Saving the Villain

After that incident, Maxen's life somehow quieted down, and not at the same time. Those who fled the scene just like him from the other gang would come to him and beat the hell out of him. He tried fighting back, but against a group, it was only a futile attempt.

He wanted to bury that incident and forget about it. He already succeeded — almost. However, no matter how much he tried, the memories of that night would haunt him in his sleep, taking the clothes of this so-called nightmare.

Thanks to Cosette, this endless nightmare had stopped. She calmed his soul, and for reasons unknown, the 'visits' he would get almost every single day had completely stopped ever since Cosette came into his life.

She was his angel, his savior. And the peace for the past year with her had finally freed him from those shackles in the past. However, it seemed he made a mistake. This freedom and peace… were all temporary.

Maxen balled his eyes into a tight fist as he walked through the corridor. His eyes were on the floor while his mind was drifting far away. Hence, he didn't notice the figure standing in his way until he bumped into her.

Out of instinct, Maxen grabbed her shoulder to stop her from falling. Cosette also grabbed his arms on instinct, her foot balancing her as she took a step back.

"Cosette?" he snapped his eyes, pulling her hand until she was standing straight. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you," she answered, keeping her eyes on him. "Someone told me they saw you coming in here. So I went, but you were zoning out."

"Ahh…" Maxen rocked his head, only to raise his brows, seeing that she was checking him. "What?"

"They told me you followed those troublemakers here," Cosette explained in a knowing tone, and she held his gaze when she didn't see any traces of fight. "Did they hurt you? Why did you come with them? We should just report them to the admin, Max. Just don't go with them, knowing what they might do."

Maxen stared at her worried eyes as she nagged at him. She sounded upset, but his heart warmed up.

"Take off your clothes," she demanded firmly. "They seem to be the type to know where they hit. Of course, they won't hit you in the area that is visible. Take off your clothes. I want to see if you had bruises or whatever."

The side of his lips curled up. Without saying a word, Maxen cupped her face and bent over. Her eyes instantly went wide as his lips landed on hers.

"Mhm!" A protesting moan slipped out of her mouth, gripping his shoulders. But when Maxen didn't budge with his kisses turning gentler, her eyes softened before she slowly closed them.

"Thank you," he whispered, peeling his lips from her as he rested his forehead against her. "For looking for me."

Cosette was catching up to her breathing. "What happened?" she asked under her breath. "Is there something wrong?"

Maxen remained silent, and she waited for his answer patiently. When Maxen drew his head back, he brushed the natural blush on her cheek with his thumb.

"Should we skip class?" he proposed instead of answering her question, smiling gently at her. "I know I promised to do better in school, but I feel sick."

"Max…"

"I'll stay on the rooftop or just leave the premises. You can go back to the classroom. I'll wait for you at the gates once the class is over," he offered when he realized how terrible his invitation sounded.

Her grades had dipped last school year because of constant skipping classes; although Cosette managed to top the exams, her lack of attendance still affected her grades. They're still better than his grade, though.

"Don't invite me only to take it back." Cosette held his hand while keeping her gaze on him. "Where are we going? And what about our bags?"

"I don't know…" he whispered. "I just don't want to be here."

Cosette nodded in understanding. "I'll ask Driver George to pick us up at the back of the school." She shoved her hand inside the pocket of her skirt. Thankfully, she asked someone to modify her skirts.

"Hello, Driver George? Can you pick us up at the school?" she spoke just after several seconds when she placed her phone in front of her ear. "Also, please drop by the faculty. Tell them Maxen and I had an emergency, so we have to go home. Mhm… please don't tell my dad. Thank you."

Maxen stared at Cosette silently as she talked to her personal driver on the phone. He felt secure just watching her deal with everything with just a phone call. His eyes fell on their hands, which she was holding securely but gently.

'I had always known she takes care of me…' he thought, raising his eyes up at her. '... but only now did I realize that not only she takes care of me, but she also protects me.'

His jaw tightened, lowering his eyes, keeping his silence. It wasn't that his pride or ego was bruised, as Cosette was like the man in this relationship. However, he realized that Cosette was the only person he could run to whenever he felt suffocated.

Could they just run away? No. Conrad would flay him from head to toe. However, if what Remo said just now was all true, then Cosette and Conrad… could be in danger.

"Let's go?" Maxen was snapped out of his trance when Cosette spoke again, tugging his hand mildly. "Driver George said he'll be here in a few minutes. We can sneak out in the back of the school and go to the convenience store."

"Mhm…"

Cosette smiled and guided him to follow her whilst holding his hand. As they walked through the empty hallway with Cosette leading the way, her smile faded as her eyes glinted dangerously.

'So… they had already contacted him even before I met him, huh?'