Saving the Villain

Luke had a feeling he would regret giving in to Cosette, knowing this girl always had the cruelest ideas. Even after repeatedly reminding her to not get in trouble, it slipped his mind that he should've reminded her not to resort to any crazy idea. He only remembered when Cosette dragged him to the nearest boutique to get changed, making them appear older with their attire and her heavy makeup.

Since Luke had a tall stature, wearing anything aside from his uniform was enough to make him look like a university student. Simply putting on a plain shirt underneath a blazer and pants, Luke didn't have a hard time disguising himself.

Meanwhile, Cosette way longer to prepare, changing her uniform to a short sequin dress paired with a stiletto and a small purse. To change her youthful appearance, Cosette put on bolder makeup with dark eyeshadow and explosive red lipstick. Since they didn't have much time, she simply combed her hair with her finger and messed it up a bit.

After just thirty minutes, Cosette and Luke came out of the boutique looking like young adults. From innocent high schoolers, they were ready to party… however, that wasn't the plan.

"How would we get in, though?" he asked, noticing the bouncer in the establishment. "I don't think I have a fake ID with me."

"You have a fake ID?"

"Just consider it as one of my golden wild days." He shrugged nonchalantly, pertaining to those rebellious days when he also got into the wrong crowd. Luke used to go to the high-end bars in the high street of the city during his first year in high school.

Luke didn't need a fake ID, though. He was the second young master of the Quinn Family and his friends were also socialites. However, even during those days, he didn't want to implicate his Quinn family in whatever he would get into. Hence, the purpose of the fake ID.

He left most of those things in the Quinn Residence when he run away from home. Not that he needed those things anymore since it had been months since then, and he had gotten used to his current life now.

"Would my charm be enough?" she wondered, rubbing her chin mildly.

Although Cosette had frequented the bars and nightclubs in the previous timeline, she was already an adult back then. Hence, she had no idea if she could get in now that she was still a minor.

"Girl…" Luke gazed at her in dismal, only for her to pout her lips.

"You should've told me beforehand."

"I didn't know —" he halted as realization dawned on him. He looked at her from her to toe, biting his inner lip as to remind himself to keep himself together.

This woman here — this girl here was a minor! Even if she was wearing something she wouldn't wear on a daily basis and had this seductive makeup to match it, he should remember she was still Cosette! That annoying girl who never ceased to tease him whenever she gets the chance!

If only Cosette could hear his sudden thoughts, she would surely refute that. It was him who never let any opportunity to annoy slip if there was an opening.

"Right." Luke ruffled his hair in irritation once again. "You are the perfect daughter of the Blac. So you don't know this kind of stuff."

'More like I rebelled a little late,' was what she wanted to tell him, but bit her tongue to stop herself.

"So, what should we do?" she asked, casting him an expectant look only to annoy him even more.

"Cozie, I told you I will just help you and follow you around. I remember saying you'd do the planning or thinking or whatever." His frown deepened while her eyes looked bigger and softer, looking at him with desperation.

No matter how much they bantered and compete with Maxen, both of them had built this strange love-and-hate friendship. Hence, even when he was utterly annoyed as this would only make him appear the bad one, he had no choice. Luke had to get more involved so this girl here would have peace of mind.

"Give me some money." Luke opened his palm, making her gaze down at it before raising her head. "What? I'm poor and can't just bribe anyone using my hard-earned money."

"Oh… we're bribing them?"

"What else?" he clicked his tongue. "We're committing two crimes here, eh? First is going in on a bar as minors and second, bribery. This is the very opposite of avoiding trouble."

Cosette giggled as she assessed the annoyance in his eyes. "Alright," she said, going through her purse to take out all the cash she had. They weren't much since she mostly use her cards to purchase, but for Luke, or perhaps, for many others, the cash she slapped in his palm was too much.

"Girl, just because you're not working, doesn't mean you should just waste money like that." He clicked his tongue again, taking just enough bills before handing the rest to her. "This is enough. You're going to a normal bar and not those in the high street."

Cosette looked at the money in her hands and then glanced at his hand. She knew what he meant, but considering the bouncers would be in trouble if they were caught, she wanted to add more. But still, what surprised her was how Luke's attitude toward money changed over the course of months.

"Hey, let's go."

Cosette flinched, not realizing Luke was about to cross the street only to stop when he noticed she wasn't following. Her lips stretched as she nodded, hastening her pace, only to hook her arm around him, which made him freeze.

"Pretending it's a date will make it more believable, right?" she flashed him a smile while horror slowly took over his face. "Let's go?"

With that being said, Cosette dragged his stiff body across the street so they could bribe the bouncer and give them access.