A/N: I hope you all had a good Christmas. I meant to update on Christmas but clearly that didn't happen. Sorry, but I was occupied with all things family. Here's the chapter though!

I showed up to Max's but no one was home. After calling her only to go to voicemail I headed out towards Maria's. I wanted to grab some Sunday morning breakfast with Max but I guess that's out of the question.

Maria's was pretty empty. Church wasn't out yet and most of the elderly that would usually be here were still at the service. I easily got a stool at the counter and Maria headed towards me.

"What can I get you?" Maria asked as she automatically put a coffee with milk and five spoonfuls of sugar in front of me. I took a sip of the coffee and then looked up at her waiting face.

"Some waffles would be great," I told her as I reached for my coffee again. She headed off and put my order in. She returned with a bowl of blueberries.

"Fresh picked from Shepard's," she told me. "Eat something healthy."

I took a couple and popped them in my mouth. The skin broke and their sweet juice filled my mouth.

"Have you seen Max?" I asked her while popping some more blueberries. She gave me a pitying look.

"It's just a tough day for them," Maria said sympathetically. "Don't read too much into it if she wants to be alone."

What?

"What do you mean?" I asked her. "What's today?"

Maria looked at me like I might be crazy or stupid or maybe both.

"June fourth," Maria said simply, like that might mean something. I gave her a blank look. "Well, it's the day Kathrine and Willy passed away."

"Maria, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said impatiently.

"Max's grandma and grandpa died two years ago today," Maria said. "I'm pretty sure most of the town is at church. A townie's death will do that and so will the death of some good people and they were both."

It struck me like nothing else. How could I not know this? Well, the answer was simply, Max didn't tell me. Why didn't she want me to know?

"I should probably get down there," I said as I stood up quickly.

"Fang," Maria said, succeeding in making me stop to listen. "I wouldn't even bother going to the church. I've never known Max to sit through a whole service never mind one that hurt her."

I nodded and then rushed out of the restaurant.

I flew out of the parking lot sending gravel flying and headed towards the church. I figured Max couldn't have made it very far from the church without her own car and I'm guessing she drove with her family. My phone went off and I pulled over to check it in case it was Max.

It was Sam but I read the text quickly.

Max is by the river near the church. Any reason why she's drunk and in a dress?

I sent a quick reply and then got back on the road. I drove by the church to see it more crowded than any other Sunday morning. I stopped by the side of the road less than a quarter mile from the church and got out of my car. I thought of Max in a dress and headed to my trunk to grab a pair of basketball shorts and t-shirt.

I walked towards the smell of the river and the sound of the water swirling.

Max was leaning against a big oak with her bare feet in the dirt. Her dress looked expensive and her hair was shiny and clean. She almost didn't look like Max. Ari was next to her with bare feet and some nice clothes on. He had unbuttoned his shirt a couple buttons and loosened his tie. They looked like something out of an old movie with their black and white clothing, their half empty bottle of Jack, and their bare, dirty feet. Max looked up at me lazily while lowering her bottle of Jack to the ground.

"My grandparents died today," Max told me simply. The way she said was almost like she was telling me that the sky was blue, like it barely meant anything to her. I would have thought that she didn't care if she wasn't getting drunk at nine on a Sunday morning.

"Do you want me to take you guys home?" I asked them.

"No," Ari said and took a couple long gulps of Jack. Max shook her head at me.

"I brought you clothes," I told Max. She eyed the comfortable clothes in my hand and reached her hand out to me. I headed over and heaved her off the ground. She was completely dead weight.

"I'm not looking," Ari slurred as he looked at the bottle in his hand carefully. Max slipped herself out of the tight black dress and let it drop to the ground. She leaned back against the bark of the tree and just stared at me.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I'm not angry," I told her as I handed her my shorts. I held her hand while she stepped into them.

"That's a lie," Max said while watching me. I sighed and handed her my t-shirt. I helped her put it on like the uncoordinated child she was right now. She stared at me while my baggy clothing hung off of her giving her the appearance that she was smaller than she actually was. I grabbed her dress off the ground only for her to hit it back to the ground.

"Leave it," she snarled. "I hate it."

I met her eyes only to see hers filled with pain and hatred for what seemed like everything.

"Want some?" Ari asked while holding the bottle out to me. I shook my head. Bad things will happen if all three of us are gone. "Sam was running through here. You're his buddy right?"

"Yeah," I said softly. My eyes were on where Max was staring out at the river. She's really drunk, but she's the calm kind of the drunk. The kind of drunk that was ridden with pain and sorrow.

