Hey, what's up you guys? This new story of mine is a fuller, better, and totally revised version of Accidentally in Love, a story I wrote on Max-Dan-Wiz. Basically, I was up reading the story a couple nights ago, and as much as I was still in love with the idea of the story, I was disgusted with my writing skills when I wrote it. And so now I am going to redo the story in hopes that I will love this version much, much better! And I'm also changing the plot a little bit since I noticed some MAJOR holes and I myself got disinterested in it after a while :3

Enjoy, my readers. Simply, enjoy.

MPOV

As the car pulled into the driveway of house number thirteen, I could already sense something different about this one. I stepped out of the car and was met with a mild chill that was nothing if not tolerable. The first couple leaves of autumn drifted down from a large oak in the front yard. I slammed the car door shut and stared at our new house.

Not only was this house more extravagant than all the others we've lived in, but it also held something I couldn't put my finger on. As I gave the house a scrutinizing gaze, I felt this rush of—hope, for lack of better word. There was something distinctly optimistic about this house that hadn't been in any of our other houses.

My sister Ella, who was only 8 months younger than me, came to stand beside me. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she commented.

I nodded. "I like this one."

"Yeah, me too." She looked at me. "Maybe it'll be better here."

I met her gaze, prying my eyes away from the house. "Maybe. But then again, maybe it'll just be the same."

Ella shrugged. "Come on, help unload the car."

I followed Ella to the trunk of the car where we took out a couple boxes and brought them inside the house. The inside was just as gorgeous as the outside: Marble floor for the entrance way and hardwood and carpet throughout the rest; a grand staircase winding up to the same height as a crystal chandelier; huge windows with light streaming in.

My other sister, Angel, raced downstairs. "The upstairs is just as great, you guys!" She came to a stop in front of me, blue eyes shining bright with excitement and wonder. "Don't you just love it here, Max?"

I patted Angel's blond curls and smiled down at her. "It is looking to be pretty great, Ange."

She beamed at me, then Ella. Then our mother walked in and we all dropped our smiles.

My mother was not a pleasant woman. Sure, she had her moments of happiness and relaxation, but for the majority of the time, my mother was a ball of raging fury. She works around the clock, so she's never home to say good morning or good night to us, and maybe the long hours are what make her so unpleasant. Either way, you did not want to disobey her.

Over the years, my mother had grown a fondness towards physical punishment. Don't want to follow her rules? Fine, get repeatedly slapped in the face. I found this out the hard way when I had wanted to date this one boy a couple years ago. Ever since my mother had left my father, she was always warning me about men, always nagging me about how they're all scum, and always restricting me when it came to dating. When I had informed her that I would simple continuing dating Sam despite her orders, she walked right up to me, and smacked me straight across the face.

"You will not be dating anyone, do you understand me?" Her voice rung high and clear, piercing my eardrums. When I didn't respond, she slapped me again. "You answer me when I ask you something!"

"Yes, ma'am," I said shakily. I could barely look her in the eyes, for fear of what they held. There was a wild, craziness to her I'd never seen before.

She smacked me again for good measure. "Now get back up into your room and do not come back down until I'm ready to see your face again."

I tried my best to please her from then on out, but it soon became clear to me that keeping my mother happy was one of the hardest tasks I've ever tried to complete in my life. Yet I still try every single day, just to see if there was any piece of her left. It has become difficult, though, now that she's started not only beating me and Ella, but hitting Angel, too; and she's eight years old. I always intervened when that happened, giving me twice the punishment.

But I digress. We all looked at my mother's worn-out looking face for about one second before all of us scurried outside so she wouldn't get a chance to yell at us for being 'lazy'. After we unpacked the car, our mother relieved us of working until the morning. All of us rushed upstairs, eager to see our new rooms. Ella and Angel chose the first ones they spotted whereas I walked down to the very end of the hallway, stopping at the last door on my right. I opened it slowly, anticipation and nervousness burning through me. I gasped when I walked inside.

The room itself was huge, yes, but that wasn't what caught my eye. Straight across from me was a grand balcony complete with a stone-pillared railing and French doors. Flooded with excitement, I rushed out onto the balcony and breathed in the fresh, crisp autumn air, my eyes tightly closed as I took in the feel of it all. I sighed in contempt, and opened my eyes to something I didn't expect to see.

Across from me, in the house next to mine, was a boy, also lounging on his balcony. My smile automatically dropped in the presence of someone else, and I just stared at him as he stared at me. Neither of us dared to move, so like deer caught in headlights, we just stood there looking at each other. And it wasn't a boring thing to do, if I do say so myself.

This boy, he was unlike anyone I had ever seen before. He had perfectly messy black hair with a pair of matching deep, dark brown eyes. His olive-toned skin bore his clothes, all in shades of black, well; his were muscles visible even from this distance. There was no doubt in my mind that his looks could win over any girl, but I had no plans to be wooed by this guy.

