HER NAME IS MAXINE - I

"So, you're the one who's been harassing her all this time, Mary?"

Instead of answering, Mary chose to lower her head and make a play, as if the place was the stage for her. He even forced his eyes to shed unnecessary tears, as if crying.

Leo and Ivan sprayed his eyeballs, then stayed away —letting Maxim end things he hadn't even had time to start yet. Not to forget, they brought Sidney along.

Maxim rubbed his face with a rough sweep while exhaling his rough breath. Upset? Of course. Confused? Absolutely. He didn't even say anything that hurt Mary's heart, well, maybe Maxim's map sounded cornering. But really, Maxim didn't mean it that way.

Now, inevitably he has to seduce Mary. He smiled, even if he didn't want to do it. But as a man, and as the one who had given responsibility for Mary while outside the house, Maxim inevitably had to do so.

With a heavy heart, Maxim approached Mary, embracing her slender waist then bringing her into his arms.

Maxim even rubbed the top of Mary's head while whispering a few sentences of apology, hoping Mary no longer felt sad, let alone cornered.

Maxine shook her head in disbelief at the unnecessary intimacy these two lovebirds did in public. "Drama queen," she muttered quietly.

Luckily Mary doesn't hear what Maxine just said, but Maxim catches it very clearly. Maxim hurriedly brought Mary to leave the cafeteria, even he took the time to say an apology to Maxine, on mary's behalf.

Maxim's baritone voice was inaudible at all. Only the movement of his mouth can be captured by Maxine. Even so, Maxine is forced to give him a nod, although obviously, it's not Maxim's responsibility. Except for Mary.

"You go, girl!" Liam came over and grabbed his shoulder with a pat and a smile full of pride as if Maxine had just broken the world record for one of the martial arts branches.

In the next split second, Liam said loudly, after successfully taking Maxine out of the cafeteria —towards the parking lot. "I'll treat you to ice cream, celebrating your courage."

The sentence managed to make Maxine chuckled amused. Liam really acted like a brother, as well as a father who was so proud of the small achievements made by his beloved daughter.

Maxine then snatches the key from Liam's left hand, then presses one of the buttons, and sits behind the wheel as Liam opens the door for her.

"Do you have money, hey, little boy?" Maxine began taunting Liam, as the younger brother had been sitting comfortably on her right side.

"Well... I still hold my mother's card," Liam said cheerfully.

Liam pulled out a gold card from his wallet, brandishing it in front of Maxine exactly. With an asymmetrical smile, Liam said: 'I'd love to hear about all this. So, I think... She wouldn't mind if this card we used just to buy two ice cream."

Surrender. Of course, that's all Maxine can do right now. She remembers what she and Liam did last week. Their mother even looked delighted as Liam spent her money on changing the contents of Maxine’s wardrobe. Just for two pieces of ice cream, their mother certainly wouldn't be angry.

***

Meanwhile, Maxim breathed a sigh of relief after nearly an hour of hard trying to correct Mary's mood which he accidentally destroyed. The girl was now smiling broadly when Maxim finally kissed her forehead. 

Mary who had originally lowered her head, now raised her gaze, staring at Maxim was reviewing a smile. "I'm sorry, if I overreact to your words," Mary finally opened her voice. 

It must sound so calm, Maxim catches a bit of vibration in it. The girl was nervous about explaining everything. "I... I only feel cornered when you ask like that. As... It's all my fault. Well... Even if it is, I'm involved, although not completely."

Mary admits her mistake, only that she deflects a little reality. She does not feel fully involved with what happened to Maxine, when in fact, although all through Sidney, Mary who is in control even occasionally she dares to give her servants a reward if willing to prank Maxine as she wishes.

"Okay, I'm sorry too." Maxim rubbed the back of Mary's head, then kissed her forehead just as he had done. 

Regardless of whether Mary's confession is true, Maxim still asks Mary one thing. "Can you stop bothering her, hm?"

He stared at Mary's chocolate bead with all the tenderness Maxim had. The quiet highlight that always manages to make Mary drunk, falls deeply in the charm of the Alpha that most other werewolf girls desire.

Without hesitation Mary nodded, then sneered spoiled, immersing her petite face in Maxim's field chest. Mary reviewed the thin grin as Maxim held her warm.

Maxim leaned his right cheek against the top of Mary's fist while closing his eyes. In a matter of three seconds, he opened his eyes again. His round eyes are resented. For a moment Maxim lowered his gaze, confirming that the woman who was holding it was Mary. It wasn't Maxine, who suddenly entered, shadowing himself as he closed.

Maxim then shook his arms. For some reason, there was a feeling of guilt that plagued him instantly. How could, he imagine another girl when his girlfriend was hugging him so tightly as he is today?

"Max, do you want to stay at my house?" said Mary to Maxim, as she relaxed her arms, looked up, and looked at Maxim expectantly. "It's Monday, our parents are certainly having a meeting somewhere. And usually, they come home tomorrow afternoon."

Maxim swiftly gave her a shake. Of course, Maxim had to reject Mary's idea, although maybe he was actually so willing to spend the night at Mary's house. It's just that he has other responsibilities. There is an older sister who is disabled. Who would have looked after her, if Maxim hadn't been around?

"Ah! I almost forgot about Lisa," Mary knew the answer.

She then got up from her seat, pulling Maxim's big hand until they stood face to face. "I'm the only one staying at your house."

Inevitably, Maxim agreed to what Mary wanted at the time. However, despite the various ways he was sent to refuse all sorts of requests, there would always be another party: her parents begging —in place of Mary's whining.

