"I swear I have the worst luck ever." Max groaned to herself, as Mike, Brittany and Shane were partnered with her in a group project. Mike was being cold towards her, which made things slightly less awkward. "So what happened in the first revolution?" Shane asked the group. Brittany pouted "no one cares S" Max rolled her eyes. "Actually. I do" she said looking the girl in the eye. Brittany opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as Mike kicked her under the table. She shot a glare at him and he quickly shook his head. Shane and Max also shared a look of confusion with each other. "Class, collect your worksheets from the front please." Mr Walsh called from the front. "I'll go" Shane offered graciously, he turned to Brittany "Brit, you might as well make yourself useful" the girl stuck a finger at him and followed him.
Out of friendliness, Max smiled at Mike only for him to turn away from her. "What's your problem, Wheeler?" the girl demanded, clearly getting bored of the silent treatment she was receiving. "You" the boy replied viciously. Max was taken aback "Mike it was nothing, we didn't do anything, we just... kissed." This got his attention. He whipped his head quickly to her "it's never nothing with me. The whole school wants to bed me, so I don't get what makes you so fucking righteous." Now Max was pissed. "You're so full of yourself" she hissed as Mike snorted at her. "Please, you and I know that we both wanted it, so don't take the high road with me." Max's mouth hung open in shock. "So what you're saying is that you'd cheat on Jane." Max finally managed. Mike's lips curled upwards in a sneer. "We're in a very open relationship" he said. Max felt herself sicken. Mike's smile dropped "it comes from her side mostly, she's gone the whole way with other guys. All I do is kiss other girls." Max didn't know how to respond to his statement. She didn't know whether to feel weirdly sorry for him or to smack him across the face. "You're a douchebag" is all she could say. "And that's not a very loving relationship" she later added. Mike's face twisted into a dark expression. "Of course you'd know, since you left poor Lucas in the dust, so I guess you didn't exactly have a loving relationship with him either." Max felt like slapping him now, as she saw his face wore a triumphant grin. "We were kids" she choked out. Mike's deviant smile grew even wider. "So were him and Henrietta." Max felt her insides crumble away. She closed her eyes before slowly opening them again. "Well I'm sorry, princess, that I hurt your fucking ego so bad because I didn't sleep with you." Mike's whole smile vanished and was replaced with... sadness? And for the first time he didn't have a response, because Max had hit him where it hurt, as he had just done before.
"So I heard, Mike was making out with someone again last night" Max felt her heartbeat quicken. Her bad luck had continued as she had Ms Dawson's class after, also known as the gossip hub. "I wonder who the lucky girl was this time?" another kid pondered. Max stared hard at the paper in front of her. "Well it wasn't Jane, she was in the basement with Brett" a scrawny girl informed. "Hey, Max" someone called from behind "I bet you'd know since you and Wheeler were practically joint at the hip yesterday" Shit. Max turned around. "Uh... yeah he was just keeping me company since it was my first party, and I have no idea who the mystery girl was... sorry" The girls weren't entertained with her story and just nodded. Clearly they wanted something more scandalous — they didn't know the half of it. The girls didn't bother her for the rest of the lesson and so Max decided to tune them out, drifting off to sleep.
Max made her way tiredly to the lunch hall. She grabbed her food and faced the array of tables. Shane gave her a wave, as did Jane. Max sighed, she didn't have the strength to sit at that table today. Instead she made her way to the table they would've least expected. "Hey Dustin" she said quietly setting down her tray next to him. "Max!" the boy gasped "you're here?" Max cast him a warm smile. "Of course? I still want us to be friends, who do you think invited you guys to that dumb party in the first place?" she asked, eyebrows raised playfully. Will gushed at her from across the table. "Wow Max that's nice... it was also great of you to help us with the whole Mike thing" he said happily. "Yeah!" Dustin added emphatically. "It's actually the most we've talked since —" "since when?" Henrietta asked, approaching them with Lucas at her side. Max tried to quash the pain swelling in her heart at the sight of them. "Nothing" Will said. Henrietta looked quizzically at them before waving at Max, who despite her glum mood, couldn't help but wave back.
"So you kinda left us abruptly last night" Henrietta said to Max. Max stopped drinking her water, her stomach dropping. "Yeah... I wasn't feeling too good, you know all the punch and stuff" she said sheepishly. "God knows what goes in that cup" Henrietta replied. "It's pure fuel, Ri" Dustin said dramatically, earning a laugh from the group. Max's spirits were almost immediately lifted. "So Max, made any other friends? Other than us of course?" Henrietta asked placing a hand on her chest. Max hesitated before answering. "Um, Shane and Jane so far" Henrietta's eyes widened. "Jesus, you're here for like what? One day? And you've already rocketed up the social ladder" Max forced a smile at her "Yeah I guess" she mumbled. "And not only them... but Mike as well, from what I've heard." The other girl rambled. Max's body went rigid. "What?" Henrietta bit back a smile. "It's okay Max, we've all been there before, everyone at school crushes on him, it's like a rite of passage." The girl said with a laugh. Max and the boys didn't join in. "Trust me, I definitely don't like him like that, and he's just in a few classes of mine and —" "an old friend?" Henrietta finished off. Max whipped her head towards the boys. "Look I know that you, the guys, and the king and queen over there, all used to be friends, it's cool." Henrietta informed. Max wondered how much she knew, instead choosing to reply with an awkward "oh... right." Lucas smiled uncomfortably from his seat next to Henrietta, Will cleared his throat, and Dustin coughed into his hand. "C'mon guys!" Henrietta said emphatically, rolling her eyes at the silent sight. Max felt herself grin slightly.
"Also Max aren't you cooking in that turtleneck? It's boiling outside." Max felt the love-bite throb against the fabric. "I woke up feeling a bit sick" she lied. It was a lame lie but surprisingly Henrietta bought it, as did the others. Max flared at her tray, pushing the peas with her fork. Fuck Michael Wheeler and fuck his stupid love-bite, she thought bitterly.
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