He was the first to break away when even I could hear his mother calling him from somewhere in the house. The voice, however, was too muffled for me to catch a name. Disappointed, I walked back inside my room, shutting the doors behind me just a few seconds after he shut his.

From then on out, I could not get my mystery neighbor off my mind.

Just as I had finished off two of my favorite chocolate chip cookies, there was an almost silent knock on the front door. I slowly placed the cookie that was heading towards my mouth down and took a couple of wary steps out of the kitchen. The person knocked again, louder this time. I went back in the kitchen and grabbed a wooden spoon before cautiously opening the front door.

On our front step stood a messed-up-looking family. There was a pristine mother with a fake smile plastered to her face, a boy around my age with strawberry-blond hair, a young boy about the age of 11 who, oddly enough, looked like the boy version of Angel, then there was a girl the same age as the Angel-look-alike with mocha skin and a curly mass of brown hair. And just behind the entire group, I caught the faintest glimpse of the boy I saw earlier that day. His black hair shone in the setting sun and his dark brown eyes seemed to read my soul. I pulled my gaze away from him and looked at his mother expectantly.

"Hi there! We're your new neighbors, and we were wondering if maybe you'd like to come over and have some drinks or something?" She still beamed that perfect smile.

After a moment's thought, I held a single finger up before I turned and started up the stairs.

My mother's room was on the third floor, making my already-tired legs even more tired as I climbed the staircase to the house's top level. It was easy to find her—she was standing in the middle of the hall glaring at a scratch the previous owners left on the wall. I swallowed my fear of her answer and spoke not much over a whisper.

"Mom?"

She irritably looked over at me. "Yes, what is?"

"Our new neighbors want to know if we would like to go over to their house."

She took a step towards me, eyes narrowing. "Is she married? Got a boyfriend?"

"No, mom, not that I saw."

"Does she have any sons?"

I hesitated. "Three."

My mother rapidly shook her head. "No. No. Absolutely not."

Ella and Angel joined us at that moment, no doubt wondering why I willing spoke to my mother.

Ella spoke first. "What's going on?"

Mother looked at me in disgust. "You sister thought it'd be a good idea to go over to the neighbor's house."

Angel's face lit up and Ella slowly started to smile. "I think that'd be great," Ella said.

"Well no one asked you for your bloody opinion," my mom snapped. Ella flinched slightly. Angel hid halfway behind her.

I took a step towards my mom. "Don't talk to them like that!"

Swinging around, a hard hand went across my face in a blur. My head snapped to the side. The impact numbed the left side of my face. I cast my eyes downward and took two steps back, not saying anything else.

"How dare you talk back to me!" I could feel her stare burning holes into my head. "I am your mother."

No one said anything. We were all far too afraid to move. So we just stood there, frozen, awaiting our dismissal. My heart dropped at the thought of not meeting our neighbors. For the first time in my life, I thought perhaps I'd get to live like a normal teenage girl, my biggest problem being the blemish that sprouted on my forehead. But alas, this time would be no different for us.

"All of you go downstairs," she barked. "I've decided to meet the neighbors, but not because of any of your whining."

"Yes ma'am," we all mumbled as we walked slowly down the stairs, mother in tow.

My mother and siblings played the role of normal people when we reached the bottom of the stairs. I did not lift my head still, even as we walked across the lawn to the neighbor's home. I stayed at least four paces behind everyone at all times. I could feel the left side of my face sting and tingle and knew that it would soon be an angry red color that I would have to have Ella tend to when we got back home. Or maybe the neighbors would give me some ice. I could make up a story; say that I fell while unpacking today. What if I just told them the truth? What if I came right out and said, "My mother beats my sisters and I"—

"Max?"

I snapped my head up, and Ella's concerned face stared back at me. "You okay?"

Somehow we had ended up in the neighbor's living room. It was all crisp and clean and very, very white. Our parents had gone in the kitchen, leaving all the kids awkwardly standing there. Everyone was staring at me.

I nodded at Ella, preferring not to speak in front of the strangers. The strawberry blond cleared his throat.

"Why don't you all take a seat?" he suggested.

Everyone sat down: one family on one sofa, the other on another sofa. The ticking of a grandfather clock was the only sound. I stared at my hands clasped in my lap. Suddenly, the mocha-colored girl spoke up.

"What happened to your face?" she asked.

Shocked, I raised my head to look at her, eyes wide. Beside me, Ella fidgeted with a piece of hair, racking her brain for an answer since she knew I would not talk. The girl continued to stare at me. She touched the left side of her face gently.

"It's all red."

"Uh—uh—uh," Ella stuttered, tripping over the words as she said them. "Well, uh, today—Max—tripped carrying a box to her room, and, uh, her face skidded against the—carpet as she—fell?" It ended like a question and I gave her a look like, "Smooth."

