It'll Always Be You Chapter 7: Max, The Love Guru, a maximum ride fanfic

Hello again. So I make a huge mistake in here, so Fang's last name is Ride not Walker. The whole thing, when they get married, then her name will Max Ride. Can't believe I effed that up. Max, Ella, and her mom are all members of the Martinez family. Please excuse my stupidity. I will try to refrain from making mistakes in the future. I know this is my first fanfic, but come on I can't keep pulling rookie mistakes like that. So yeah, enjoy. I'll be trying to update weekly. Not sure if I will pick a day, but I do want to get a new chapter by each week.

*sigh*

Please work with me here. I'm an extremely lazy person, with school and after school shit. I literally, on average, don't get home until around 5:30-6 and still have to clean, eat, shower, and bullshit my way through homework. I honestly have no idea why I decided to do this now. Junior year is quite possibly the worst timing but I needed the stress reliever and the first chapter was just wasting away in my files.

I also spent the entire weekend packing up my house so I totally lost my laptop. Not good. Finally found it.

So, these characters aren't mine even if I wish they were and sadly, none of these songs were written by yours truly.

I apologize for my flakiness with updating. So...enjoy.

(Make a Move by Icon for Hire)

(Max, Fang, Iggy, & Gaz)

Somebody make a move

Please Somebody

I slowly circled the mic stand eyes closed and gently swaying before my part came. I faced the crowd and gripped the mic tight between my hands.

Test my reality

Check if there's a weak spot

Clingin' to insanity

In hopes the world will ease up

Try to make it look like it's all somehow getting better

'Cause I know how to play it pretty good against the measure

Everyone started out a little insane

I shrugged to the lyrics before looking into the crowd at the next lyrics.

But we learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game

But some of you never learned to drop the act

So under that skin of yours: a heart attack

I stomped my foot the the beat before ripping the mic from the stand and surging toward the crowd. I hiked my leg up on a speaker and bobbed up and down along to the music.

'Cause everybody's so scared

We don't wanna go there

We don't wanna make a move

We got all our lives to lose

Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out

I play along

Like I don't know what's going on

I backed away from the speaker slowly and singing into the mic.

Somebody make a move

Please somebody make a move

We all know

We all know what's going on

And if I had the answers I'd have written them out

So I can tell you what to do and what this thing is about

But all I've ever learned comes second-hand

And I dare not preach what I don't understand

I walked over to Fang. His fingers were flying over the strings and I couldn't help but smile at the look of concentration of his face. I sang into the side of his face bobbing to the beat, shifting closer to his heat. He flashed me grin and slightly leaned into me.

You and I; we share the same disease

Cover up; compromise what we grieve

I've let more than my share of revivals die

This isn't pretty but it's what I am tonight

I backed away from Fang and back to center stage.

'Cause everybody's so scared

We don't wanna go there

We don't wanna make a move

We got all our lives to lose

Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out

I play along

Like I don't know what's going on

Somebody make a move

Please somebody make a move

We all know

We all know what's going on

I walked to the front of the stage. I felt the excitement and warmth of the crowd, in addition to the heat of the night. I glimpsed my friend's faces scattered close together all cheering for me. I grinned at them. I ran my fingers through my long hair, flipping it to the other side

Pointing my fingers the problems still linger

They keep getting bigger and I hold the trigger

Running with fire, I live like a liar

Please somebody make a move

My head tilted back on the last note listening to the combined voices of my bandmates singing before snapping up to sing my next line.

Somebody make a move (I'm pointing my fingers)

Somebody make a move (The problems still linger)

Somebody make a move (I'm pointing my fingers)

Somebody

Somebody make a move

I walked back to the mic stand and closed my eyes in concentration, singing the next lyrics.

'Cause everybody's so scared

We don't wanna go there

We don't wanna make a move

My eyes shot open.

Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out

I play along

I hopped in a circle, arm outstretched dancing to the music. I rocked out to the end of the song, losing myself in what I loved.

