Chapter Eleven
Max walked quickly over to the Valenti's after school the next day, Tess hadn't shown up to class that day, and he was worried that something had happened. He had figured out a way to let Tess know that he remembered. He had written a small note in Antarian to pass to her, one to explain himself to her…but she hadn't been there.
He knocked on the door impatiently, till Kyle opened it up. Max sighed; Kyle hadn't been in school either, so he must know where Tess was. "You!" Kyle shouted once he saw that it was Max. "What are you doing here?"
"I…I just wanted to see if Tess was here…" Max said, unsure of why Kyle was glaring at him.
"Like you'd care." He spat. "It's your fault!"
"My fault? What'd I do?" Max asked.
"You're the reason why Tess left!" Kyle shouted, shaking in anger. It was Max's fault that Tess felt so unwelcome and alienated that she wanted to go back with her friends. She'd had a breakdown in school the other day as she tried to find the Destiny book to take with her. She couldn't find it at the house so she thought that she'd left it at her locker. She wanted to leave and take anything that had to do with destiny with her. He had tried to get her to calm down, to reconsider leaving. Telling her that he wanted her to stay. She had started crying, saying that even if she had stayed for him, she could never be happy because of them…the other. He couldn't stand to see her like that so he led her out offering to help her pack his favorite jersey for the trip.
Max stood there dumbfounded, "She left?" he asked, Kyle nodded, "Why?"
"That should be obvious Max." Kyle said, "It was you and Michael, and Isabel, Liz, Maria, Alex…it was everyone that gave her shit. You all ran her out! Are you happy now?" he asked, fed up with how everyone had treated Tess.
"Where'd she go?" Max asked, knowing he sounded stupid.
"She was going back to Sunnydale with Faith when Angel offered to let her stay with him and Cordy in LA for a few weeks to help out with the wedding. Not that you care or anything, but they actually care about her." Kyle shook his head in disgust before slamming the door in Max's face.
Max stood there, shocked…she left?
I
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It hadn't taken Max long to realize that he had to get Tess back or at least apologize to her for the way that he'd treated her.
He had looked on line till he'd found the company that Angel worked for Wolfram and Hart, and then piled Isabel and Michael in the car to come with him. The ride to LA was long and tense, no one really talked but Max didn't mind, it gave him time to think of what to say to Tess when he found her.
He pulled up to a large skyscraper in the heart of LA, reading the sign 'Wolfram and Hart' to make sure that it was the right place. As soon as he was positive, he parked the Jeep and practically jumped out of it, heading for the front doors followed by Isabel and Michael.
Everything would have gone smoothly had it not been for the guards at the front entrance. They had stopped them to ask for an appointment, but they didn't have one. The guards had refused to let them through till they could contact Angel, who was in a conference. They'd sat there for about two hours when Cordelia walked through the front doors and saw them. She had taken them up to Angel's office where he sat there on the phone with Faith.
"Hey…got to call you guys back. The problem just walked in." Angel said, before putting down the phone. Cordy shut the door behind her, as the three teens took a seat before her fiancé.
"What are you doing here?" Angel asked Max, the dark tone he spoke in startling the boy.
"I want to see Tess, and I know she came to LA with you." Max said, in a regal tone.
Angel seemed to notice the difference in tones from the boy he met to the boy who sat before him. He could tell that the boy now remembered his past…but just to make sure…
"I told you that if you hurt Tess, I'd kill you." He said in Antarian which he had learned form Tess.
"My life is not important as long as I get to see her." Max replied back in Antarian, shocking Isabel and Michael. "I just want to apologize." He said in English.
Angel set his jaw, thinking over these new developments…he couldn't kill Max, he'd promised Tess that much.
"Follow me." He ordered, getting up and walking out of the room, followed by the teens and Cordy.
He walked down some flights of stairs and through some halls till he reached a hall with only one door. He walked through it and down some more stairs till he reached a walkway just above a small room.
