A/N: You guys gave me the happiest day! I was thrilled when I saw all the reviews I got. Thank you so much and please keep reviewing everyone! 5 reviews to get me to update.
Max was tugging at the bottom of Zack's sweater when he abruptly stopped her. Their breathing was laboured and he rested his forehead against hers. She leaned forward to kiss his Adam's apple but pulled back in confusion when he wasn't responding.
"Zack?" she asked him, hurt and confusion written in her eyes.
"I just, I just don't want," he started, and closed his eyes in an effort to calm himself and to slow down his heart which was currently beating so fast it was like it was running a marathon.
A feeling of uncertainty fluttered around in Max's stomach. She had thought she had been so sure of his feelings for her, but what if she was wrong?
"Don't want what Zack?" she asked him, trying not to let the fear of being hurt seep into her facial expression, but knowing the attempt was futile. "Don't want what? You don't want this? Us? Me?" The last part was almost in a whisper, almost a prayer that it wasn't so.
Zack's eyes snapped open and he shook his head fervently. "No, that's not it. Not at all Maxie." He took her hands in his. "Of all the things I could possibly be sure about, or certain about, is how I feel about you. I love you more than anything Maxie. Nothing ever can or will change that. That's not what I meant."
Her eyes widened. "You love me?"
Zack had to resist the urge to laugh. "I thought I made that pretty clear when I took a bullet in the head last year. And when I tried to separate you and Logan."
She touched his face. "I don't love Logan. At least not anymore. Maybe I have once but right now I'm not sure how I could have ever felt anything for him. I love you, I always have. When I thought you were dead, a part of me went with you. And I'll never forgive myself for choosing Logan over you."
He returned the gesture and held her cheek in his hands, rubbing it with his thumb. "No, you did the right thing. I would have killed Logan. Anyone who would have gotten in the way of me getting to you. I'm sorry for that."
"What did you mean then?" she asked, going back to their earlier topic.
"I just meant that I don't want to rush things. I don't want to just fuck you and have it mean nothing, Maxie. You're special to me. I want it to be right, to have a relationship with you. Not just a one time thing."
"It'll never be that way between us," Max said. "You'll never be a one night stand to me. But I know what you mean. And you're right. We'll take things slow."
Zack smiled which was rare considering who he was and kissed her softly. She smiled back then got up to get some papers she needed to work on for T.C., purposely adding an extra sway in her walk, Zack watching her every move. He bit his lip, trying to make his conscience and his brain win the battle with his instinct and a certain part of his anatomy. Nevertheless, the latter won. His breath came out in a low hiss, trying to stop the next part from coming out.
"You know, I can't do this," he said. "Screw what I said before and come here."
Max put down the papers, and grinning, made her way to the bed where she pushed him down for a kiss.
Logan had gone back to his room; after all a door wasn't very much company. He sat in his computer chair seething, his fists balled up tightly. He clenched his teeth and his body was shaking in anger.
'How could that snake have wormed his way into her heart so easily?' he thought furiously. 'What does he have that I don't? I just don't see it! I don't!'
Fuming, Logan started opening and closing his drawers, searching for something. When he finally found it, an evil grin started to spread on his face.
He stared at it for a moment. 'At least I have something over him.' He leaned forward to put the file back in his cabinet when something that had stuck to the back of the folder fell out. He picked it up and a young man's roguish face stared back at him. 'Seth. Oh well. He was probably going to die anyways since he was so reckless,' he thought callously.
He shoved both the picture and the file back into his cabinet and shut it tightly. Suddenly he was feeling a whole lot better.
Faith's head shot up quickly. She looked around, her eyes scrutinizing every inch of the garden she was sitting in. She saw nothing move but her slayer sense told her to look closer. Finally she felt an odd sensation at the back of her neck, like someone was watching her. She whipped around before the person could react and held him in a chokehold. As soon as she saw who it was, she grinned.
"Well, if it isn't one of my vampy friends," she remarked. She inspected the quivering form in front of her. He obviously wasn't one of the more vicious vampires. He shook with fear as he knew that she was one of the powerful slayers, and his sharp teeth stuck out in overbite making him look like a rabbit.
