13 Not some maiden
1779 Words
Jules looked at max without an ounce of trickery, in contrast to how she usually looked at him. She didn’t have that gleam in her eyes; the kinda trickster would have. She was completely different from her happy go lucky, humorous, and funny self. She did not resemble the pixie that he first met. He looked at her as if she had changed completely.
“Jules?”
A sad smile crossed her face, as she locked eyes with Max.
“It’s different right?”
“What is?”
“My demeanor… It’s different right?”
Max nodded solemnly, trying to read this enigma of a woman. But he could not.
“You know what I used to be like right?”
Max looked at her confused.
“What do you mean, Jules?”
She shook her head.
“You know when we met, I was pretty much the person you made me out to be. I was fond of playing tricks. I like a little adventure. But I was sort of weak… wasn’t I?”
Max shook his head, not letting his gaze deviate from hers.
“Don’t play dumb Max. You’re a lot more perceptive than most people our age. You probably guessed. But I am an heiress to one of the richest companies in the States. Naturally, my dad does whatever he can to keep me safe… at the expense of my choices.”
She turned toward Max, and crossed her knees, resting her legs onto the bed.
“My dad, he doesn’t trust me to be able to keep myself safe. Especially given that we are a high profile family. So most days… I go to school, then I go home. And do nothing else.”
She gripped the bed and tried to hold back her tears.
“For the longest time, I tried to fake being a cool, adventurous, wild senior. And people looked at me as if I was exactly that. Even, in reality, I don’t have a choice to go anywhere. Or do things I really wanna do. Remember? New Orleans? You said we should go?”
Max nodded.
“I really wanna go, you know? I really really do! But I can’t help but think that people will only tell
me that it’d be too dangerous. Or that I need a guard at all times. Or something like that,” she said. At this point, the tears were rolling down her cheeks consistently. “I had been fooling myself thinking that if people saw me as a free spirit, even if I wasn’t, that it’d be enough. It’d be enough for me to stop thinking about how limited my own moves are. Then that night happened.”
She gulped and wiped her face with her sleeves, as Max watched. His heart was breaking in his chest as he looked at how hurt she was. But he knew that he shouldn’t interrupt, especially during the moments one bares their heart. He sat quietly and waited for her to continue.
“When I saw those guys come out of nowhere, and when I realized that they were looking for me, I
froze. I didn’t know what to do, Max. Suddenly, my weakness was shoved right into my face and I couldn’t do anything about it! All I could do was a scream, as those guys could have easily shoved me into the back of some car. I hate it so much, Max… I really hate it. I really hate that I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was let you handle everything. Or Trae. I hate how weak I am Max…”
She looked at him and stared into his eyes.
“The past few days, I wanted to confront this, Max. I wanna do something about it. I don’t want you guys to risk your lives, while I cower away in some corner. I don’t want to be some maiden to be rescued, Max! I hate that idea! f**k that idea!!!”
She slammed her fist to the wall next to them. Her whole body was shaking. Max couldn’t be sure if it was from rage, or fear. But all he knew was that slowly, she was shedding herself from that naivete that she showed him moments prior. Actively, she was making strides to do better and be a version of herself that she could be proud of. Max looked at her in awe.
“That’s the reason why Max… That’s the reason why I want to help. Even if I’m not brave enough now, or strong enough now, I will find my own ways to help you. And when I do get strong, I will be a valuable ally. I promise! So please… don’t do this without me,” she said.
There was a pleading look in her eyes, as she stared right into Max’s own. Every fiber of her being was dedicated to convincing Max in this one moment. She leaned in, pressing her forehead against Max’s. Their lips were inches apart. He felt as if she was trying to push herself onto him. Her body was so soft and delicate. Her fragrance was flowing everywhere around him and reminded him of roses. Her eyes were as dazzling as ever, still moist from the tears. Her breath was low and winded. She inched her lips closer to him, as she closed her eyes. He knew this, and with a quick motion, he placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back to her seated position. She looked at him confused at first, but then her head hung.
“So you won’t let me join you?”
Max looked at her earnestly.
“I never said that, Jules,” he said.
She looked back up at him hopefully. He smiled and wiped the excess tears from her cheeks.