She plopped down on the ground and grabbed the bottle from Ari. I watched as she took another gulp. I sighed and sat down next to her. I gently took the bottle from her grip and placed it down the ground. A tear slipped down Max's face and she wiped it away quickly.

I turned up towards the road when I heard the sound of footsteps. Dylan emerged from the trees and stared at us. He met my eyes and gave me a small, sad smile.

"Let's take you home," he said. He wasn't directing the worlds at Max, but at Ari.

Ari looked at him and then nodded. Dylan heaved Ari up onto his feet. Ari wrapped his heavy arm around Dylan's shoulder.

"You're going to take care of her, right?" Dylan asked me. The look in his eyes made me question if he was actually asking something so simply. I wonder if he was really just asking if I would get Max home safe or if he was asking if I would take care of her forever. Either way the answer was the same.

"Yes," I told him strongly. Dylan nodded and then they left. Dylan was basically dragging Ari, but they were making good time.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her. I placed my hand on her knee.

She sat there for a while.

"I don't want to talk about this drunk," Max mumbled.

"I do," I told her firmly.

Max glared over at me.

I stared at her drunken eyes for a while until she finally looked away. Then she leaned over to me and slammed her lips against mine. I put my hand on her cheek and pushed her away. I didn't want her to try her usual tactic of distracting me like that.

She let out a choking sound and tears flowed down her cheeks.

"You're my salvation, Fang," Max told me. She ran her hand through my hair. I kissed her forehead. "When I'm with you I hate to be anything but happy. You don't deserve to be sad."

I shook my head because I didn't save her, she saved me. Her wild grin, her golden hair, her safe grip, everything saved me.

"Max, I'd rather be sad with you than happy alone," I told her.

"That's good," Max said, "because I'd rather be happy together than sad alone."

"Why don't I take you home," I said. "I've got to take Gazzy to the batting cages. I promised him."

Max smiled at me and held her arms out in front of her. I sighed and stood only to pick her up.

…

"You're holding it too high," I told Gazzy. I adjusted his bat. The ball shot towards us and Gazzy swung. He nailed the ball back. It hit a net behind the machine. Gazzy looked at me with a huge smile on his face. I nodded at him. He bent his knees and got ready again. When the ball came he swung and he nailed it again. That was our last ball.

"That's your stance, man," I told him. "It's working."

"Damn, Fang," Gazzy said. He looked up at me with amazement.

"Want another go?" I asked him.

"Yeah," Gazzy said as I fed the machine some more money.

Gazzy slammed every ball back. He's got this. All it took was a little practice and finding the perfect stance for him. When he was done he looked at me for confirmation.

"Nice," I said. "Better than any other boy your age I bet."

Gazzy pulled off the beat up helmet and unlatched the cage. I followed behind him as we headed down the beat up path coming to them.

"Hey Fang, could we get lunch?" Gazzy asked me. I took his helmet and his bat from him while he climbed into my car and shoved them into my trunk. I slipped in behind the wheel.

"Sure," I said. I handed him my phone. "Call up everyone and tell them to meet us at Maria's."

Gazzy grabbed the phone and reached to change the radio station.

"Yo, Els, grab everyone and meet at Maria's," Gazzy said. "We'll do townie early lunch slash dinner, linner." Gazzy waited while flipping the station. "Yeah, love you too. See you there."

He hung up and handed me my phone.

"Hey Fang, can I drive?" Gazzy asked.

"No," I told him as I turned onto a side street.

"C'mon, Daddy lets me drive around the farms," Gazzy whined.

"Around the farms is different from the road," I told him.

"How come?" Gazzy asked. He helped himself to a piece of gum.

"Well, because on the road there are other cars and lots of rules," I told explained.

"What kind of rules?" Gazzy asked.

"Lots," I told him.

"Hey Fang, are you and Maxi going to get married soon?" Gazzy asked.

"You should ask Max," I told him, barely managing to keep from smiling.

"Hey Fang, what's your daddy do?" Gazzy asked.

"Something in business, why?"

"I was just wondering," Gazzy said with a shrug. "What about you, what are you going to be?"

"I don't know yet," I answered.

"No clue?" Gazzy asked me in shock.

"I've got some ideas," I reassured him.

"Well that's better," Gazzy said clearly relieved.

I pulled into Maria's and parked my jeep. Gazzy hopped out and ran at Omega. The boys tackled each other into the grass. Dylan looked at them with a smile and grabbed Tess' hand. Finally Dylan whistled and the boys broke apart scruffy, grass stained, and smiling.

