"ARE you going out?"
Hero stopped walking when he heard Max's voice behind him. He turned to face her. "Yeah. Lance and Miggy invited me to the funfair," he replied.
It was almost six o'clock when their classmates left. Max wanted to end the tutorial earlier but they asked for an extension as they were enjoying the lessons. He was so tired he felt his brain drain from it. The fair would be the best stress reliever.
"Do you want to come with us?" he asked hesitantly.
"No. I, uh, I got something else to do. Thanks, anyway."
"Okay! I'm going first. Good night!"
"Good night! Have fun!"
He hesitantly waved goodbye before heading out the door.
"Oh! Where's Max?" the two immediately asked when he came out.
"She said she has something else to do," he replied simply. Actually, he didn
"THATwas unfair, don't you think?"Hero looked at his aunt after Max had vanished from their sight."She just saved your friend. The least you could have done was to thank her."She's right, he thought. He shouldn't have scolded her. What he said was not wrong. He's worried about her. It's Liam, after all. But how he said those words...Max was obviously upset."I know. I'm sorry, I just got carried away," he replied."You tell that to her.""I know. I'll talk to her tomorrow."After his aunt finished tending to Miggy, he and Lance took him to their boarding house."Are you sure you're okay, man?" he asked, still worried about his friend."I am." Miggy sat down on his deck. Lance sat beside him while Hero sat on the other deck across from them."That guy
THEmass would start at 10 AM. Max still had thirty minutes to prepare. After taking a bath, she opened her wardrobe and examined her clothes. She decided to go with her black floral-print long-sleeved knee-length chiffon dress and paired it with a black suede two-inch block-heeled sandals.She excitedly looked at herself in the human-sized mirror and was very satisfied at how the outfit looked good on her--or rather, how she looked good on it. But the excitement was replaced with hatred when she saw the old Kathrina--sweet, naive, and stupidly in love with Hero.Do you wanna go back to that weak Kathrina? Did you forget your rule: Never trust anyone?"No!" She violently shook her head.She was about to take the dress off when suddenly there was a knock on the door."Are you done yet?" It was Hero's voice. "Nanny asked me to check up on you. We're a
"WHATa small world!"Hero didn't know if Miggy was only kidding but he didn't find it funny at all. He had been morose and silent since they hesitantly left Max with Liam. However, remembering how confident she was the other night that Liam would never hurt her, somehow assured him. But the thing is, he felt betrayed--her not telling him about Liam."You, guys! How did you meet Liam and why do you seem to hate each other that much?" Belen asked them as soon as they entered the house."He is one of our rivals in Manila. That person is annoyingly arrogant, acting like he is the leader of their group," Lance replied."Is that all there is to it?" she said shaking her head.
"ISN'Tthat the new transfer student? He's really handsome, isn't he?"Max rolled her eyes when she heard Lisa giggled behind her. They had just arrived at the campus cafeteria and were looking for a good spot when she saw Liam at the counter; female students lining up behind him naively giggled and were thrilled just like Lisa did.Well, she wouldn't argue on that. Liam had been a campus crush ever since they were kids.Soon they found a good spot and put together two empty tables side by side to accommodate their group. She purposely chose the seat where she could see what Liam was doing. On the other hand, she was aware of the other pair of eyes observing her: Hero's."Let's line up at the counter," Darwin urg
"CLINGY!"Max pushed Hero lightly, pretending to hate his embrace when, in fact, she wanted it to last a little longer. She pulled herself together and get back to her composure. "It's time for class." She turned around and secretly giggled."Look who's talking! Hugging e like a pillow in the middle of the night," he murmured.She made a halt. Thankfully, she was not facing him so he did not see how red her face had become when she remembered what she did the night before the classroom quiz bee. She reset into her ill-tempered self before facing him again. "Are you blaming me now?" she asked with a raised eyebrow."No, I'm not," he replied defensively, returning to his new normal self. "I told you, I..."
