BBRRC8 part 2

~ Max and Emily ~

Max eased himself against his seat and sighed. He was going on a holiday trip with no nagging parents for two weeks with the girl of his dreams in a winter wonderland. It didn't get any better than that. Well, he could think of a few things actually. . .

Emily settled back against the plush chair and sighed as well. They had already completed the first leg of their journey, crossing the Atlantic, and were starting on the final leg. They had taken off from La Guardia Airport, crossed the Atlantic, and landed in Paris. They had just switched planes and were already up in the air. Soon, they would be relaxing at Oliver's posh winter mansion in St. Petersburg and living in luxury for two weeks. It was a dreamy prospect, really. Being in a big, fancy mansion for two weeks with no parents or employers to nag no deadlines to meet and with the guy of her dreams was just the way she wanted to spend her holiday season. Well, Max wasn't quite the man of her dreams. She had always dreamt of a tall, dark, and handsome man to sweep her off her feet. Instead, she got Max.

She tilted her head slightly and peeked an eye open at the blonde in the seat beside her with his eyes shut and elbows resting on the armrests. He was smiling. Then again, he always seemed to be. That was Max though- Bright, cheerful, optimistic, and always there for you. He was barely taller than her, not even remotely dark even with the lights out, and he wasn't ruggedly handsome.

But he did sweep her off her feet. Last year, the work schedule at the research institute was quite hectic (not like it was ever slow either) and somewhere in the mess, her birthday had been forgotten. She had remembered it of course. It was her Sweet Sixteen, a special birthday, so how could she forget? When the day had arrived, she hadn't received a single card, gift, balloon, or even a simple 'Hey Emily! It's your birthday right? Happy birthday then!'. She felt really bad. Not even her teammates noticed her sad expression. It was looking to be a crummy Sweet Sixteen.

Then that little blonde goofball had surprised her. She had run up to the roof that night blinded by her tears and had nearly run over Max. He comforted her and took her by the hand. The door to the roof swung open and she had to blink several times before everything came into focus. He had hung party lanterns around the roof. Big potted plants and patio torches lined a square area with a round table with a long white tablecloth over it in center with two chairs pulled out slightly. A short table off to the side held two bottles of her favorite soda [A/N: Pop to you northerners and foreigners :P], a bowl of Chex Mix, and a bucket of ice underneath. The center table was set for two with nice dinnerware instead of plastic. As she got nearer, she saw a cake with 'Happy Sweet Sixteen Emily' scribbled on it in yellow icing identical to Max's handwriting. She covered her mouth with both hands and forgot to breathe until gentle hands placed a wire and rhinestone tiara on her head from behind. She touched it, spun around, and hugged Max, her eyes crying tears of joy instead of sadness. His present to her was a 24-karat gold diamond studded tennis bracelet in a red velvet lined box.

Emily touched the bracelet unconsciously with her left hand, running her fingers over the gift gently and closing her eyes again. So maybe Max wasn't the man she had wanted from the start but he was certainly the only one she wanted now.

Fingers curled around her right hand perched on the arm rest, the same hand with the bracelet on it. She looked down and recognized them as Max's as he gave it a little squeeze and brought her hand up to place a soft kiss on it. His thumb caressed the tops of her knuckles as he gave her a sweet smile. No doubt, Max was the one for her.

An hour into the flight, the stewardesses started serving drinks to the first-class passengers as well as giving each of them a little pillow and a thick blanket. A beverage menu in French was passed out to them with quite a variety available. They didn't carry any carbonated beverages that Emily and Max were familiar with or recognized so Emily figured that they couldn't go wrong with a hot cup of coffee. She ordered a cup of Spanish coffee and Max took a Café Alpine. Emily finished hers in no time flat and buzzed the stewardess. Her blue eyes wobbled as she scanned the coffee list. It all sounded so good! She finally ordered two coffees- A Night in Florida and a Nose Warmer. The stewardess gave her an odd look but served her any ways. Max sipped his coffee while he gazed out of the window at the twilight.

Emily hiccuped beside him. Her blue eyes were unfocused and hazy as she rested them on her boyfriend. Her fuzzy brain wasn't thinking straight at all.

