Oh, yeah! We're almost at the end! I promise you guys two more chapters after this. Just hang in there, readers!

This chapter is dedicated to ChargingFowardBlind for her support! This one's for you!

Chapter 11

Sandy took a deep breath of the spring air as she opened the door of the car. It was nighttime, but Sandy didn't feel sleepy at all. She was scared of going to Maxwell's house to spend the night and then the day there, she kept pacing outside, worrying neighbors and each passerby. She made sure that her gym bag carrying all of her stuff such as clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and pajamas were there. She thought that she might as well bring a movie and wanted to surprise Maxwell with her choice. The movie was "Ghost Ship", a horror film recommended by Bijou. It was even scary to her and Sandy shook her head, thinking of what Maxwell and his family would actually think of it.

FLASHBACK:

(On the phone)

"Oh, Sandy! You absolutely 'ave to bring a 'orror film with you!" Bijou cheered from the other line.

"Why?" Sandy questioned, holding the phone closer to her ear.

"You can cuddle up to Maxvell vhen there are the scary parts. Which is exactly every part in dis movie!" Bijou exclaimed.

"Um, Bijou. Do you really think that'll work? I mean, like, I think Maxwell would be scared. Like, he doesn't really watch scary movies, especially R rated ones. To tell you the truth, I really haven't seen this movie, and I'll totally get scared easy," Sandy said, her voice in a worried state.

"Do not fret, Sandy! I am sure dat 'e vill comfort you because he cares about you! You showed me zee notes, non? It is so romantic, oui?" Bijou said excitingly. And she hung up.

Even after Bijou was gone, Sandy couldn't help but mutter into the phone, "But I gave up."

END OF FLASHBACK

She sighed and threw herself into the backseat next to her brother. He smirked at Sandy's expression, which involved her nose crinkling in fear and her lip quivering, and elbowed her in the ribs. "Hey, sis. I know Maxwell isn't going to bite.

Stop worrying and relax," Stan reassured as he leaned back.

He smiled as he leaned back into the interior of the car. Sandy weakly smiled back and turned to look at the window as her father came out of the house, cursing under his breath and become angrier and angrier. Sandy's father and Maxwell's mother didn't exactly have the friendliest conversation over whether Sandy would stay or not. Maxwell's mother completely hated the idea of Sandy staying over, but she had no choice when her only son pleaded her to let Sandy stay since it was the only way. This made Sandy feel so guilty for being the cause of all of these problems. It pained her when she saw the bookshelves crash in the bookstore when she was visiting and Maxwell with his one arm had to clean up the entire disarray. She had caused a whole lot of trouble from the start and didn't deserve any of this friendliness at all. Sandy almost had another conversation in her head when her father stepped in.

The left car door slammed as her father got in, still mumbling sentences that Sandy nor Stan could actually heed. He jabbed the keys into the keyhole and the car sprung to life as they started to move. Sandy leaned back and started to play with her bangs. It was a bad habit when she was worried or nervous. In some of her past sports events, she kept playing with her bangs in between the timeouts and plays. Stan had always made fun of her for doing this, but the truth was that Stan did it too, just not with his hair. Instead, he would twirl his fingers together, staring at them the whole time.

"Are we there yet?" Stan groaned. His father didn't answer, but instead drove into a driveway.

"Like, there's your answer, Stan," Sandy said as she smirked at Stan's pout.

Sandy looked out the window and gasped to see a beautiful two-story house that was painted a pale blue. It had a white painted porch with bench that hung from the top of the wooden ceiling. In front of the porch was a colorful garden full of colors swirling together with a dark green background and a large oak tree in the front that had tree house on one of the branches.

