Hi everyone, how are you all? :) So, this is a random idea that popped inside my head and I kind of liked the idea, so, here it is! (I apologize for the horrible summary. It's 2:00 in the morning here and I didn't really know what to write!)
I absolutely love Mike Weston and Max Hardy together and I am really hoping that the show will put them together! :) Anyways, hopefully you enjoy the fanfic, I do plan on writing a lot more of these two together, I currently have, actually, a few ideas in mind that I plan on writing and uploading onto here shortly.
I hope you enjoy, sorry if it's not so good, it's my second The Following fanfic and my first Mike-X-Max fanfic... so, yeah. xD
I would greatly appreciate it if you could please comment/review, letting me know what you think of it; all opinions are welcomed. :)
I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.
"There For Me"
. . .
The silver car drives down the narrow path; driving through the thick fog that has consumed the night. The sun has long gone burnt out, falling below the horizon as nightfall took its place.
Thick, grey clouds, that are surely rain clouds, hide away the shadowy, black sky and shield away the thousands of stars that usually shine throughout the hours of darkness until the morning sun would rise again.
The glowing, full moon peeks out occasionally behind the clouds, giving a small amount of light throughout the darkness the night gives off. The moon's red hue can be seen in between the cracks of the grey clouds; showing the significant and rareness of the Blood Moon.
Thunder rips across the sky; the powerful screams of the thunder awakening all creatures and human beings that can hear. Lightning flashes every few seconds; the lightning lights up the dark sky for a split second before disappearing and the dimness to the sky returns.
Small raindrops fall from the sky at first, until it eventually picks up. As the thunder roars and the lightning flashes, drops of rain come crashing down to the Earth's surface; the pressure and speed so strong, it cuts through the air as if it was a knife.
Max glances out the car window and sighs. It's been a long, waste of a day and quite honestly, she can't wait to just get back to her Uncle's apartment. She looks back over at Mike, who is sitting next to her in the driver's seat, driving fast and has his eyes fixated with a hard glare on the road. The silence in the car is deafening and she feels like she has to say something to break it before she went mad. "I'm sorry she wasn't there."
Mike remains silent for a few moments and Max is almost scared that he wouldn't reply to her at all. He eventually does, though. "It's not your fault it was a false lead. Lily Gray just surely knows how to cover her tracks." He says her name with a bitter taste in his mouth and his hands subconsciously grip harder on the steering wheel; his knuckles turning a fade, white color.
"We'll get her, Mike." Ryan speaks up from the back seat; the tone in his voice firm and almost reassuring, "She'll pay for everything's she's done."
"Yeah?" Mike asks with a cold, humorless chuckle, "When, Ryan? When?" Ryan stays silent and glances out the window to stare out at the pouring rain. Mike shakes his head and mutters under his breath, "Yeah, that's what I figured."
"Hey!" Max yells with a hard look that quickly smoothes down, turning sympathetic, "I promise you, we will stop her. Lily won't get away with what she did to your dad." She tucks a piece of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear and when he looks at her, she offers him a small smile.
He smiles back at her- she could always make him smile, despite the situation. That's one thing he loves about her. She can always bring out the sun on the dullest and darkest day- especially with that smile. It may be small, but the meaning following the smile means much more than anyone could ever imagine. That smile symbolizes one thing, that now most people –even Mike and Ryan themselves- have given up on: Hope.
"We're all going to get through this." Max whispers in a soft voice as her hand reaches out to rest on Mike's forearm, "And hopefully it's soon so we can all get back to our lives and never have to deal with anymore cults, or Lily, or Joe Carroll."
"Well, I sure like the sound of that." Ryan mutters under his breath. He takes a deep breath and his eyes look up at the car rear view mirror, his eyes meeting Mike's immediately. He adds with a small, half smile, "We deserve to get our lives back. The universe certainly owes us."
The car ride grows silent once more as Ryan takes out his cell phone and begins texting someone while every few seconds Mike and Max would sneak a glance at each other. Every since they met, the two of them found a huge, growing connection; they formed a strong bond and as the days goes on, they are finding themselves growing oddly close to one another.