'Cause everybody's so scared

We don't wanna go there

We don't wanna make a move

We got all our lives to lose

Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out

I'll play along

Like I don't know what's going on

Somebody make a move

Please somebody make a move

We all know

We all know what's going on

( 2ｘ)

(End of Song)

I laughed, slightly out of breath before looking back at the guys. We were already high on the rush from performing. I heard nothing but the screams of the crowd and I walked back to the mic stand before sliding the mic back into place.

"Nice way to start, eh?" I laughed at the crowd's screams.

"For those of you who don't know us, my name is Max. Don't wear it out." I gave a slight bow in greeting. My smile stretched impossibly bigger at the crowd's insane reaction. I walked over to Gazzy resting an arm on his shoulder.

"The blue eyed cutie on bass is Gazzy. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from the nickname." I smirked at the laughs from the crowd.

"The right lady will love it." He winked in Nudge's direction. I saw her blush heavily all the way from the stage. I laughed before hopping onto the platform to where Iggy was sitting on behind the drums, leaning an arm on his shoulder.

"This freckled stud is Iggy." I smiled down at him.

He sighed dramatically. "I have indeed have been gifted with an abnormal amount." I ruffled his hair playfully before looking to Fang. Iggy squeezed my hand in support.

I jumped down from the platform a few feet from where Fang stood.

"As some of you may have noticed, our usual guitarist, Dylan, is not here tonight. Due to… unfortunate circumstances he has decided to leave Nevermore." I paused to let that sink in. The crowd was quiet, waiting for me to continue. I slowly approached Fang as I talked.

"Luckily, an old friend of mine happens to be extremely talented and offered to fill in for tonight." I rested my hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed.

"So I'd love for all of you to meet Fang." I smiled at him softly, holding the mic out to him for him to say something.

He leaned in and offered a shy smile to the crowd. "I hope I'm doing alright for you guys."

I swear I felt all the girls swoon in response. They screamed his name louder than they did for any of us. Fang's eyes widened in surprise, before shyly rubbing the back of his neck and biting his lip. I felt myself blush along with the rest of the girls and maybe even some of the guys. I cleared my throat before patting his back in support. I walked back to my place eager for another song.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, I think it's time for a new song." The crowd screamed in response.

"This one was written for all the people out there, who all feel like giving up. Situations are shitty and life sucks sometimes. But the past has passed and we have nothing but the future to look forward to. It's all about right now."

We jumped into Now and the crowd loved every word of it. Afterwards, we followed with fan favorites like Homecoming, Kiss with a Fist, and That's What You Get. I took the drums as Iggy sang Chelsea Dagger. The music pounded everywhere I went, hammering into brain, rewiring it to the sweet sound of lyrics that meant everything to the loud thump of my heart. My body hummed with energy. My skin grew warm with adrenaline, the back of my neck dampening my hair with sweat. I was now incredibly happy with the decision to wear a crop top. What little air there was tickled my lower back and stomach. I was shining with a glow I only ever got from performing and gleamed with sweat from the brightness of the stage lights.

I found myself looking at Fang frequently throughout the night. He and Gazzy were working perfectly together and interacting as if they'd known each other for years, rather than a week. They laughed together through the music, dancing with me, and playing back to back. I'd seen Fang happy, but never so openly. I'd seen him smile more on stage, than I had this entire past week. The more songs we played, the more relaxed and at ease he became. He wasn't just concentrating on not messing up, he became confident in his abilities and he dazed me with his intensity and skill. He'd quickly excelled in practice, but he truly came alive under the roars of the crowd. He was feeling the rush we'd quickly become addicted to. Every time I looked over to see him smiling, an answering smile graced my lips.

I'd performed several times before tonight but nothing could surpass this feeling of complete and utter ecstasy. I couldn't think of a single moment in my life where I had been happier than right now up on this stage. I was so happy our fans loved Fang as much as the other members of Nevermore. I didn't realize how nervous I was about the crowd's reaction until they shouted their approval. Because even if Fang wasn't permanent, I still wished he was.

