Note: I'm pretty happy with this one. Update got prolonged for about a solid week because I forgot how I wanted it to end. Had an epiphany last night and here we are! Had a lot of fun with the tone for this one.

Shoutouts to Player Zero and AzikaRue394 for their reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

Undertow

Max forgot her name.

Moving the food around on his plate with his fork, he threw names around his head. He felt like a real jerk. This was a last minute thing. His Mom had insisted him and this girl grab something to eat, her treat, and here they were. In a crowded restaurant a little too high end for Max's tastes. Any time it was required to dress up to eat made him feel a little uneasy.

She seemed nice though. Just for the life of him, Max couldn't remember her name. He was pretty sure she worked with Emily. Maybe.

Max jumped when her hand reached across the table to touch his forearm. She giggled when Max looked up from his food. He forced a smile.

"You're so cute."

Her hand lingered on his arm. Max still had no idea what to say so he continued to smile awkwardly. His focus went back to his food and she continued to giggle.

She spent most of their meal carrying the conversation. Max was distracted by going through every name he could think of in his head, but did his best to contribute. It was fairly obvious that she was a big fan of the Bladebreakers. This wasn't necessarily a problem, but Max often felt uncomfortable when it came to starstruck girls.

She started to run her hand up and down his arm. Max met her gaze in time for her to lean forward on the table, her low cut top even more obvious. He immediately looked away. She giggled again, saying something about how he was such a gentleman. Max was starting to think this wasn't last minute.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

That was music to Max's ears.

He had never wanted to leave a restaurant so badly in his life. The cool autumn air felt good on his skin as they stepped outside. He rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his elbows, thankful to be outside of the stifling environment. Unfortunately, his impromptu date had wrapped her arms around one of his and dragged him toward the parking lot.

"This is my car."

Max knew this. She had driven them to the restaurant after Judy had all but pushed them outside the BBA. She let go of his arm reluctantly, leaning against the vehicle. She blinked up at him expectantly.

"Drive safe?" Max said with another awkward smile. He shoved his hands into his pockets and offered a shrug. He was unsure how to interpret her changing expression. "Have a good night."

He did his best to not bolt from the situation. But he did hightail it out of there, walking briskly the rest of the way through the parking lot and across the street. Max could finally relax, letting out a deep breath and staring upward to the night sky.

"I think she wanted you to kiss her."

Max faltered. He turned around to see Mariam casually leaning against the wall of a building. She had been in New York for a few weeks, but he still wasn't used to seeing her so frequently. "What?" he finally uttered after a lifetime of staring. He backtracked on the sidewalk to close the space between them.

Mariam ignored him. She quickly took in his appearance. "Nice shirt."

The blonde huffed making her laugh. "It's kinda late, isn't it?"

She shrugged. Getting up from her space on the wall, Mariam walked past Max. Unsurprisingly he followed her, quickening his pace to match hers. "You were on a date?"

"Not really, my mom-"

"Your mom?" Mariam repeated. She shot him a funny look. "Your mom sets up all your dates?"

"It wasn't a date," Max insisted. He increased his pace further, walking backwards on the empty sidewalk so he could meet her gaze easier. "More of a last minute, get out of the office, kind of thing."

Mariam stopped. Once again, Max followed. "Last minute?" He nodded. This time, she was the one to make up the distance. Her hand reached forward to grab the fabric of his shirt, fingers grasping where the buttons were undone near his collar. "Doesn't seem very last minute to me."

Max couldn't help but agree, he was just a little distracted by how close she was.

"Unless this is just how you dress now?"

Max rolled his eyes. This made Mariam smirk, removing her hand from the spot it had occupied near his chest. "Why are you out so late?" He was genuinely curious.

"Why are you so determined to change the subject?"

"It's not safe to walk outside by yourself at night," Max answered honestly, trying to ignore the jibe. He removed his hands from his pockets to cross his arms. The autumn chill was beginning to get to him. "Let me walk you back to your hotel."

"You had no problem leaving your date."

Max frowned. "She has a car."

"Maybe that's why she looked so angry when you were leaving." Mariam's hands went to her hips out of habit, eyeing the boy in front of her. She couldn't believe how oblivious he was being. "Pretty sure she wanted to give you a tour."

"Why? I was already in there earlier."

Mariam raised an eyebrow. "Oh."

Max was lost. His expression was blank until the wires in his brain connected. "Not like that!"

"Whatever." Mariam couldn't help but laugh at the alarm in his voice. She shook her head. Maybe he was this oblivious. She patted his shoulder, walking past him again on the sidewalk. "Goodnight Max."

He turned on his heels. "Hey, I'm being serious Mariam." He sighed, breaking into a small jog to catch up with her once again. She sent him an annoyed look over her shoulder. "I'm walking you home."

"What if I don't want your company?"

"Mariam, if I didn't know any better," Max started, the beginnings of a smile formed on his lips. She was still watching him, unimpressed that he couldn't take a hint. Her eyes narrowed at his growing amusement. "I'd think you were jealous."

"Of what?" She hadn't meant to snap.

Max held his hands up, smile refusing to falter. "I'm just saying, you keep bringing up-"

"I'm not jealous," Mariam interrupted. She desperately wanted to wipe that stupid look off his face. Her annoyance only fuelled his fire as he started to laugh. "Please tell me what I'm jealous of, Max. Is it your stupid shirt?"