They had moments with each other and both of them have already proven that no matter what, they are there for one another. After Max was kidnapped by the Huntsman and was traumatized, whether she cared to admit it or not, Mike stayed by her side, comforting her. When she was too scared to be alone and refused to let anyone know, not wanting to sound weak, Mike stayed with her, keeping her company, and helping her through her crisis. When Mike's father was murdered, Max was right there for him, refusing to leave his side. Even when he didn't want to talk about it, she stayed with him anyways, wanting to be there for him, just like he was always there for her.
The two of them enjoy each other's company and although they won't admit it aloud, they have, somewhere inside of them, feelings for one another. Maybe they are too afraid to admit it, especially with everything going on around them between Lily Gray and Joe Carroll and the everlasting cults, but one thing is definitely certain: they do feel something towards each other; they both care about one another.
Mike squints his eyes and shakes his head, "It's so damn hard to see through all of this rain. It's coming down hard and the fog isn't helping either."
"I can't see a thing." Max sighs as she squints her own sees, trying to desperately see through the rain that is pounding on the windshield; the rain is coming down so fast the windshield wipers are hardly making a difference. "Wait, I could kind of see the bridge up ahead, but that's about it."
"I just got word that there's new information on Joe Carroll." Ryan mumbles as his eyes remain glued to his phone as he continues reading a text.
"What's the ne-" Mike begins to ask, but Max's question cuts him off mid-sentence, "Hey, is that a… person?"
Mike tries to see and he can somewhat manage to make out a vague outline of a person standing directly center of the road. "What the hell…?" He mutters to himself and he tries honking the horn, but the person doesn't move.
"Oh my God!" Max breathes out, her cerulean color eyes widening at the sight of the person, who by the looks of it, can be no older than nine years old. "Are they wearing a-?"
"Joe Carroll mask?" Mike finishes her sentence for her with a gasp; his own icy blue hues growing large at the sight of the child, from what it looks like, wearing a Joe Carroll mask- the same mask that were worn on the subway massacre.
"Stop the car. Now!" Ryan shouts as he sits up in his seat in the back and puts his head between Max and Mike's. He tries to see through the windshield, but between the rain and the fog, he can't see a thing. "Mike, stop the car!"
"I can't!" He yells as he tries slamming on the breaks, "The breaks aren't working!"
Realization hits Max like a tidal wave hits the sand on a beach during a hurricane. "That wasn't a false lead." She shakes her head as she looks between her Uncle and Mike, "Lily planned this. She knew the three of us would follow up on this lead so while we were checking that damn warehouse someone must have cut the breaks. She knew we would go this way and we all saw the storm coming…"
Panic rises in Mike as he repeatedly pressed his foot down on the break, but received no response from the car. The car is racing down the narrow road in a quick speed and as the car rolled onto the old, wooden bridge, he knew he had to do something before he hit the child. Whether or not the kid has been possessed by Lily Gray's insaneness and the child is part of the cult, the fact remained the same. It is a child and Mike couldn't bring himself to smash the child with his car.
Making a split second decision, he mentally prays it's the right one, and then he makes a sharp right turn. The car crashes into the rusty, iron bar, but instead of the car stopping there like Mike thought it would, it didn't.
Ryan, Mike, and Max's screams mix together as the car breaks through the railing and the car plunges forward down into the river flowing below. The fall takes only a few seconds, the distance not too high, but the impact with the water was all the same.
The car collides into the water and Ryan's head whips around and slams against the window. The impact with the glass brings him into unconsciousness as blood drips down the side of his head. As the car sinks down to the dark water of the river, the thrashing waves shatter the windows of the car, allowing water to rush inside.
It takes only seconds for the car to fill up with water as the car continues to sink below to the bottom of the river. Mike's seatbelt snapped and his body is catapulted forward until his chest slams against the steering wheel, knocking all the wind out of him. He blinks his eyes hard to try to clear his eyesight as black dots swim across his vision and he fights his way to remain conscious.
Pieces of glass is sticking out of his shoulder and arm from where the window shattered and where he tried to shield his face, but he pays no attention to it. He painfully twists his neck to look at Max who is slipping in and out of consciousness. Water is pouring inside the car and the violent waves are smacking against her face; he can see she is fighting for air, but the water is hitting her face at such a fast speed she doesn't have the chance to suck in even an ounce of air to refill her lungs.
