While Cassy and her friends are still hesitant to give the rescue dogs a bath, Maddox approaches me to come with him. One of the shelter staff takes us to what appears to be an office, relatively small but tidy and bright. Full of drawers, probably the rescue dogs' records from the vet. There are miniature paintings of dogs hanging on the wall and dog figurines on the table at the right side of the room. "Ryan, what do you want to talk about?" Maddox asks Ryan as he offers me to sit beside him on a beige sofa. I like how Maddox treats Ryan just like his friends. He doesn't show superiority to the shelter staff.  "Mad, I'd like to show you a video, but please don't let Cassandra and her friends know that I took this earlier," Ryan said with terror in his eyes. He must really be scared of Cassandra. I wonder what stupid things Cas

Five in the afternoon after class Maddox invited me to our campus man-made forest, which I agreed to instantly. Nothing changes as we settle in the middle of the park, the spot that we love. Birds' tweets are like beautiful songs in my ears; they exude tranquility. While the green leafy trees and grass give healing to my eyes after a whole day of almost confining myself in our room and studying for the incoming exams.   "Thanks for joining me here today Angel, I really appreciate your time."   "No problem, you know how much I love this place. This is the only spot that I love on this campus. Well, I can add the basketball court; I love watching you play there, you know."  

"Hey, Angel, happy birthday." When Maddox greets me, I finally come to my senses. I thought it would appear to be a different person for a few seconds, but no, it's really him. Maddox. "Hi, thank you. I'm sorry, but you surprise me with your look. I can hardly recognize you; it's a good transformation, though. You look great." "Thank you. So, do you think I look more handsome now than before?" A naughty smirk plastered on his face as he winks at me. Maddox runs his palms on each side of his head, newly shaved while the center was spiky and a little longer. His face flush like the cheeks of a toddler. He made it hard for me to breathe and made my heartbeat spike. I shrug a shoulder at him, trying to ignore my hammering heart. I don't understand why I feel this way

I stand my ground while Cassy's friends are panicking about what to do with her. Even some of our classmates are helping them.   "Give us some air," Scarlett shouted.   "You will pay for this transferee; you will surely pay for this," Chloe said as she greeted her teeth. The three of them are glaring at me like their eyes are about to puke.   "Angel?"   "Mad?"   Maddox grabs my right hand, the one I used to hit Cassy. He softly massages the swollen part of it. "Why

I can't resist Maddox's invites to the man-made forest on our campus. Besides the fact that I love staying here, I don't want to disappoint him this time. I've seen his sad eyes early in the morning when I ask him to distance a little bit. That's not happening this afternoon. The whole campus is at its finest after all the students have left the school. Only a few of us must still be here. The tweets of the bird and the noise of the twigs and leaves smashing the wind sound soothing. Students have been missing a lot by not staying in this place more often. "You do love to be here, don't you?" I take a deep breath of fresh air before I open my eyes and shift to Maddox. "I do, I really do. Thanks for bringing me here."