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ZPOV

Max is kissing me. That concept in incomprehensible to me as I feel Max's lips against mine. I'm paralyzed; gone completely still. Whether from shock or something else…I don't know. I feel Max fist her hands through my hair, tugging at it incessantly, as if she's wordlessly urging me to reciprocate her actions. I can't though. I can't make myself move even a fraction of an inch, whether pull her away from or closer to me.

I guess when Max has decided she really does need to breathe more than she needs to kiss me, she breaks apart from our embrace. I can hear her fast paced breathing. I can feel her eyes boring into mine, searching for a reaction. But I can't give her one.

I'm looking over the top of her head in numb response when I see a picture firmly mounted on the wall. Upon closer inspection, I begin to recall when we took that picture. It's of Max and I, standing on the top floor of the Empire State building on our fifth grade field trip. As I glance around the room, I spy more and more pictures of myself and Max. Some might call it freaky or obsessive that she has so much memorabilia in her place of us, but that's just Max. She likes to be surrounded by those she loves,…and she loves me.

I look back down into Max's large, brown eyes and let out a breath of air that I didn't realize I was holding.

"Well?" she asks, still breathless.

After what seems like a few centuries, I answer, "What? What do you want me to say?"

Max lets out a frustrated sigh and looks at the floor solemnly. When she looks up into my eyes once more, she says, "Admit it."

"Admit what?" I ask, no emotion in my voice.

"That you felt that connection." She replies immediately. "Tell me you love me, that you realize now how good we could be together."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Is my witty reply.

Max grabs onto my shirt collar before saying, "You don't need her, Zack."

At the implication of Maddie, my hurt seems to squeeze. I've just betrayed her. But does it really count if I didn't kiss her back? We can't seem to be together for more than an hour before something goes wrong. This definitely constitutes for something that is wrong.

Breaking out of Max's grasp, I say, "You don't know that Max. I do need her!" While I wished my comeback was angry and confidant, I ended up sounding whiny and weak. The two things I hate the most.

"She doesn't deserve you!" Max says, her voice full of conviction.

At that my logic and senses seem to kick in. "What the hell do you know Max?" I yell. "You have no idea of my relationship with Maddie. And how dare you kiss me, while my fiancée is at home with a diamond ring on her finger as a testimony to our future! You can't be in that future Max. I will never love you the way you want me too; the way that I love Maddie, so you just need to…get over it! Leave me alone!"

"Fine! But tell me something first! Did you think about her as we kissed?" she demands.

As I try to recall what was going through my mind as we kissed, I froze in fear. I must have thought of Maddie, right? When I can't make myself remember thinking about her, I feel rage consume me. I hate how Max is making me question my love for Maddie that I know is true. Feeling frustrated and scared, I rack my brain for an answer to this situation.

"You didn't pull away either." She says, answering my silence.

"Stop it!" I yell at Max. I don't exactly know what I'm telling her to stop, just that I want to quit pressuring me like this.

And with that I walk out of her apartment, slamming the door on the way out.

Just as her mother did when she was three.

MMPOV

That fucking jerk!

I kick a nearby end table, spilling my coffee that was on it. I can't find it in myself to care as I angrily plop down on the couch that Zack was sitting on moments ago. I hate Zack so much! I hate how he can make me feel sad and angry with just a few words out of his mouth. No one can do that; I've never let anyone in enough to let them effect me. Except Zack. And this is what I get for that.

Once the anger passes, I feel sadness wash over, which is even worse. I pull a couch pillow to me and hug it tightly. As I feel tears slide down my face, I fully surrender to the emotions in my, heaving out loud sobs.

Zack looked so serious when he told me that he could never love me the way that I want him to. And I almost believed him. I'm still debating with myself over whether he was telling the truth. But somewhere deep down inside me, I know for a fact that he loves me just as I do him. Don't ask me how I know; I can't even begin to explain it.

What's hurting me most right now is that he left. Left as if this whole encounter could be escaped from. He promised me he wouldn't leave. And he's kept that promise since he made it, when we were fifteen.

I lie down and rest my head for a few minutes, whishing away my awful headache. Suddenly, I hear my door being thrust open and my arms immediately wrap around the one I love.

"You came back." I whisper.

"I always will." He replies.

"And you'll admit your feelings for me eventually." I respond with firm conviction.

He pulls away from our hug and penetrates my eyes with a longing look.

"Max," he sighs. "Please don't push this. I meant what I said before. I want you in my life, but you're…really putting me in a hard position by asking me to be with you. I'm not going to, but I want to be your friend. Can try to go back to the way we were before?"

"For now." I relent. "I won't push you anymore, Zack. You know how I feel, and that's enough. When you finally figure out things for yourself, I'll be here."

