Note: Two months in a row, let it be known. Reminder that Maybe is a set of oneshots, more or less, and there is no set timeline and the chapters are not necessarily even related. That being said, this chapter is actually four oneshots. Only sections 2 and 3 are related to each other. Enjoy!
Many thanks to Player Zero, Kenrai, and AzikaRue394 for offering me their thoughts on the last chapter! As always, it is very much appreciated!
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.
Judy
"Thanks, Maxie. I really appreciate the help."
Hunched over on the floor, Max offered his father a big smile. It felt like forever since the last time he was in Japan and he was always eager to assist his dad with the Hobby Shop. It didn't matter if he was at the counter or stocking shelves, but today Max found himself moving around some heavy merchandise.
"Your old man must be getting up there," Max's dad, Taro, laughed sheepishly. He rubbed his beard thoughtfully, "Really don't know how I hurt my shoulder... Doctor said I should give it some rest for a good few weeks."
"Well, good thing I'm here to help you out then!" Max carefully picked up a heavy box to put up on a shelf above him.
"Really hate to waste your vacation like this..."
"Don't worry about it, dad. I love hanging out here anyway; I'm happy to help out."
Taro smiled at his son, proud that he was such a kind and helpful kid. He always had been that way and Taro knew he really lucked out with his son. Growing up, Max looked like a splitting image of his mother – which was fine, he married her after all – but he couldn't help but feel some budding pride as he grew into a young man that Max was looking more like him every day.
"Where do these boxes go?"
"Hmm? Oh, you can just shove those over in the corner for now. Won't need them until the sale next week." Taro waved off into an isolated corner behind the counter; Max nodded before beginning his move of the merchandise. "How is your mom doing?"
Box in hand, Max faltered a bit at the question. He quickly tried to recover his odd behaviour with a nervous smile and shrug. "Oh, you know mom, always up to something or other." The blond laughed forcefully, hoping his father wouldn't notice.
Taro, of course, noticed. Playing with his beard again, he watched his son quickly pile the cardboard boxes in the corner with a look of intensity. Oh, that was right, his wife had mentioned their son had been acting strangely and she was concerned about his behaviour. She had asked him to have a man-to-man talk of sorts with him, something about possibly getting into a bad group.
"Oh, Max?"
The boy jumped at his name, nearly dropping a box in the process. "Heh, sorry," he grimaced, "What's up? Do I need to move this somewhere else...?"
"No, no. Nothing like that." Taro reflected for a moment, trying to think of how to approach him in a way less forward as Judy was sure to have done. "How do I put this...? Hmm, your Mom said she was a bit... worried about you."
Max looked down at the tiled floor, his expression hooded. "She's just being mom. Nothing's wrong."
"Okay," Taro agreed with a few nods of his head. "Something good going on then?"
Max crossed his arms and his eyes slowly rose from the floor to meet his dad's. "Well... yeah, but I don't think... Never mind. It's nothing."
"What? You can tell me."
Max bit his bottom lip. "I'm not really worried about you."
"Oh? Oh. Your mom?" Taro asked. Max nodded, looking away again, a pensive expression etched on his face. "Well, she asked me to talk to you man-to-man. So... this discussion will just be between us men."
"You can do that...?" Max wondered skeptically.
"Of course," Taro declared, hand stroking his beard once again. Well, he was pretty sure, but he could always deal with that later. Right now his son was right in front of him and seemed to be having some sort of inner conflict. "Come on, maybe I can help you out with whatever is going through that head of yours."
After a few moments of silence, Max nodded in agreement. He kicked the remainder of the boxes into the corner before hopping onto the counter. Swinging his feet, he let out a deep breath and sat forward so his arms rested on his legs. "I've been seeing this girl..."
Taro immediately grinned, just something about his son confiding in him about girls made him want to wrap him up in a giant bear hug. "That's great news!"
Max smiled weakly, "There's a but..."
"Oh, right. Well, let's see what we can do?"
Running a hand through his blond hair, Max's expression furrowed further as he looked down at his legs as they swung back and forth in rhythm. "Mom, kinda, already forbid me from seeing her a few months ago..."
Taro could tell Max was avoiding eye contact at this point, probably awaiting a scolding from his father for not following his mother's wishes. Taro, however, had never heard about this before; Judy had never once mentioned any girls, let alone any forbidden ones. His interest was definitely piqued.