"I don't know?" Max grinned looking down at himself. He pinched the fabric, pulling it away from his body and letting it go. "How do I look?"

"It matches your stupid face."

Max snorted. He shoved his hands back into his pants pockets, head tipped down to look at the sidewalk. "I think I struck a nerve."

"No, Max. Let's continue." Even though he was looking to the ground, she could still see the grin tucked toward his chest. "Is it the high end classy restaurant? Because I can tell you right now, I'd rather be in a run down diner eating a greasy burger than some glitzy suit and tie affair eating three pieces of lettuce and a tomato."

Max sneaked a glance as they stopped at a crosswalk. The dimples on his face somehow made him more insufferable than usual to Mariam. "Actually, I think it's the girl that you're jealous about."

Mariam considered pushing him into traffic.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Max laughed wholeheartedly. Mariam's glare only relented because she decided to stare ahead. He nudged her shoulder with his. "C'mon, I'll drop it."

The lights turned and Mariam went on without a word. Max let out a deep sigh.

"Let's change topics."

"Or you could take a hint?"

"Were you working this late?" Max quirked his head in her direction. He watched her glance to him from the corner of her eye. He was well aware Mariam garnered a lot of attention in the park, earning money on lost bets. She had the skill to back up her words. "Didn't realize you still got a crowd this late."

"What can I say? The chumps kept coming."

Max noticed their pace had matched up perfectly, legs in perfect timing. "You... lose at all?"

Mariam could see her hotel in the distance, but at his words, her steely gaze gave way to look over to him. His smile was gone replaced with a look of curiosity. "You think I lose?"

"I mean you gotta lose sometime, right?" Max reasoned. By the look on her face, she didn't agree. He gave a shrug. "What's the bet again? You're getting money if you win. What are they getting...?"

Mariam eyed him. He was getting more fidgety by the second. "A kiss."

"A kiss. That's it." Max snapped his fingers. "You haven't lost? At all?"

Max stopped short when he noticed Mariam was no longer with him. He looked back in time to see her roll her eyes. "This is where I'm staying," Mariam said. His eyes scanned the building to the top as if he just noticed it. The yellow glow of the lights basking them in an otherwise dreary night. "And Max?"

"Yeah?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous."

Her smirk got the better of him. Like a gravitational pull, he closed the distance between them. He crossed his arms over his chest, a smile on his lips again. "Maybe."

It was one tiny word but it managed to silence both of them. Max took a deep breath and Mariam avoided his gaze. She was staring at the door to the hotel intently, planning her escape. He watched the golden lights play through her hair.

He cleared his throat. "All I'm saying is... I'm not really into this either." Max glanced down to his rolled up sleeves, goosebumps lining his skin from the chill in the air. He bit his lip, gathering his thoughts together. "I'd take a burger in a run down diner any day of the week."

Mariam met his gaze when he looked back up. Max could practically see the tactical retreat planned in her eyes. With another deep breath he decided to keep pushing his luck.

"I don't think I look half bad in this shirt though."

Mariam couldn't help but laugh and a smile broke out on his face. "Goodnight, Max."

He watched Mariam grab for the hotel door and panic set in. "What do you say?" Max took a single step forward and she hesitated, looking over her shoulder with a cocked eyebrow. "Tomorrow or something? I'll even lose the stupid shirt." His smile softened as he shyly looked to the sidewalk. "Can't really do anything about my face though."

She hesitated further, attention back to her hand resting on the door. Her fingers tightened around the metal handle. Max was hugging himself closer through the chill when Mariam finally let go of the door. He held his breath when their eyes met.

"What's your date going to think?"

He released his breath with a slight chuckle. "You're not jealous at all, Mariam." He knew he was still pushing his luck, but Max couldn't help himself. "I don't think she'd be too impressed with me anyway if she knew I spent the whole dinner trying to remember her name."

"Wow." Mariam shook her head. "Little distracted?"

"Think I was just at the wrong restaurant with the wrong girl." Max stepped closer to join Mariam under the yellow lights. She stiffened. He smiled softly, attention dipping to the sidewalk between them. "I don't think I could ever forget you."

Mariam's breath got stuck in her throat.

"What do you say? Tomorrow? Dinner's on me."

His eyes peeked up to look at her in time for her to look away. She licked her lips, briefly deep in thought before her attention locked back on Max. "I'd say it's a date." Mariam wanted to laugh as Max seemed to inflate at her words. "I would, but you know, I think your mom coordinates those for you."

"It's a date," Max confirmed. Mariam decided the dimples that accompanied his grin this time were a lot less insufferable. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mariam. Goodnight."

She wanted to roll her eyes. He reluctantly began walking back down the sidewalk. "Max?"

He perked at the sound of her voice, looking over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Zero losses." She said it so matter-of-factly that Max laughed. Mariam smiled at the sound, crossing her own arms across her chest to hold off the cold. "Wouldn't want you to be jealous."

"I think you secretly like it," Max called out to her. She laughed at him this time, a warm feeling shooting through his body in response. Mariam grabbed the metal handle, finally opening the door to the hotel. "Just like I think you secretly like my face."

Mariam's tongue jabbed the inside of her cheek. She shot him a single flirty look before rolling her eyes one final time at the boy's persistence.

"Guess you'll find out tomorrow."