Saving the Villain

Cosette closed her eyes and drew a breath, letting the water sprinkle on her face. She planted her hand on the tiled wall, standing relaxed, highlighting the curves of her body under the steam filling the entire shower.

'I think I lost my mind last night,' she lamented internally, rubbing her hands through her hair. She then lowered her head, opening her eyes.

"I'm really crazy," she mumbled to herself, sighing and closing her eyes once more. "Misbehave? Seriously? I don't know what got into me. Did I think I have that many lives to spare?"

Cosette shook her head, wanting to bump her head against the wall to give herself a lesson. But that would hurt her, so she could only scold herself for misbehaving. No matter how she liked Maxen as a fan, she was taking advantage of his innocent baby villain.

"We're still in our teens..." she opened her eyes, thinking about their current age at the moment.

Although Maxen would turn eighteen this year and she was turning seventeen, they were still too young. Even so, Cosette was aware she was only thinking like this because that was what kept her act her age. She never enjoyed her youth in the past because she was ill, and mostly lived in the hospital.

Thus, she wanted to enjoy her youth with this unbelievable phenomenon. As much as she could, she wanted to live the life she was never been blessed to have while changing Maxen's fate.

But as time goes by, the longer she stayed in this world, the more she was subconsciously focusing on her life. She wasn't even worried about the male lead's and female lead's relationship, since she was certain the two would meet eventually. Moreover, they would get their happy ending for sure and the book would end there.

A happy ending. No more book two where the villains would appear to challenge that love.

"Is it alright?" she asked herself in a voice above the whisper, which instantly faded into the sound of the water. "To disregard what was already written?"

Worry slowly filled her eyes, thinking about whether she should focus on their development instead of being too wary of the novel. Not that she hadn't been focusing on their own story and life, but more like she didn't want to keep reminding herself this was a world of the novel.

That thought kept her from going all out. It kept her from cherishing the relationships she was building, and enjoying life to the fullest. She was too afraid everything would be taken away from her in a flash.

"Get a grip, Cozie." She shut her eyes and shook her head. "Focus on the kiss!"

Cosette nearly choked on her own reminder as two kiss scenes flashed in her head. One was with Sarah and then with Maxen. Although what happened between her and Sarah was purely an accident, it still left a deep impression on her.

"I wonder what Max thinks about it?" she wondered, sighing for the umpteenth time. Since she knew she couldn't reverse the time, she wanted to at least know that Maxen didn't feel weird about it.

"I don't want to turn him off." She sighed once more, having this reason she had been in distress throughout the entire shower. Not the fact that she kissed Maxen, but the fact that she was curious about what he thought about it. Although it was a brief kiss — just a peck — his opinion mattered to her.

Knowing Maxen, he could be disgusted. Worse. He would resign because he felt defiled.

"Ugh..." Cosette buried her face into her palms. "I think I'm going crazy... how the hell did I not think about that?"

Throughout the shower session, Cosette wallowed in her woes. She kept scolding herself, reminding herself to make better choices and drink just a little next time. She poured it all out in the shower room, so when she got out, she was like a brand new person.

As soon as she exited the bathroom after a very long time, Fay and Amie were already snoring. Meanwhile, Sarah was silently scrolling through her phone. Cosette didn't want to disturb them, tiptoeing around until she finished her morning ritual.

"Sarah," Cosette whispered her yell, sitting on the edge of Sarah's bed. "Are you hungry?"

"No, not really." Sarah shook her head, putting her phone down as she held Cosette's gaze. "Are you going now?"

"Well, I still have an hour and a half. I'll grab you guys some food. You should eat here so you don't sprain your ankle."

"No, it's fine." Sarah cleared her throat when Cosette widened her eyes. "I mean, thanks."

Cosette chuckled, patting Sarah's shoulder mildly. "I'll come back."

With that being said, Cosette pushed herself up from the bed and marched outside without looking back. However, as soon as she closed the door, she suddenly felt cautious of her surrounding. She looked left and right and then trudged through the short hallway leading to the lobby.

