This fanfic has been brought to you by the author Chameleon Freak!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon. I just want a Pikachu, and then I'll be happy.
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Flee For Your Life!
Chapter 1: Cafeteria Confessions
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Max woke up and once again and banged his head on the bottom of the bed. He hated being forced to sleep on the bottom bunk. But then, if he ever asked to sleep on the top bunk, his twin sister would just start going on and on about how she was the oldest. It didn't matter that it was only by thirteen minutes, she had been the oldest for his sixteen years of existence, and she always would be the oldest. He got up and stared at the mirror. He looked almost exactly like his sister. They are twins after all. Anyway, the only real difference was how they dressed, and their hairstyles. He preferred his red hair longer than a buzz cut, but shorter than any other hairstyle he knew of. His sister, on the other hand, opted for a medium length ponytail on the side of her head. Exactly like his mom's haircut. (A/N Yeah. I stink at that type of summary. I usually just avoid it, but seeing as these are original and main characters, I figured it must be done.) He trudged downstairs and fixed himself some toast. By the looks of things, his parents had already gone to work. Oh how he loved weekends. He finished breakfast just as Taylor plodded into the kitchen.
"You're up early."
"Come off it Taylor. You know I always get up around this time."
"Oh yeah. I guess you're right. I can't read these non-digital clocks to save my life."
"Speaking of things you perform pitifully at, have you summed up the courage to ask Bryan to the Valentines Day Dance?"
"Who told you that's who I wanted to ask?"
"Umm… certainly not your diary."
"I knew it. I'll just have to find a better hiding place."
"I must give you credit though. It was exceptionally hard to find this time. I wouldn't have guessed it was in a Ziploc bag in the little compartment type thing above the toilet."
"It was a stroke of genius."
"I never would have thought your brain capable of such cleverness."
"Yeah right. I could find a better hiding place any day of the week."
"The day you find a good hiding place is the day you have enough courage to ask your would be boyfriend to the dance."
Having no response to this, Taylor busied herself with making scrambled eggs. Meanwhile, Max walked into the T.V. room to play some Super Smash Bros. Melee.
After consuming her eggs and washing the dishes, Taylor made her way into the T.V. room as well. "Move it Max. I wanna watch T.V."
"Tough luck then sis. Cause your not gonna get to watch T.V."
"I'll play you. If I win, I watch my show. If you win, you can play."
"Deal."
It was an intense battle that seemed to go on forever. Taylor, who was playing as Kirby, was at a slight disadvantage, seeing as Max was playing as Young Link. But in the end, she knocked him out of the park with her mallet attack. She was especially gifted with mallets, a skill she had inherited from her mother. After losing, Max changed out of his PJ's and went for a walk. He sighed. There was never anyone who wanted to do the same stuff as him. If he wanted to play video games, everyone wanted to watch T.V. If he wanted to see an action movie, everyone else wanted to see a comedy. It was frustrating. The only people, who ever seemed to agree with him were his friend Ian, plus Abby and Courtney. But unfortunately, Ian had relatives at his house for the weekend. And Abby and Courtney had moved away a long time ago. Max thought back to the day they moved away. Of course, we can't get inside his head unless I say so. So instead, we'll go around the corner, to where Tracey is having a conversation with a man in a kilt and a blender on his head.
"Are you crazy?"
"No. See, this blender will allow me to travel through time, and style my hair at the same time!"
"How do you power it?"
"Gas."
"What type?"
"Bean powered."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I ate a whole lot of beans his morning. Then I put this big funnel down a few inches away from my derrière. So every time I cut the cheese, my machine builds up more fuel."
"You scare me."
"You'll think I'm a genius after I travel through time! Now stand back!" The kilted man pulled a cord on the blender, and he disappeared in a flash of color. "Wow. I guess he was right. Oh well. I'm gonna go get some nachos!"
The man landed exactly ten years in the past. "Hmm. According to the newspaper right there, I landed exactly ten years in the past!" Meanwhile, while the man looked around for a souvenir, two families were conversing across the street. While May, Misty, Brock, and Ash talked to each other, all the little kiddies were saying their goodbyes. "Well, Abby and Courtney, it's been fun pwaying with you. I'm gonna miss you a wot!" Note that I wrote it like that on purpose. They're only six years old, so I thought they'd sound like little kids. So I didn't goof up while writing.
"Yeah Max. Were we could stay a wittle while longer. But our daddy has to get to his bwand new job."
"He's gonna be a gym weader! He'll battle Pokemon and give out wots of badges!"
"Cool! What types of Pokemon does he got?"
"Wock types! He's got a big Geodude, and an Onix, plus he got's a Forretwess!"
"Where are you guys goin'?"
"We're gonna go to a pwace cawled Wittleroot!"