Max glanced up at his father at the odd silence. He seemed confused. "You didn't know?"
"Well, she was concerned you were falling into a bad group," Taro reasoned, searching his memory bank for any other conversations on the topic.
Rolling his eyes, Max sighed. "Yeah, she probably meant Mariam. She must've caught on..."
"Mariam?" Taro frowned, "I don't think I've heard that name...? Hmm."
"Guess you're going to tell me the same thing?"
"Well that depends..." Taro decided with a smile on his lips, "What did your mom say exactly?" Max seemed a bit defeated by this, so Taro added, "And what do you think?"
"What do I think?"
"Sure. I can't think of any other time you haven't listened to your mom... so I'm sure there's a good reason somewhere."
"You probably just don't remember as well as mom apparently does. She was... on an opposing team," Max explained. He let his legs come to a standstill and he folded his hands carefully on his lap. "The past is the past. Mariam took forever to put it behind her herself, but mom is just so... fixated."
"Sounds like your mom," Taro agreed. He grabbed the step stool that was down the aisle not far away and took a seat. "You know how she gets; she just wants to protect you."
Max shook his head. "Dad, she's been going way overboard. If she even thinks Mariam is in town I am suddenly her lab slave. And if I'm not her lab slave she's trying to set me up with Emily or some other girl in the BBA building."
Taro frowned; that was a bit odd, even for his overprotective wife. "What... exactly did this girl do again?"
"It's really not important. It's been almost four years. We've both changed."
"Alright," Taro raised his hands defensively, hearing the intensity in his son's voice. There was a flash of annoyance in Max's eyes until he turned his head away from his father again. "Is this the only problem your mom has with her? I'm sure she'll move past that with time. She'll turn around when she sees things have changed."
Max sighed, unfolding his hands so he could properly shuffle on the counter. "There is something else..."
Taro studied his son as he seemed suddenly embarrassed. All traces of anger and annoyance had vanished, his demeanour sheepish as he focused on the cash register beside him. "What is it?"
Max cleared his throat. "Uh... she's older than me."
"Older?" His father raised a curious eyebrow.
"Yes."
"How much older? Like a year?"
"Around three..."
"Three!?" Taro repeated in awe, he leaned back on the step stool. After a few seconds of gathering his thoughts, he played with his beard in amusement. He felt himself filling with that nonsensical pride for his son where he wanted to give him a giant hug again. "Wow. That's... wow."
Max continued to shuffle uncomfortably. "It's really not a big deal." The blond had not noticed his father's apparent elation at the news, too busy with his own embarrassment. "It's more like two and a half years, really."
"There's nothing wrong at all. That's great," Taro smiled at his son. When Max met his gaze incredulously, the man laughed. "I mean, it's great that you care about someone so much."
"Really?"
"Yes. Your mom will get over it."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah! Of course!" Taro stood up from the step stool and walked toward his son. He clasped a hand tightly on his son's shoulder with a playful squeeze. It took a lot to resist the urge to hug Max, but he beamed proudly down on his son. "Remember, I'm older than your mom. It's like the exact same thing. I'll even talk to your mom about the whole thing."
Max slowly smiled. "Really? Thanks dad, you're the best." Taro just laughed, slapping his son on the back a few times before they went back to work in the Hobby Shop.
It wasn't until that night when he called Judy that he was told in detail just how wrong he was about it being the exact same thing. This wasn't going to be easy, and from the ringing in his ears, it wasn't going to be quiet either.
XxxxX
"I really don't think I need to see a doctor..."
Joseph rolled his eyes, glancing over his shoulder as he shut the door carefully behind him. He studied Max, who he practically dragged to the doctor's office, as he held his face in clear pain. The green haired boy gestured toward the examination table, somewhat exasperated with the whole situation. "Just sit down; it isn't going to hurt to get checked out."
The two boys stared at each other, almost in a silent competition. Eventually Max sighed in defeat and sat himself up on the table. "No one's going to want to help me out here..."
Here was referring to Joseph's hometown, and while that was normally true for a good chunk of the citizens, the boy shook his head in refusal. "Nah, don't worry. This doctor is different."
Max frowned. He continued to rub his face and he could taste the blood in his mouth. "Mariam's going to kill me..."
