I was running as fast as I could in my beige heels. My spring-green dress blew behind me as I ran from the out of control party.

My best friend Mila made me come to this stupid senior year welcoming party. I was not going to lie, I loved the parties, but sometimes they went too far.

I had tried to find her in the chaos from all the kids running in opposite directions but I failed to recognize her. I wound up leaving her. I jumped a fence to continue my way towards a house that looked empty. I needed somewhere to hide.

That's when I heard my phone playing my ringtone. I saw the screen to confirm it was Mila and I ducked behind a small bush and answered the call.

"Where the hell are you, Mila?" I yelled at her. I was angry and this whole situation made me feel worse.

"Hey! Sam is giving me a ride home! As soon as we heard the sirens I looked for you but couldn't find you, so we dipped" she explained quickly.

"Gee! thanks for making me come to this stupid party and leave me behind when things got ugly." I whispered harsh into the phone, my hands shaking as my heart rate accelerated.

"I'm sorry Jess!" She sounded genuinely apologetic, but it wasn't enough for me.

"Bye, Mila," I said before, someone put their foot over my left hand, making me scream in pain.

"Damn! Sorry!" the guy said in a low husky voice. It was Maxwell.

He immediately kneeled, his blue eyes scanned over my hand and then they landed on my eyes. I didn't say a word as I waited for my heart to stop beat it this fast.

"It's okay." I got up, trying to make the situation less stressful.  "I have to go," I said without hesitation freeing my hand that was still on his. As soon as I left it I felt my fingertips getting cold.

"Hey! How about we find a place to hide until everything clears up? You can't walk in those shoes anymore anyway." He stood up and I could enjoy his glorious six feet tall in from of me. His scent filled the air we were breathing as he moved pointing at my shoes.

"But I love running away from the police in a dress." I said full of sarcasm, looking back at the house we got out of a few minutes ago.

"I know the perfect place. This house next to us is empty. We can hide there for a while," he suggested as we walked, settling our exhausted bodies behind a tree.

I looked around and felt suddenly tired.  Ten minutes had passed since the police arrived, and they were still searching.

Maxwell raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to answer. "So?" he pressed. I looked at him clearing my my mind from the past.

He has changed a lot.

"Fine," I said, not trusting him one bit. What was he really after?

He hasn't spoken to me in two years. When he came back for our sophomore year he did text me, but I never replied. He called as well, but I didn't answer.  After that he didn't even try to mend things between us. Now out of the sudden he was here talking to me.

My skepticism disappeared when he clutched onto my hand and lead us to the big backyard. There was a white ladder hanging on the wall beside the garden. He waved towards the ladder, wanting me to climb it.

"Are you serious, Max?" I said, giving him an incredulous look. This wasn't a good idea at all, I had to be home. I looked around one more time and I saw two figures moving towards the backyard.

"Come on Jessica, hurry up!" he whispered, sounding pissed as he checked if we were free from the police.
"You go first! Dude, I have a dress. I don't want you to see my underwear," I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

He sighed and started to climb the ladder. I followed him and double-checked my flanks.

It was a cold night. It was Autumn and the weather was having some ups and downs. I shivered when the cold breeze brushed along my skin.

I looked at the night view from the roof. West Roxbury looked amazing; the houses were dark with only a few lights on, and the sky left me speechless.

"Are you cold?" he asked as he took a step closer, making me take a few steps back.

I wasn't scared of him. I just had to admit that I never got over him. His presence sent tingling sensations to my stomach. I was so weak.

"I'll be fine," I lied. The truth was, I was cold and I didn't think I could stop my trembling any longer.

Max looked at me and gave a sweet smile before asking something the whole school had been wondering.

"Why do you hate me?"

I looked at him, ready to give him an answer, but as soon as I saw his eyes on me I couldn't find the right words. To be honest, I didn't hate him. I thought it was better to avoid someone who could take my heart and break it and with no effort.


"I don't hate you..." I admitted.