Mike mouths her name, but his voice is betraying him. Nothing comes out and he finds himself now gasping for air as water begins to enter his mouth and nose and fill his lungs.
With all the strength he has left inside of him, Mike extends his arms forward to start working on Max's seatbelt that seems to be stuck, but her hand lands on his wrist. He looks up at her and right in that moment, he could see the true terror on her face. Her hair is flowing around her head, the water pushing most of her hair in front of her face, but he can see the panic in her eyes as she tries to hold onto whatever oxygen she has left inside of her. His eyes stare into hers and he watches with confusion swimming in his eyes as she shakes her head at him.
Mike Weston's eyebrows furrow together and, not being able to talk, Max points towards her Uncle. He already understands, just by that one gesture, what she wants him to do, except he refuses.
She wants him to save Ryan first and then come back for her.
He can't, he won't. He won't leave her to drown while he saves himself and Ryan. He won't leave her drowning in the car while he rescues Ryan first. He won't leave her behind.
Max closes her eyes for just a split second; she is feeling so lightheaded. Her eyes snap open immediately, though, when she feels Mike's hands trying to unbuckle her seatbelt, to no avail. It's stuck- she's stuck.
Her head whips around to see the water darker around her Uncle as it mixes with his blood. He is unconscious and blood is seeping out of his wound on his head in a quick, painful pace. Mike can't waste his time trying to save her when he can for sure save Ryan without so much of a struggle.
Biting down on her lip, Max lifts her hand and pushes it against Mike's chest, pushing him away from her. His eyes snap up to look at her and her strong glare is telling him exactly what her words cannot.
He doesn't want to. Oh, God, he doesn't want to, but he knows Max won't allow him to even attempt to save her if he doesn't get Ryan out of the car and to safety first.
Choosing against his better judgment, he kicks his door open with his foot and swims out of the car. He swims to the backseat and he stretches his arms through the open window, wincing when remaining glass slices his arms, and he grabs onto Ryan's arm.
He grabs onto his partner's arm and pulls Ryan towards him. He turns Ryan so his back is to him and he grips him under both arms and pulls. Ryan, surprisingly, comes out of the car easily and Mike immediately tightens his hold on him. He secures his hold on Ryan before swimming upwards until he breaks the surface.
When Mike's head comes above the water, he sucks in a large gulp of air, panting heavily and loudly, as he begins swimming to land. He gasps in as much air as he possibly could as his lungs scream at him. He makes sure Ryan's head is above the water as he swims them both back to the shore, which takes a few minutes.
Mike lifts Ryan first to place his unconscious body onto the riverbank and then he climbs out of the water himself. He runs a shaky hand through his soaking wet hair and he tries to catch his breath.
Kneeling beside Ryan, he checks his pulse and lets out a sigh of relief when he feels Ryan's pulse beat rapidly. He throws his head back and whispers into the darkness; his words towards his partner, "Thank God you're still with me." He knew Max would absolutely kill him if Ryan died. She wouldn't necessarily blame him, but she surely wouldn't be happy throwing his car off the bridge and into the water, which ended up killing her only family she has left.
He stands up straight and he starts heading back to the water, but Ryan's hoarse voice stops him in his tracks. "M-Mike…" He is shaking from, what Mike guesses, either from shock or the cold… or it could be both.
"I'm here." Mike whispers to his friend and only then does he realize how shaky his own voice sounds. He needs to get back to Max, but he also has to make sure Ryan doesn't die on him now after he just saved him. When he sees Ryan's eyes begin to flutter close, Mike kneels down once more and shakes him, "Come on, Ryan, you need to stay awake. Just don't go to sleep, alright? You can do it."
Mike glances up at the dark sky, only then realizing the rain is still pouring down and the thunder is still roaring throughout the sky. He swallows hard and only one thought runs through his head as he shakes Ryan awake, "Please Max… please, just hold on a bit longer. I'm coming for you. Just… just hold on, for me."
Max can slowly feel herself drifting. It started with a few black dots clouding her vision, but now everything is blurry and the world around her is spinning. She can barely keep her eyelids open as the oxygen in her body runs out.