Joseph smirked, scratching his head thoughtfully before he leaned casually against the wall. "Probably." His sister was, after all, pretty good at getting mad, especially when it came to Max visiting. Joseph really wasn't sure what happened. He had been talking to Dunga when he noticed Max with a group of the town's warriors; then out of nowhere, bang, the blond had been KO'd. A big scuffle probably would've ensued if he and Dunga hadn't interrupted. "What happened anyway?"
"Nothing," Max muttered darkly.
With a snort, Joseph shrugged. "Okay then... Rest in peace."
Max looked at the younger boy with a sour look on his face when the door opened. In walked an older woman with long green hair wearing a lab coat and a frazzled look on her face. She studied Max briefly, causing the blond to shrink in his seat, and then she turned her attention to Joseph. Joseph waved slightly, lifting himself slowly from the comfort of the wall.
The next few minutes were spent between Joseph and this woman talking in their native language. Joseph would gesture towards Max and shrug; he'd also smirk and mention Mariam every now and then. Max figured this woman was the doctor; she looked between the two boys, interrupted Joseph once and a while, but most of all she nodded thoughtfully. It made the blond a bit nervous, to say the least.
"Well, I'll be back in a few then," Joseph finally said. Max jerked his head in his direction.
"What!?"
"Hey, I'll be back." Joseph waved him off. He opened the door and shrugged again. "Need to clean up that mess uptown, y'know, the one you caused? Make sure there's no more bloodshed."
"I didn't start it..."
Joseph sighed, halfway out the door. "Just get checked out. I'll make sure everything's calmed down outside." With that, the green haired boy shut the door and left the blond with the doctor.
"That's quite the look you have going on there." Max turned his attention to the doctor, surprised to hear her address him. She handed him an icepack. "We want to get that swelling down first. I'm sure you're fine, but we'll clean up that bloody lip of yours just in case."
"Oh. Uh... thanks."
She nodded. "What happened exactly? Joseph wasn't very clear on the situation."
Max sulked a bit, placing the icepack on his mouth mostly. The town was always pretty divided when it came to him and he knew this situation would make things worse. It didn't matter that he hadn't started anything or what his story was; it would eventually twist into his fault somehow.
"It's not important... Sorry."
"I beg a differ," the woman simply disagreed. She crossed her arms and began to study him again carefully. "If I don't hear your side then I'll be forced to believe that you took a swing first."
"I didn't...!" Max cut off his outburst, clenching his free hand into a tight fist at his side. "What's it matter... no one in this town gets it...," he muttered with frustration, eyes cast to the floor with a scowl.
"And what don't we get?" the doctor demanded, a bit cross. The village was never really accepting of outsiders, and while she had no personal qualms, any unfound judgement on her home did warrant anger.
"The only reason I'm here is because I want to support my girlfriend. I'm not trying to shove Draciel in people's faces or change any of your customs," Max stated, shaking his head. He lowered the icepack and sighed. "I just love Mariam, that's it!"
Max watched as the doctor's expression slowly changed. Any sign of annoyance twisted into surprise and then finally settled into what looked like understanding. This confused Max, his eyebrows furrowed together in thought, but before he could voice anything some noise was heard from the waiting room that caught both their undivided attention.
It wasn't very long before the noise became louder and identified itself as two arguing voices. As soon as Max realized the voices belonged to Mariam and Joseph the door opened to the two siblings. Mariam took one look at Max and sighed with exasperation; Joseph followed his sister into the room with a frown.
"Couldn't clean up the mess," Joseph stated with his attention on the doctor again. He gestured to Mariam, "She was already threatening people when I got back..."
"What happened?" Mariam demanded.
Max visibly flinched "Nothing, just... don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it?" Mariam repeated, very clearly livid. "I'm not going to just forget about someone hitting you. And put that icepack on your face!"
Max quickly obeyed, the cold ice against his lips as he refused to meet his girlfriend's eyes. "Look, I didn't start it. Not really. They just... said something about you, so I told them to watch it."
Mariam eyed him, shuffling under the scrutiny from the other people in the room. "What did they say?"
Max shook his head. "I'm not repeating..."
Mariam was silent at first; of course her boyfriend was only trying to defend her honour from a bunch of muscle heads. The blue haired girl then appeared to be even more annoyed by the second and turned on her heels to exit the room. Unfortunately for her, Joseph had sidestepped and blocked the exit. While a few years ago Mariam would've easily just tossed him aside, Joseph had grown to a respectable size, and while he was still slender, he could stand his ground.