Max came flying in followed by a few other cars and trucks. I watched her as she hopped out of the SUV. She had some nice cut-offs on. Angel, Joey, Ace, and Taylor all got out of the SUV next. Nudge hopped out with Mitch and Iggy's little brother James. I don't know how they ended up with him. Ella and Iggy unloaded next and Ari came out of the back seat. Finally Mark got out of his car. Seventeen of us total and all about to wreak havoc on Maria's.

Max walked up to me and gave me a quick peck on the lips. We all made our way into Maria's. I watched in amazement as each and every one of the townies took off their shoes without a second thought. Mitch, Tess, and I all kept ours on, managing to look the most normal of the group.

We all went to work pulling chairs and tables together to form some kind of table for us all to sit around. The few customers in the restaurant were just smiling because everyone knew the townies.

"Fang, baby, I hate to bug you but Ace was screaming the whole car ride because I forgot his milk at home, would you mind getting him some?" Max was looking at me expectantly with a teary eyed Ace in her arms.

"Sure thing, sweetie," I said. I took Ace from her and kissed her forehead.

"Are you sad?" I asked Ace. He looked up at me with watery eyes and nodded. "Why're you sad?"

"Maxi didn't get milk," Ace told me and sniffled.

"We're getting you some now," I told him. "You can be happy again."

Ace shook his head stubbornly. I just chuckled and placed him on the counter. Maria wasn't there so we had to wait.

"He's cute," a voice said. A girl came up to me and stood next to me at the counter. She was staring at Ace. "What's his name?"

Ace looked at me and grabbed my shirt for comfort.

"Well, don't be shy, tell her," I coaxed. Ace pulled his finger from his mouth.

"Ace," Ace mumbled to her.

"That's a nice name," she told him with a smile and Ace smiled back. She looked back at me and I resisted the urge to look and see if Max was watching us. "Is he yours?"

"No," I said quickly. "No, no, no," I said as I fixed Ace's shirt. "He's my girlfriend's brother."

"Which one is she?" The girl asked as she looked over at everyone around the table. I could see the way she was drawn to them just like I was drawn to them. I looked at where Max was talking with Omega and smoothing his hair.

"The pretty blond one," I told the girl. "Next to the little blond boy and she's talking to him. She's wearing the lacrosse pinnie."

"What's her name?" The girl asked me.

"Max," I told her. I looked at Max and I knew I had that goofy smile on my face that I used to make fun of my friends for wearing. I looked over the girl and she smiled at me.

"What can I get you, Fang?" Maria finally asked. She was tired and sweaty but she smiled at Ace just the same.

"Milk," Ace told her.

"Straw?" Maria asked me.

"Please, and a lid," I told her. She disappeared back to get Ace milk.

"What about him?" She pointed to Ari. "What's his name?"

"He's Max's older brother," I told her. "Ari, his name's Ari."

"Is he single?" She asked.

I smiled to myself.

"Yeah, he's single," I told her. "He's going back to college in a couple days. Just for a week for finals."

"Who are they? All of them," she asked.

"They're the townies," I told her. She tore her eyes away from the townies and gave me a confused look. "They're the ones your mom told you to run from."

Maria returned and handed Ace his milk. I quickly thanked her and headed back to the table. I sat down between Ari and Max and leaned over to Ari.

"See that hot brunette up at the counter?" I asked him as I looked at the girl I had just been talking to. He nodded and was looking at her now. "She was asking your name." Ari looked at me and smiled.

"Well I better go get hers then," Ari said as he stood up from the table. I watched him strut over with all the confidence in the world despite his dirty, mismatched socks. I looked away from them and invested myself back into the chaos of the table.

"Dylan, get your head out of your ass!" Nudge yelled, but I could barely hear her over the noise of the table. "The Cowboys suck and it'll be a while before they stop sucking."

"You have no patriotism!" Dylan yelled back. "They're America's team!"

"Dyl, the Cowboys suck," Max told him. "Drop it."

Gazzy was throwing napkins at Omega who would return them. Angel, James, and Joey had an impressive stack of jelly packs going. Well, it was impressive until Ella tried to demonstrate what happened when she was cut off today and flung her arm to show the trail of the car only to knock over all the jellys and send them flying across the restaurant.

I met Maria's eyes from where she was waiting for someone to chime out an order and we both smiled because you couldn't help but love the townies.

A/N: Tell me what you thought which means REVIEW please. Tell your favorite things about this Christmas which could be a present or a family member or a movie!