Saving the Villain

Meanwhile, in class F…

The second Cosette sat down in her usual seat, Sarah, Amie, and Fay rallied around her, dragging their seats to hers. She smiled awkwardly, glancing at their eyes that were sparkling with interest.

"What now?" she asked under her breath, getting a bit more tired with all the students she had met so far.

"Cozie, what did you Maxen do this summer? How can he grow so tall?" Fay asked giddily. "Are you sure he didn't go under the knife?"

"Fay, how old do you think Maxen is?" Sarah, who was across Cosette's desk, scrunched her nose up.

"But it's not like he couldn't. There were others who get nose jobs at sixteen!" Amie, who was on Cosette's left, taking up Maxen's chair, chimed in.

"Maxen just slimmed down because he had been working out and on a strict healthy diet." Cosette let out a deep sigh, shaking her head whilst casting them a quick look. "He's still that same old Maxen. It's not like he changed anything."

"Cosette, you have a good eye, don't you?" Fay bumped her shoulder against Cosette. "We all know Max doesn't look that bad, but we didn't expect he is more handsome than Luke."

"Fay, how dare you say that?" Amie narrowed her eyes. "Luke still looks better."

"I can't believe you two are comparing." Sarah shook her head in disappointment. "Have you not heard the saying, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder?"

"Hey… Mommy Sarah, you're just playing it safe, eh?" Fay clicked her tongue playfully before setting her attention back to Cosette. "How about you, Cozie? What do you think?"

"What do you mean?" Cosette tilted her head to the side.

"Who looks better? Luke or Max?" Amie clarified and then shook her head as she changed her mind. "Never mind that. The question should be who is ahead between the two?"

Cosette's brows furrowed, and when she didn't answer, Fay sighed.

"What she means is, since both of them are wooing you, who do you think will get your sweet yes?" Fay translated in simple terms. This time, even Sarah showed interest, waiting for Cosette's answer with bated breaths.

'Maxen, of course. He's already my boyfriend.' Cosette bit her tongue from speaking her thoughts aloud, humming a long tune. She then smiled, motioning a zip action before her lips.

"Oh, come on!" Fay intoned in disappointment. "Weren't we friends?"

"Cozie, I'm so disappointed in you." Amie pouted, while Sarah chuckled but the latter didn't pry.

"Luke and Max were our friends and classmates." Cosette grinned at them. "It's not like I am trying to put them in competition or something since my dad is quite strict. He told me not to date until I'm fifty."

"What?" Fay's expression died, looking back at Cosette in disbelief. "Does your father loves you?"

"He loves me so much he doesn't want to give his only daughter away."

"You're an only daughter?" Amie gasped, and only then did they realize Cosette, even though they had been friends with her, the latter rarely shared anything about her personal life.

"You don't know?" Cosette cocked her head to the side.

"You rarely share things like that with us." Fay pointed out, making Cosette rock her head in understanding.

pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "Well, there's nothing much to share anyway." A grin replaced the slight shock look on Cosette's face, drawing a deep breath. "So, anything interesting during the summer break?"

"It was boring." Fay answered and Amie followed, "the only interesting that happened is when the leads of the book I'm reading finally confessed their feelings and did the deed."

"Mine was the same. I did have a part-time in my aunt's store, though." Sarah smacked her lips, and the three of them looked back at Cosette with interest. "How about you?"

"Well, actually…" Cosette trailed off, noticing the glint that shone in the girls' eyes. No wonder they were so interested in everything that was going on in this school, especially in this class. They had nothing else to do.

A faint exhale escape Cosette's nostrils as she summarized her summer, telling them she also did a part-time in her father's business without detailing how huge this business was. As she did so, she inevitably shared not seeing Maxen for almost two months and was just as surprised as them when she met Maxen just one week ago.

The three of them engaged in gossip-like conversation, talking about their summer, instead of badmouthing others to strengthen their bond. Not just them, but mostly, everyone in the classroom was catching up with their own circle of friends.