"Hey now!" Joseph gripped the door frame, his sister glaring at him mere inches from his face. "Just calm down, sis."
"Yeah, Mariam. I'm fine." Max tried to smile, but it came across as more of a grimace. Mariam looked at him from over her shoulder with a pang of guilt; she eventually sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't apologize," Mariam approached him and reluctantly put her hand on his arm, not one for even the simplest public displays of affection. She then looked at the doctor, "Is he really alright, mom?"
At that moment, Max felt time freeze in place. He slowly turned his head to the doctor, eyes wide as he met her sharp, knowing gaze. Mariam didn't notice the reaction while Joseph watched in curiosity, wondering what could've possibly happened.
"He'll be fine," Mariam's mom assured her, a smile on her lips. "If you want to help, inform your father of the disturbance in his younger ranks."
Mariam scoffed, "Please, dad hates Max. He'll probably give them a medal."
"Don't underestimate your father's love of rules. Joseph, go with your sister."
Joseph rolled his eyes from his place in the doorway, eyeing his sister. He could tell by just looking at her that she had something else up her sleeve, and it probably involved breaking a few noses before going to see their father. But there was really no arguing with either woman in his life, so he once again shrugged freely. "C'mon, sis."
Mariam smirked, proving Joseph's thoughts further. She did, however, hesitate a moment. "Will you be okay?" she asked Max.
Breaking out of his reverie, he nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about me." Max made sure to squeeze her hand before both siblings left the room.
Again, Max was left alone in the room with the doctor. It suddenly made sense to him why this doctor was different and would agree to see him; the blond felt pretty stupid for not even noticing she looked a great deal like both Joseph and Mariam.
"We're going to clean out that nice gash on your lip, can't promise it won't hurt though." Max watched as she prepared her medicine.
"I'm really sorry...," Max cleared his throat, "Um... about earlier?"
She looked up from her preparations, her green eyes meeting his blue ones and a smirk crossed her features. "You can call me Ilea. It's very nice to finally meet you."
Max attempted to smile again, feeling the waves of embarrassment taking over his own features. "Yeah, nice to meet you too. Sorry, uh, for the circumstances."
Ilea simply shrugged. "I finally found out what really happened, so don't worry." Max nodded, visibly relieved. He still would've preferred anything else for an introduction, but at least she didn't seem to hate his guts. "Besides, I heard you were in love with my daughter."
Max's breath hitched in his throat; of course, he had also had that passionate outburst. He suddenly wanted to hide as a fierce blush took over his face. "I... oh man..."
"Does she know?"
Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he shook his head shyly. Ilea took in this boy before her, very much different from any in her village. She smiled, she couldn't quite place it, but there was something about him that she liked.
"You should tell her."
XxxxX
"We're not having this conversation."
Joseph stifled a yawn, stretching his arms high into the air. He was seated on top of a crate within one of the village town hall's many supply rooms, watching as a debate brew between his father and sister. Arguments were becoming more frequent between the pair and Joseph had tagged along with his sister this morning in case anything got out of hand.
Mariam was glaring at the back of her father's head as he was seemingly too busy sorting through some damaged equipment. "Typical," she shot back snidely, "You're not going to do anything, some leader you are."
With a heavy sigh, her father turned around, dilapidated shield in hand. "There is really nothing to deal with, Mariam. Best to move on."
"Nothing? One of your brain-dead warriors punched Max in the face. Probably would've done more if Dunga hadn't stepped in."
Joseph nodded in agreement. "She's got a point."
"And if I remember correctly, you already took matters into your own hands," their father stated, gaze sternly moving from Joseph to his daughter. "In the realm of punishment, you're the one I should be dealing with, if you need a reminder."
Mariam openly scowled. It was true, a week ago, after finding out Max had been hurt she did bust up a few faces of her own. She had the bruises on her knuckles to prove it. "Dad, I wouldn't have had to done that if I knew you'd actually do your job."
Anger swept over her father's face, he tossed the shield he had been holding back into its pile. "You have no right to question my decisions," he pointed his finger in her direction, "Besides, your boyfriend shouldn't be causing trouble he cannot clean up himself."
"He didn't do anything wrong."
"A real man doesn't need his girlfriend to beat up his adversaries."
