Standing up to Rex

 A few minutes earlier…

 "Dumb bitch… who does she think she is?" A tall boy with dark red hair seethed, clenching his hands into a tight fist.

 As he walked down the hallway, all those who came across him quickly turned their gaze away, unwilling 

 'Whatever, let me just find Emma and get the hell out of here.' He thought, letting out a low hiss.

 "Your eyes are… distracting. Hard to look away." As he reached the next turn in the hallway, his ear picked up a strange voice, causing his brow to raise in confusion.

 "Huh?" He muttered, scoffing under his breath.

 Unable to hold back his curiosity, he turned his head to the side, and his dabs squeezed into a deep frown.

 He could see two people standing in the middle of the hallway, one a tall dude with long white hair and striking red eyes.

 However, what caught his attention was the lady standing in front of him… a beautiful girl with dark red hair tied into twin tails.

 'Emma… but what's she doing with him?' He wondered, the frown on his face deepening even further.

 For some reason, the boy's face was really annoying to him.

 How could someone be so handsome? He wondered, gnashing his teeth in jealousy.

 A handsome face, a pair of charming eyes, a sharp jawline… he practically had it all!

 'Isn't that unfair?' He thought, clenching his fists in frustration.

 He had always thought he was quite handsome, even if he wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but compared to this person, he looked more like an ugly clay statue.

 'And why are they standing… so close to each other?' He thought, biting his lips in annoyance.

 Though he couldn't see Emma's face from where he stood, he was sure the idiot of a girl was starting to fall for the boy's charms, and that alone annoyed him.

 Suddenly, the white haired boy turned towards him, their eyes locking with each other for a brief moment.

 Rex felt a shiver run down his spine, and he subconsciously stepped backwards, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

 'D-did I imagine that…?' He thought, his eyes trembling in disbelief.

 Though their gazes only locked for a moment, he could have sworn with all his life that he saw his lips curl into a mocking smirk.

 However, what happened next rocked him to the core.

 Emma almost tripped to the ground, but the strange person quickly reacted, grabbing her by the waist.

 "Careful there Emma." He heard him say, his hands sliding even lower down her waist, until it rested just above her butt. "I'd hate for you to get hurt."

 He watched as he drew her even closer, his grip on her waist growing firmer, and their faces inching closer with each passing second.

 'W-who does h-he think he is… holding her like that…?' Rex mumbled inwardly, his finger nails digging deep into his palms.

 Though he loved to play around with other girls, whether in his class or not, it was a different feeling watching another guy play around with his own sister.

 "Get your filthy hands…" He said, rushing out before he even knew it. "Off my sister!"

 'He finally exploded, hehe.' Liam thought, his lips curling into a smirk.

 He already noticed Rex a while back, which was why he decided to hit harder on Emma.

 Rex was a well-known playboy in the academy, always abusing his power and lineage to coerce innocent girls into rolling with him.

 However, one thing he would never tolerate was for another boy to get even five meters close to his twin sister.

 The few times a male tried getting close to her, even if it was to ask for simple directions, Rex and his gang harassed them, making sure they deeply regretted their actions. 

 No one understood why he was so overprotective of her, but rarely anyone dared trespass.

 Besides, he was one of the high ranking nobles in the academy, so only a few dared to stand up against him.

 Nonetheless, that was exactly why he would be claiming his twin for himself.

 Throughout his stay at the academy, Rex and his friends made sure his life hell, making him one of the main targets of their bullying, even going as far as to embarrass him in front of the whole class.

 Though he wasn't exactly the one who experienced all those things, he still had those painful memories… stuck in his mind forever.

 Even now as he stood in front of Rex, he could hear a soft, whimpering voice within him, saying 'run away, or he'll punish you.'

 "R-rex, what do you think you're doing?" Emma said, her face squeezing into a frown as she stepped up to her brother.

 Her voice broke Liam out of his thoughts, and he immediately came back to his senses. 

 "I should be asking you that, what do you think you're doing with him?!" Rex said, fuming in anger.

 "You think you can just walk around, and do whatever you want?!" He shouted, moving closer to her. 

 Emma subconsciously stepped back, closing her eyes in fear of what might come next.

 Despite being the older twin, and more powerful and talented than Rex, she had never been able to talk back to him even once.

 She simply tagged along with whatever he wished, without even voicing her own opinion.

 Seeing the terrified expression on her face, Rex scoffed, relishing in his little display of authority.

 "Do you think just because I wasn't—"

 "That's enough from you." Liam suddenly interjected, causing his eyes to widen in shock. 

 "Huh?" He muttered, his gaze shifting away from Emma and to Liam.

 "How dare yo—"

 "Shut up." Liam cut him off once more, grabbing Emma's hand before pulling her behind him.

 "L-Liam…" Emma muttered, her eyes watering in relief as she stared at the broad back of Liam.

 "Who are you to tell her what to do?" He said, locking gazes with the arrogant boy.

 "W-what?" Rex muttered, a little taken aback by his sudden confrontation.

 'I was cut off… twice…' He mumbled inwardly, gnashing his teeth in frustration.

 'Who does this dude think he is…' He thought, veins bulging at the sides of his forehead.

 'Wait… did she just call him… Liam?' He thought, his eyes growing wide realisation.