I don't really have much to say…

Ch. 12:

Max POV

Irritated to the point of eye twitching, I entered the house after the long hours at work. Being careful to slam the door very loudly behind me, I let out a groan that should have described my entire existence. Even with the money Anne was paying me, I was nowhere close to the amount you needed for Stanford, not to mention the fact I wasn't even sure if I had been accepted yet. Fang was my freaking History partner, which kind of got in the way of me avoiding him. Not to mention, on top of it all, Ari and Nudge and Angel and Iggy were all giving me grief about not telling Fang who I was. I snorted. Like Iggy was one to talk; he still hadn't gone within a 3 feet radius of Ella since the dance.

"Max, dear?" I heard Anne's sickly sweet voice call. "You're home?"

"Yeah." I called back cheerfully, trying to disguise the tension in my voice.

"Come into the kitchen, please." I sighed. Obviously Anne was about to drop a bomb on me. What was it going to be this time? Was I going to have to spend the night sleeping in the attic again because Brigid wanted a sleepover that she could only handle having in my room? Or was I going to have to go back to the ice cream shop and clean out the soft serve machine for the third time this week?

As I entered the kitchen, I decided to drop the act. "What is it?" I asked, irritation flowing through my voice, which was actually oddly comforting in a 'let it all out' kind of way.

"Sit down, you're going to need it." Anne smiled sympathetically while patting the chair next to her. I raised an eyebrow at this. Not only did Anne completely disregard my blatant disrespect, but also she was acting nice to me. "Honey, this is about Stanford." My eyes widened.

"H-how do you know about that?"

"Your letter came in the mail today. Now, I would be mad at you normally for hiding this from me, but considering the… circumstances, I'm not."

Suddenly, everything clicked into perspective. The sympathetic smile. The niceness. The ignoring of my irritated behavior. The circumstance was nothing good. The circumstance was that I had been rejected from my dream school.

I felt sudden tears prick the back of my eyes and I struggled to keep my voice steady. "Ca- can I see the letter?"

"Of course." She handed the letter over to me quickly enough, a smile coming with her words. Normally, I would've rolled my eyes at the satisfaction in her supposedly 'nice' smile, but not now. "I know you're upset now, Max, but remember that you can always stay here at the ice cream shop with Ari." Wouldn't you love that, I thought before excusing myself and racing off to my room.

I opened the letter carefully. Sure, Anne had already looked at it, but couldn't this be some kind of sick joke? Maybe I really did get in. I skimmed the page slowly and felt my heart sink when I read the words: Sorry and Rejected.

"No." I whispered before collapsing on my bed shakily. This couldn't be happening. Why? My grades were perfect. I volunteered in the community. I held bake sales (Well, sure, Iggy made the cakes, but it's the thought that counts) to donate the funds to local schools. How could I have been rejected?

The realization hit me hard, like a punch in the gut. I wasn't Stanford material.

Maybe it would have gone differently I would have waited instead of going for early application, I try to tell myself, but it doesn't change the fact. I'm just not Stanford material.

Ding!

I whipped my head around to see what was interrupting my internal pity fest. It was my computer. I wiped my eyes, getting rid off the tears that had somehow accumulated there.

CladInBlack: Lost?

I rolled my eyes. What a time for him to come in. My Stanford buddy- only, he still had a chance to get in. I didn't. Though I had been ignoring all his attempts to contact me since the dance, I decided now was a good time to stop ignoring. Maybe once he knows we have no chance of going to Stanford together, he'll stop trying to figure out who I am.

ILostIt…Again: Hi, Fang.

CladInBlack: You're really talking to me.

ILostIt…Again: Yeah.

Good. I'll keep my answers short and to the point. It's going to be hard enough being partnered with Fang, if I keep this goodbye minimal, I won't have as much to regret.

CladInBlack: Change in heart?

ILostIt…Again: You could say that.

CladInBlack: I just got a chance to be accepted into USC. My dad's practically celebrating my victory already.

ILostIt…Again: Did you get your Stanford letter yet?

CladInBlack: It came yesterday. Accepted. I don't know if I can tell my dad no, though. Any advice?

ILostIt…Again: You can do what you feel like. It's up to you.

I let out a small sigh. Of course- Fang was having a dilemma on whether to listen to his dad or go off on his own while I was just stuck. Stuck with the ice cream shop. Stuck with Hunter Creek. Stuck with Anne.

CladInBlack: You really don't care if I come with you or not?

As odd as it sounds, I could almost hear his voice, sounding hurt, saying that sentence to me. Something tugged at my heart and I took a deep breath before typing and entering my response.

ILostIt…Again: You wouldn't be coming with me. I was rejected.

There. It was final.

CladInBlack: What?

ILostIt: You heard me. Please don't make me type that again.

CladInBlack: That's crazy. How could they not accept you? You'd be their model student.

At that I had to laugh.

ILostIt…Again: You don't even know who I am. How would you know I'd be their model student?

CladInBlack: I can just tell. Anyway, I need to go, sadly. My mom is calling me to dinner. Talk to you later?

ILostIt…Again: Goodbye, Fang.

I stared down at my last message. It was done. My Internet relationship with Fang Walker was completely done. Never to be worried about again. I felt as if there should have been some fifty pounds or so lifted off my shoulders, but I still felt as heavy as before.

I lost my best friend. I lost my dream college. I lost my shot at a happy ending. Ironically enough, I didn't lose anything tangible today. So in answer to the question that you all are probably wondering:

Life is just great.

Fang POV

ILostIt…Again: Goodbye, Fang.

Though I didn't want to, I noticed how instead of responding with a nice 'Yes, I'll talk to you later, Fang', Lost had only responded with goodbye. When she had told me she didn't get in to Stanford, something in the pit of my stomach dropped. Now, it was almost like Lost and I had no chance of being together anymore. That didn't really matter to me, though. I was still going to try to find her… but something inside of me kept me worrying.

Why did I feel like she was saying goodbye to me forever?

There. That chapter was pretty long, eh? Not to mention I added needed DRAMA!

Laters,

~Cake.