Let's continue on with the night, shall we?

Chapter 16

MAX POV

I walked back into the house in a daze, my mask still in my hand. Most of the guests had gone. There were only three or four left. I walked up to Anne. "Anne, am I done for the night? All the dishes are done."

She looked at me, then seemed to realize that she had to answer with words, slurred as they may be. "Yes, darling. You might want to stay in your room tonight, it might get a little noisy on the third floor." She looked over at the men on either side of her slyly, then back at me. "Who was that boy that asked to dance with you?"

"I, I, I don't know. He wouldn't tell me his name. I just called him Mr. Mystery most of the night." Since she was drunk, and I told a partial truth, so she believed me.

"Well, he was very handsome. I wish my girls had boys like that looking at them, but it seems they all just want you, Maxine. Can you make sure Lissa and Brigid both go home with other men? I don't want them to be alone tonight. I want you to be the only one who has to suffer. Do I have any guests left?"

"No, just these two and the two that are talking to Lissa and Brigid. I'll make sure they both leave the house before going downstairs."

"Thank you, Max. I will be heading upstairs now. Good night. I'll pay you tomorrow."

"Good night, Anne. Good night to the two of you as well." I went to find the twins. It wasn't too hard, considering they were all four drunk and the girls were shrieking in their high-pitched, trilling voices. "Lissa, Brigid. Your mom wants you both to go home with these men. She doesn't want you in the house."

"Fine by me." Brigid giggled. Then she hiccuped, which brought on a whole new round of giggles. She doesn't handle her alcohol very well. Unlike Lissa.

"Get the hell out, I don't even know why you still live here. If you stay any longer, Greg might want to take you home instead of me. Leave, you bitch!" I stood there, shocked. I knew Lissa was jealous of me, but not that much, and she'd never cussed at me before.

"You heard the girl, get out." The guy, Greg, said. I turned and ran down the stairs and threw myself on my bed so no one would be able to see my face. I kicked my shoes off and threw my hair up into a messy bun so I could have some hope of sleep. Then I hid my face in blankets. I laid there for another 10 minutes or so, cradling my mask to me, holding on to that little bit of goodness in the night. Then, I heard a thump. I lifted my head slightly. Then I heard a tap. I sat up and looked at my window. Fang was standing there, changed into jeans and a black t-shirt, already. With everything that just happened with Lissa, Mr. Mystery was not the thing on the forefront of my mind. I raced over to my window and opened it.

"Fang! What are you doing here?" He climbed through and grabbed me around my waist.

"Doing this." He pressed his lips to mine. It was short lived, though. He pulled away and looked at me. "Ella told me you would have changed by now. What have you been doing since I left?"

I turned around to go to get a change of clothes. "You have no clue. So, does this mean they went behind the back and still executed the plan anyways?"

"In sorts. We had to change it a little. Grab a bag, you are coming to my place. Iggy is waiting in my car right outside." I did as he said. I grabbed a bag and put in a pair of jeans, a pair of sweats, two t-shirts, a sports bra, a pair of underwear and a hair brush inside. I leant my mask up against the picture of my dad and I on my dresser. Once I was done, I also put on a pair of flip flops before following Fang out the window and closing it. If anyone went down there before I got back, it would just look like I had it open a crack to get air circulating.

As promised, Iggy was waiting in Fang's car. All but two cars were gone from our street. My car, and an unfamiliar one, there was also another unfamiliar one in the driveway. "Looks Lissa and Brigid left, too. Now it's just Anne and her toys in the house." Both boys made faces at me from the front. They said I had to sit in the back, since Iggy was driving and it was Fang's car.

"That's so gross, isn't she like 40 years old?"

"Yeah, something like that, and those guys were like 20 something, maybe 30."

"That's just wrong."

"Yep." Most of the rest of the car ride was silent. When we finally got to Fang's house, Ella and Nudge came running out of the house. Iggy turned around and motioned for me to stay put.

"Did you get her? Did it work? Fang, did you fail? Did she yell at you? Did you get caught?" Ella asked.

Then I decided not to punish them anymore. I climbed out of the back of the car. "No, Ella, I'm right here." She pushed past the boys and pulled me into a hug. I whispered a thank you into her ear. Nudge pulled her off me.

"I just knew that dress would look wonderful on you! You look so pretty, well except for the flip flops and the messy bun. Don't you think so Fang?"

"I think she looks beautiful. Can we go inside now?" He came over to me and took my bag from me.

"I can carry that myself, thank you very much." I said, playfully glaring at him.

"But I carry it better, so deal with it." He smirked at me.

