This may seem like just boring history. But it's really important and leads into a twist. I swear.
******
"I hate Mondays," Danny Jones stated to his best friend, Max.
"Mondays suck," came the usual reply.
They banged their fists together and walked away from each other in the hall. It was their Monday morning ritual. Max headed to French and Danny went to Literature. Danny hated school, couldn't wait to get out and Max thought of it as a means to an end. Football was life to Max, who played for the school team and was being scouted for major universities. Danny wasn't as talented athletically but had an ear for music. He could play guitar like no one either of them had ever met. He wanted to play in a band, and not a band like the Backstreet Boys, but a proper band that wrote and played their own music. Neither of them were popular, people just left them alone because they were both so occupied with other things they never really had time for other people.
At 16, both Danny and Max were so focused on getting what they wanted they barely had time for each other but they had been friends forever and they just kind of worked. Both respected the passion the other had for what they did and encouraged it, mostly because they didn't have anyone else. Danny's mum was amazing but wanted him to put more effort into his schoolwork. Max just didn't have parents, not really. The mom was a drunk and the dad used to beat his kids for fun but left when Max was about eight. The same year Max met Danny. That meeting had been unlikely to form a lasting friendship.
******
OOF! The kid's fist had come out of nowhere. Danny had pushed a girl aside in his rush to get out to the lot first and the kid with short brown hair and intense dark, gray eyes had but a stop to it.
"Who do you think you are, pushing her like that?" An angry voice accompanied the pain in his stomach. "That's my sister you just shoved, you idiot."
Danny, being an average eight-year-old boy had lunged back, swinging his fists wildly and connecting with what he thought was the kid's nose. "Careful who you're hitting, Tubby." He had finally gotten a good look at his attacker and saw a kid shorter than him who wasn't fat but was definitely still carrying some baby pudginess. The kid's nose was now bleeding heavily.
The little girl beside the kid was crying silently, tears running from her bright blue eyes down her cheeks and chin. She was fine, but clearly seeing her sibling stand up for her then end up bleeding had been too much for her.
The other kid barely even paused before jumping back on Danny, punching him in the jaw. "You made my sister cry," the angry voice was scary coming from someone so young. Danny couldn't help but hit back, rolling over the kid so he was on top hoping to avoid any more flying fists.
Hands suddenly pulled at him from behind. One of the teachers had the kid by an arm and Danny's mum had come from the lot and was holding him back by the scruff of his collar. He could have gotten away but that would really hurt his mom's feelings. She worked really hard to instill in both her kids that fighting was not a way to solve anything.
The adults had taken one look at the kid's nose and, probably both realizing it was broken, began asking where their mom was.
The kid's defiant face turned upward. "I walk my sister home, I don't need anyone to come pick me up. I'm not a child," the angry gray eyes turned in Danny's direction indicating that clearly they thought Danny was a child.
"Someone needs to take you to the hospital," Danny's mum stepped in, being the matronly person she was. Danny was jealous the other kid was getting all the attention. They were the one that swung first; it wasn't fair.
"I'll take myself, come on Bells, let's go," the kid's hand stuck out toward his sister. She took it silently but held back.
"Maybe someone should take you," she whispered in a small voice. The hard gray eyes softened at the sound of her voice. The kid was clearly looking for an out, but gave up when seeing the tears in her blue eyes.
"Ok, Bells," came as a whisper. "Fine," much louder now, "who's taking me to the bloody hospital?"
Danny's mum immediately fell upon them both fussing like a mother hen. Danny loved when his mother treated him like that, but not in front of other people, so for once, he was happy it wasn't him. She whisked the three of them plus Danny's sister into her car and began the trek to the hospital.
Vicky, Danny's sister, was really good with younger kids and had the little girl, Bells, in giggles pretty soon, telling silly jokes and telling her funny stories from the front seat. Danny was stuck next to the tough kid who was now plugging the bloody nose with a small fist. The kid extended their unused hand to Danny and said, "You stick a pretty decent punch. My name's Max, what's yours?"
