*Max P.O.V.*

When class ended, she grabbed her stuff in a hurry and literally ran outside. I also went outside and found her standing, confused, in the middle of the hallway. Obviously, as a new student, she didn't have any idea about the location of her next class.

This was the perfect opportunity. Help her and get her.

"Need help?" I asked her.

She turned around and silently shook her head, refusing to accept any help from me.

Seriously? She didn't even want my help?

I snatched her schedule to check what classes we had together.

We had three classes together-great! I mentally grinned.

But when I told her about this, she didn't appear a bit excited, and she immediately snatched her schedule from my hand. This made me even more frustrated.

Now, she was getting out of hand. I had to do something to show her that she was messing with the wrong guy.

I grabbed her hand and dragged her to a corner. I pinned her against the wall so that she didn't have any way to escape. She panicked for a second, but immediately composed herself.

Wow, playing hard?

"What the hell do you want?" she asked angrily.

"How dare you talk to me like that? Do you know who I am?" I tilted my head.

"You don't know who you are?" she mocked and stared at me.

I was taken aback by her response. In this serious situation where any girl typically panicked, she was definitely very smart and very good at keeping her cool.

Wow, this girl was really different.

I smirked and took a step back to allow her to gather her breath, which she seemed to be holding.

She looked relieved and I felt good.

But why?

"What do you want now?" she asked, irritated.

"Answers," I immediately replied.

I wanted to know if this was her normal behavior or if there was something special about me. After all, she was treating me abnormally for a girl. She refused to answer again.

Oh, God. Please, help me. What the hell did she think of herself?

I stood there, emotionless, staring at her, allowing her the chance to escape, but I didn't stop her. I was already confused because of her rude behavior and now because of my stupid thoughts. They were making me more confused and frustrated than ever. I really needed a break, so I decided to skip class and head upstairs to my usual place for chilling out.

I can't let her go like this. She really needs a lesson.

"Max, are you there?" I heard someone call out from downstairs.

"Yeah," I replied, recognizing the voice as Kyle's.

Kyle's my best friend; he knew me better than anyone ever had. I met him at a party four years ago when some boys were trying to humiliate him. I actually saved him from those boys. Since then, we've been inseparable.

"Hey, dude. What are you doing here?"

"Skipping class," I replied, looking outside through the window.

"May I ask why?" he said, raising his eyebrow. "Because you won't skip a class without any reason."

"Just a bit of a headache." I shrugged.

He placed his hand on my shoulder and looked at me seriously. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Damn, Kyle.

"About what?" I tried to brush it off. I was not in the mood for an encounter with Kyle.

"Dude, you know about what very well, so stop pretending and spit it out. You can't ignore me forever."

I sighed and told him everything, but excluded my feelings.

Well, I didn't have any feelings for that girl. It's only that I can't take a 'No' from any girl, whoever she might be. So it was like a slap on my ego.

Kyle looked like he had just witnessed a ghost. He blinked, then pinched himself.

I rolled my eyes, "What is it?"

"I can't believe this- it's actually happening!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

I gave him a murderous look.

"Relax, dude, no need to be angry. This is the first time, Brooklyn's famous bachelor, Mr. Max Hasington, is thinking about a girl. Actually, he's not just thinking, but finding a way to talk to her," he winked.

I glared at him and punched him in the shoulder.

He chuckled, "Chill, bro. It may just be an infatuation after all, She is the first girl who hasn't fallen for your charm. Besides, she directly hit on your male ego. You need time for healing," he said and winked again.

"What do you mean by healing? And no, there is no infatuation - she is not even attractive. It's just . . . What the hell does she think of herself, and how could she talk to me like that? Nobody has ever . . . " I trailed off.

I looked at Kyle; he only smirked.

"Fine," I said, defeated.

He laughed. "You will be fine. Just talk to her and ask her directly about the problem."

"I tried, but she just doesn't want to listen to me."

"Maybe someone has pitted her against you or something like that, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's true because of your image." He shrugged.

"Whatever, I should probably drop this. It doesn't suit my image, right?"

"Yeah, you should," he chuckled.

I glared and was about to snap at him when his phone rang. His parents called. They had some emergency, so he needed to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Max, and try not to think too hard about that Indian girl," he said and wiggled his brows.

Before I could throw a punch, he ran away. I groaned. That's why I didn't want to share this with Kyle. He would make me more confused. In the process of these thoughts, I didn't realize the time, so I stood there for a few more seconds. I wanted to be ready to face her again because she would be in my next class.