But soon the minutes were slowly winding down on our slot of happiness and we only had room for one more song. We had decided to end with a slower song that held a lot of meaning to leave the our fans craving more. My keyboard was quickly set up and I gingerly sat down before adjusting the mic stand accordingly.

"We've got room for just one more, guys. Hope you all next song is called Last Hope."

(Last Hope by Paramore)

I don't even know myself at all

I thought I would be happy by now

The more I try to push it

I realize – gotta let go of control

Gotta let it happen

So let it happen

It's just a spark

But it's enough to keep me going

And when it's dark out, no one's around

It keeps glowing

My fingers finally came down onto the keys of my keyboard. The music began to pick up.

Every night I try my best to dream

Tomorrow makes it better

Then I wake up to the cold reality

And not a thing is changed

But it will happen

Gotta let it happen

"Come on!"

It's just a spark

But it's enough to keep me going

And when it's dark out, no one's around

It keeps glowing

My eyes drifted to Fang's. Our gazes locked and I found myself singing the next lines to him.

It's just a spark

But it's enough to keep me going

And when it's dark out, no one's around

It keeps glowing

My eyes slid closed onto the next lyrics.

And the salt in my wounds isn't burning anymore than it used to

It's not that I don't feel the pain, it's just I'm not afraid of hurting anymore

And the blood in these veins isn't pumping any less than it ever has

And that's the hope I have, the only thing I know that's keeping me alive

Alive

I stood, ripping the mic from the stand. My body moved to the beat.

Gotta let it happen

The crowd sang along with me.

Gotta let it happen

I sat back behind my keyboard holding out the last note before slamming my hands back down onto the keys.

It's just a spark

But it's enough to keep me going

So if I let go of control now, I can be strong

And when it's dark out, no one's around

It keeps glowing

( 2ｘ)

Ahhh

Ohhh

(End of Song)

The roar of the crowd was insane. I stood, grabbing the mic. I let out a deep breath before laughing. Gazzy and Fang gently took off their guitars and stood them off to the side before coming to join me up front. Iggy emerged from behind the drums before jumping down from the platform to come stand beside me and we all easily settled into our given positions.

"Tonight… Tonight has been incredible. We wanna thank everybody who came out to support us tonight and we want to say hello to any who will now support us in the future. We love to do this and we love you all for loving us do it." I tossed the mic off to Gazzy who set it on the keyboard.

We stood how we always ended a performance with one small difference. When I looked behind me, it wasn't Dylan's light blue that greeted me. It was Fang's endless obsidian that suddenly captivated me.

I'd never appreciated the beauty of the dark until that moment.

We all lifted our hands above our heads and the bird symbol took flight. My heart soared seeing the crowd mimic our hand gesture. The main lights shut off and our bird shone for the last time of the night.

It was finally over.

We ducked behind the curtain out of breath and sweaty. We were all still out of breath but laughing through our pants. The ends of my hair were slightly damp from sliding against the sweaty skin of my lower back. I gathered it up and held it so I could air out. I glanced to my bandmates and saw them in similar states of perspiration.

I grabbed some napkins from a table and tossed some to each. I shamelessly wiped the back of my neck, chest, and armpits before tossing it into the nearest trashcan. After we'd all relatively removed all excess sweat we all looked at each other smiles on all our faces.

"Let's go see everyone out there. I'm sure they're dying to talk to us." Gazzy took off presumably to find Nudge in the throng of the crowd, Iggy following closely behind. I turned to Fang and gently nudged his arm with mine.

"Was it everything you'd imagined?" We followed slowly behind.

He hesitated. "That and more. It was… amazing. You do this all the time?" His eyes sought mine for answers.

"This was our first big performance, but this is the jist, yeah. Addicting isn't it?" I laughed.

