thx for the fb.

Had not actually intended for the father-son "bonding" moment to take dominance in this part, but some suggestions by a poster on another board mentioned abt the father-son underlying tensions... and one thing just led to another and it gave me the perfect opening for the date. That was totally unexpected to me too. Was definitely intending for them to go on some sort of date... just had not figured how the setup would have been.

Just no writer's block then and it came out perfectly. I couldn't have figured on a better "bomb" to drop. hehehe...

Anyway, good news. I've already got most of the content for the next part, just need to write it all out into a coherent passage... can't do much for now... seriously zoned out... but promise to post it up as soon as I get it done.

Thanks again.

Great part.. More soon Please.

Am intending to work on part 6 as I go back home on the train tonight, but before I leave campus, figured I'd comment abt how I'm adapting the story from the book.

Original thought: Use most of the events from the book, but putting the relevant characters in their context (and my own words of course or I'd expect a legal letter from Nicholas Sparks )

The story so far: Other than the prologue and the play, it's pretty much been a different path that the fic's taken. I tend to be pretty verbose lush: lush: and can't help but want to delve more into the why's of what the character (mostly Max's) does.

And of course, the *evil* sense of humour; all me. Nicholas Sparks probably wouldn't be so childish to write some of the stuff the way I've written them. So hopefully, I haven't bored the original readers too much, nor spoiled the book for those intending to read it.

It's a really beautiful book (although too short IMHO!) and I just turn into a total bucket of mush each time I read it. And the last line was totally fantastic for me. It was - to me - a fantastic twist in the tale that so totally caught me off-guard.

Okies... enuff from me. gtg or I'll never be back in time for dinner.

Again, for all the fab fb, THANKS bunnie, Adema and everyone else too!

Okies... think I did something wrong in posting... will re-try again.

Now then... now for the new stuff...

firstly, sorry for the delay as I was down sick for the past week and also rushing multiple assignments - that I even had to extensions for cos of my being ill - so now that I'm on the way to recovery, things will hopefully look up.

Alright, without further ado, Part 6.

PS: Part 7's actually ready to go... but I'd like to get some fb on Part 6 to see how you like the direction I'm taking it so far.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Part 6

Knock, knock.

“Come on in. I'm decent for the public view,” I jokingly shout, my head buried in the closet, searching for a particular piece of clothing that just refuses to be found.

The door opens and shuts quietly, letting in someone who doesn't say anything for a moment. Just as the fleeting thought pops into my head that I might have made a mistake, admitting one of my “adoring” public – I am so public enemy number one right now remember? – to ‘do away' with me, she speaks.

“Max.”

Oh @#%$. I can feel myself die a silent death. See, I do have a sixth sense about things.

My head pokes out from around the closet door at hearing her voice. My heart almost stops at seeing her. She is so the last person I need to see right now considering our last altercation.

“Yeah?” I ask, my voice a carefully neutral tone. My eyes following her with a little wariness as she moves into the room hesitantly.

“We need to talk,” she says, sitting down on the edge of my bed. The tension in her frame is totally transparent. It's as though she expects me to chase her out of my room.

As if I would ever be that mean to consider that.

“Why are you here?” I throw a distracted gaze around my room, deliberately avoiding her gaze. Sighing slightly, I briefly wonder if a tornado just tore through here, leaving a wake of clothes strewn all over the place. Where is that damned shirt of mine?!

“Look, I know things have… been a little strange between us… a-and I think we… need to talk,” she says, her eyes meeting mine with a strange determination I have never noticed before. Have they always been…

“Max,” her voice fills with slight exasperation as she sees my attention wandering, “I know things have been a little… strained between us since…”

A wry grin forms on my face against my better instinct, and I see her shoot me a sharp look intended to get me to focus on how seriously she views this discussion we're having. Well, sort of. Because she's doing most of the talking so far, and I still have no idea what she wants… and still no idea where that darn confounded shirt is!

“Max…”

“Look, I know…” I start out.

“NO! No, you don't!” She practically leaps off the bed, cutting me off before I can continue further.

I am dumbstruck by her sudden outburst. I had not been anticipating an exaltation from her in light of recent events, but I hadn't been expecting the complete opposite either.

