#mcxmax

And he definitely stared too long sometimes, like when he would catch sight of her shiny dark locks in the bleachers when his school played hers. Or when he would find her wide, sparkling brown eyes challenging him during one of their many confrontations. Or when she would be over at his house at one of Mia’s parties, and he would get to see the golden tan of her legs exposed from underneath a pretty, flowy dress.

But they were rivals. The Romeo and Juliet of their town if you wanted to be dramatic, minus the love and romance. Their schools hated each other, they hated each other. Well, she definitely hated him. He always struggled with that part.

But then somehow, slowly, something changed. Their rivalry turned into a sort of friendship. If he could trace it back to one event, it’d probably be after he helped her take down Ace. But if he’s being honest with himself, things probably started changing before that. Overtime, he had started to let their rivalry fade into the background. He stopped instigating their frequent battles and wars. When his teammates asked about it, he blamed it on wanting to focus on the team. But, really, he began to hate more and more being the cause of those stress lines between her furrowed eyebrows or the angry downturn of her lips. Instead, he found himself wanting to be the cause of her blinding smile and the twinkle in her warm brown eyes when she laughed.

Regardless, the nature of their relationship shifted.

And then, one night at Mia’s birthday party, they found themselves both out on the back deck. The night sky was clear enough to see a few constellations, and the moonlight reflected off of her shiny dark curls. She was wearing one of those pretty dresses, and it’s skirt billowed gently from the evening breeze. He made a dumb joke, one he can’t remember, but it made her laugh. And as she tilted her head back, he stared, overwhelmed by her sheer beauty and overcome with an emotion he couldn’t quite place.

And then he kissed her.

And she kissed him back. And then his arms were around her waist and her hands were in his hair and she tasted like stale beer and is this real, is this actually happening, is this a dream?

Her fingers giving a gentle tug to the hair at the base of his neck reminded him that, yes, this was in fact real and, no, this was not a dream. He smiled against her lips and pulled her tighter against him, running his hands up and down her back, trying to memorize every moment because what if he never gets to do this again? And he doesn’t ever want to stop because it’s a million times more amazing than he ever imagined, and her lips are even softer than they look, but eventually she pulled back because they’re human and they need stupid oxygen to live.

She looked up at him in a daze, and he felt a surge of pride shoot through his veins because he did that to her.

Slowly, he brought a hand up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, grazing his fingers across her cheekbone in the process. She smiled up at him, her eyes as bright as the constellations above them.

When Mia invited me over to a party at her house, I was not expecting to see Hearst students partying as well. Music was pounding so hard that I swore I felt the floor shaking as well. “Sunny!”, I turned to Mia. “Uh, Mia? How many people did you invite?”, looking around the house was packed with other teens who were either dancing, talking or just drinking. Mia glanced across the room where Max was. “I did not plan to invite hearst students here, but you can thank my brother for that. Look at the mess! I’ve been going crazy because if anything gets broken in here, I’ll have to answer to dad since the party was my idea”, Mia slumped her shoulders. She looked tired and I saw Katherine who was approaching us in a hurry. “Mia! Some guys are going into the bed rooms upstairs”, Mia’s eyes widen. “Oh god, nope. Not. Happening. Sorry Sunny, but I have to go take care of things”, Mia left with Katherine in a hurry and I could not help but to feel bad. 

I watched as Max started to hype the crowd and not surprisingly, Lacey was with him too. “Gross”, I felt myself cringe from the sight of Lacey kissing Max. I was just glad that no one from Hearst knew it was me because of the clothes I had on. I blamed Payton for making me get all dressed up. 

Making my way to the kitchen, I saw Autumn and Payton who were just as stressed as Mia was. “Whoa, what happened in here?”, the room was filled with red plastic cups and when I looked closer....”Were they seriously playing beer pong in here?”, I nearly slipped on the alcohol that was on the floor, but thankfully Wes happened to be around and caught me by my arm. “Careful. Max really went and done it now. The kitchen isn’t even the worst part”, he walked over to the window and looked outside. “The backyard is filled with people swimming and I’m not surprised at the fact that the cops haven’t arrived yet. Max got them wrapped around his pinkie”, Payton sighed as she picked up more cups from the floor. “We’ll never be able to clean everything up at this rate! Plus look at what they did to the streamers I put around the house”, she furrowed her brow in annoyance when she saw that all her streamers were either stepped on or thrown out. Autumn slumped her shoulders. “No offense Payton, but I think what we should really worry about is what Julian will do when he gets here”, I pictured Julian and Max getting into a fight and it would be really bad if someone got hurt. “I’ll go try to talk to Max, maybe he’ll listen if the beer hasn’t gone to his head yet”, I made my way back to the living room and tried to look around for the plug that was connected to the music. I started to get annoyed at how packed it was in here. Where is the stupid plug?! It was not long until I found the cord and unplugged it. The sound of hears students saying ‘awww’ filled the room. To be honest, It was kinda funny.