He breathed out deeply. "Understatement."

I shrugged. "There's not any words that could perfectly describe that feeling. I'm glad you got to experience them yourself. Even if it was only one time."

"Well, I'll never forget it. Thank you." He gripped my wrist and pulled me to a stop.

"Even if it was only once, I'm glad you let me do this." His brow was furrowed as if he was trying to search for the right words to say that would convey his thanks to me. His eyes looked into mine searchingly, as though I was the one who held the answer. My features softened at his frustration. I gently changed his grip so I now held his hand in mine.

"You don't need to thank me. You're the one that saved Nevermore from looking like a bunch of losers. If we hadn't performed tonight, it'd ruin everything. So, thank you." I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

His expression cleared into something I didn't recognize. For once, I couldn't read one my best friend. I tugged his hand gently in mine.

"Are you ok?" My other hand came up to gently cradle the side of his face. His eyes flickered to my hand and back to my eyes. We stood there for a breath, our gazes locked on each other searching for answers we both couldn't find.

He cleared his throat, his hand coming up to slide mine off of his face. He muttered a quick I'm fine before stepping back slightly. He breathed out deeply before gesturing towards the exit.

"We should go find everybody."

"Are you sure you're ok?" I asked unsure.

He chuckled lightly. "All good." He held out his arm for me to go first.

"Lead the way." I looked at him suspiciously before crossing through the gate that separated the crowd from backstage. We merged into the crowd, staying close so we wouldn't get separated. I headed to the last place I had seen them all while I was onstage. I turned to check if Fang was still behind me, but he was gone. I stopped surprised.

"Fang?" I called. I doubted he would hear me through this crowd but I still hesitated before moving on. I pushed my way through to the edge of the crowd so I'd have an easier time navigating my way through. I looked for about a minute before getting frustrated that I couldn't see anything. I was by no means a midget, but most of my friends were. I huffed before sliding my phone out of my back pocket and typing in my passcode.

"Max Martinez?" I turned at the sound of my name. Behind me stood a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, dressed fairly nicely. Despite the weather, he wore a navy blue buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the collar elegantly popped, his tie loosely fastened. His shirt was tucked into a new nice looking pair of pants and he donned an expensive looking watch on right wrist.

I didn't recognize him. "That's me. Can I help you with something?"

He smiled at me. "I hope you can. You're lead singer for Nevermore, correct?"

My throat went dry. I tried not to draw my own conclusions based on his attire and persona. I swallowed my nerves and awkwardly coughed through my babbling. "Uh, yes, that is me. Me. Me as in Max. I'm Maximum Martinez. I'm Maximum Martinez. Hi. "

He laughed before holding his hands up to stop me. "Yes, you're Max. I just wanted to make sure."

My words died in my throat and I blushed.

"My name is Tom Parker. I work in the music industry. "

My jaw dropped. I should always trust my hunches. "Oh, w-wow. Um, i-it's a p-pleasure to-to meet you." I stammered.

He folded his arms. "Well, I don't personally work there. My brother does. However, my sibling doesn't particularly take to crowds so I thought I'd come out and check things out for him. He's a busy man, but I think it'd be worth his time to look into you guys. You have proved to be a crowd favorite and have a hell of a lot of stage presence. Are you interested in what I'm saying?"

I frantically nodded my head.

"I think you're really talented kid. You're band is going places and I wanna help get you started. How old are you guys?"

"We're all seventeen." I crossed my fingers hoping it wasn't a problem.

His eyebrows shot up and he whistled. "Pretty young. Even your guitarist?"

"Him too." I held my breath.

"You're guitarist is definitely talented for his age. His name is…?"

"Nick. We all call him Fang, though."

He smiled. "Fang. I like it. I like him. The public will eat him up."

"We like him too." I added lamely. I tried not to cringe at my idiotic reply.

