Author's Note: This chapter is the reception; chapter 8 will involve the
baby.
A HUGE THANKS goes out to Joyce and her muse Alex. She wrote 99.9% Sketchy's speech since my muse was of absolutely no assistance from my muse (I did word a few things on my own, but it is mostly Joyce's work). She also helped me out with some of the details on this chapter.
I would also like you all to bear with me on updates. School started, so I'll have a lot less time to update, but I'll do it whenever I get a chance. If you want, I can e-mail you when I update either one of my stories (see my profile for address; as subject, put in "Updates").
Please R&R. I love reading reviews, and they help my muse work.
~~~
Chapter 7
Alec opened the door and stepped out of the car. He then put his hand back in to help Max out of the limo. They walked over to the entrance of Crash. Alec opened the door and they both stepped inside. Max stood in awe when she saw Zack, Zane, Krit, Jace, Jondy, and Syl.
"How did they -"
"After a long and brutal struggle, I convinced Logan to help me find them."
Max hugged Alec and kissed him on the cheek. She couldn't have been happier that day. They walked down the stairs and onto the dance floor. Their song began to play and they danced. Max rested her head on his shoulder, letting Alec lead.
She then said in a low tone, "So how did you really get them here?"
"Well, I figured I should pay Logan a visit, and, you know, make him help me find you the perfect present. I had to promise him that I'd give him half of the credit. But I'll only give him 40%," Alec stated, a cocky grin on his face.
Max laughed softly. "So why do you get 60% of the credit?"
"Well I was the one that actually had to go looking for them. He just told me where to go. And besides, it was a bitch to find some of them," Alec said thinking about some of the things he had to go through to find them.
"Well I thank both of you," she said while lightly brushing her lips against Alec's. After a short, gentle kiss, they both pulled away from each other with a smile on each of their faces. Max placed her head back on his shoulder until the end of the song. They then separated and joined their guests.
"How have all of you been?" she asked after she had hugged all of them.
"We could be better," Zack said for all of them.
"At least Zack is back to his old self," Zane said with a little sarcasm in his voice.
"So how did that happen?" Max asked Zack.
"It came back slowly to me. Then one day I went into town and met someone that looked familiar. Then I realized that he was from Manticore. I guess it all came back to me then."
After a little more conversation, Zack, Zane, and Krit went to get drinks. Jace and Syl joined them shortly after, leaving Max and Jondy by themselves.
"Twelve years," Jondy said smiling at Max.
"Told you I'd find ya."
"So besides the fact that you're married, what else is new with you?"
"Let's see, I've been a bike messenger for about five years, I've been killed, I was recaptured by Manticore, then I escaped, then I burned the place, found out that I was cloned, and have some cult loonies chasing me. What about you?"
"I could never top that Maxie," Jondy said shocked, with a grin on her face.
"I used to pretend it was a dream I'll wake up from. But now I've come to face the fact that it's a never ending nightmare."
"It hasn't been easy on any of us," Jondy saw that Max looked uneasy, so she changed the subject. "So where'd did you find this guy?"
"It's a long story, but I'll give you a very short one. He was supposed to be my breeding partner back at Manticore since Zack and I blew up the DNA lab. Alec just hung around near me and here we are today ---"
"I'd like to have your attention."
Everyone spun around to see Sketchy at the microphone.
Original Cindy rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself, "The boy's already drunk."
"Wow, there's a lot of peoples here t'night," Sketchy said, slightly wobbling back and forth.
"To be honest, I don't know how these 2 met, but one day Alec just showed up at Jam Pony, not long after Max's return . . . and it was already apparent that they knew each other . . . even though they denied it..."
Max & Alec smiled and let out a small chuckle at the thought of how they met. Jondy looks over at Max & Alec smiling, and she does the same remembering what Max told her.
"What are you smiling about?" Krit whispered to Jondy.
"Nothing."
Krit didn't believe her and neither did the others. They figured they would just find out later.
"I never thought Max and Alec would ever end up together, I mean, she was always beating him up. But maybe something with being physically hit by a woman that has men attracted to them? It's like we're asking for a beating and I can tell you, Alec asked for one by getting with Max."
Max shifted uncomfortably in her chair, wondering what Sketchy meant by the comment. Even though she knew he was drunk, she still wondered if he meant something by it. The thoughts left her head when she realized Alec was trying to calm her down by rubbing her back. She turned to face Alec and flashed a small smile at Alec, which he returned.
