DISCLAIMER: I don't own MR.

Fang

A month had passed. And so did nine plans.

"Please, please, please Fang. Can we do THIS ONE?" Tess begged, pointing at a page of the flip chart we used. The part shown had a summary of the plans, and how it turned out in the end. Overtime, it got covered with random stuff from staying up all night and convincing me to do them.

Plan B: Fairy lights. Everyone loves fairy lights. As much as I wanted to recreate some scene that had something to do with covering the whole clearing with the sparkly stuff, more complicated questions appeared, like on where we were supposed to plug it without disturbances, or if it was ever going to be seen from Max's window.

Plan C: Perform a cheesy and/or romantic song in the coffee shop where Max usually goes to. It was always about the timing. I had done five songs in five different days without her showing up. Needless to say, the owner got tired and I never planned to return.

Plan D: Put a dozen or so roses in Max's locker with a message in each one. Without signing name. After discreetly leaving one rose with one message in her locker, she arrived at lunch holding it and saying, "I am going to kill whoever is pranking me again with my bare hands." We all agreed to cancel it, and I left an apology the next day.

Plan E: Write anonymous letters to her until the end of the year. This, Iggy figured, might've yielded the same results with the rose thing. So it was skipped.

Plan F: A notebook -slash- scrapbook filled with stuff concerning the two of them. I wasn't a pack rat, so there wouldn't be much to put in it, even if it wasn't about only the two of us. Plus, photos of Max and I together were very rare that it would've been easier to just use Photoshop.

Plan G: WRITE SOMETHING FOR HER. Most times anyone could compare my writing to my talking: I was pretty much a guy of a few words, and it got worse whenever I got nervous.

Plan H: Give a guitar, or any musical remembrance that would remind her of Fang. To know what kind of guitar she wanted, Tess had this conversation with her and we found out that she hadn't touched the guitar since sophomore year, since she had stared focusing on academics.

Plan I: Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. She had once told me that being given chocolates turned her off, because of the one time that her dad sent them chocolates and The Gasman ate a lot of them. He barfed them all up and remarked that they somewhat resembled the color of her eyes.

Plan J: Ask her to prom. As easy and as realistic that seemed, there was no way in hell Max was going to a social event like that, even if someone like Fang or Iggy was the one to invite her.

So, yeah, they didn't turn out so well. Anyway, back to the present.

"Oh come on, Fang," Iggy said. "It's going to be really simple. You don't need to get dressed up, you don't need to bring anything saying 'relationship'."

Of course, it was a very simple plan. But it wasn't that easy. Tess wasn't pointing at Plan K or any other letter after that. She was pointing at the very top, at the first and probably the only plan I did not want to do or get involved in.

Plan A: Talk.

"Seriously, you are wearing me out from all the convincing speeches I gave you that didn't work." Tess added. "Why can't you do it?"

"Because things are still awkward between us. I don't think meeting at some coffee shop and talking about our feelings is going to help."

"Well, I guess we'll have to do this."

"Do what?"

Just then, Iggy snatched my phone from the table and threw it at Tess. She caught it with one hand and started texting.

"You're going to stop me if I try and get it back, right?" I asked Iggy. He nodded.

"Done." Tess said with a satisfied grin. I started to reach for it, but she put it in her pocket instead. "No way, you're not yet getting this."

"Then when can I get it back?"

"Before you talk. That is, if Max ever agrees."

Max

As much as Nudge was convinced that all her plans were a hundred percent effective and fashion- savvy, well, it wasn't. For the former, anyway.

This was probably the tenth meeting, and so far, no plan worked. I watched as Nudge carefully spread out the plans on my carpet. Many of them had an x on the top right side in the red marker. All were stained by some sort of beverage, and a couple marked with lip gloss and eyeliner (Nudge's, I swear).

"How many do we have left?" Ella asked as she tried to count all the x's.

"Not much." Nudge replied. "And I'm already running out of ideas.

I snorted. I was pretty sure she had run out of them a long time ago.

Plan 002: Go to the clearing. All about timing. Plus, from what we heard, Fang's also pretty much focused on studying now that it's senior year.

Plan 003: Ask Fang to help her with something music or guitar related. Besides the fact that I hadn't touched my guitar in almost two years except to clean it, I didn't want to mess with its perpetual state. And again, a reference to academic standing.

Plan 004: Be at a place he's going to be. Besides the timing (again), I didn't agree to this one because it sounded very stalker-ish. Also, I couldn't always waste my time trying to figure out where he was. And no way am I "coincidentally" going to be at his house. That's just plain creepy.

Plan 005: Write an I'm- crazy- for- you- letter. I have to mention yet again that I am Max Ride and I do not do such thing as writing a mushy, romantic letter. There were also other things to worry about, like what I would do in such situation that Angel (who promised to be the messenger for this one) accidentally put it in the wrong locker.

