#max hatter

the first time max hatter met you was when he was skipping orientation of the first day. it was really by chance he saw you crouched down onto the grass field of the garden, humming. he paused behind the pillar at the sight before moving a bit closer to see you from a different angle.

you were cutting the buds of flowers, leaving the stem all on its own.

it was mad.

he watched as you stuffed petals down into a glass jar. that was when he noticed you had several jars with you inside of a basket. max's face contorted into confusion and judgement yet... you looked to be in your element. who are you? who's your parents?

your head snapped to where he was and he jumped at the sudden movement.

"oh? you're not my cousin."

is all you said before turning back to what you were doing.

max was intrigued and... allured. he approached you and plopped himself on the spot to your right. "the fuck are you doing this for?" he asked, bluntly, as he picked up one of the open jars in front of him.

you let out a hum. "they're poison," you bluntly answered back.

max immediately dropped the jar he was holding. you quickly caught it before it hits the ground. "hey! be careful with those! i've been here for a while."

all he can do is stare at you like you're insane. that was when he got a good look at you and... nothing. he can't figure out who you are. he doesn't even know if you're a VK or an HK. that mole on your cheek... who else had a mole on their cheek? he turned to look at what your wearing.

a strapless one piece swimsuit top paired with from what he can see to be a skort? just low enough so that your sides were peeking out from the top. the swimsuit top looked scaly with leaf prints here and there while your skort was just plain black. vines swirled around your legs that came from the straps of the heels you have. long elegant gloves with the same swirling vines around it. your hair a bit wavy with red-orange highlights, obvious and seen from your black hair.

you... you actually look like a vk to him. you got that whole poison ivy motif.

but he would've remembered someone like you from the isle. someone pretty—whatever. then you're not a vk. simple as that.

he stood up. "what kind of person collects poison?" he commented in a mumble before walking away.

you watch him walk away.

the next time max meets you was when you accidentally bump into him in the hallway of lockers. his arm wrapped around your waist, holding you up before you could fall onto the floor.

"oho, max, who do we have here?" felix teased from behind him.

hazel let out a low whistle. "you're a fine lass, sweetheart. why couldn't you have bumped into anyone else, huh?" she quipped as she lay an arm on max's shoulder.

max was quick to let you go once you're stable on your heels. "can you guys just shut up?" he quipped as he shrugged off hazel's arm.

"thanks... max," you say.

he rolled his eyes. "great, the princess knows my name now."

your eyes turn dark as you tuck your chin lower towards your chest. a prominent glare on your face now. "i'm no princess." your tone stern. "you really have no manners there, hatter."

and he watches you walk away, ignoring the sounds his friends were making.

it was by chance the next time you see max hatter.

you were on your way to the greenhouse—a place you spent most of your time in ever since the first day of school. you knew he was here by chance. most people stumbled across the greenhouse, but then thought nothing of it before leaving. you watched as he tour guided himself across the plants. it felt peaceful. almost.

"don't touch that," you called as you walked over to him. he froze with a hand raised, about to touch one of the plants you grew yourself.

he turned to you like a deer caught in headlights. "it's you..." he lets out, quickly recognizing who you are. he pulled his hand back. "i know who you are now."

you raised a brow at him. "and do share what you know, max hatter?"

"well, i know that you're y/n madrigal, daughter of isabela madrigal," he says. "i should've known—with the plants and stuff. you might not be a princess, but you're still an hk."

your face turned dark. a familiar sight to max. "hk, vk—fuckin' whatever." you scoffed while the sound of a swear word made max raise his brow at you, amused. "just cause i'm a madrigal, doesn't mean shit. can't i do whatever i want without that name hovering over me like a bag of weights?"

you then let out a hum. "anyways, stop calling me a princess or an hk—those titles should've been blurred by now. it's been years since the borders went down." you turned away from him to tend to your plants.

max stayed silent. watching you tend to your plants from the beach at the back of the greenhouse.

you weren't surprised to see him in your greenhouse again, but you weren't expecting for him to just be... there. just sitting on the bench.

"why are you here again?" you asked, standing in front of him with a hand on your hip.

he looked up at you with a smirk. his eyes slowly trailing up. "is it wrong for me to be here?" he then says.

you shiver, feeling naked from his sight. "no," you simply said as you turn away and tend to your daily tasks.

all while sneaking glances at the black haired teen who kept his eyes at you.

it wasn't max's plan to walk into your dorm—he didn't even know you were rooming with pink!

"pink! where is my—" he bursts into the door and sees you in just your swimsuit top. "i'm so sorry," he immediately blurts out.

you weren't bothered by his eyes lingering on you. "calm fuckin' down, i'm still wearing clothes, you virgin."