"You're trying to be funny? Everyone knows you don't like me" he said while looking at the sky, but then he looked back at me with an emotion I couldn't name. "You don't have to lie."

"Why are they taking so long?" I asked,uncomfortably looking down to see that there were still people in the house.I pretended I haven't seen the dissatisfaction in his eyes. 

"The last time they took this long was because they found drugs at the party" he said with calmness. Max was lying on the floor with both arms behind his head.

"Drugs!?" I exclaimed with wide crazy eyes. "Dad will kill me! If he finds out I was near drugs he will definitely ground me forever and then kill me," I said. I almost stood up and ran back home that second.

"Calm down! Is weed. Besides, you're not there to blame for consumption or possession," he said while he closed his eyes. I wondered how he could be so relaxed in a moment like this when the cops were still surrounding us.

I stared at him and started to relax as I took him in. I fixed my dress and laid next to him clutching my purse under my head.

"I know you worry too much, Jess," he whispered, getting closer to me. I found myself feeling like my old fifteen year old in my balcony talking to him about the future.  "Relax. Soon we will be sleeping in our beds."

"Why are you being so nice?" I asked as I stared at him, my head close to his jaw. I was curious because we have been avoiding each other like the plague since our sophomore year and now he summed comfortable with me.

"Because you're alone in a mess you can't handle. I thought it would be good to have someone you know with you." His voice was lower than before as if he was falling asleep. 

"Thank you," I said while looking at the sky and enjoying his dry and sweet cologne.  It was involving me more into this moment making me forget about the teenagers still hiding like us.

"Hey, why don't we play a game?" he suggested, while he leaned forward to sit down on the pavement. 

I almost giggled at his sudden. enthusiasm. "Hmm...alright. What type of game?" I asked suspiciously, still laying on the rooftop with my hands resting on my stomach.

"Twenty questions," he stated, his blue eyes shining as if he gave me a great game to play.

"Are there any rules?" I said while making a face. I still wasn't in the mood to play such a silly game since all my anxiety and tension was eating me alive. I decided to play to see if that way I could at least forget about it momentarily. 

"We have to be completely honest. I'll start," he said and laid his head on the wall behind us. "What is the weirdest nickname you had as a kid?"

"Oh God! That's not a fair question!"

I thought about not being honest, but what could go wrong?

"We're playing, you have to answer." He yawned after the last words left his mouth.

"Well, my dad used to call me Pissy Missy. I used to whine about everything," I explained, covering my face. It was embarrassing because I was a down to earth girl and complaining was not me.

"Are you saying that you were a spoiled child?" he asked, smiling at me, genuinely surprised at the new information. 

"He stopped calling me that two years ago, when I finally grew up." I continue, still embarrassed at how childish I used to be. I was feeling comfortable with Max. It used to feel like this years ago.

I heard his laugh and let me tell you, it was beautiful. "Who would have thought Jessica Bradford -the most center minded girl in school-, was a whiny kid?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't make fun of me! I know a few secrets of you too" I warned him with a deep voice, trying to sound intimidating.

"Hey! No need to threaten me," he said, raising his other free arm up in defense.
"My turn." I said, thinking up my next question. "What do you wish you knew more about?”

I knew he was good at school.  He was the basketball team captain and according to our teachers he was smart. I also knew he was.


"I wish I knew more about you." He answered truthfully with a soft calming voice.

"Why?" I chuckled, nervously as I felt my heartbeat drumming in my ears.

“Does that count as a question?" He said sitting up as I straighten my body as well.


"Yeah" I said and my lips shivered a bit due to the cold.

“  I will ask mine first. I think it's how the game goes" his husky voice sent me to a trance from which I didn't want to exit.

I nodded still nervous about his answer. Max and I have benefited from staying away from each other. I was sure I wasn't going to fall in love and get distracted from getting what I wanted in my future. He enjoyed his free time with every girl he liked. Something he wouldn't have been able to do if we ended up in a relationship. 

