Disclaimer: Maybe Santa will give me the rights to Hamtaro for Christmas… Maybe… But until then, it's not mine!

Author's Note: Happy Holidays, all!! This is my personal gift to you so I hope you like it! I put a lot of work into this, so that's why it took a while. Been meaning to type this up for the past couple weeks, but decided to wait to give you all a surprise! I wish you all a wonderful holiday and an equally great New Year! Enjoy! This is for you!! Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate it!!

Chapter Four: Part Four- Never Been in Love

Sandy was one of the fastest people to get back up on their feet that the leisurely Maxwell knew, yet she took twice as long to stand as he did this time.

His hand reached for her trembling one in case she needed the support (which seemed to be the case) but she recoiled it.

"I'll be fine," the young woman murmured. The tone carried in her voice haunted Maxwell, and bumbled around in his head. It stayed with him. It stayed with him and his eyes stayed with her as the two scaled the bus and walked down the steps.

"Sandy…" Maxwell's voice trilled once her shaky foot had touched the pavement he stood on. She looked up at his wary face. "You're worrying me…" he explained. Her adamant look changed into a thoughtful one and he took her hand. She gave his fingers a squeeze as a sign that she would be fine.

"Then don't let me worry you."

The young man nodded, keeping his head down and smiled weakly when he heard something which resembled a giggle from Sandy. It was half-hearted, but reassurance somehow, so he welcomed it.

His tiny smile disappeared when he returned his gaze to her, causing the girl to halt. The navy eyes he had flashed in great disappointment and apprehension. He sighed.

"Hm?" Sandy asked through a closed, tight mouth.

"That's what I want to know…" His friend tilted her head to the side innocently, having the clear idea of what he was talking about. "You said you would tell me what was bothering you." Maxwell quickly gazed into her frantic eyes. "What's still bothering you…"

They continued walking until Sandy had spotted a bench. She pulled as his sweater's olive green sleeve, which was beginning to dampen from the snow collecting on it. Maxwell snapped his head at her and watched as she pointed to the resting place.

"We don't have time for that, Sandy. I have to get to class." There was no meanness in his words, but the stern way he conveyed himself infuriated Sandy.

"Who the Hell like, goes to night school and then like, takes regular classes during the day too?" She had not meant for it to come out so brisk. And she already knew by now of Maxwell's fixed plan of getting his master's degree as fast as he could so that he could move on to earning a doctorate, but it seemed dreadfully inconvenient at the moment he doing so.

"Sandy…" His heaved sigh that told the young woman he was growing tired of her behavior. "We've been through this at least a hundred times. I've told you my dreams about college since the eighth grade! You… you really should knew this by now…" His voice was calm and not accusatory, but Sandy could feel a bit of his pain from deep within it.

"Oh. I should know?" Her eyes narrowed at him. She stopped. Maxwell followed suit and halted with her, checking the time on his wrist, giving her an impatient yet serene look. She decided to start walking again.

"Yes, you should."

"Well, I do know, Max! I totally might not know everything in the whole universe like you, but I know that! And I like, this it's… really stupid." She added the part at the end meekly and without meaning it. She scrunched up her nose and this time Maxwell didn't think it was cute.

"You think it's stupid…" he repeated numbly.

"Well, no, but…" Sandy stammered, embarrassed at herself.

"But what, Sandy?" Maxwell's voice was drenched with sorrow in his deflated state.

"N-nothing!"

It was quiet between the two for yet another time that night, and it remained quiet until they were to wait at a crosswalk during a green light which seemed to last as grudgingly long as that evening had up to this point. Sandy watched the cars speeding by so she wouldn't have to face Maxwell and risk making things even more awkward with him. That was when he decided to open his mouth, finally breaking the silence.

"Sandy? Are you mad at me? Did I do something to bother you at dinner?" He asked this timidly.

"No…" she replied. He may have driven her crazy from time to time, but he never once did anything to ruin her day. In fact, he almost always made her days brighter. She felt like such a sham right then.

"Then what?"