She's running out of time.
She tried numerous of times to break the seatbelt, but it's stuck and she is firmly trapped in the passenger seat. The cold water numbed her body a while ago and now she can practically feel her pulse die down to a low, painfully, low, deadly pace.
Her entire body is completely submerged by the water and little by little her lungs are being replaced with water instead of desperate need of fresh air. She can feel herself fading away, the only thoughts running through her mind is of Mike Weston.
Just the thought of him makes the corners of her mouth curve upwards into a small smile. She honestly doesn't know why she is thinking of him, but she is. He wanted to save her and she didn't let him. She forced him to save her Uncle first and quite honestly, she still, at this dying moment, doesn't regret it.
Max vaguely sees with unfocused eyes the water around her during a deep color. She knows it must be from the blood that is oozing out of her wounds. Between the lack of air and blood loss, she truthfully doesn't know how much longer she has left.
She knows she should continue fighting with all her strength to remain awake; she should manage to stay awake just until Mike comes back for her. She can't, though. She's tired and all she wants to do is go to sleep.
Slowly, Max's eyelids fall down; her eyes fluttering close as exhaustion and all of her injuries take its final toll. Her mind drifts off into an abyss and the last thing she pictures before she falls into a deep oblivion is a smiling image of Mike Weston.
"Why the hell would you do that for?!" Ryan Hardy screams at Mike; rage boiling inside of him. He shakes his head furiously as he pounds a fist against the muddy ground, "Are you insane?"
"What did you expect me to do?" Mike asks as he throws his arms in the air; frustrated. "She wouldn't let me save her until I got you out of the car! She left me with no other choice and now I can't even save her."
Mike went back into the river four times and the strong current prevented him from moving far out into the river. Plus, he couldn't relocate the car.
The storm picked up tremendously and the water is only getting worse as it thrashes around violently. The water is flowing a lot faster now as the storm continues to grow aggressive and the situation is clearly not going well for any of them.
"If we both head back into the water, we might be able to find the car faster." Ryan says as he tries to stand up, only for him to stumble right back to the floor. He groans as his back collides painfully with the rocky and muddy ground.
"Yeah, you're not going anywhere." Mike shakes his head as he stares out at the water, "I'm going back in to look for Max. I'm not leaving her behind. You stay here and if you can, see if you can find us some help. If not, then just stay here and don't go to sleep."
"You're in no condition to be heading back in there." Ryan says quietly, "She's my niece. I'll go and you just-"
"We're wasting time here!" Mike snaps; his eyes grow cold instantly as he tears his eyes away from the river and to Ryan. "I'm going to find her."
Without saying another word and not wanting to waste any more valuable time, Mike dives back into the water and uses all his strength to swim against the current of the water to go where he believes the car is located.
Taking in a deep breath of air, Mike submerges himself completely and dives down until his eyes eventually land on the sunken vehicle. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest at the sight of the car and he pushes himself to swim even faster.
He swims to the passenger's side and his eyes widen when his eyes land on Max's unconscious form. He can feel his heart sink to his stomach at the sight of her; if she dies now… he doesn't even want to think about it. He can't even let the idea come to mind.
He reaches into the broken window, careful for any remaining shards of glass that were there, and grabs onto the seatbelt. He then uses all the power inside of him, all the strength that he could muster up and he pulled. Veins are popping out of his skin, exposing themselves, as he uses every ounce of strength to break the seatbelt and free her. It takes a few moments as he pulls and yanks, but eventually, with one last jerk and adrenaline pumping through his body, it snaps and breaks.
Once freed, he instantly grabs onto her right arm. He pulls her out of the window and towards him, turning her slightly as he does so the front of her body is against his front. He notices the blood pouring out of her various wounds scattered along her body as he holds her tightly against him.
As fast as he can, he swims back up to the surface and he immediately gasps for air. He glances at her pale face and already he can tell she isn't breathing. He shakes his head and begs for her to hold on a little longer as he swims them both back to shore.
While swimming, he places his mouth on top of hers and blows air into her mouth, but by the looks of it, it doesn't seem like it's making a difference. He swallows hard and in his head he tries to stay positive. He can't afford to think negatively. He just can't.
