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"Who are you?"

Maxen frowned at the first question she had for him after not talking for months. "Only two months and two days, Cozie. And now, you can\'t remember me?" he repeated in a somber tone.

Cosette gasped and blinked countless times. The more she stared, the more he looked familiar. Out of panic, Cosette jumped and plopped her butt down beside him.

"Max?" she exclaimed, making him wince and tug his earlobe. "Omg!"

Unbothered by the slight annoyance dominating his face, Cosette cupped his cheeks and forced him to look back at her. Her eyes scanned his face, gasping dramatically.

"What?" he asked, annoyed at this strange reaction from her.

"Your fats..." came out a shaking voice on the verge of crying, looking back at him with a deep frown. "... where did your baby fats go!?"

His frown deepened, scrunching his nose up in dismay.

"My cute baby villain... omo...! Did you starve yourself while I was busy, hmm?" she asked worriedly. "Oh, gosh...! Don\'t worry. I will feed you tons and tons of food!"

Maxen would be pleased with everything she had spewed recklessly if not for the fact she was acting like a grandma concerned with her favorite grandchild\'s well-being. He looked at her dead in the eye, sighing faintly at the sight of her.

He raised his hand and pinched her cheek mildly. "I missed you," he said without a second hesitation, stopping her from her continuous histrionic sentiments.

"Ah?" she blinked twice, her hands still cupping his face.

"You\'ve been busy," he stressed. "And we didn\'t hang out that much. That\'s why I missed you."

"..."

It took Cosette some time to absorb the words he uttered, and when they registered in her head, her face slowly turned red. She even heard her head producing a \'poof\' sound when her brain overheated, making her dizzy for a moment.

Seeing her flustered reaction, Maxen chuckled with his lips closed. But alas, she purposely misunderstood his chuckle as him being evil and deliberately making her feel a little embarrassed.

"Tch!" she clicked her tongue, retracting her hand from his face. "Gosh... just because you look a little mature now, you think you can seduce this innocent maiden?"

"Seduce an innocent maiden?" he arched a brow and tilted his head to the side. "I\'m not seducing you. You and I are too young for that."

"Yes, you are!" her breath hitched, jumping back while pointing at him with judgemental eyes.

"Huh? How??"

"That!" he flinched when she exclaimed one more time.

"What??" the confusion in his eyes grew even more apparent, knowing he was innocent... a bit. It wasn\'t like Maxen was purposely seducing her, but it wasn\'t like he was completely innocent either, since there were certain things he wanted to do to her or with her.

For instance, kissing.

"Yes, you! You looking at me as if I\'m your prey is seduction without a doubt!" she clarified, looking back at him cautiously. It wasn\'t just Maxen losing a bit of weight. But for some reason, his entire features looked more mature, like Asher\'s.

Was that even possible? How could his appearance change so drastically in two months? Was this part of the novel\'s character development? A villain\'s perks or some sort?

It wasn\'t like he changed completely, but more like since his baby fats were gone, his face and Adam\'s apple looked more defined. Hence, his handsomeness, which she wanted to keep for herself, was now out there for everyone to see!

Just how would she protect Maxen? Or the girls who would experience his wrath once they pissed him off?

While Cosette gave him this inexplicably complicated look, Maxen cocked his head to the side. He had been working out even before she thought of tagging along with her father. Still, he could barely see any results. Although he felt light and some of his clothes were bigger now, he didn\'t go under the knife to change his appearance.

And yet, she was acting like he had surgery to fix his face. If not for the unreasonable accusations she was throwing at him, he would take it as a compliment. However, she was glaring daggers at him as if he was a criminal.

"What am I going to do with you?" he mumbled and sighed, shaking his head mildly. "I can\'t believe this is what you are so concerned about."

He cocked his head towards the couch across from them where she was lazing around previously. "Go back and read whatever you are reading."

"What?" she sprawled her arms and grabbed his wrist on instinct, just in case he would leave. He didn\'t plan to, though. So his brows rose at her abrupt hold.

For a moment, they looked at each other blankly, blinking silently.

"What?" he asked, breaking the prolonged silence.

"What do you mean what? I\'m stopping you from leaving... just in case you\'ll walk out like you always do."