“About the dinner… I-I think you need to know…” she suddenly sighs deeply and slumps back down on the bed, holding her tongue as I wait with baited breath to see what this is really about.

Her next words are so soft; I have to strain to hear them.

“I don't think it's such a good idea… the arrangement for the dinner… you know, to…”

What? Now I feel totally blindsided. Where did that come from?

“Look, I know it may not be the arrangement you'd expected,” I say as I settle down gently on the bed beside her. “Heck, I'm not exactly thrilled about it myself, but I made a promise, and I'm a man of my word.”

And yes, I'm so not prepared to face my Dad's wrath. “I'm not going to leave someone in a lurch when…”

“It's just… someone's gonna get hurt and I don't wanna…”

I cut her off before she can continue.

“Why would you say that? All I'm doing is accompanying Liz Parker to the dinner. It's not like it's an actual date.”

Nudging her shoulder slightly, I try to lighten the mood, “Come on, as if you didn't know that pigs would fly over the moon before your little bro would ever WANT to date someone like her.”

“What's THAT supposed to mean?” Izzy's voice suddenly turns defensive.

Oops. A relapse of the foot-in-mouth syndrome. Izzy's a Liz-advocator by the way. They've worked together before on several charity events. You know, being that Liz is involved in pretty much everything good, and my sis constantly involved in the holiday charity events. Having worked together on a regular basis for the past few years, they have formed a pretty stable friendship. And I know the way Izzy gets when she hears people talking bad about her friends: she takes it upon herself to defend their honor.

In Liz's case, it's even more extreme since she's the Minister's daughter, making her a target for sometimes unusually cruel jibes. They're all pretty harmless, just that she gets the flake more often than others I guess.

And NO. I'm not one of the pranksters. Well, not the really mean ones. Come on, can you blame me? It's just gossip that I hear from someone else or that I hear others talking about. Michael, the jocks and I just sometimes joke about the latest ‘updates' we hear. It's not like I'm the one spreading the rumors.

Anyway, I can see that Izzy's about to go on the warpath, so I try to sidestep the potential landmine.

“Come on, I'm just kidding. Don't get me wrong. It's just… look at me,” I stress by pointing at myself, “You know the type of person I am, and you've worked often enough with the Parker girl to know that our personalities are about as alike as night and day. There's no way I can hurt her during the couple of hours where we'll be surrounded by the entire townsfolk, okay?”

A pregnant pause. “It was JUST an innocent remark, Iz,” I add when I see the lingering doubt on her face. “Now seriously, what is it you want to talk to me about the dinner? I'm likely to be late and you're not exactly the person I want to see right now,” as I turn away and continue on my quest for the missing shirt.

“Gee, thanks for being polite Max,” my sister throw a barb of her own as she makes herself comfortable on my bed. She watches me for a few moments while I continue to look for suitable attire for the dinner – yes, it is THE night of THE event and I am going to be LATE unless I can find that freaking outfit.

“I really do mean it you know,” she says a little reservedly as she gets off the bed and tries to extend an olive branch by helping me search.

“Mean what?”

“About you and Liz attending the dinner together.”

“And whose fault would that be?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Turning on me with a disbelieving tone, Izzy glares at me, her hands on her hips. “Are you suggesting that this is all MY fault?!” she asks indignantly.

“Well, Little Miss Daddy-and-Mummy's-perfect-do-gooder, I just call it the way I see it.”

“How dare you make me the…” Izzy suddenly brakes in the midst of her rant and shuts her mouth with a snap, sucking in a deep breath as she appears to try to calm herself down before speaking again. “Look. I came here to try to broker a peace treaty, NOT to start another World War with you, okay?” she says and shifting a pile of my clothes off the chair, she sits down.

I refuse to comment and continue to ruffle through the growing mess in my room.

A soft murmur, then I hear an unmistakable “I'm sorry.”

Do my ears deceive me? I can't help but spin around to cast a questioning look at Iz.

“You're kidding right?” I quirk an eyebrow and look at her suspiciously for a few seconds. “What are you really here for Iz?” Tilting my head to ponder her slumped figure, I rapidly think back on the events of the past week to try and pinpoint the event that may have prompted this apology. I'm coming up with nothing so far… other than her spilling the beans about my involvement with the play.

