Chapter 44

"What? Are you crazy? We can take these guys on!" One of his friends said.

"No...I'm worried about what comes after getting involved with that guy..." Carter pointed at Don.

Don who was already confused, furrowed his brows.

"That guy is part of the mutant gang. Which means the other one is too. Even if we win, they'll come back for us with their whole gang." Carter said.

His friends looked at each other and their foreheads started sweating.

"For you to call the mutant gang for help..." Carter looked at Max and chuckled. He turned his heel and "...you better watch your back, Maxine." He started walking away and his friends closely followed behind him.

"What?! You won't even win if it's just me!" Don protested as Carter left.

"Calm down, Don. He's a bit conceited, but it's better for it to end this way." Although Terry was keeping his cool, he couldn't stop his brow from twitching at Carter's comment that they'll win against them in a fight.

Don noticed this and just held his laughter in.

"What were they after, anywa-" Terry glanced at Max who was just by his side...but is now gone. He turned around and saw Max walking away. "Hey!" Terry started chasing after her. Don rolled his eyes and followed.

"Stop following me. You just made it worse." Max Gibson said without looking back.

"Wha-" Terry was stunned by her reaction. "We just helped you."

"I never asked for help." Max glanced back at him. "I could have handled it myself..." She said as she started crossing the street.

"Wait!" Terry shouted and reached for her.

Beeep Beeep

Max turned towards the source of the horns and widened her eyes. A truck was speeding towards her.

She closed her eyes as her life began to flash before her.

Fortunately, she got pulled back by her arm just in time before the truck hit her.

Beeep Beeep.

Max started panting as she reflected on how close that was. She turned her head and looked at the truck speeding away into the distance. She sighed in relief and faced forward. "!!" Max was taken aback because her view was being blocked by someone's chest. She lifted her head and saw Terry staring at him.

"That was a close one." Terry chuckled. "What did you say just now? You don't need help?"

She looked around and finally realized that she was around Terry's arms. Her cheeks turned red.

Max got flustered and pushed Terry away. "Thanks." She said as she looked away from Terry.

Don watched the two. "Ugh. What the hell is this?" He narrowed his eyes in disgust at the rosy scene he was watching.

"Can you tell me what happened earlier? Who was that guy?" Terry asked her.

"...Carter. Carter Wilson. He's part of the football team and he's also in my class."

"What did he want?"

"He was trying to get me to do his paperwork...At first, I only helped him out because I thought he was nice and there's no denying that he really is good in our field of study. He needed help because he was balancing his career as an athlete and his studies. But then, he turned lazy and kept on asking me to do everything for him."

"He got too used to it."

Max nodded.

"If you ever need us again, just call us." Terry glanced at Don. "This is Don. He's my friend."

"Hi." Don waved at her.

"Carter said both of you are part of the mutant gang..." Max said.

Although the mutant gang has better reputation nowadays, the days that they were notorious for criminal activities hasn't been long.

"Well...It's complicated. I left the gang, and Don is also leaving the gang."

Max made a wry smile. "Don't worry. You don't have to lie to me."

"I'm not lying. We're really ex-members of the mutant gang." Terry said with a straight face.

"O-okay..." Max said with a little doubt.

"Anyways, where are you going? We'll take you there." Terry offered.

"...You brought a car?" Max asked after thinking about it. "Because mine broke down the other day."

"We got our motorcycles. You can ride with one of us."

"Sure." Max replied.

They walked towards where they parked the motorcycles and Max hopped on Don's bike.

Don furrowed his brows and glanced back at Max. "Why didn't you get on his bike?"

Because Max was Terry's friend, she should have chosen his motorcycle to ride on. It was the obvious choice.

"N-no reason." Max said as she blushed.

"Alright, so where are we headed?" Terry asked as he revved his motor.

"I'm meeting my girlfriend at her job."

"!!" The two widened their eyes.

"What?" Max furrowed her brows.

"N-nothing. We just didn't know you were...you know." Terry stuttered.

"I'm bi. So, what?" Max said irritated.

"You already have a girlfriend..." Don smirked at her. "...so, that's why you chose to ride with- OW!!!" He clutched his side.

Don was pinched by Max before he could finish his sentence.

Terry glanced at them. "What happened?"

Don waved his hand. "It was nothing." Then, he glared at Max.

Don figured out that Max was attracted to Terry and was distancing herself from him because she already had a girlfriend, and that's why she chose to ride with Don instead.

"Okay?" Terry tilted his head, ".... I'll just follow you guys." and ignored what just happened.

They followed Max's directions and finally arrived at her girlfriend's job. It was a restaurant.

"She's a waiter?" Don asked.

