“I’ve heard about you,” Maxine told Dominique, frowning slightly. “But you don’t quite seem like what I’ve imagined.”

She imagined Dominique Harris to be a scary person — the one who was always scowling. She imagined him to be grouchy. No way did she think of him as a person who was concerned on people he barely knew. She didn't imagine him to be this handsome, too.

“Let me guess,” started Dominique thoughtfully, “you thought I was a person who never seemed to smile. You thought I was bossy, arrogant, selfish, and greedy.” He paused and looked at Maxine with an amused smile. “Am I right?”

She smiled weakly. He was right.

“I’m sorry for judging you when I haven’t even met you,” she murmured.

“No worries,” he shrugged. “You're not the first one to have thought that way.”

She faintly wondered what he always did to make people think so badly of him. He didn't seem that bad at all. Where did all the rumors come from?

“Are you disappointed?”

Maxine looked at him. “Disappointed?”

“Are you disappointed that I'm not that kind of guy?”

“Aren’t you?” she asked back.

Dominique smiled lopsidedly. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I admit that I am a bit arrogant. I’m not bossy, though. Neither am I selfish and greedy.”

“You’re not the only one I know who’s arrogant,” mumbled Maxine, thinking of Todd.

“Really?” He studied her curiously. “Who else do you know that’s arrogant?”

She bit her lip. She didn't mean to blurt it out. She couldn't exactly tell Dominique about Todd, not sure how he would react.

“You can tell me,” urged Dominique.

Maxine shook her head. “Forget that I even said it, please.”

He stared at her one more moment, before sighing in defeat.

“All right, if you say so.”

She couldn't help but smile. At least, he didn't push the topic. He respected her privacy. That was good.

But then, something suddenly got Dominique’s attention. His eyes spotted something behind Maxine. Before she could turn around and glance at what he was staring at, he spoke.

“Frankly, I would really like to defeat Todd Samuels this year.”

Maxine’s eyebrows shot up. Her eyes widened at Dominique. His face turned very serious, almost grave. His concerned expression was now gone. It was as if it was never there, like he changed into a completely different person.

When Dominique saw Maxine looking, his stone face vanished and came back to the gentle one. He smiled at her apologetically.

“Sorry,” he said. “It's just . . . He’s my most challenging rival. I’ve been craving to defeat him for a while now. I didn't intend for you to hear that.”

“No, it's okay,” she quickly said, waving her hand in front of her. “Um, I think I should go. It was nice meeting you.” She smiled and made a move to leave.

“Wait. Would you agree to have a dinner with me after the event?”

Maxine blinked. Did he just ask her out on a dinner? But he barely knew her. How could he be serious? Then again, it was only dinner.

He didn't waste any time, did he?

Maxine smiled politely. “I'm sorry, but I can't.”

Dominique’s brows furrowed. “You can’t, or you won’t?”

“Both.”

“Why not?”

“I have a boyfriend.” She always got a tingly feeling whenever she referred to Todd as her boyfriend. It was like she still couldn't believe that he was hers. “And if I may say so, he’s really one of a kind,” she added, her smile turning into a genuine one.

“Oh.” He nodded. “It looks like I can’t change your mind.”

“Pardon me?”

“It’s obvious that you’re in love with him.”

Maxine felt her cheeks heat up, causing her look down.

“You think that I’m in love with him?” she asked quietly.

She hadn’t thought about how serious she felt for Todd until now. Was it really possible that she really had fallen in love with him? After everything they've been through, the ups and downs of their relationship, ending up with being in love?

She thought about Todd; how he made her feel with just a look from him; how he made her heart skip a beat with just a smile; how he made her fire up with just a simple argument; how she felt sad whenever they were apart and felt extremely ecstatic whenever they were together; how she wanted to see him to smile more often; and how he made her feel all tingly with just the thought of him.

Those were just the icing of how she really felt for him. There were so much emotions running through her that it came out a bit overwhelming. But that was how she knew.

She was in love with Todd.

“Yes, you are,” confirmed Dominique, as though he read Maxine's mind.

She didn't reply.

“It’s not my business, but . . .” he paused hesitantly.

She finally looked up at him, waiting for him to continue his sentence.

“Has he told you that he loves you?”

Maxine fell even more silent, if that was possible.

She didn't want to answer Dominique. She didn't even want to think about his question. But no matter how much she hated to admit it, something inside her felt miserable.

Two sides of her argued. One told her that Todd didn’t have to tell her those three little words. His actions were strong enough to express how he felt for her. But the other one was telling her that if he truly did feel that way, he should have told her already.

She was getting confused as to what to really think.

“He’s a fool if he hasn’t.”

Maxine's eyes snapped to Dominique's.

“Words aren’t important on letting me know how he feels for me,” she said, a bit coolly. She would never admit to him that there was a teensy bit of her that was hoping that Todd would say he loved her. But she thought that was too cheesy so it was unlikely for him to say that.

“You’re saying that from your mind,” he replied. “It’s not really how you feel.”

Again, she didn't say anything. He stared at her for a long time. A couple of minutes passed. Maxine faintly noticed that the first school band to perform was the JaBe twin’s School of Arts.