TWOweeks. Hero had been irritated for two long weeks since Liam's appearance in Cas-U, but much more so because Max had not been herself lately. Or rather, she was back to being the cold-hearted, ill-tempered gangster he once knew. Although it's really like her to beat people up when she's annoyed or mad, he suspected that Liam had something to do with what was happening to her. Her smile during the science quiz bee preparation had vanished, and worst, she punched him--much to his shock as she had never done it before, not that he thought she would never do it to him.The door of the detention office opened and Max came out of it. He was sitting on the bench in the lobby outside, then stood to meet her. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.She just stared at him. Then her gaze fixated o
"HOW'SHero?" Max immediately asked as soon as she got to the eatery. She heard what had happened to him on the rooftop so she left the class and rushed home."Auntie, please be gentle! Ouch!" she heard Hero groaned from the kitchen before his two friends who were guarding the cafeteria could answer.She got past them and then straight to the kitchen. She was devastated to see his face, fist clenched in anger."Oh, Max! You're here!" said Belen who was the first to notice her. "Are you hungry? I'll fix your dinner after this."She secretly heaved a sigh and slowly let out some air to calm herself down. "I'm fine, Nanny. Let me take care of him for you. You can go back to the eatery.""Oh, thank you! And please tell him again not to roam anywhere so he won't get into trouble with some thugs. Look at him," she complained, shaking her head as she left the kitchen.Hero averted his eyes from her as she continued to treat hi
"HERO!It's Dana!""Why, what happened to Dana?""Her bag was found outside the school, but she wasn't there.""What?!"Hero's group immediately came out and helped each other find Dana. They asked the people around if they had seen her but no one could tell where his girlfriend was.Fifteen minutes later, Liam called him on his phone. "If you want to see your girlfriend, come to the former Garcia Trading warehouse near the San Antonio Fish Port. ALONE," he said, giving heavy emphasis on the word 'alone.' "Most importantly, don't tell anyone especially the police, or else..."
"SHE'snot coming with you."Hero's hard words stopped Max before she could respond to Liam's invitation. They were already leaving the campus. Since they had no other classes that day, they had agreed to hang out--just the two of them. It was when Liam suddenly came out of nowhere."Wait, what's your problem? Why are you forbidding Max? Who do you think you are?" Liam asked, irritated."You let her get wasted. Do you think that's what a responsible guy does?""I made sure Max got home safely last night.""And do you know what time that was? Do you know how worried we all were at home because he hadn't returned yet?""It's not my fault she didn't tell you. And why would she do that when you guys are the ones crashing at her place? You're the ones responsible for her!""You're right. And I should protect her from you.""You're really looking for trouble again, huh?"Max's head felt like it would expl
MAX couldn't help but laugh as she watched Hero's amused look as their lips parted. The young man blinked several times in disbelief. She snapped her fingers in front of him. "Silly! You're not dreaming or imagining things." "A-Are you sure?" "You kissed me and I kissed you back," she said with a smile. But the joy she expected on his face was replaced by confusion and he seemed to regret what he had done. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "Y-yeah. Sorry, I have to prepare for school. I'll wait for you downstairs." "Sure. I'm going to take a shower first," she nodded. Hero took the food and went out without looking back. She was left there standing, dumbfounded. He was gone for a while but she was still staring at the door as if he was going to come back in. She sighed in disappointment and shook her head violently. Maybe he was just shocked, she convinced herself. She took a quick shower and got herself ready for school. But she was now afraid to face him. She was afrai
HEROand his friends are feeling restless. Max isn't home yet and it was getting dark. His aunt started questioning him repeatedly."Hero, do you really not know where Max is? Something bad might have happened to her," she asked worriedly."Auntie, I really don't know. She suddenly left and didn't return to class. She also just left her things at school. I thought she went home first," he reasoned.His aunt was still restless. "I searched the entire house and didn't see her. Maybe she's with Liam. Do you have his number?"His friends looked at each other before looking at him. He suddenly lost interest in finding her after realizing that they might be spending time together. Why bother wh