"A real man?" Mariam rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. Joseph could feel the tension in the room getting thicker. "Max didn't ask me to go beat them up; I did that on my own."
Her father laughed, shaking his head. "Listen to yourself, Mariam. You should be with someone who can protect you." He held the bridge of his nose trying to gather his thoughts, "Instead of some... boy."
"I don't need someone to protect me. I can take care of myself just fine."
"Well, that's good, because with him, you're going to need to do a lot of that."
"Oh, you're right dad. I should be with one of your warriors; I hear they speak so highly of me."
Her father chewed on the inside of his cheek. His subordinates claimed that this was hearsay, but the doubts he had left him uneasy. "As of right now, that's a rumour..."
"Because Max is the type to walk into a group of ten muscle heads and start swinging..."
"I can't punish people over rumours."
"Then punish people over their actions?"
"This discussion is over, Mariam." The man ran a hand through his blue hair, stressed by his daughter's raised tone. "I'm not ruling any punishments without concrete proof. Your boyfriend will just have to think twice about his actions when he is here."
"This is ridiculous."
"This is life," he shrugged. He turned back toward his work, yet his own tone stayed strict. "You, however, will have to deal with the consequences of your actions."
Mariam scowled, "Are you kidding me? You'll punish me, but not your brainless minions?"
"When I know the facts? Yes. You wouldn't be in this mess if he could even protect himself."
With a roll of her green eyes, Mariam crossed her arms and turned her back to her father. "Well, at least I know you'd rather me be in a relationship with a chauvinistic pig than with someone who actually cares about me. Thanks, dad. Top notch parenting as usual..."
"That is not what I meant..."
"No, dad. It's pretty clear. Like you said, this conversation is over," Mariam cut off her father. She stormed out of the room, a slew of curses on her tongue as she slammed the door behind her.
Joseph whistled, his hands behind his head as he leaned his back against the cool wall. "I think that went well."
His father glared at him briefly, their eyes locked in the sudden silence. Slowly, the man turned his attention back to sorting the equipment. "What do you want, Joseph?"
"Oh, you know, just enjoying the show." The green haired boy laughed at his own joke while his father seemingly ignored him. He lifted his legs onto the crate to sit more comfortably. "Y'know, Mariam only did what she thought was right."
The man glanced at his son, giving him an even look. "She hurt four of my men; almost broke one of their noses."
"To be honest, you'd think the other three would know to run after the first guy went down," Joseph reasoned. He smiled cheekily at his dad again, who appeared to still not want to indulge his son. "You really more concerned that a few of your guys bled a little over, I don't know, a good group of them badmouthing your own daughter?"
Giving Joseph his full attention, his dad crossed his arms with annoyance. "That is not a proven fact."
"Like they'd admit it to you," Joseph pointed out in defense. "Something was said, I may have done some sleuthing."
His dad raised an eyebrow. "Why are you just mentioning this now?"
Joseph sighed. "I clarified everything with Max before he flew home. He asked me not to tell, didn't want to cause any more trouble; something about it being his word against theirs."
"What did they say?"
"I don't know the gritty details, but I overheard the stand-up idiots bragging about the whole thing. Max wouldn't tell me what they said either."
"Then it couldn't have been that bad," his father reasoned. "And if that's the case, he shouldn't have poked his nose into anything."
Joseph shook his head. "Dad, get your head out of the sand. They wanted to egg him on and Max, being a decent guy, told them to watch their mouths."
Joseph watched as his father frowned and struggled with this new information. He had never been a fan of Max, and from what Joseph figured, it was primarily because he had Draciel and was an outsider. Any interactions the man had in the past with Max were filled with the blond just trying to appease him and fit in.
"He didn't want to cause any trouble, never does. He's just here to see and support Mariam." Joseph watched his father still stuck in his thoughts. "Dude got punched in the face and just took it. Imagine if he hit back? He could literally do nothing right with how some people treat him here."
His father finally broke his silence with a sigh. "I suppose you're right." He did not seem happy with the revelation, but Joseph took the win anyway.
The green haired boy jumped off the crate. He put a hand on his father's shoulder in support. "Y'know, she's been leaving for longer and longer... don't be the reason she leaves early."
His father pulled a tight smile for his son as he nodded his head softly in agreement. Joseph patted him on the shoulder a few times, bidding his father a farewell and explaining he was off to find his sister.
