Chapter 1: Short Change Hero

I can't see where you're comin' from
But I know just what you're runnin' from
And what matters thinkin' who's baddest but the
Ones who stop you falling from your ladder
When you feel like you're feeling now
And doin' things just to please your crowd
When I love you like the way I love you
And I suffer but I ain't gonna cut you

In his right mind, Maxwell Jacob Friedman would have chosen any destination aside from this one to make his great escape from the Greatest Place in the World™ which had somehow turned into his own personal hell in such a short amount of time. There were millions of places with perfect beaches and roughly a million unbelievably hot women in tiny bikinis, and someone serving him fresh tropical fruits. But did he choose those?

Not unless he's having a nightmare during a beach nap, and beach naps aren't really Max's style anyway. Partying and banging his way through the hottest ring rats he can find? That's his style. So he's not on a beach. He's in goddamn peaches-everywhere-motherfucking-Georgia, and he hates the South. So in case there are any questions, the past Max that made this decision was not in his right mind.

It's not his fault that this loss has hit him so hard as to damn near knock him out of his shoes like they say about victims who get hit by cars.. He wishes Adam Cole had run him down… in a fucking Range Rover… a bulldozer… a tank. It might actually have hurt less, and if he'd been lucky enough to be turned to roadkill, it would be over a hell of a lot quicker, too. Hell, Adam's from Florida. They probably eat roadkill in Florida, right? Look at that! Dual purpose – dinner and entertainment. That should delight Cole, since apparently, his favorite form of entertainment is crushing everything inside of Max… Might as well add his bones to the scrapheap of what's left of him.

Or maybe it is his fault. He's the one who let Adam in even though he damn well knew better. Max doesn't have friends. He never has, and he's always liked it that way. So why does it feel like everything is wrong after having felt so right for the first time he can remember?

He never should have admitted to himself just how much he's come to love and count on Adam. He has always proudly made his own way, and there has never been anyone he isn't willing to step on to get to where he wants to be. But right now, he's remembering all too well the way that he became this Fort Knox hearted man, and it's grief. He won't say that to anyone. But it is absolutely grief. The last time he remembers feeling grief like this was when he lost his grandfather, and the brutality of that loss – the loss of the man whose influence still makes Max who he is to this day – is right there alongside the grief of the loss of something that never really was. Perhaps that's the worst part of all. Knowing that the love and trust he once had in Adam was all a joke. He can imagine Roddy and Adam laughing their asses off behind his back at the easy trust Max had given to Adam. And the rage he feels at that is trumped only by the heartbreak.

The old Max wouldn't have made this mistake. The old Max would have destroyed Adam at the first opportunity. But the new Max is the one who is here now, hurting, broken, and feeling so fucking lost and alone that he doesn't know what to do or how to move forward.

But for some reason, the only thing that makes sense to him is to come here. He rings the doorbell after a little too long trying to talk himself out of it, and is actually just a little surprised when the door opens.

"Max?" Cody Rhodes asks, his blue eyes searching Max's face with concern. "What the hell are you doing here?" His voice is gentle – far more gentle than Max deserves from him. And something in the kindness of his former friend and the ache of the loss of the person he thought was his friend makes it damn near impossible for Max to speak.

"I…" he looks at Cody, and a million things he should say run through his head at once. I'm sorry, maybe. Or, Please don't send me back to New York right now. I can't be there. Or, I shouldn't be here, I'll go. But what comes out of his mouth is a choked up, "I… World's End. It's…"

Cody's concerned gaze tells Max he already knows. He's already seen what happened. He knows that the side of Max that he's never shown the world before has been put on public display, and summarily used to destroy him. And as much as Max's own actions in the past have stood between him and Cody, the older man can't turn away a friend (or even a former friend) in need. He doesn't say anything right away… just steps aside and holds his arm out, directing Max to come into the house.

Max steps in, Cody shuts the door behind them, and then the two men are face to face again… for the first time in a really long time. "Cody," Max says, his voice cracking with emotion. "I'm sorry." It takes only a second for Max to find himself embraced by his former mentor and friend. Cody's arms around him feel like what he thinks a big brother's might, and he isn't able to say anything else, instead just burying his face against Cody's chest and hoping he doesn't cry.

He doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve any of this. He's been nothing but a monster to Cody, nothing but a liar and a bully. He's been, in many ways, the Adam Cole to Cody's MJF, and that doesn't sit well with him. Not right now. Not while Cody is still the Cody he's always been despite having every right to laugh in Max's face and tell him to fuck off. "I fucked up," Max finally manages, and Cody shakes his head.

"Not now, Max. Let's get you in here. It's too cold to have a conversation by the door."

Despite himself, Max has to smile just a little bit. "You Southerners are such pussies. I just came from New York. It's beach weather here." A momentary pause, and then, "Thanks… for letting me in. You didn't have to. I probably wouldn't have."

Cody shrugs. "Old habits die hard, I guess. Let's go to the game room and talk. Probably the safest place for you to be when Brandi gets home."

Max cringes. He hasn't faced Brandi in private since the way things went down with Cody, and he has no doubt that she's got a thing or two to say to him about that, too. "I shouldn't have come here. I know that. But I couldn't be in New York anymore. I needed a change of scenery… from like… amazing hot people and the greatest everything in the world to peach everything and hillbillies with no teeth."

Cody smirks. "Annnnnd there's the Max I know. You're welcome to stay here for a while if you need. But you should probably go ahead and prepare yourself for Brandi telling you exactly what she thinks about you. Because you're not gonna make it out without her saying her piece."

"Won't be the worst thing that's happened to me in the last week," he says, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "Not even close. Hell, it might be an improvement."

Cody gives Max a small smile. "Clearly it's been a while since the last time Brandi reamed you out. You seem to have forgotten a thing or two."

Max isn't sure why, but even after everything, he feels safe in the Rhodes home… mostly safe anyway. There is still the day of reckoning incoming with Brandi, but Cody's still Cody. And despite all the betrayal and hurt in their own past, Max knows that Cody gives a damn about him. He just can't figure out why.