“Hey! Who turned off the music?”, Max parted through the crowd and once he saw me, he stopped in place. He looked at me in a strange way before grinning. “Who’re you?”, I felt other people staring at me. “Take a guess”, I was not in the mood for his games. Max took a step forward and when he finally realized it was me, he got angry. “Sunny?! You really cut the music just to get me mad, didn’t you?”, he continued to glare at me until Mia came in. “Max! This has to stop. Do you know how long it took for me to kick down the kids from your school who were in our bed rooms?”, I could tell that Mia was not having it anymore. She looked pissed. 

“Aw, looks like the losers are scared of a little fun”, Mia and I watched as Lacey walked next to Max. Where the hell are her clothes? She’s barely wearing anything! I rolled my eyes. “Lacey, you would look really good in orange again”, I brought up what happened to her during the Pandora incident and that ticked off Lacey a bit. “Shut up! You think you’re so cute trying to play the good guys, but this is Max’s party now. So why don’t you leave?”, Lacey threatened back. Suddenly, Julian came in and he looked just as shocked as I was when he came inside.

“Whoa! What happened in here?”, I watched as Julian made his way towards us until a slice of pizza that was on the ceiling fell to floor by Julian’s shoes. “Well there goes a perfectly good slice of pizza”, he frowned sadly until he saw Max near me. He stepped in front of me in a protective manner. “Did you do something to you Sunny? Cause if he did, I wouldn’t mind repaying him back”, Julian had his fists balled and Max mirrored as well. They’re both about to brawl in here! I gotta put a stop to this before someone gets really hurt. “Wait! Look Max, we’re not asking you to stop partying but we don’t want this to end up being like a sequel to spring break”, I referenced the movie to try and lighten the mood. I hope this works. “Can we at least try to get along for one night? This is your sister’s party too”, Max looked at Mia and felt a little guilty. Maybe because of how tired she looked. “Fine, but don’t think we’ll be all buddy-buddy in here”, Max glared at Julian before getting pulled back by Derek. I exhaled a sigh of relief.

Payton approached us with a smile. “You guys, I have the perfect idea of what we can do to make things more fun! Seven minutes in Heaven”, I could have sworn I heard someone spit out their drink. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Katherine looked at Mia and started to blush. “I wouldn’t mind”, Katherine smiled lightly as Mia returned the gesture and held her hand. Julian shrugged, “Are you guys forgetting who’s in the room?”, he looked at Max who was silently watching from the side lines while talking with Derek. “I’m with Julian on this one”, I said. Max elbowed Derek before letting out a chuckle. He approached us again. “Is Sunny scared of a little kiss? Don’t worry, I’m sure no one would want to kiss a loser like you anyways”, he taunted at me. “Whatever happened to the last guy you were with?”, he brought up what happened on that day when he forced my old boyfriend to pick up his fries and poured salt on him. That really got to me because that was also the day that he and I broke it off because of Max’s bullying. “Fine Max, let’s play. Unless you’re all bark and no bite”, I spat. We glared at each other before a circle started to form. One by one, pairs were sent to the closet for seven minutes. Mia and Katherine went in, Nishan went twice; once with Sakura and the other with Kara. He looked extremely uncomfortable. Autumn went in with Derek and when Julian spun the bottle...it landed on me and Max!

“GROSS”, Max started to laugh in a obnoxious way this time. His friends started to laugh and Lacey looked angry. “You’re not really going to go in with her for seven minutes?”, I could hear her suck her teeth from the disbelief. This is really pissing me off. Getting up, I walked towards the closet. “Let’s just get this over with. Feel free to back out if you want”, I looked over my shoulder to see Max get up, clearly annoyed. “Whatever loser”, we gave our phones to Payton and I heard the door click, locking us in the closet for seven minutes. We stood in silence.