"Come to be my punching bag today?" she asked him. "How considerate of you. A real, live, though I can't say breathing punching bag at my disposal instead of a man-made, stuffed one. Must be my lucky day."
The vampire said nothing.
Faith shrugged. "Okeedokee. Not like I need my punching bag to be talking."
She grinned then dragged him off inside T.C.
Liz sat in the air above her bed, her legs crossed and her eyes closed. She was trying to get in psyche with the few alienic powers she possessed.
"I see you've been practicing," Maxwell said as he stepped inside her room.
She floated slowly onto her bed. "Well I figured, if we've got a war going on, the more people who can make things fly around, the better."
"Speaking of wars, any action on this White guy's part?" he asked her, sitting beside her on her bed.
She shook her head. "Not exactly. We've got cams on that secret room in one of the tunnels underneath T.C. though. We think White's up to something since he hasn't really done anything since the whole Christmas incident. But since tomorrow's New Years, we're keeping an extra eye out to make sure he doesn't screw this up too."
Max nodded. "And I thought that the alien's after us were bad. This White guy sounds really horrible from what I've heard. Plus, the whole Christmas scene."
Liz looked down. "I'm just happy that Max made it through alright. Out of all of us, Maxie's always been the one everyone worries about the most. Sure, she's better than most to us. Hell, she's Zack's second. But still, she's always been the most emotional; the most normal… you know what I mean? She's still the baby, and I don't know what any of us would do if we lost her. Zack, Krit, and Jondy especially, since they're closest to her."
Max grinned. "From what I've learned about your family, is that no one messes with you guys and that you're tough. All of you are strong. You guys just gotta beat this thing with White, and you've got all us extras to help you."
"Yeah," Liz said. She looked at him. "Thanks. You know, for being so supportive and everything. All of you. Iz, Michael, Maria and Jesse. You've all been so accepting."
Max put an arm around her. "Yeah well, it's not hard to be supportive about weird things. I mean, you're talking to an alien for god's sakes."
That got them both laughing.
Sketchy and Maria sat at Crash, both drinking a beer and talking about all that had happened in the past with their transgenic/supernatural friends. They laughed a lot and Sketchy felt a new feeling grow inside him. He really liked Maria, but it felt different. This wasn't a game where he tried to pick up as many girls as possible. It wasn't a game where he bet someone that he could get into her pants. It was a genuinely nice feeling, like Maria was a genuinely nice girl. He actually enjoyed talking to her, which surprised him. Sketchy didn't know what this feeling meant, but he liked it.
Maria was experiencing the same feelings. She really liked Sketchy; she just wasn't sure what would happen. She had heard several rumours about him, about how he tried to hit on every girl he saw. She just hoped that she wasn't just some challenge he had to overcome.
She spied two African people walking over to them, grinning broadly.
"Hey wigger. Who's ya boo?" the girl asked.
Maria had seen the girl around T.C. sometimes, but she had never really talked to her. She remembered something about her being Max's best friend. The man though, she had never seen.
"Original Cindy, Herbal, this is Maria. Maria, Original Cindy and Herbal," Sketchy introduced.
"Ya can call me O.C.," she said, looking at Maria in a way that sort of made her feel uncomfortable.
"O.C., I don't think she swing dat way," Herbal said.
"Damn," Cindy said, but the interested look was gone and Maria felt slightly more comfortable.
"Like de prophet said, only de righteous sistas will find der honey," Herbal spouted off.
Cindy looked at him. "First of all, I am righteous. Second, the prophet so did not say that."
Herbal grinned. "Only kidding ja."
Maria watched the two interact with a puzzled expression on her face. She tried hard to understand what they were saying, but finally gave up.
O.C. saw and smirked. "Don't fret boo. I know it's hard to learn our lingo. You'll pick it up soon enough. Believe me, our boss Normal's an idiot, and even he came to understand it after a while. You look way smarter than that foo, so it won't be long."
Maria frowned for a minute then said, "coo."
"Give me 5 girl!" O.C. shouted, high fiving her. "You already learning our dealio."
"Yeah, you learning our dealio," Sketchy said, trying to imitate Cindy's accent.
Cindy looked at him with an amused expression on her face. She rolled her eyes and slapped him upside the head.
A/N: Sorry for taking so long to get this out. I hope you liked it!
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