A/N: Well, hellooo, readers. I think it's about time to give you all a nice update. My thank yous first. Thanks to HandStainedRed and TakeMeorLeaveMe for the story alert adds, TakeMeorLeaveMe for the author alert add, and TakeMeorLeaveMe once again for all the pretty lil reviews you've left me. Well, about this chapter. I tried to remain true to Max as possible and I think I've done it pretty well so far, but in this one he seems a little outta character, if ya know what I mean. I'm a little nervous for it, but I hope you like it all the same. If you think I totally screwed Max up, lemme know in a review. If you liked the chapter and thought it was okay, leave me a review. In other words, leave a review anyway you like it. As I said before, feedback drives me. Thanks again for all the hits I've been getting! Enjoy.


My Belle
Chapter Twelve
A High Stupor
"You were such a surprise,
An unexpected gift.
Said I was pretty, and I believed it.
Not really used to all this attention.
Told myself I don't deserve you
And this is just a phase.
Could I get used to, being loved the right way?
I wanna argue, but there is nothing to say.

Oh love, I think I'm ready,
Ready for it.
Ready for it
Oh love, I think I'm ready."
-I Think I'm Ready, Katy Perry

Max's quick and sudden departure was nothing new to his three other dorm buddies; ever since he had met Michelle it was a regular occurrence. Michelle was all right, but seeing their friend sneak out at ungodly hours in the night was a little worrying. He had never done this for any other girl and now she comes along and he's all of a sudden going out of his way to do things for her. They could understand the first few times he had run out; the girl was a knockout. They had just naturally assumed that something sexual was going on, but when Max had explained that she was his go to girl, they had wrinkled their faces in disgust. Max ditched them to talk with her? To talk? It was unheard of and completely unacceptable, but Max never did listen to them and it was no use arguing with him over it. So, eventually they got used to it, letting him go off without any complaint.

When they noticed his nightly visits were beginning to lessen, they were quick to consent. Any sign of him balling up and returning to his original manliness was always okay with them. And if that meant less time with Michelle, so be it. Soon Max was partying with them like the old times and Michelle seemed to be permanently out of the picture.

So when he announced one evening he was heading out on one of his escapades, they received this news with shock.

"You're still friends with her?" Scott asked, his chin nearly touching the ground.

Max made a confused face. "Uh, yes."

"We just thought, that since you haven't been seeing her lately, that maybe it was over," Vince explained, equally as stunned but wasn't as obvious showing it as Scott.

"Well, that's a stupid thing to think," Max retorted as he grabbed his coat.

"Why're you seeing her tonight?" Chris asked as he lit up.

"It's her birthday."

The other three groaned loudly.

"Shuddup," he snapped and was out the door.

When he had returned an hour later, they still weren't ready to drop the subject. They were sprawled on the couch, seriously high and almost drunk. It didn't matter, because either way they weren't about to get up or make any sense.

"Max is back!" Scott slurred lifting his beer and shaking it in his direction.

The other two greeted him with a hello that was indistinguishable due to their state. He nodded at them as he hung up his things.

"What'd you get her?" Chris asked, rolling off the couch.

"None of your damn business," Max replied, sitting into a vacant chair and staring at his oddly arranged friends.

"Dude, you are seriously whipped if you went all the way out there just to give some broad a gift," Vince muttered.

"Maybe I am," Max sighed, comfying himself into the cushions.

The others exchanged glances but didn't say anything.


Their meeting on Michelle's birthday did little to worsen their friendship. Strangely enough, they seemed to see more of each other afterwards, a nice adjustment to their increasingly thin relationship. This time, Max didn't have to sneak in past midnight to speak with her anymore. They'd meet after class, drive off in his convertible, and probably get high somewhere. They're favorite spot would be Carnegie Lake, a quick drive from the Princeton campus. There they would rent a boat and float around the waters, watching the Princeton boys paddle by them and other students jog past. Occasionally one would call out a greeting to Max and would eye Michelle curiously.

"You're popular," she said one time after a whole boatful of people yelled at them as they rowed by. She stuck an unlit cigarette between her teeth and chewed on it thoughtfully.

"You should see me when I'm around the ladies," he replied, grinning mischievously.

"I could imagine," she sighed, wrapping her arms around her knees and laying her head upon them. "Did you see the way they were looking at me?"

"They're just horny, don't worry," he assured her. "And if they ever do try something, they can always answer to me."