Sandy timidly opened the door and couldn't find herself to approach the home. It resembled so much of Maxwell's personality. Calm. Casual. Controlled. Cute…

Sandy shook her head. I gave up, remember? Just stop, he's just a friend! Just shut your big, fat fu-

Before Sandy could walk up, the door opened wide, but instead of Maxwell standing in the doorway, it was his mother. She hesitated as she made room for Sandy as she approached the door. She looked back halfway to see that Stan and her father had just stayed in the car and waved goodbye. Before Sandy went in, Stan called out, "Don't do anything rash to him, Sandy!"
Sandy stuck her tongue out and ran into the house with her head facing the ground as Maxwell's mother eyed her like a hawk watching its prey.

Sandy looked around the warm room. It was entirely a white color from the ceiling to the carpet with the furniture a light mocha color. She gulped. This was the place that Sandy could easily drop something and stain the beautiful floor. Then, her mind drifted to dinner and food and Sandy curled her hand into a fist as she thought about the upcoming horror.

"Your room is upstairs," Maxwell's mother directed in a robotic tone, popping Sandy's thought bubble. She looked around for a certain someone, but he wasn't there.

"Where's Maxwell?" Sandy asked without daring to make eye contact.

"He's outside. Just go wash your hands and face after you unpack. Your room is on the opposite side of Maxwell's." She winced as if this wasn't the best arrangement. Sandy nodded and tried to smile just to be nice and charged up the stairs. The house was so… so big. The hallway could fit four people side by side and there were so many rooms like the three bathrooms Sandy must have passed. As she passed a nice room that had a red cover and a red lamp, she looked on the other side to make sure that this was the right one. Sandy knew that the opposite side's room was definitely Maxwell's because there were bookshelves everywhere along with the books. Sandy gaped at how neat things were and walked in. The tomboy would have thought that there would be at least a few books on the floor or cluttered in the corner, but to her shock, there were none. There were no posters like Stan's NBA collection of the Lakers and Celtics glued to his wall. He had no radio or a type of music device except for the grand piano in the far right corner so Sandy assumed that he played the piano. The only thing she wondered was how the piano didn't fall through the floor and slam down onto the ground floor, crushing everything in its path. But, her moment of the thought was ruined by a loud barking sound that came closer and closer.

Sandy whipped around to see a little terrier barking and running straight for Sandy. Her mouth parted to an o as she climbed on top of the piano as the dog yelped at her, jumping up on its little paws, snapping and barking a thunderous and earsplitting cry each second.

"Leo!"

The dog and Sandy looked to see Maxwell in the doorway of his room with an angry look on his face. The dog ran towards Maxwell and he picked it up with his uninjured arm.

"Don't do that!" Maxwell ordered as the dog cuddled with Maxwell, obviously getting the wrong message. Sandy was still on top of the piano, shaking in fright with her knees wobbling and eye twitching. Maxwell smiled at her as he set the dog down and held out his hand. Sandy grabbed it and Maxwell helped her down. The dog stared at Sandy and a low growl came from his throat, causing Sandy to jump a little.

"Sorry, Sandy. Leo gets a little excited when visitors come. He's a real nice Yorkshire Terrier, though," Maxwell said as he pulled back his hand. Sandy started to pet Leo and the terrier looked at Sandy with big puppy eyes. She giggled and started to play with his ears.

Maxwell brought up, "I didn't see you come in. I was outside, playing with him. Did you find your room?"

Sandy nodded, not taking her eyes off of Leo. He was just so cute to Sandy who had never had a dog before. Maxwell smiled as he handed her the petite dog into Sandy's arms and he took her gym bag causing Sandy to blush a deep red. She couldn't help it… Could she really tell him her feelings towards him? Or should she just forget it? Maybe, she could make a run for it or clock Maxwell in the head, then make a run for it. She would have done it too if there wasn't the problem of explaining to Maxwell's mother and her own father.

Maxwell set her gym bag onto the guest bed on the opposite side and Sandy slowly walked in cradling the puppy while it was nuzzling her chin.

"Why were you in my room anyway?" Maxwell smirked and resisted laughing after Sandy started to play with Leo's paws. Sandy's head jerked up and then down as she didn't answer and, even though Maxwell didn't see it, blushed a crimson scarlet. Maxwell frowned at Sandy's unusual quietness and let the matter drop.