Ella shrugged back at me, abashed, and we both looked back at the girl. She narrowed her eyes in thought before shaking her head.

"No, that's not true. Her face wasn't red when she opened the door for us."

Damn, that girl had a memory on her. I looked at Ella who smiled fakely at the girl.

"You must have just not seen it." Ella hurried on before the girl could protest. "In any case, I should probably treat it. Got a first aid's kit? Some ice?"

Giving up for now, the girl nodded. "I'll be right back."

She disappeared in the kitchen for a few minutes and came back with a bag of ice wrapped in a thin rag.

"Follow me."

Ella and I got up and followed the girl upstairs and to the right. The first door was a bathroom in which she held the door open to while handing Ella the ice bag.

"The first aid kit is in the bottom cabinet. Feel free to use whatever." Halfway out the door, she paused and said, "By the way, I'm Nudge." Then she left.

When we were sure she was gone, Ella sat me down on the toilet seat and rummaged around the cabinets for the first aid kit. Finally finding one, she took it out and handed me the ice.

"Took the rag off; it'll just irritate the burn," she instructed.

I did as she said and let the blue rag fall to the floor. Grateful for something to numb the sting, I held the ice to my left cheek and watched as Ella dug the kit, concentration creasing her forehead. I didn't say anything, but focused on the cool feeling of the ice on hot skin. A moan almost escaped my lips. After a few minutes, Ella abandoned the sink and kit to examine my cheek, grabbing it gently and turning it towards her.

"Hmm," she murmured. "I don't think we can do much else outside of letting you keep something cold on it for a while."

Picking up the rag off the floor, Ella ran it under icy water for about a minute or so, letting it get as cold as possible before placing it on my cheek.

"Now stay," she ordered.

Although I obeyed Ella's demands, I was not happy about it. The towel was, in fact, irritating my cheek so I dropped it back on the floor. The ice felt so incredibly good on my skin and I closed my eyes, leaning back on the toilet seat. I had just started to drift off when Ella reopened the door with some makeup in her hand. I arched an eyebrow.

"Concealer to hide the redness a bit more. Ms. Xavier isn't your exact tone, so I'm going to have to put it all over you," she warned.

I sighed. "If you must."

Ella placed some of the gunk on my face as I tried to repress another frustrated sigh.

After around twenty or so minutes being locked in a bathroom, I was glad to be out in the open again. Ella and I returned to our respective white couch downstairs, interrupting a small conversation going on. Nudge smiled at us.

"Oh, good! You're face isn't red anymore! I was really beginning to worry because, well, I know I don't know you and all, but no one deserves to be hurt or anything. Like how this puppy was beat to death one day. I saw it on the news and it made me really depressed."

I forced down a shudder as I thought of being beat. I was lucky that time; I had escaped with only a slap. But I knew how bad the punishments could be, and I wondered vaguely if I would ever get beat to death. Would Ella and Angel come home one day to find my mother standing over my cold, bloody, unresponsive body?

I shook the thought from my head and tried to focus on the situation at hand. Tentatively, I gave Nudge a slight smile with just the corners of my mouth moving up ever-so-slightly before I settled myself deeper into the couch. At that moment I wished I was alone so that I could just curl up and fall asleep. The day was starting to put a strain on me.

Everyone was quiet again. We shifted uncomfortably in our seats until the strawberry blond cleared his throat and looked at us. He stretched his hand out across the space that separated us and smiled a dazzling smile.

"I'm Iggy." He locked eyes with Ella. "And you are?"

Blushing, Ella took his hand. "Ella."

Iggy brought her hand to his mouth, placing a light kiss on it. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

Ella blushed again and looked away as Iggy returned her hand. My mouth twitched as I saw how happy and attractive this one stranger made my sister feel. It was nice to know she could be happy in this crappy lifestyle in which we lived.

Iggy looked at me next. "And you?"

I stared at him for a second, my eyes narrowing a bit in thought. Should I tell him my name or not? It was a nagging question I was met with every time we moved to a new place; To tell who are or just remain nothing.

An elbow dug itself into my side. I snapped my head to the side and glared at Ella. She gave me a meaningful look and I sighed, helpless. No way would I want to mess up this one possible relationship for Ella. Turning back at Iggy who was watching the scene with curiosity in his eyes, I opened my mouth and spoke.

"Max."

I felt Ella relax at my side, but I would get her back for this. Everyone's eyebrows rose in the other family at the sound of my voice. I sent glares, but quickly reminded myself that this was a chance for Ella to be happy. So I huffed, my bangs flying up a bit from the air, and leaned farther into the couch.

Won't open my mouth ever again.

It was then that it happened.

Sorry for the cliffy! But it was needed (; Sorry if it was a little boring or whatever, I promise things will pick up soon. So, yeah, review and stuff. I'm looking forward to hearing back from you guys!

~Shiver