Queen of the Elven City- While Damien is indeed a legit spelling of the name, the character spells his name Damian. Not a big difference, sometimes I would do it myself. In fact, for a long time I would do it with the 'en,' instead of the 'an.' I don't know why I picked it the way I did, I just liked it more.

Samsonlove- Yes, more reviewers please me. Hurray for more reviewers! You do realize that the odds of Scott Clifton staying with the show once his contract expires is slim to none, right? The way they utilize, or underutilize, him would be enough to send me away. Old Sonny remains supreme in this story, because old Sonny, as we have stated many a time, is good.

Kelly's-

Another day of school had finally ended for her. A little bit early, but that was her right. She had a free period at the end of the day, and if she chose to take that free period and use it to leave who was going to stop her? Sometimes she would hang around the school and wait for Dillon and Georgie, both of whom had a class at the end of the day, but when she waited for her friends she realized just how few friends she had aside from them. All the people that were talking around the hallways during that free period and chatting about things that didn't matter. Brook didn't want to be a part of that social circle, but she would be lying if she said that she didn't want something that was akin to it. She wanted to be able to talk about something that really didn't matter to her, or maybe something that did. That was why she liked spending so much time with Damian, he was one of the only people who she felt that she could really connect with. She loved Dillon and Georgie, but they would be the ones that she would depend on only after she had tried the other one.

Having skipped lunch because she knew that she was going to leave school early, Brook found herself in a state of dire hunger. The literal buffet that the Quartermaine's had available to them each and every morning was good for a little while, but eventually Brook just wanted something simple, something that she used to have when she was just living with her mother. Was it so hard to demand that they have a few pop tarts around the house? It seemed like every day she was finding out something different about her family, something that made her truly wonder just how Dillon managed to survive being with them for as long as he was. And even then it was only for a few years. Brook had barely been with them for less than a month, and already she could feel them attempting to corrode at her soul, suck away the individuality that she had, much like they had attempted to do with Dillon and Jason. Was that the only escape that she had? Was it only possible for her to break the circle if she managed to somehow find a way into the Morgan household, like her uncle before her? No, Brook didn't want that. She held no ire towards Jason, but she certainly didn't want to be living with him. And he probably didn't want her around, either.

The diner wasn't as packed as she had expected it to be, and she liked that. Having it more open made it seem like it was something special for her and her alone. And yet she had to deal with it alone. She couldn't share it with anyone. Thus was her curse. Even before she had came to Port Charles, Brook Lynn had a problem with getting too close to the people around her. Like she would always put up a shield of some sort to deflect anything that could be thrown her way. Maybe it stemmed from being rejected by her father, although that was not true rejection. But it was a lesson that she learned about letting people get too close, only to have them let her down in the end. A lesson that she didn't quite follow, no matter how many times she tried to tell herself otherwise. Each time Ned would come for a visit she would tell herself that it wasn't going to be the same. That she was going to do something different, something that wouldn't let her get as hurt as she had always gotten, but, come the moment that she saw him she would just let all those doubts and fears fade away into the beyond. They wouldn't be there anymore, they would be completely gone. And then when he left, because he had something that was more important to do than be with her, all those hopes would be dashed, and the fears would come right back to the surface. For so many years she had fallen under the same cycle over and over, and even now she felt like she was doing it again.

Despite the sadness that enveloped her heart, Brook was all smiles and laughter on the outside. That was something she had learned how to do quickly as well, because she knew how much she hated it when people saw how much something really hurt her. When Elizabeth saw her, she waved and sat down at one of the tables, looking at the menu. She had eaten at Kelly's many times during her short stay in town, but she had yet to try everything. Looking at some of the options, like chicken fried steak, made her realize why she hadn't tried everything. She wasn't a culinary person. She was the type of person that wouldn't eat something if it looked or sounded like it was nasty. Brook would instead fall back on the old standbys, the ones that would never fail her. Like a cheeseburger and fries.