"Yeah. We got here just in time too. She'll be coming out soon." Max said. "Oh, there she is."

A girl with short red hair and tinted glasses came out of the restaurant.

Max and her girlfriend hugged and kissed immediately after seeing each other.

"Who are you with?" Her girlfriend asked as she looked at the two men she was with.

"I'm Terry."

"Don."

"I'm Carrie. Carrie Kelley." She introduced herself.

"They ummm... they helped me with Carter."

"!!" Carrie furrowed her brows. "That mother-...why didn't you tell me he was bothering you again?"

"I don't want you to get hurt again, Carrie..." Max said.

Carrie furrowed her brows and looked away as she bit her lip.

"They hurt her?" Terry asked Max.

"...There was no evidence that it was them, but they were the only ones that had the motive at the time. Carrie fought them off one time and the next day, masked men ambushed her after her job."

Don and Terry locked eyes as they listened to the story.

"...Put our contact numbers on speed dial. If anything happens, don't hesitate to call us, okay?"

Max nodded in reply before she put Don's and Terry's numbers on her's and Carrie's phones.

"...Are you going with us to the party?" Carrie asked the two

"Party?" Terry asked.

"Yeah. One of the largest fraternities are hosting a party tonight." Max explained.

"Oh," Terry scratched the back of his head. "I'm an online student and Don isn't even a student at GCU."

"That's okay." Carrie said. "Outsiders come all the time." she smiled.

"Is Carter also going to be there?" Terry asked.

"...we don't know. We're only going because our sorority will also be there."

Don and Terry glance at each other and smirked.

"Then, we're going." Terry said.

"I can't remember when was the last time I went to a party. Why not?" Don shrugged.

----

"You're not coming?"

Inside a sorority house, Dana, Chelsea, and Blade were in the same room.

Dana was reading a book while Chelsea and Blade were dressing up.

"We have exams coming up, I can't believe you guys are going to the party." Dana glanced at Chelsea sitting beside her while she lied down on the bed.

"Everyone will be there, Dana. Everyone except you." Chelsea looked at Dana with worry. "Isn't Nelson going to be there too?"

"Just because I'm his girlfriend, doesn't mean I have to be with him all the time." Dana said as she continued reading her book.

Chelsea and Blade looked at each other. Blade just shrugged before continuing to brush her hair.

Chelsea looked down and pondered to get her friend to go to the party. After a while, she widened her eyes and smirked.

"Hey," Chelsea called Dana. "What if you invite your friend to be there?"

Dana turned her body and was now lying on her side as she faced Chelsea. "Who?"

"You know. That boy you introduced to us just before the start of the semester." Chelsea said with a smirk. She already noticed that Dana had a crush on Terry. Right after she introduced Terry to them, she couldn't help talking about him even if she tried to.

"Oh, yeah! The cute guy with blue eyes and black hair!" Blade suddenly became interested in the conversation. Chelsea couldn't help but furrow her brows at her.

"Oh, Terry?" Dana looked back at her book and feigned ignorance. "...he-he's probably too busy" Or at least she tried before she stuttered and combed her hair to the back of her ear.

Chelsea grinned. She knows that she only needs to push more before Dana gives in. "It won't hurt to just ask."

Dana started staring at her smartwatch. After fighting the itch to call for a moment, she eventually gave in and searched for Terry's name on her contact list. Chelsea made a satisfied smile.

"Hello? Terry?"

-Dana. What's up?

Chelsea and Blade perked up their ears as they listened in to their conversation.

"Well, there's this party held by a fraternity in their house later tonight. I was wondering if you want to come?"

-Oh! We're also going there.

Dana tilted her head. "Who's we?"

-I don't know if you know her. My friend Maxine Gibson invited us.

"O-oh."

-Yeah. See you there~

"See you."

Click.

Dana immediately stood up and got dressed.

"D-Dana. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said with an empty smile and started walking towards her wardrobe to start searching for clothes.

"Are you going to go to-"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dana didn't shout but her anger was very much felt. She was jealous. "Do you two know who Maxine Gibson is?"

"I-I'm not sure." Chelsea said. Gotham City University has a high population of students.

"Wait." Blade fiddled with her smartwatch. "Let's find her social media."

She scrolled for a while until she finally found it. The Smart TV suddenly turned on. It was connected to Blade's smartwatch.

On the screen, it projected Maxine Gibson's social media profile. A beautiful african-american girl with short purple to pinkish hair.

"An IT major in GCU..." Chelsea read out loud the information from the bio section of Max's profile.

"They kind of suit each other, don't you think?" Blade tilted her head. "They have the same punk rock kind of vibe." She based it on the way they dress.

Dana was just irritated more. Chelsea released a nervous chuckle.