"I'll leave. Do you want to stay with Leo for a while?" Maxwell asked, not wanting to interrupt Sandy's playfulness and his dog's.

"Um, like, here he is," Sandy said as she held out the dog to Maxwell and he shook his head as he started for the door, putting his hand on the handle.

"Oh, and just to let you know, dinner is going to be in about five minutes," Maxwell said before closing the door and leaving. Sandy jerked up, completely unaware of the dog pawing her to play. Then, Sandy went to her bed and buried her face in her own pillow that she had brought. I'm dead. I am so dead, Sandy thought before she got up, almost ready to jump out the window. She looked around at the tidiness of the room, and whimpered like a stray cat. Sandy covered her face and felt like retreating to a corner. How could she have thought that she could have stayed at Maxwell's? How could she be so stupid and desperate? The stupid part, she understood, but not so much the desperate. After all, her father and Maxwell's mother hated each other all because of what Sandy really did. Then, she could hear a scratching sound on her leg and yelped in pain, hurdling into to the air. The source of the scratching was none other than Leo, who Sandy gave no mercy.

"Gosh, I was thinking! Why'd you have to scare me like that!" Sandy said to the dog. Leo just sat down on all fours, sticking his tongue out as he breathed.

"Oh, don't you stick your tongue out at me! I totally was thinking for once in my pathetic life and then you go all torturous on me!" Sandy snapped. Then, Leo got up and started to scratch the door and Sandy quickly opened it.

"That's right! You run!" Sandy yelled into the hallway as the dog departed down the stairs before slamming the door shut.

"Great, I think the dog is smarter than me. After all, I was the one who was actually talking to it," Sandy sighed before there was another knock on the door. She pulled the handle, revealing Maxwell once again.

"Dinner's ready. You want to wash your hands first?"

Sandy opened her mouth, almost saying "Why?", but to be more polite, instead she asked, "What are we having? Because if its something used with, like, a salad fork or a soupspoon, I think I'll stick to something like cereal."

Maxwell laughed more than Sandy could ever dream of. He just kept laughing and laughing, Sandy insensible of why he was laughing so hard. Usually, Maxwell never laughed, which made Sandy laugh, but in any case, Sandy had to think that Maxwell really needed to socialize now since he couldn't see his friends anymore. His humorous chortles and outbursts gave some kind of clue about it. Sandy crossed her arms, waiting for him to cease whatever was funny, but Maxwell didn't stop and, soon enough, tears started to gush out of his eyes.

"I can't breathe!" he suddenly gasped, crouching over in pain and holding his stomach, but still having hysterics about it. Sandy rolled her eyes as she remained silent. This was so unlike him and Sandy closed her eyes and started to rub her forehead, something that only Maxwell did. Soon enough, she was giggling quietly and then, just as fast, her stomach started to hurt when Sandy found herself leaning against the wall, laughing just as much as Maxwell.

"Stop it! Stop laughing! AGGGGGHHHHHH!!!" Sandy whooped, trying to stop the growing pain in her stomach, but she just kept laughing. It was as if it would never end and then Maxwell fell onto the floor, slapping his hand to the ground, causing Sandy to point and- well, laugh about it, Maxwell copying her expression. Finally, Sandy wiped her eyes before she could start laughing again, this time with tears coming out of her eyes. She looked at Maxwell who was still smiling, but was sitting on the floor, staring at her.

"Like, what were we laughing about anyway?" Sandy asked him, rubbing the back of her head, embarrassed of the question.

Maxwell shrugged, still grinning, and replied, "I was laughing because when you brought up the salad fork thing, I remembered you at Dexter's party. Ah, ha, AGGGGGHHHHH!!!"

Then, he started falling over to the left, starting his ludicrous convulsing all over again, but Sandy remained silent, crossing her arms in frustration.

