Saving the Villain

"Gosh… I can\'t believe this guy…" Cosette grumbled, glaring daggers at Luke, who sold them out, and the reason the three of them — Cosette, Luke, and Maxen — were now being punished.

Luke snorted, looking at her in dismay. "I wouldn\'t be here if not for the two of you chasing me out of the rooftop."

"Didn\'t you say you like me?"

"Oh, my god… are you always this vile?" he gasped, wide-eyed.

"You two… I can hear you buzzing…"

Cosette and Luke shut their mouth when the teacher\'s voice caressed their ears from inside the classroom.  Maxen, who had accepted this punishment, without a word of complaint snapped his eyes and snuck a look inside.

His brows furrowed slightly. "Is that a new teacher?" he mumbled, catching Cosette and Luke\'s attention.

"Ah?" Cosette blinked twice, standing on her toes to take a peek at the teacher. She didn\'t notice previously because she was too busy bickering with Luke, but now that Maxen mentioned it, the teacher looked unfamiliar.

"Right… who is that?" Luke muttered, having this same realization as Cosette. "Is he new? No wonder we\'re being punished. This is the first time this happened."

"True." Cosette nodded, catching Sarah, Fay, and Amie looking back at her worriedly. She flashed them a reassuring smile.

When Luke and Cosette looked away, they let out a deep exhale. The two of them had always gotten away from their mischief all their lives, and this was probably the first time someone other than their elders or fathers punished them.

Seeing their somber reaction, the corner of Maxen\'s lips curled up into a subtle smile.

\'It\'s strange that a teacher is actually imposing rules when the rest already gave up,\' he thought, biting his tongue to stop himself from chuckling as Cosette and Luke\'s spoiled nature was showing. It was not like the punishment was severe, as they were only told to listen to the discussion while standing outside.

As the three behaved outside the classroom, they noticed a figure approaching. They raised their heads on instinct, turning to the person walking in their direction. Luke furrowed his brows, cocking his head to the side as he hadn\'t seen this student who looked way older than a high schooler.

Meanwhile, Cosette and Maxen remained silent, observing Remo approach them. The latter\'s eyes first landed on Maxen, but they didn\'t linger on him as he shifted his attention to Cosette. The two of them held each other\'s gaze for a good three seconds, and that was it.

Remo said nothing to them as he walked past them, strutting inside the classroom like a boss.

"That\'s our classmate?" Luke mumbled, following Remo\'s figure with his eyes. "I never saw him."

"That\'s because you\'ve been skipping classes, duh?" Cosette clicked her tongue in irritation. "Wait. Don\'t tell me the teacher got scared of him and exempted him from…"

Cosette trailed off when Remo reappeared, walking backward with the teacher\'s hand fan pushing him on his chest.

"Tsk tsk tsk! Class F is full of mischievous students who think they\'re supervisors and roam the school during class hours. You, mister, stand with the three. I will talk to you four later for your punishments." The teacher tapped his hand fan against Remo\'s shoulder and then pointed at where the three were standing.

Remo\'s expression was the same, distant and intimidating. He was staring at the teacher silently. Normally, the teacher would feel intimidated, since Remo\'s track record wasn\'t the best there was. However, the teacher just smiled and tipped his head in the other mischievous student\'s direction.

"Come on. Don\'t glare at the teacher and be a good boy."

A shallow breath slipped past Remo\'s nostril before he followed the teacher\'s instructions. Remo stood next to Maxen, making the teacher clap in satisfaction.

"Behave, so you get a lighter punishment, okay?" he chortled, walking back to the classroom to resume his lecture.

"What did he mean by lighter punishment?" Luke mumbled. "Aren\'t we getting punished right now?"

"What is that laugh in the end for? Is he a sadist and enjoying punishing good students?" Cosette muttered, clicking her tongue in irritation. She then glanced at Maxen, and then at Remo, who was standing beside Maxen.

Both Maxen and Remo were silent, standing straight to their stature, unbothered. When Maxen noticed her gaze, his eyes fell on her and a subtle smile instantly dominated his face.

\'Oh, my…\' Her heart skipped a beat, seeing how his mood changed the second their eyes met. \'Did he do that on purpose?\' she wondered, forgetting what she was about to say after getting charmed by him.

"Oy." Cosette snapped her eyes when Luke elbowed her side.

"What?" she hissed, getting more annoyed at him for his consistency in ruining her moment with Maxen.

"Goodness. Why are you angry?"

\'Can\'t you see I\'m about to flirt with Maxen?\' was what she wanted to say, but held back as she realized this wasn\'t a good time for that. If the teacher figured she was flirting with Maxen, he might separate her from him. Something a teacher would naturally do.

"Are you still angry with me?" he asked quietly, causing her brows to raise.

"Why are you suddenly asking?" she scrunched her nose up at that random question.

"Just answer." Luke rolled his eyes. "Are you still angry?"

"No… yes — I mean, maybe. Depends on the reason why you are asking."

Luke clicked his tongue, looking at her as if he was criticizing her entire life. Seeing the look in his eyes, Cosette shrugged nonchalantly.

A deep exhale escaped his mouth, lowering his head as he discreetly whispered. "Can you treat me to something nice for dinner?"

"What?"

"You know I\'m poor and you have a kind heart, right? You\'ve been doing charity. Well, guess what? I am the charity."

Cosette\'s face contorted as she looked at him, unable to understand where this sense of pride was coming from. Luke was basically asking her for food, but somehow, he made it sound like Cosette should be honored.

"Wow…" she shook her head mildly. \'I know I already planned on doing a feeding program for him, but wow… I\'m speechless.\'

As the two — Luke and Cosette — had all the leisure bickering nonstop as if they weren\'t being punished, Maxen remained silent. His eyes softened, darting them between those two. He then arched a brow and moved his eyes to Remo.

Remo and Maxen stared at each other in silence before looking away, treating each other\'s existence as nothing.