“You know, just listening to how you felt about your weakness. I kind of wanted to say that ‘I’d protect you’. You know?” he said, as he scratched the back of his head. “But I know that that’s not what you want… is it?”
She looked on at him, her eyes widening in awe of this magnificent man.
“You wanna be strong. You want to be helpful. You want to be brave… and you want that more than anything… don’t you?”
She started crying again, only this time, there was a smile on her face. She nodded her head and listened further.
“So who am I to deny you your chance at being the version of yourself you want to be. If you’re looking to find your courage… then I’d be honored if you looked for it with us.”
She smiled and wrapped her arms around Max, giving him the tightest hug. She clung to him for a few moments, before speaking again.
“So… why didn’t you wanna kiss me, Max?”
Max found himself focused on the hug as he relished the moment for a while. Finally, he replied.
“Because, if I kissed you like that… then it’d be kinda like kissing the damsel in distress right? I don’t want you to think about our kiss like that. I don’t want to disrespect your goal like that.”
She laughed in his arms, as she hugged him tighter.
“Thank you, Max.”
“Mhmm. No problem Jules,” he said, as he slowly let go of the embrace.
With that, the two looked at each other, a little embarrassed at the situation that had just happened. Suddenly, they jumped at the knock on the door. When they turned, they saw Trae, who was looking at them with a smug expression on his face.
“Just don’t y’all have s*x on my bed there now,” he said with a devilish smile.
The two suddenly moved a few inches away from each other and had difficulties looking at each other in the eyes.
“If y’all love birds would stop being all cute like that, then can we get to the main issue at hand?”
The two looked at Trae who had his arms crossed.
“It seems that she is officially a part of our team?” he gestured his head toward Jules.
Max looked at Trae and grinned a proud grin.
“Yeah, she is,”
Trae chuckled and reached out his left hand toward Jules.
“In that case, you’re one of us now Jules. Good to have you onboard!”
She met his hand and shook it excitedly.
“Yeah! Good to be here!”
Her positively dazzling smile caught Max in awe, as he ended up staring at her. Trae took note of this and tossed a book at him. Instantly, Max snapped out of it and caught the book.
“What’s this?” Max asked.
“Unlike a couple of people who have been usin’ their time to flirt and pet and s**t, I’ve been busy doin’ research. There are a few more VIPs in this school, other than Jules, who carry a wealth of knowledge in companies. Tech, Security, and some other goods. What’s more… they just so happen to be classmates of mine,” he said with a triumphant expression.
Max’s eyes lit up as he shot up to give Trae a tight hug.
“Yes! Yes! We needed this man! God, I could kiss you right now” Max yelled, as Trae tried to wrestle him off.
“Hey! You’d kiss him before me?!” Jules said, as she shot up feigning jealousy, but then laughed at the two play fight.
“God! You two are flirting again!” Trae said, focusing on keeping the ecstatic Max from actually kissing him.
Jules looked at the two boys and laughed out of pure joy. Finally, she found people who did not look down on her. Finally, she found people she could stand next to; as equals. At this moment, she was no longer some damsel in distress. At this moment, she was a part of the team of hackers, who would bring to justice the evil organization of the Wolfpack.
----------
Jasper Locke walked into a dimly lit room, somewhere in northern Manhattan, filled with the same criminals that attempted to kidnap Julia Thompson.
“So...” Jasper said as he lit a cigar. “Tell me what happened boys.”
The three criminals, Martin Vera, Mark Law, and Jon Batam sat at a table, hanging their heads. They kept silent for a moment as if indecisive of who should speak first.
“Hmmm, quiet today, aren’t we?” Jasper asked as he shut the metal door behind him.
He pulled out his trusty Glock with a silencer and blasted Mark right through the side of his head. The two other members jumped up at the shock but focused on giving Jasper the information.
“Sir! We got stopped! Some kid and his friend knocked Jon out, and then came after me and Mark!” said Martin.
“Hmmm, I see.”
He shot Martin right in between the eyes. With that, he turned to Jon. This giant of a man was trembling as if he were the small one. Fear struck him as he looked at his two dead comrades, dead on the floor. Without warning, Jasper pressed the end of the gun to Jon’s face and jammed it into his mouth.
“Now, Jon. Tell me about this kid. And before you speak, think very well of whether what you say will be useful to me, understand?”
- Writer