"It really isn't that funny, Maxwell," Sandy suspired, her eyes narrowing as Maxwell still was on the floor, beating his fists the ground.

He looked up at her and hooted, "Its hysterical!"

Sandy sighed and walked downstairs, although grinning at the irony of her acting smart and him acting dumb. Even though Maxwell didn't yet tell her, Sandy breathed a huge amount of air to smell… spaghetti. She cringed. Sandy loved spaghetti, but her eyes immediately looked down on the white carpet. Did I mention that it was really, really white without any kind of stain the floor and that Sandy could have thought that it was a winter wonderland if there was a Christmas tree in the corner?

"Ah! Hello, there Miss Torahamu!"

Sandy turned around to see a man who had the same kind of hair that Maxwell had, but he had green eyes. He was beaming and he showed welcome to Sandy. Sandy grinned back and shook hands with him.

"Hey there, Mr. Noppo," Sandy breathed, trying to act as polite as possible, submitting the fact that Mrs. Noppo was in the corner of the kitchen, her eyes on Sandy. The Torahamu girl could have sworn they flashed a crimson red at her for a second.

"It's very nice to have you in our humble home," Mr. Noppo said, not taking the grin on his face and Sandy nodded when Maxwell came in, rubbing his forehead, still grinning.

"Hey, there Jay Leno. You done with your night show? Wait, I'm sorry, let me rephrase that. You done with your moment?" Sandy teased at how Maxwell was laughing. Maxwell nodded at her and sat at the table, still looking a little frazzled, causing Sandy try not to laugh or else she might be the one on the floor splitting her sides instead of Maxwell. Sandy took a seat across from him and the two chairs on the end were kept for the parents. Then, Sandy remembered about the staining prediction and immediately sat up, making her way to the stairs.

"Hey! Isn't she hungry?" Mr. Noppo asked his son, Maxwell incognizant that Sandy was making her way up to her guest room. He jumped up and jogged over to her, stopping her on the fourth step up.

"Where are you going?" Maxwell asked stupidly and out of breath from laughing then running.

Sandy looked at him as if he was insane and replied, "My room?"

Maxwell shook his head and hectored, "Gosh, I had no idea you were a vampire. You know, vampires just despise garlic in their spaghetti and- OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

Sandy covered her mouth and giggled as Maxwell rubbed his shoulder where Sandy punched him, muttering under his breath.

"Sandy, Sandy. Try to settle your problems without violence, especially to a guy who's in a cast," Maxwell said as he wagged his finger in front of Sandy's nose, causing Sandy to act as if she was four years old when she watched him toss his finger back and forth.

"Oh, I'm like, so terrible for wanting to go up to a room," Sandy sneered, trying to sound as sarcastic as possible. Maxwell shook his head without laughing and said, "Why would you skip dinner?"

"Because I'm afraid your mother's going to poison me," Sandy joked. Maxwell shot her a look for her to act serious, which silenced the honey blonde pretty quickly. He made a motion with his hand for her to tell the truth.

"Okay, fine," Sandy murmured, hanging her head down, "I'm kind of like, afraid, that I'll screw up in every way so they'll be like, five hundred stains on the carpet."

Ashamed, she looked up to Maxwell with a burning nose to see that he was beaming at her, causing Sandy to blush massively.

"Sandy…" Maxwell began. "I know that you won't do anything. And even if you do manage to do something…stolid… I disagree that you'll get in trouble."

Then, he had done something that he never did to Sandy. He winked at her.

"I'll cover you," Maxwell assured as made his way down the stairs and into the dining room, leaving a red-faced Sandy behind who put a fist to her stomach, feeling as if she was about to fly. She quivered her lip in a happy way as she soared downstairs to join Maxwell for dinner. On the last step, however, she stopped dead in her tracks to think.

I gave up.

No, you didn't. You still are trying and you know it.

I gave up.

You still blush around him.

I said I gave up.

So?

So I gave up on him.

