Saving the Villain

Cosette pursed her lips into a thin line and cleared her throat. She scratched her nape, sitting down beside Maxen with her chin raised.

"Since when did you look this sexy?" she mumbled, making the corner of his lips stretch.

"It's inborn?"

Her frown deepened, glaring at him in dismay. "And since when did you become so... shameless?"

"I've always been shameless." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I wouldn't live in here if I have some sense of pride in me, don't you think?"

"Tch." Cosette folded her arms under her chest and tossed her back against the pillow behind her. "This is not good."

"Why not?"

"I miss my cute Maxen."

"Cute?" he arched a brow, already used to her honesty. Sometimes, he wondered if Cosette was just foolishly honest. But after sharing a good amount of time with her, Cosette was only a hundred percent transparent to him. Not that she was a liar, but there were certain things she usually keep to herself when she knew it would help no one.

"Mhm." Her frown remained, looking away from him to hide the natural blush dominating her face. "You were so cute back then."

"Do you... like chubby men?"

'Chubby or skinny, I don't care. That's not how I base my preference,' she answered internally but bit her tongue from saying that aloud.

"Psst." Maxen whistled to get her attention, leaning forward to tap her shoulder. "I won't ask anymore, but don't ignore me."

"Ignoring you."

He frowned, arching a brow. He lowered his eyes and smirked, raising a finger to poke the side of her stomach. As soon as he did, her shoulders jumped, and she looked back at him, wide-eyed.

"Still ignoring me?" he cocked his head to the side, enjoying how the pink blush on her face slowly turn red. When she didn't answer after ten seconds, he poked her side once again, which made her jolt back.

"Max!" she gasped in horror while he chuckled. "You..."

Cosette balled her hand into a tight fist, grinding her teeth. It had only been two months since their last bonding time, but Maxen surely changed. Although she was glad to see him smiling and laughing more, he also became mischievous!

"So this is what you want, huh?" she snorted, cracking her fingers before pouncing on him.

Without a moment's notice, she bite his shoulder like a dog while he wiggled under her. Maxen tapped her back, signaling her to stop biting. But alas, the second Cosette let him go, his fingers were already on standby to tickle her.

"Max — ah, hahaha! Stop!!" Cosette writhed on the couch like a worm, kicking him, but he was strong. Maxen held her ankle securely, tickling her sole until she was crying.

"Please!!"

"Haha..." Pleased, Maxen let her go. As soon as he did, Cosette rested her feet on his lap. She was panting for air, clearing her throat, catching up to her breathing. Seeing her recovery, Maxen gazed down at her feet. His hand reached for her ankle, only for it to get kicked away.

"No more, Max!" she complained. "I'm already dying here."

"I just want to massage your feet."

"No, no, no! Don't you dare!" Cosette glared at him and pointed a finger. "No more!"

"But I'm telling the truth."

"No!" she huffed, and only relaxed when he raised his hands. "Gosh... my side hurts."

Maxen leaned back and kept his attention on her, smiling subtly. While staring at her, he couldn't help but be amazed at how they treated each other as if they were seeing each other for the past two months. It was almost the same, or rather even better.

His eyes softened. 'The therapy worked... I guess.'

Maxen did not only enroll in different classes to gain some skills he might use for his future. But also, since he had more than enough, he also went to regular therapy for his mental health. He knew he had problems regarding trust issues and abandonment. The reason he couldn't fully open up to people was because of those factors.

But who would have thought those therapies would actually help him get by day by day? Although he was still a work in progress, he was glad that he invested in himself. Because if he didn't, his relationship with her would stay the same.

Not that Cosette needed to do something since she was still treating him the same as before, but more like, for the first time... he also took a step closer to her.

"Max." His brows rose, snapping out of his trance when she called. "Why didn't you tell me about your certification?"

"Hmm?"

Cosette tilted her head until her eyes could see him properly. Maxen was still sitting on his spot previously, while she was lying on the couch with her feet on top of his lap.

