2 YEARS AGO
"Get out!" Max shrieked as the unshed tears in her eyes began to fall.
"Max, listen, please-" Dylan pleaded.
"I don't want to listen! Get out now!" Max was sobbing now, but Dylan knew better than to comfort her. With one last longing look over his shoulder, he grabbed his already packed suitcase.
"Max, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking," Dylan said before exiting the apartment that the couple had been sharing.
Max fell back onto the couch, wailing. She wasn't one to cry, but her boyfriend of three years had cheated on her with his coworker, and she was devastated.
She took deep breaths, attempting to calm herself down. No matter what she would get over Dylan, even if it involved not eating her mother's chocolate chip cookies for one year.
1 YEAR 10 MONTHS AGO
"Are you having trouble getting over your boyfriend or girlfriend?" an announcer boomed from the television.
Max, who had been previously gobbling down a tubful of double fudge chocolate ice cream, looked up at the commercial in interest.
"Has he or she completely broken your heart?" the announcer continued.
Max bobbed her head up and down, as if the announcer could see her.
"Well then, we invite you to come onto The Tear! Here we'll help you get over your old boyfriend and girlfriend and set you up with someone new! And if that's not enough, you'll have an all-expenses paid date! Rated as the number one dating show on television, your old boyfriend or girlfriend may just stumble upon your episode and regret ever leaving you!" the announcer shouted excitedly, a perpetual smile glued to his face.
Max reached for her cell phone but quickly pulled her hand back. She wasn't that ridiculous. She stared down at her tub of ice cream again-the sixth one she had finished this week. She reached for the phone again and dialed the number in quickly before the commercial was over.
1 YEAR 6 MONTHS AGO
"Nuuudge," Max sang, looking for her as they played hide and seek with Nudge's younger cousins.
Max peered under the table and suddenly shouted, "Aha! Found you!"
Nudge pouted and scurried out from under the table. "Seriously Max. If I didn't know any better, I would say you're seven, just like my cousins." She sighed in annoyance just as Max's phone rang.
Max stuck her tongue out at Nudge and picked up her phone. "Hello?" Max inquired.
"Is this Maximum Ride?" a high pitched voice asked.
"It is indeed," Max told her in a Russian accent. Sometimes, when Max didn't know the other person on the phone, she would imitate accents and see if she could fool people.
"Um… Okay. Well, congratulations," the woman said in the most unexcited voice Max could imagine. "You've been selected for The Tear."
"Vhat?" Max asked, extremely confused, "Vhat is this you talk about?"
"Well," the lady said, obviously irritated by now. "You entered for a chance to compete, and next Saturday is your chance. See you then."
"Wait!" Max said, completely forgetting her accent by now, but it was no use because the other person had already ended the call.
"What was that about?" Nudge asked.
Max gave Nudge a bewildered look. "I'm going on a game show."
1 YEAR 5 MONTHS 2 WEEKS AGO
Max walked through the glass doors and entered a lavishly furnished room. She walked up to the front desk with Nudge trailing behind her. When Nudge had found out about the game show, she was ecstatic and kept rambling on about her best friend would be a star. She was the one who had done Max's makeup and hair and had chosen her outfit. After Nudge was finished with Max, she swooned, saying Max was definitely game show material.
The receptionist looked up. "Name?" she asked.
Max immediately knew the voice, recognizing it as the one that had spoken to her over the phone.
"Maximum Ride!" she suddenly heard. She turned around to find an old woman grinning at her.
"Yep, that's me," Max told her warily. The receptionist also seemed to have recognized Max and was staring at her with a glare.
"I thought you were German," the receptionist drawled.
"German? No, Maximum is from California. Pure American, she is," the older woman said, giving Max a very conspicuous eye roll.
Max saw the receptionist turn a bright shade of red before Max was whisked away to the stage.
"It's a good thing you have your makeup and hair done because we have absolutely no time! This is what's going to happen. It's very simple, really. You're going to sit here, and three boys are going to sit over there. We're going to ask you a series of questions, and at the end of the show, you will choose which one you like best! Also, all the voices will be altered, so it will be a complete surprise when you finally see who you chose!" the woman explained.
Max nodded. It seemed simple enough. The woman escorted her over to a chair and gave her a headset. She ran back towards the camera and gave her a thumbs up. Max offered a weak smile, completely overwhelmed. The camera man held up five fingers and slowly put each one down. At the last second, he pointed over to the talk show host, and the show began.
