Chapter 3

The smile on my face disappeared and I couldn't blame it. Anyone would be scared out of their wits just by standing in front of him.

Max is, no doubt, the hottest guy at school. He has the looks, the talents and the body. Yet, he is a bit mysterious and calm while his two other friends, or should I say the two guys who come after him in the most hottest guy's list at school? Heya, note the sarcasm over here. Might as well make it noticeable.

Max is known as the 'player' of St-Xavier high school and yet most girls still sleep with him hoping that they would be the one changing the bad boy but get their hearts broken in return when they realized the next morning that it was just a one night stand for him. He is a complete and utter jerk. Thank God Max has never spoken to me or even looked at me since seventh grade.

But now I don't think that I would be able to go unnoticed at school now. After all Max is standing in front of me in all his glory and hotness. Was I really thinking about his hot body right now? Oh God save me, please. My palms were sweating. His brown eyes were fixed intently on my face as if my parents were not present right here. I need something to fan myself. I'm hot.

I have never seen him being the bad boy that everyone talks about at school. I have always heard such things about him. But sometimes, a look into his level brown eyes that was almost frightening made me feel a weird kind of feeling. As if there was something underneath that quiet guy exterior - something primitive and deadly that could do a lot of damage if aroused. So, I know for sure that I should not mess with him. Back then, I did not know that I would be messing with him in the future. I'm so not ready to face my new neighbour.

I shook my head slightly and tried to look normal but it was too late. When I glanced up, I saw my parents and Max staring straight right at me. My parents wore a worried look on their faces while Max was smirking at me. Good, now he will say that I'm a creep. I was after all staring at him and studying him like a biology project.

"Shel, are you okay?" my mom asked while grabbing my right arm and turned me to face her.

I felt a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind and I jumped out of fright. I huffed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was my dad and not Max.

"Princess, are you okay? What happened? You are sweating! Do you want to get some rest?" my dad asked and placed his right palm on my forehead.

Oh god no, dad! You did not just say that. This is so embarrassing.

I opened my mouth to say that I was okay but Max cleared his throat from behind as if to show that he was still present. He walked towards me and smiled a genuine smile. Oh no! I know that look. He is up to something.

"Babe, are you okay?" Max whispered in my ear, making a shiver go down my spine. He wounded his left arm around my waist and pulled me towards him making my back crashed into his broad chest lightly. My eyes flew opened with shock and I looked at my parents.

To say that I was shocked was an understatement. Even my parents looked at us as if we weren't even human beings.

I tried to break free from his embrace but I just couldn't. I glared at him but he only smirked back, clearly amused. How I want to wipe that smirk off his face. I should slap him. Yes, good idea but I can't, considering the fact that my parents are watching us like they have just seen a ghost.

"Are you two a couple?" my mom asked grinning like a Cheshire cat after breaking from her thoughts.

"No", I replied a bit too quickly to which mom's grin turned even bigger and she winked at me. Come on mom, don't get started you too. My mom is a romantic person and she is always telling me to go get wasted at parties and to go get a boyfriend before I turn into a grandma.

"Oh really babe, are you gonna lie to your own mom now, huh?" Max whispered in my ear but loud enough for my parents to hear. What the heck is he doing?

"Princess is that true?" my dad asked while glaring at Max. If looks could kill, Max wouldn't have been alive to make his next comment.

"Yes, sir", Max replied gently as if calculating his choice of words. Oh really Max? Trying to be a gentleman, huh? I thought and smiled sweetly at my dad to ease the tension between them.

Annoyed, I start plotting Max's death in my mind. I am ready to kill him. If only I could get a knife from the kitchen. I smiled evilly when an idea crossed my mind. It’s time to put it into action. Without wasting another second, I pulled my right leg up and stomped my heel hard on his foot and released myself from his grasp when he loosened his arms around me. He screamed in pain and hopped on his other leg while squeezing his so called sensitive leg.

When he composed himself, he got in my face and narrowed his eyes clearly enraged at me. He was fuming like hulk at this point. Oh oh! What have I gotten myself into? I don't think he will let me rest in peace for the rest of my life for what I have done. I shivered, feeling chilly all of a sudden.

"What the f - ", oh no, don't you dare. I pressed his lips together to stop him in time from cussing out loud in front of my parents. He removed my hand and opened his mouth to yell something foul again at me but he stopped when he heard someone at the door.

"What happened, Maxi?” a small voice called out from behind us. We turned around and came face to face with a little five year old girl in a pink cotton dress. She is really pretty, with curly dark hair like Max and sparkling dark eyes. Isn't she a cute little thing?

Did she just call Max Maxi? I thought but the embarrassing look on Max's face confirmed it, I giggled at his nickname. He glared back at me and I tried my level best to show that I was actually just coughing.

"Nothing." Max answered and lifted her up. The little girl wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled widely for being in his brother's arms.

I smiled at them and thought about Liam. I should really give him a call later and ask him about his college life and see if he has got any new girlfriend. I chuckled when I remembered the last time when he came back home for his holidays. He was mourning like a romantic fool because his girlfriend left him and I was the one consoling him.

Like seriously. He acts like my little brother sometimes when he is the elder one. He can be really over protective too. I remembered clearly when we had gone shopping for Christmas gifts last year. He had beaten a guy who had asked for my phone number like a puppy.

That boy was cute but my devil like brother did not let any other boy approach me whenever he was here. Now that he is not here, I had to take care of myself, surely from delinquents like Max Jackson.

Then, a woman appeared at the door and smiled warmly at us. I guess that she's Max's mother. She had hip length silky black hair and brown eyes like Max. How could an angel like her give birth to a devil like Max? She looks very calming while Max was always hot tempered.

"Hello, I'm Cindy. This is my son, Max and daughter, Ashley." she shook hands with my parents and gestured for us to get in and we followed her inside.

My parents were walking ahead while having a talk with Max's mom. I heard the door close from behind me and soon Ash ran past me to get to her mother who perched down to lift her up in her arms.

I gasped when I felt muscled arms wrap around my waist from behind and pulled me backwards against someone's chest. I didn't even have time to react. I already knew who it was when I smelled his cologne. Max! I gulped hard and stopped breathing for a second there but it was getting hard to get my breath back on track with the weird feelings that started churning in my belly. No one ever held me like this.

"I would watch my back if I were you, babe", Max whispered in my ear, causing goose bumps to erupt on my skin and a shiver to go up and down my spine. He released me and just walked away, leaving me star struck staring at his retreating back.

What have I done wrong?