Max’s eyes trailed on me, taking in the image of my wild brown hair that I usually kept in a pony tail, now loose. He could not help but to stare, he really hated how I looked decent in a short black lace dress. Shit. He tried to snap himself out of whatever weird trance he thought he was in and started to annoy me. “Hey, you never said what happened to that loser boyfriend of yours. Did he get tired of you yet?”, he didn’t know why he bothered to ask but he was curious. Not because of how insanely hot he thought I looked at the moment. No! What is wrong with you?! You’re Max Warren, king of Hearst, not the king of losers. She’s just a loser. He cursed under his breath until he saw I remained quiet. Too quiet. Looking closer, he could have sworn he saw a tear. “Uh-..”, I cut him off, finally just snapping. “No Max, he did NOT break it off because he was tired of me. He was tired of YOU! So, yeah, thanks again for the fun trip down memory lane”, I spat angrily. Max stood still before cracking a smile, he laughed. 

Is he for real right now? He really finds this to be funny? I watched as he continued to laugh and I slapped his arm. “Are you seriously laughing about this? It’s not funny Max!”, he really got to me. In more ways then one. “Yeah, It’s funny”, he stopped laughing as his grin widened. “He really broke it off with you?”, he asked again knowing fully well the answer. “You’re unbelievable. It’s times like this that make me realize how much I can’t stand you”, I glared at him as he broke out in laughter again. “Oh man, haha! Can you blame me? He was pretty stupid for doing that”, he looked straight at me and I looked back confused. “What?”, I watched as he took a step closer to me. “I’m saying he was pretty stupid for dumping you”, he said. Did I hear that right? What the hell? “Max, you’re pretty messed up for making a joke out of this. Are you drunk?”, I couldn’t believe him. I didn’t want to believe him. “No, but you’re intoxicating”, even Max couldn’t believe the words that started to escape his mouth. He started to question if someone actually spiked his drink. “I really hate you”, this time he spoke with such anger and frustration, yet his eyes were glossed over with a look of wanting. He didn’t want to feel this way, but even when he was with Lacey he thought of me. Things would have been different if you were in Hearst, with me. I felt my insides twist as he lifted my chin up. “I hate you too”, I returned back harshly, swatting his hand. He found the way I got pissed at him to be interesting. “You look hot when you’re mad”, I looked at him. I really looked at him. “I HATE you”, this time my tone was cold. Why is he like this? Why does he gotta confuse me so much? “You can leave right now if you want to, unless...”, he watched as I looked at the door and back at him. I didn’t want to. 

Julian stumbled back, not expecting the attack. “What the fu–”

“Max!” Saba shouted, immediately stepping in between them.

Max waved a drunken hand at her. “Stay out of this, babe.”

Sabas eyes flashed with anger and she clenched her fists. Julian straightened up behind her, rolling his shoulders. As much as he wanted to punch Max straight across his stupid face, he knew it would only make Saba more upset. So instead he stood his ground behind her, ready to make a move if he needed to.

Saba was still fuming between the two. “Like hell I'll stay out of it. What's your problem?”

“He's my problem!” He spat out, pointing to Julian. “That stupid punk needs to keep his creepy hands off you.”

“You're the punk, Warren.” Julian shot back. “Look at you. You're a drunk, sleazy mess– no wonder Saba dumped you.”

That sent Max over the edge again, and he lunged around Saba, throwing a punch straight to Julian's jaw. But Julian wasn't drunk, and he was ready for it. Quickly, he retaliated with a blow to the side of Max’s head, and soon the two were going at it in the middle of the  living room.

“Stop! Stop it, both of you!” Saba yelled, trying to get closer to break it apart.

But she kept almost getting hit. It was times like these when she wished she spent more time at the gym. By now, a crowd had formed, and she looked around desperately for anyone to jump in and stop it, but no one made any move to help. Instead they watched and recorded it all on their phones.

Finally she spotted Koh and Wes pushing their way through the crowd to see what was going on. They made eye contact with her and they both shot her looks of sympathy, but it was also mixed with something else— a hint of “I told you so”.

Koh shook her head and Wes smiled sadly at her as they headed straight toward the scuffle. Koh grabbed Max while Wes grabbed Julian by the backs of their shirts.

“Alright, boys, let's break it up.” Koh said sternly.

The two were both panting heavily. Max swiped away the blood on his lips and Julian straightened out his back. The two glared at each other, neither of them saying a word.

Saba marched up to the two of them. “I can't believe you two!”