As he makes it to shore, he lifts her petite body onto the riverbank and then climbs out himself. He doesn't waste another second before placing his mouth back onto hers and blowing air into her. He begins the process of CPR; he pinches her nose and covers her mouth with his own as he breathes into her. Every few seconds his eyes would glance down at her chest to see if it moves.
Ryan watches helplessly in the distance as his best friend performs CPR to his niece; to his only family. The last piece of family he has left is dying before his eyes and there isn't a damn thing he could do about it except watch.
"Come on," Mike whispers as he begins chest compressions, "come on, Max. Don't you dare leave me." He can feel the tears burning in his eyes as he watches her stay perfectly still. "Damn it, Max! Come on, please! Breathe. I need you to breathe. I saved Ryan first like you asked so now it's time you repaid back the favor and breathe!"
Mike lowers his mouth back to hers and breathes into her again. When he parts to press down on her chest again, he whispers in a broken voice, "Don't do this. Don't leave me…" She isn't breathing. "If you don't want to wake up for me, fine. Then what about Ryan? Don't leave your Uncle. Just… come on and breathe."
Ryan tears his eyes away from his niece and Mike and he looks down at his hands. Just the thought of losing his niece breaks his heart and now that he might actually lose her… He squeezes his eyes shut and prays that she breathes. "Please, Max… please don't die."
Mike pushes soaking wet hair out of her face and he continues with the chest compressions. "I'm not giving up on you. So, you can't give up on me. I need you, Max."
"Breathe." He covers her mouth with his again and next thing he knows, he is rewarded with a mouthful of river water. He pulls back immediately and spits out the water before turning his attention back to Max once he hears violent coughing.
The corners of his lips curve upwards and he can't help the smile that breaks along his face as he watches Max turn on her side to cough up all the water that's in her lungs. "That's it, Max, just cough it up." He rubs small circles on her drenched back and holds her hair back as she spits the water out of her mouth.
When she's done, she rolls back onto her back and starts breathing heavily; her eyes immediately looking up to connect with Mike's. "M-M-Mike." Her voice is small and shaky and her body starts trembling.
"Thank God you're okay." Mike breathes out with a crooked smile as he strokes her cheek with his thumb, "I… I thought that was it, to be honest."
She raises a lazy eyebrow at him and without even saying a word, he can tell she is saying with an annoyed tone, "Are you serious right now?"
He shrugs his shoulder and stares down at her bruised and pale face, "Hey, on my defense, you weren't breathing."
Max only rolls her eyes at him, but says nothing more. Her hand slowly inches over to his hand and she grasps onto it with all the strength she has left inside of her. Her eyes flicker between his eyes and his mouth and after a few moments of silence between them, she asks with an attempt of shrugging her shoulders, "T-That w-was some f-first kiss, I'd s-say." His eyes widen and his eyebrows go up as she chuckles, "D-Didn't im-imagine it g-going t-t-that way, t-though."
Mike can't help, but laugh. Again, she always knew how to make the situation better. "Oh, so you pictured us kissing before, huh?"
Before she can say anything, Ryan clears his throat, "I think I'm going to go see if I can find some, uh, help." He stands up slowly and smiles down at Max, who smiles right back up at him. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Same to you." She whispers and then watches quietly as he starts walking off, trying to get back up on the bridge to find some help.
Once he is out of hearing range and in the distance, Max and Mike both look back at each other, staring at one another, too scared to say anything.
Mike looks down at their joint hands and has to swallow hard around the burning lump that formed in his throat before being able to speak again. "I was so scared you weren't going to wake up." His voice is shaky and on the verge of breaking, but he doesn't care. She has to know how he is feeling… how he felt when he thought he had lost her.
"Mike-" She tries to say, but he cuts her off, "No, Max, you don't understand. You… you weren't breathing! I tried CPR, but you weren't coming to and… and I thought you died on me. You didn't have a pulse! You weren't waking up and I just… I thought it was all over. Max, I just don't understand. Why couldn't you just let me save you first? You could have died!"
