A/N: Crap, I thought I had updated this! Sorry for the delay, folks! Anyway, we're wearing up for the climax of Kate's story! Let me know what you think so far, and what you'd like to see in the future.

Found

Maximilian reached the fountain, and found Max already sitting on the edge.

"Hi, Max," he said.

"Hi, Max," she replied. "You should have come with us in the truck."

"I needed the exercise," he replied automatically, then shook his head and told the truth. "I wanted you two to have some time alone."

"Thank you," Max patted the space next to her.

He sat down, and for a while the two watched the campus come to life. There was a nervous energy about; some of it was because it was the last day for the Everyday Heroes Contest submissions, but mostly because tonight was the 'End of the World' Party.

"Chloe can be very selfish sometimes," Max finally spoke. "She thinks the world owes her something because her life went off-the-rails."

Maximilian grunted.

"And you're the opposite," she continued. "Because of whatever happened to you in San Fran, you think you don't owe anyone a thing. You don't care about anything and it kind of gets on my nerves."

He simply nodded. She was right on the money.

"And I'm so indecisive," she clenched her fists. "All I've done since I got to Blackwell is follow your lead or Chloe's. In the thing with Kate and David I didn't do anything until you told me..."

She was silent again. Maximilian hesitated, then put his arm around her.

"You saved her in the rooftop," he said quietly. "Never forget that."

"You helped too," she inched closer to him. "I guess what I'm getting to is that all three of us are total fuck-ups."

Maximilian snorted, and tried not to laugh until the girl started laughing herself. Then he joined.

"We're complete losers, but we compliment each other," she continued. "Chloe knows when to jump into action, you know when to stay back and think things over, and I'm... me, I guess."

"Don't sell yourself short," he gave her a squeeze. "You have your amazing powers. You're the method to our madness."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"The Linguini to our Remy."

"Way to ruin the mood," she chuckled. "Let's go to class. We'll ask Mr. Jefferson for help."

…...

"Welcome, would you happen to be the new students?"

"Sorry, Mr. Jefferson," the two said in unison.

"Don't worry about it," he chuckled. "Today's the last day to submit a picture for the Everyday Heroes contest, girl Max, so worry about that instead."

The Maxes went to their seats. Maximilian saw Victoria staring at him. He paused, meeting her gaze, then grabbed his chair and dragged to Max's desk.

"When do we ask him?" he looked at her friend.

She was silent for a moment, looking back at him. "After class," she told him. "We don't want anyone else to know."

"All right."

"Okay, I won't waste time since we're close to our next next exam so here we go," Mr. Jefferson said the moment the bell rang. "Last time we spoke about..."

He trailed off, and the Maxes almost jumped out of their seats when a girl walked into the classroom.

"Kate?" they said in unison.

Kate Marsh looked... fine. Great, even. She stood straight, without a worry in the world, her hair was firmly set in its bun, and her eyes were clear, with none of the sadness of the last days.

And yet...

"Good morning," she said, a smile on her face. "I'm sorry for being late."

"Only by a few seconds," Mr. Jefferson said reassuringly. "Please take your seat."

Kate walked to her desk and sat down. She noticed the Maxes staring at her in curiosity and worry, and gave them a small wave.

Throughout the class the two took turns watching her.

"All right, I'll see you guys on Monday," Mr. Jefferson said after the bell rang. "Don't forget to work on the project and, if you still want to enter the contest, you have till midnight."

Kate grabbed her things and left her seat. The two quickly started after her, but Victoria beat them to it.

"Hi, Kate," the pixie blonde cleared her throat nervously. "Listen, I... about what happened... I wanted to apologize..."

Kate hugged her, surprising everyone present. "Don't worry about it," she pulled away, but kept her hands on Victoria's shoulders. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"What?" the girl looked baffled. "Of course I did, Kate. I was a complete asshole to you."

"You are so pretty, Victoria," Kate smiled. "Never change."

Kate gave her a small wave and left the classroom. Maximilian stared after her at a complete loss, joined by Max and, a moment later, Victoria.

"What's the deal with her?" she asked. "I know I don't have a right to say anything, but it's a bit strange."

"You're not wrong," he started walking away. "See you around."

The Maxes ran out of the classroom, Mr. Jefferson not calling them for a change. They found their friend down the hall, happily humming a hymn as she walked.

"Hey, Kate," Max said carefully. "Good to see you back."

"Yes, I'm happy to be here," she nodded. "I'm really sorry for worrying you."

"So, uh, what happened?" Maximilian asked. "Everything okay?"

"I needed to think," she answered, her voice happy and distant. "A lot happened these past few days, and I came across a lot of pleasant and unpleasant truths.

"But thanks to my... well, the point is I finally found myself again, and that makes me happy."

"We're happy for you, Kate," Max gave her a smile.

"We are," Maximilian agreed.

"Thank you," Kate hugged Max, catching off-guard. Then, even more surprising, she walked up to Maximilian and kissed him. "If you two hadn't been on that rooftop, I would have never found the answers I needed."

"W-We're your f-friends," he stammered, touching his lips.

"I'm sorry, but I need to go," Kate told them, looking at the time on her phone. "I'll talk to you after I'm done."

"Done with what?" they asked.

Kate simply smiled and walked away.