"Terry, we have to stop! We lost Matt!"
"We're going on without him! It's kill or be killed!" Max shook her head and scooped Matt McGinnis under one arm, ignoring the boy's indignant cries, and wriggled her way through the many people crowding the department store until she reached where Terry stood. The dark-haired teen dusted off his jacket, made sure his wallet was still in place, and regarded them with raised eyebrows.
"What? Is this your first time out on Christmas Eve Eve?"
"Yes," She glared, setting Matt down. "Most people have enough sense to get their presents earlier, McGinnis."
He shrugged, turning to the Customer Service counter. Max cast a curious look at him as he flagged down one of the many cashiers scurrying around.
"Hey, is Krystal here?"
"Yeah, I'll go get her." The associate answered, leaving. Max arched an eyebrow.
"Who's that?"
Terry cleared his throat, not looking at her. "Nobody."
Moments later, a willowy redhead with thick-rimmed glasses appeared, beaming when she spotted Terry. "H-Hi, Terry."
He flashed her a smile that could melt butter. "Hey, how's it going?"
Krystal blushed, twirling a finger in her ponytail. "Crazy. It's the day before Christmas Eve, after all."
"Yeah. Would you still happen to have the presents I had on layaway?"
She nodded too many times. "I'll, um, go get it from the back room. Be right back."
The redhead disappeared. Terry found himself on the end of a very deliberate death glare from Max. He gave her wide innocent eyes.
"…what?"
"Terry, they don't HAVE layaway in this store."
He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her gaze. "I know."
Max massaged the bridge of her nose. "I cannot believe you are using this girl to save presents for you. That's low even for you."
"Oh, c'mon. What was I supposed to do? With all the late hours, I didn't have time to do anything else!" He protested. Max crossed her arms beneath her chest.
"Still doesn't change the fact that you have a girlfriend who wouldn't appreciate all this shameless flirting," she accused. Terry's face became rather guarded after a moment.
"Don't be too sure about that."
Surprised, Max opened her mouth to reply but Krystal returned with an armful of clothes.
"Here you go."
In an instant, his charming smile returned. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
Krystal's cheeks turned so red that her freckles stood out. "N-No problem."
He tossed her a wink and headed towards the monstrous line of people at the front. Once more, Max tried to ask him what he'd meant but he switched subjects on her.
"Here, take this list with you and head for the jewelry store. I'll catch up with you guys."
Max chewed on the inside of her lip to keep from arguing with him. "Fine. Call me when you're on the way."
Taking Matt's hand, she led him out of the store. Once they were back in the atrium of the mall, the boy let go, blinking up at Max with his large brown eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Max blinked. "Hm? Oh, nothing. Here, I don't know the mall too well. Why don't you navigate?"
"Sure!" She handed him the list and he started reading it, glancing around for the overhanging signs to stores. With his attention distracted, Max could think more clearly about Terry's strange behavior. The last she heard, he and Dana were still together. Sure, they were sort of unstable but that was normal for them considering Dana knew nothing about his nightly activities. She had tried her best to implore the girl to be patient with him. If she knew how valiant and determined Terry really was, maybe she wouldn't have been so quick to get mad at him. Then again, Dana wasn't exactly the patient type.
"Hey, Max! It's this way!" Matt called, breaking the girl out of her thoughts. She nodded, turning to head towards him when she happened to bump into a guy.
"Sorry about that," she apologized, smiling. Then something else caught her attention. She knew this guy: Daniel, she remembered. He went to Hamilton High and he was on the basketball team. But that wasn't what bothered her: it was the fact that he was walking arm-in-arm with Dana.
"Max?" Dana said, startled by her appearance. Max stared at her, unsure of how to react.
"Dana. Hi. Um, what are you guys doing here?"
"I had to return a gift for my Dad. It turns out it wasn't the right size," Dana replied with an uneasy laugh, slipping her arm away from Daniel for a moment. Max spared Daniel another false smile and tugged the Asian girl aside.
"What's with the stiff?" she hissed, checking the crowd to make sure Terry wouldn't come waltzing up. Dana frowned at her in confusion.
"What do you mean? You know Daniel, he's in our Physics class."
"No, not that. What are you doing here with him by yourself?"
"We're on a date, Max."
Max went still. "You mean you and Terry—"
"Max, we broke up last Friday. Didn't he tell you?" Dana's face clouded with worry when she noticed how upset the news seemed to make her. Quickly, Max covered her expression with a weak smile.
"It…must have slipped his mind, I guess. Don't worry about it. Have fun on your date. I'll see you at the New Year's party."
"Okay. Merry early Christmas!" Dana squeezed her friend's arm affectionately and walked away, rejoining Daniel in the crowd. Max watched them go with a sullen expression, worried for more reasons than she could count. Matt had gotten impatient and came over, tugging on her jacket sleeve.
"C'mon, or Mom's present's gonna be gone before we get there."
"Right. Sorry."
It was going to be a long drive back to the house.
Max had been right. The car ride home was rather tense, or at least it felt that way on her end. Terry didn't talk much either. He had always been good at reading her moods and her body language—furrowed brows, narrowed eyes, arms crossed beneath her chest, legs crossed—spoke volumes. When she was in a bad mood, people knew it. Terry was no exception.
When they got home, Matt happily took off with the presents to go hide them in odd places in his room. Max stood in the den, unsure of where to go from there. She opened her mouth to speak but Terry beat her to the punch.
"I've got to make lunch for the Twip."
