Title: Just an Assignment?

Summary: AU. Max has to work with Alec on a school project will it lead to a new relationship or the total opposite? MA

A/N: Okay this chapter may confuse some of you, so if you have any questions ask me and I'll either answer them in the story or tell you by e-mail or something.……. Big thanks to HoneyX5452 for beta-ing my story.

Chapter 3 – Surprise!

It had been about a week since the dinner with the McDowell's, which went quite well, and the project was almost over. Thank god for that, the baby was really starting to get to Max's head, Alec almost always got out of having her for the nights and this was supposed to be team work! In four days they had to hand the baby over and they could see what grade they got for it. Alec had been going out of town a lot too he'd told Max it was family problems, but his mum and dad never went with him. He was getting really strange and for all the years they'd been friends he'd never really acted like this, it was kind of scary.

Max sat up in bed wet sweat covered her body; she'd had a bad dream, again. She had been getting them an awful lot lately and a feeling that someone was watching her constantly, she just shrugged it off. She climbed out of bed and wondered into the bathroom to wash her face and got a few sleeping pills. She walked over to the sink where the cabinet for the pills where as well, she got the pills out and placed them on the side. She started running the water when a hand grabbed her mouth so she couldn't scream and her arms so she couldn't hit.

"Stay quiet…okay?" the deep voice said quietly to her. She nodded her head yes in response; he slowly lifted his hand from her mouth and freed her arms. Max turned around to come face to face with cloudy blue eyes she recognised them…but it couldn't be him, it just couldn't be.

"Is it really you…?" she asked just above a whisper. He looked away from her, and then looked back into her chocolate eyes,

"Max you have to leave tonight." he said quietly but harshly at the same time.

"I can't…I won't and you can't make me" she whispered desperately. He looked at her hard he turned away from her anger flooding his body.

"Max if you don't leave then…"

"Then what…huh?" she asked getting in his face.

"You won't see any of us again, never!" he turned to walk out of the bathroom; her hand on his shoulder stopped him but he didn't turn around. She couldn't believe him; he was giving her the biggest ultimatum ever.

"Please…don't go. Stay, have a life here with me. I'm sure Jack an…" she couldn't finish her sentence he had turned around fully facing her again,

"Don't Max you're just going to make it worse by saying that…getting you're hopes up for a normal life. You can never be normal Max no matter how hard you try. Bye Maxie. I'll meet you outside the school gates on Monday and hopefully you'll have changed you're mind." He walked off and this time she didn't stop him. She was almost crying but she wouldn't let her tears fall, she wouldn't let him see her like this not ever. She didn't take the sleeping pills she didn't want to sleep, she'd have worse nightmares about him and never seeing him or any of them again she wouldn't be able to take that. It was this life or her family…and she couldn't choose.

She went back into her room buried her face in the pillows, so as not to wake any one up, and cried and cried until she had no tears left to cry she had never cried so much in her life, she didn't even feel like max anymore. After awhile her crying subsided, and she drifted off into a some what peaceful sleep.

She woke up to Lucy slamming her door and banging down the stairs, she was in a mood again. 'She must have got out of the wrong side of bed today' Max thought to her self, she looked over at her alarm clock and read 11:45am. She couldn't believe she'd stayed in bed for so long must have been all the crying. She listened carefully to Lucy and her mum and dad arguing, it was why Lucy was in a bad mood they'd accused her of something. Max walked to the top of the stair and concentrated on what they were saying.

"Lucy, we know you had a boy here last night…" said Kate, their mother. Lucy shuffled her feet on the spot.

"No I didn't! I swear…maybe it was Maxie." She stated.

"Don't be ridicules Max is fifteen!" Jack shouted at her, he threw down the newspaper.

"Don't let it happen again…I mean it Lucy, and don't try to push the blame on you're sister!" he shouted at her, max started to make her way down the stairs. She slowly walked into the kitchen, she moved over to the fridge and got a jug of orange juice out and poured herself some. She moved to go out of the door but Jack stopped her.

"Flower what's wrong…you seem to be in your own world. Did you have a nightmare again?" Jack said but max pushed past him and ran up stairs, she didn't think she'd cry again but the tears came again, why did he have to be so nice! Why did she have to choose? How could Zack do this? She refused to cry again she wiped away her tears and got out her favourite book. The one with all the happy ending fairytales, she had been given it when she was first fostered by the Barrett's. She wondered what someone else would do in this situation, she needed some advice but she couldn't ask anyone they'd think she was crazy.

Monday after school.

"Hey Max, you coming to the arcade?" Alec shouted to her.

"No. I got something's to sort out." She shouted back, and began to walk off.

Alec, Sketchy and Cindy stood watching her leave, she been off edge recently getting kind of weird they just ignored it, but it didn't mean they didn't notice. She turned out of the doors at the end of the hallway where they were stood, but they could still see her from all the windows in the hallway. Max made her way to the school gates at stood waiting for someone, or at least that's what it looked like to them.

"So you coming Alec?" Cindy asked nudging his ribs and looking at him watching Max.

"Nah I'm gonna' go home. Get some rest…won't have Max calling me up about the baby now will I?" he joked. Sketchy and Cindy laughed and walked away in the opposite direction.

"See you later…" Cindy threw over her shoulder, but Alec wasn't interested anymore. He saw a man talking to Max he'd never seen him before. 'Please don't let it be Max. Please.' He prayed silently as he slowly, sneakily made his way to the other side of the wall where Max was stood.

"Max…one of them is here they'll take you. You need to leave" the tall figure stated slowly, "Max come on I'll get you to Canada and we can separate there."