“ Are you ready to stop avoiding me?” he asked.  The melody and seriousness of his voice send alarms to my brain. What was this? "I mean...we can always try to be friends again," he said with hesitation in his voice.

"It's better this way because to be honest, I don't want to be your friend," I said trying not to look at him. I was honest. I have had a crush on him since the day he walked through the door on our freshman year, and the label “friend" wasn't enough for me.

"Ouch." He stared at me while his mesmerizing eyes scanned my features as if he was trying to see something beneath my skin. “ I don't know what went wrong...we used to be friends"

"I'm sorry. I have my reasons." I smiled sadly not wanting to say more. We used to be friends before his mother died at the end of freshman year. “ We have survived high school without being in each other’s life, why should we start now?”

He went away for the summer and when he came back in August we weren't the same. He got hotter and more charming than before I, on the other hand,  became more close off and focus only in pursuing my dreams.

He stared at me again lost in his own thoughts as I felt miserable under his gaze. I looked down to my feet until he spoke again.

“My answer to the question before is because I feel there's more to you than what you show and I wish I was one of those who get to read the book ...again" his eyes glinted against the moonlight.

“ Max…” I felt like shit at that moment.  Things should have stayed like they were. I knew I shouldn't have come to this party.


“ It's my turn again! What are you the most afraid of?” he asked, dusting off his disappointment with a cheerful tone.

“ To never move on" from you. I replied, hoping he wasn't too interested in knowing more. I was so scared I wasn't going to get over these feelings for him  “ I made up my next question fast “yours?”

"Bunnies." He said fast as if he already thought about the answer. He didn't hide his curiosity after my previous answer, but he seemed to understand I didn't want to talk about it.

"What?!" Now it was me who was laughing. "Bunnies, Max? Bunnies?!" I asked, laughing even harder.

"Hey! Haven't you seen their red eyes?" He said with a scared face. "That's fucking creepy."

"I will buy a bunny now," I said with a smirk.

"That will only make me run away!"

"I will use it, in case you tell people about my embarrassing stuff," I threaten him with my best crazy psycho look.

"You're amazing," he said, lowering his eyes to look at me. I felt my stomach burn with a tickling sensation "Next question."

God, Jess! This is exactly why you avoid him. He has this weird effect on you.

I just smiled at him feeling the usual heat on my cheeks.

"Thank you! I thought this was going to be another boring night at that party, but look where this ended up."

"Well...You're welcome! Good to know my boring answers are giving you a good time. But, aren't you the party king or something? " I said on the verge of yawning.

"Not every gossip is true" he whispered sadly ” You get two questions in a row now," he said, avoiding the topic.

I decided to ignore it too. Monday morning we will be the same strangers as before.

His eyes looked back at me and his lips made a small move. He was going to say something more, but after a second he decided not to.

"My next question. What was the craziest thing you've done for a guy?" he asked as a yawn escaped his throat.

"I've never done something crazy for a guy.l, but once I got airplane ticket to see this guy after he left for the summer. I never got to see him he never returned my calls and I had a plane to catch to Japan," I answered and looked away, trying not to show any broken pieces I had inside. Maybe he will hint that I was talking about him. I made a stop in Philadelphia to see him and give him a last hug before the end of the summer.

" That was risky...you must have been in love with this guy" his voice sounded slightly harsh. I just nodded while hugging myself feeling suddenly cold.

“ My mom used to say you only fight for love when your heart tells you someone's worthy. I think that most people are just too scared of love to fight for it" he rested his head on the wall. "I guess it's your turn now."

I spent a few quiet minutes thinking about what he said. Was I going to be able to find that love to fight for? Or will I die trying? Could it be him? Or was I too scared?

I pushed those thoughts away.

"What's your biggest secret?" I asked, but I didn't get an answer back. I looked down to the main street to confirm there were still two police cars. I looked at him and smiled.

He was sleeping with his head resting against mine. I took that moment to enjoy the view. His dark hair moved with the gentle breeze and his pink lips were partly opened. I sighed and looked at the night sky and started to count the stars, causing me to fall asleep right next to him.