You gave up on him. How could you? You gave up on the thing that gave your life meaning and purpose! He's the reason why you get out of bed everyday. He's the reason you speak and laugh. He-

I gave up.

Shut up.

I gave up.

Don't say that!

I have given up.

No! Don't you see?

No, don't YOU see? He doesn't like me, ok? He still thinks I'm just his friend and he's going to act like it until the day I die! He'd never like me! A stupid immature, tomboy who doesn't even know what five times five is. That's what I am. He just reads his books all day and I'd only get in the way of his passions. Maxwell is just a fantasy to me. A ghost. A vision. How could I be so blind? I'm such an idiot. I'm such a fucking idiot to think that he would ever fall for a bitch like me.

SHUT UP! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

No! I don't have to listen to this! You don't have any control of me!

Yes, I am! I'm the side who tells you that Maxwell loves you and you-

I don't love him.

How-

I don't love him. I gave up.

It was over. Just that quickly. Sandy's longest and most serious conversation inside of her head ever had just ended telling her that she didn't love him. Then, Maxwell rounded the corner with a Dr. Pepper, one of Sandy's favorites. He smiled and beckoned her to the table.

"I gave up…" Sandy muttered before slowly walking towards the table.

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"Wow. Look at the stars! Do you see that one?"

Maxwell and Sandy were both on the porch in the front yard sitting together under the stars on a clear night with the sky a shade of black and a deep indigo above them. Thousands, no millions of twinkling lights shone above them, sparkling and shining a little show just for the two of them. Maxwell was trying to direct Sandy's attention to a constellation called Orion (It's the only constellation that I actually know besides the big and little dipper.), but Sandy was more focused on the big streak of white that had collected so many stars in just a little area, so it made itself look as if it was some kind of egg yolk in white cake batter. It stood out so vibrantly to Sandy that she could only gawk at the sky, looking like a complete idiot with her mouthing hanging wide open and her eyes bulging with delight and curiosity. It wasn't like she actually liked learning, but this was way different that squinting down at the words in the textbook on how Galileo used a telescope or something. It was stupid to Sandy because the book said that he went blind from looking at the sun with a telescope. Idiot. Even if he was one of the most famous astronomers and we would be no where close to what we actually know much about the heavens above without him and his theories, he made one quick slip up that didn't let him turn back. He couldn't see the stars anymore. He couldn't see what mattered most to him. He couldn't even look up at the first star and make a wish like Sandy used to always do when she was a little kid.

And then it struck her that she was doing the same thing.

It struck her that she was giving up on something that she didn't have to give up on.

It struck her that, if she walked away from Maxwell forever, she could never live with herself, knowing that something that she loved dearly could never return to her.

It struck her like-

WHAM!!!

-Well, like Leo running up to Sandy and knocking her off her seat next to Maxwell, causing her to stumble down the steps, being careful not to trip as Leo yelped in delightment and pure excitement. He was obviously laughing, a short little bark after bark, something that Sandy made a face at.

"Oh, you think that's funny, pup?" Sandy sneered, despite Maxwell's disapproving look. The dog just pawed the ground as if he was a little kid that was in severe trouble. Then, Leo made a bolt for the door, realized that it was open, and quickly hopped inside, scared of the fact that Sandy was yelling, "Don't you turn your back on me!"

A low growl could be heard from inside, something that seriously ticked Sandy off.

"Oh, you want to go? You want to go!" Sandy shouted into the house, making Mr. Noppo turn his head from the TV and give the girl a confused look. Sandy went red in the face and quickly muttered an apology and sprinted back down to the porch, panting, "That dog has issues."

"Yeah, issues with you," Maxwell laughed, obviously trying to make a joke.

"Wonderful. I look forward to have a tiny Yorkshire Terrier knock me off the porch for the rest of my life," Sandy said sarcastically as she leaned back to gaze at the stars, Maxwell staring at her the entire time, a smile curving his lips. He looked where Sandy's emerald eyes were gaping up upon a huge streak of white and mixed reds and blues.

