" Hey, Max! May I ask you a question?" Tyson said as he leaned back after finishing his dinner. " Why are you staying here with us instead of with your dad? It's not like we're that far away from each other and you wouldn't have that much of a trouble coming here to train in the morning…"

" Yeah! How come you're here with us instead of your dad? Don't you like your dad?" Daichi piped up.

Max stopped eating and looked down at his food. " Why do you ask?"

" No particular reason… I was just curious," Tyson yawned and looked over at Max. " It just seemed weird, you know? I mean, it's not like you don't have anywhere else to stay and your dad doesn't live that far away either."

" I…" Max didn't know what to say. Why was he here? It'd probably be better for him to stay with his dad than with his friends anyways… It'd be easier to keep his secret secret as well… What made him stay here? " I…"

" Don't make him say something that makes him uncomfortable," Hiro said without even looking at the trio." Geez… I didn't think that this would make Max feel that way… Sorry, Max, if I offended you," Tyson grinned at Max.

Max returned Tyson's smile with one of his one. " No, you didn't do anything. It's just that I never thought about it. I think I'm just staying here so that I can be able to stay with you guys longer." Before I die, that is…

" Aw, Max! You're a good friend!" Tyson smiled even larger as he leaned over and gave Max a slight punch on the arm. Max grinned back at Tyson as he returned the friendly punch…

How much longer will I be able to play with the rest of them like this before I have to go? How much longer?

Max sighed and turned over onto his stomach. He could hear the others breathing in and out as they slept (A/N: snoring!) and tried to will himself back to sleep. When counting sheep didn't work, Max sat up and look around the room at his friends. Sleeping. Great. Slowly getting up, he tip-toed to the door and made his way out.

Once outside, he stretched his arms and yarned. Plopping down onto the deck, he leaned back and looked up at the night sky. The stars were still twinkling and the moon was still bright. After looking around at the garden before him, Max decided to go visist his dad. Better take my bike, he thought as he unlocked his bicycle and started to make his way to his dad's house.

After pedaling for awhile, he reached his dad's home. Getting off his bike, he leaned on his knees and tried to catch his breath. He never felt so-so exhausted before. Probably lack of sleep and exercise. Reaching over, he pressed the doorbell and waited for his dad to open the door. Soon enough, the door opened and Max's dad looked down at Max with sleepy eyes.

" Max? What are doing here so…" He looked down at his watch, " early? Never mind. Come in, you're probably tired."

Max's dad opened the door wider for Max to step inside. But Max didn't get a chance to go in…

" Judy, phone call."

" I'll be right there," Judy quickly finished looking through the papers and handed them back to Emily. " Good. Oh, Emily, will you go get me a cup of coffee? Thanks."

Sighing, she picked up the phone. " Hello? … Oh, hi… Wait a minute. Does this has to do something with Max? … WHAT! What do you mean? … No, I don't care what your excuse is- you obviously did something wrong in order for Max to end up that-… No. No, no, no. I. Don't. Care. I'm going over there right now… HE'S MY SON AS WELL! … YOU CAN'T STOP ME! I'M GOING THERE RIGHT- … I'm sorry… I'm just-I'm leaving. Bye."

Judy slammed the phone down and leaned forward in her chair. Shaking her head, she stood up and grabbed her purse. Running out the door, she nearly ran Emily over and spilled coffee all over the floor.

" I'm so sorry, Emily, but I have to go," Judy said as she turned around and ran down the hallway.

" What's going on?…"

" So… What does this all mean?" The Hiro looked at Mr. Dickinson with questioning eyes.

Mr. Dickinson sighed. " It means Max won't be able to compete in the tournaments due to health problems."

" Such as…?" Hiro looked down at the medical papers in his hands again.

" Such as AIDS."

Well! I rewrote that chapter! I hated this chapter the most and so I decided to rewrite it! Yay! Now, all I have to do is finish typing up my 6th chapter...