Smiles :-: Chapter Seven :-: It's okay not to be okay

:-: FANG :-:

As I drive to the lake, Max sits in the passenger seat, sending deathly glares my way. I can't tell if it's because her mom commanded that I drive her car instead of her, or because she has to be stuck with me. I'm really not that bad of a guy, to be honest, but whatever her problem is with me, she has to get over it.

"Look, Max. If you keep glaring at me like you want to laser-remove my head off, stop, unless you want to get your car totaled."

She continues to glare at me.

"I'm serious, Max."

Her glaring still doesn't stop.

"Do you want to get your car crushed or something?" Geez, this girl. She's making me talk more than I want to.

From the corner of my eye, I can see her roll her eyes and look out the window. "You're weird." It's apparent that she means to say this sarcastically, but it comes out dull and humorlessly.

Is something seriously wrong? I think for a moment. Nah, she's probably just pissed at me and her mom or something…

"Gee thanks, Moxie—"

I see her visibly tense, her jaw clenching, and I realize what I said. Agh, dammit. It slipped out of my mouth; I swear I didn't mean to call her that.

"—Max," I try to save. Smooth going there, Fang. That was brilliant. But despite how terrible my attempted save was, she relaxes her fists and lets out a long breath.

The rest of the short drive is spent in silence.

When we arrive at the lake, I half expect Max to run out of the car to get as far away from me as possible, but she remains in the car, unmoving. "We're here," I inform her, in case she hadn't noticed, but she still doesn't get out.

What is with this girl. I get out of the car, circle around, and open her door for her. She sits, staring stolidly out at the lake. With a sigh, I close the door and start unpacking the picnic stuff Mrs. Martinez had supplied.

The entire time I do that, Max simply sits quietly and emotionlessly in the car.

Does she really hate me that much that she doesn't want to even go outside with me? I wonder, starting to get annoyed. This is just old.

On impulse, I walk over to the car and open her door again. This time, however, I reach across her, unbuckle her seatbelt, and scoop her up into my arms. She's surprisingly light, and not so surprisingly outraged.

"PUT ME DOWN FANG!" she screeches, hitting my chest with her arms. For a moment, I'm glad no one else is at the lake today, because with all her screaming, we're making a huge scene.

I shake my head and smirk down at her as I walk out onto the dock. "Sorry, hon, but it's too late."

"I HATE YOU. FUCK YOU, FANG, FUCK YOU."

I hold her above the water, and now she tries to hold on to me, to keep from falling. "You've already accused me of that, don't you remember?" And with those words, I drop her in the water.

Max resurfaces immediately, spluttering water from her mouth. Her face is red in anger, and she climbs up the ladder connected to the dock. "You. Are. Dead," she spits out, stalking towards me.

I flash her a grin. "You'll just have to catch me first, won't you?" And then I take off running, Max at my heels.

"Ugh, you're so dead!" she screams, her legs barely keeping up with my longer ones. "You're going to wish you never did that when I get you!" Max yells out threats as she chases me, her voice getting farther and farther.

We're running around the entire length of the beach, but it's not in a teasing 'tag you're it!' way. No, Max is out for blood. "If you get me, Max! Not when, if!"

She lets out a frustrated yell, her voice louder than I originally thought.

And then suddenly, she pounces, her entire body jumping on me, pulling the both of us to the sand. Instinctively, I pull her close to my chest and wrap my arms around her, as we roll in the sand.

When we come to a stop, I'm hovering above her, and we're both breathing heavily, neither of us moving.

Her hair is spread out under her, and her eyes no longer reflect anger, instead reflecting the sun. I've never noticed how warm and chocolaty her eyes are; I never took the time to notice.

She's admittedly pretty… if only she'd smile, though.

"Are you okay?" I breathe out, remembering I had practically landed on her.

She is silent for a moment before she nods slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Her eyes have changed again, now that I'm really looking at them. They look almost… sad.

"Are you sure?"

Max nods again. "I'm fine, Fang."

I stare at her longer, before nodding. "It's okay not to be okay," I add, rolling to the side so I'm no longer on top of her.

Her lips are pursed, and neither of us talks, simply staring out at the lake. The sun reflects off the water, causing it to glisten a lighter bluish color. It's peaceful, but the tension between Max and I is far from that.

"Do you really hate me?" I ask, curious.

She shrugs. "Not particularly."

I chuckle slightly. "Why is it not a no?"

All her attention is put into staring up at the sky, and I almost expect her not to answer. But to my surprise, she does. "Because you're a dick."

We lapse into another periodic silence, this one, much less tumultuous than the last. There's something inside my mind, itching at me to say something to her.

"Moxie was a stupid name," I state, looking up at the clouds. The sand rustles next to me, and I know I have Max's attention now. "It had a stupid origin, and it was stupid to call you that."

"Why do you call me that?" Max's voice is low and even, but I still don't look at her.

I pause. "You never smiled; people thought you were… emo. Emo-Maxie shortened down to Moxie. Like I said, stupid."

She's quiet for a moment before she says one word: "Why?"

Finally, I turn and look at her. Her eyes have darkened and have an intense look to them. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you tell me this." Her words are not a question; it's a statement.

I look her directly in the eyes and hold her gaze, before shrugging and watching the clouds again. "You deserved to know."

I can tell she's hesitant to believe me, and that she wants to think that there's some ulterior motive to my admission, but there isn't. After a minute, I see her nod slightly to herself, and join me in my cloud-watching.

And in that moment, I know something's changed between us.

I just can't tell if it's for the better or worse.