In spite of it all, Maxim had to be willing to share a bed with the girl who was so fond of it. Although not hypocritical, he liked Mary quite a lot. It's just that he's still unfamiliar with Mary passing freely in the room: the only place Maxim considers to be his most private place.

Well... Maxim really couldn't do everything he wanted freedom. Everything was arranged —orderly and constrained. Even in front of a lot of people, he seemed to enjoy everything. Almost everyone thinks of him like an open book.

A few days passed by. 

After getting tired of ignoring some calls and entering from dozens of unknown numbers, Maxine chose to turn off her phone, then throw the sim card that had been embedded into the trash behind her bedroom door.

Maxine turned around, looking at the rows of numbers listed on the digital clock on the side table on the left side of her bed. 7:00 PM. she had already missed her dinner because the plant physiology task could not be delayed even though she could do it.

"Just recheck, then finish," she muttered after a few hours of silence, opening it only when she had trouble finding the right references on some pages on the search engine.

Maxine tapped her phone screen, weighing up buying a new number as well as what food she was eating while completely starving after skipping dinner with Liam and their mother. She hates eating late, let alone having to enjoy it alone when everyone has returned to their rooms. 

It's better to go somewhere, order food. It would be better to be completely alone in the crowd. It could have been Maxine asking Daniela: her mother, or Liam to accompany her to eat in the kitchen. 

Despite all the possibilities, Maxine just doesn't want to whine at both. She knew they needed time alone after a full day struggling with each other's favorite activities outside the house.

"Fish and chips seem like a good idea." she hissed after successfully snatching a thick baseball jacket from inside the wardrobe.

It didn't take long for Maxine to arrive at her mother's doorstep. Just blocked one door, Liam's room. Maxine poked her head from behind the door, after successfully knocking and getting permission from the owner of the room.

Who would have thought, her mother was engrossed in sharing laughter —a story with her brother. Both of them seemed so comfortable lying on the mother's soft bed.

"Your homework is done?" 

Daniela became the first to speak out when Maxine poked her head. The woman, who she said was the mother, positioned her back body leaning against padded pads that became a headboard on her bed appeared to float.

"Come here! I want to hear the full story from your mouth," Daniela said excitedly.

Liam smiled broadly before finally entering the chat. "Sorry, I just told mom about the first rebellion you did this afternoon, Max."

Thrashing. Apparently, the sentence was deliberately Liam chose to make the moment that happened as fast as lightning, this afternoon, as something he needed to give a highlight. As a marker on something, he considers important, such as when he marks a paragraph that he thinks is important and interesting.

"Just continue. I can count on you the most, Liam." Maxine threw her warm smile at her brother, before finally turning her eyes to Daniela who was still waiting for her answer.

"I want to eat fish and chips," Maxine voiced her goal at them, asking permission before going out there. "Is there anything I want to bring you?"

Liam was shocked. The restaurant Maxine is going to is the only place that provides the best Fish and Chips in Hillcester, and the distance is quite time-consuming if on foot.

Maxine must pass through 3 blocks, as well, Restaurant was in the territory of the Stone Clan: the Maxim Family, as well as the Young Clan: the Mary Family. The imperviousness of Maxine being bullied is huge.

Maxine knew what Liam's gaze meant, even as Liam was about to get up from his mother's padded mattress, Maxine hurriedly stopped him. 

"I'll break their jaws if they come back to bothering," she exclaimed casually. "Just trust me."

Without waiting for a reply from Liam and Daniela, Maxine moved up —closing the door before these two in the room stormed her with various sentences of rejection. Maybe even Liam could also force Daniela to come along. Maxine doesn't want that to happen. She needs extra time to be alone, as well as they do, needing more rest after maybe almost a full day worrying about her.

After 45 minutes of walking through 3 blocks on a leisurely walk —tending to be slow, Maxine arrived in front of a modern-style building. The only restaurant in Hillcester that exudes cheerfulness, the building's color choices seem striking and different from the other restaurants in the city.

The mustard-colored building was the only place that looked so striking. Different from other buildings that stand firmly in that strong neighborhood. The restaurant looked like a kitten that was surrounded by a herd of wolves. 

The building around Restaurant called Your First Choices looks so dashing. Black and gray become a color combination that looks so much dominated around it. Also, it looks like giving a real sign, that the environment belongs to those who have power, even though its color symbolizes the genius of its owners.

"You really are my first choice." Maxine turned the doorknob of the restaurant, then walked straight to a spot she liked when she entered any dining place: a table right in the middle of the room.

Maxine waited sweetly when one of the waiters received all her orders. As expected, and as usual, the people she recognized as werewolves looked at her with all sorts of roars that managed to disturb her quite disturbed. Cynical, and sharp.

But when Maxine turned to her left side, a man who looked the same age as her was smiling in knots as their green beads met. Only the young man smiled at her. The only one.

Instead of giving a reply to the hospitality she received, Maxine chose not to express anything. All she did was give the young man a faint nod.

Maxine knew who was trying to be warm to her. The same man, who was about to defend her during the incident in the cafeteria this afternoon. Maxim Stone. The popular, Mary Young’s boyfriend: the girl who has always been the head of all the ill-treatment she receives in the University.

The fish and chips Maxine ordered finally came. Without a doubt, she ate it greedily, as if she had never gotten any food since morning. While Maxim devoured his burger with a slow chew. Every now and then he steals a glance, even deliberately staring at Maxine for quite a long time.

"Adorable." Maxim thought.