Brock walked over. "C'mon Abby. C'mon Courtney. We need to hit the road if we want to get to Littleroot by tonight."
"Why don't we just fwy there daddy?"
"Because I have no flying Pokemon. Neither does your mom. And even if we did, it would have to be legendary to carry a family of four! No, we have to go to Saffron, get on the magnet train, and then once we're in Goldenrod, we have to walk all the way to the ferry port in Olivine. We've got to get on the ferry, then we'll get off in Slateport. We've must walk for a couple of hours in order to get to Littleroot. So if we want to get there before it's dark, we need to leave now."
"Okay daddy!"
"We can go now."
And so Brock and Max hopped on their bikes, while Abby and Courtney mounted their tricycles. Ash, Misty, Taylor, and Max waved as the other family slowly made it's way to their new home. Meanwhile, the man in the kilt had found his souvenir and was preparing to travel to the present time. "Now lets see, I've got enough fuel, I've got my souvenir, I guess it's time for me to get back to the future!"
He pulled the cord and warped back to his time. "I did it!" Then the machine exploded, flying off his head, and into the distance. "Noooooo! I didn't get to see the future! Oh well. I guess I'll go get some beans for lunch. I'm starving."
And so he walked away. Back around the corner, Max finished reminiscing, and walked back to his house, on the way, he passed a man in a kilt, and he couldn't help but comment.
"Hey! Nice dress!"
"It's not a dress! It's a sign of Scotland! It's a sign of life and love! It's a sign of my entire country and all of their struggles and achievements! It's a sign of all that's good in the world! It's not a dress my friend, it's a kilt!"
"Yeah. Umm… I still say it looks like a dress."
"But it's not! It's a kilt. There's a difference!"
"Like what?"
"Well, this is plaid, a boy's wearing it, it's got all these little frilly things, and it's from Scotland!"
"It's a dress!"
"Don't tell me about things you don't know!"
"Whatever!"
Max walked back home. Once there, he found a note taped to the door. It was addressed to him, so he opened it.
"Dear Max,
I have hid from you for long enough! I have held in how I fell about you for too long! But now I will tell you. Max, I love you with every inch of my being. I love how funny and talented you are! Plus, I think about you all the time and wish I could sum up the courage to greet you face to face! But until that day, I hope this note will do the talking for me.
Love,
You Secret Admirer"
Now, that freaked Max out. I mean, would you expect to come home and find a note saying that someone had a crush on you? So he was perplexed at who would send him a note like this. He was so deep in thought that he walked right into an old friend of his dads. "WHY THE HECK DID YOU WALK INTO ME LIKE THAT?! WERE YOU BEING CHASED BY A HERD OF PSYCHOTIC CHANSEY?!" David asked while turning red in the face. "Sorry David! I really am! I wasn't thinking straight!" said a startled Max. "Someone just told me that they love me! And I have no clue who! That just freaked me out. I mean, I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment! I didn't know what to do! So I ran like a maniac to get away to find help! I was thinking about who to ask for advice."
"WHY DIDN"T YOU JUST ASK ME FOR ADVICE INSTEAD OF RUNNING INTO ME LIKE THAT?! Tell you what. You can buy me a burger to make up for the incident YOU caused, and I'll give you some of my WORLD FAMOUS ADVICE!"
"Sounds good to me."
"Hmm… this situation seems very familiar. Almost too familiar. Oh well. They just opened up a new McDonphan's over on Beedrill Blvd. We can go get lunch over there."
"Okay."
So off they went. If David thought that situation was familiar, the one coming up would have to be twice as familiar.
"For crying out loud David! That's your 10th deluxe double patty cheeseburger yet! When you said you'd give me some advice on how to deal with my secret admirer over a burger, I thought you meant JUST ONE BURGER!! I'm going to be flat broke in five minutes at the rate your going!"
"Sorry Max. You try giving good advice on an empty stomach!"
"Let me tell you something David. If you don't stop eating and start giving me advice in the next TEN SECONDS, I'll personally take all ten of those burgers right back out of your freakishly large gut!"
David sighed and sat back in his seat. "Okay Max. What do you need help with?"
Max smiled and sat back in his seat also. "A secret admirer just told me that she loves me."
David smiled a little and asked, "Did she say why she loved you?"
"I was too busy freaking out to really pay attention, but I think she mentioned that I was really funny or something like that."
"Okay. Now, would you like my opinion, or would you like to know what I'd do in this situation?"
"Seeing how many burgers you just consumed, why don't you give me both."
"Okay, here's my advice. You should found out who wrote the note, then tell her that you don't feel the same way."
"That might work. Say, this sounds exactly like that stupid story my dad tells us."
"About when they were your age?"
