Kay, so look. I know I haven't been updating often -- I'm sorry. I've got a lot of other stuff I'm working on, though, and they usually take priority over this story. But I'm on this huge Maxi-and-Seth kick right now, so expect more. There's still so much more of this story to go... My God.

So I'm sorry about all the delays. Keep reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it! Makes me wanna keep writing..

:Alright seriously folks, I've got three more chapters written but I'm not posting them until I get at least ONE review on this chapter.m Thanksss.


MAXI

It was strange, being around Seth. Like I had known him for years, though we had barely met. He was easy to talk to... A good listener and talker. He didn't talk too much, and didn't let me talk too much.

Oh, this was bad. Stupid Seth.

When I got home from the beach, I went up to my room and called Holly.

"So?" she said expectantly, answering on the first ring.

"He's nice," I said. "He's… nice to talk to."

"Is that all you did?"
"God, Holly. Yes."

"It's a legitimate question. What'd you talk about?"

I shrugged, though she couldn't see me. "Family. Friends. Music. Stuff like that."

"Boring stuff," she said.

"Well, Seth's kind of funny."

"Seth's kind of cute."

"Bye, Holly." I hung up, sticking my tongue out at the phone.

I sighed, looking around my room, and noticed The Box poking out from beneath my bed. I knew I shouldn't, but things were so strange right now… I leaned over and picked it up, pulling it into my lap.

A shoe box. That's all.

I lifted the lid off. Staring up at me was a photo in black and white; the faces of a couple. The girl had her hand in her long hair, looking at the camera and laughing. The boy was looking at the girl, smiling. He was so familiar, achingly familiar. But the girl -- I didn't know her. I didn't want to. I hated her.

I wasn't surprised the next day when Seth sat in the chair next to me in art.

"Do you mind?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore him. "Are you bipolar or something?"

I looked at him. "Excuse me?"

He shrugged. "You've got pretty erratic moods. You haven't noticed?"

"Enlighten me."

He thought about this, tapping a pencil against his chin. Then he shifted in his chair, turning to look at me.

"Let me ask you this," he said, pointing his pencil at me. "Do I make you crazy?" He chuckled. "In a bad way, I mean. Is there something about me that you just can't stand? Be honest, here."

"God. No. There isn't."

His eyes searched my face and finally, he smiled. "Alright, then. So…"

"So?"

"So I was wondering…"

Oh, boy. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, spit it out."

"Could I sit with you at lunch?"

I thought about that and shrugged. "I don't know if Adele and Eric would like that."

"Those kids?" he said, making a face. "They're kind of weird."

"Hey," I said, pointing a finger at him. "They're my lunch crew. I probably fall under that same 'weird' category."

He smiled and shook his head. "Nah, you're too cute."

"Uh-huh." I looked away, suddenly feeling very panicked. We were in class; there was nowhere I could go. I couldn't just move my seat. "Excuse me."

I got up and took a pass, practically running to the bathroom. I shut myself into a stall, trying to control my breathing. In, out. In, out. God, how I hated this.

"So…?" Holly said after school. We were in my room; I was laying on my bed, flipping through a magazine while she painted her nails on the floor. "How's Seth?"

"Um. Fine."

"Did you talk to him?"
"Mm."

"You're hiding something."

I looked up from my magazine, glaring at her. "Am not."

"Are too. I can tell by how short you're being."

I blew my hair out of my face, stalling. "Well. I guess."

"So?" She put the nail polish brush back in the bottle. "What happened?"

I shrugged. "In art today, he was like, 'You're cute'. And… I don't know. I kind of freaked, just a little."

She made a rueful face. "Aw, Max." She pulled herself up onto the foot of my bed, being careful not to ruin her nails. "What'd he say, after?"

"Nothing," I said. "He didn't mention it. I mean, I'm sure he noticed, and he looked kind of… put out, I guess, but he didn't say anything. And he sat with me at lunch."

She smiled. "Well, that's good. Do you like his company?"

I knew this routine. The careful questions. "Yes," I said blatantly. "I do, actually. Sometimes. Mostly, he's a little… overwhelming."

Holly nodded and patted my knee carefully. "Max, don't you think you should tell him?"

I shook my head vigorously. "What good would that do?"

"A lot of good, I think," she said. "Maybe he'd cool the act a little. Be more careful, you know? I mean, I think it's pretty obvious that he's got a crush on you. If you told him, he'd probably stop pushing it." She gave me a small smile. "And he'd understand, Max. He'd be good about it."

I sighed. "Yeah, probably. I guess you're right. I'll tell him eventually."

"Sooner, rather than later," Holly said.

I snapped my magazine open loudly, training my eyes on it. "Sure thing."

SETH

"She's crazy, man," I said. Collin was barely listening; he was too busy playing Halo 3. "I swear. I don't know what's going on with her."

"I know," Collin said. "You've told me like, twelve times. She's crazy. Now shut up."

"Yeah, but God, she's… amazing. I don't know how she does it. I think even if I hadn't imprinted on her, I'd still love her. She's so… mean. But not. It's like she's nice, really, but for some reason, she's mean. I don't know. It's… kind of fascinating. She's unpredictable."

Collin turned around, staring at me. He picked a couch pillow up off the floor and whipped it at me, hitting me in the chest, without breaking his stare. Then he turned around and kept playing his video game.

"Gotcha. Sorry."

MAXI

When I got to school the next morning, Connor was leaning against my locker, looking at his iPod.

"Morning," I said.

He smiled, moving aside. "How's it going?" he asked.

"Fine." I dumped the books from my backpack onto the floor of my locker and hung up the empty bag.

"Do you need a ride this afternoon?"
I thought about that. "Hm. I think so. Would you mind?"

He smiled and kissed the side of my head. "'Course not. I'll see you after school, 'kay?"

I nodded. "Thanks, Connor." He disappeared into the crowd. I watched him go and saw Seth across the hall, arms crossed. "Hey, Seth," I called.

He smiled and walked over, arms still crossed. "Maxi."

"Hi."

Seth looked down the hallway. "Boyfriend?"

"What? I don't --" I bit my lip. "Who?"

"That kid that was just here."

"Oh, him?" I laughed and looked at Seth. His eyes were tight... confused, maybe. "God, no. That was Connor. Connor."

He relaxed visibly. "Oh. Oh, right," he said, nodding. He was quiet, watching me; I went back to gathering my books for first period. "So, are you busy this afternoon?"
"Um…" I froze, running my fingers through my hair. "Yeah. Actually."
"Work?"

"Something like that."

I looked at him, and he raised an eyebrow. I just shrugged. "Well, what about tomorrow?"

"Um…" I chewed my thumbnail. "I've got work, actually. Until four." I watched his face fall a little, and felt bad. Worse than I should have felt, if I was smart. "Look, today's not such a good day… But you could pick me up after work, I guess. Did you have… something in mind?"

He shrugged. "Beach, maybe, if you want."

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut to think about this. To reason with myself. After just a few seconds I was ready to say no, ready to come up with another excuse. When I opened Seth was smiling at me hopefully.

"Sure, Seth."

I wanted to hit myself. But He grinned, his cheek dimpling. "Great. Awesome. So, tomorrow, then. I'll pick you up at four. Do you need to go home or something before we...?"

"Um, no. Unless you mind me smelling like coffee and food."

He smiled. "I like coffee and food. Food, especially."