"BYthe way, Auntie, our classmates will be here at three o'clock. Max will help us with our Science experiment," Hero informed his aunt as he finished eating."Yes, she called me. I will close at two o'clock in the afternoon to prepare this eatery for you," Belen calmly replied."Yeah, right," he said to himself."What's with your reaction? Did you, two, fight again?" his aunt asked him. He didn't know she would notice."Nothing," he replied before getting up and putting away his dishes."Don't mind him, Auntie. Hero is just jealous because Max is having a lunch date with Liam," Miggy teased him."Isn't he dangerous?" Lance asked worriedly.Miggy and Hero exchanged looks, before looking at Lance."Liam isn't a bad person like you think he is."They all turned their head when they heard Max's voice. Her face was dark and her gaze was sharp on him."If you have nothing good to say about him, j
"DARWIN, let's pair up," Max declared before Hero could utter a word.Darwin looked at her in confusion. "Huh?""Are you deaf?" she asked with a raised eyebrow."Of course not!" Darwin replied in annoyance. "Sure, I'll be your partner!""You wanted to be Hero's partner, don't you...Lindsay?" she asked, looking at Lindsay.Lindsay looked at her in both shock and embarrassment. Her classmate was obviously confused about what's happening but didn't dare complain about it."Why not? I'll be your partner, Lindsay," Hero answered cheerfully, but his eyes were fixed on her. Then he stood up and carried his book to Lindsay's side.Darwin immediately walked in and replaced Hero in his seat beside her.While Hero and Lindsay's pair were enthusiastic, Darwin and she were just too quiet. Unbeknownst to her, Darwin was carefully watching her as she was mindlessly scanning her book."How long are you gonna do what you
"HERO!It's Dana!""Why, what happened to Dana?""Her bag was found outside the school, but she wasn't there.""What?!"Hero's group immediately came out and helped each other find Dana. They asked the people around if they had seen her but no one could tell where his girlfriend was.Fifteen minutes later, Liam called him on his phone. "If you want to see your girlfriend, come to the former Garcia Trading warehouse near the San Antonio Fish Port. ALONE," he said, giving heavy emphasis on the word 'alone.' "Most importantly, don't tell anyone especially the police, or else..."
"HOW'SHero?" Max immediately asked as soon as she got to the eatery. She heard what had happened to him on the rooftop so she left the class and rushed home."Auntie, please be gentle! Ouch!" she heard Hero groaned from the kitchen before his two friends who were guarding the cafeteria could answer.She got past them and then straight to the kitchen. She was devastated to see his face, fist clenched in anger."Oh, Max! You're here!" said Belen who was the first to notice her. "Are you hungry? I'll fix your dinner after this."She secretly heaved a sigh and slowly let out some air to calm herself down. "I'm fine, Nanny. Let me take care of him for you. You can go back to the eatery.""Oh, thank you! And please tell him again not to roam anywhere so he won't get into trouble with some thugs. Look at him," she complained, shaking her head as she left the kitchen.Hero averted his eyes from her as she continued to treat hi
TWOweeks. Hero had been irritated for two long weeks since Liam's appearance in Cas-U, but much more so because Max had not been herself lately. Or rather, she was back to being the cold-hearted, ill-tempered gangster he once knew. Although it's really like her to beat people up when she's annoyed or mad, he suspected that Liam had something to do with what was happening to her. Her smile during the science quiz bee preparation had vanished, and worst, she punched him--much to his shock as she had never done it before, not that he thought she would never do it to him.The door of the detention office opened and Max came out of it. He was sitting on the bench in the lobby outside, then stood to meet her. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.She just stared at him. Then her gaze fixated o
"CLINGY!"Max pushed Hero lightly, pretending to hate his embrace when, in fact, she wanted it to last a little longer. She pulled herself together and get back to her composure. "It's time for class." She turned around and secretly giggled."Look who's talking! Hugging e like a pillow in the middle of the night," he murmured.She made a halt. Thankfully, she was not facing him so he did not see how red her face had become when she remembered what she did the night before the classroom quiz bee. She reset into her ill-tempered self before facing him again. "Are you blaming me now?" she asked with a raised eyebrow."No, I'm not," he replied defensively, returning to his new normal self. "I told you, I..."