"Yes."
"Interesting. This whole situation seems tremendously familiar."
"Weird."
"Anyway, here's what I'd do if I were you."
"What?
"First of all, I'd find out who wrote the note, then I'd take her on a date and see if she's your type. If she's your type, become her boyfriend."
"What if she isn't my type?"
"Flee for your life if you see them anywhere within a five-mile radius."
"No. Seriously. What would I do?"
With a straight face David said, "I just told you. Oh well. Say hello to your parents for me."
"Will do."
David left the restaurant. Max threw away the trash and walked outside as well. He had taken five steps when he saw Bryan Hoberman being chased by his sister. Acting quickly, he ran to a pay phone and called his sisters cell phone. He turned and saw her stop. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi Taylor. It's Max."
"Hi Max. You caught me at a bad time. Can I call you back?"
"No. I need to tell you something."
"What?"
Swallowing his fear of being laughed at, Max commenced telling Taylor about his secret admirer. By the time he was done, he could see her doubled up with laughter.
"So someone has a crush on you?"
"Umm…Yeah."
"Wait until mom and dad hear about this!"
He heard the phone go dead and he turned to see his sister sprinting off towards the Indigo Plateau. He hung up the phone and dashed after her. Unfortunately, they were both on the track team, so he had trouble catching up to her since she had a head start. He took a short cut and came out at the Staff entrance just in time to see his sister sprint inside, still laughing uncontrollably. He sprinted inside and used the last bit of his energy to overtake her. She looked shocked to see him appear from behind her.
"Hey sis. You weren't really going to tell mom and dad?"
"Of course I was."
"C'mon. If you do, I'll tell them about how you were chasing Bryan."
She stopped in her tracks.
"How'd you know about that?"
He looked into her chocolate brown eyes and saw that they were filled with worry. No one knew she somewhat liked Bryan except for Bryan, Max, and herself. He didn't think she was about to sacrifice that secret to get a good laugh about Max's predicament.
"You win little bro."
"I'm only thirteen minutes younger than you!"
"So you admit that you're littler."
"I'll show you! I'm telling mom about your crush!"
"If you do, I'll tell dad about how you have a girl who has a crush on you."
"At least I'm not in love. I'm just trying to evade it. You on the other hand…"
He trailed off menacingly. She looked stuck between wanting to tease him and wanting to keep her secret a secret. She eventually gave in.
"You win."
"Glad we see things eye to eye."
"I hope you realize I'm still gonna use your girlfriend against you. I think I'll start by immortalizing her in my diary."
She dashed off cackling manically. Max raced after her but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He spun around and found himself face to face with his dad, Ash. Duh.
"Umm… Hi dad. How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to hear that your sister has a crush, you're blackmailing her with it, there's a girl who has a crush on you, and you don't feel the same way."
"So basically the whole time."
"Pretty much."
"Yeah. Well, I was er… only kidding about the whole blackmailing thing."
"It didn't seem like it to me."
"Well I was."
"Well, your mother is still going to hear about it."
"Hear about what?"
Misty had walked into the room. She raised an eyebrow.
"Well? What were you going to tell me?"
"Well, you see, Max tried to blackmail Taylor."
"With what information?"
"It seems she likes a boy named…" Ash looked to Max for information.
"Bryan Hoberman."
"Okay. It seems she likes Bryan Hoberman and a girl has a crush on Max. But he doesn't feel the same way."
Misty smiled. "So how did you find out a girl had a crush on you, Max?"
"I walked home and found a note on the door. Some secret admirer wrote it and I have no… "
"Wait a minute. Secret admirer? Are you serious?" Ash interrupted.
"Basically."
"So what are you planning to do about her?"
"Umm… Ignore her and any letters I get from her."
"That wouldn't work, but we'll get back to that."
"Why?"
"Because right now I want to know how you found out your sister had a crush on Bryan."
"Oh. Well, I umm… read her diary."
"You found her diary and read it again?"
"Yeah."
"Where was it this time?"
"In a Ziploc bag in the little compartment type thing above the toilet."
"Wow. She's really serious about hiding that thing."
"Yeah. But I like the challenge."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Anyway, How long has she had this crush?"
"Since she first met him."
"Oh okay. Just wondered."
"You know, some might label you as nosy, but I know better. I'm glad to have such over protective parents."
"Good. So, back on the subject of your love life…"
"I'm don't have a love life! She likes me, but I DON'T like her!"
"I know. Anyway, I think Misty could probably offer you better advice than I can."
"Thanks for passing the buck Ash."
"Umm… mom?"
"Yes?"
"What should I do?"
"I have no experience with a secret admirer. So I have no advice."
"Okay. I'll just use David's advice."
Ash frowned, remembering David's last bit of advice.