When the door flung open and the homeroom teacher's voice silenced the lively chatterings of their classroom, everyone dispersed and returned to their respective seats. Cosette perked up, raising her brows, catching Luke strut behind the teacher, winking at her.

Luke stood beside Cosette's desk and then sat on the chair on her right (Fay's original spot). As soon as he plopped his butt down, he turned to Cosette when she asked a question.

"Where have you gone?" she blinked twice, studying his mood, and noticing he seemed to be in a better mood now.

"Here. I met a few people on the way." Luke rested his arms on his desk, smiling playfully. "Why? Did you miss me?"

Cosette sighed, shaking her head. A second later, she caught a figure entering the room. She raised her eyes and smiled subtly, seeing Maxen enter with a cool air around him. Like usual, Maxen was unbothered by the gazes thrown at him, advancing in his seat near the window in silence.

Maxen only cast Cosette a quick look but said nothing. She was used to it by now that she didn't pay attention to it, setting her eyes ahead as their homeroom teacher stood in the front with his hands on the table while watching everyone settle in their seats.

Little did Cosette know, Luke had been observing her in silence. His jaw propped against his knuckles, eyes, and attention on Cosette. Thus, he caught the relief in her eyes as soon as Maxen came in.

Luke was silent, ignoring the homeroom teacher's sentiments regarding the students' grades last school year. Instead, he kept his full attention to Cosette's side profile, and his mind drifted to his memory this morning.

******

Sitting in the backseat of the car, Luke had this small smile on his face while staring at his phone screen. The wallpaper he was using was a selfie of him and Cosette, during her time as an intern in the BLK Corporation.

Luke would often visit her but only met her a few times since she was buried with work. Cosette had a tight schedule, but he appreciated the time she would spare whenever she could. The photo was one of them, although the selfie was the two of them looking at each other: Cosette glaring at him while he was grinning candidly at her.

"She's always fun to tease," he mumbled, snapping his eyes up. His brows furrowed as he caught two familiar figures walking on the sidewalk.

"Second Young Master, that's Miss Blac," said the driver, slowing down the car lest Luke wanted to pick her up. But silence was the only answer he received from Luke, as the latter kept his eyes on Cosette and Maxen.

Luke's breath hitched as his heart thudded, studying the smile on Cosette while talking to Maxen. From his perspective, the two of them looked… happy and content. He had been surrounded by different types of people to know how to read the air, and Luke was aware there was something different between the two of them.

His eyes then fell on Maxen and Cosette's hands that were brushing against each other from time to time. His jaw tightened, holding his phone tighter.

"Drive faster," he ordered, peeling his eyes away from them as he glanced at the driver through the rear mirror.

The driver furrowed his brows but didn't pry. "Yes."

With that being said, the driver stepped on the pedal and drove past Cosette and Maxen. However, Luke winced and clicked his tongue in irritation before yelling.

"Stop!"

The car screeched as the driver abruptly stepped on the brake, making Luke raise his foot against the back of the front passenger seat. The driver glanced at the rear mirror, looking back at the second young master Quinn through the rear mirror.

Luke ruffled his hair in irritation, cursing under his breath. "Damn…" he then huffed, looking back.

"Go back." That was all Luke said, and as ordered, the driver drove in reverse, stopping at where Cosette and Maxen were. The driver studied Luke's upset expression, which was immediately replaced with a huge smile when the second young master rolled the window down.

******

"Lucas Quinn?"

Cosette furrowed her brows when the homeroom teacher called Luke's name for a roll call, but Luke hadn't replied even after being called three times. She turned to her side, furrowing her brows, seeing that Luke was staring at her silently.

"Luke," she called, tipping her head in the teacher's direction. However, Luke ignored the teacher for a moment.

"Cozie, you make me sad," he whispered, and then raised his hand, shifting his attention to the homeroom teacher. "Here."