She had cried until there was nothing left in her, until the tears could no longer form. She did so silently, hoping that she wouldn't alert Mac to the situation. He would gloat and tell her that he told her so and that it was all for the better. Mac would try and make his daughter believe that breaking up with Damian Corinthos was the best thing that could have ever happened to her, and she would never be able to believe him because she knew it wasn't true. Breaking up with Damian was not a freeing experience, it was anything but. It was horrible for her to deal with. Something that hurt her on every possible level, threatened to rip her apart, piece by piece. And the last thing that she needed while she was busy dealing with something like that was the trauma that came. She wanted to fight for their relationship so much, and she always was fighting. Each time Mac had a shadow of doubt about their relationship she would try and do something that would make him see that there was something worth saving in it. Maxie had to fight tooth and nail to stay with him, and Damian knew that. He knew how much she battled against her father, and he appreciated it so much.

A full load of classes had been skipped. He would have told her that it wasn't something she was supposed to do, would have tried to get her to do something else, to keep on going to school. But Maxie didn't care what he thought anymore… at least not about something so trivial as a college education. She wanted to know what he thought about them, what he really thought about them. The way that he dismissed her, that had to be the pain talking. There was just no way that he would throw away something that they had, something that was so special, without even thinking about it for a second. Damian wasn't that kind of person, he dealt with everything, he remembered everything. He wouldn't have forgotten.

Maxie pulled her cell phone out of her purse and dialed one of the numbers, his number. It was still programmed to be one of the speed dials that was on phone… and she doubted she would take it off for a long time. They may have broken up, but she wouldn't give up on the two of them. Not yet. She would continue to fight, because when something meant that much to you it was worth battling for, even if the odds seemed to be impossible. Maxie wouldn't allow herself to be supplanted as the love of his life. She couldn't just stand there and watch as he fell in love with someone else. It would hurt her too much.

Her hand shook lightly as she attempted to push the call button. And then she hung up the phone. Not because she believed he was still working, but because she was unsure of what he was going to say, how he was going to react. Even if she didn't see his face she would have an image of it. The way that he looked when he heard her voice. The pain and the anger that would come up against the face that she loved to touch with her hand. Would she even get that chance again? No, there was too much that could have happened, too much that would keep her away from trying to further jeopardize her situation, her chances. Even if she only had a millionth of a chance to be with him again there was still a chance, and she wanted to be lucky. A small chance was still a chance.

Maxie found herself approaching the walkway towards Kelly's, and when she turned she saw the table where they had first met. That first time, when he tried to help her but she was too blind to accept the help that she should have known she needed. Kyle was so horrible to her, and he was the only one who saw it and tried to do something about it. Dillon and Georgie had tried to tell her that he wasn't good for her, but in the end they gave up, deciding that it was her right to make mistakes or not. Damian wouldn't have given up on her. She knew that now. He would have kept on fighting, trying to show her the thing that she was ignoring. The fact that the boy she thought she cared about was not worth the time of day, that he was only using her and that he only wanted to hurt her in some way while he got pleasure out of her. Maxie wished that she had Damian in her life sooner, things could have been so much different.

The young woman walked over to the table and placed her hand on it, a tear somehow finding a way to drain out of her body as it fell onto the surface of the table. So many memories that were so good, so many that meant so much to her, and they were all going to be gone. They would never be allowed to make more memories. And why? Because of her? No… not because of her. Because of the other girl who had tried so hard to break the two of them up. Maxie felt a strange power pull her head towards Kelly's, and it was there that she saw Brook sitting at one of the tables, brushing her hair out of her face like there was nothing wrong. Anger quickly burned inside of Maxie's being, and she walked into the restaurant, not thinking twice about what she was going to do. Maxie was a woman on a mission. A mission to kick ass.

Brook paid little attention to the fact that someone had walked in. Why would it register with her? Kelly's had people coming in and out all the time. Sometimes they were people that she knew, oftentimes they were not. It was only when she saw the hand that was placed on the table that she was sitting at that she actually looked up and over. "Maxie? What do you want?"

"I want you to feel some of the pain that I'm feeling right now."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Brook sniffed the air, wondering if Maxie may have gotten drunk. It wouldn't have been the first time. Georgie had told Brook about how much her sister had changed since she had gotten together with Damian, told her the stories of Maxie almost overdosing and being drunk frequently. But, there was no hint of alcohol in the air. "Are you on something?"