Misty, on the other hand, smiled. "What did David say?"
"I should flee for my life."
"Okay. Well, don't do that."
"If you say so."
"Well, we're done with work for the day. Unfortunately, we only have two bikes. So I guess you'll have to walk."
"I could race you."
"You could?"
"Yeah. It would be great training for the track team."
"If you say so."
And so they all started off. Ash and Misty had decided to take it easy on Max, but when he dashed by, leaving them in his wake, they put the pedals to the mettle. It was a close race, but in the end, Misty was the fastest of the three. They walked into the house after catching their breath. They found Taylor watching the news. Ash sat down next to her and was about to open his mouth when Misty walked in. "I think I should talk to her Ash."
Ash nodded and walked away, while Taylor paled. "Umm… what are you talking about?"
"Think about it."
"I didn't do it! I have enemies! It was probably Max!"
"You did nothing wrong, I just want to talk to you about boys."
Seeing as I don't know what type of talk's girls and their mothers have, I'll just skip to the kitchen.
Ash was chugging a six-pack of sodas, while Max watched with fascination. "I'm always amazed at how much you and Taylor can eat. It's like you're always hungry."
"It's a gift."
"Well, when Thanksgiving rolls around, it's a nightmare."
"Oh well. It sounds like your mother's done talking to Taylor. Want to go play Super Smash Bros. Melee?"
"Sure!"
As they got up, Taylor walked in. She shot a look of hatred at Max and stormed off. Misty walked in and smiled.
"So Ash, I want to remind you that you promised to make dinner tonight."
Before Ash could respond, Misty walked away. Ash paled and looked at Max for support. Then Ash straightened up. He walked over to the phone. "Hello? Dominoddish's? I'd like two large pizzas with pepperoni and sausage. Thank you."
"Smooth Dad. Really smooth."
"Thanks."
"I'm gonna go play video games."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
Max played Super Smash Bros. Melee until the pizza came. Then he helped his father make it look as if they had spent the last hour cooking pizza.
"No dad. You don't use sugar and cinnamon to cook pizza."
"Oh."
Misty walked in just as Max threw away the pizza boxes. She seemed pleased with Ash's choice of food, and helped Max set the table. After the table was set, the food was served, the drinks were gotten, and Ash and Misty had both sat down, Max walked to the bottom of the stairs and called out, "TAYLOR! IT'S TIME FOR DINNER!"
Taylor walked out of their room, marched down the stairs, shot daggers out of her eyes at Max, and walked into the kitchen. They all sat down, said grace, and started eating. During the entire meal, Taylor kept throwing mean looks at Max. Misty noticed this and addressed the issue. "Taylor, why are you looking at your brother like that?"
"The traitor ratted me out after I said I wouldn't squeal on him if he didn't squeal on me."
Max frowned. "I didn't 'squeal' on you."
"Did too. How else did mom know I had a crush on Bryan?"
Ash smiled. "Maybe I told her."
"Oh great. So you told dad, who then told mom. I knew you were up to no good."
Ash looked her in the eyes. "Your brother didn't tell me anything. I was standing behind him in the shadows the entire time."
"Oh. Umm… okay."
"Your brother was extremely reluctant to tell me anything. So I think you owe him an apology."
"Umm… sorry Max. I thought you had tattled on me. Will you forgive me?"
"Sure. Sorry if I hurt your feelings by teasing you."
"Think nothing of it."
"Good. I'm glad you two have made up. So Ash, what do you have planned for desert?"
"Umm… Ice Cream."
"Oh."
So Ash got off the hook and Taylor stopped giving Max mean looks. After dinner, they watched television for a while. Then, Ash went upstairs to bed, Taylor and Max went to bed, and Misty sat down to watch the news. The reporter was starting a segment on the effects of steroids when given to a Pokemon right before a battle. Meanwhile, a tremendous argument about the most important thing in the world was going on upstairs, it was of course, over who got the top bunk. Max and Taylor were both clean and in their pajamas. Taylor had walked into their room and found Max lying in the top bunk.
"Hey! You know I sleep up there! Get down now!"
"Make me."
"Oh I will. I choose you, Sceptile! Now, use Vine Whip to get him out of my bed!"
Max felt himself be picked up by a pair of vines and dropped unceremoniously on the floor.
"Ow! Tell you what sis. You battle me and winner gets top bunk."
"You're on!"
And so they marched out back to their dad's private arena.
"So sis, you chose Sceptile. In that case, I choose you, Blaziken!"
"Sceptile, use Stun Spore!"
"Dodge it and use Flamethrower!"
Sceptile shot a cloud of golden powder at Blaziken, who promptly blew it away by sending a column of fire at Sceptile.
"Dodge it and use Bullet Seed!"
