05| g e t t i n g  h e r

Zayne threw a football onto the ground, wiping his face with the towel sitting under his gym bag and turned when he heard someone speak. Max stood behind him, a look of anger etched onto his face which made Zayne smile.

"What can I do for you Grey?" Zayne asked, rubbing the back of his neck with a towel. Max's glare deepened but still, he stayed silent and waited for Zayne to turn to him, which was precisely what he did when his question was met with silence. "Cat got your tongue? Or let me rephrase that, Cara got your tongue?"

Avoiding the violent urge to snap back, Max just huffed. "I'm here to talk to you about Jacobs. You're getting awfully close to her. Are you cheating?"

Zayne laughed, a deep exhalation that soon turned into an array of chuckles before he fell silent again. "You seriously woke up early to doubt my charm?" He laughed again, "I would've thought you had more to do but once again, I overestimated you,"
Suddenly, those words flipped a switch inside Max's head and he narrowed his eyes so quickly, he almost couldn't see at all. He took a step forward as a warning and Zayne smiled once more.

"Look," he picked up his bag, "If you want to win Tris so badly, speaking to her would help,"

"Don't tell me you aren't afraid Mahone. Obviously if I speak to her once I'd land her in my bed," Max retorted.

His confidence made Zayne's blood boil and just the image of Tris wrapped around Max made him sick to his stomach. Regaining his composure quickly, he turned to him and said, "You'll probably only get her when I win but you'll have her freely at least. I just thought that for once you'd be tired of getting my leftovers,"

And just like that, he walked away, leaving a red faced Max who began to piece together a plan on how he'd get Tris.

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Tris stared at herself in the mirror again, this time with a smile spread across her face as she stared at the blue dress she was wearing. Colourless floral patterns were inked into the dress from the hem, delicately crawling up to her knees.

Rosy, her other red haired friend, stood behind Tris, smiling at her in a motherly way. "C'mon gorgeous," Rosy teased, poking her shoulder playfully, "Your hot date's waiting for you,"

Heat spread through Tris' cheeks as she waved her friend's hands away. Inhaling deeply, they made their way downstairs where T.J, Rosy'a boyfriend, and Zayne were waiting for them.

"You look gorgeous," Zayne told Tris. She smiled at him.

"You too Mahone," she chuckled as they walked out into the warm night. Tris looked up at the sky, admiring the stars that sat in the distance and longed for the nights when she'd curl up outside and stare at the stars for what seemed like hours. Zayne noticed the longing in her eyes but remained silent, turning towards the car.

The ride to the party was silent apart from the slightly quiet radio. Tris tapped her knees anxiously, taking deep breaths as she thought of Max. Every time she thought of him, her heart rate accelerated, making it harder for her to breathe.

She knew that the night would go in many different ways, some as unbelievable as the others and as Zayne parked infront of the double story house, she realised that she was hyperventilating.

"You ok?" He asked, turning to her. She jumped slightly, only realising then that Zayne had been watching her the entire time. She nodded and before he could poke further, she got out of the car and took rushed steps to the front door.

Music bounced of the walls, flowing through the warm air louder than it needed to be and Tris found herself shouting to get Zayne's attention. "I'm going to get us drinks!" He yelled, slipping away from her.

She frowned but nodded before turning towards the make-shift dance floor that was filled with people laughing and dancing. Two adults were seated by a table filled with snacks- Adrien's parents.

They were shaking there heads in disapproval of the attire most of the girls were wearing but stayed silent, occasionally throwing their heads back to drown their judgements in vodka shots.

During the summer in 7th grade, Aiden had found out that he was adopted and his parents, in the heat of the situation, had decided to give him whatever he wanted. That promise had lasted 5 years, longer than Tris guessed they expected it to last.

A hand suddenly tapped Tris' shoulder and she turned, her heart nearly stopping when she saw Max standing infront of her, a smile on his face and a red cup extended in her direction. Slowly, she got the cup from him, her breathing slowly down when she felt his hand touch hers and she smiled, trying to look calm.

He gestured for her to follow with a jerk of his head and she nodded, wondering why he'd chosen tonight of all nights to approach her. Had he seen her show up with Zayne? Or was it because of what she'd worn?

Either option didn't seem to satisfy her but she just went along with it, glad that she was finally receiving the attention she desired. They walked out of the main room, not knowing where they were going but it didn't matter; both of them had thought they had each other in their claws.

They walked out of the house, leaving the pounding music behind and Tris was relieved to feel the cold night air on her body. Max stopped walking, looking around the empty backyard cautiously, like someone would be watching them before turning back to Tris.
"I like it out here," He said, desperate for a conversation starter. Tris nodded, turning to face the wide open space behind them. A small smile played on her lips; Max was talking to her after all these years. Twice.