I could do this, I mentally repeated.

I was heading towards my class when I saw her chatting and laughing with Noah. My jaw clenched.

So, I was the only one who was getting special treatment, great.

I controlled myself from doing anything stupid and coughed loudly to interrupt their conversation. They both turned and looked at me. The sweet smile on her face was immediately replaced by a frown when she saw me standing there. This made me angrier. I stared at Noah, the culprit.

"Hey, dude. What's up?" Noah asked sensing the tension around us.

Why don't you just get lost?

"Never, ever better," I said absentmindedly and walked away, fuming inside.

I walked outside and lit a cigarette. Usually, I didn't smoke, but this time, I was beyond out of control. I needed to calm down. After a few minutes, I realized I should be in class. I had better things to do with my life instead of thinking about her. I started walking towards my class, knocked at the door, and entered the classroom.

"Mr. Hasington, you are late," Mr. Seanberg said, pointing towards his watch.

"Sorry," I muttered and grabbed a seat.

I looked around and saw her sitting with Noah, staring at me. I immediately looked away.

Ignore them.

I tried hard not to look at her, but finally gave up when I heard her laughing; I looked at her. She was laughing like an innocent child, and it was making her even more beautiful. Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted when the teacher yelled at her.

"Miss Jessica, you have my final warning!"

Final warning? I missed the first warning. Duh!

I looked at her, shocked. She shook her head after getting the warning, but then Noah whispered something in her ear, and she giggled, covering her mouth. My jaw clenched and I controlled myself from pounding on the desk.

What's happening with me?

She was driving me crazy!

*******

*Jessica's P.O.V*

I was literally shocked when I saw him walking into the class. Here, my chances vanished for not seeing him before lunch. I groaned, and Noah noticed my irritation.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't like that guy," I said, pointing towards Max.

"Me neither."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "But you were talking to him before the class," I pointed out.

"So? We are in college, Jessica. We came here to study and not make enemies. Listen, Jessica. I know you are mature enough to make your decisions wisely, but don't do anything stupid that you will regret later. If you don't want to make friends, then it's okay, but at least don't put yourself on their bad list. Being new here, you can't take that risk, right?"

"I think you are right," I said, thinking about my stupidity. I could have handled that situation better.

"Anyways, tell me about your boyfriend," he said changing the subject.

"What boyfriend? And what makes you think I have one?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Miss Jessica Kapoor," the professor yelled. "Stop talking or leave my class."

I looked at Noah, panicked.

He chuckled, "Don't take him seriously. Back to your question. Well, you are a perfect combo of beauty and brains, anyone would want to be with you." He winked.

I giggled, "So, indirectly, you are trying to hit on me?"

"Oh shit, man. You caught me. What should I do now?" he said, smacking his head.

I started laughing loudly. His expressions were so funny like a cute, innocent child that I couldn't control myself and that's when I got my final warning.

Yay to Jazz. First day and already I was already on the bad list of the professor . . . Great job!

I glared at Noah and signaled him to keep his mouth shut.

"Make me," he winked.

I couldn't control myself and giggled again, covering my mouth.

Oh God. Please, help me. I don't want to throw out of the class, especially on my first day.

The class ended and the teacher dismissed us. Finally, God saved me today. I glared at Noah and started packing up my stuff. I was shoving a textbook into my bag when Max came up and sat right on top of my desk.

"Sup, Miss India?" he asked grabbing one of my notebooks and flipping through it.

"Woah, you actually use this thing?" he asked when he spotted the notes I had taken.

"Yeah, that's what it's for," I responded.

How could he sit on my desk and talk so casually as if nothing had happened between us?

"Who take notes these days?" he asked.

I snatched my notebook and shoved it into my bag.

"Me." I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed towards the door, forgetting Noah.

"Yeah," he pestered following me out of the room. "Losers like you."

"I'm not a loser," I argued, starting to get angry. "There is a difference between a loser and a good student."

Max looked at me in shock like he hadn't expected that answer.

He was about to say something when Noah interrupted, "Time for lunch, let's go."

I didn't have much of a choice, so I followed him to the cafeteria. When we got there, I spotted Jelline right away, which wasn't hard because she was waving like a crazy person.

"Let's join them," I said to Noah who immediately agreed.

“Hey guys,” Jelline smiled.

“Thanks for saving seat for me, Jel.” Noah winked and Jelline rolled her eyes, but I noticed the heat rising on her cheeks.

I smiled and grabbed a seat when Noah whispered, "Look who's here."

*****

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