But before she could cross the threshold of the lobby, Cosette peeked her head out and looked from left to right once more. To her relief, Maxen wasn't there. She only caught a few of her classmates and then Luke, grunting on the couch in the lobby, crying about his headache.

"He won't notice me," she mumbled, almost tiptoeing as she crossed the lobby to the next hallway where the dining hall was. The Quinn's vacation home was like a small hotel that had a royal theme, so the hallways were wide and each place was perfectly put in its rightful spot.

Cosette heaved a sigh of relief when she passed through the lobby without getting Luke's and a few of her classmate's attention. She bumped into others on her way, though. But they simply greeted her good morning before going on their way.

Since she was certain her classmates came from the dining hall, she was a little relaxed. She knew they already had their breakfast, and she was a little late for that. What were the odds Maxen would be there, right? Knowing him, he had already eaten even before everyone else since he was an early bird. Moreover, he disliked eating with a crowd. Last night's dinner was a miracle since she threatened him.

But alas, Cosette was wrong.

Just when she relaxed and reached the dining hall, she bumped her nose against someone's chest. A short "ah!" escaped her mouth at the slight pain, making her rub her nose before looking up.

It took an entire minute of silence and blinking before her eyes dilated. Cosette held her breath under Maxen's dull gaze.

"Ma — Max!" she stammered, laughing awkwardly. 'Act natural, Cozie! Don't let him find that you remember! Telling him you don't remember is better since he would probably forgive me!'

Her brain kept yelling at her, telling her what to do. In her understanding, Maxen wouldn't feel weirded out if he believed her actions were because she was under the influence of alcohol. And she didn't mean any malice whatsoever.

Right... no malice.

"Did you eat?" she asked, forcing herself to sound natural, and fortunately, she sounded normal. She raised her brows and flashed him a smile. However, her lips trembled when his eyes fell on her lips.

'What — what?' she wondered. 'Why is he staring at me like that?'

His eyes lingered on her lips before raising his eyes to examine her expression. Cosette was smiling almost innocently again as if she didn't do anything last night. If she killed someone, no one would even suspect her, since that face didn't bear any vestige of anything bad.

Maxen tilted his head to the side. "No, Cozie. I haven't eaten yet."

"Oh. I'm about to get the girls some food. We can eat together if you like," she offered sweetly, keeping in character. "Hmm? Come. It's bad to skip breakfast."

Cosette patted his chest and walked past him. She almost heaved a sigh of relief, assuming she had already deceived him into making him think she didn't remember a thing. But just as she brushed shoulders with him, a hand grabbed her wrist to stop her.

When she looked back at him, all she saw was Maxen walking in the same spot until his side was facing her. He cocked his head back, then it slighted to the side until his eyes fell on her.

"Last night..." her back instantly stiffened as she secretly held her breath the moment his voice caressed her ears. "... do you remember what you did last night?"

Her lips quivered. "What did I do...?"

"Hah..." he laughed in ridicule, letting her hand go as he turned on his heel to face her. "So, you don't remember how you 'misbehaved'?"

"Did I embarrass myself last night?" she bit her tongue, lying on the skin of her teeth. "Please tell me I didn't pick up a fight or beat Luke! Or did throw up in anyone's shirt!"

His smile lines faded, taking a step forward, eyes fixed on her. As he advanced in her direction, Cosette took a step careful step back. The closer he got, the more she took steps back until her hips hit the edge of the table. When she couldn't step back anymore, Cosette lowered her head as he stood in front of her.

"What — what?" she murmured, planting her fist on his chest. However, that did nothing as he still bent over until his unsmiling face was a palm length away from hers.

"Hey, Max. Aren't you too close?"

"Too close?" he tilted his head, the faint dark circles around his eyes just made him appear a little more dangerous. "I don't think so. We're still too distant compared to how close we got last night."