PART 3! Yay! =D

Hey guys =D. Sorry I didn't get to update last week. Please blame exams. Details are in the A/N at the end =D.

Thank, thank you, thank you to JealousMindsThinkAlike, Another Winged Soul, desperatelyobvious, Chocogirl24, fnickforever, Yesmeen, SnowWhite, TheCatWithBrownEyes, babiixilyx3, No namer44, MyLifeIsPathetic, aquamisfit, WhatIsLove, and BookWorm2011.

NOTE: Dylan was introduced in Chapter 7, and was a senior during Max's freshman year.

Also, be warned that Part 3 is a lot more different compared to the other parts. There are going to be more… complications.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.

Late May

Is love still in the air? Based on the number of couples I've seen exchanging saliva in the past couple of weeks, I'd say it is. Or maybe I just missed the memo that it's make-out season.

I'm a junior now. That's at least one thousand, two hundred and forty-six days of not confessing to Fang. But then again, I never did promise I was going to confess. And speaking of that:

Q: What happened after the kiss in the clearing?

A: Same old. Iggy, Tess, and maybe Fang sort of formed a bond with the four of us. So we hang out sometimes, but only at school.

Q: Did you ever talk about that kiss?

A: No. I never told anyone about it, too. Fang didn't even talk about anything remotely close to that topic.

Q: Did you and Fang maintain contact over the summer?

A: No, sadly. Fang is not a texting addict, nor does he breathe technology. Actually I'm not sure what he did over the summer. But I'm pretty sure there was some sort of family thing going on.

Those may or may not be the questions and answers that may or may not have ruined my summer.

"I think you should change the color, dear," Mrs. Dabseer said, glancing in my direction while a drama club member showed her a drawing on a clipboard. "I suggest paler and more earth tones."

The designer nodded and walked of to find the rest of her team. Mrs. Dabseer, on the other hand, clapped her hands loudly. "Let's get into position people. Scene two, parts five and six."

The words Mrs. Dabseer, act, scene, and drama club member obviously only lead to one thing: the Drama Club. And me mentioning the Drama Club can only lead to another thing: I'm acting. Again. But this year is different. I'm doing a regular play instead of a musical: Cyrano de Bergerac. It was more of a presentation for a special audience (which included a person or two known in theater) than a school play.

Upon the announcement, everyone was short of shocked. I mean, last year Mrs. Dabseer did make me audition. This year was an invitation, and I could've turned it down. Everyone was expecting me to turn it down. But everyone else invited to perform-most from last year's Aladdin, which was really successful- accepted the offer. And besides, it was too good to refuse.

Because Fang was playing Cyrano.

I know, I know. Fang's invitation and his acceptance was also another shocker to the theater community. My first thought when I heard he was actually going to be Cyrano: WTF?

After that, all of my thoughts about the said issue became: He's too handsome to play Cyrano. And I'm too… normal-looking to be Roxane. Actually, I'm not even close to normal-looking.

Anyway, it's a good thing Mrs. Dabseer isn't including the nose in the costume.

Compared to Cyrano de Bergerac, my story with Fang is quite different. I mean, the pretty-ugly thing is a similarity if you reverse the roles, but it ends there. He's not in some military org. I'm not some countess or whatever. And even if the roles were reversed, there would still be more differences. I'm not poetic, nor am I smart. And I don't have a very attractive friend who likes Fang and is willing to let me write love letters for her to be given to him. And if I did have one, I'm pretty sure Fang wouldn't really like the said attractive friend.

Like Aladdin, I'm not really planning on kissing anyone in the play. But if Fang was the one who was going to kiss me, then... well... I don't know if I still want to. I mean, yes, I like Fang, but I'm pretty sure that it would be really awkward if I kiss someone I like who might not like me back.

My actual game plan? I don't actually have any. I never had any. I guess my only motive is to spend as much time with Fang as possible without too much awkward silences. Mainly to look at him. Other than that, the only other things I get by spending time with Fang in this play is a truckload of lines that I barely understand and some major scolding from Mrs. Dabseer for not acting lady-like during practices. But the benefit of knowing he was there and he was paying attention to what I was doing or saying was enough to cover that up. On one hand, it also made things worse because I was turning boy-conscious. Like I knew what he did, what he said, and when he was looking at me every time. I mean, liking him was enough, but turning almost crazy and stalker-ish? Not my plan.

I never really did intend to spend more than one thousand, two hundred and forty-six days of my high school life pining for Fang.

"Max, Max, Max," Nudge said, shaking her head in a disappointed manner and making a tsk-sound. "You are such a hopeless case."

I looked up from my worn-out copy of the script. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"When we first entered high school, we expected you to start beating boys up. Not pining for them. Or for at least one of them."

"Who said I was pining for him? I mean, I don't spend my Friday nights stalking his Facebook page." I can't believe we were having one of these talks again.

"That's irrelevant; he doesn't even use his Facebook page." Nudge replied.

"Yeah, and when you like and sort of think about the same guy for more than two years without going on a date with him once, that can already be considered pining." Angel pointed out.