"Isn't today your graduation day?" she explained in a questioning tone. "You should've told me since this is an achievement we should celebrate."

"What graduation? I just collected a piece of paper just like how we do our clearance at the end of the school year. There's no ceremony whatsoever."

"Eh? really?" she scrunched her nose up while he nodded. "But still, we should celebrate it, right?"

Cosette propped her elbows against the cushion to sit upright. Her feet stayed on his lap, his arm over them.

"What do you want to do?" she asked with anticipation in her eyes. "Should we have a special dinner with my dad? Or should we eat out? How about we go on a day trip? But Papa is busy this entire week."

She frowned, mulling about their plan on how to celebrate their small win. There were many options, but considering there was only a week before the school start, they couldn't go yolo. So their options gradually decreased.

"We don't need to..." he trailed off when she glared at him as if she would kill him if he said another word. 'Honestly, I don't need to celebrate anything. But why is she so invested in it?'

Just then, Maxen recalled one of his therapy sessions regarding giving more credit to himself and something about self-love. He looked at her, blinking twice, studying her solemn expression.

"How about..." he cleared his throat when she raised her attention to him again. Even though he didn't plan on rejecting her suggestion, he still felt like he had to choose his words carefully. Surely, she could be very intense and scary at times.

"I mean, we can celebrate it by watching a movie and some snacks." He shrugged. "Going out is tiring, but we can just do that here. Or a swim, I guess."

"Oh..." she rocked her head. "Just the two of us?"

"Do you plan on throwing a party?" he arched a brow.

"No, but I mean, you might want more people..."

"Just you." He stopped her even before she could finish her ridiculous assumption. Her brows rose while looking back at his indifferent expression. "I just want to celebrate it with you. Just you."

'There's no way I'll tell her she should invite that brat here.' He could not help but click his tongue inwardly, thinking that their classmates would surely snatch Cosette's attention. If this was about celebrating his certification, then he would rather have to spend time with her alone.

After all, Cosette was the only person who mattered to him.

"Alright." She nodded, biting her inner lip to suppress her giggle, but to no avail. "Feels like a date."

This time, his back stiffened, and looked at her. His throat bobbed nervously, seeing the devious curl of the corner of her lips.

'I like her but sometimes... she scares me.' He sighed, shaking his head. 'I sometimes feel unsafe around her, more than the fact that she should be the one worrying.'

"Let's go!" Maxen flinched when she sprung out of the bed excitedly.

"Let's go?" he asked.

"Yes. We'll have a movie night now!" she nodded profusely, hands on her hips. "I'll make some popcorn and snacks. You help me set up the entertainment room."

Cosette arched a brow when Maxen didn't move an inch from his spot. Hence, she kicked his foot lightly, only for him to sigh.

"Okay..." Maxen dragged himself out of the cough lazily until he was standing in his statue. Meanwhile, her eyes dilated slowly, looking up at him in horror.

"What now?" he asked, seeing how she looked at him as if she has just seen a ghost.

"Max!" she yelled, grabbing either his biceps. "How come you grew this tall?!"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh?' How the hell did you grow so tall like a tower?! What sort of sorcery is this?" she gasped in disbelief. She was already surprised at Maxen's changes in his overall physique, but even his height?! If she was correct, Maxen was now at least an inch taller than Asher! Or at least, the same height!

"I don't know?" he shrugged. "Are we not watching anymore now?"

"No! We'll watch!" Cosette snapped her tongue in irritation. "You really know how to set me straight."

Maxen simply chuckled as she stomped her feet away. But just as he took a step to follow her, he stopped when he caught her phone lighting up from the corner of his eyes. Knowing she would turn the house upside down later if she remember her phone, Maxen picked it up to give it to her.

But as he did, he caught the novel she was reading when he came in. His brows furrowed, pressing the back button only to see a lewd cover of both men.

"..."

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