Never in his life had an HK put so much effort into talking to Max.

He had always been ignored at best, bullied at worst. The odd shove in the hallway or insult about him being Isle trash was bearable now. The nickname Mad Max was a new one, but not creative enough to truly hurt.

But you would just not leave him alone.

The daughter of Rapunzel and a new face to Auradon Prep. You only actually shared two classes with him, History of Pirates and Potions 101, but you seemed to track him down wherever you could. You'd skip up to him with that stupid sunny smile and flowers in your hair. You tried getting him to talk beyond sarcastic insults and half-assed answers.

And every time, you had treats.

Growing up, Max had been lucky to eat more than once a day on the Isle. He was hard-pressed to find food that wasn't rotten or half-eaten. Dessert wasn't even a thought in his mind besides the odd hopeful dream. And yeah, Auradon Prep had sweets in the mess hall usually. Max just... never bothered. Old habits die hard, he supposed.

But you brought something new almost every day. Brownies, cookies, a slice of pie or cake. It was like you were bribing him just to stop and talk for even a little while. Like you wanted to see him, as ridiculous as Max found the idea to be.

This time was lemon cakes. The kind you'd see at tea parties with the caramalized lemon slice on top.

"Are you trying t fatten me up, princess?" Max asked with a smirk. He raised a brow as he plucked a lemon slice off one of the little cakes and ate it.