"No. I'm not leaving." She said quietly, she looked at her feet when she saw his expression. "I can't…I don't want to choose." She said looking at him again.

"Max you shouldn't have to choose we are you're family, these are just…"

"They are my family too Zack, you can't take that away from me…please don't make me choose." She begged him, her eyes pleaded with him but his face remained the same.

"Goodbye Max…You can't be with us and them I told you that the other night. Now you're choosing them, I'll always love you Max you're my baby sister you know that right?"

"Yes" she replied trying her best not to let her emotions fail her now.

"That's all I need to know, but I can't be responsible for you if you won't listen."

"Please Zack," her voice almost breaking.

"Max…" he warned "I told you about all of this a couple of nights ago."

"What would you do Zack huh? If you had friends and family who love you for who you are, and you're big brother made you pick between you're bad memories and the nice life you live now?"

"They don't know who you really are Max, and if they did they wouldn't love you, they'd fear you, you're lying to them and you're lying to yourself…you need to open you're eyes and see that." He said coldly. Max turned away from him and walked away. He was being really honest and it was hurting, she couldn't take it, he was making her feel guilty.

"I won't come back for you Max…"he shouted after her.

"Then leave…leave me and let me live without you, I don't need you." She shouted back at him, it hurt really badly but he masked it because she was looking at him. So he turned and left, Max watched him until he turned the corner at the end of the road. She let a tear fall down her cheek but rubbed it away angrily, she had to be strong now, she'd lost them all. She walked all the way home lost in her own thoughts.

'Shit, it could be her…could be it might not be, but even if it's not her, she still one of the rouges. And he'll still want her.' Alec thought to himself. It seemed as though he was falling in love with one of the enemies that won't go down well with his sergeant. 'I need to see her neck…' he thought so he ran to catch up with her.

Down the road…

"Hey, Max wait up…" he called after her; she stopped and turned around,

"Alec leave me alone!"

"Who was that guy you were talking to?"

"Get lost scum!" she shouted. 'Go away please, please. Don't talk to me about him' she thought to herself desperately. She picked up her pace a little but he ran towards her and grabbed her arm. She turned to him she had tears in her eyes, they glistened begging to fall, still she swallowed them up. He looked at her worried he wanted some answers, no, he needed answers. She tried to pull her arm free but he had a grip on her like a vice. So instead she turned her head looking away from him forcing the tears to stay in. She closed her eyes tight working them as some sort of dam; it just made it all the worse a single drop floated down her cheek. Quickly, with her free hand she rubbed it away roughly; she managed to get her other arm free. She felt like an idiot now crying in the middle of the street with Alec standing right next to her, sure he'd saw her cry before but that was when she'd been hurt. How could she explain what was happening, he was her best friend he did deserve to know. Max started to walk home with the knowledge Alec was right behind her.

She got to her door and finally began to talk,

"You can come in and have dinner but I'd rather leave the guy subject alone…okay?" she said to Alec as she unlocked the door.

"Yeah, sure. Max if he hurt y…"

"Alec…he didn't and don't he won't be coming back." She cut him off. 'He's being so sweet, he so cute when he's worried…wow where'd that come from' she rubbed the thought away, from existence. She walked in the door Alec still following her every step. They went up stairs into her room; they both flopped down onto her bed at the same time. Alec was at one end of the bed and Max at the other Alec started the conversation.

"Max…I know you. The real you I know everything about you're life, what's one guy to add to that?" he asked, she didn't know he knew everything about her really.

"You don't know me…" she replied softly. He grabbed her foot and played with her toes, she watched him mess about with her feet amused.

"I do…I really do…or at least I think I do. It's you who knows nothing about me." He smiled and stopped playing with her toes, looking into her eyes. "Nothing." He repeated.

"So tell me…" she said poking him with her foot playfully. They'd always done this when Max was upset, they'd come up her and talk until their dinner was ready then after they'd talk some more and Alec would go home. Leaving Max alone and often confused. He looked at her seriously his eyes sad and droopy.

"I wish I could, but it's a secret." He said "One that could kill…" he mumbled know that if Max who he thought she was she'd hear him. She heard him but she wouldn't have if she was 'normal' so she pretended she didn't.

"Huh? I didn't hear you…"

"I know you did Maxie. Don't lie to me." He whispered. 'How did he know how can he I've been careful, I have. Now Zack is gone I have no where left to run.' She thought, she couldn't say anything to it, she decided to play dumb.

"Who am I, if you really know me, tell me who I am and where I grew up and what I'm really like. What's my big secret Alec…huh?" she asked pushing him on. Before she knew what hit her she was on the floor face down with Alec on top of her. He pushed up her hair revealing the black lines to her barcode. 'It's her…god how can I do this I can't I'm going to fail'

"332960073452, nice to meet you" he said quietly, he got off her and moved to the other side of the bed and put his head in his hands. "You're the rouge I was sent here to befriend and capture, but I can't do that…I can't complete my mission if it means taking you back there." He said slowly and softly.

"Get out…" she said. "Go!" she said almost crying.

"No Max listen to me, you need to go, get hold of that guy you were talking to and go! Please."

"I'm not going to say it again." She said harshly. He got up and walked to her door. "You really do need to leave; this mission ends on Thursday and they'll be coming to see for themselves." He stated. She turned to him tears running down her cheeks.

"I said go, leave, get out." She screamed at him. He walked out and she shut the door behind him, sliding it down, her best friend, her enemy.

Okay that's all I've got for now till next time...tell me what you thought...

REVIEW! PLEASE!