"It's beautiful," She stared up at the sky for a moment and turned back to him, "and it smells better,"

They both laughed, nervousness evident in their voices. Tris wanted nothing more than to clear it but whenever she was around Max, she fell silent. Silence crept up to them, the sound of chirping crickets and the thumping of music being the only sound in the garden.

"Ok. I know it's pretty sketchy that a stranger like me snuck you out of a party," He blurted out, "but I wanted to get to know you better seeing as you will be my sister's bridesmaid,"

Tris chuckled, her cheeks heating up at the thought of Max spending more time with her. He gave her a hopeful look, his eyes lighting up strangely and Tris knew there was no saying no.

Not like she wanted to.

"That is strangely accurate if Rachel even considers marrying anyone," Tris joked. This time, their laugh was less nervous and she could sense the happiness in his smile as he took her hand in his again. They began to walk down the garden, the moon producing a sliver of light while the thumping thinned down to silence.

Max looked around, his hand oddly comfortable in Tris' hand, something he never predicted in his plan to slide in. He'd flirted with many girls-including hand holding- and he had never felt the particular warmth that Tris' hand was spreading through his body.

Though it felt good, he tried to ignore it, focusing instead on his plan; to get the kiss and leave. The mood was absolutely perfect; the moon was shining bright and an oceany scent had loitered in the air. He'd learnt about 'moods' from his sister's romance films that he needed to endure when she was in her rare non-sporty moods.

"So tell me about yourself," Max said, deciding that he needed to be patient. Obviously, he was going to win because come on; Tris was head over heels for him. If it weren't for the gossip floating around the school about the bet, he wouldn't have been so confident.

Now, he knew that Zayne Mahone was finally scared that he would lose and Max savoured the fear in his eyes every time he saw Tris in the same room as Max.

Staring at the sky slightly, Tris pondered on what to tell him that wasn't at all personal. "Well," She said, pausing for a moment, "I love cooking I guess and I volunteer at the local community centre but I haven't been in anything,"

He nodded attentively, slightly surprised about her other hobby which he was sure Rachel had never heard about because he would've at least know by now. Him and Rachel shared almost everything from sports games, to test results and secrets.

He also wasn't oblivious to the tiny hints she dropped about Tris, telling him almost everything about her she knew and he was 100% positive she'd never mentioned anything about the theatre.

Tris noticed the frown on his face, "I haven't told anyone from school really. Not even the girls,"

"It will be our little secret then,"He squeezed Tris' hand softly, his eyes meeting hers and he slowly leaned forward. She found herself leaning forward as well and her head kept screaming yes. After all those years of waiting, she'd finally be getting her first kiss from Max Grey.

The moment was almost like all her daydreams, the moonlight bathing the two as he held her close to him; close enough for her to smell the cologne he'd sprayed in that night.

And they almost kissed that night. Max almost won the bet and Tris almost got her first kiss from the boy she liked.

Then, someone just had to blow a horn directly in Max's face and he just had to jump away.

"Oops!" The drunken girl muttered, holding down her vuvuzela, "I was looking for the bathroom. Someone told me I'd find it here if I just blew this loud thing,"

Max's face had turned red, his mind already on the culprit and he stormed off, leaving Tris to deal with the drunk girl. Holding back a sigh,  Tris turned to the girl and grabbed her hand, slowly leading her to the bathroom while she blabbered on and on about the 'glory of the blowhorn' or whatever. She tried not to seem too upset, her mind hovering over the memory of how close Max had held her a few minutes ago.

She was sure he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to him because of the look of irritation that had formed on his face the moment they were interrupted. In her head, she kept on replaying the moment in her head but there was difference.

Each time she saw Max storming off, She imagined him whispering something under his breath along the lines of 'to be continued'. She wasn't sure whether it was her imagination or not but she knew, it wasn't over.

That thought seemed to comfort her and she began to conversate with the drunk girl. As soon as they found the bathroom, the drunk girl hugged Tris tightly. "Thank you. I was gonna explode. Now go have fun," She said before disappearing through the door.

Tris smiled and began to hop down the stairs, taking them two at a time. She paused when she saw Zayne pacing at the bottom of the stairs. His face was screwed up with worry and his hair stood messier than usual, a sign that he had been running a hand through it constantly.

"You okay?" She asked him as she got off the bottom step, her hand awkwardly placed on the stair railing. He paused, steeping towards her. His eyes scanned her face for any giddiness, his breath hitched.

He gave her a once over, his mouth opening to say something, but he was stopped by a fist to his face. He sweared, turning to see who had punched and standing infront of him was Max Grey, looking mightly pleased with himself.

Zayne couldn't help but smile because it meant that his plan had worked. Max had not kissed Tris.

Meaning, Max had not won the bet.

*
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Musawa