"Well…" she began. She tried glancing up at him for comfort by only got fear risen within her instead. Sandy could already sense the silliness about to come out of her mouth from the tingling on her tongue and the rattling in her chest. All the while, Maxwell kept on a patient expression. "I… I got that fortune again and…" she trailed off, figuring she didn't have to complete her sentence.

Maxwell stared at her, shaking his head. A twinkle appeared in the corner of his eye.

"I told you third time's the charm…" His teeth showed when he smiled.

"Yeah…" the young woman breathed somberly.

"So, what's the problem then?"

Sandy looked over her shoulder and peered upwards, deciding that she should simply come out with it before the little man on the sign turned green. She inhaled slowly, deeply, and was angry they had stopped directly under a streetlight for it didn't hide her blushing face. It even illuminated it as she turned back to face him once more.

She closed her eyes tightly, with her wits scattered about her, and shook. It wasn't due to the cold, since Maxwell's coat was rather comfortable, but it was because of her uncanny nervousness.

'Just do it!!' her mind shrieked. Sandy trembled and with a slightly gagged sound to her voice blurted:

"I… I love you." The mixed blonde's eyes opened, meeting with his, and they filled instinctively with tears.

Maxwell didn't say anything and his slender face paled.

Since he didn't respond, she continued as it he had not heard or had possibly misunderstood her, despite the shocked appearance of his face.

"I'm in love with you, Maxwell," she said desperately, locking her misty eyes on him, hoping so much he would reply with a similar response.

The boy gulped over her sniffling.

"Uh…" Perhaps he just needed a little push to do it.

Sandy took a few steps nearer to him and he paces a few back. Her eyes began to sear from holding in her tears as she hic-upped, trying to go on.

"I've never been in love before… But I'm pretty sure this is how it feels," she mumbled her thought aloud through quivering , smiling lips and chattering teeth. Her face neared his to a close proximity while she stared intensely into his fearful eyes, turning her head to the side so their lips could acquaint. He stepped away even more, simply taken aback. Sandy bent her neck down, heartbroken.

"I-I-I-I… Y-you… Well, I…" Maxwell uttered unintelligently. She waited until he had regained his composure. It took two light changes, but before the traffic would have to stop again, he slurred gently, "Let's talk about this later. Maybe tomorrow. I don't know right now. I… I have to get to the school soon." He headed for the street sluggishly, not taking his still surprised eyes off of her again as she allowed her tears to finally streak down her face, crying quietly. He then wore a sympathetic frown. For once, his heart felt the exact same pain as hers did. "Don't do this to me, please, Sandy. We'll gat this all sorted out really soon, I promise. But I have to go now."

"Okay", she mouthed, covering her face with her hands pretending to dry it. Maxwell reluctantly spun around and began to leave. Sandy stood still and watched for the longest time on that corner his blurry form until it was too far away to see anymore. She promptly collapsed on a nearby bench and sobbed.

Maxwell made it to the university at last and was terribly short on time. If he calculated things right, it would take him another three minutes to cross the campus, one to go up the stairs and down the hall, and half a minute to find his seat before the class would begin. The time was eight fifty five, leaving him just enough time.

That was the bare extent of how complex any calculations could be for him to be able to solve at that moment. The young man's focus was completely on Sandy, his poor little friend.

Friend. The word simply struck Maxwell as odd now. He didn't understand why. He fiddled around in his pocket with a thin slip of paper as he practically jogged onwards.

His watch went off right as he reached the door. The professor, upon seeing his still ghostly face, dismissed his late arrival. Maxwell had achieved himself an excuse without meaning to. Immediately, he sat down and pulled out his notebook half-heartedly. The older man at the podium up front usually had a very boisterous, distinct voice. That night, though, it seemed he was mumbling in an unclear whisper to Maxwell. It was exceedingly hard for him to concentrate.

"Mr. Edwards?" was the only thing he could hear well from the professor. "U-uh, yes, sir?"

"Would you begin our reading on page twenty-nine, please?"

Maxwell nodded and opened his book immediately after seeing everyone else's books had already been opened for several minutes then.