"i am not—!"

you waved a dismissive hand at him. "yeah, yeah, sure. anyways, pink won't be back 'till later. what do you need?"

max, noticing you weren't bothered, decided to close the door behind him and plopped himself onto the nearest chair. "pink stole another one of my— woah."

you followed his eyes to where your bookshelf full of jars were and let out a chuckle. you walked over to it and essentially showed it off. "you like it? my proudest collection. i even use some of these to make medicines."

he smirks, leaning back onto the chair with an arm on the arm rest. "oh, i like it very much."

you shivered. "anyways." you walk over to where he sat. "is this the thing you're talking about?" you grabbed the console looking thing from the desk behind him and waved it front of his face.

"yup!" he exclaimed and snatched it from your hands without breaking eye contact. "thanks for the show, y/n~"

he took your raised hand and placed a kiss on top of it, then left the dorm.

max was a witness to you painting the cover of your locker. an act that mostly VKs did so it was a bit of a surprise that you did it. "care to share your inspiration?" he asked, leaning against the locker next to yours.

"well, i felt that mine looked a bit bland and i heard that when mal went to auradon, she also painted hers," you explained to him. "i also know that you and your friends did the same. i would've just added a pot with a poisonous flower attached to my locker, but fairygodmother would've had my head taken to principal uma if i did that."

"so paint job it is?"

"yup!" you exclaimed at him with a grin.

max just stayed by your side as you finished your locker spray, listening to your ramblings with a familiar smirk on his face.

"so some rumors have been circulating that you and max have been seen mingling in the greenhouse," luis started as he dropped right beside you.

you rolled your eyes as you closed your locker and started walking with him following beside you. "i don't know what the rumors say, but that's all on max. i don't even know why he hangs around my greenhouse. i swear even if i change the time i visit, he always finds out." you shook your head.

"you ever thought that he got a... crush on you?"

you pause in your steps and turned to look at him with furrowed brows. "what?" you let out.

luis shrugs at you. "i mean, it makes sense. he's going out of his way to find you. don't you think that's a bit... something?" he prodded at you with his questions.

"he's right you know."

you turned to your other side to see red and chloe with you now. "max is just the type to hang around with the people he likes," red says with a teasing grin. "he must really like you if he's just going out of his way to find you alone."

"well, i'll say this though," chloe spoke up with a meek smile. "i did sort confess to him a few months back and he did say that he likes someone else."

red and luis turn to chloe with a confused face.

"woah, chloe, when the hell did this happen?" red asked.

"and when did you like max?" luis added.

chloe shook her head. "it was all a while back. i just thought i liked him, but then i was wrong." her face turned a bit flushed. "it wasn't him i liked."

red raised a brow at her. "were talking about this later." then she turned back to you. "but anyways, you heard her. chloe says max likes someone else. and who else has he been hanging around with other than you."

you hummed, turning away to look at the field. "i do like him," you casually announced. the three teens stayed silent. "guess you all will just have to wait what happens next." you turned back to them with a smile.

"you never told me that you're with y/n madrigal!"

pink bursts into max's and felix's dorm, making the two teens jump from the suddenness of her appearance. max was just on his bed, scrolling on his phone while felix was trying to find something to watch on the tv mounted on their wall.

"god, pink, are you trying to break our door off?" felix quipped as he turned the tv off, already knowing what's going to happen.

"rumors been spreading that you and y/n have been seen rather intimately together lately~" pink teased as paced around the room. "why didn't you ever tell me that you two are together? i mean, when did this even started? how is she like? what do you like about her?"

her tangent was cut when hazel went inside the dorm room as well. "she's a fine lass. really fine," she emphasized. "can't believe you pulled someone like her, max. she's way outta your league." she cackled as she plopped herself onto felix's bed.

"remember how pink he was when he caught her?" felix then added as the two start laughing at max.

max, at this point, moved closer to the edge of his bed. "first of all, pink, i'm not dating y/n—"

pink turned to him in aghast. "what do you mean you're not dating her?!" she exclaimed as she walked over and started shaking him. "are you kidding me?! isn't obvious she's into you? you need to ask her out!"

"can you fucking stop shaking me!" max exclaimed as he clawed himself out of pink's hands. "jeez, okay, second of all, we don't know that."

hazel, felix, and, pink looked at him in a deadpan.

max shrugs. "look, i know i'm charming and all that"—hazel rolls her eyes—"but even i know not to assume shit like that from another person. it's easy to say that hazel got the hots for chloe and vice versa, ("hey!" hazel exclaimed while pink turn to her with pursed lips, holding back her laughter and felix turned to point at her and laughed) but it's a different thing if i assume that y/n got the hots for me too."

felix turns back to max. "wait, "too"?" he pointed out. he slowly turned his head to hazel with an "oop" face and the two started laughing once again.

"you should totally confess, max!" pink squealed, jumping around.

max waved a dismissive hand as he stood up. "we'll see," is all he says before leaving the dorm.

"he's going to see y/n," felix informed. "it's always around this time that he leaves and not come back 'till hours later."

hazel and pink smiled at each other at the information.

felix looked at the two of them. "oh," he lets out. "guess we're following him." then stood up.