"Welcome to The Tear! Here's our contestant for the day, Maximum Ride. Now let's bring in the three boys!" the announcer exclaimed.
Three doors opened and closed. Not even the silhouettes were able to be seen, presumably because the show didn't want the contestants to pick the boy based on physical appearance.
"Okay, let's start with the first question!" the announcer continued, "What is your ideal first date?"
Each boy answered, and another question was asked. This continued for about twenty questions until the announcer, whose name was Logan, said, "Okay! That's all the time we have. Now our contestant has to choose her date!"
The live audience shouted numbers at her, but Max already had a firm decision in mind.
"Logan, I pick boy number three," Max told him.
"Okay, boy number three! Come and reveal yourself!" Logan proclaimed.
A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes jogged to where Logan was standing. He glanced over at the contestant, smiled, and looked back, his eyes wide.
"No. No. No. No," Max whispered, "No, no."
Logan gave her a strange look and mouthed "commercial break" when it didn't appear as though Max would be stopping anytime soon.
1 YEAR 5 MONTHS AGO
"I can't believe I'm going on a freaking date with you," Max told Dylan as they sat down at a table of the restaurant.
"Well, maybe it's a sign from the universe telling us that we really do belong together," Dylan said beseechingly, "You know, I still miss you, after all these months."
Max glared at him. "Maybe you shouldn't have cheated on me than."
"You know I'm sorry. I really regret it," he implored.
"I really regret it," Max said in a high pitched voice.
"Are you… are you seriously copying me?" Dylan asked her.
"Are you seriously copying me?" Max imitated again, even louder this time.
"Seriously, Max. That's so immature," Dylan whispered, looking around at the tables to make sure no one had heard.
"Soooooo immature," Max drawled.
"Ugh, whatever," Dylan muttered, "Let's just order."
They told their orders to the waiter and proceeded to have a staring contest. Max definitely did not want to talk to Dylan, and Dylan knew that Max definitely did not want to talk to him, which cued the awkward silence.
"Excuse me, were you guys, like, on The Tear? That is, like, my favorite show," a girl in a bright red dress screeched.
Dylan gave her a wide smile. "Yup, that's us."
The girl stared at him, obviously awestruck. "You were, like, my choice too." She giggled. "I would have totally picked you if I was on the show. I mean I would totally break up with my boyfriend just to, like, be with you," she told him, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.
"Why thank you," he said, flashing her another blinding smile.
Max huffed in annoyance and rolled her eyes. "You know what. It seems like you want to be on this date more than I do." Max stood up and ushered the girl over to her chair. She automatically sat down. "Now where's your date?" The girl pointed over at a table, where a boy was sitting with his back turned.
Max walked over to the girl's chair and plopped down. "Hey, your girlfriend and I are swapping dates. Hope you don't mind."
The boy looked up. "What?"
"It seems as if your girlfriend would rather have a date with my date than have one with you. Her mistake," she told him nonchalantly, taking a bite of the chicken that was on the plate in front of her.
He raised her eyebrow at her just as she blushed.
"Um… That's not what I meant. I don't even know you," Max stuttered.
"I'm Fang," he told her, giving her a small smile. "Thanks for saving me from that date. It was a dare."
"Hah! You think you have it bad. Let me tell you about my date!" she exclaimed, explaining her entire story.
YESTERDAY
"Faaaaang!" Max yelled, smacking him across the head and falling down on the couch next to him. "You forgot to call my mom."
"Ugh, dammit. Sorry sweetie," he told her, not really listening because he was too absorbed in the basketball game going on.
Max hit him again before giving him a kiss. "You're lucky you're so cute, but you better talk to my mother before tomorrow. What do you guys talk about anyway?"
Fang finally tore his eyes away from the television to look at her. He grinned, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Nothing you need to know about."
PRESENT
"Yeah, everything's ready. I don't know…. I'm really nervous," Fang said, clutching the phone to his ear. "You know how Max is." He stopped to listen for a few seconds. "I know. Don't worry. I just hope…" He chuckled. "Thanks Valencia; I can always count on you." He nodded vigorously, even though he knew Dr. Martinez-Max's mom-couldn't see it. "Yes, I'll be sure to tell her I love her before I propose."