"When we had finally arrived on the island, my eyes were distracted at every second as they soaked up image after image of tropical life like a sea sponge. The crew and I dragged up the exploration boat onto the land and tied it up on a nearby rock. The breeze hit us softly, like a whisper, and I smelled the fresh salt air. The occasional cry of a bird or ape aroused our attention. Above me, not a cloud was in the sky. Below me, me feet were submerged in silky-feeling Sandy- err… Sand!"

Maxwell's face burned after slipping up, even if nobody had seemed to notice. That's when it hit him.

'Sandy! Sandy, Sandy, Sandy!'

The young man could no longer stay in that classroom for his heart was called elsewhere. He gathered his things and threw them into his bag carelessly, scurrying out the door without making any sound.

Sandy had remained like a statue, not moving from her spot on the bench. Though she had sat there like a stray puppy, waiting for him; her eyes big, soft, and watery. A thin blanket of snow rested on her back while she stayed curled up. Her hands, from their shelter of Maxwell's coat, cradled her aching head. She sniffled again in vain. Sandy had cried so much for so long that a simple sniff was no longer the fix to her runny nose. The frigid wind didn't help, either.

Without thinking, she went to use an edge of the coat's sleeve, and when she brought her nose to it, a scent caught her attention. It was a light and tantalizing musk, a new smell, she realized. She liked it. She knew it was foolish to like something about someone she wasn't supposed to be fond of at the moment, but she still did.

The young woman also knew that boys wore cologne when they liked you. But not Maxwell. Maxwell put the stuff on all the time, most likely to be professional or sophisticated.

'He could never like me…'

Sandy whimpered at this thought and set her head back down on her knees. She let her eyes droop, but not fully, for they still leaked her soul's despair that cold, somber night.

To Be Continued…?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Now it's time for a special thanks to…

NightShroud- It was an honor that you stuck with this story and that you've been there from the start of it! You have no idea how much that meant to me. So, thank you very, very much for all the support and your very kind reviews! Reviews, especially ones like the ones I've gotten from everyone on this story, really make my day and yours are no different! It was a pleasure getting some new blood reading my stuff.

AwesomeWriter123- Another one who stayed through the whole story! Thank you very much for that dedication! It's readers and friends like you and NightShroud and all the rest that have been with me since the start that keep me going with all the support through even just reading. It was so nice of you to review, too! So thanks so much again!

ChargingForwardBlind- Ah, CFB! Another adoring- adored- reader! It was such a nice surprise to see your feedback on this story! I didn't know if you were still interested in any of my work anymore since I haven't been posting or reviewing much. But yes! Another great example of true kindness and loyalty! You really have no idea how much is means to me that you and the others read this far- let alone reviewed! I owe you my sincerest thanks!

Macarov- More new blood! And I like it! You may not have said anything until the latest chapter, but it doesn't matter because your comments simply made me happy and proud to write. Yeah, I'm not a fan of ham-human fics myself, but sometimes I just have that urge. Haha. So, it's also very nice to see that we share some things in common! Thank you not only for reading and reviewing so kindly, but for your alert. Thank you for supporting me and my work!

sandyandmaxwellfanatic- Now for sandymaxfan… (giggles) I like that name! (Hope you don't mind me shortening it! Haha.) But, more than that I like that fact that you enjoyed my work! It means so much that people even read, but it simply made me giddy that you favorited this story! Your support through that and your sweet review and your dedicated reading are the things that keep me going. I really enjoy writing for everyone, and it's such a pleasure to see that at least some people like you enjoy reading! Thank you very much!!

And one last thank you to all of my readers! You all are the blood that keeps my work flowing (slow but sure) and without seeing that activity, I'd be lost. It doesn't matter that you don't say anything. Sometimes it's really hard to share your opinions! But, just the fact that you are out there, staying with me, is enough. So, I thank everyone very kindly! I feel so honored to actually have finished a fic! It's been such a long time since I've done so and I'm very excited to be giving this chapter to all of you! I really hope you enjoyed it!! Keep on reading! Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Much love,

DolphinSweetheart 16