"That's the Milky Way," Maxwell started, but stopped in his beginning of his lecture. He knew that Sandy didn't want this moment to be ruined and just copied her watch on the stars, but instead, Sandy looked at Maxwell for more information. He smiled at her and she smiled back, nodding her head for him to continue.

"The Milky Way-"

"Hey! Isn't that like the candy bar?" Sandy suddenly shouted, remembering the caramel goodness and chocolate, licking her lips at the mention of the Mars company's sweets.

Maxwell nodded, cracking a smile while doing so. He remembered that it was Sandy's favorite candy bar even if she didn't have it in years even if she didn't remember it. Maxwell knew that he had some kind of photographic memory, which meant that he could glance at a paper for five seconds and copy it word for word. Although he would never think of trying to plagiarize someone's work, he did use it for schoolwork and note related purposes, which had always swayed the mind of his pupils. But, he never told anyone, not a soul, because he wanted for it to stay a secret. If it wasn't a secret, everyone would accuse him of cheating, just because a received a gift that let him remember stuff so incredibly. It kind of made him feel guilty when he was in third grade and knocked on Sandy's door to find that she was studying about two hours straight for a big test to move up to the next grade and Maxwell himself had only glanced at the paper and memorized every single line and line break. Sandy's now deceased mother had shooed him away, with Sandy looking longingly at him behind her as if she was taken prisoner and forced to get out the history book with Maxwell as her savior and only way out of there. He had felt guilty that day because he had just completely ignored her as if didn't happen and obeyed Sandy's mother as he walked home.

The same kind of thing happened with the stars. It was as if Maxwell could read the stars. But not actually read them. What he could do was pinpoint their exact location with ease from a memory of gazing up at the stars every once in a while. All of this left him wondering, even if he never wanted to become an astronomer, if he could find out what else what was out there. It was fascinating to think that he was looking at something so old that a Tyrannosaurus Rex looked at the same ball of light millions of years ago. Sure, it sounded stupid and geeky, but really, Maxwell knew that everyone liked to look up at the stars. Then, he slowly fixed his eyes onto Sandy who's mouth was hanging open, still looking at the same place, but waiting for Maxwell to continue with his tutoring, something that she never wanted Maxwell to tell her.

"Uh." Maxwell's mouth went suddenly dry as Sandy didn't leave her gaze at the stars. She didn't even bother to look away from them. All he could see were her fulgent-

Maxwell shook his head and tightened his eyelids together, for thinking that her eyes were beautiful. He knew that they were, but not in that kind of way. He was thinking of a word more like… excited. He nodded his head a little, reasoning that they were in fact, positively, emphatically, firmly, indubitably, surely, undoubtedly, unquestionably excited. Yup, that was the word alright. Not anything like fulgent, delicate, delightful, enticing, ideal, ravishing, statuesque, cute-

He bit his lip, trying to hide his cry of frustration going inside his huge brain and turned his head back up to the stars, and doing so, caught Sandy's attention who was watching the entire time.

Unlike the boy sitting next to her, Sandy turned her head to a 90 degree angle that positioned her nose right at Maxwell's ear. She smiled a little bit, Maxwell unknown to her peeking. Her eyes glittered with excitement, not because of the Milky Way, but suspecting that Maxwell was staring at her. Her fingers trembled with feeling, hoping that she could actually tell him…

And here we go again.

Isn't he so cute?

Yeah, don't you just love the hair? It looks as if he gels it everyday.

The eyes are so amazing! Like they came from one of his comic books…

Wait, what?

Nevermind.

Aren't you going to tell him now?

Maybe…

Yeah! So you do like him!

Maybe…

Just admit it…

Maybe…

Come on! You like him, don't you? So go ahead and tell him. This is the perfect place, after all.

Maybe…

I can't believe you! You're turning to a Galileo!

Fine! I'll tell him, you happy?

