Saving the Villain

Days had passed since Maxen stayed over in the Blac's mansion. Even after knowing that she was an heiress, Cosette thought Maxen didn't care because he treated her the same. Not that she was complaining. Actually, it was better than he was letting her stick around him, despite all that revelation.

Things had been great between them too! They didn't skip classes anymore because Maxen would get back to class after lunch. Of course, they would still eat on the rooftop or in the classroom during lunchtime.

KRINNGGGG!

Cosette clapped her hand as soon as the school bell rang for lunch. But before she could turn her head to Maxen, her brows rose when Sarah, who was sitting in front of her, dragged her chair close to her desk.

"Cozie, do you want to have lunch together?" she asked as she pivoted on her seat, draping an arm over the chair. "We brought lunch boxes too! Look!"

Sarah raised her lunch box with the same smile before she jerked her chin to Amie and Fay. Cosette then turned to the people the former pointed at, only to see Amie and Fay displaying their lunch boxes.

"Uh…" Cosette glanced at Maxen, who was slumped on his desk, fast asleep. "… well, if only Maxen agreed to join us."

She sported an apologetic smile as soon as she saw the frown on the girls' faces. Cosette felt bad for not hanging out with them as much as during her first week in the school, but her priority was Maxen. She transmigrated into this world with a mission.

When Maxen grunted, they all looked at him with eyes glinting. Even before Maxen could see the intense glare from his side, he already felt a chill run down his spine. He shuddered when he turned his head to them, only to see his classmates gawking at him.

"Uh… what?" he asked with furrowed brows.

"We want to eat lunch with Cozie too, but she said she will only eat with us if you join us," Fay explained, making Maxen glance at her. "You should join us. It's not good to hog your girlfriend all to yourself."

Maxen and Cosette froze at Fay's remarks. Girlfriend? Although they both froze up, Cosette's face turned red, as if that was a compliment to her. Why not? Maxen was her idol, and she was his superfan. Meanwhile, Maxen secretly curled his fingers into a fist.

"She's not my girlfriend," came out a cold and firm clarification.

Fay, Amie, and Sarah looked at each other. Of course, they knew that, but they were just teasing him since that was what others believed. But.. Maxen sounded angry for some reason.

Why? The girls couldn't understand since Cosette was more beautiful than the school bell — if only Cosette knew her popularity.

"Do you have to voice out your dismay like that?" Cosette frowned, not taking Maxen's words to the heart, as that was the truth. She carefully placed the lunch box on his desk while clicking her tongue.

"Max is so heartless. Even if you don't like me, you shouldn't be so mad about that."

The space between Maxen's brows furrowed as he looked at her pout. 'I'm just trying to clear up the misunderstanding,' he explained internally, but bit his tongue and kept his thoughts to himself.

When Cosette faced the girls, she looked so happy as she could eat with them again. The four of them dragged their desk to make a larger table where they could eat and gossip. Meanwhile, Maxen just glanced at her.

'That's right,' he thought while opening the lid of the lunch box she prepared. 'She kept following me that she is neglecting her friends. We should start staying in the classroom for lunch.'

Maxen wasn't expecting her to bring him lunch forever. But after seeing her efforts, he swallowed his pride and kept accepting them normally. He glanced at her once again and saw her giggling with the girls. His eyes softened before averting his gaze from her.

Although the three female classmates just dragged their desks to Cosette's, their distance felt like a mile. In his mind, Cosette was someone who would be surrounded by lots of people. She was the type of person who could make other people want to have her attention or be a part of her life.

"Max!" he flinched when Cosette suddenly called him. He looked at her, only to see her raising her brows.

"Should we drag our desk to you?" she asked with an innocent expression.

"Huh?"

"You said we will be having lunch together. How can this be called eating lunch together if you're so far away?" she explained in a matter-of-factly and clicked her tongue.

"Far away?" Maxen raised a brow as their distance wasn't that far — at least to them. But to think she would say the things he thought he was the only one who noticed, another part of the wall around his heart cracked.

Cosette shook her head and sighed, casting the three a look. "Is it okay if we move to him? Max is not a gentleman."

"Of course." Sarah nodded and cast the other two a look, and they also nodded. "But is he fine with that?"

She then leaned forward and placed her hand beside her lips to whisper. They liked Cosette, but she liked Maxen for some reason. So, to get close to their classmate, they had to accept Maxen as well. However, Maxen wasn't easy to deal with and they all had a bad impression of him.

"Of course. Maxen is a good person." Cosette nodded reassuringly. "Although he is blunt, he is very kind and considerate. Once you get used to him, you'll see he's not a very scary person."

"Right? Max?" she added and cast him a look.

"Huh?"

"See?" Cosette didn't even give him the chance to 'disagree' as she flashed the girls a smile. "He said he's fine with that."

Sarah, Amie, and Fay looked at each other before they nodded. With that being said, Maxen flinched as the four of them sprung up to their feet. When they turned their heads to him and saw how their eyes glinted, Maxen gulped down.

Without a word, they dragged their desk close to his desk and formed a bigger table.

"Maxen, it's alright, right?" Cosette smiled sweetly at him.

"Uh…"

"It's alright, right?" she stressed with the same smile, placing her fingers on his arm, ready to pinch him if he said no.

'Sometimes, she's surprisingly scary,' he thought as he sighed and nodded, looking away while the girls giggled excitedly. 'I have a feeling this group will keep growing.'