Rhiannon // Max Mayfield

Bonus Chapter: sinking ship

AN: Bonus chapter! This is set before season 4 and just after Christmas break (When Alex and Rocky became official) Max POV

Max felt like she was hanging from a cliff and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pull herself up. She needed someone to pull her out but no one had reached out, not really. Sure, Lucas tried to drag her to basketball games, saying that she needs a social life. And, Mike and Dustin had tried plenty of times to get her to go to hellfire with them, but Max always disagreed. Maybe it's not that people aren't reaching out, because they are, or at least they're trying. It's because she hasn't reached out.

Max only has herself to blame, she should have just spoken to Alex and opened up about this gnawing feeling inside of her since Billy's death, about how she was sinking and she just needed Alex by her side, not elaborate dates in secret, just the comfort of the girl. However, Max had taken the easy route and pushed the girl away, forgetting that she had also just lost her brother, one who she was extremely close to, Alex had essentially lost her best friend.

This made Max feel selfish. She knew it was an irrational feeling, because people can mourn the loss of loved ones freely. But it felt wrong to her, how she was so broken about Billy's death although they were never close, in his dying hours they were more like strangers than siblings. But Alex, obviously she is just perfect at dealing with her emotions and managed to move on from Atlas's death, maybe it took her a month of seclusion and dying her hair, but at least she pulled herself off the cliff.

The same one Max is dangling from, desperate for the girl to reach out.

The ginger knew she wouldn't, she had no reason to. It was her who broke off the relationship, but they both know Max ended it weeks before then, considering she would barely speak to the girl.

So, she stepped off the school bus, head held high and pretending that everything is alright. It's the first day back after winter break and Max is over Alex, over everything.

She spotted Alex across the courtyard, sat on a bench with a couple girls in her group. Max had never bothered to learn their names, they're all popular anyway, a couple of them on the cheer team, others on Alex's baseball team.

Max suddenly realised her self-mission of avoiding Alex would be harder than possible. Max couldn't help but notice that she had somehow become even more captivating over the winter break. Her hair was now fading, more blonde than pink but somehow it seemed to be a perfect fit for the girl, she had it tied back, with just a few strands framing her face. Max wouldn't deny that Alex's choice to wear eyeliner was a good one, she just looked perfect.

Max was jealous of her ex-girlfriend, she wouldn't admit it to anyone, ever, but she is. She's jealous of how Alex always looks perfect, even after finishing a baseball game, all the other girls are red-faced and sweaty, but Alex looks like a model. She's jealous of how Alex always has a group of people around her, usually those two boys Isaac and Luke, but like now, it's like her personal entourage of girls. She's jealous how easily Alex can bounce back from what happened in the summer, or at least how she makes herself look like everything is okay, even though life always deals her the wrong cards. She's jealous of how Alex catches everyone's attention, she always has some boys, sometimes even girls, looking at her as if she is some sort of diamond.

But Max, she's just there. No one really takes much notice of her, besides a few pitying glances from people who knew Billy, or at least knew she was his sister. Or the estranged looks from her former classmates, wondering what happened to the sarcastic girl who joined their classes in eighth grade. She is always either by herself or with the party, but even that's rare enough, everyone having different priorities.