Max
"What about this one?" Nudge asks, holding up some pink frilly thing I would not wear in a million years-not even to save the world-like that would ever happen. Me? Save the world? That's funny.
Anyway, we're at the mall trying to get ready for the dance. If you're wondering, "we" consists of Nudge, Ella, Iggy, Gazzy, Fang and me. Everyone else has picked out some clothes for the dance but I have suffered through two hours of brutal, unsuccessful searching. It doesn't help that everything Ella and Nudge have given me to try on has been some frilly thing or pink.
I look at Fang, "I have to get out of here. Now." I tell him.
This is when I notice him hiding something behind his back. "What's that?" I ask.
"It's your gateway to freedom." He answers.
"Yeah right, let me see it." I say.
He shows me the dress. It's beautiful. It's a layered black and midnight blue dress. It's tasteful and I won't be showing too much skin but I won't look like a nun either. I actually like this one.
"Where did you find this?" I demand.
"Go try it on." He says.
I go to the dressing room and try the dress on. I love it. I look at the price; it's way too expensive. I groan in frustration and I take the dress off. I change back into my normal clothes and leave the dressing room.
"Do you like it?" Fang asks.
"Yeah but I'm not buying it." I say.
"Why not?" He asks.
"It's way out of my price range." I answer.
"Let me pay for it." He says.
"No, I can't let you do that." I say, shaking my head.
"It's fine. Let's consider it your early birthday present." He suggests.
"How'd you find out?" I ask, unable to believe he knows.
"Ella told me." He answers.
"Uh huh, when did she say it was?" I ask doubtfully.
"She said it was October 21st which is in three days." He answers.
Crap, he isn't lying. I look at the ground and shake my head.
"Please don't." I say.
"Why not?" He asks, gently cupping my chin, lifting my head up so I have to look at him.
How can I tell him that my last group of friends never gave a crap and treated me like dirt? How can I tell him that the first guy I've ever called my boyfriend was a jerk? Would he still want to talk to me? I'm unwanted by people who are supposed to like me-by guys who claimed to love me: my dad, Sam, my uncles, my aunts, my grandparents; they all hated me.
No words come out. I just shake my head.
"Max, you can tell me anything. You know that right?" Fang says quietly.
I can tell him anything? Does he mean it? Nobody's ever told me that before. Why should he?
I nod.
"Then why won't you tell me what's bothering you?" He asks softly.
"I'm not used to guys being nice to me." I whisper.
"I know and they're all jerks but I'm not a jerk Max, let me prove it to you." Fang says quietly gently putting both his hands on my cheeks.
I stare up at him, holding back tears.
"Oh Max." He whispers, wrapping his arms around me.
I hug him back and rest my head on his shoulder. Fang really isn't a jerk. He's the only decent guy I know except maybe Iggy too, but Fang was the first. He's my best friend and I'm afraid he might go away.
Fang
Max won't let me buy her the dress that I know she loves. I try to coax the reason out of her but she refuses to look at me and keeps shaking her head. I cup her chin, carefully tilting her head up, making her look at me. She just shakes her head, her chocolate eyes refusing to fully meet mine.
"Max, you can tell me anything. You know that right?" I say quietly.
She nods.
"Then why won't you tell me what's bothering you?" I ask softly.
"I'm not used to guys being nice to me." She whispers.
My heart hurts for her. It's so easy to forget that she's gone through a load of crap from her dad-and clearly some other guys who were important to her life-because she always acts like she's okay. You would never guess that she has so many scars-mental and physical. She's the strongest person I know. It's one of the things I love about her-her resilience and her fighter's spirit-among other things of course, like her quick wit, her smile, her ability to force people into being themselves around her, the fact that I can tell her anything and she always listens.
"I know and they're all jerks but I'm not a jerk Max, let me prove it to you." I say quietly, gently putting both hands on her cheeks.
She stares up at me, there are tears in her eyes.
"Oh Max." I whisper, wrapping my arms around her.
She hugs me back and rests her head on my shoulder.
Max
Fang strokes my hair, holding me in his arms. I hug him tightly, just needing him for some reason. Then the song, "Only Exception" comes on by Paramore.
I look up at Fang. Maybe he can be the exception to the list of guys I've known who have hurt me. Fang smiles down at me and I smile up at him. Yeah, he is the only exception.
Fang
I smile down at Max, hoping she'll smile back. She does and I'm glad, I hate seeing her upset.
Then we hear someone behind us. "Whoa, what are you two doing?"
"We're hugging Iggy. Get over it." Max says.
I chuckle and let go of Max so we can see what Iggy wants.
"What do you want Iggy?" I ask, turning to face him.
"I was just wondering when you were gonna stop the charade and ask the girl out." He replies.
"I asked Max to the dance, we're going together. I already bought the tickets." I say, remembering Max's plan.
"Yeah right." Iggy laughs.
"No he did. Now enlighten us, have you asked my sister to the dance yet?" Max asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
Iggy turns red and says, "Fine, you guys win this round. Let's get out of here and get lunch. Unless of course you two wanted some alone time..."
Max smacks him upside the head, "Let's go." She says, walking to Gazzy and the girls.
I lag behind and grab the dress. I hurry over to the counter, pay for it and jam it into my bag with my clothes before Max notices. I hope she's surprised when she finds out...I hope she doesn't kill me.
Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you all like it. Sorry it took so long!:(
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~Kay~