MFPOV

I'm cutting vegetables for dinner as I see Zack stumble through the doorway. He shuffles his way over the couch and plops down on his back, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

Putting down the knife, I stroll over to him. "What's up baby?" I ask, falling down on top of him.

He wraps his arms around me and holds me in a tight embrace. "I love you." He murmurs into my hair.

"I love you to." I chuckle back, kissing his neck. "Now, tell me what's going on. Have a bad day or something?"

"I guess you could say that." He replies, sitting up and positioning ourselves comfortably on the couch.

Looking at his expression, I realize how serious of a situation this must be. His face looks tormented and he can't stop bouncing his knee, signaling me to his nervousness.

"Zack," I say firmly. "What's going on?"

"I…I don't even know where to begin." He replies, running his hands through his disheveled hair.

"How about from the beginning?" I prompt him.

He lets out a large breath before starting. "I went to Max's today…"

Oh, shit. This can't be good, I think to myself.

"She…she admitted to having feelings for me…and she k-kissed me." He says, wincing.

I immediately turn my head away, as if I'd been slapped. I lock my jaw and look back into his pleading eyes.

"I know you're mad,…but please-"

"Did you kiss her back?" I demand, interrupting him.

"No." he says with sincerity. "I swear."

After looking for a few more moments, I muster up the courage to ask the dreaded question that keeps nagging in my head. "Do you love her back?"

Silent seconds tick by, each one feeling like years.

"Too long." I wisher, getting up from the couch, tears clouding my vision.

I walk briskly into the kitchen, wiping the tears away from my eyes as soon as they fall. I hear Zack walking closely behind me as we enter the room.

"Maddie wait-" he says, touching my shoulder.

I instantaneously pull away from his contact, flinching.

"Don't you lay a finger on me!" I yell, putting away the dishes I had set out for dinner.

"Let me explain!" Zack pleads. "I do love her, but not in the way I love you Maddie."

"Oh, wait. Let me guess." I say harshly. "You love her like a sister. Newsflash Zack! You don't make out with your sister!"

"We didn't – I don't-"

"Oh save it Zack! God I hate you so much!" I yell, shoving the plates roughly into the cabinet.

"Maddie please calm down! I'm not explaining this right!" he exclaims passionately. "Max kissed me for two seconds tops. And I didn't kiss her back. I love you, Maddie. You and only you. Why don't you believe me?"

"Because I can see it in your eyes." I say softly.

"Bullshit, Maddie." He says immediately. "The only love you could possibly be seeing in my eyes right now is for you. Not Max."

"Did you ever love her?" I ask, stubbornly.

Zack looks away and fiddles with the countertop. That's all the answer I need.

"Love doesn't go away." I say sadly as I leave the room, suddenly feeling as though I can't breathe.

Zack once again follows me, saying, "Why are you so mad at me Maddie? I love you more than anyone, and that's all that matters. I forgave you when you kissed that random guy at the bar. Why can't you forgive me?"

"There's a big difference from what you did and what I did. I didn't love the guy that I kissed!" I yell, getting emotional again. "I hate that fucking bitch!"

"Hey! Don't call her that!" Zack jumps in to her defense, and that's when I lose it.

I begin to hyperventilate, and Zack realizes his error, "This does not need to be a big deal. This is unnecessary drama! I didn't even do anything! I told her I loved you and to forget her romantic feelings for me. I did all that I could have done in that situation. Why do you hate me so much then?"

"Because you made me love you!" I shout. "You worked for years to win me over. And when you finally got me, you felt bored, just like everybody said you would. And now when you got me where you want me, you fall in love with another women! You bastard!"

What I do next is the most painful thing that I have every done in my entire life.

I pull the engagement ring, feeling like a tone, off of my finger and put it in his palm. Immediately after, I open the door and shove him out of our apartment, locking it behind him before I collapse into sobs.

AN: Another chapter! I don't think this one is as long as my usual ones are, but I think that a lot happened in this chapter. So what do you guys think? Is Maddie being a drama? Do you believe that Zack is in love with Max? I'm sure many of you are upset at this chapter, but this story wouldn't be fun to read if Zack and Maddie had perfect lives. I promise, it will be worth it in the end. This story's main focus, obviously, is the love triangle between Maddie, Zack, and Max. The sequel to this story, probably the last in the series, will focus more on other issues too. Anyway, hope you like this chapter and please review! If I get eight reviews, I promise to update next week!

To my anonymous reviewers:

Bails: Thanks a TON for the review! I'm super happy that you liked the last chapter. I do watch a soap opera, so maybe that's where I draw some of my inspiration, haha. Thank you for the compliments; it means a lot! And I like exclamation points too!

Anonymous Peep: Haha, people come up with the funniest pen names. Mines pretty lame, lol. Anything, thank you for the review and I really hope you like this chapter.