Saving the Villain

"You're jealous?" Mazen asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No." Cosette denied it immediately, but her embarrassed countenance told him otherwise. "I'm just… just worried. Did you like it?"

"What?"

"Sarah also had an accident… remember?" Cosette let out a deep exhale, causing her shoulders to lower. "I'm not saying I liked it, but it wasn't that bad. It feels strange, but it's not like —"

"It was disgusting." Maxen cut her off before she could continue comparing her experience with his. "I'm not against same-sex relationships, but it's not for me, Cosette. Did I like it? I was horrified."

"Really? You didn't like it?"

Maxen opened his mouth, only to close them again. He kept his gaze on her and the side of his lips curled up. For some reason, he now felt great. The truth of what happened last night might've left an unpleasant feeling in her heart, but Maxen felt sorry because he didn't feel bad about it.

Seeing her jealous, even if the other party was a man, was quite amusing.

Maxen turned, facing her squarely. He cupped both her cheeks and bent over, claiming her lips for a quick yet deep kiss.

"Yours is the best," he whispered, resting his forehead against her forehead. "Did that quench your disappointment?"

Cosette pursed her lips and shook her head, causing the side of his lips to stretch until his teeth were showing.

"Okay," he muttered, planting his lips on hers.

Maxen placed short kisses on her lips until they gradually took longer. As the short and sweet kisses turned into a passionate French Kiss, Cosette held the hand that was cupping her face. But just as she was enjoying Maxen's soft yet gentle lips, she flinched when Maxen abruptly drew his lips away.

"Hoy! Are you pranking me?! Did you ask me to go to class just so you two —" Luke halted by the door, seeing that Maxen was cupping Cosette's face while he was bent over. Although Luke couldn't see what they were doing because Maxen's broad back was blocking them, anyone could tell what was going on.

Maxen blinked ever so slowly, looking back at Luke. "I'm just… trying to calm her down."

'That's idiot…' Cosette ground her teeth as her anger towards Luke returned to a whole new, different height.

"What the… trying to calm… hah! I'm — wow — my heart just broke." Luke shook his head, hearing the echo of his broken heart. "This is the school ground, oy!"

"We'll go after you." Maxen didn't give much thought to Luke since he didn't feel like he needed to prioritize the latter's feelings over Cosette's. Moreover, Luke was his rival. Therefore, this was hitting two birds with one stone, and he gets rewarded with a kiss.

This wasn't just a win-win situation, but a gigantic WIN.

"Still mad?" he smiled until his eyes were squinting.

Cosette pursed her lips, wanting to act a bit more upset, but he looked cute. 'I feel weak,' she told herself, nodding at him.

"Okay." Maxen nodded, straightening his back. He glanced at Luke, only to see that he had left with the door open. But that didn't make him feel anything, setting his eyes back to Cosette.

"Let's go now?" he offered his hand, which Cosette happily took.

"Maxen, don't cheat on me, okay?" she grinned, squeezing his hand.

"Never." He chuckled, shaking his head as they left the rooftop to return to their classroom.

As they walked side by side while holding each other's hand, Cosette could not help but glance at his side from time to time. Her lips stretched broader as he would a step ahead of her on the stairs, making sure in case she would miss a step, he was there to catch her.

'We reached this far…' she thought, thanking Maxen as they reached the floor where the third years were. She raised her eyes while he lead the way, still holding her hand.

For obvious reasons, Cosette could not help but recall what they were like just a year ago. Back then, Maxen would always pretend she wasn't there with him. He never looked back, nor did he hold her hand, but now he was holding her hand.

This improvement in their relationship wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for her. It was… normal. The older Cosette and Maxen would probably call this boring and typical, but the current Cosette and Maxen were already satisfied and couldn't ask for more.

When they were in the corridor, Maxen glanced at her and reluctantly released her hand. They were still on the school premises, after all. But Cosette flashed him a bright smile.

On their way to their room, Cosette treaded slowly. Her hands were on her back while Maxen was walking a step ahead of her.

'Huh?' Cosette slowed down, looking at the window to see a few students talking to one big, bald guy, Remo. She narrowed her eyes, recognizing the students that approached Remo. They were the ones Cosette hired, causing her lips to curl up.

'I wonder if he will take a bite?' she wondered in amusement, keeping her eyes on Remo. The latter just scoffed and then waved, walking away without saying anything to those other delinquents.

'Huh?' her brows furrowed, catching those she hired looking at each other in puzzlement. 'He didn't? That's interesting.'

Cosette frowned, watching those left behind walk away while scratching their heads. They seemed to be talking about something that left them baffled, and her guess had slowly grown solid.

Remo didn't take the bait.

"Ah —" Cosette bumped against Maxen's back as he stopped, looking up at him while he turned to face her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Well, yes, of course." She laughed awkwardly and asked to divert his attention. "Why did you stop?"

Maxen pointed at his back using his thumb, making her tilt her body to the side to see what was behind him. Her face contorted, seeing Luke standing outside their room as punishment for skipping the class.

"Hehe… should we…?" she trailed off when Luke caught the two of them and yelled to get the teacher inside the room's attention.

"Sir! Those two are trying to skip the class!"

The teacher was just by the door, unfortunately. Hence, when Luke yelled, he only need to peek his head out to catch Maxen and Cosette before the two could make a run for it.