Another faint exhale slipped past his nose. "I thought you\'ll be more mature after all that in your company." Maxen raised a finger and poked her forehead mildly.

"Turns out you\'ve become more silly."

Her frown deepened. "That\'s because I thought you\'ve grown more distant after not seeing me."

"Distant? Didn\'t you ask who I was just now?"

"But that\'s because your cuteness is gone!" she pouted, clicking her tongue. "You don\'t understand. Whatever."

Cosette slapped his finger away mildly and turned around, folding her arms under her chest. Seeing her action, Maxen tilted his head to the side.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked out of pure curiosity, but she only answered with a loud, "hmp!"

Maxen wouldn\'t understand her dilemma if she wouldn\'t tell him. While he was wondering what could be her problem, Cosette snapped her tongue once more.

\'Who gave him permission to grow up so fast?\' she grumbled inwardly. \'I mean, of course, I will barely recognize him with how much weight he lost! Also, this is a sin! How can he be so handsome?! Just when I thought I already managed my feelings — ugh! So frustrating!\'

Cosette was aware her problems were merely childish tantrums that she could resolve if she wanted to. However, it was upsetting when she thought she could be okay, but Maxen would spew nonsense to tease her. Her maiden heart was weak!

"Did you really miss me?" she murmured after a minute of silence, sneaking a look at him. After all that dramatic inner tantrum, her emotion still boiled down to what was important: the truth.

Maxen looked at her cautious eyes and nodded lightly, showing zero hesitation in expressing his feelings.

"I did, and I\'m glad to see you lazing around here like a sloth." His lips curled up subtly, making her breath hitch and dyeing her face red.

\'My heart...\' she mentally placed her hand across her chest to calm her racing heart. Surely, Maxen matured not just in appearance, but in demeanor as well.

Just months ago, Maxen would always click his tongue at her or frown. No, actually, Maxen never smiled at her. But now... he was smiling so gently.

"This is the first," she whispered, watching his brows raise. Her lips stretched wider until they reached her eyes. "This is the first time I saw you smile candidly, Max. It seemed you really have a great summer."

His smile line faded, replaced by a blissful nonchalance. "I did. Did you enjoy yours?"

"Mhm. Very much." Cosette leaned back, hugging the pillow and bending her knees closer to her chest. She glanced at him once again and bit her lips to stop them from stretching like a fool.

"Although I missed you," came out a muffled confession. "Just as much."

His eyes softened at her remarks, rocking his head mildly. During this summer, Maxen realized one thing, and that was Cosette was very expressive. Her words could be easily misunderstood. Just like this one, for instance. If this was before, Maxen would think it was some sort of love confession. However, now, he knew this wasn\'t the case.

After all, people could miss other people in their life, not just their lovers. Although he didn\'t plan to stay as friends in the future, he was satisfied with this level of closeness for now.

"Why didn\'t you grow, Cozie?" he asked, reaching for her hair, only to ruffle it playfully. "Or were you shrinking?"

She frowned. "No! You just grew overnight! This is so unfair!"

"Is it?" he laughed, making her even more irritable as she slapped his hand away.

"Maxen, there\' are a lot of things I want to ask you, and the first of them is how dare you?" she huffed, hopping out of the couch to stand in front of him. She raised her chin, hands on her hips, sporting this fake bravado to conceal the natural blush on her face.

"I might\'ve not grown taller, but can\'t you see I have a body of a woman?" she argued, staring down at him, who was leaning back with his arms spread. From her point of view, Maxen\'s lazy posture was akin to a prince waiting for someone to straddle him.

Meanwhile, Maxen kept his eyes locked with hers before his gaze fell on her neck, down to her slender shoulders, then collarbones. His gaze continued to move south ever so slowly until he was staring at her legs. Cosette was wearing a short and a sleeveless top, making his throat bob.

\'Just... why does she always put me in a very awkward situation?\' he wondered with a deep sigh, raising his eyes to meet her eyes, only to see her look away in embarrassment. \'That\'s right... she finally realizes how awkward this is for the both of us, but she is stubborn and won\'t admit that. Seriously... she\'s going to drive me crazy again.\'