"your powers aren't your plants?" max asked as he lined up his hand with yours, comparing sizes.

you and max sat the edge of the gazebo at the enchanted lake, facing said lake. the area becoming more accessible after a few years of construction and rebuilding. it was near auradon prep enough that it become a popular spot—in the daytime.

you shook your head. "no." your eyes trail the two palms placed together. you can feel the warmth coming from his hand. "i study plants, i study botany. it's not hard to end up studying it since mi mama keeps sprouting all sorts of plants out of nowhere and fun facts."

feeling bold, max clasps his hand around yours in such a casual manner which catches you off guard. you could feel a thump in your chest. "so what is your... power? gift?" he then asks.

you smiled at him. "are you aware that your friends followed you here?"

he nodded his head and stared at you with wide eyes. "what? no, i didn't know! wait, how did you know?" his brow furrowed. "is that how you knew i was watching you? on the day we... technically met?"

you nodded your head with a chuckle. "i sense people and through that, i can understand that person's capabilities." you then let out a hum. "think of it like knowing the stats of everyone."

"do you want me to shoo them away?" he asks. your hands still conjoined with one another.

you shook your head. "no, well, yes! i just... i want to give them a show."

you stood up and went to the basket that was on the nearby table to search for a certain jar. max followed behind you, placing a hand on your waist. "and what are you looking for?" he asked.

"you'll see," is all you say.

picking up a certain jar, you took out the contents of it, placed it back inside the basket, and then walked back to where you two sat. you threw the ball of green into the lake. "you wore what i told you to wear under that?" you then asked,

max looked down at his pajamas, or well, his comfy clothes after school hours which is just a t-shirt and pajama pants. "yes?" then realization sets. "wait is this why?"

you let out a laugh as you removed the oversized hoodie you were wearing, revealing one of your many one piece swimsuits, and dropping it onto the floor. you gave max no time to react as you instantly dived into the lake.

"y/n!"

max quickly took off his pajama pants, showing that he was wearing swimming trunks underneath, and his shirt which showed a swim top. that was when you floated back to the surface of the lake, on top of a gigantic water lily.

"max, get on!" you called out to him with your hand stretched out towards him.

max smiled warmly at the sight of your wet soaked hair. "you're a lot more adventurous and... cheeky," he says with a smirk on his face.

"i'm told i'm exactly like mi mama," you tell him. "so come on and jump already. i know you want to~ it's perfectly stable."

max shrugs. "alright if you say so."

and he jumps.

underwater, he's met with you shoving something into his mouth and, magically, he can breathe. putting a finger on your mouth, you signaled at him and he nodded.

"uh, guys, they've been underwater for quite a while," luis spoke up from behind the trees and bushes.

"look they're rising back up again," chloe pointed out as ripples and bubbles broke out on the surface of the lake. but all that appeared was the gigantic water lily that you brought out. "or not..."

"okay wait! someone who can swim, go!" red immediately called.

"for fuck's sake," muttered hazel as she took off her robes while running down towards the lake.

"wait, wait, me too—" luis mentioned as he took off his shirt while following behind hayley.

pink and felix looked over to a flustered chloe and red with a teasing grin.

"well, lucky you two, getting fan service," felix commented with a chuckle.

red hit him on his shoulder. "shut up already and let's go." she then follows suit. the rest starts walking towards the lake as well.

you stood in front of the group of wet teens with max sitting on the chair next to the table. "so? what did we learn?" you asked with a smile on your face.

after hazel and luis jumped into the lake; and red, chloe, felix, and pink followed behind and stood near the lake, you and max managed to push all four of them into the lake.

after you had given max the waterbloom cap to use to breathe through the mouth, you and max took a bit of detour underwater. the two of you took a longer route to circle back to where the gazebo is, unseen by the group.

"oh? no answer? i'll give one for ya"—you bent down towards them—"no ruinin' date night."

pink visibly shot up. "does this mean you two are actually together?" she asked, bravely.

you hummed and looked back at max to see him smirking at you. he then also gave you a small shrug. you turned back to pink and answered, "i think that's up to us and not any of you."

"yeah, that's fair," says red. "but can you please let us go. i'm hella freezing and i want to go to sleep."

you watched as the group slowly left the area. you and max were pretty dry already at this point, except the damped hair. at this point, max also gathered up the dry clothes and placed it on the table. "did they leave?" he asks.

"yes, they're gone," you say.

then silence surrounds the two of you.

you turned to max sitting on the chair. he stared back at you like a deer in headlights. you walked up to him and planted both your hands on his knees, bending down on him and staring right into his eyes.

"say, you like me, i like you—let's get together?" you meekly asked. the nerves hitting you just as you ended your sentence.

max starts laughing at you, making you turn a bit pink.

"don't laugh at me!" you exclaimed, but he continues to laugh you.

as his laughter dies down, he took hold of one of your hands and brought it up to his lips. "yes, let's be together."