Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Kiera Cass!

I'm really sorry, this took a really long time to write, because I just didn't have enough time. But I will never abandon this story!

TheElite: Thanks! And thank you so much for the song suggestion! Your enthusiasm encouraged me to publish this faster...

LadyMadisonSchreave: YES! This is a Maxerica story, 100%. But every love needs a few trials and tribulations...

EnchantedForest3: Aww, thanks! And I'm glad you reviewed. I really appreciate the encouragement. I hope this chapter makes you jump up and down with joy, too.

It hurt every time I looked at Maxon. Which was a lot. It was like my heart shattered all over again when we both made eye contact with each other.

The Phantom of the Opera rehearsal was worse. The way he touched me… my nerves were on fire. The auditorium was the largest room in the school, aside from the gym. The opera was written by Andrew Lloyd Weber, but we had adapted it a little.

Marlee squealed, "Oh, Mer! I nearly forgot… my birthday's this Saturday, so I'm inviting you to my house for a small celebration!"

I grinned at her enthusiasm. "That would be wonderful!"

Time passed slowly. Each day dragged on and on until that fateful Saturday arrived. I came to her house early, hoping to get a little extra time with Marlee. As soon as I opened her front door, Celeste attacked me.

"Mer! I haven't talked to you for so long! During lunch, you're always quiet. And Math… you just seem depressed. What happened?"

I shrugged, deciding to tell her the truth. "Maxon and I broke up, Celeste. It's nothing."

I heard a shriek. Marlee was standing in her living room, looking scared. "I'm so sorry, Mer! I didn't know—."

"What is it? Just tell me!"

"I-I invited Maxon over. Kriss suggested it, and I just assumed that you would be happy if he came…"

I couldn't blame her. "It's okay, Marlee. I'll just ignore him." Aspen looked more cheerful after I said that.

My new resolve faded as soon as Maxon walked in, Kriss slung on his arm. I immediately stiffened. Noticing Maxon and Kriss, Elise asked, "What do you want to do?"

Marlee sat up. "I want to play Truth or Dare!" I groaned. Turning to me, Marlee glared. "It's my birthday!"

And so the game began. At first, it started with light, humorous dares, and truths, but the game got more serious. "Mer?" I turned to look at Celeste. "Truth or dare?"

I had to think about it. Finally deciding to avoid spilling secrets, I mumbled, "Dare."

Celeste tapped her chin thoughtfully. "First, blindfold yourself. Stick out your arms, and the first person you touch, you have to kiss."

The moment I was blindfolded, I whipped out my arms zombie-style, smacking someone in the face.

"Ow!" I would recognize his voice a million miles away. Maxon. I nervously untied my blindfold, opening my eyes to see Maxon, face already swelling red.

I looked around me. Celeste looked eager, Elise seemed uncomfortable, Carter was grinning crazily, Marlee had a sympathetic look, Aspen looked a little angry, and Kriss was literally steaming with anger.

I gazed into Maxon's chocolate brown eyes. Once upon a time, I had resented them. Now, I didn't know what to think. Leaning in, I brushed my lips across his, giving him the faintest whisper of a kiss. Like a ghost of what we had before.

I pulled back. Celeste was squealing, and oddly, Carter was too. When Maxon returned to his seat, I saw his best friend slap him on the back.

Glancing at Kriss, I realized that she didn't know that I had seen her with Maxon, just that we had broken up. "Truth or dare, Kriss?"

"Truth." She wanted to stay on the safe side, apparently.

I was already formulating an idea. "Who was the person you last kissed, and when?"

She froze up. I could tell that she was thinking of the day I found out that Maxon had cheated on me, and so was I. "Erm… it was a stranger at the bar I went to last night."

She was lying. From the way she wouldn't look at anyone in the eye, she had lied to our faces. Elise exclaimed disgustedly, "I thought you had a boyfriend, Kriss. I didn't perceive you as that type of person."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and horror. "I b-broke up with him." She appeared to be collecting herself as she looked towards Maxon. My stomach started churning. "Maxon, truth or dare?" she asked sweetly.

"Dare," he shrugged. I could read Kriss's mind. She was either thinking of making him kiss her, or do something else with her.

The devil's face lit up. "I dare you to spend seven minutes in heaven with me." At this, Marlee started whispering to Carter, Elise just shook her head, and Maxon even seemed to recoil in disbelief.

Even Celeste didn't encourage this activity.

Aspen ushered the two of them into Marlee's storage closet. Probably seeing my devastated expression, Marlee waved me over. "I'm not sure if you'll want to watch, but I have a peephole in this specific closet. It's the reason why I allowed the two of them into this closet. If you want, you can monitor them."

I was moved. Marlee was truly the best friend anyone could ask for. And against my will, I looked inside, having not heard anything from inside.