"Hey Maxie-poo!," she trilled, leaning on his shoulder. Max jumped slightly and looked at the tipsy orange-haired girl that was his girlfriend leaning on him. She grinned up at him in a silly fashion. "How're ya doin'? That coffee is great. . . c'mon Maxie-poo, drink up!"

She tilted his cup up to his lips but he resisted and set it down on his tray table. He had a feeling that there was something dreadfully wrong with the coffee. Her breath seemed to have a faint alcoholic smell mixed with the mint from her toothpaste.

"Well if you won' drink it, then I'll drink it!," she slurred. She reached out for the cup but kept missing due to her unfocused eyes. Max scooped it back up and finished it off despite his reservations about it.

Emily shifted off him and started to play spin the bottle on her tray table with an empty cup, blowing a raspberry when it didn't land on her and Max. She squealed and clapped her hands like a 10 year-old. Good thing most of the passengers had gone to sleep after getting their drinks so she wouldn't bother anyone. The cup had landed on her and then on Max.

"Maxie! C'mere so I can give you a kissy-wissy on the lipsy!," she cooed," Don' be shy now!" She puckered up and leaned over to him. He started to push her away.

"Emily, sweetie, please not right now," he protested," You're not yourself!" He pushed her away a little too hard and she almost went into the aisle. Max instantly regretted it and started to apologize. He stopped when he saw her grin and her eyes lock with his. She ran her tongue over lips slowly and Max couldn't help but break eye contact to watch. Bad move.

"Playing hard-to-get are we, eh?," she said before pouncing on him.

"Ahh! Mad girlfriend!," he squeaked, trying to get her off.

Under different circumstances, Max would've been quite happy with being pounced upon by his girlfriend. However, he wasn't right now. Slurred speech, odd behavior, glazed eyes etc. just wasn't like her at all. He didn't know what had happened to her. She was fine one moment and then the next acting like a drunken clown!

"C'mere you smecksy thang!," she yelled locking her arms around his neck. [A/N: Told ya I'd use that line in this chapter, GK! ( ]

"Emily! No, not here! Sweetheart, get a hold of yourself!"

"Why don' you get a hold of myself for me?"

Emily giggled and grabbed her blanket, pulling it over the two of them. She sat in his lap and pressed her lips to his. He didn't realize she was kissing him until a full minute passed. His head started to swim too as the coffee's effects took over. Max was used to caffeine but whoa! This was no ordinary coffee!

The two drunken teens made out in the middle of the first-class cabin under an airline quality [A/N: Airline+ quality= oxymoron] blanket. Moans and lips smacking were the only clues that the red blanket covered two carbon-based life forms. The stewardesses pretended not to notice and the passengers who were awake left them alone. A wise move on their part.

About a half-hour later, Max was starting to think clearer. He had only had one cup of coffee but Emily had had three. She had also fallen asleep in his lap, her head against his chest and right hand gripping his shirt as though he might try to run away. Well, he had earlier but the coffee took over and that was it. He remembered some pieces of the last half-hour but not all.

He stroked Emily's hair gently and tried to put her back in her seat. She inhaled sharply and clutched his shirt tighter. The gold diamond tennis bracelet winked up at him. Instead, he raised the armrest between their seats and shifted so that his back was almost totally against the wall, reclining a bit and wedging a pillow behind his neck. He moved her so her head was till against his chest but allowed the both of them to stretch out a bit. She nuzzled up under his chin as he kissed her forehead affectionately.

The 17 year-old turned his head slightly so he could look out the window. The twilight that was there awhile ago had faded to black with pinpricks of white for stars. He had lost track of time really, and yet for some reason, he didn't care. He didn't care what time the plane was supposed to arrive nor did he care about how much time was left until they landed. As far as Max Mizuhara was concerned, he could stay where he was with Emily much longer than that.

[A/N: ~*~@ Kore: DAMN!!!!! I just noticed that REM Reality slipped down to number 31 on the listing! Sacrilege! Shame on me! Also, My A/N for the last chapter didn't show up for some unknown and strange reason but thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Lee: You know, Kai was right. You write too much.

Kore: ::glares at her new ex-assistant:: Two words. You- are- fired!

Lee: That's three words.

Kore: I'm from Florida! We can't freaking count here! Get out!

Lee: ::runs away in tears::

Kore: Okay, perhaps I was too harsh on him. . . Nah. Anywho, new assistant next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always review, review, review! ^^ ~*~@]