Maybe…

Oh, shut up.

Sandy looked down, frustrated with herself that she had just agreed herself that she would tell him. Out of all times! Well, this was really the perfect time, but Sandy was scared to tell him. What if she didn't like him? Worse; what if he just ignored her as if nothing had ever happened?

But what if he does like you?

I'm done with this conversation!

Finally, making up her scattered mind, Sandy started to open her mouth to say something, catching Maxwell's attention.

"I- Maxwell…" She drifted off. Who knew this stuff could get so complicated?! Is this what Bijou was trying to convince her to actually tell? In front of his face?! Was that a rule?! Why was she asking so many questions right now?

"What is it? You can tell me anything," Maxwell chimed, a happy grin ceasing on his face. He had a big gap between gap between his teeth, which made Sandy giggle a little, but it was SO cute to her.

"Uh, I kind of- wanted to… say… uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." She had completely lost it. Maxwell's smile was gone in an instant, a little worried for his friend.

"You all right?" Maxwell said with perplexity. Sandy had just turned a pale white and she was biting her lip anxiously. She didn't say anything until-

"Sandy! You're bleeding," Maxwell cried out as Sandy patted her lip to see a little drop of blood on her index finger and gasped. She was horrified in Maxwell's eyes. Then again, it couldn't be all blamed on her since she looked really nervous to him. But Sandy was thinking of something different. Ah, crap, how am I supposed to kiss him now? If he falls for me then he'll totally have to kiss me, right? Maybe I should do a quick peck on the cheek-

"Sandy?" Maxwell asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and concern for her. Sandy smiled, giving him a thumbs up to show that she was a-ok.

"Ok, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Maxwell said it with a little longing to know Sandy was going to tell him. He hoped it wasn't about something serious. He just wanted to look at the stars again.

Sandy heaved a deep breath, rasping a cough in doing so. There was so much sweat on her nose as she looked at Maxwell who nodded her head for her to continue. She felt like an idiot right now. She was furiously tapping her feet on the ground and messing up her ponytail by twirling it back and forth.

"Well… I don't think you exactly know this-"

"Really? That makes me want to know more," Maxwell interrupted, desire located in his eyes. Sandy robotically laughed as she rubbed the back of her head, even more worried than before.

"Ah, man, I need to get this over with. Don't do this to me!" Sandy whined as she turned her head back at the stars. Maxwell frowned as she turned around to face him. She was breathing unevenly, huffing in oxygen and waiting a couple of seconds before exhaling a wheezy piece of air.

"Are you sick? Is that it? Because I have a first aid kit inside and-" Maxwell offered to see that Sandy shook her head, looking down while doing so.

"No, its not something you wouldn't really understand. It's not exactly scientific…"

"I know a lot of stuff besides science. Like the arts and music. You know that I played the lead in the school plays for three years straight and I take a loving for cubism and impressionist for quite a while now. Please? I can understand anything," Maxwell urged, hungry for information and straightening up proudly. Sandy only dropped her head muttering, "Gosh, that's what I'm afraid of."

As Maxwell opened his mouth, Sandy spoke again with sadness in her eyes as she breathed, "I really don't know how do tell you this, Maxwell. I've never been like this before. Bijou, Pashmina, and Sydney keep rattling on and on about me telling you that…"

She shut her eyes, horrified of saying more. She looked at Maxwell, whose grin was gone and eyes were blank, indicating her to go on. She wanted to, but she didn't want to. What did she do to deserve this shit? Love was the worst thing to get into, Sandy easily figured out and it completely engulfed you. There was no out if it, it totally had trapped her until she finally could find a way out and Sandy knew that the only way out of the water that she was slowly drowning was to tell him. What would happen if she told him? It wasn't as if he was her soul mate or anything. It didn't matter, all she had to say those three words.

She cracked.

"I-I… love you," Sandy spluttered out, finishing her sentence.

Maxwell didn't take it very well after that.