Chapter 9! Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. It's been a busy few days. And I needed to find the right way to play things out with this story. I don't want to screw it up by rushing and ruining a part of it.

So thus, I give you all, chapter 9.

Enjoy!

Danny's POV

"Is that a threat?" Max asked coolly, crossing his arms and giving me one of those 'confused even though I totally know what's going on' smirks.

"Depends. Are you going to take it?" I asked. I saw a quick flash of something shine through Max's eyes. Was that fear? Or amusement?

"Depends. Do you really think you could hit me?" Max asked in reply. I paused. "I mean, I'm sure you could hurt me. But that doesn't mean you will." I stopped to think about his words. "If my impression of you is correct, then you won't really hit me. You're not that kind of guy." I thought about that. Max didn't think I was the kind of guy that would seriously hurt him. Interesting…. The Danny

may have just hatched himself a plan!

"You don't think I can do it?" I asked, stepping closer to the kid. "You think I'd back down?"

"Yes," Max answered, plain and simple.

"You're right," I replied, smiling like nothing had ever happened. Smiling like we were buddies. "I'm all talk. I'd never hit actually hurt anyone." Too bad we weren't buddies.

"Really?" Max asked, sounding generally surprised.

"Nope!" I responded, punching him across the face. (Deception: best fighting tactic ever invented!)

"DANNY!" Cathy screeched as Max fell to the floor from the force of the blow. She hadn't seen through my little charade. And based on the sharp inhale of breath behind me, Chris didn't see it coming either.

Max sat up slowly, hand to his cheek. There was a red mark where I'd hit him and he was breathing hard, the wind must've been knocked out of him wen he'd hit the floor. I'd got him good.

"Guess your impression of me was wrong," I said, smirking down at him.

"Then let me return the favor," Max said through gritted teeth as he grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. "By showing you that you aren't the only one with a few tricks up your sleeve." Luckily, I was able to break the fall with my arms before my head smacked the floor. My arms hurt now, though. So did my ankle.

Max loomed over me, preparing to throw a punch, so I kicked him in the chest before he had the chance. I heard his breath leave him that time as he fell backwards. He was down now, leaving me to continue the attack.

But of course, Chris and Cathy had to be the better people in the situation and break up the fight before I could punch the other side of his face.

"STOP IT!" Cathy cried, rushing over to Max and wrapping her arms around him from behind, preventing him from lunging at me again. Chris grabbed a hold of my shoulders to keep me from fighting back.

"What are you two doing?" Cathy asked, looking back and forth between the two of us. "You're fighting over nothing!"

"It's not exactly nothing, Cathy," I commented. "I'm surprised that you don't know what this fight is really over." She looked at me with such confusion, her blue eyes wide and innocent. She really had no idea that we were fighting over her. Then again, based on the context before the fight, how could she have known?

"Well, that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you two quit fighting about it. Violence is never the answer," Cathy continued her little post-fight speech. I felt myself start to relax out of fight mode. Max gently pulled Cathy's arms off him. He'd calmed down too.

Turning to Cathy, he said: "I think I had better head home. We'll work on the history another time," He gave her a sad yet warm smile. (How is that even possible?) "It's kinda obvious that I'm not wanted here."

"Oh… okay," Cathy replied, sounding a little disappointed. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then."

"Of course," Max said, smiling again as he took her hand. "Until then." Max gently kissed Cathy's hand and began heading for the door. He didn't look back at me once. As soon as the door closed and Max was out of earshot, a tense silence fell over the room.

"That was interesting," Chris said after a few moments. I could tell that the silence was the most awkward for him seeing as though he wasn't involved in our

little love triangle.

"I can't believe you did that, Danny," Cathy said emotionlessly, staring at the door.

"Did you really expect me not hit him?" I asked.

"Yes. I didn't think you'd run so far with your feelings as to let them influence you to hurt another person," Cathy answered, her tone angry. That wasn't looking too good.

"And what 'feelings' might you be referring to?" I asked in reply.

"Jealousy. You're obviously victim to jealousy," Cathy replied, turning to face me. "I saw the way you were looking at Max when he was with Wendy. You're so jealous of him that you probably don't even know you're jealous!" So she had noticed that the fight was really over a girl! She just had the wrong girl.

"I am not jealous of Max Kelly!" I exclaimed, not explaining my inner thoughts. Cathy crossed her arms and gave me a look.

"Hey Chris, is Danny jealous?" she asked, her tone like that of a younger sister telling on their older brother.

"I'm staying out of this," Chris replied, moving to the other side of the clubhouse where he tried to look uninterested by picking up his book and sitting down on the floor. Gah, I hate it when people play Switzerland….

"Fine. Be like that. I can prove it myself that Danny's jealous with a capitol J," Cathy said.

"Cathy, for the last time, I am not jealous," I repeated. "And I won't say it again. Because, as my friend, you should trust me."

"I don't know, can I trust you? Cause last time someone trusted you, they got punched in the face," Cathy responded, sounding ever more annoyed than before.

"You don't trust me? Fine. Then I guess I'll just see you tomorrow," I said in reply and walked right out the door.

So Danny pulled a dramatic exit. And he got to hit Max.

How will this effect everything else that's going on?

Find out in the next chapter! (Possibly 2, we'll see!)

Read on!