Michelle cackled loudly. "No! I think they thought we were together."

Max raised his eyes.

"They took one look at me here with you and they turned around and began whispering," she said.

"You should be flattered!" he replied, lighting up a cigarette in contrast to her unlit one. "There would be girls dying to be in that position."

She rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself."

She leaned a little to the left and her locket shined in the sun. He stared at it fondly. "You're wearing it."

She nodded. "Yup." She touched it lightly then looked up at him. "Summer's coming soon."

"And?" he muttered, pulling the oars out of the water.

"We're gonna be apart for three months."

His blue eyes locked with hers. "How are you gonna take it?"

She smiled. "I'm going to take it fine; it's you I'm worrying about. How are you going to handle not being able to talk to me about all the girls you've slept with? I'm sure it's going to be torture."

"You have a point," he replied. "I mean there's always my sister—"

"Right."

He scowled at her. "We can always meet up."

"It's like a two hour drive," she reminded him.

"Somewhere in the middle?"

"I don't have a car, remember."

Max sighed. "Do you like making things hard for me?"

She shrugged. "It's a little entertaining, yeah."

He shook his head, smiling. "What am I going to do without you?"

"Oh, you'll be fine," she said. "The summer will fly by and we'll be up to our shenanigans in no time. And then pretty soon it'll be my birthday all over again. You have all this time in between to figure out how you'll top this." She tapped her locket.

"Perfect, because there's nothing I like better than thinking up ways to please you," he mumbled sarcastically.

"Okay, now that's flattering," she laughed.


Summer wasn't bad, just as Michelle had promised, and soon the world returned to the regular flow of things. Max went back to Princeton, Lucy went back to high school, the birds sang in the trees, the leaves fell from their perches, and the world was right. But at the same time it wasn't. Max had had the position of alluring playboy bachelor at Princeton for a long time, but suddenly it wasn't as appealing as before. Whenever he was with someone else, despite the confines of his booze and pot, his mind began to drift to a certain hat loving someone. He couldn't understand why, for this never happened before. Sure, he had felt attraction to Michelle for a long time, but never like that. Michelle was just Michelle and nothing more than that. He had his friends and his girls and Michelle had fallen into the former category. She was off limits. But for some reason he was feeling more longing towards her. It didn't help that she seemed to be avoiding him. He'd call her room and either Joyce or Nancy would pick and tell him she was too busy. And whenever she did happen to answer, she always made a flustered excuse to hang up. For awhile Max thought he had done something wrong, but his friends quickly destroyed that thought. They had noticed Max's current slump and had forced him to forget about Michelle for the time being.

Little did he know that Michelle had a couple conflicting feelings herself.

The inner toil within both of them was soon ringing in their ears, regardless of the amount of drinks they took down, the late night partying they did, the drugs they inserted into their bodies, and the people they hooked up with (more so Max than Michelle). Subconsciously, they had tried to drown the thought of the other with college and life. Feelings for one another were too much to take and a simple way out was forgetting. But had it worked? Their efforts seemed to be working, but they still longed to meet again. Typical clichés weren't their style and the best friends getting together was one of the most clichéd clichés of them all.

Max's desires were starting to get to him and he felt that if he didn't say something her soon, things would never be right.

The weeks passed and soon her birthday was around the corner. They were obliged to meet up again soon and so they did, on mutual agreement. Somewhere between her busy school schedule and his partying nights, they squeezed in an hour to meet up at Carnegie Lake.

There was no time like the present and if Max wanted to tell her, now was better than ever.


They laid side by side together on the grass, passing a joint between them, staring up at the high afternoon sun. It was early October so the days were still warm though autumn was slowly creeping up on them. Michelle had wound a thin scarf around her neck and it shuffled slightly as the wind passed above them. Max sighed loudly as he placed his arms behind his head, his forehead creased in thought, scowling heavily at the blue sky.

"Dude, do you see those colors?" Michelle piped up, staring up at the clouds.

Max nodded silently.

"That's fucking crazy," she continued in a daze. She began to giggle and jabbed at his chest. "C'mon, Max, laugh. It's hilarious."

But he remained quiet.

"I see the pot is taking a different path with you," she said as serious as she could before busting into a fit of laughter. She continued to roll around with mirth until she began to calm down, slowly but surely. "Guess what tomorrow is."