He chuckled at my response. "I don't think the age will be a problem. Talent at that age can't go unnoticed. Nevermore is definitely worth it. Here's my card. Call me after you've discussed things over with your bandmates and parents if need be. If things go as planned, we'll have Nevermore in the studio within the next few months. I'll be in touch." He handed me his card before disappearing into the crowd.

I stood there frozen staring at the small piece of paper in my hand. I took a shaky breath. My eyes slid shut and I slowly slid his card into my back pocket. My fingers weakly punched in my passcode and the next thing my phone was pressed to my ear.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri- "Max, where are you?!" Alex yelled. I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I screamed into the phone.

"MAX! Are you ok? We were all looking for you! We're all by the backstage exit! Ma-"

I hung up and sprinted to where they were at. As soon as I saw them, I started screaming again. They all looked alarmed but I didn't stop screaming or running. I launched myself at Iggy. He caught me barely in his surprise and swung me around with the momentum before setting me down clumsily.

"Woah, there." I ignored him and let out another loud scream of joy and jumped onto Gazzy's back. He oof-ed in surprise and I yelled in triumph and happiness, not entirely sure if was making any sense in the slightest but I was too incredibly happy to care. I quickly slid off before jumping onto Fang. He knew it was coming so his strong arms caught me around the waist, lifting me before setting me back down.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you." I shouted at him. He pulled away from my death grip, his eyes confused. His arms pulled away to where his hands we're only on my waist. His hands touched the bare skin of my waist due to my crop top and the butterflies in my stomach jumped.

"What happened, Max?" I smiled at Fang and everyone else. I pulled away from Fang and stood in front of them all. With a huge smile on my face, I reached into my back pocket and held out the card to them. Gazzy took it, a puzzled expression on his face and everyone leaned to look over his shoulder.

Silence.

I watched the pure shock unfold on everyone's faces. I watched as the realization kicked in and the happiness take over. I stood there alone in front of them with the hugest smile on my face.

They all started shouting and jumping in excitement. Next thing I knew I was being enveloped in so many arms, I lost count. I was lifted into the air and high fived. Everybody was laughing in shock and happiness. What we'd been hoping for, for so long had finally come to pass.

"When?! What happened?!" Alex shook my shoulders.

"I was with Fang and looking for everyone but we got separated. I walked to the edge to get a better view when he found me! He found me! He was asking these questions about us, asked for my name and everything! I told him we were all seventeen, still in high school and he said we were good! He said Nevermore was going places. He really likes Fang! His brother is in the music industry and he said he'd hook us up! His name is Tom Parker and HE WANTS TO PUT US OUT THERE!"

"Did you tell him about Fang not being permanent?" Alex asked.

My smile froze. "No."

"You didn't think that was important?!"

"I didn't remember! I was to awestruck by being approached." I snapped.

"This might change things. He liked the band he saw tonight. You said he liked Fang in particular. What is he gonna say when he finds out Fang isn't a permanent member of the band?"

I spluttered.

Oh my god. What would he say?

Seeing my expression, Isaac came over to sling his arm over my shoulder. "You said he liked Nevermore. Last time I checked there were four members not just Fang. Stop stressing over nothing. He'll love you guys regardless." He flashed Alex a look.

Tyler ruffled my hair. "You should really chill out, Max. You guys are really talented. You'll find someone else if this guy doesn't work out. And if he does have connections like he says he does, he might even be able to hook you guys up with a new guitarist."

I swallowed my anxiety, nearly choking on it. I can't believe it hadn't crossed my mind to mention our band's current… predicament. I angrily ran my hand through my hair and forced a smile. I pushed down the rising self-hate and forced a smile.

"You guys are probably right."

"We always are."

"You may find yourself asking: why have these incredibly handsome, wonderfully intelligent, outstandingly funny, remarkable human beings decided to spend their time with me? Well, we're merciful human beings, and we have taken you under our wing." Jacob smirked before slapping high fives with Tyler and Isaac. I laughed but smacked him lightly on the chest.