"But maybe it was just a type of foreplay -"
Original Cindy let out a small chuckle thinking about what Sketchy just said.
Sketchy continued, "But then again, I really don't know that much about that kind of stuff. I really think Max made the right choice, I mean Alec is just the best friend a guy could have, even though he always beat me in pool. Max, you are a lucky woman. Alec is a great guy. The best friend that a guy could have. You know, you really are my best friend Alec."
Max blushed and Alec put a cocky grin on his face, now knowing how Sketchy views him.
". . . And Alec, you are one lucky dog... you not only got the girl that I've been after for years, but she's also the sexiest "babe" in all of Seattle."
Max continues to blush, a huge smile now on her face from the embarrassment.
"Oh, and Max, thank you for taking dear Alec off the market. Now maybe the rest of us will be able to get some girls... he's way too gorgeous to have around. Both of you definitely deserve each other. After everything in this cruel world, you still managed to be together; so take care you guys... I doubt there'll be another out there for you."
Everyone drank to the speech and partied the night away.
When it finally came time to say goodbye, Max was upset she could not stay with her siblings longer. She hugged them all and when she was done, a tear fell from her eye. She didn't know why, but she wanted to cry so badly.
Jondy saw that she was upset so she tied to think of something to make her feel a little better.
"Why don't we have a get together or something soon?"
Zane decided to add on, "Yeah, we should. I mean it has been so long since we've seen each other."
"That's a great idea." Alec said with a smile. "So when's good for you guys?"
"Whenever you are," Syl stated.
"How about in two weeks?"
"That's fine." Zack said for all of them.
"We can meet on Friday. The guys can go to Crash and the ladies can go to Max's."
"Sounds good."
"See you then!" Max shouted back as she walked outside with Alec.
She followed Alec to a Mitsubishi Outlander. He opened the door and waved for Max to enter.
"Where the hell did you get a car from?"
"With a little help from your siblings. God knows how they managed to get it." Alec stated rolling his eyes. Max giggled at the expression on Alec's face. He smiled in return.
Alec ran to the other side of the car and put the key in the ignition. They sped off into the night.
::::::::::::
Sorry I kinda cut off during the party, but I REALLY owe all of you another chapter.
I will hopefully update sooner then I did last time, but please bear with me. And be sure to review! That always encourages me to try my hardest to get another chapter out.
A HUGE THANKS goes out to Joyce and her muse Alex. She wrote 99.9% Sketchy's speech since my muse was of absolutely no assistance from my muse (I did word a few things on my own, but it is mostly Joyce's work). She also helped me out with some of the details on this chapter.
I would also like you all to bear with me on updates. School started, so I'll have a lot less time to update, but I'll do it whenever I get a chance. If you want, I can e-mail you when I update either one of my stories (see my profile for address; as subject, put in "Updates").
Please R&R. I love reading reviews, and they help my muse work.
~~~
Chapter 7
Alec opened the door and stepped out of the car. He then put his hand back in to help Max out of the limo. They walked over to the entrance of Crash. Alec opened the door and they both stepped inside. Max stood in awe when she saw Zack, Zane, Krit, Jace, Jondy, and Syl.
"How did they -"
"After a long and brutal struggle, I convinced Logan to help me find them."
Max hugged Alec and kissed him on the cheek. She couldn't have been happier that day. They walked down the stairs and onto the dance floor. Their song began to play and they danced. Max rested her head on his shoulder, letting Alec lead.
She then said in a low tone, "So how did you really get them here?"
"Well, I figured I should pay Logan a visit, and, you know, make him help me find you the perfect present. I had to promise him that I'd give him half of the credit. But I'll only give him 40%," Alec stated, a cocky grin on his face.
Max laughed softly. "So why do you get 60% of the credit?"
"Well I was the one that actually had to go looking for them. He just told me where to go. And besides, it was a bitch to find some of them," Alec said thinking about some of the things he had to go through to find them.
"Well I thank both of you," she said while lightly brushing her lips against Alec's. After a short, gentle kiss, they both pulled away from each other with a smile on each of their faces. Max placed her head back on his shoulder until the end of the song. They then separated and joined their guests.
"How have all of you been?" she asked after she had hugged all of them.
"We could be better," Zack said for all of them.
"At least Zack is back to his old self," Zane said with a little sarcasm in his voice.
"So how did that happen?" Max asked Zack.
"It came back slowly to me. Then one day I went into town and met someone that looked familiar. Then I realized that he was from Manticore. I guess it all came back to me then."
