RTC: Just something I wrote a few months ago and never got around to posting. Dedicated to Iluvbeyblade, mostly because I think you'd enjoy this. Happy reading.

Max: Ray-Tiger-Cat does not own Beyblade.

"Mom, please don't cry, please," Max pleads with his mother. She pays him no mind.

"Daddy, it'll be okay. It really will," he tries again, only to be waved off.

"Jake is gone, but I'm still here," Max whispers as he tiptoes back into his room.

He lies down on his bed and curls into a little ball. "I'M STILL HERE!" he practically screams into his pillow, and surprisingly, no one pays him any mind.

So he puts on that fake smile and goes about his day.

"Hey, Dad, I'm going out now!" Max shouts as he leaves the house. "I'll be home for dinner!" It's been years, but his parents still don't notice, at least not on this particular day.

He runs to the florist's and buys a bouquet. He's running down the street in the pouring rain, running towards the one place where a little rain is always helpful-the cemetery. This way, no one can see him cry.

He places the flowers on his brother's grave. "Hey Jake, it's me, Max. Just bringing you your flowers again." He's crying, but no one can see. "See you later, big bro!" he says in his most cheerful voice, though he knows he will not be returning to this place for another year. It still hurts too much. Maybe when he gets home, his parents will be back to normal.

So he puts on that fake smile and goes home.

Being in a new home is scary, and it's even more scary when it's in a whole new country, half way around the world and without one of your parents.

He still can't believe his parents were getting divorced. And once again, they made the choice without him. Maybe now that he's in Japan his dad will finally see that he's still here. He has to be brave.

And once again, the fake smile is put on his face, and he goes about unpacking.

He meets some new friends. He doesn't tell them about Jake. For once, it would be nice to not have to live up to his big brother. His parents still compared them. He would not let his friends do the same.

So he hid his sadness behind that fake smile.

He entered a tournament, to win, to prove himself, to show his parents that he was still here and that he had skills too. They paid him no mind. Even after his team won the world championships, Max knew that he was still not as good as his brother. He was just Max, little trouble-making Max, never as good as Jake.

So he gave the camera a big fake smile and posed for the team picture.

Another two years passed. The nightmares were coming back to haunt him. The screeching tires, the crunch of metal, it all comes back as though it were yesterday.

And the part that kills him on the inside every time. His brother's smile as he teaches his little brother to ride his bike. The expression quickly changes to fear as he sees, too late, the car speeding at him.

They later learn that the driver was drunk, that he didn't know what he was doing.

But the excuses don't matter to little Max, only that his big brother, his idol, is now in the hospital, head wrapped in bandages, unlikely to ever recover. And then the final decision, made by his parents, to terminate life support.

And that is when he started using all those fake smiles.

Being apart from his friends did nothing to help him. He got lost in a depression so deep; he would never find a way out. He battles the dark thoughts, but they continue to plague him.

Shortly after the BEGA fiasco, Max Tate committed suicide by an over dose of painkillers. And even in death, he has a smile on his face.

RTC: I have no idea where this depressing theme came from, but I hope you enjoyed seeing Maxie as something other than sugar high! Bye bye!