I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Can't say it enough. I have had the biggest writer block (weird to say that. Never thought of myself as a writer) for this story. Probably because I read four books in the last week. The whole divergent series. Which I still have mixed emotions for. Be prepared for a divergent fanfic from me, I was not satisfied with that ending. So in order to hold you over until the real drama filled ending, here is some Maddie-Zac fluff. Enjoy. 2-3 chapters to go!

XXX

And for a time, everything was calm. In about three weeks, Madeline would be turning seventeen, her first birthday at home. The extravagant party was already in the works and invitations were sent to many people from the high society. Emilie and Teddy still planned to get married that following summer, finishing touches to dresses were made, including Maddie's bridesmaid dress. Phoebe was packing up her things to move into the Aspen house. Their last family trip had inspired her to move forward in her career. Ana and Christian reconciled after the event with Jennifer, realizing that the past was the past and what was important was their love for one another. Christian eventually forgave Madeline as well for her trip to the jail. He realized that she needed closure too. It seemed as though the darkness was gone and the family was becoming close again.

Upon returning home from the hospital, Madeline was given a few different types of medicine and instructions from Dr. Kramer. She had to take certain pills in the morning, another capsule before bed, and maybe even an herbal tea in the evening to calm nerves or stress, a possible trigger for her episodes. Dr Kramer was also pleased to learn about Madeline's knack for music and said that playing the piano could be very therapeutic. Things were going well. Madeline had enrolled in the high school that Zac also went to. Even though she knew there were constant glances and whispers about being kidnapped and rumors spreading through the school, she actually enjoyed going to school with people, connecting with them and finding common interests. She hadn't gone to school with people in a long time. She met a girl named Piper who was in her Anatomy class. Piper had long blonde hair and was super tall, destined to be a volleyball stud. She had green eyes that reflected off of her sun-kissed skin and yet she wore no makeup. Her trademark outfits were a t-shirt and jeans, and her laid back personality was appealing to Madeline when the rest of the school was itching for gossip about Madeline kidnapping experience.

But despite the happiness she felt, something wasn't going right. Ever since her incident, she had noticed Zac pulling himself away. They weren't romantically involved, so it shouldn't affect her this much. But it did. She tried to contact him numerous times, to apologize. For what, she had no idea. Maybe to take away some guilt he might have felt about that day? Or to say sorry for the way her father treated him. After weeks without a response, Maddie's heart skipped when she felt the slight buzz of her cell phone. The text read a simple: "Sorry it's been awhile. Hope you're OK".

Maddie replied, "It has been. Are you OK?"

Another buzz. "Sure."

Maddie sighed. "You've been avoiding me at school."

"No I haven't"

"Yes you have. You almost dropped your pizza running away from me when I said hi yesterday."

"I tripped."

"Did I do something wrong? Are you still upset about what happened?"

"Of course not, I don't try to ignore you."

Maddie frowned. "Where are you?"

"At home. Why?"

She shoved her cell phone into her pocket and went downstairs. Her father sat on the bar, a laptop in front of him, the light reflecting off of his glasses. Ana sat on the couch, a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Maddie stopped at the bottom of the stairs when they both looked at her. "I need to run to the store for some supplies for a project. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Drive safe." Christian set a ten dollar bill down on the counter and returned back to his work. Maddie walked over to the back door, choosing one of the many sets of car keys and made her way out. She drove the short distance to Zac's house and ran to the back. She didn't know if his parent's were home, but she wasn't in the mood for small talk with them. On the second story was Zac's room, very mature for his age. She picked up a pebble and through it at his French doors. She picked up another, then another, until Zac came out, without a shirt on despite the cold weather outside; his breathe white puffs in the air.

"Maddie? What are you doing here?"

She giggled for a moment. "Doesn't this seem backwards? Isn't it the guy that is suppose to throw rocks at the girls window? I need to talk to you."

Zac went inside for a moment, and then threw a rope ladder over the balcony. Maddie climbed up, grasping his hand to get over the threshold. Maddie smiled a huge grin, her nose and cheeks bright red. "This is very useful. You must use it a lot." She raised a suggestive eyebrow.

Zac gave her a small smirk. "Just get inside."

Looking around his room she saw many interesting things about him. He had a few albums near a large stereo system; U2's "The Joshua Tree" sticking out to her view. She smiled remembering her dad talking about seeing them live in concert. Zac had tons of metals hanging from the wall and a picture of the swim team. Maddie looked closely and finally found his face. He seemed to be the only one smiling. Feeling comfortable in the space, she sat down on his unmade bed, leaving him standing. Zac swallowed, staring down at his feet. "You wanted to talk?"

Sighing, Maddie stood up, pacing around the room. "Yes. I do. Look Zac, I'm really sorry about all that happened. I know it was very dramatic and crazy, but I'm getting better. And you shouldn't feel guilty about anything." She looked deep into his eyes, a sincere look.

"When you were unconscious, Dr Kramer had said that stress could be a trigger. I just didn't want to stress you out when I was around, you know with your dad hating me and all."

Her eyebrows rose. "You thought you were stressing me out? You actually kept me from not breaking down for as long as I did. I mean, I may be stressed about us right now-"Zac's eyes widened at the word us so Maddie quickly recovered. "Our friendship, I mean, but it's because I don't want to lose you. And I really don't care if my dad hates you. He hates most people. That's kind of who he is." She smiled warmly. "Look, can we just be friends? I…." She faltered for a moment, her guard coming down, "I really missed you."

Zac stared at her for a moment, then smiled at her, a hint of sadness dancing on his lips. "Of course." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into an embrace. Maddie didn't even care that her cheek was on his bare chest. She missed him a lot, and was glad for the comfort of safe arms. As he started to pull away, panic arose in her and she did the only thing to keep him close. She kissed him. At first it was light, timid, but then she felt his mouth relax and deepen their kiss, his hand sneaking into her hair. He captured her face in his hand, strumming his thumb in soothing caresses to compliment the soft butterfly kisses on her lips. She finally pulled away and looked into his eyes. She grinned and whispered, "You know, on some deep level I was hoping you would do that." He kissed her again and the finally untangled themselves. Maddie glanced down at her watch. "I have to go. I told my folks I needed something for school. Got anything I could borrow?"

Zac turned and grabbed something off of his desk. "Glue sticks?"

"That'll work. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Zac kissed her forehead, an action that proved he felt the same way about her as she felt about him. "Goodnight Maddie."

"By the way, my birthday party is in three weeks. I already sent your family an invite. Be my date?"

Zac grabbed her hand, bowing. "I would be honored." He placed a polite kiss on her hand. She waved it away, giggling. With the glue sticks in her pocket, she slowly climbed down the ladder. Almost to the bottom, she missed a footing and landed on the ground with a thud. Zac asked if she was all right, but Maddie gave a loud cackle, standing and dusting off her clothes. With a wink and a wave, Maddie walked back to her car, finally feeling like everything was going right. For now.

XXX

Uh-oh. It's about to get cray. Tell me what you think. My Christmas present to myself and to you is to finish this story before because I don't like you guys, but because I am losing focus with this. Time to start anew. Love you bunches though I have no idea who must of you really are ;)