Dominique suddenly showed his sweet smile again.

“Please go to dinner with me after the Music Clash,” he pleaded with a smooth voice, not losing contact with her eyes. He was slowly leaning closer to her.

“Get lost, Harris.”

Maxine jumped slightly in surprise. Dominique slowly straightened up and looked around. His eyes settled on Todd, who was glaring murderously at him followed by his posse. He gladly returned the glare.

“Was I talking to you, Samuels?” asked Dominique in a cold voice.

“Surely, you wouldn’t ask me for a date,” shrugged Todd.

Brian, Karl, and Peter sniggered.

A corner of Dominique's lips turned up. “You think you’re so smart,” he muttered in a disgusted tone.

“I know that I am,” said Todd in an arrogant voice. The gang could tell that he was dangerously calm. And that was always a bad sign.

“How would you know, with a brain as small as your wiener?”

“Someone who would say that has nothing to prove. You just don’t know any other way to provoke me. Unfortunately, no one can provoke me.”

“That’s because no one dared to try.”

“You just did.”

“Samuels, Samuels,” said Dominique softly, closing his eyes and shaking his head. When he opened them, two other guys in a Vlad uniform went beside him. “Don’t forget that you’re in my turf.”

“Oh, I’m perfectly aware of that.”

“I see.” Dominique nodded thoughtfully. “You’re aware that you’re in Vlad but you had no idea that you disrespectfully interrupted our conversation,” he added, gesturing toward Maxine when he mentioned 'our.'

“Disrespectfully?” asked Todd, slightly tilting his head. “Don’t you think that it’s unsuitable for a guy like me to let someone like you ask my girlfriend out for dinner?”

“If he’s not jealous,” muttered Peter.

“Your girlfriend?” repeated Dominique in pure disbelief. “You have a girlfriend? Wow. You’re not a faggot after all.”

“Stop looking in the mirror, Harris.”

Dominique was ignored Todd. He was busy staring at Maxine and thinking about their conversation a little while earlier.

“So Todd Samuels is your boyfriend,” he stated, not taking his eyes off of her.

Maxine only nodded.

Brian, Peter, and Karl cautiously watched Todd. It was very obvious on his expression that his urge to “kill” was rising. They were afraid of what Todd might do.

“You’re worth a lot more than him, Maxine,” Dominique told her straightforwardly.

“What did you just say, Harris?” growled Todd through his teeth.

Dominique looked daggers at Todd.

“You heard me.”

“Don’t talk about things that you don’t understand,” said Todd so low that it was barely a whisper.

Dominique smirked. “Don’t be so happy for your time left with the glory is just in a jiffy. I will own the Cup tonight, Samuels. Grasp that.”

“You can’t own something that you will never have. I don’t have to grasp anything.”

“Don’t be so sure.” Dominique turned to leave. But he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Maxine, it’s too bad you have a boyfriend who doesn't know how to treat girls properly.”

“Don't mistake me for you,” called out Todd, his jaw clenching.

“I will never,” replied Dominique in a falsely innocent voice. With that, he turned and walked over to his schoolmates.

There were a few moments of silence between the gang after Dominique left. Finally, Todd slowly turned to Maxine. His face was unreadable.

“Did he treat you badly? Did he insult you in any way?”

“No,” answered Maxine. “He was actually sweet.”

Brian, Peter, and Karl stared at her for five long seconds. Todd was quiet. The three boys turned to him. It was clear on Todd’s face that he was raging inside. Raging was putting it mildly — and that was saying something. The boys looked quickly away from him.

“He was sweet?” asked Peter incredulously, choosing to ignore Todd’s blazing eyes.

“What’s so shocking about it?” said Maxine, oblivious to Todd’s reaction.

“’What’s so shocking about it?’” repeated Karl in disbelief.

Brian grimaced. “Max, you don’t even know the guy and you immediately thought of him as sweet?”

“Well, he seems to be that way,” said Maxine defensively.

Todd’s fists clenched.

“Look at Todd,” Peter whispered to Karl. “He looks so scary!”

“I don’t want to look at him in that state,” Karl whispered back, frightened.

“You’re probably right.”

“Shush, will you?” Brian hissed irritably to Peter.

“Okay, okay! I’m shushing,” muttered Peter.

“Don’t quickly judge people you’ve just met,” said Todd suddenly.

Brian, Peter, and Karl jumped a little.

“I wasn’t,” replied Maxine indignantly. After a moment, she said, “Was I?”

Todd sighed.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “But he really does seem to be nice.”

“He can be nice if he wants to,” stated Todd tonelessly.

“Did I make you upset?”

“I’m not upset. You just said what you think.”

Maxine bit her lip. He was upset.

Todd ran a hand through his hair. “It’s okay. Let’s just forget about it.”

“He’s lying,” Peter whispered to Karl. “For all we know, he might be planning to murder Harris later.”

Karl nodded.

“But honestly, what made you think of him as nice?” continued Todd.

“I just got to know him for a bit,” explained Maxine. “He didn’t seem to be the bad guy that Peter and the others kept talking about. I saw the good side of him that you might not have the chance to see.”