Sceptile twirled out of the way and shot a stream of seeds at Blaziken.
"Quick! Use Fire Blast!"
Blaziken shot a huge burst of fire at the seeds, which burn into ashes and disappeared before reaching their target.
"Now Blaziken, use your Smokescreen attack!"
A cloud of smoke covered the battlefield. When the smoke cleared, both Max and Blaziken were gone. Taylor heard laughing and looked towards the house just in time to see Max round a corner. She dashed after him and heard him going up the stairs. She remembered leaving the window open earlier. She called back to her Sceptile. "Quick Sceptile, shoot lots of Sleep Powder into my room!"
She reached the top of the stairs and walked into her room. She saw the last of the Sleep Powder dissipate. Max was snoring half way up the ladder to the top bunk. Not wanting to wake him, she turned off the lights and climbed up on the footboards to the top bunk. She fell asleep laughing at the fact that her brother would probably wake up in the morning and fall off the ladder in shock. He needed some comeuppance after all. She fell asleep to a dream about all of the holidays in the order they appear over the course of the year, oddly enough. First of all, she was holding a party popper while celebrating New Years. She popped it open and a Valentines Day card fell out. She opened that and was sucked into a giant Easter Basket. She cracked open an egg and out came a giant firecracker. It flew at her and exploded. Throwing her into an orange wall. When she turned around, it was a Jack-O-Lantern. It ate her and she fell down a hole onto a table. She saw an army of turkey and other foods rushing at her. Then she fell into a big card that read "Happy Holidays!" She opened the card and a party popper fell into her hands. She popped it open and a Valentines Day card fell out. She opened that and was sucked into a giant Easter Basket. She cracked open an egg and out came a giant firecracker. It flew at her and exploded. Throwing her into an orange wall. When she turned around, it was a Jack-O-Lantern. It ate her and she fell down a hole onto a table. She saw an army of turkey and other foods rushing at her. Then she fell into a big card that read "Happy Holidays!" She opened the card and… Taylor woke up with a start. For some reason, pizza always made her repeat the same dream all night long. So she turned over and saw that Max had woken up before her. He always did. She looked at the calendar on the wall. Yesterday had been the 5th. So today was… Monday. She hated Monday's. You'd just gotten into the groove of goofing off all day and doing nothing for the weekend, and then it's a weekday and you have to go to school. Oh well. She went downstairs and found Max reading her freshly updated diary.
"Max!"
"Umm… Hi Taylor."
"You're reading my diary!"
"Well, yeah. You made me fall asleep on the ladder, so I decided this was a proper means of payback."
"Payback for what? I just made you sleep on the ladder!"
"And gave me back pains by doing so."
"Oh. Sorry."
"So, you still want to get a date with Bryan after he dumped you?"
"No. I suppose you read that in my diary."
"Yeah. Sorry though. It must have been tough."
"Yeah. Oh well. I picked another suitable candidate."
"Who?"
"Your friend Ian."
Max fell out of the chair in shock. When he sat back down, he said, "Umm… why him?"
"Duh! Don't tell me that even though he's been your friend for ten years, you didn't know he has a crush on me."
"I know he did. How did you find out?"
"He was always looking at me somewhat oddly. I only figured out why when he offered to take me to the dance."
"Oh. So you wanna go with him cause you like him, or because he asked you already?"
"Both. I've always liked him. I mean, the only friend I have who's a boy besides you is Ian. Everyone else is a girl. Max, I gotta tell ya, you're being really nosy."
"Oh. Well, he's my friend. So I have his best interests in mind. So, are you just gonna go to the dance with him, or do you want to take your relationship further?"
Before he knew it, Taylor had rushed upstairs, grabbed a pillow, and proceeded to hit him full on in the face with it. After Max had gotten up from the floor, he sat back down in the chair and grabbed his head.
"Wow. You're almost lethal with a pillow. I was joking by the way."
"Oh. Sorry."
"Well, Ian's gonna meet me here in ten minutes and we're gonna walk to school. I can run back under the pretext of getting my math book, if you want to ask him then."
"Okay. I'd better hurry though."
Taylor scarfed down some cereal, ran upstairs, changed out of her pajamas, grabbed her schoolbooks, and ran back downstairs.
"Wow. I thought you could be ready quickly, but I thought it would take you longer than twenty seconds."
She blushed.
"Is there something you're not telling me Taylor?"
"Umm… no."
"Tell me the truth or your diary goes down the toilet."
"NO! NOT THE DIARY! Okay. Fine. I've always had a crush on Ian, I just freaked out when he asked me, so I said no. Then I thought maybe I don't like Ian at all, but I like Bryan instead. But now I realize I really like Ian."