After a little more conversation, Zack, Zane, and Krit went to get drinks. Jace and Syl joined them shortly after, leaving Max and Jondy by themselves.
"Twelve years," Jondy said smiling at Max.
"Told you I'd find ya."
"So besides the fact that you're married, what else is new with you?"
"Let's see, I've been a bike messenger for about five years, I've been killed, I was recaptured by Manticore, then I escaped, then I burned the place, found out that I was cloned, and have some cult loonies chasing me. What about you?"
"I could never top that Maxie," Jondy said shocked, with a grin on her face.
"I used to pretend it was a dream I'll wake up from. But now I've come to face the fact that it's a never ending nightmare."
"It hasn't been easy on any of us," Jondy saw that Max looked uneasy, so she changed the subject. "So where'd did you find this guy?"
"It's a long story, but I'll give you a very short one. He was supposed to be my breeding partner back at Manticore since Zack and I blew up the DNA lab. Alec just hung around near me and here we are today ---"
"I'd like to have your attention."
Everyone spun around to see Sketchy at the microphone.
Original Cindy rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself, "The boy's already drunk."
"Wow, there's a lot of peoples here t'night," Sketchy said, slightly wobbling back and forth.
"To be honest, I don't know how these 2 met, but one day Alec just showed up at Jam Pony, not long after Max's return . . . and it was already apparent that they knew each other . . . even though they denied it..."
Max & Alec smiled and let out a small chuckle at the thought of how they met. Jondy looks over at Max & Alec smiling, and she does the same remembering what Max told her.
"What are you smiling about?" Krit whispered to Jondy.
"Nothing."
Krit didn't believe her and neither did the others. They figured they would just find out later.
"I never thought Max and Alec would ever end up together, I mean, she was always beating him up. But maybe something with being physically hit by a woman that has men attracted to them? It's like we're asking for a beating and I can tell you, Alec asked for one by getting with Max."
Max shifted uncomfortably in her chair, wondering what Sketchy meant by the comment. Even though she knew he was drunk, she still wondered if he meant something by it. The thoughts left her head when she realized Alec was trying to calm her down by rubbing her back. She turned to face Alec and flashed a small smile at Alec, which he returned.
"But maybe it was just a type of foreplay -"
Original Cindy let out a small chuckle thinking about what Sketchy just said.
Sketchy continued, "But then again, I really don't know that much about that kind of stuff. I really think Max made the right choice, I mean Alec is just the best friend a guy could have, even though he always beat me in pool. Max, you are a lucky woman. Alec is a great guy. The best friend that a guy could have. You know, you really are my best friend Alec."
Max blushed and Alec put a cocky grin on his face, now knowing how Sketchy views him.
". . . And Alec, you are one lucky dog... you not only got the girl that I've been after for years, but she's also the sexiest "babe" in all of Seattle."
Max continues to blush, a huge smile now on her face from the embarrassment.
"Oh, and Max, thank you for taking dear Alec off the market. Now maybe the rest of us will be able to get some girls... he's way too gorgeous to have around. Both of you definitely deserve each other. After everything in this cruel world, you still managed to be together; so take care you guys... I doubt there'll be another out there for you."
Everyone drank to the speech and partied the night away.
When it finally came time to say goodbye, Max was upset she could not stay with her siblings longer. She hugged them all and when she was done, a tear fell from her eye. She didn't know why, but she wanted to cry so badly.
Jondy saw that she was upset so she tied to think of something to make her feel a little better.
"Why don't we have a get together or something soon?"
Zane decided to add on, "Yeah, we should. I mean it has been so long since we've seen each other."
"That's a great idea." Alec said with a smile. "So when's good for you guys?"
"Whenever you are," Syl stated.
"How about in two weeks?"
"That's fine." Zack said for all of them.
"We can meet on Friday. The guys can go to Crash and the ladies can go to Max's."
"Sounds good."
"See you then!" Max shouted back as she walked outside with Alec.
She followed Alec to a Mitsubishi Outlander. He opened the door and waved for Max to enter.
"Where the hell did you get a car from?"
"With a little help from your siblings. God knows how they managed to get it." Alec stated rolling his eyes. Max giggled at the expression on Alec's face. He smiled in return.
Alec ran to the other side of the car and put the key in the ignition. They sped off into the night.
::::::::::::
Sorry I kinda cut off during the party, but I REALLY owe all of you another chapter.
I will hopefully update sooner then I did last time, but please bear with me. And be sure to review! That always encourages me to try my hardest to get another chapter out.