped and walked to her "What are you looking at Eden?"

Eden pointed at Christian "Him. Who is that boy? Why are they running from him? They are parting and clearing his path. Is he important? Is he a jock?"

Lena had joined them too watching the scene. She said "That is Christian Kavannagh. His grandpa sponsors the Irish School. He is the king of his high school..."

Gabriela said "I don't know what he is doing here..."

Luigi and Gianluca joined them too "What is going on here?"

Gabriela said "Eden is wondering who Christian is... The surrounding grounds have suddenly become as empty as a desert after his entrance. People run when they see him in school like they do..."

Luigi said "He is Gianluca's best friend. But keep away from him..."

Gianluca rolled his eyes "He is not all bad Luigi... Why do you try to turn Eden against him before she has even met him?"

Luigi said "Well... He is not all bad? Really? Think again..." He then glanced quickly at Lena and then gave a look to Gianluca sending the message to Gianluca. Luigi reminded Gianluca that this so called best friend of his would have killed Lena if she was not his girl.

Eden said as he was looking at Christian "I have met him before though... I am just shocked to see him being treated like he is someone people should run away from..."

That got everyone's attention. Luigi beat them to it and said "What did you say? You have met him? When?" He walked to Eden and looked at her intensely.

Eden turned to Luigi "I met him when I went to the Irish school. He praised this Italian school and convinced me to come back here..."

Luigi asked "He talked to you? And he praised this school instead of his own one?"

Eden nodded "Yes. And in fact he praised you a lot too. God. I can't tell you half the things he said about you... He said you are an academic genius and much more. If I told you everything your jock ego may shoot to the stars... But I guess I should..." She then told Luigi everything he had said about Luigi and how important it was for her to join the Italian School.

Luigi was looking at her with his mouth open.

Gianluca said "No way... Christian praised Luigi... Why would he even talk about him with you?"

Eden said "I guess Luigi came up when he complimented my pen and asked me where I got it... I told him that Luigi gave it to me... So Luigi you may like to take him where I got the pen from. He seemed to be very interested in it's unique make..." Eden looked at Lena and Gabriela "Girls. I need to eat my sandwich now before we carry on. Do you want to join me?" The girls nodded and followed her to have their quick packed lunch and then get back to work.

Gianluca looked at Luigi who looked frozen in spot and staring at Eden as she was disappearing from the room. "Are you okay?"

Luigi shook his head not looking at Gianluca "He knows... Christian knows Eden is my girl..."

Gianluca said "What do you mean? He can't know. I haven't told him. I swear it. In this school only Lena, me and Gabriela know that you love her... No one else knows..."

Luigi turned to Gianluca "Christian is smart. Very smart... He is one of the most intelligent kids that I have met... He must have put it together. He must have recognised my family's special made pen that I gave her... He must have... His grandfather has trained him ever since he could walk. He knows his enemies better than his allies. He knows Eden... You must do something Gianluca... You must help me protect Eden from him... What if he hurts her to get to me?"

Gianluca said "Woah... Wait there... Why would Christian hurt her to get to you? He won't. Trust me... I can assure you Luigi that if Christian wants to hurt you, he would come at you directly... He won't need to hurt Eden... The only reason he would hurt Eden is ... if you hurt his girl... That is not a possibility since he does not have a girl right now... So as long as you don't mess with his girl, your girl is safe... Obviously he doesn't view her as the enemy if he let her leave his school alive and in one piece. He does not hurt bystanders."

Luigi said "Fine... Let's say he won't hurt her because she is associated with me for argument's sake. But she is linked with an Italian crime family... Don't forget her aunt is married to a Fontana..."

Gianluca said "Come on.... Eden is American and is not of an Italian crime family... It is true that her aunt has married into one but she does not belong to one... She is still a Carter and not an Alessandrini until you marry her... If she marries you, then yes, based on his grandpa's rules, your girl would die if she trespasses into Kavannagh territory... Until then I don't think Eden is in any danger if Christian links her with you... The Christian that I know will totally come at you to hurt you if he wishes it.... Trust me... But you must remember from what Eden said, he is the reason Eden even enrolled here. Christian convinced her to do so... So Christian is not so bad. Is he?"

Luigi said "Of course he is not so bad... I agree it seems like bizarrely I owe him one for convincing Eden to enrol here... If she had gone to the Irish School I could not see her because as you know they will shoot me if I cross into Kavannagh territory... He even suggested for her to be in my classes... I do not dispute this he has helped me... but..."

Gianluca said "There is no buts... If he wanted to hurt your girl, he would have done it by now... believe me...." He then walked away. "See you later.... I need to go see what Christian wants..."

As he was walking down the steps, he saw the bottom floor deserted. He sighed as he saw Christian examining a violin nearby "What did you do to the volunteers Christian? Do you know how hard it is to get volunteers to give up their lunch times?"

Christian turned to him "This violin is not that good... I can sort you a better one... Come by to the music department at our school. We can lend you a few for the dance..."

Gianluca said "Why are you here?"

Christian said "I am here to have lunch... That is what those volunteers are doing too anyways... They went to the next room to eat their packed lunch and come back... We can walk and talk to the cafeteria..."