He stopped to watch the room's occupants, as Max stopped beside him. Tess stood in the middle of the room with a staff in hand, surrounded by three men with staffs. They were practicing their combat techniques. Tess was winning in the mock fight. She had managed to take out two of the three men. The second man managed to disarm her, but Tess round housed him, effectively knocking him out. The third man ran behind her, using his staff as a way to lock her arms at her sides. Tess leaned back, before quickly flipping the man over her shoulder, grabbing his staff and using it to flip him off to the side, disarming him as well.
"Well, done boys," Angel called, drawing attention to himself. "Take a break."
Tess tensed as she saw Max following Angel down into the room. She looked up to see Isabel and Michael standing with Cordy.
"Good job Tess," Angel said, taking her staff and walking away to put it in the weapons rack.
He glanced over at the two teens, who's gazes remained locked, before walking up the stairs again, leading the others out of the room.
"Hey, Tess…" Max started.
"Max," she replied, walking away to get a drink.
"You're really good." Max tried again. Tess shrugged, as Max sighed, "Look Tess, before…when you asked to be friends, I couldn't say yes…"
"I told you Max I get it."
"No you don't," Max interrupted, "I couldn't say yes, because I don't want to be just friends…" Tess stared at him, something achen to hope shining in her eyes, "I want…I want to be with you Tess…"
Tess shook her head, "No you don't." she said, "You want Liz, you're just feeling guilty…"
"You're right," Max said, "I do feel guilty, guilty that I didn't take a chance to get to know you, that I didn't listen to you, that I didn't try to remember you…"
Tess smiled slightly squeezing his hand, she could hear the sincerity in his words. "It's alright Max, you don't have to remember Antar, it was another life right, we were different people…"
"But we're not." Max said suddenly, grabbing her other hand, "I…I just want…"
Tess looked down at their hands, fingers laced together of Max's on volition. She looked up at his face, which was scrunched as if he was trying to find the words…
"What do you want Max?" Tess asked, looking up at him, hopefully.
Max looked down at the woman before him and smiled, "Me cupi je verna." He said, leaning down and kissing a startled Tess.
Tess shut her eyes, smiling into the kiss. Me cupi je verna…I want my wife…
I
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I
Liz paced through the slightly crowded Crashdown, nervously glancing out the window. Max had disappeared two days ago along with Michael and Isabel. No one knew where they went, and Liz was getting worried that maybe the FBI had found them.
Max had been acting odd lately, distant and closed off. He hadn't bothered to stop and talk to her or hold her hand or kiss her in weeks…something was wrong…
The doors jingled open as Liz looked up hopefully to see Kyle walking in with Tess. He sat her down in a booth before walking over to the two person tables and sitting down, which was odd for Liz, Kyle almost always sat with Tess.
A few minutes later, Liz looked up to see Max's jeep pull up on the other side of the street with Michael and Isabel. They got out and headed to the door. Liz practically ran to greet them. But she slowed her trek as Max walked right past her to slide in next to Tess, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her temple.
Breathing heavily, Liz fell into the seat behind her, right across from Kyle.
"Yeah, I know that feeling." He said, glancing over at Tess and Max.
"But…how…when…" Liz asked.
Kyle just shrugged, turning to look at a menu, as Liz sat there looking at the aliens.
A throat cleared just above her as she looked up to see Faith staring down at her, "You're in my seat." She said simply waiting for Liz to move.
As soon as Liz stood, Faith slid into the seat, smiling up at Kyle.
Tess glanced over at her friend seeing the looks exchanged between the two of them. She leaned on Max, whispering in his ear, "So how long do you give Kyle and Faith before they're all over each other?"
Max laughed, "Knowing Kyle, a few weeks…"
Tess gave him a look, laughing as well, "Knowing Faith, more like a few days."
The whole group laughed as Tess felt Max wrap an arm around her waits. She rested her head on his shoulder, looking at Michael and Isabel talking quietly across from her. They were still embarrasses about that morning.
Max had gotten Tess out of class for her first trip to the infamous Eraser Room, only to find that it was occupied…by Michael and Isabel.
Tess smiled; destiny had a funny way of working out…
The End!
A/N – I went away on vacation for a few days to Niagara Falls with my family. The six-hour drive up there was enough for me to finish up this story and another. There may be some grammatical/spelling errors…the roads are bumpy and I was tired.