"I hate guessing," he muttered.

"Please!"

"No."

"Augh, fine," she moaned. "You're no fun. It's my birthday! You didn't forget, did you?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Have something all planned for me?"

"I think they call it a surprise, Michelle, so you can calm down for the time being," he replied swiftly. "The girls doing anything for you?"

She scratched her chin. "I suppose they are. Every time I walk into the room they're always whispering and once they notice me, they get all smiley and are quick to change the subject. I mean, how obvious can you get?"

Max remained quiet, not knowing how to answer that.

She looked over at him intently, wondering why he wasn't his usual talkative self. "Haven't been with a broad lately? Cheer up, Maxie. I'm sure someone will take pity on a pathetic bachelor like yourself."

He shook his head again. "No, it's not that…it's just…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

And being in her high stupor, she dropped the subject.

"You planning on going out tomorrow?" he asked.

It was her turn to shake her head. "Nope. I've got an exams to take and papers that have to be handed in. I think I'll have to pull an all nighter on my first night being twenty."

"That sucks," Max murmured.

"Damn these stupid colors." She blinked up at the sky, trying to shoo them away.

Max took a deep breath. The opportunity was slipping from him as he noticed the sun getting lower and lower in the sky, like an ominous ticking clock reminding him how little time he had left. "I have something to tell you, too."

She suddenly got excited. "Oooh, what?"

Max turned and leaned over her. "Guess."

She screwed her face up in concentration. "Does it have to do with school?"

"No."

"Your parents?"

"No."

"Are you having serious emotional issues?"

"Yes," he said triumphantly assuming she had gotten it.

"Is it about Clarissa?" she blurted out getting an odd look from Max. Before he could correct her, she began to drabble. "I knew it! You know, she's waiting for a proposal any day now. You should really put the girl out of her misery. And you're rich, so a ring wouldn't be that expensive. I'll even help you pick one out. I'm a girl, obviously, and I think I have an idea what she wants. Probably a nice big one that shines in the sun—"

"I wasn't talking about Clarissa," he slurred, interrupting her.

Her eyes filled with confusion. "You're not? I was totally sure. Wait, give me a hint."

Without a moment's hesitation, he reached out a hand to touch her locket. He traced the outline of the necklace, touching her skin lightly in the process. He then began to move his hand down towards the outline of her shirt, down her heaving chest, and he just stopped short of her cleavage before she gulped loudly. He locked eyes with her and they sat there in a breathless still.

He swallowed loudly breaking the awkward silence. "I know this is going to sound cliché and generic, but I've rehearsed all the possible scenarios in my head and this seems to be the best one. And I don't think you should interrupt; just listen," he whispered. "Michelle, I can't stop thinking about you. You're the first thing that enters my mind each morning and the last thought I think before I fall asleep. When I'm with the guys I'm wondering what you're doing and with another girl in bed I want her to be you. I knew from the moment I took your hat that you were going to be different from the rest of them. You never did anything whenever I hit on you and you'd laugh in my face if I even suggested sleeping together thinking I was joking. I don't want to be your best friend anymore; I can't stand thinking that I'll never be more than that. And I know you've felt it too—"

"You're right. That was really cliché and generic," she cut him off. He watched her closely as the words sunk in, examining her reaction intently. She pursed her lips in thought and examined the passing clouds behind his head. She took a deep breath and finally said, "Max—"

He didn't let her finish. He took the plunge, leaning closer and closer onto her, feeling her warm breath blow across his face, her chest pressing into his, and her eyes baring into his own. This was the moment he had been waiting for since he had first laid eyes on her. The intensity of the situation was carrying him away, making his mind drift off, his thoughts leave him. All he was focused on was her and only her. And she would've let herself be taken by him too, she honestly would've, but her mind came back to her and kicked her ass out of the dream. She suddenly realized where she was: reality. And her kissing Max at that exact moment was impossible if she was living in reality. So she gasped and turned her face away, leaving him hanging. He realized what had just happened and quickly moved himself off of her. Suddenly it felt so wrong.

Michelle scrambled to her feet, gathering her things around her in a hurry. "Sorry, I have that…thing…to do." She shot one last glance at Max who was avoiding her gaze. "I-I'll see you around."

He nodded solemnly, squinting up at the setting sun.

She bit her lip and sprinted away, not wanting to leave him behind, but at the same time wanting to get as far away as possible.