Saving the Villain

Amie and the girls — Fay, Sarah, and Cosette — helped her pack for the trip. Her parents left her tons of reminders before they left. Inside the limousine, their classmates were even hyper when the four returned with Amie. Now they were all chatting excitedly.

Meanwhile, Luke smirked triumphantly, staring at Cosette, who sat with the girls. Beside him... or rather, the person sitting at arm's length from him was Maxen. The latter glanced at Luke, studying the second young master's triumphant smirk.

"Heh..." Luke folded his arms under his chest and cocked his head, eyes on Maxen. "See what I did there?"

"I wasn't there. How can I?" Maxen quirked a brow, not a bit interested in how Luke got Amie's parents to agree. But well, even if he wasn't interested, Luke would happily fill him in.

Apparently, Amie's parents weren't that strict. They were overprotective. Using Luke's persuasive tongue, he managed to make them agree by confronting them. It was quite a surprise how Luke put it, but in the end, Amie's parents agreed because they wanted to protect their child, but not at the cost of her happiness.

Moreover, Cosette, Fay, and Sarah's hopeful gaze as they waited with bated breath moved their friend's parents. Those girls were the last straw for Amie's mother and father to agree. It may sound corny, but Luke called it the power of friendship.

Maxen stared at Luke as he bragged about this feat they all achieved together. But he didn't wait for the latter to finish as he set his eyes back to the window.

"And you did it because she's your friend?" he asked in a quiet voice, almost left unheard with the voices and laughter inside the limousine. But Luke still heard him.

Luke smirked and shrugged, setting his eyes back to Cosette. "I did it to see her smile like that." His lips stretched even broader, satisfied to see her happy.

"It was worth it."

His response, however, was something Maxen didn't see coming. The latter glanced at Luke once again, only to see him staring at Cosette, who was giggling with the girls.

'This guy...' Maxen thought, snapping his eyes away, resting his chin on his hand. '... still had redeeming quality.'

Meanwhile, as Cosette was taking a picture with the girls, she could not help but feel this distinct gaze from a direction. Her eyes moved to where she was sensing the gaze and she saw Luke smiling at her. The side of her lips curled up into a smile, mouthing, 'thank you.'

Luke tilted his head down and mouthed back, 'you're welcome.'

'Sometimes... even though he would say many ridiculous things, his actions sometimes take me by surprise.' She chuckled and shook her head, a little amazed by him and how he made Amie's parents agree. It wasn't as simple as how he described it to Maxen; it was more than that.

Luke just showed he was a true Quinn.

And with that, they traveled to Quinn's vacation home — or what they thought. Because just an hour later, everyone (except Cosette and Maxen) would meet the shock of their life, and question why a person such as Luke was mingling with them in the first place.

*******

One hour later, the limousine headed straight to the airport. But that wasn't the most shocking of all, but when everyone stood on the runway, gazing at the airplane, slacked jaw. They were told this private plane was owned by the Quinns, Luke's family.

Slowly, they turned their eyes on Luke, who stood proudly in his stature, hands on his hips. None of them made a sound as they stared at him with slow breaths and blank eyes. The only one who wasn't fazed by the display of wealth was Maxen — even Cosette was in disbelief.

"What?" Luke raised his brows, laughing at the shock plastered on their faces. This was why he loved bragging. Their expression was phenomenal.

"You're rich...?" Fay asked under her breath, making Luke arch a brow. "I mean, rich as in rich...?"

"How rich?" Amie also muttered in disbelief.

"Like a prince rich-rich? Not the normal rich?" Sarah added in the same tone.

"The extremely rich rich rich?" another male classmate chimed in and others also added, never forgetting to add the word 'rich,' multiple times in a sentence.

Luke broke out in ugly laughter. "Yes! Did you all think I was bluffing this whole time?! I am the second young master of the Quinn family!"

"..."

He blinked, seeing their blank expression. "You guys... you don't know anything about the Quinns?"

"Is it some sort of political family?" asked Fay. "I thought only political families are this rich. That's what my father always says whenever he watches the news."

"Goodness..." Luke clicked his tongue and shook his head. If he started telling them about the history of the Quinn family and their success in business for generations, a whole day wasn't enough. "I can't believe you guys. If this is in the Academy, they would even tell me the details I don't remember in our family history."

He huffed and waved. "Forget it! I'm a rich man's son — end of the story. Now, let's go, shall we?"

"Wait! Didn't you say your family vacation home is near? Why are we riding a plane?" asked one of them, even though they only showed their identification card on the counter.

"It is near — just one hour by plane." Luke blinked almost innocently. "But it will take us three days if we ride a ship. We don't want to waste three days on a ship, do we?"

"..."

"This is nonsense," Maxen commented and sauntered off, hooking his finger around Cosette's wrist to drag her with him.

"Oh..." Cosette snapped her eyes at Maxen's back before she heard Luke yell.

"Hey! How dare you — shit!" Luke stomped his feet to follow them, but then stopped and looked back at them. "Let's go! Max will abduct my future wife!"

With that being said, Luke sprinted to follow Maxen and Cosette. Meanwhile, his friends looked at each other before excitement dominated their faces.

"Kyah! I never rode a plane! A private one at that!" Fay cheered and hooked her arms around Sarah and Amie's arms, dragging the two while she skipped her steps. "I'm so excited!"

Sarah and Amie held their breath and looked at each other before they giggled. Shortly after, everyone's shock expression turned excited as they made their way to the steps up of the plane, looking forward to what this trip had in store for them.