"See. That's why I don't deal with all this lovey dovey stuff. It's just too much trouble."
"You can't disregard it. It's inevitable."
"If you say so."
"Oh. I do say so."
DING-DONG!
"Hmm… that must be Ian. C'mon."
They walked to the door and opened it. Standing before them was Ian. He had somewhat white and somewhat tan skin. He had, just like almost everyone else in this story, brown eyes and brown hair.
"Hi Max. Umm… Hi Taylor."
He started blushing.
"Sorry about the other day."
Max pretended to be alarmed.
"Whoops! I almost forgot my math book. I'll be right back."
Max dashed upstairs and walked just out of view. He listened closely to their conversation.
"Yeah, about that. I umm… wasn't thinking clearly and I was wondering if you could umm… forgive me and maybe go to the dance with me?"
"Umm… you mean it?"
"Yup."
"Oh. Okay then."
Max walked back downstairs.
"Found it. Hey. Why are you both blushing?"
Taylor shot him another mean look.
"It's nothing."
"Oh. If you say so."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Taylor kept looking over at Ian and then blushing, while Ian determinedly looked anywhere but at her. He, like so many unfortunate boys, had no clue how to act around girls, and therefore thought the silence could keep him from saying anything stupid. But that failed miserably when Taylor asked the all-important question.
"So Ian, when do you want to pick me up for the dance?"
Max couldn't help but smile as the color drained from Ian's face.
"I umm… how about umm… I uh… pick you up a rat, oops, I mean around seven dirty? Umm… Thirty. I mean thirty."
Taylor laughed.
"That sounds fine. But, are you feeling okay?"
"I'm lime. I'm fine. I'm just exited. Knou yow? I mean, you know?"
Again she laughed. Max sighed. Didn't she know she was probably putting him on the edge of a nervous breakdown? Oh well. Looks like he'd have to intervene.
"So Ian how was your weekend?" Max asked.
"Pretty good. I spent most of the time reading. How about you?"
"Okay I guess. A girl told me that she had a crush on me so I spent most of yesterday evading her." Max scowled with the last part of his statement.
Ian on the other hand appeared deep in thought. After a while, he responded. "Interesting. I'd have to say if you want to elude someone, you should spend most of the day in your room."
Max smiled. "That might work. How would you know though?"
"I wouldn't. But every book I've ever read where someone is trying to avoid someone, they lay low in their house if they can."
Taylor finally spoke up. "So Ian, I take it you read a lot?"
"Umm… yeah. I try and get at least a book read every week. Why do you ask?"
Taylor blushed. "Just wondered. So what are your favorite types?"
"Umm… I like Fiction, Sci-Fi, Action, Spy Novels, and umm… never mind."
Max knew what he read and looked away to stop from laughing. Taylor, who didn't know, asked, "What?"
"Romance."
"What's wrong with that? You can even ask Max if you want, there's nothing wrong with Romance novels."
"I just thought you'd think that was funny."
"I don't. I like reading Romance novels too." At this, Taylor once again started blushing.
Ian instantly responded. "Really? Who's your favorite author?"
It went on like this for some time. Max was glad his sister had finally broken the ice. They arrived at school and Max and Taylor walked off to Science class, while Ian made his way to English. While he waited for class to start, Max interrogated Taylor. He was so caught up in the conversation, he didn't even notice the girl sitting besides him kept looking at him and blushing.
"So Taylor, I didn't know you liked Romance."
"Oh. Umm… well, I don't usually read during the day. It's usually at night."
Their teacher walked in and class started. The rest of the day went by in a hurry. When it was over, Max and Taylor were having their usual argument.
"I want the top bunk!"
"Tough little bro. It's mine."
"No way! It's my turn! You always sleep there and I want a turn!"
"No way."
"Fine. Oh well, good night."
And so once again, the day ended. The week went by pretty quickly, with no really big changes. And so we reach a week later, or next Monday to be precise, and it was the day before the dance. That morning, Max began his favorite sport, diary hunting. He thought of where Taylor was most likely to hide it. He settled on the kitchen. He rummaged around the pantry and then made his way to the fridge. He was about to move on to the appliances when he noticed a carton of milk in the fridge. "Hmm… we ran out of milk yesterday, and mom hasn't gone to the store yet. I wonder…" He picked up the carton and discovered that the entire bottom had been cut out of it. Inside was, to his utter delight, Taylor's diary. He opened it up and turned to her newest entry.
"Dear Diary,
I've got to confide in you, I've never felt like this before. Every time I see Ian, think about him, or talk to him, I feel like I'm flying and about ready to faint at the same time. Truth be told, I think I…"
"MAX!"
"Umm… Hi Taylor."
"YOU READ MY DIARY AGAIN! UHHHH!"
