My Belle
Chapter One
Epiphany at the Grocery Store
"Maybe one day I can have a reunion with myself."-Sebastian Bach

"Go get us some groceries, Max."

Although this little command had come from his younger sister, Max had no choice but to oblige with it despite how much his pride was dying inside. Turns out, much to no surprise, being a taxi driver didn't exactly pay the bills or the needed cigarette money. So in the months following Lucy and Jude's reunion, Max had decided to bunk in with them in their new apartment until he found the money to live somewhere better. He figured it needed to be real soon because he could no longer stand his sister telling him what to do. Nor did he ever.

He gritted his teeth, holding back the stream of retorts threatening to spill out of his mouth, as he snatched the wad of bills from his sister's outstretched hand.

"Why do I have to do it?" he muttered out loud, knowing full well the answer.

"Because last time I checked, we paid the rent," Jude tittered from his spot at the kitchen table, his pencil flying over his sketch pad.

Max made a face at him from behind his back immaturely trying to vent his frustration in a safe and peaceful way.

Lucy giggled loudly as she fell into the seat next to Jude and hugged him close. Suddenly, Jude caught the laughing bug and the two were in complete hysterics in a matter of moments. Max just stared at them silently. It was like they had decided to smoke some hemp a couple of minutes beforehand, the way they were acting. Max wouldn't have been surprised. Everyone did it.

He grumbled something inaudible over his roomies' mirth as he put on his coat and hat. With one last disgusted look thrown in their direction, he exited the apartment with a slam to the door.

It's difficult to look cool and attractive when you're driving a checkered taxi around New York. It's even more difficult to pick up a girl when you needed a fix and even pot won't take away the irritation of your current situation. Max had been female free for weeks now and he couldn't stand it. What happened to that time when girls used to throw themselves at him for a quickie? Was it true what Jude had said? Had his scent dried up? Was his aura no longer eye-catching? Of course Jude had been joking, merely poking his friend at his lowest point, but it hurt Max nonetheless. He had hoped that maybe the new mustache would grab a broad's attention, but so far the farthest he's gone was a look from across the room and that was it. Completely no action. It was killing him slowly. If he didn't get it soon, he didn't know what he would do.

He pulled into the nearest grocer, picked out a suitable shopping cart, and began meandering his way through the aisles. He cursed to himself when he realized Lucy hadn't provided him with a list. No doubt she'd scold him on his stupidity once he got home. He swore she sounded like their mother more and more everyday. It made him cringe. So, he decided to just choose all the food he thought was necessary. This included all and every type of junk food. What else did a single bachelor need? And if he didn't get any broccoli like Lucy usually asked, she wouldn't be able to badger him about not getting enough of his greens. It would save a lot more tension and an unneeded sibling battle between the two of them.

As he trooped up and down the store, shoving his "essentials" into the cart as he went, he eventually noticed that there were a lot more females about. What a great opportunity for him! A chance to talk one up without his ugly taxi sitting in the background. He figured he would get them hooked so deep that when they actually noticed his ride, they would be too far in to back out. He mentally congratulated himself on his plan, making a note to indulge himself later.

He turned into the canned section and found his perfect chance. At the far end a lone girl was standing, examining some soups. Max smirked and began to walk nonchalantly, looking everywhere but her. As he neared her, he noted that she looked eerily exotic. Her tan skin glowed against the store's lights, her lips pouted perfectly as her eyes searched the titles, and her black hair was hidden into a large white woven paperboy hat. She seemed not to notice him until they were a few feet within each other. When her eyes turned to look his way, he caught them with his own. He gave her a small smile, looking her up and down with excitement, taking in her beautiful curves. Man, would she be perfect. But instead of a seductive look he was aiming for, she gave him one mixed with contempt, confusion, and was it amusement? He passed her slowly, still keeping the eye contact as he turned once more into the next aisle. Well, he had missed his opportunity on that one, but he didn't feel like giving up. His confidence had sky rocketed and he felt like he should try his tactic one more time. Besides, he couldn't win them all.

He was now in the frozen section next to the meat. The curls of coldness were floating toward him and he was eager to get out of there. As he quickly zipped past the plastic chilled packages, his mind wandered back to that girl he had tried to eye up in the last aisle. He had a weird sense of déjà vu; like he had seen that face before. But he just couldn't place it.

Then he stopped short, his cart making a squeak on the tiled floor. A shopper behind him ran into his back, but he hardly noticed. Max's mouth hung open at his sudden epiphany.

Holy shit.

He raced back down the aisle, retracing his path until his returned once more to the canned section. His chest was heaving with exhilaration. Could it be her? It was possible wasn't it?

But his heart sunk as he saw that the aisle was empty. He had failed to catch her. She was probably long gone by now. Disappearing into the vastness that was NYC. He sighed sadly. He was right; he'd never get them all, this one the least. He maneuvered his cart around and jumped as he was met face to face with the canned section girl.

"Max?" she asked, her expression matching his. It was one of nervousness and relief all at the same time.

Max took a deep breath. "Michelle?"

The girl's face broke into a smile. "Ohmy—it is you!"