Shattered |Maxxie Oliver|

FIN

The only other time I saw Maxxie was during the exams. Afterwards, I never saw him again. I partied and visited Chris after he got out of the hospital.

My parents took me to Spain for a holiday, to celebrate me being done with exams.

After many drinks and one-night stands, I went home. And everything was different.

Chris was dead. Had a subarachnoid haemorrhage and bled out. Jal had an abortion. Cassie left Bristol. Maxxie was also no where to be seen.

Apparently I got home just in time for Chris' funeral. And none of us were invited. So we decided to crash it.

I was wearing a tight black dress, holding my A Level results in my hand. We made a pact to not open them until after the funeral.

Only a few hours later, we were all standing on a hill above the cemetery where Chris was being buried. I avoided eye contact with Maxxie and held Jal's and Michelle's hands as they lowered the coffin into the ground.

As the priest spoke, so did Jal.

"I've been thinking about what Chris would have wanted me to say today. The advice he'd give me. Which would be something like, 'You know what, babe, fuck it.' These guys know all about me. Tell them about someone different." She took a deep breath, "So I thought I'd say something about a hero of Chris's. A man called Captain Joe Kittinger. In 1960, climbing into a foil balloon, Captain Joe ascended 32 kilometres into the stratosphere. And then, armed only with a parachute, he jumped out. He fell for four minutes and 36 seconds, reaching 714mph before opening his parachute five kilometres above the Earth. It had never been done before and has never been done since. He did it just because he could and that's why Chris loved him. Because the thing about Chris was he said yes. He said yes to everything. He loved everyone. He was the bravest boy... man I knew. And that was... He slung himself out of a foil balloon every day. Because he could. Because he was. And that's why... And that's why... we... we loved him." She finished.

The priest finished and Jal nodded at Tony, who nodded to someone in the back of the group. Fireworks went off and was all watched as they exploded in the sky.

The fireworks went on into the night until we decided to settle down. We drank beers by the fire and Tony grabbed a bag.

"Results o'clock, I think." He stated before walking around so we could put our envelopes in, 

"Chris would want us to have a party, a proper blow-out before you guys all leave." Anwar said after he put his in,

"But mate, I'm leaving tonight." Maxxie replied and I froze, 

Tonight?" Anwar question,

"Yes. Me and James are on the late coach to London." Maxxie answered before locking eyes with me, 

"We're all busy, Anwar. Maybe at Christmas when we come back, yeah?" Tony said before shaking the bag, "Right, then. No peeking."

Sid reached into the bag and pulled an envelope out, "Tony." I watched as Anwar left as Sid opened the envelope, "Three A's and a B. Cardiff it is, then."

"Yeah, and if anyone gets me a Baa Baa fuck Sheep, I'll kill them." Tony joked,

"So, who's next?" Sid asked and Maxxie reached into the bag, "Annie."

I held my breath as Maxxie opened the envelope and smiled, "Two As, a B, and a C. Congrats, Anne."

I smiled over at Michelle before she reached in and grabbed an envelop, "Sid." She smirked before opening it, "B, C, C."

"Yay, Sidney boy! Good job." Tony slapped Sid on the shoulder and I reached into the bag,

"Maxxie." I stated, not looking up at him and reading the results, "B, E."

"B, E. B. Not bad. I be, I be." Maxxie joked before placing his cigarette in his mouth,

 "Nice one, mate. Chuck us the bag, 'Chelle." Sid got ahold of the bag and grabbed Jal's, "Mmm, Jalanda. Two A's and a C." He read.

We all cheered for her scores before Michelle took the scores and gave it to Jal, who was still mourning Chris,

Tony pulled out another envelope, "Michelle. B, A, A. Well done. Looks like you're off to York." He smiled,

"Well played, 'Chelle." Maxxie reached into the bag, "Hang on, still one left. Anwar." He read, "Where's he gone?"

 "He was there a minute ago." Sid commented,

"They've been opened." Maxxie said,

"He'll be fine. He worked really hard." I stated,

"Two E's and a U." Maxxie read and I looked down sadly. "How fine is that?"

He failed.

...

I was up on the roof of the apartment building. The music was loud and there was a bunch of people, celebrating their last night of being a teenager.

I danced to the music, holding a bottle of vodka as I did. A few minutes before, I took a shit ton of pills. I wanted to forget everything.

Michelle came to get me but I refused to leave. I heard her call someone on her phone, but I didn't know who.

I found myself on the edge of the roof, standing on the ledge. I turned to the crowd and screamed,

"Make this a night Bristol will never forget! Tonight... we will be legends!"

They all cheered and continued dancing and drinking. I turned around and stared down at the busy street below me.

Crap.

It's all crap.

Living is crap.

Life has no meaning.

None. Nowhere to be found.

Crap.

Why doesn't anybody realize this?

"It was a dare!" 

I turned back around to see Maxxie standing there,

"What?"

"Me dancing with James that night, it was a dare. Anwar said I couldn't get one guy to dance with me, so I proved him wrong. You never showed up again that night and when I saw you making out with some random guy, I was angry. James called me and asked me out, so I said yes." Maxxie said, tears in his eyes, "And yes, I liked him, but not as much as I love you."

"You liked him enough to move to London with him."

"Not anymore." Maxxie took a step forward, "I love you enough to stay. Now, please, get off the ledge."

"I took a lot of pills." I stated, "If the fall doesn't kill me, that will."

"Then come here. We'll take you to the hospital, get your stomach pumped. Continue the way we were." Maxxie said,

"We will never be the same, Max." I replied, "Chris is dead! Cassie's gone, everyone is leaving! Nothing will ever be the same."

"Come down, Annie. And we can work it out." Maxxie begged,

"Can we?"

______________________________________

And that's the end! Thank you for everyone who voted, commented, and read my book! I shall be making a Generation 2 fanfiction, so keep your eyes out for that in a few weeks!