"Did you not consider the stargazing shindig as a date? I mean, when I told you everything, you guys told me that he sounded like he was asking me out. And I told everything to you verbatim."

"Then focus on the words sounded like."

"Then what do you want me to do? It's not like we're not busy. I mean, I have the play and the studying to catch up on. And he has the play and some family thing. And…"

"And what?" Ella asked, suddenly looking up from her book.

"And he's sort of spending his time with Tess now." I replied. This year they were closer, with them having more conversations with each other whenever the seven of us hung out.

"True, true." Angel said, tapping her chin in deep thought. "But that doesn't mean they're dating, right?"

"So if they're not dating, then why?"

She thought for a moment before shrugging. "I don't exactly know, but the vibes that they're giving off aren't exactly the 'we're dating' type."

"Are you sure?"

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Have I ever been wrong about the vibes?"

"Point taken."

3 Days Later

"Come on people," Mrs. Dabseer called out. "Finish Parts Six, Eight, and Nine and I'll be happy."

Parts Six, Eight, and Nine was none other than the balcony scene, which according to Mrs. Dabseer was a parody of the one in Romeo and Juliet. I quickly climbed on the balcony prop, trying to avoid most of the wet paint, and watched as Fang and Iggy, who was going to play Christian, prepare. The two students who were going to play the pages stood by the side.

"Action!" Mrs. Dabseer said, and Fang and Iggy started talking, none of their dialog understandable. The pages appeared, and they talked for a few moments before the two left. It was almost time for me to enter.

To tell the truth, these parts were my favorite since Fang and I got to talk to each other, him saying half-confusing speeches about love. The girl part of me was thrilled, since I know Fang will never do this to me because 1) I'm sure he doesn't like me that much, 2) I might fall asleep if he does it at night, 3) I might be confused by his poetry, and 4) I don't have a freaking balcony. Actually, none of the houses in our neighborhood have balconies.

Iggy started his lines, while I acted like the modern disappointed girl with the look on my face. He was good at the faltering thing, but Mrs. Dabseer always said that the pauses were too dramatic. Very Iggy-like.

Last one, I thought, and waited until the two of them switched places. The scene would, of course, have dim lighting for dramatic effect, but the best part was always the words. They were a bit complicated, but it was what made me like the story. According to Ella, it made her appreciate the nerds who tried to write horrible-but-still-good poetry.

Hey, at least the aforementioned nerds weren't like Christian. He sort of makes the weatherman look good for once.

"Stay awhile!" Fang said, which was actually his next line. "'Tis sweet… The rare occasion, when our hearts can speak. Ourselves unseen, unseeing!"

Fang may be hot, but he sounded really cheesy when it came to saying Cyrano's verses. I don't know if that was why Mrs. Dabseer wanted him to be Cyrano, but Nudge (and I sort of) think that he would sound better with modern English, and a couple of "you knows" in between the verses. But then he would still sound cheesy.

The two of us continued the dialogue, and I said one of my favorite lines: "Ay! I am trembling, weeping! I am thine! Thou hast conquered all of me!" Not that I agree, because it's not like I'm that crazy for Fang. It just sounds so romantic. But then the moment was ruined when Iggy interrupted with "A kiss!"

Honestly, this was the hardest part for the three of us, because this is, of course, the kissing part. I have to pretend I'm kissing Iggy when I like Fang. Iggy has to pretend to kiss me which is going to be awkward since we're going to be awkwardly staring at each other for the next few seconds. And then Fang would be standing in the background, reciting poetry like his best friend wasn't about to "kiss" some random chick.

Yeah, something like that.

"How was practice?" Dad asked, shifting his camera slightly.

"The usual. We did the balcony scene."

"Ah," he said and nodded. "You know, Max, it's weird that you're going to pretend to kiss the same guy again."

I shrugged. "What can I say? Iggy's more into drama than the rest of us. Though he doesn't look like much of a drama queen."

"Max,"

"Yeah?"

"Is Fang still out of your league?"

I couldn't help but smile at the question. "I'm not sure. Though I could say he's getting less out of my league."

"You do know you have a year left before you guys probably never see each other again, right?"

"Yes. So, what's your point there?"

"I'm sure the secret will soon be out. Unless it's still a secret, that is."

"That will be the day, Dad." I said. "I have more chances of winning the lottery than being with Fang in some sort of serious relationship."

He shrugged. "You'll never know."

So, yeah. This is more of an introductory chapter. I assure you there will be action, though slow. Sorry for the really weird quality. I must've read one too many trolls (at least they didn't rub on me).

Again, be warned, Part 3 will be VERY different from other parts. There will be more, you know, complications.

So yeah, I had exams last Monday and Tuesday. Thursday and Friday were our Intramurals (aka Field Day/s) where I suffered by means of a 5-km run (I know, I'm such a wimp), teachers (literally) taught us how to dougie, I realized how much I sucked in chess, and I wore out my arm from too much badminton. It was fun, anyway =D.

So, do you mind reviewing and telling me what you think would happen here? Ha. Review!

=D