What I saw broke my heart. Again. But this time, I didn't cry. Instead, I emotionlessly watched Maxon straddle Kriss, kissing her like I'd never been kissed before. How foolish had I been? Deceiving myself into believing that Maxon would want someone like me? A temperamental, sometimes selfish, wild girl who couldn't be restrained?

After a horrible seven minutes, Maxon and Kriss walked out, clothes perfectly straight, hair completely neat. No wonder they could fool me for so long.

After several more rounds, Carter called on me. "Mer… truth or dare?"

I said dully, "Dare." The truth could only destroy.

"Kiss… no, make out with Aspen for a minute." I scrunched up my face for a brief second.

Without meaning to, my eyes flicked to Maxon. He leaned back against Kriss, almost protectively. The pain burst through my chest again, and I pulled Aspen close to me, kissing him harshly. No matter how close I pressed against him, the pain wouldn't lessen.

As soon as my minute was over, I pushed him away. I felt bad that I had just used him for my own purposes and planned to apologize later. When I looked back at Maxon, he was gone.

The moment Marlee dismissed us from her house, wishing to be alone with Carter, I drove to my recording studio in my new, plain car, which helped me fit in more.

I didn't even bother to greet Silvia. Instead, I ran to the restroom, heaving up what little lunch I'd eaten. After wiping myself off, I walked out to find Silvia. Once I spotted her near my practice room, she passed a form to me.

My stomach dropped. A request form, asking to hear me sing. I tested out my voice. "Hi, Silvia. Who is this?"

She gave me a stern look. "I'm certain you would prefer to read it yourself; it's quite personal."

Bracing myself for another crazed fan, I looked at the paper. An elegant, scrawled cursive popped out at me. They had written an entire letter to me!

America,

I know you hate me right now. And quite frankly, I hate myself too, for what I did to you. You wouldn't believe me when I said that I was sorry. But I am, and forever will be. Because I love you, America. You are the world to me. I don't care if you're a world-famous pop star or a normal, average girl. One day, I hope you'll be able to forgive me. Maybe then, I'll finally forgive myself for hurting you.

Maxon.

A silent tear dripped down my cheek. A quick look at the application showed me that he'd written this mess yesterday. Remembering that Silvia would be profiting from this event, I nodded and accepted his request to hear me sing.

"There's another thing. Your father has suffered from a heart attack. The funeral is tomorrow. I'm incredibly sorry," Silvia reported sorrowfully.

More tears running down my face, I silently wished for a world where I got to say good-bye to my father. Daddy… Celeste had lost her mom. Now I know how it felt.

Using my last few moments of peace, I ran towards my favorite room in the entire recording studio: my room of memories. It had pictures of my family, pictures of me once I became known to the world. Little notes that my old lover had given me.

I still had no clue of who he was. Just that during eighth grade, after my first kiss, we had begun visiting each other in the dark, outside of a small café. And one day, he stopped visiting the café to see me. Miserable, I kept my knowledge of him tucked into my heart.

In my little room of mementos, I could find peace. In a glass case was my first violin, which my father had bought for me when I was six. Another one contained my first guitar. And above that was a picture of my family cheering for me at my first concert. Remembering my dad's death, I started weeping quietly. He would never call me kitten, or help me with my art ever again.

I heard footsteps. I spun around, finding myself standing in front of Maxon. "Hey," he whispered, his voice hoarse. As his eyes scanned my personal haven, he noticeably paled.

"Well, would you like me to sing? Or would you rather have us discuss our issues?" I cleared my throat.

Maxon's eyes, which I had grown to love—resent, softened. "Talk, please."

I tried to maintain my poise. "Let me start. I fall in love with you, and you cheat on me. With Kriss, my friend, of all people. Every time I looked at you during Marlee's celebration, you were all nice and cuddly with her. And during that seven minutes of heaven, when I was watching you—,"

"Wait. You watched us?" Maxon ran a hand through his hair and started pacing.

"I sure as hell saw you getting along nicely with Kriss! Can you imagine how crushed I felt? How much I wanted to die when everyone looked sympathetically at me?!" I was screaming now, tears streaming down my cheeks like waterfalls.

His voice was cold. "You need to stop being dramatic. We were just kissing, that's all."

I slapped him. "I'm overreacting, now? Is this not a normal reaction from a girl who just got cheated on, watched her ex-boyfriend make out with her ex-friend, and just learned that her father had died?"

Maxon didn't even spare sympathy. "You know what? Wallow in your miserable life. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that junk on the request. Kriss is a much better choice than you. You're arrogant, impulsive, rude, and emotional!"

It was as if he was cracking my heart with each word until he finally broke it. I couldn't even find the words to speak. Instead, I allowed my body to carry me away. And I feared that I would never be whole again.

Umm, I hope you liked this? I know it's not a very long chapter, but I kept writing when I was supposed to go to sleep. It was worth it, though. I know I just jumbled a bunch of randomness around, but hopefully, it doesn't seem like it.

Love, Owletta