She nodded wordlessly, heading to his room to wait. Once inside, Max tossed her jacket on the bed and wandered about, feeling too tense to merely sit on the bed. She hadn't been in his room in a while so some things were different. For one, she could actually see the carpet. It was usually covered in jeans and t-shirts. Either he had learned how to clean or his mother did it for him. Mary McGinnis had given up the hopeless plight of getting Terry to clean his room on a regular basis. But the simple fact that it was semi-clean meant he'd made an effort since he knew she was coming over. Max found it oddly pathetic and flattering at the same time.
The lack of clothing everywhere meant that she could see his nightstand where she noticed the all-purpose morning device she'd bought him sat. It was an alarm clock, an mp3 player, and a lamp all in one. She switched it on and went over to the bookshelf to search for something to read. Soft music floated over to her that made her pause for a minute in flipping through Terry's favorite book (Beowulf).
"I hope that you're the one
If not, you are the prototype
We'll tiptoe to the sun
And do things I know ya like
I think I'm in love again…"
The song was practically ancient: circa 2003, and R&B no less. She had told Terry months ago to actually listen to the album but the boy was absent-minded as all get out so she never expected to find out that he did. Still, standing up made her feet hurt worse so she flopped down the bed, kicking off her shoes and flipping open the ancient epic poem. The gentle lyrics eventually made her relax and before she knew it, she had dozed off for a little while and only awakened when the door closed, indicating Terry's arrival.
"You look comfortable," he mused, nodding to the book lying open on her chest. Max rolled her eyes, tossing it aside on his nightstand.
"You did get me up at seven o'clock in the morning, y'know."
He shed his jacket, flashing her a smirk. "Did I mess up your beauty sleep?"
Max stuck out her tongue. "As a matter of fact, you did. Besides, my feet hurt from all that standing in line. That's why I order all my presents online."
"Ah, it can't be that bad." Terry took a seat on the bed and tugged one of her socked feet into his lap. Max's dark eyebrows shot up so far they almost disappeared beneath her magenta hair as he began massaging the pad of her right foot with his strong fingers.
"What are you doing?"
"Fixing the problem." He answered without looking up. She watched him for a long moment, trying to ignore the fact that he was actually pretty good at it.
"You're trying to get back on my good side, aren't you?"
He cast a sidelong glance at her with a sheepish smile. "Maybe."
Max closed her eyes, sighing. "I heard what happened with Dana."
His hands stopped for a moment. "Oh. When?"
"In the mall. I saw her with a guy."
Terry's blue eyes narrowed. "Who?"
Max rolled her eyes, her voice mild. "I'm not going to tell you in case you get the urge to hang him from a skyscraper by his underwear."
Terry scowled but reverted his attention to her foot, grumbling mutinously. "I'm not that immature."
"That's beside the point." Her voice softened for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You would have found out anyway."
Max shook her head. "That's not what I mean. Why did you tell me?"
Silence fell between them for a long moment, accented only by the R&B thrumming in the background until Terry finally spoke.
"I didn't want you to think I was lonely or something."
Max's brown eyes widened, but he continued. "I wanted you to spend Christmas with us because you wanted to, not because I needed you or something. I didn't want you to feel like you were obligated to be here with us. With me."
She didn't know what to say at first. Strangely enough, the music seemed to accent the moment, making it that much harder for her to find the words to reply.
"She lives in my lap
She lives in my lap
She lives in my lap
She lives in my lap
Oh, she lives in my lap
Forever my fiancé
She lives in my lap
Don't leave, don't stay
She lives in my lap
I'll get the courage one day
Make me want you,
Make me miss you
Make me wonder where you are,
Then forget you
Girl, remind me,
Just who we are
We're oh so close,
But yet so far…"
"Ter…you didn't need to do that. You know I actually like spending time with you and your family," Max offered, sitting up enough to see his face, though his was still guarded. He offered her a small smile.
"Even waking up at seven in the morning to get a tree?"
She mirrored the smile. "Even that. It's very sweet of you."
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, meeting his eyes with an amused look in her own. "I guess we'll be alone together for the holidays."
"Guess so."
It was then that she noticed two things: one, his hand had come to rest on the side of her knee, a firm but comforting weight that he probably hadn't even noticed, and two, that their faces were far too close together and that was a bad thing considering they were both feeling vulnerable, they were both sharing body contact, and there was an incredibly smooth, romantic song playing in the background. The room felt smaller and smaller for every second that ticked by as she sat there, staring into his handsome face and wondering if he felt that same tension in the air between them. Was it her imagination or was he leaning towards her? His lips parted and he whispered her name in a tone that made hot shivers crawl up her spine.
"Max, I—"
"Terry?" The door opened not a moment later to reveal Mary McGinnis. In an instant, the moment shattered.
"Oh, Max! Hi, dear. I didn't know you were here," Mary said, smiling pleasantly at the suddenly embarrassed teen before her. Max quickly slid out of Terry's grasp to give his mother a brief hug, both relieved and disappointed by her presence.
"How's it going, Ms. M?"
"Oh, it's going. I've got a Christmas dinner to get started on. Matt said you'd be joining us?"
Max nodded in agreement and Mary smiled wider. "That's great! You can help me in the kitchen! Terry, honey, could you help Matt set up the tree? He's having trouble reaching the higher branches."
Mary beckoned Max to the kitchen while Terry obediently went into the den to help his younger brother. It was probably for the best, Max thought.
Probably.
A/N: I hope things aren't moving too slowly. But be patient. There's plenty more story where this came from, but it doesn't hurt to light a fire under my butt by reviewing. Happy holidays and thanks for reading!
By the way, the two songs used are not mine: they are "Prototype" and "She Lives in My Lap" by Outkast from their album "The Love Below". I couldn't help inserting a little awesome music in here, though I hope Neonails doesn't think I'm stealing her schtick. Thanks for reading!