"Now, now, what would your boyfriend say?"
"WHY DO YOU PERSIST IN READING MY DAIRY?! IS IT SOMETHING IN YOUR BRAIN THAT JUST MAKES YOU HAVE TO READ IT?!"
"Actually, it's because you keep on calling me 'little'. I find that the only retaliation that seems to make you as mad as you make me is when I read your diary."
"Fine. I'll try not to call you 'little' as much. Now will you ditch your Napoleon Complex and hand over my diary?"
"As soon as I finish this page. Now let me see… 'I think I love him.' There. All done. Wow. You love him. That's just so romantic." Max teased. The expression of embarrassment of Taylor's face made Max fall out of his chair laughing.
"Ha ha! Better not get on my bad side! Mom would love to hear that you're in love! She'll go crazy with happiness! I can just see it now. 'Awwwwwwwwwwwww! My little girl is finally growing up! I'm just so proud I could…'"
Taylor had once again retrieved her pillow and proceeded to knock Max off his feet.
"If you tell one soul what you read, I'll tell mom about how I saw you accidentally dropped that fifty pound barbell on your toe and started saying swear words so bad it would put a sailor to shame."
"Y…you wouldn't!"
"Yes I would."
"Fine, you win."
"Tell me something though. Why do you like to read my diary so much?"
"I like your writing. It's very good. Plus, if you threaten me, I can threaten you right back because I'll have read your deepest secrets."
"Oh. That actually makes sense. But don't read it again unless you have my permission. Understand?"
"Fine."
"So no hard feelings?"
"Nope. Same for you?"
"Yep I'm fine."
"Good. You are my only sibling after all. I just get on your nerves to show that I care."
"Okay. Same here. Also, I'd like to walk to school with Ian. Without you."
"So what?"
Taylor pointed behind Max. He spun around and looked out the window. Ian was walking towards the door.
"Oh. I'll go out the back. See you at school."
"See you then."
Max grabbed his school stuff and ran out the back door. He hopped their fence and found himself in an alley. He dashed away just as he heard Ian ring the doorbell. He rounded the corner and ran directly into the older Max. "Ouch! Oh, Hi Max. Are you on your way to school?"
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I was going to umm… take a short cut."
"Why?"
"I
umm… wanted to get to school quicker."
"Oh."
"Yeah. The only way is to go through the back alley. But I tell ya, sometimes I wish I had a restraining order for my sister. She just beat the stuffing out of me with a pillow. A PILLOW!"
"Restraining order? That reminds me. One time I dressed up as a flower delivery person and got my sister to sign what she thought was a release form. But in reality, she signed a form, which let me bug her house. Good times. Good times."
"Umm… okay. Well, I must go now. Bye."
"Have a good day at school!"
"Yeah. Okay."
Max walked away. Once again he didn't look where he was going and walked into someone. "Oh sorry about that."
He looked up. He was staring right into the face of the local school bully.
"Why'd you do that, squirt?"
"Umm… hi Spike. I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry."
"Well, sorry don't cut the cheese. So I guess I'll have to take your lunch money instead."
"Umm… sorry. I don't have lunch money."
"What about a bag lunch?"
"With
my sister."
"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll just punch you
silly instead."
"Joy."
"Hey. Are you being a wise guy?"
"No way. I'm really immature. I couldn't be wise."
"Hey! You're asking for it."
"Out of curiosity, what exactly am I asking for?"
"This."
Spike raised his fist and wound up to punch Max. He was about to strike when…
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Spike turned around and found he facing a girl around Max's age. "Crud! I don't like eyewitnesses. You got lucky this time Ketchum!"
Spike walked off. Max turned to the girl, who looked oddly familiar.
"Thanks. I was almost gonna be made to eat my words, and my teeth."
"You're welcome."
"Hmm… You seem familiar. Have I met you before?"
"No. But I know who you are. My brother talks about you all the time."
"Who's your brother?"
"You don't know. Oh. Well, that's good."
"What's good?"
"See, I'm not very social. Some would say I'm downright shy. So, I guess my brother respected that fact and never told you about me."
"I don't want to come across as rude or anything, but who the heck is your brother?"
"Ian."
"Ian's your brother?"
"Yes."
"That's why you looked so familiar. Well, shall we go to school?"
"Yes. Let us travel far and wide on a quest to reach the building of knowledge."
"I guess you read a lot of books as well."
"Most undeniably so."
"Umm… yeah. So, let's get going while the going's good."
And so they were off on a long and tedious journey over two blocks of unknown adventure. They're quest was to reach the halls of immeasurable knowledge. Yeah. And so after several long minutes, they arrived at the passages of infinite information. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I love my Thesaurus. So anyway, they arrived in class, and took their seats. Ian's sister sat towards the front next Max and Taylor instead of in the back. While they were waiting for class to start, Max introduced his friend's sibling to Taylor. "Taylor this is… umm… what's your name?"
