Crashing into an Old Flame
Chapter 48: Studying together

Chapter 48: Studying together

As Maxim started eating in silence, Diana nudged his elbow, ’’You were absent for whole 3 days. I went to your place but the door was locked so I thought Auntie was at her job and you... maybe vacationing?" she joked.

He shrugged, ’’You look stressed,’’ he did not explain why he was absent for days. It happened throughout the semester anyway. Juggling between the jobs left him little time for other stuff. He wanted his mother to stop working like there was no tomorrow.

It has been a year since she slipped down the stairs in a rush to go to her job and while she was taken to the hospital back then, her back injuries still rebounded from time to time when she overworked herself.

Diana took it as her cue to drop the topic, ’’Umm... Actually, I have an offer for you,’’ she said after a moment of hesitation.

Maxim continued eating.

Diana lowered her head to her food tray.

’’I am listening,’’ he said.

She bit her bottom lips, ’’Look, I know how busy you are. I know you have started a part-time job too and you need to work super hard to get into medical school,’’ to be able to manage the fees too. She skipped the latter part of the sentence.

Maxim glanced at her patiently, not bothering to correct her about the ’job’ part. He had not started a part-time job, he has started three of them recently.

Diana inhaled a deep breath. While she knew that they were best friends but Maxim would not make an unprofitable deal with her. Because he valued his time much more than anything else.

’’Let’s study together from now on,’’ The 19-year-old Diana proposed. She inhaled another deep breath and blurted out, ’’Help me out with practicals and mathematics and I will help you with the theory, my notes... I will share my notes with you,’’ She carefully removed her food tray and pushed her precious thick file of notes towards him with closed eyes, ’’My exclusive notes.’’

Maxim glanced at the bright bookmarks and highlights on the file.

Diana peeked at him from one eye, waiting for him to reject her.

But much to her surprise, he responded with a simple, ’’Okay.’’

"Okay? You are agreeing just like that?" Diana blinked, "Last time I called you over to watch a movie with me, you said your time is too precious to waste. You know I had to take Daisy with me that day.’’

Maxim avoided her gaze, ’’She lives in Beijing, you are in L.A. It’s not bad that you sisters got some bonding time.’’

Diana frowned, ’’Still, I did not expect you to agree so easily today,’’ she eyed him suspiciously. She was ready to go on her knees to beg after letting go of her pride whatsoever. But he agreed just like that. Wasn’t it too good to be true?

’’I need your help with theory,’’ Maxim mumbled as he picked up the spoon, ’’Haven’t been able to attend classes or make notes.’’

Although Maxim’s words were brief as usual but Diana picked up the whole essence.

He has been busy with his part-time job that she believed he took to lessen his mother’s burden.

Sometimes, Diana wanted to help him financially. Somehow. Anyhow.

But they had drawn these lines during all these years of their friendship and those lines were the only reason no matter what happened, they were still together.

They did not talk to each other about their respective families. And when they were together, they were just Maxim and Diana. Her surname and her family background were thrown far away from their vicinity and Diana preferred it just like that.

Involving money would only create rifts in their friendship.

"I was thinking... Will you please let me do your notes for you?" Diana asked him carefully.

He quirked a brow.

’’Instead of spending extra time on studying it, it will be easy for me to remember the important points if I do the notes twice,’’ Diana placed her palm on his forearm, ’’It’s not going to be a blunder. I have gorgeous handwriting. Trust me, okay?"

Maxim grabbed her hand, snatching it away from his forearm. He tugged at it, placing a soft kiss at the corner of her wrist before she could react, ’’I do trust you.’’

Diana’s lips parted as gasps and whispers covered their surroundings.

She speechlessly glanced at him, her gaze moving back and forth between her wrist and his face, ’’Your prospects of finding a girlfriend are close to being bleak.’’

’’Hmm?"

’’Don’t hmm me,’’ Diana narrowed her eyes, ’’These days, even the love letters I am getting have turned weird because people think we are dating. You know I found a letter in my locker yesterday. Cringe stuff aside, the person added a paragraph that went like—’I know you and Maxim are together but I still am interested in you. Respond to my letter by being my partner in the prom. He doesn’t have to know’. That person even added a wink at the end,’’ she huffed, totally exasperated.

Maxim’s broody temperament had made people wary of him, unlike how in high school, he was viewed as a bunny and bullied constantly before he got to know her. Diana knew part of why he never retaliated was because his mother did not want him to cause chaos.

But in the university, people barely cared about each other’s social status or background unlike how it used to be in Elite schools where the majority were rich kids.

Here, it did not help that Maxim had a huge ’Don’t approach me’ written all over his face, girls were still crazy over him, his beautiful and broody self.

Diana could always see the hearts popping in their eyes. Funny. And Maxim was pretty much the popular hunk, much to his bother because he did not like people crowding around him, hounding him with silly questions like what did he eat for dinner or what was his ideal woman.

’’They still send you letters?" Maxim’s words snapped her out of her daze.

’’What do you mean by still? Don’t tell me you switched my locker with yours?" As he remained quiet, the corner of her lips twitched.

A few days ago, miraculously, Maxim’s stuff appeared in her locker, and hers went to his. And she passed it off as their classmates doing pranks on them.

’’You... Why would you even do that?" Diana gasped.

"To keep flies away?" Maxim did not bat an eyelid as he let go of her hand, ’’They are annoying.’’

Diana sighed, understanding his words. He really hated humans in general, didn’t he?