"No." She says with a shake to the head. Her voice sounds strong at first, but it grows weak as she goes on, "If you would have s-saved me first, you would have w-wasted too much time attempting to g-get me out when you could have g-gotten Ryan out in just a few s-seconds. You would have k-killed the three of us if you tried s-saving me first. I wasn't g-going to let my Uncle d-die and I wasn't going to have you w-wasting your time on me e-either."
"Wasting my time? Max, do you have any idea how much you mean to me? How much you mean to Ryan? If you would have died… I can't even tell you what I would do; what Ryan would do!"
"You m-made that decision on the bridge to t-take your own life b-before taking a child's, even if t-they worked for L-Lily or Joe. T-That's what I did. I-I let my Uncle's life c-come before me b-because that's j-just who I am! L-Like that's j-just how you are! I'm s-sorry, but I had t-to make sure R-Ryan was safe b-before myself."
The silence between them once again grows thick and it is deafening to the both of them. He watches her body shake from the cold and he sighs. Lying down on his back, he opens his arms up and pulls her soaking wet body against his own. He holds her tightly as he stares up at the grey clouds while they both try to heat up.
Max buries her head into Mike's chest and she closes her eyes, whispering, "Thank y-you for saving m-me, Mike."
He smiles and presses a gentle kiss to the top of her head, "No need to thank me. I'm just so glad you're okay and alive." Any doubts he had before about their growing relationship is long gone. After almost losing her tonight, there isn't a doubt in his mind anymore. He knows how he feels about Max Hardy and he only prays she feels the same way.
"Max?" He says her name quietly and she raises an eyebrow at her name. She shifts her head that was lying on his chest to look up at him. Almost immediately she becomes lost in his sparkling blue eyes. "Hm?"
Mike takes a deep breath and prays this goes well. "I was so scared of losing you today. I was afraid that you would die and I, well, I wouldn't have had the chance to tell you exactly how I… feel."
She blinks her eyes at him and for a second, he thinks she is actually going to laugh at him and think he's absolutely crazy. He opens his mouth to take what he said back, but she beats him to it, "I care about you too… a lot, actually."
He nods his head, not knowing what else to say besides: "Good." He smiles at her and she smiles back at him; the smile of hope back on her face and he already knows, deep down, he's in love. When he thinks of Max Hardy, the word love certainly comes to mind, but he wouldn't dare say it out loud. Not yet, anyways. But it's there, it's definitely there. And for her, the feeling is mutual.
She lifts herself up, with some difficulty, on her elbow and she gazes down at Mike, "By the way, thank you for not giving up on me."
Mike caresses her cheek with one hand and shakes his head, "No need to thank me. You're always there for me, it's my turn to be there for you."
"Actually, last time you were there for me when I burnt my hand on the stove last night so technically it's my turn to be there for you." She winks at him and he just rolls his eyes at her and laughs.
Mike puts his free hand behind her neck and pulls her head down so he can press a soft kiss against her lips. He didn't think about kissing her, he just needed to kiss her. He needs her and she isn't protesting. She needs him just as much and tonight proved that.
As they were growing lost in each other, neither of them noticed that the rain has stopped. They are only focused on each other and that's it.
Eventually, though, Mike breaks the kiss, much to his and Max's dismay, and he rests his forehead against her own. "We should probably go find Ryan. Make sure he hasn't gotten himself in any trouble."
"Oh please, no one can keep my Uncle out of trouble." She chuckles, "But yeah, we should probably go see where he went and if he found any help."
The two of them help each other up and support one another as they search for Ryan. They both do care for one another and although neither of them said the word "love", there is no doubt that it's there. As they both head up the bridge, holding onto one another, it only shows that nothing and no one could break their bond apart.
Nothing and no one, not even Lily Gray or Joe Carroll and all their followers, could keep Max Hardy and Mike Weston from caring for each other and being there for one another. There will always be obstacles down the road, but nothing that neither one of them can't manage or handle and with each others' support, they can get through pretty much anything that comes their way. And they'll be ready for it.
Author's Note: I'm really not sure if it's good or not, I am hoping though that you all enjoyed reading it! Thank you for reading, I very much appreciate it and please leave a comment leaving your thoughts on it. Thanks! ^_^