"You guys are ridiculous."

"Now may I be the first to ask you to dance? We all know you're dying to be asked." Jacob bowed to me.

I laughed before giving a mock curtsy. "Why I would love to."

He grabbed my hand before leading me into the throng of the crowd. I followed closely behind before we turned to face each other. The others followed behind, pooling into the crowd and dancing too.

"Are we really going to dance or are you going to ask me for love advice?" I yelled over the crowd. My hips slowly found the beat and began to sway.

He shrugged before grabbing my hand to twirl me. "Figure we could to both."

I rolled my eyes. "I already told you what you should do."

Jacob scoffed. "Telling Isabelle that I like her face is not the right way to win her heart."

"The more you deliberate, the more time you have to punk out. Be spontaneous. Sweep her off her feet with a kiss."

"That could be considered sexual assault, if things don't go as I would like them too."

I laughed, tossing my head back. "Well, you could have asked her to dance, instead of me."

He couldn't seem to think of an answer for that.

I couldn't take this anymore. "I'll be the gentle push you need to get the girl. Ready? 1,2,3, GO!" I quickly spun him around and shoved him hard in the direction of Isabelle. He was barely able to slam to a halt before completely trampling over the girls. Ella, Angel, and Isabelle flinched in surprise. Jacob awkwardly shuffled his feet before mumbling something. Angel and Nudge exchanged coy grins to each other and slowly slinked away over to join me.

Isabelle gently took Jacob's hand in hers. Jacob towered over her, but he looked anything other than threatened. He actually resembled a small puppy shot with cupid's arrow.

Nudge mouthed wow at me, Angel giggling.

"Hook, line, and sinker." I held my hand out for a high five and Nudge slapped it.

"Look at you, you love guru." Angel teased.

"When it's not her love life." JJ shimmied over.

I scoffed. "Your guys' opinion of me is astoundingly-"

"Accurate." Ella tapped my nose. I rolled my eyes at them and turned my nose.

"It doesn't take a genius to know you and Nudge have it bad for those igiots." I looked over to Iggy and Gazzy who were doing the robot. Fang stood in the middle of them, and when he would try to get away, they would block him in with loud BEEP BEEPs. We laughed and he looked over to us, frustrated.

"I think I'll go save him." Brigid fluffed her hair and strutting over, when she turned around abruptly. She looked to us, temporarily distressed.

"How do I look?"

"Amazing as always, Brigid." Angel smiled. Brigid confidently grinned before resuming her strut.

"She's gonna break a hip." JJ frowned at her slightly excessive...hip swaying? Booty popping? I don't know what the heck she was trying to do with herself.

We all watched as Brigid stopped in front of the boys and say something. Iggy and Gazzy looked to each other before beep beeping away and walking like robots to us.

"He's leaving so I don't understand what she expects to happen." Nudge frowned.

"She doesn't think with her head, that's why." JJ made a face and pointed to her crotch.

"Ew! That's my cousin!" Nudge gagged.

"He's not her cousin." Ella laughed.

"Does Fang even dance?" Angel looked over at them awkwardly.

We all turned to look and I burst out laughing.

Fang stood there, stiff as a board. Brigid was dancing around him, occasionally touching his chest or arms. She tried to get him to dance with her, but he stood there unmoving and face expressionless. But Brigid was persistent and kept dancing around him.

"You have to admire her tenacity." Alex smirked. I laughed with the girls before turning and beginning to dance again. I pushed the thought of Fang and Brigid together to the back of my mind where it couldn't bother me. I wasn't entirely sure why it did bother me, but it seemed easiest. I flashed a smile to Nudge before bonking my hip against hers.

The night was still young. I had every intention of enjoying it.

So, I'll try to get the next chapter in by the end of this week as a present for taking too damn long to update. I wanted to update as quickly as I could so I didn't go back and edit this one so if you spot any big mistakes don't be afraid to yell at me in a review.

'Til next time, lovelies.