“Me? He started it!” Julian protested.

She snapped her glare towards him, and Julian immediately shut up. She turned to Max and grabbed him by the shirt.

Grinding her teeth, she all but growled, “You and I need to talk.”

Ignoring the whispers and stares from the crowd around them, Saba dragged Max up to his bedroom. She pushed him through the door to the very room in which she spent so many days and nights with him, falling in love.

“On the bed.” She ordered, still fuming.

Max wasn’t sober enough to make a suggestive joke like he normally would have. Instead, he stumbled over to his bed, obeying her command while grumbling quiety.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Warren?” Saba said incredulously, shaking her head. “Honestly, it's like you just don't think sometimes!”

Max grimaced, the volume of her voice not doing anything to help his oncoming headache. Julian packed a good punch, and Max suffered a few good hits to the head.

“What exactly did you expect to gain from that?” Saba continued, waving her arms at him. “I'm not some damsel in a movie who will come running back to you after you publicly defend your pride and masculinity!”

“I–I know that–” Max started.

“Oh, do you? It sure didn’t seem that way downstairs while you attacked my friend for ‘having his hands on me’!”

Saba huffed in frustration. She frowned as she stared at him. He wouldn't look at her. He just sat there taking the verbal beating he knew he deserved.

“We're broken up Max.” She said quietly this time. “You can't get away with pulling that sh*t, not that you ever should have while we were dating.”

Max shut his eyes tightly, and he ran his hands through his hair. He was in pain– from not only the physical beating he had received that night, but also from the emotional one he was getting now.

“You don't have anything to say for yourself?” Saba asked incredulously as he continued to sit there. “Nothing? You're just going to–”

“I'm sorry, okay?” Max snapped his head up to look at her, the sadness and anger burning in his crystal blues. “Sorry that I disappointed you so much while we were dating, and sorry that I can't seem to stop disappointing you now either.”

Max shook his head. “I don’t know what else you want me to say. I’m still in love with you Saba and it hurts. It f*cking hurts. I can’t go five minutes without thinking about how much I screwed up, how much I miss you. And seeing you out there, laughing, smiling, flirting– it’s too much of a reminder of what I lost.”

Saba stood in front of him, speechless. His words had struck a chord within her. She had been trying so hard to forget about him, but it was hard to let go of someone you love– even when they continued to make mistakes.

Max tried not to think about that fact that she wasn’t saying anything, and ran his hands across his face. He winced as they grazed his bottom lip.

This snapped Saba out of her frozen state. “Max, you're bleeding.”

He shrugged. “It doesn't matter.”

She huffed. “Yes, it does.”

She stepped closer and grabbed the bottom of his chin, tilting his face toward hers. Instinctively, her thumb brushed across his bottom lip softly. Max winced as she passed the cut, but he didn't move away. He was savoring the almost forgotten feeling of her skin against his. Without thinking, he exhaled softly, and the feel of his warm breath against Saba’s fingers snapped her out of her daze. Pulling her hand away quickly, she took a step backwards. Immediately, Max missed the warmth of her touch.

Clearing her throat, Saba asked, “Do you still have that first aid kit I put in your bathroom?”

He looked down at his hands and nodded. She hurried off to the bathroom where she found the kit in the exact spot she had placed it last: in the cabinets underneath the left sink.

Grabbing the kit, she walked over to Max and took a seat beside him on the bed. She gently tended to his cut, as well as the one she noticed above his right eyebrow.

Max suddenly felt so, so tired. He was tired of feeling angry, lost, and alone– tired of fighting. While she tended to his face, Max felt his eyes growing heavy, and he tried to fight off the urge to fall asleep.

Saba noticed this, and when she was finished, she softly ordered him to lay back. Max complied as another wave of sleepiness washed over him. Letting his eyes flutter shut, he felt Saba draw the covers over his body.

Saba stared down at Max as he fought to keep his eyes open. With a sad smile, she caressed his face gently. With one last glance, she walked over to his door to leave.

“Saba.”

She halted, her hand hovering above the doorknob, and turned her head over her shoulder.

He was staring at her through hooded eyelids. “Please don't go.”

She bit her lip and blinked to keep the sudden, oncoming tears from falling. Oh, how badly she wished she could just give in and slip into bed next him. To feel the once familiar warmth of his touch, and the safety of his arms. To go back to the days when she made excuses for his flaws because she was so in love. But Max wasn't ready for a relationship. He wasn't then, and he wasn't now– his behavior that night only proving so.