Gianluca shook his head "I have sandwiches. We can walk and talk here." But not to the cafeteria..." He then grabbed some sandwiches from a bag nearby and said "Let's go..." He handed a sandwich to Christian and lead the way as he opened the paper wrapping around his sandwich and took a bite.

Christian took a bite from his sandwich and said "I can help you with your homecoming preparations you know..."

Gianluca said "Sure... We can talk about that..."

Gianluca reached the main office and asked them about the latest list of attendees and updated details. The secretary handed him the file. He could ask for information because he was the captain of the football team of course.

Gianluca lead Christian to two sofas and a table in the lobby. "Sit down. Let's talk here. I have to give back this file shortly and I want to get back soon..."

Christian sat down and took a bite from his sandwich "All right."

Gianluca put his sandwich down on the table and leaned back in his chair as he started reading the file. He looked through the papers and sighed "Everything seems to be working well... Your grandpa has done everything in planning right. So I have no concerns for logistics...."

Christian nodded "My grandpa knows what he is doing... Don't ever doubt him Gianluca..."

Gianluca sighed and then said "Let's have a looked at the attendees..." As he was looking through he said "Well, well, well... Not looking great..."

Christian asked "Is all well buddy?"

Gianluca was looking down at the list "All is well... But I can't help but feel uneasy..."

Christian put down his sandwich on the table "Is there a problem?"

Gianluca looked up "Yes... There is..."

Christian said "And... The problem is what exactly?"

Gianluca said "You look yourself man... There is my sister... She is all alone. She is the only single person on the list and everyone else has a pair.... Normally single people get paired up with each other in their school but there is no one here on the Italian School list who is single... She is going alone to homecoming dance... I know you are on the same boat in your Irish School. You are the only single student. So you get to go alone too... It is ok for you to go alone... But I do not want my sister to go alone..."

Christian shrugged "Is that a problem? How? She is going solo. I think there is nothing wrong with that..." He had planned all this. He had mastered a big operation to pair people up and set them up. It was easy. He had a skill for identifying people with common grounds. He had enough people with links to him to help him. Only he was single and she was single on their lists. They were in two separate schools so they weren't going to be paired up randomly just because they ended up single unless they asked each other out. They could go alone... He preferred it if she went alone rather than be paired up with some random guy. He wanted to be alone too rather than be paired up with some random girl. This was win win. What was Gianluca's problem?

Gianluca said "It is a problem... I mean, by now my sister should have had a boyfriend but she is not interested in anyone... I am not complaining. Don't get me wrong... But I kind of wish there was someone for her... Someone who I could trust. Someone who could protect her.... Someone who was her equal and cared for her..."

Christian was boiling with rage on the inside but he was pushing it down hard. He said in a low tone "Are you trying to set her up with someone? You better not be... Did you prefer it if there were single people on the list she could be randomly paired up with?"

Gianluca said "Random?... No... No... Of course not... I don't want my sister to go out with random guys... Come on..."

Christian said "Then what is the problem?"

Gianluca sighed "I want her to have someone who can withstand the advances of this Marcello Rizzi guy... And be trustworthy and honourable from my viewpoint too...There is something you should know..."

Christian said "What is it?"

Gianluca sighed "I don't know how to tell you this but... we may have a problem..."

Christian asked "What kind of problem?"

Gianluca sighed "You know... the school that Marcello Rizzi attends wants to join our homecoming dances for our year group... When they heard we are going the Irish School, they want to join too... My parents don't have a problem with the Rizzi family.... So they have no problem and won't object as the sponsors of the Italian School..."

Christian asked "What are you saying? I thought you don't do business with them... How can they agree?"

Gianlcua said "My family don't do business with them but we don't have a problem with them either... All the kids in his school are all from good families... Honourable... However, that Salvatorio Romano guy may turn up too alongside his buddy Marcello Rizzi... I will handle Salvatorio if he tries anything funny and that is the problem... I can't watch out for my sister and Lena at same time... I can try but you know... I could appreciate the help... from someone like you..."

Christian could not believe what he had just heard "Gianluca ... What did you just say?...Come again..." Was Gianluca real?

Gianluca said "Come on.... This is perfect. You do not have a girl... You take Gabriela to the dance and you being with her sends Rizzi a message that she is protected by a Kavannagh and he would not dare look at her funny."

Christian said reluctantly "Look. I can protect your sister and do not need to take her to the dance to do so... I will watch out for her..." No way. As much as he wanted to be with Gabriela as her partner, there was no way he was going to take advantage of a situation like this.

Gianluca said "Do it for me..."

Christian said "No. This is crazy...."

Gianluca said "Do it for my sister then if not for me..."

Christian said "Your sister will probably smack you for suggesting something so outrageous..."

Gianluca said "No. She won't. It was her idea..."

Christian gasped "What? What are you saying?"

Gianluca sighed "It is a crazy idea... But she told me she really can't stand this guy..."

Christian shook his head vigorously. "Impossible. She won't agree to this arrangement..."

Gianluca said "You can ask her yourself. She is coming this way." He pointed to behind Christian.