"Who the hell…?" Luke trailed off upon seeing Ezekiel turn his head in their direction. He raised a brow when he saw how Ezekiel's eyes and face lit up.
"Cozie!"
Luke's expression instantly turned grim, while Maxen's brows furrowed slightly. Meanwhile, Remo, who was standing right beside Luke, cocked his head to the side. The three of them watched Ezekiel jog in their direction until he was standing in front of Cosette.
Her expression was blank, obviously not pleased seeing this unwanted person in this story!
"Cozie —" Just as Ezekiel took another step closer to her, Luke automatically stepped in and blocked his path.
"Oy." Luke raised his chin as if he was looking for a fight, making Ezekiel lift his gaze because Cosette was a little shorter than him. "Who the hell are you?"
Ezekiel blinked and then smiled. "You're the second young master Quinn?"
"Huh?" Luke's already arched brow raised even more, looking up and down at Ezekiel.
"I met with your brother the other night. We planned to ask Cozie to hang out, but she wasn't picking up," Ezekiel explained with a smile, tilting his upper body to the side to look at Cosette behind Luke. "He told me I shouldn't visit you, but I think he just didn't like me."
"..." Cosette maintained her blank expression, but internally, she was screaming in frustration.
Was that the reason Asher was calling her the other night?! How would she know he wanted to warn her about this guy!? After all, Asher's message was too short and arrogant, and she thought he had already forgotten about their last embarrassing encounter she planned to take to her grave!
A deep exhale slipped past Cosette's lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Luke, can you please step aside?" she grumbled, reaching for his arm to pull him to her side gently. Cosette kept her hand on Luke's arm, which was something she never did. "Young Master Stone, what are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you, obviously." Ezekiel smiled, glancing at her hand on Luke's arm, but didn't show the slightest reaction. "Let's hang out."
"About that…" Cosette cleared her throat, glancing at Luke and then at Maxen. The moment her eyes landed on Maxen's emotionless countenance, she secretly sighed. Maxen didn't like the situation, but he didn't look at her to hint that he wanted her to refuse.
He didn't need to, though. Cosette didn't have any plans to stay even for a minute. Even if she was offered a million, she would decline in a heartbeat.
"Young Master Stone, I appreciate you want to hang out with me, but…" Cosette hesitatingly looked around, noticing they were garnering attention from the students going out of the school gates. When she faced him, Cosette let out a deep exhale.
"I can't. I'm sorry. The exams are coming up and we planned to review together."
"Oh…" Ezekiel frowned, melting some young ladies' hearts who were idling outside the gates. "... is that so?"
"Mhm." Cosette squeezed Luke's arm, making the latter quirk his brow as he glanced at her. "I'm really sorry."
"It's okay. I should've called you beforehand, but I thought it will be better if I asked you personally."
"Or maybe you thought she will have a hard time refusing if you asked in person," Luke commented, shrugging at Ezekiel when the latter glanced at him.
"You're really your brother's brother."
Luke frowned, as that sounded more like an insult. "Oy. I'm not like my brother." He took a step forward and cocked his head slightly.
"He is the person who considers where his fist land, not me."
"Luke." Cosette tugged his arm until Luke looked back at her. Unlike his usual reaction that he would complain, Luke just clicked his tongue and backed down.
"Young Master Stone, I'm really sorry for refusing your invitation. But I will try to make up with you," she said out of politeness, even though she knew deep in her heart there was no way she would even try to do anything! But Cosette immediately realized what she said out of politeness would backfire on her.
"I'll take that as a promise." Ezekiel smiled from ear to ear. "I'll wait for you at home, then."
"Huh?"
"You didn't know? Your grandparents and my grandparents will have a vacation in the country, and they invited us to the Blac Manor. We will stay there for a few days. So there will be many chances for us to hang out."
"..." Cosette, Maxen, Luke, and Remo were rendered speechless. All they could do after hearing Ezekiel's remarks was stare at him blankly.
"Anyway, since you plan to cram, I'll leave first. It's a shame we wouldn't go home together, but that's alright." Ezekiel's smile stretched even brighter. "I'll see you later."
With that being said, they watched Ezekiel wave and jog towards the sedan parked several feet from the school gates. Before he entered the car, he looked back at them and waved like a fool, and then left.
The four of them watched the back of the sedan as it sped away, standing in the same spot for minutes. They only snapped back to the current lapse when Luke turned to Cosette.
"Did he hurt you?" he asked out of nowhere, watching her look up at him with confusion in her eyes. "Your grip when you saw him."
When Luke puckered his lips, pointing at her hand on his arm, Cosette let it go on instinct. Her hands left prints on Luke's arm, making her realize she was gripping his arm tighter than she was supposed to.
"No, he didn't." Cosette shook her head and then gazed up at Luke again. "I just don't like him."
Luke assessed her expression, and even if he didn't believe her, he didn't press on the matter. He shifted his eyes to Maxen, only to see the latter staring at where the car sped away.
"I don't like him." Luke tossed his arms in the air, holding his hands behind his head. "Who is this guy, by the way?"
When Luke asked that question, Maxen slowly set his eyes on Cosette. Remo, who didn't care about the turn of events, also gazed at Cosette. Remo was a little curious as well, but in his head, he wouldn't be surprised if this Ezekiel was just Cosette's other admirer.
Cosette was very popular in school, after all. If not for the fact Luke could turn into a monster, each time someone tries to confess to her, her school life would be a lot busier.
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