After that, the other stuff became pretty much repetitive. It was all about where to go or what to give. Besides, according to Nudge, you can only reuse an outfit for so many times. So yeah, they were practically the same.

Except for one. And that was the only one I refused to do.

Plan 001: Talk.

I haven't had a decent conversation with Fang in what feels like an eternity. Asking him if he wanted to meet up somewhere and hang out with me and nobody else was a very complicated task. It was easier to say than to do.

"I still say it was Fang who gave you the rose. The vibes agree." Angel said.

"Anyone else could've done that. It wasn't in his handwriting, too. And why would he ever do it when he knew that so many incidents involving roses and the word 'prank' had happened before?"

"Because he might've wanted to take a chance?"

"Interesting, but I don't think that would ever happen."

Just then, my phone vibrated, giving a signal that I had just received a message. Nudge dived for it and let out a girly shriek five seconds later.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Fang just asked if you wanted to hang out with him tomorrow. Just him!" She exclaimed.

"No, I'm not-"

"Too late," Angel said. "She already replied yes. You better meet him at the main entrance after class."

Well, this might be my last chance anyway. So why not?

Third Person POV

Max wasn't prepared for this. Fang wasn't either. But it had to be done sooner or later, with so little time left until they all part ways.

She was the first one to arrive. According to Nudge, Fang had arranged for a meeting at the diner uptown they used to eat ice cream at after school. Max had a sudden recollection of the last time the two of them went there, and how it turned out.

She hoped it would and would not end that way.

He, in the meanwhile, was making his way to the diner. Unlike Max, he wasn't alone: Iggy was there offering some guidance about talking with Max, which were what he learned first-hand. He didn't pay attention to that part, though. The only thing going on in his head were five words.

Do not mess this up. Do not mess this up. Do not mess this up.

"Good luck. I'll be waiting out here." Iggy said as he pushed Fang through the doors.

As usual, they took each other's breath away. But there was no sign of that in either of them. Instead, he waved at her and sat down across the table.

"Hey," Max said.

"Hey."

"So, I guess we haven't talked for a while…"

"Yeah. I mean, we both are busy, with this being the last year and all that."

Both of them were close to hyperventilating. Neither would admit it.

Just like how neither of them knew the other's feelings.

"So, college, huh?" Max said. "It's like I want to leave high school, but I don't want to leave everything behind." Like you, she added silently.

"Yeah, it's really, really crazy."

"So where are you going to college?"

"Well, I sort of decided on Belmont University, somewhere down in Tennessee."

Oh, Max thought, a sinking feeling getting into her. Of course he wasn't going to stay here. It wasn't like he had a reason to. Maybe even if she didn't go, he still would.

"How about you? Where are you planning to go?" Fang asked, somehow hoping that she would be studying somewhere somewhat close to him.

"My dad, he planned out for me to stay with him in Paris. I agreed, and, well, I'll be leaving a couple of weeks after graduation."

If Max thought she had it bad, then she never really knew how Fang felt. It was quite farther than he expected. Max was going to be in a different continent which was an ocean away.

He hoped it wasn't a sign that they weren't meant to be together. She hoped so, too.

"So, are you going to prom?" He asked.

"I have no intentions whatsoever. But I'm pretty sure Nudge will find a way to drag me to school in heels and a dress."

He smiled a little. She loved it whenever random things made him smile, even if it was just a little curve on the corner. "Oh."

"How about you? Do you have a date for prom?" She asked.

"What? No. I don't think I'll be going either." If I said I did, would she have gone to prom with me? He wondered.

Max nonchalantly checked the time on her watch. "I'm sure we should both go. I still have a lot of stuff to do, and I'm sure you do, too."

He nodded. "Yeah. You go ahead. I'll stay here for a bit."

"Um, Fang?" She called out, pulling on the threads of her shirt. This was it… it was the moment everyone must've been waiting for. "I…"

He kept on staring at her, and he was secretly hoping it wasn't any form of rejection.

"I… I'll… I'll see you tomorrow?"

He just nodded.

And the two hearts never did get the chance to become one that day.

Fang

Of course Plan A would be a failure, like I knew it would be.

She probably never even thought of me until then.

I watched her leave the diner without looking back or waving. And for the next few minutes, I just sat there fiddling with the tiny box of tissues, reflecting on our three- minute conversation. Yup, I was totally a failure. A part of me wanted to follow her to Paris. Crazy, knowing that it's not like we're going to be together, anyway.

And I was so caught up with thinking that I didn't even notice Iggy enter the diner, curse very loudly when his head collided with the bell, and sit down across me.

"How'd it go?" He asked, and I jumped, almost falling out of my chair.

"Geez, Iggy, subtle much?"

"Did you not see me enter?"

"Sorry, just thinking of other stuff."

"So are you planning to tell me what happened? Unless you two made out instead of talked, then you can keep the story to yourself."

"Wait, you didn't keep an eye on us or something?"