"You'd love that, wouldn't you? You'd love for me to be on something that would help explain what was going on, so you could go and tell Damian that I was on some drug, so that you could bring me down a few notches in his eyes. That's all you've ever wanted to do it, isn't it, Brook? All you've ever wanted to do was find a way to destroy whatever chance of happiness I had with him!"

"I never wanted to do that…"

"Like hell you didn't! The whole time you've been here you've been fawning over him, looking at him like he was just a piece of meat that you wanted to taste. You thought of every possible reason to get near him. You used his sympathy, you used his caring nature and you twisted it into something that could work in your favor, something that would help keep the fact that you're some twisted little bitch hidden from him!"

"Maxie, I don't know what the hell your problem is, but you need to step away from me because I'm not going to take this kind of crap from anyone, least of all you. If you have some issues with your boyfriend then I suggest you find a way to talk them out with him and not use me as some sort of scapegoat for your problems, because you cause them, Maxie. You've always caused the problems that get in your way. Nobody else, just you."

"We broke up, Brook! We broke up because of you!"

"I'm sure the last thing that broke the two of you up was me. It was probably because you're a selfish and spoiled brat who never truly appreciated what you had in front of you!"

Maxie reacted to the insult in the only way she knew how, by slapping Brook across the face with all her strength. Brook twisted her face with the impact, placing a hand on her cheek, it burned when she touched it. Her eyes were ablaze with rage and frustration. How long had she managed to keep her anger in check when it came to Maxie? How often did she fight back the urge to smack that smug little look right off her face? And now it appeared that she no longer needed to fight back any urges. If Maxie threw the first blow, which she did, then it was on.

Without hesitation, Brook reached over and grabbed Maxie's hair, pulling at it as she leaned forward and brought them both to the ground, their arms and legs flailing about madly as they rolled around the ground. Nails were used, slashing parts of the body from face down to wrist. A flurry of fists were used by both, all the while they were shouting at each other and groaning. Lost in the madness that a common brawl brought them.

"Hey, hey!" Elizabeth, who had been in the back when the commotion started, finally came back into the main area and rushed over, trying to pull the two of them apart. "Knock it off, you two!" But Elizabeth's calls were left unheeded. In such a battle, the only way that one of them would stop was if the other yielded, and the fire that burned in each of them showed they had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Being dismissed from the call of duty may have been something that he didn't want, but, like many things. Damian tried to think of it as a mixed blessing. After all, he didn't have to worry about eating hospital food again for the near future. Instead, he was craving something that was cooked by a person who knew what they were doing. He walked into Kelly's, completely unaware of what was going on, but as soon as he opened the door he saw what was happening. Without saying a word, Damian pulled the top girl, which was Maxie, off of Brook and held her back. "Knock it off, both of you!"

"Your psycho ex-girlfriend attacked me!"

"You deserved it, you little whore!" Maxie yelled, "You broke up everything that was good in our life…"

"Brook," Damian spoke softly, trying to curb the anger in the air, anger that was building up in himself as well. "Are you all right?"

Brook pulled up her now ripped shirt and wiped some of the blood from her face. "I'll be fine."

"Damian… aren't you going to ask about me?"

"Just go home, Maxie." Damian instructed. "You know why we broke up, and you know that Brook really didn't have anything to do with it. We broke up because of your mistakes, not anyone else's."

"But… but…"

"Maxie…" he looked at her with eyes that he had never used on her before, eyes that showed something she never thought she would see in him: hatred. "Just go… please…"

Maxie pulled herself away from him and shot them both a dirty look, "I hope the two of you can be happy together! But you'll never care for her like you cared about me!" Holding back her tears, Maxie rushed out of the restaurant, leaving Damian and Brook alone with a very confused Elizabeth.

Damian looked at her as she dashed passed the window. There was so much anger inside of him, so much that he wanted to burst, but he still didn't know how he felt about her. The love he had was so strong that it was almost enough to make him forget anything. Almost.