He didn't know how to control his jealousy, nor did he know how to trust her. As much as it hurt her to walk away from him, she knew that was what was best for her– for them.

She walked back over to his bed slowly. His eyes were shut again and she wasn't sure if he had dozed off. Brushing the stray hair out of his face, she kissed his forehead lightly.

Saba cringed inwardly at the slip up. She had told Payton and Mia she couldn’t go shopping with them last Friday afternoon because she had a doctor’s appointment, when in reality she had another secret date with Max. She had completely forgotten she even told them that until Payton brought it up, and she mentally cursed herself for not keeping better track of the excuses she was giving to people. This was just another mistake she could add to the list of slip ups she’s made since sneaking around with Max.

Saba never had been a good liar. She always got way too nervous, and often times felt too guilty afterwards which would result in her confessing the truth. It’s why she hardly ever lied. It was too much stress, and even the smallest of lies could spiral out of control. But this– sneaking around with Max Warren– gave her no choice. Lying was her only option.

She couldn’t tell her friends the truth. They would never understand her decision to give Max a chance. Hell– she couldn’t even fully understand it herself. But that day he asked her out at his and Mia’s birthday party– blurting the words out in a nervous jumble, she didn’t say no. Maybe it was because of the undeniable attraction she had felt for him since day one, or because of those rare moments where she caught glimpses of a different side to his normally tough exterior, but she found herself saying yes before she even had a chance to think about the consequences.

Granted, Max still had his flaws, and they weren’t perfect together by any means, but she found herself happy with him. Happy as they exchanged playful banter, as they snuggled up on the couch watching movies and talking about nothing and everything, when they were alone and he would let down his guard and macho-man exterior, showing a side to him she never knew existed. All of these little moments became one of her favorite things in the world. She knew she was falling quickly for Max, and against all logic she ignored the alarm bells in her head screaming, DANGER!

Payton giggled, snapping Saba back into the real world, oblivious to her friends slip up. “Yes, silly, that doctor’s appointment.”

By now they had reached their usual lunch table, a wooden one, shaded underneath a beautiful oak tree. Taking their seats, the two friends began to unpack their lunches. A few yearbook friends walking past waved to the girls as they passed by.

As Saba waved back, she avoided eye contact with Payton– the guilt was eating at her. “It was good. I’m perfectly healthy.”

Just then, Mia and Autumn approached their table. Greeting each other, the set down their lunch trays as they took their seats.

Autumn inhaled the crisp fall air deeply, smiling contentedly. “I just love fall. It’s such a beautiful and fresh time of the year, don’t you guys think?”

Payton nodded enthusiastically. “OMG, totally! Cozy sweaters, trendy scarves, adorable boots! What’s not to love?”

Autumn giggled, while Mia rolled her eyes chomping down on her salad. “Yeah, yeah, cute clothes, rainy days, cozying up by the fire, whatever. I much prefer summer when I can flaunt my sexy bikinis, and spend my days tanning at the beach.”

Acting out of character, Autumn playfully joked, “You mean burning?”

Mia threw a tomato at her, as Payton giggled.

The girls continued on with their playful banter, laughing and joking with each other. Saba, on the other hand, remained zoned out. Her slip up with Payton had got her thinking about her actions.

These were her best friends, practically her family, and she was lying to them– for what? A boy? A boy who’s notorious for terrorizing their school and her friends. How could she do this to them? Surely she was a horrible person. A person who didn’t deserve their friendship or their trust. She needed to break it off with Max. As much as it would hurt her, she couldn’t keep doing this.

This wasn’t the first time she’s battled with herself internally over this issue. She had spent many sleepless nights in the beginning of their relationship, telling herself that she needed to break it off with Max, that what they were doing was wrong. But then, she’d see him again, and he’d smile at her with a smile she’d only ever seen him give to her, and it wouldn’t feel wrong. It would feel right.

“Saba? You there?”

Saba’s head snapped away from the ladybug she had been intently staring at, and up towards Mia, where she was snapping her fingers in her face.

“You’ve been awfully quiet today, Saba. Are you alright?” Autumn asked, her large brown eyes full of concern.

Saba realized that almost half the lunch period had already gone by, and she had barely said two words to her friends. Looking around at them, she saw all their faces masked with concern.