Looking at the unruly supply room and the amount of work that needed to be done, Mariam's father suddenly knew a group of subordinates that would be taking on the task. And that was just going to be the beginning of their boot camp; soon they'll have wished Mariam had broken their legs.
XxxxX
Max was never late. It was simple and almost expected; Mariam realized early on that if they set up a date she would never be the first one there. It didn't matter the place or the time, within moments of arriving at her destination she would meet his smiling face.
It was such a habit of Max's that she caught him asleep in the hallway of her hotel at least twice. He had slipped out of his home early enough to not be detected by his mother, but felt it was too early to wake Mariam up. She suggested that he should just knock on the door so he could sleep inside, but his face turned bright red and he refused to look at her for almost a week.
That was why today was such a monumental day, Max was late. Not even a got stuck behind every red light in the city late, but leave your girlfriend sitting by herself in a restaurant for over an hour late.
Mariam was, to put it lightly, mad. She didn't receive any calls or texts for the absence and it left a bad taste in her mouth. While she hated going anywhere near Max's home in New York, she risked any run-ins with Judy to figure out what exactly was going on.
Max lived across the city in a big upscale New York apartment with his mother, and to add more ire to her day, the weather was bleak and a steady rain left her wet and annoyed. Every other pedestrian she crossed on the way seemed to sidestep out of her way as much as possible, leaving her amused at how she must look.
Finally arriving at the apartment building, Mariam let herself through the main entrance and dried off the best she could. Climbing the stairs, because of course the elevator was out, she greeted a few of the inhabitants she recognized. Mariam reached Max's floor and once she neared his apartment she was able to hear a number of voices coming from inside.
Knocking, Mariam heard people's voices pause in response for a brief moment. This was followed by movement from inside and the sound of locks being released before the door opened showing Max.
Max, who was oddly enough dressed up in a black dress shirt and brushed hair, stared at his girlfriend for a few seconds. At first he seemed surprised, then happy, but finally he settled on panic.
"Oh, hi." Max stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door quietly behind him.
"Hi?" Mariam repeated, her anger rising. She grabbed him by the collar and dragged him a few feet away from the door. "Really? You should be begging for my forgiveness!"
Max ran his hands over his face with a sigh. "I know, I know. I'm sorry."
"Oh no, that's not going to do." Mariam glared at the blond. She placed her hands on her hips with a huff, stepping closer to look him hard in the eyes. "I waited for you for over an hour!"
"Mariam, I know! I'm really, really sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise." Max placed his hands gently on Mariam's shoulders, knowing he had to be careful with physical contact when she was this angry. "My mom..."
"Of course." Mariam cut him off. She shouldn't have been surprised; his mother had a knack for coming up with new and improved ways to keep them apart. She should've realized that Max would've otherwise been at the restaurant for their date.
"My mom planned this get-together months ago and I just forgot about it. She wouldn't let me leave. It's really my fault, I'm sorry Mariam."
Mariam quirked an eyebrow at her boyfriend. It wasn't like him to just forget plans like that; he was such a busy person, he had become talented at just knowing where he needed to be and when.
"You forgot?"
"Yeah, and my mom flipped." He rolled his blue eyes and drew Mariam in closer with his arms. He kissed her cheek softly. "Forgive me?"
Mariam rolled her eyes at the slight pout he gave her. She pushed him lightly making him smile again. "I guess you're forgiven." She had a feeling she was about to be mad at someone else soon anyway.
"Good."
"Max, what are you doing...? Oh." Judy had stuck her head out the doorway to figure out what her son was up to; the last thing she needed was him running away. Her gaze narrowed on Mariam, a frown on her lips. "Max, we have guests."
Mariam merely frowned back at the woman. Max sighed. "I know. If you would've let me call her..."
"It is not my fault you forgot the plans we've had for months." Though talking to Max, her eyes were still stuck to Mariam's in contempt. "And unfortunately we don't have any room for guests."
Mariam snorted. "Sure."
Max sighed, shaking his head. "Let me call you a cab at least," the blond boy offered. Seeing as his mother was about to protest, he added in haste, "We'll stay out of your friends' way, relax."
Judy was clearly displeased with his insistency, the annoyance written on her face becoming more and more apparent by the second. Max, however, had grown somewhat used to his mother's antics and had merely grabbed hold of his girlfriend's hand, tugging her in the direction of the apartment. Walking past Judy, Mariam couldn't help but smirk.
