(Max's POV)
"Jesus fucking Christ! I hate math!" I crumpled up the lined paper I had been doing my homework on. The rest of the family had it so easy. They'd already done this shit several times over.
I was still on my first time through high school. I was a junior when I was changed, never went back until just this year.
I sighed and ran a hand through my spiky, now jet black, hair.
I felt a pair of arms snake their way around my neck. I turned my head to see it was Alice.
She kissed my cheek. "How's the math going?"
"I hate it. I really fucking hate it."
"Aww. Don't hate it. It'll get easier. I promise."
I twirled the desk chair I was sitting on around and pulled Alice onto my lap.
She let out a surprised squeal but then smiled and rested her head on my shoulder.
"So what did you do all day?" I asked.
"Went shopping with Rose and Bella. What else?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh course you were shopping. Why did I even ask."
She laughed that beautiful bell-like laugh of hers. "And I also bought you these." She pulled out a pack of bass picks and a pair of new drumsticks from a bag I just noticed on the floor.
"Aww. Thanks." I kissed her. "That reminds me, I never hear you practicing drums."
She looked down. "I'm not that great."
I touched her cheek and forced her to look at me. "That's 'cause you don't practice."
"But..." She couldn't come up with an argument.
"Why don't you play something now?"
"How 'bout you go first," she shot back.
"Fair enough." She got off my lap and I stood up and slipped behind the drumset set up in the corner of the room. I pulled my iPod out of my pocket and told Alice, "Pick a song. Any song."
"'Always'"
I smiled and turned the song on full blast.
I played perfectly in sync with the song and even sang along.
First I tapped out the first beat on the rim of the snare.
I've been here before a few times
And I'm quite aware we're dying
And your hands, they shake, with goodbyes
And I'll take you back if you'd have me
I messed up a few times, but got back on track within the next measure or so.
Once the song ended, I took the earbuds out of my ears and stood up, motioning for Alice to sit behind the drumset.
She walked over slowly and sat behind the drum kit with the sticks in her hands, hitting the snare a few times timidly.
"Choke up on the sticks a little. Your hands are small."
She did what I told her to and then turned her head to look at me. "What now?"
I leaned over her with another pair of sticks and tapped out a simple beat consisting of eighth and sixteenth notes. "Try that."
She tapped out the beat softly, using the bass drum as a metronome.
"Don't be afraid to hit the drum hard. Wider strokes," I instructed.
Alice got better and better over the course of a few hours, growing more confident.
"Think you're ready to try to play a full song?"
She looked at me, absolutely terrified. "I'm not that good yet!"
"I'll pick an easy one. Don't worry," I said reassuringly.
"I'm not ready yet, Max!" She was going hysterical.
I gathered her in my arms and comforted her, sinking cross-legged to the floor behind the drumset with Alice on my lap. "Shhh. It's okay. We'll save the song for later. Shh. Calm down Alice. I'm sorry."
She sniffed. "It's not your fault."
After a few minutes of silence, I asked, "Will you at least try to play along with a song?"
She shook her head defiantly, face buried in my Dead Kennedys shirt.
I sighed. "Okay. Fine. But you've gotten really good. Will you at least practice every once in awhile?"
She nodded this time.
I kissed the top of her head. "Good."
About an hour later, I found myself sitting on the couch in the living room, trying to finish my homework. I thought that maybe a new working environment would help.
It didn't. The TV was too distracting, even while off.
I let out an exasperated sigh and let my head fall back. And that's when I heard it.
The very familiar drumbeat of "Give Me Novacaine" (A/N: no, that's not a typo. That's actually how GD spells it). I stood up slowly, listening closely. It wasn't a CD. I could only faintly hear the song in the background. It was Alice. Playing drums. With a song.
I crept upstairs slowly, knowing Alice would be too caught up to pay attention to any visions to got. But if she heard me, it was all over. I would never hear her play again.
Within the next thirty seconds, I made it up to the room, where the door was left slightly ajar.
I pushed lightly on it and poked my head in.
Alice was deep in concentration, biting her bottom lip and playing along with my iPod. She looked even tinier from where I was in front of the drum kit. I could barely see her.
Yet, there she was, pouring all her energy and concentration into keeping the beat as perfectly as she possibly could, though she thought no one would ever hear her.
She started singing along with the chorus:
Drain the pressure from the swelling
This sensation's overwhelming
I joined in with her quietly at the next line:
Give me a long kiss goodnight
And everything will be alright
Tell me that I won't feel a thing
So give me novacaine
It was at least half a minute later before she noticed me standing in the doorway.
She looked up and jumped, dropping the old beat up pair of sticks she was holding and looking at me like a deer caught in the headlights.
She fumbled with the earbuds attached to my iPod and succeeded in getting them off. "Wh-what are you doing here, Max?"
"Listening to you."
"But-"
I cut her off. "That was amazing! How did you learn that so fast? I was planning on getting you to play something by Weezer, but 'Give Me Novacaine'? Wow."
She sighed. "You weren't supposed to see this." She said it so fast that if I weren't a vampire, I never would have understood her.
"Why not? What do you have to be ashamed about?"
"I messed up so much!" She buried her face in her hands.
I crossed the room swiftly until I was standing next to her. I touched her back lightly and she flinched. "Alice, you're amazing. And just because there are people out there who you think are better, that's only because they've been playing longer. The fact that you could play even part of 'Give Me Novacaine' in just a few hours says a lot. You're a fast learner. And you're already really good."
She looked up. "Really?"
I pulled her up so she was standing and I could pull her into my arms. "Really."
She cracked a small smile finally. "You're not just saying that?"
"Nope."
Her smile widened and she regained that sparkle in her eye.
I chuckled. "Now this is the Alice I'm used to seeing."
She laughed and rested her head on my shoulder.
I don't know how long we stayed like that, but pretty soon Alice pulled back and asked, "Don't you have some homework to finish."
I sighed. "Way to ruin the moment, Alice."
She laughed that musical laugh of hers and gave me a kiss in response.
A/N: Here you go my -counts in head- 5 readers! XD Hope you liked it. review! Songs were "Always" by Blink-182 and "Give Me Novacaine" by Green Day. and if you're wondering how Alice managed to learn a whole song in a matter of hours, well, I've been playing drums for about 6 weeks now- 1 class a week for ½ an hour, so I figured if you combined all those ½ hours into one day, that'd be a lot of drumming. Plus, Alice is awesome and can do anything. XD
Disclaimer: Don't own Alice, Green Day, or Blink-182. I only own Max.