“Uh– I'm–” Saba stuttered. “I’m just– I’m not feeling too good. I think I’m gonna go to the nurse.”

Hastily gathering her backpack and lunch in her arms, she all but sprinted away from her friends. Escaping the courtyard, she headed straight to the school parking lot where she got in her car. Slamming the door shut, she let out a frustrated breath and ran her hands through her hair. She just needed to escape and get a few moments alone to herself. She couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t keep lying to everybody.

With a determined nod to herself, she turned the key in her ignition. As she pulled out of her school parking lot, she gripped the steering wheel tightly. Telling herself this was the only solution, she headed down to her rivaling high school, Hearst.

As she arrived and parked in the Hearst parking lot ten minutes later, she pulled out her phone. Without giving herself a chance to change her mind, she sent Max a message to meet her outside. Getting out of her car, she paced back and forth nervously, anxious and heartbroken about what she was going to do.

Only minutes later, Max appeared from around the corner, smiling that special smile at her once his crystal eyes met her chocolate ones.

Grinning arrogantly as he approached her, he pulled her into a tight embrace. “What, couldn’t wait just a few more hours to see me? Babe, your obsession with me is getting a bit out of hand.”

Saba felt like crying. She didn’t hug him back, nor did she respond with her usual banter.

Concerned, and suddenly growing serious, Max pulled back. Keeping his hands on her shoulders, he bent down slightly to meet those brown eyes that were avoiding his.

“Babe, what’s wrong? What happened?” Max was growing worried now.

Did something bad happen? Is she okay? Did someone hurt her? Why does she look like she’s about to cry?

Wrapping her arms around herself, she swallowed. “I can’t do this anymore, Max. It’s not gonna work.”

Now he was panicked, she couldn’t be doing what he thinks she’s doing. She’s not really gonna–

“We need to break up.”

Max felt like his chest was on fire. Hurt and rejection slapped him in the face, and for a moment all he felt was emptiness.

Pulling away from her he shook his head vehemently.

“No, no. We are not breaking up. Why would you even– I don’t understand. What went wrong? I thought you were happy! What the actual fu–” Max cut off his speech as he noticed silent tears had begun streaming down her face.

Immediately, he softened. He didn’t mean to make her cry. Taking a deep breath, Max tried to organize his thoughts. Stepping toward her again, he cupped her face in his hands, wiping away the tears with the pads of his thumbs.

“Hey, hey,” he soothed, “Don’t cry. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head, looking straight into his eyes. “It’s not your fault– I just– we can’t keep sneaking around like this. I can’t keep lying to my friends, Max. It’s been eating away at me for too long, and I can’t take it anymore.”

Pulling her to his chest, he began rubbing soft circles into her back and she gripped onto his t-shirt for dear life, not wanting to let go.

“I don’t want to break up.” She murmured.

Max gripped her tighter. “Then we won’t.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “We have to.”

Pulling back and holding Saba at arms length, Max stared hard into her eyes. “Why? Why do we have to? Look, I know I’m not perfect. I know we’re not perfect. But I do know that you’re the only person in my life right now that I feel like I can be myself around. You’re the only one who makes me feel like I’m something more than just some dumb football player. You make me happy, and I thought I made you happy too.”

Taking a deep breath, Max gulps nervously before continuing, “If you’re really not happy– if you really don’t want me anymore– then I’ll respect your decision. But don’t end this because you feel like you have to.”

“You do make me happy, Max, but–”

“Then isn’t that all that matters? That we’re happy?”

“I–” Saba opened her mouth to argue more, but she was at a loss for words.

He had a point. A very appealing point. All the logical arguments she had made earlier for why they should break up, suddenly didn’t seem so logical anymore.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Max whispered, “You do so much for everybody else. You’re always so focused on making others happy, you never stop to think about your own happiness.”

His words brought a familiar warmth to her chest. Max never failed to surprise her, and it was moments like these when he was able to say just the right thing, that she was reminded of the other side of Max she was growing to love.

Shaking her head, Saba let out a strangled laugh. “God, you’re such a manipulative punk, aren’t you?”

Max’s lips tugged up into a smile. “How do think I always manage to get what I want?”

Letting out a soft chuckle, she reaching a hand up to stroked the side of his cheek. “Thank you.” She whispered.

“For what?” He whispered back, leaning into her touch.

She smiled softly as she gazed up at him. “For saying just the right things I needed to hear.”

Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her hands behind his head, pulling his lips to hers.