Saving the Villain

"Bothered?"

"Gosh…" Cosette assessed Luke\'s charming, nonchalant face and clicked her tongue. She looked away from him and shook her head, cupping her face again. "There\'s something wrong, isn\'t it?"

"Mhm." Luke rocked his head as his eyes glossed over the classroom again. "Everyone is just so serious. Is it because of the upcoming periodical test?"

"You should study."

"Nah. I\'ll use stock knowledge. I\'m pretty smart already."

Cosette rolled her eyes but didn\'t dwell on his shameless remarks. "Should we intervene?" she asked after a second.

"Intervene, what?"

"Them." She puckered her lips, pointing at the busy Fay and Amie.

Luke cast them a quick, nonchalant look. "Nah."

"Really?"

"Mhm. If one decides to stop a friendship, it\'s selfish to force it." Luke shrugged. "Just like when a child runs away from home, forcing him to return will only make them not return even more."

Cosette set her eyes back on him. "Don\'t you really have plans to return?"

"Why would I? My place is small, but I\'m comfortable with it now. Moreover, I can do whatever the hell I want — though the budget is tight."

"Maxen is paying you well every time, though."

"I\'m saving them up." Luke cocked his head to her. "I\'m lucky my dad paid my tuition for this year in full, but what about next year? Also college. Even if I apply for a scholarship, I will still need money for accommodation if I want to enter the university that I want."

Cosette was in awe upon hearing his statements. Luke? Saving up money? For his future?

"Wow… you really thought about things, huh?" she blurted out under her breath, warranting a dismal look from him.

"Duh? Do you think running away is easy? Just because I carry my shit well doesn\'t mean they\'re not heavy."

This time, Cosette couldn\'t help but clap quietly and slowly. All she could do for a moment was stare at him before she felt her eyes sting.

"What the — oy, why are you tearing up?" Luke gasped in panic, moving his face closer while she dramatically wipe the tears off of her cheeks. "Are you crazy?"

"Luke." Cosette raised her head and flashed him a smile, planting a hand on his shoulder. "I\'m just so proud of you. My little brother is finally maturing and this big sister just can\'t help but tear up."

Luke\'s face contorted, brushing her hand from his shoulder. "Ew. I don\'t remember having a big sister that is ten times smaller than me."

"What?"

"You\'re so small, Cozie. How can you call me someone who looks more like a big brother, your little brother? Geez. I had goosebumps at this girl\'s shamelessness."

Cosette scoffed in disbelief, glaring at him up and down. She wanted to choose peace, but why does this guy always test her patience?

"If I were you, I\'d run now," she warned through her gritted teeth, only for him to snort.

"Gosh. How can you be so easily triggered?" Luke spread his arms with a wicked grin on his face. "But then again, the truth always hurts. So —"

Before Luke could even finish his sentence, he sprung from his seat and fled the room. Following his tracks was the furious Cosette, causing abrupt noises in the silent classroom.

The students, who were startled by the sudden noise, turned their heads in the door, only to see Luke flee like a criminal while Cosette chase him with fiery eyes. Some of them stared longer at the open door, while others resumed their studies or napped.

Remo was one of the people who didn\'t even bother looking at what had just happened. Not that he didn\'t care, but more like he had expected this coming when he noticed Luke talking to Cosette. Those two just wouldn\'t just stop getting on each other\'s nerves, which would naturally lead to this.

Meanwhile, Sarah glanced at the open door briefly before her eyes fell on Fay. The latter was so focused on her study that it seemed she didn\'t even notice Cosette and Luke. She then shifted her eyes to Amie, only to see Amie glancing at the door, but didn\'t react as she refocused her attention back on her phone.

\'Amie had been strange,\' Sarah thought, resting her jaw on her knuckles. \'Just some time ago, she was so sad about Fay, but now… she\'s been on her phone more. I should be glad that she was able to shift her attention to something else, right?\'

Sarah shook her head, telling herself Fay and Amie would work it out. After all, Fay simply wanted Amie to stop relying on her. No matter how harsh Fay was or no matter how they sugarcoat Fay\'s words, Amie really needs to have a backbone. She wouldn\'t do that if they kept coaxing her.

\'I just hope Amie will see that Cozie and I were always there if she needed support.\' Sarah let out a deep exhale, knowing they were trying their best to be good friends with both Fay and Amie.

After all, they couldn\'t just force Fay to reconsider, because that would be unfair to her. Sarah believed that for as long as they were there for the both of them, they would be fine. Hopefully.

Meanwhile, as everyone resumed what they were doing, Maxen turned his head in the door\'s direction. His eyes fell on the two empty chairs right next to his spot, raising his eyes back to the door again.

Maxen let out a shallow breath and shook his head.

\'They should be studying…\' He peeled his eyes from the door to the notes he was writing down. \'Did they forget we have a special exam later? How can they…\'

His thoughts trailed off as a memory of yesterday crossed him. Maxen closed his eyes, his anxiety starting to eat him up once again because yesterday, he bumped into Conrad early in the morning. However, instead of getting scolded for breaking his rule, Conrad just walked away as if he didn\'t see him.

Thus, Maxen had been distracting himself to stop wondering what Conrad\'s hidden message was in that.

Surely, school wasn\'t all about fun and adventures. There were days such as this that was dull and just quiet, and for the rest of the months, it would be like this as preparation for their last year in high school.