He shrugged. "There was this guy selling pretzels, and I was really hungry. So did you guys make out?"

The guy part of me wished we had. "No, we did not make out. Also, no, I did not kiss her spontaneously."

"So nothing good happened?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Then what did the two of you talk about?"

I told him the whole story, which only took one minute and thirteen seconds. The whole time, there were no side comments at all.

"She really is going to Paris," he said.

"So you knew something about this?"

"Well, yes. She once mentioned it to me when we were dating. Worth it for her, I guess, since she wants to spend time with her dad."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"But that is so not an excuse for you to give up. I know that Tess is somewhere finishing all twenty six plans."

"And if those plans hypothetically fail?"

"Then we'll look for whatever's next on those Microsoft spreadsheets. Fang, just because Max told you she's moving to another continent, and then chickening out at the last minute and not saying her true feelings-"

"If she ever had any." I said. He ignored my comment, as usual.

"Doesn't mean you have to avoid it, too. Do it like how it's done in movies. Take a risk or whatever they do. I mean, come on. Even I am getting tired of the I- don't- want- to- tell- her- how- I- feel crap. A lot of us have been tired of it since day one."

"I'm not getting moved by your speech, Ig."

"I'm not planning to move you. That never works on you. We always force you. That always works."

"Ooh, I can't wait to find out what you two are going to convince me to do this time." I retorted with dripping sarcasm.

Iggy's phone rang, and he made the universal hand signal for just a minute. I watched him get out of the booth and lean against one of the unoccupied tables. It was obviously about me, since he kept looking at me. Or maybe he was just waiting for me to decide on what I wanted to do next. About Max, I mean.

"Who did you just talk to?" I asked once he got back.

"Your dearest sister. Who, by the way, was mad at you for not being spontaneous in any way at all. And she probably got madder after I told her what happened. On the bright side, we have a sequel."

"Is it new?"

He smiled, raised his pinky, and drew a J in the air. A reference to Plan J, which was to ask her to prom.

"You do know that I can't ask her to prom, right? Do you not recall me saying something about her not planning to go to such social event?"

"Just a little alteration. You get prepared for a sort- of dateless prom, and then we'll find a way to convince Max to go there, also dateless."

"Impossible."

Iggy narrowed his eyes. "You underestimate my power."

Max

Well, that didn't turn out as expected. On the other hand, "unintentionally be in a rom- com- like scene" got ticked off my bucket list.

Actually, no. I don't have a bucket list. And like any other person, I totally regretted not saying those words. "I'll see you tomorrow?" That was the most stupid thing that kept coming out of my mouth. The walkout? And I once wondered if I was an idiot. I guess I have the answer now.

Worst (but slightly the best) three and a half minutes of my life.

It wasn't like I chickened out at the last minute. I somewhat did, but that was not what really happened. I'm blaming it on Nudge who made me watch too many chick- flicks. I would never want to tell a guy that I'll be leaving soon, tell him that I'm in love with him, and then spend a month with him before leaving for what would be at least four years. Across the country might have a chance. But across the ocean? The couple in Going the Distance didn't even get together in the end. If our chances were in percent, there would have to be a lot of zeros after the decimal point before it got to the actual number.

That was exactly what I told Nudge. Verbatim, though you have to change a couple of nouns here and there. But she, of course, did not buy it.

"Max, you do know that that's the substance of any other romance movie? The girl would be like, 'I don't want to be that kind of girl'. After the next thirty minutes, she WILL be that girl. Especially if she said, 'I don't want to be that kind of girl right now'." Nudge replied.

"Face it Max," Ella said, "you really were just scared. Even if we all know he wouldn't be rejecting you."

"Please rewind and correct that statement."

Angel rolled her eyes. "That's cute. You know, the two of you are actually turning to the substance of any other romance movie. The girl that likes the guy but can't tell him, and vice versa. Combined."

"Well that makes me feel better." I replied with dripping sarcasm. "But he's leaving, too. So I don't think this would work. Or begin, for that matter."

"Just because you're giving up doesn't mean we are." Nudge said. "You guys are somewhat perfect together."

"Remove the 'somewhat' before she makes another pessimistic correction." Angel said.

Before I could interject, Nudge said, "You guys are perfect together."

"Stop that. I am ending this." I said, and stood up.

"Yeah right. You are going to prom." Ella said. That made me sit back down.

"How is that even related to this?"

"So the two of you can dance all night." Angel added.

"He's not even planning to go!"

Nudge pulled out her cellphone and flashed a mischievous grin across her face. "I'll find a way to convince him. And you better find a decent dress."

You, yes you, must be wondering why I updated just now. Well, one word: FINALS. It's March, I was busy, and now there's a week left until I am on va- freaking- cation. Which means that I will also have time to write more.

So, any suggestions for the Prom chapter?

I'll be making this short and probably sweet. Wanna leave a review?

See ya!