He shook his head. “Max, you think all people have their good sides,” he said, somewhat disapprovingly, but smiling a little.

“Is that a bad thing, Samuels?” she asked playfully, beginning to smile now that she saw Todd eased up. She stepped closer to him.

Todd smiled his most breathtaking smile. “Not really. Still, you have to consider their bad sides, too, Ferguson.”

“I am considering it,” she argued defensively.

“I’m just telling you to be careful,” he whispered as he leaned closer to her.

“And I’m just telling you that I can be safe on my own.”

Maxine's heartbeat accelerated as Todd's face came closer.

“Mm-hm,” Todd hummed skeptically as he leaned nearer to her face.

Maxine didn't really like Public Display of Affection. However, thinking about kissing Todd was very tempting. Hence, she wasn't sure of what to do. Then again, Todd wouldn't kiss her in public because he was very well aware that it made her feel uncomfortable. If so, why did he act like he was about to kiss her?

Then, it hit her.

She got to know him a lot since they got together. His actions, and sometimes the way his mind worked. Now, she knew that he was acting like he was about to kiss her because he wanted to see her reaction. But he had no intention of really doing it.

“Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re about to do, Todd,” said Maxine accusingly, squeezing Todd’s cheeks using her hands.

His eyes widened in shock. He chuckled.

“You know that I won’t be able to resist the temptation,” she added, frustrated.

“Ow,” he chuckled. “Stop it.”

Maxine did what she was told.

“You knew what I was about to do?” Todd grinned, rubbing his now pink cheeks. “That’s very out of the ordinary.”

“I know,” agreed Maxine. “Surprising, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey guys,” said Karl abruptly, calling the gang’s attention.

Todd, Brian, Maxine, and Peter looked at him. Karl was peeking through the curtain.

“Check this out.”

He pulled the curtain wider for the gang to see. But instead of seeing, they mostly listened. Now that they were focused, the music they were hearing wasn't bad. It was slightly techno but you couldn't hear it much because the center of attention was the sound of the electric guitar.

Maxine searched the source of such insanely good guitar playing. She gasped.

It was Ian! One of the guys she met at the Royal Ball. He did mention — or at least, his friends did — that they were from School of Technology for Musicians. Wow. He was very impressive.

When the song ended, Todd and Brian exchanged quick glances.

“I must say, they’re getting better every year,” commented Peter thoughtfully.

“Olsen was the only one getting better,” mumbled Karl.

“Karl’s right,” said Brian.

“Who’s Olsen?” asked Maxine, her eyes wandering to every boy on the stage.

“The guy who was playing the lead guitar,” answered Brian.

“Oh. You mean, Ian?”

Brian, Karl, and Peter stared at her.

“You’ve met him?” asked Peter suspiciously.

“At the Royal Ball, remember?” said Maxine, frowning slightly.

“I don’t remember,” admitted Karl.

“At all,” added Peter.

“You remember him?” asked Todd with an unreadable face.

“Yes,” answered Maxine carefully, watching Todd.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“’Cause you’ve only met him for what, five minutes?” Todd could no longer hide the irritation in his voice.

“Is that a bad thing? I didn’t remember it on purpose. Why are we —?”

Maxine abruptly stopped talking. Her eyes widened in understanding of the reason why Todd was such in a foul mood. She laughed.

“I don’t see how this discussion can be so hilarious,” said Todd.

She managed to compose herself. But she couldn't stop herself from grinning.

“Todd, there’s no need to be jealous.”

“You think I’m jealous?” he scoffed, as though in disbelief that she could come up with that conclusion.

“Well, aren’t you?”

There was a moment of pause. Peter and Karl leaned toward Todd to hear his answer. Brian, on the other hand, felt that it was time for Todd and Maxine’s privacy. So he pulled Peter and Karl away from the two lovebirds, and forced them to sit on the sofa.

Todd and Maxine stayed quiet.

“So what if I am?” he finally said.

“Like I said,” she began soothingly, reaching up and gently stroking his tousled blonde hair, “there’s no need for you to be jealous about it.”

“I can’t help it,” he murmured, catching her hand on his hair. He kissed it tenderly and held it against his warm chest. “Like I can’t help . . .”

He stopped and looked away. She waited for him to continue but he didn't.

“Like you can’t help . . . ?” she urged.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

She pouted. “What is it?”

He gave her a swift peck on the lips and whispered in her ear, “Just forget about it.”

She almost forgot about it, too. With her being caught off guard like that, how couldn't she? But her stubborn side wasn't willing to easily back down.

“I can't forget something that you wouldn’t tell me.”

Todd raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he said skeptically, his voice dripping with silent warning. “Would you like to put a wager on that?”

Maxine eyed Todd, reading his expression. His face gave only one thing away: pure confidence. She decided not to dare him, even though she was awfully curious on what he was about to say.

“Fine, I’ll let the subject drop,” she sighed, looking down. “I was just curious.”

Todd smiled. “You’re always curious.”

“That’s because you make me curious.”

He looked thoughtful. Maxine looked up at him. When she saw his expression, she rolled her eyes.

“Let me guess, you can’t help it?” she asked mockingly.

Todd could only chuckle in answer.