And so began their totally twisted friendship. Danny's mum got Max to the hospital, the nose was fixed and set, and they were all sent home. Max gave directions to their house and Danny's mum insisted on walking them both to the front door. Max tried to argue but she wouldn't take no for an answer, took both their hands and strode confidently up to the door. She knocked once and waited, nobody came. She knocked again. The door creaked open and a wispy looking woman stood there, looking confused as to where she was. Danny saw his mum trying to talk to her but the woman looked even more confused. Suddenly a harsh yell came from inside the house, Danny and Vicky both heard it from the car and looked at each other in shock. A burly man with dark scary eyes that matched Max's came through the door, pushing his wife aside and grabbing Max by the wrist and dragging the small kid inside. The little blond girl followed, after politely thanking Danny's mum.
The ride home had been silent and when they got home Mrs. Jones hugged both of her kids tightly and kissed their foreheads. Both of them let her, even though it usually made them uncomfortable.
The next day Danny had sat next to Max and Bells at lunch. Everyday for the next eight years had been pretty much the same. Although Bells (Isabella was her full name) had become more popular in recent years and now had her own group to hang out with. When they were younger, they went over to Danny's and Vicky's after school to play and do homework. This was where Danny learned to play football. Max was good, really good, and loved to show others. So Danny became the first pupil. Danny taught Max to play bass so he would have a better idea of what he sounded like as part of a band. Max wasn't too good but knew enough to help Danny out when needed. Danny's mum all but adopted them by the time they reached double-digit ages.
Danny learned much later that Max's dad had moved out not long after the incident his family had witnessed and their mum started drinking even more. Max had been working teaching football at a kids league since turning fourteen and Isabella had done this same this past year in order to buy clothes for themselves for school. Although they both still got hand-me-downs from Vicky and Danny. Both Max and Bells being smaller than the other siblings.
Max's nose had remained defiantly crooked and Max always said that changing it would be like changing history. And Max liked history the way it was.
*****
They were almost done with school now, just a couple years to go and both were talking about what they wanted to do. Both had grown up quite a bit in the last eight years. Danny was tall, about 5'11" and had curly brown hair that usually fell to about his collar. His blue eyes had become more prominent and brighter over time and he was no longer the scrawny kid Max had knocked over in the parking lot that day. Max was not as tall as Danny, but still stood a solid 5'10". The pudginess was gone with all the football training and Max was now solid muscle from head to toe. The dark hair and gray eyes remained the same, however, and when Max was really mad Danny would almost swear he was looking back at the mean little kid who could punch like no one else he had ever met. Danny wanted to join a band, and actually had an audition lined up. He was so excited it was ridiculous. Max had worked really hard in school and was actually able to finish a year ahead if need be. The scouts had been out in droves to their games and Danny was sure Max would get a scholarship to go play for a big university.
Time elapsed and Danny's audition for the band had been terrible. Max had gone with him and originally commented about him being the only one with a guitar. But the comments were soon directed towards the other applicants who were stretching about and singing ridiculous pop songs under their breath. Max had to hold in laughter as soon as the audition started. Danny realized he had made a mistake about the nature of the band. The boys around them were singing silly bubble gum songs and dancing. Danny pulled out his guitar and sang "Bittersweet Symphony". Needless to say he was not what they were looking for, but another guy there stopped them as they were leaving and asked Danny to play something else.
It turned out the other guy, Tom, was looking to start his own band. He already had management and everything. Danny jumped at the offer right away.
Max got the scholarship and moved off to London to play for the coveted Oxford team. Max had originally not wanted to leave Isabella but Bells talked Max into it saying that she never really was at home anyway. It was no big deal and she could take care of herself.
Only a few months after they had both moved out, right before Christmas, Max and Isabella's mother passed away. It was the first time Max and Danny had seen each other since they left. It would be wrong to say they were not upset, but they showed much less remorse then people would expect for a mother's funeral. People looked at Max and Isabella as though they were not showing the right respect for their mother. But Danny and his family knew better. This was a blessing, she had been in pain and was no longer able to care about anything, including her own children.
Max decided to move back to care for Bells, but Danny's mum quickly intervened. She offered to be Isabella's formal guardian until she finished school. It took hours to convince Max that this was an ideal plan but the deal was finally made.
After that, Max and Danny both frequented the house as much as possible but both were exceptionally busy and rarely crossed paths. Both kept up on information about the other through Mrs. Jones, Vicky, and Bells, but they eventually lost all touch when Isabella finished school and moved to London to go to university and live with Max. Christmas cards were sent to the Jones family every year but they rarely went back to relive the painful memories Bolton held for both of them.