"Elizabeth. But everyone calls me Liz."
"So you're named Liz and your brother's named Ian?"
"Yes."
"Okay, just wanted to be sure. Well anyway, Taylor, this is Liz. Liz, this is Taylor."
"Any friend of my brother is a friend of mine."
"Same here. So, Ian tells me you two are going to the dance together. He seems to really like you."
"Oh. She really li…" Max trailed off at the look on Taylor's face.
"Remember bro, you tell anyone that secret, and I'll tell mom and dad all about you little barbell episode."
"Fine. But you should tell her. She is your boyfriends sister after all."
Taylor opened her mouth to answer, but the teacher walked in and class began. All to soon, lunch was upon them. Max and Taylor made their way to an empty table and sat down. After a few minutes of eating and talking to each other, Ian made his way over and sat down next to Taylor.
"Hey Ian. I met your sister today."
"Did you? She usually doesn't introduce herself. Let alone talk to anyone."
"Well, she stood up to a bully for me."
"I don't believe it."
"It's true. Spike was about to punch me when she confronted him."
"Wow. She must really like you. Umm… oh man. Why do I always say what I'm thinking? Yeah. Do not take into account what I just said."
Max stared at Ian.
"Wh…What do you mean?"
"Duh. She's shy, yet she stands up to a bully. The only way she'd ever stand up to a bully is if they bully was bullying family or someone else she really liked."
"Oh. Umm… interesting. Why does every girl seem to have a crush on me?"
"No clue. But you can ask her right now. Here she comes."
Liz made her way to the table as well and plopped down next to her newest friend, and possibly only friend besides Taylor, Max.
"Hi Max. Hi Taylor. Hi big bro."
"Hi Liz."
"Hiya sis."
"Umm… h… hi Liz."
"What's up with you Max?"
"Well… Your brother just said that you umm…"
Liz looked at Ian. "What did my brother say?"
"He said that you umm… must really… umm… what I mean to say is, if you stood up to that bully you must really… like umm…. me." Max started blushing. Ian, on the other hand, took a different approach to the situation. He dropped his fork on purpose.
"Well, would you look at that? I dropped my fork. I'll just go get another one from the far side of the cafeteria."
Taylor looked at the two blushing teens sitting opposite her and the next thing you know…
"Oops! I dropped my spoon! I'd better go get another one from the far side of the cafeteria."
Both Taylor and Ian got up and walked away. Max meanwhile confronted Liz.
"So, do you really like me?"
"Umm… I'm going to kill my brother. That stupid blabbermouth. Oh well." She took a deep breath.
"Yes. I do like you. I always watch you when you come over to my house, and I hear all about you from my brother. Plus, I always sit at the far side of the cafeteria and just sit there and gaze at you while you eat your lunch. I really truly like you. Plus, I understand if you think I'm creepy."
"I don't think you're creepy."
"Y…You don't?"
"No. I never knew you existed before today, but ever since you stood up to Spike, I just can't stop thinking about you. I…I like you too."
Max blushed vivid red and smiled. They just sat ther in silence for a while, soaking in what had just been said. Yeah. I'm a hopeless romantic, but that's the truth. Not a belittling comment. Anyway, Max was the first to break the silence.
"So, do you want to go to the dance?"
"Sure. I'd umm… love to."
And so it was settled. Our two main characters had found dates for the 'big' dance, which was tomorrow. Now, comes the madness of actually preparing for the dance. Dramatic music plays. And so ends the first exciting chapter of Flee For Your Life!
---------------------------
Chameleon Freak: Okay. Now, instead of interviewing a character, I'll be doing a karaoke song every time! The first song I'll sing is 'The Thinnest Man I Ever Knew'! Just so everyone knows, sing it with a New England accent. Here I go.
The thinnest man I ever knew,
Was a man from old Hoboken.
If I told you just how thin he was,
You'd think that I was jokin'.
He was…
Thin as the glue of a postage stamp,
The skin of a new potatah'
For exercise he used to dive,
Through the hole of a nutmeg scrapah'.
He never went out on a dark, dark night.
He never went out alone.
For fear the a lean and hungry dog,
Would take him for a bone!
He was sitting one night in his boarding house,
The light was burning dimly.
A mosquito grabbed him by the neck,
And pulled him up the chimney!
Oh me! Oh my!
He often lost his breath.
He fell through the hole in the seat of his pants,
And he choked himself to death!
Chameleon Freak: And that's the song. Sing it to any tune you'd like. And Happy Holidays! And a Happy New Year! Well, goodnight everybody.