"Just wait in the kitchen; I'll go grab the phone." Mariam nodded in agreement, watching her boyfriend disappear behind the corner. She leaned against the counter, listening to the constant hum of conversation going on in the other room. Judy gave her one final glare as she followed her son into the living room.
It only took a few moments for Max to show back up in the kitchen, phone in hand. "So what's going on anyway?" Mariam asked in a hushed voice; she couldn't help but feel like the other room became noticeably quieter.
"Oh, my mom just has some friends over. They all have kids my age... it's like a play date or something stupid." Max rolled his eyes. He seemed a bit sidetracked, trying to find a phone number for a taxi service.
Mariam raised an eyebrow at this, finding it a bit odd. Max was flipping through the phonebook, his attention elsewhere, so Mariam decided to take a curious peek around the corner.
What Mariam saw really wasn't a surprise; in fact, she should've realized it sooner. The living room was full of women, half of them were Judy's age and had their faces pinched in annoyance with their noses in the air. They seemed to be huddled in a circle whispering to each other. The other half was teenage girls that looked like they were waiting for some type of audition, every now and then they would glare at each other as if in competition.
"What are you doing?" Max asked, he softly tugged Mariam's arm to bring her back into the kitchen. He put the phone on the counter. "Your cab will be here in ten minutes or so."
Mariam studied Max carefully, trying to gauge whether he knew what was brewing in his living room. The confusion on his face quickly proved he had no idea what was going on, and Mariam felt a little guilty suspecting him.
"Do you know what's going on out there?" Mariam asked, her voice hushed to go undetected.
"Uh... a get-together?"
Mariam shook her head. She neared Max and put her hands on his arms reassuringly. "I'm going to ask you something and I think it will become pretty clear."
Max nodded. "Okay."
"None of your mom's friends have any sons?"
Max opened his mouth to reply, but then he quickly closed it. The wheels in his brain seemed to turn and realization soon became evident on his face. He stared at Mariam in silence with a pained expression and then he frowned, breaking out of her grasp, and marched toward the living room.
"Mom!" Mariam was surprised by the tone of Max's voice. She was expecting a profuse apology from the boy, swearing he never knew; but instead the angry blond had stomped his way into the other room. Mariam followed him just in case he got a bit carried away.
Their entrance in the living room caused the circle of middle aged women to break up. Instead of glaring at Max for rudely interrupting, their disapproval was set on Mariam. The blue haired girl shook her head at the sight.
"What's wrong?" Judy asked, "You said you'd be waiting in the kitchen."
Max continued to glare at his mother. "This is my girlfriend everyone," the blond announced, mainly to the cast of teenage girls. "I'm probably going to marry this girl one day."
Mariam struggled to not roll her eyes; she hadn't exactly agreed to the sentiment, and so she opted to hide her gaze behind her hand. The sound of a glass breaking, however, brought her attention back to the room. Judy was scowling at the floor where a glass was now broken at her feet, the liquid soaking into the carpet.
"Max, you're not... You... Max!" Judy sputtered, highly embarrassed by the outburst. The group of women were whispering amongst themselves, shaking their heads with disgust at Mariam. The teenage girls weren't doing much better, their disappointment set with scowls. "Max Tate, what are you doing?"
"You can't just interfere with my relationship like this; Mariam's my girlfriend."
Judy was reluctant to admit her guilt. "What are you talking about?"
"None of your friends have sons?"
Judy paused, still not sure whether she should admit defeat or continue with the charade. The two blonds were stuck in a staring contest until Judy took a deep breath and her attention slowly turned to Mariam.
"You need to leave," Judy simply stated.
Mariam smirked, not in the least bit surprised. Noting Max's annoyance, the blue haired girl stepped in. "Whatever, my ride is probably here."
"Good," Judy smiled and the other women in the room nodded in agreement.
"Well then, I'm glad that's settled. There's just one more thing..." Mariam slid up to Max, her hands on his face as she slowly brought their lips together. There were a few gasps in the room and a few aggravated grumbles causing Mariam to smile in further satisfaction. "Max is mine."
For Judy, things became very clear. She may have lost this battle, but the war was far from over. No one was taking her son away from her, not if she could help it. She would just need to try harder next time.
