~∞ ROSES ∞~

Chapter Twenty: Bring a Rose With You

Dylan returned to his dorm, a smirk on his face. He had left the park long after Max and Fang did, grinning to himself, and coming up with a plan to squeeze more money out of Sam.

When he turned the key in the hole, and opened the door with his hand on the knob, Sam immediately confronted him. "What did you hear? Does Fang actually love her?"

Sam hoped he didn't, so stealing Max away was just a favor he was doing to his friend. While Dylan was gone, he had broken up with Lissa, and now was free to take Max.

"Pay up." Dylan's face showed almost nothing, while Sam's looked outraged.

"What do you mean, 'Pay up'?! I already gave you one-hundred frickin' dollars!" Sam shouted.

Dylan shrugged, scratching the back of his neck, a bored expression on his face. "One-hundred for me snooping, one-fifty for me to tell you what I heard."

Crossing his arms, Sam had the urge to slam the door in Dylan's face. "What a rip off, dude! No way am I giving you more money!"

With a small scoff, Dylan shoved through the doorway, past Sam. "You could've of just gone and spied on their moment yourself."

Honestly, Dylan didn't care whether or not Sam found out about Max and Fang's conversation on their date. He didn't care if Sam would have went to intrude on their date himself. All he wanted, was money. And he knew that Sam had at least three-hundred bucks in his wallet.

Sam was silent as he contemplated his choices. It was either lose one-hundred dollars for nothing, or two-hundred-fifty for information in return. He could easily lose a couple hundred bucks and not have to worry… So why not get something in exchange?

Sighing, he rummaged through his wallet, extracting three fifty dollar bills. "Spill," he demanded.

And that's exactly what Dylan did.

…

By the time Max reached her dorm, her eyes were no longer red and puffy — they had returned to normal by the time they had left the park. In fact, they were shining, as she thought of the good night kiss Fang had given her, along with his 'I love you'.

Before she opened the door, she leaned back on the wooden frame, a small smile on her face. Fang's turned me into an hopelessly in love idiot… she thought, chuckling to herself softly.

Her mind seemed to be somewhere else, and noticeably an eighth of its normal size. Max had to snap herself back into reality.

Turns out, she didn't have to do it herself.

The door to Max and Nudge's dorm flung wide open, to show a crazy-eyed, pajama-clothed Nudge. "DID IT WORK, DID IT WORK?" she asked excitedly, looking down at Max, who had fallen to the ground.

"Did what work?" Max snapped, her eyebrows furrowed from the unexpected pain her tailbone just experienced. Gingerly, she picked herself off the ground, and walked into the dormitory.

Nudge rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Max! You know what I'm talking about! The plan?"

Oh. W.T.F.B.I.T.C.H.E.R.… That must be what she's talking about… Now's the time to tell her, isn't it? Max sighed to herself, before looking up at Nudge. "Nudge…"

"C'mon, Max, tell me!"

She shook her head. "Nudge, no. Just no. I can't do this anymore."

Max watched as her friend's face faltered, her almost perpetual grin falling. "W-W-What do you mean, Max?" Nudge asked, her eyes wide, voice small. "Are you saying that… All this is for nothing? That you're giving up on the plan?That I came up with the plan name for nothing?" she moaned. "You have got to be kidding me, Max! I hope you have a damn good reason, because you're going to need it."

For some reason, Max sighed in relief. At least she was letting her explain why. "You know how a while ago you said that you only disliked Fang because he was a player?" Max asked cautiously.

Nudge cocked her head to the side, having a sudden flashback to before.

[Flashback. Chapter 14]

"Soo…" Nudge began. "How's plan W.T.F.B.I.T.C.H.E.R. going?"

Max rolled her eyes, and reveled in the softness of her pillow. "You won't ever give up that name, will you?" she muttered, smiling.

Nudge scoffed. "Not when it's as awesome as it is. But stop avoiding the question. Do you think he's falling in love with you, yet?"

She rolled over on the bed, so Max's back was now on the mattress, rather than her stomach. "I don't really know. I mean, I'm pretty sure the way he looks at me is different, and the way he acts is how he normally does, but I don't know if he only looks at me like that because he's never dated and dumped someone like me before," she sighed.

"Well I think it's because he's interested; I mean, the way he looks at you," Nudge commented, studying her nails. "It's just different. More intense, like he's studying you, or memorizing every move. It's quite hot, actually." Max stared at her incredulously. "Hey! The only reason I don't like him, is because he's a player! Fang is ha-wt, y'know?"

[End Flashback]

Almost hesitantly, Nudge nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"

Max tried not to bite her lip before she said her next words. "What if… I told you that he's not… a player anymore?"

Nudge pursed her lips. "Is his name Fang Walker?"

"… Yeah?"

"Then he's probably still a player."

She closed her eyes for a moment and then reopened them. "You're not listening to me, Nudge. Don't you think that if he's fallen for me — which I'm pretty sure he has — that he wouldn't date and dump? That he wouldn't be a player?"

Nudge opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it, thinking this over. A moment passed, with Max staring at Nudge intently, waiting for her response. "I… I guess so."

Max smiled, obviously relieved. "So… no more plan?"

"No more plan." Nudge nodded in agreement. Max turned to head to their room, when Nudge's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Max?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't you think you should… tell him about the plan first?" Nudge wondered.

Max paused. Well… If he finds out about it somehow… It's probably best to tell him myself… But then… "Won't it… maybe… ruin our… relationship?"

Nudge smiled reassuringly, trying not to laugh. After all, it wasn't everyday Max acted like this. "If he truly loves you, he'd understand, and be thankful you told him the truth."

With a roll of her eyes, and a soft smile, Max headed to the room.

"And one last thing, Max?"

She turned around.

"Bring a rose with you."

…

The next day. Saturday. Outside Fang's dorm-

Fang lazily went to open the room of his dorm at the knock on the door. He opened it, too see Sam hanging outside his door.

"Yo."

Sam nodded. "Fang."

"What's up?"

Taking a deep breath, Sam responded with a, "Break up with Max."