"Fine, I can just walk home. I didn't have to come with you." He just turned around and gaped at me. "Fang, I was kidding. You can carry my bag. Let's just go inside, I'm exhausted." I walked up to him and grabbed his arm. We started to walk inside, but before we got very far, he lifted me up and carried me bridal style the rest of the way in. "Fang! Let me down! I can walk! Iggy! Help! Ella, Nudge! FANG!" He threw me on the couch, then he sat down next to me.

"Yes? You called for me, mademoiselle." Then he kissed my hand again.

"I'll go change now, and you can stop calling me that anytime." I said, taking my bag from him. He pulled it back.

"I don't think so, I think I like you in these clothes. And do you not like that name?"

"You like me in any clothes. Please let me change? I'm so tired. It's your fault I didn't sleep last night!" Truth be told, I loved that name. It made me feel like I wasn't some nobody who lived in a basement.

"How is it my fault? And why didn't you sleep last night?" He frowned and let his guard down, so I grabbed my bag and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

"Because I was crying over the fact I couldn't see you!" It was quiet on the other side of the door. I unzipped the dress and pulled it off, then I put on the sports bra and slipped the other one off. Before I unlocked the door, I pulled on one of the t-shirts and the sweats. "Fang?" I stepped out the bathroom and saw him sitting against the wall, his arms resting on his legs, his head resting in between them. "Fang, what's wrong?"

"I didn't mean for all of this to happen to you because of me. I just can't stand not being with you. Since I saw you that first time in homeroom I haven't stopped thinking about you. Max, I think, I think I'm falling in love with you." I just stared at him for a second.

"F- Fang, I just, I just don't know. It's not all your fault. It's not your fault that you are so amazing that Lissa and Brigid are both chasing after you. It's not your fault that most of the girls in the school think you are the hottest thing, right after the sun. It's not your fault Iggy told Lissa to bug off that first day of science and then offered for you to sit with us. But, I just, we barely know each other."

"But I feel like I've known you forever. Don't you?" Yes, I did. "Max..." I closed the gap between us, and our lips were pressed together, this time by my doing. We stayed there kissing until we needed to breathe, then we walked into the living room where everyone else was.

"So, what just happened in the hallway, you lovebirds?" Iggy asked. I took notice of him sitting extremely close to Ella on the couch. Nudge was sitting on the chair across the room from them, watching.

"Nothing you need to know about, Iggy." I said, while noticeably looking between him and my sister. "Is there something you need to tell me?" He took the hint and moved slightly towards the other end of the couch and shook his head. I mouthed '2 months' to him. He nodded. "Ella, can I talk to you in the hall?" She looked up and nodded. Fang went to sit on the loveseat that was in between the couch and the chair. Ella and I walked out into the hall that Fang and I just made out in.

"What's up, Max?" She asked.

"Just wondering what the status of you and Iggy is. And I wanted to thank you again for going behind my back and going through with the plan."

"Yeah, no problem. So what's the status of you and Fang?"

"Don't dodge my question with one I can't answer."

"What do you mean you can't answer it?"

"Because I'm not sure of our status. It's complicated, I'll talk to him later."

"Oh, okay. And I actually kind of wanted to talk to you about Iggy. I know that everyone here knows that I'm not allowed to date and he's not allowed to ask me out until I turn 15, but we both really like each other, and we both know it, and it's starting to get weird waiting. When he left to take Fang to our house, I went to give him a quick peck on the lips. It was completely on accident, I don't know what came over me, and luckily he didn't know it was coming so he moved his head and I only got his cheek, but Max..."

"Fine."

"What did you just say?"

"I said fine. You can sit too close together on the couch, he can ask you out, whatever. I trust you guys enough now, and he knows what he has to deal with if he breaks you. But I want no kissing where I can see, okay?"

"Thank you, thank you Max! You are the best sister in the world! But same goes for you, no kissing where I can see, okay?"

I laughed, "Fine by me, you might want to tell that to Fang, though." We walked back out into the living room where the movie was still playing. Ella took her spot next to Iggy, and I took mine, next to Fang.

So this is the end to the story... If y'all want, I can change some stuff and start the sequel at some point in time to be later determined. I would have 5 chapters already done of that. As much as I love you all and want your opinion, I realized, I don't really know where the rest of this story would be going, and this seemed like an okay stopping point. I also don't have enough time or inspiration to continue this Review or PM, or whatever, send me a letter? Idk, just let me know and I'll put an AN up if/when a sequel comes out. I'm actually working on a new story. It's pretty cool. If you will just click the follow/favorite author it'll send you an email and let you know when all that new stuff comes out. See all you people some other time! I hope you enjoyed Cindermax, possibly to be renamed to part 1.