“Ah,” I release a slight laugh as understanding downs on me. “Dad.”

The one word is enough to cause a further slump in her figure, and her cheeks to stain a deep red. If I hadn't been in this current situation, I'd actually laugh out loud. Isabel's not one to easily admit her mistake, and this was a Kodak moment if ever there was one.

“Well, why did you do it then?” I queried.

It's her turn to roll her eyes at me as she practically spits out the reason, “Isn't it obvious my *dear*, *beloved* brother? Or did I give you more credit than you deserve?”

Okay, I guess I asked for that. The whole school knew about the debacle with the play, and coupled with Izzy's innate protectiveness over Liz, I should have realized that my sister would have wanted to get back at me on Liz's behalf. God knows – and I do mean this literally – that Liz herself wouldn't confront me about it. But that's a separate matter.

How do I know that for a fact? I promise I'll get to it, but right now, please remember that I DO have an irate older sister to contend with?

“Look, I really don't see what the big deal is… and why everyone is making such a big fuss over what I did,” I sigh in frustration and run a hand through my hair.

“No big deal?! Over what you did? Max!” Izzy's getting hysterical now. “ As if you don't know the significance of the play. Not only have you pulled out of the most important event of the Christmas festivities, you also did it over a lame ass reason of an injury that I SO know to be untrue!”

Not stopping to give me a chance to cut in, she continues on a roll. “And of the lowest, most despicable things you could have done… how could you joke about not acting opposite Liz because she was such a plain Jane?”

Hang on a sec. Rumors? WHAT rumors?!

“And say that if she was to be the angel, that they'd probably have to get her in plastic surgery before she'd be believable in the part?!”

“Wait a min-”

“I'm not done yet, buster!” She intones as she holds up a finger, effectively silencing me. She starts jabbing at my chest with said finger, her pokes underlining each word she emphasizes. “WORSE yet! Some GUYS were even joking about YOU! Saying how SHE'D probably SCARE away the audience because they'd be so REPULSED by how the ‘angel' will be so GROSSLY misrepresented!”

By now, Izzy's face is crimson red, no longer from embarrassment, but from deep-seated anger. Anger that is currently directed at me. And might I add, very unjustly so.

“I DIDN'T do that!” I protest vehemently. “Come on Iz. You know me,” as I try to convey my innocence through the expression in my eyes.

“Yes, I do,” she agrees to my momentary surprise. “And THAT's why I wouldn't put it pass you. I wouldn't put it pass you and Michael and the bunch of dumb jocks you call your buddies when you get together. All that male testosterone that's just itching to see who can make a bigger fool of Liz Parker!” She crosses her arms and glares at me, the heat of her gaze ready to burn a hole through me if she had her way.

I heave a deep sigh, trying to figure out a way to convince Iz that I'm as much a victim in this strange twist of circumstance as Liz is.

Starting to pace around my room, I am clearly aware of a pair of eyes intently trained on the back of my head, possibly shooting death rays if possible. “Iz, I swear I didn't say those things. I know a lot of people were disgruntled over my actions… and… Well, I… just… someone started the rumors, but it wasn't ME,” I know I sound desperate, but I'm out of ways to convince her of my lack of guilt.

Stopping to stand in front of Iz, I try to read the expression in her eyes. “I SWEAR Iz. I-I swear on my life!” I look pleadingly at my sibling, seeing doubt beginning to flicker in her eyes as she listens to my fervent pleas for her understanding.

“Well…” she pauses to consider the possibility as she chews on the corner of her lower right lip, arms still crossed in front of her. “Whatever the case, the damage is already done. Whether you said it or not, it's already all over school, and th-that's why…” a note of apology creeping into her voice, “… I kinda did what I did to get back at you. I know Liz would have just ignored the rumors…” I cringe inwardly as guilt washes over me momentarily, “… but I just couldn't stand the thought of her being maligned… and by YOU of all people!”

“Iz…”

“Yes, yes, I know,” she sighs, “You proclaim your innocence, but…” a heavy, confused sigh from her here as she starts to flail her arms dramatically to emphasize her point, “… I was hearing all this talk, and you didn't say anything to me when you came home; what else would you have expected me to think?”

“Well, you didn't ask,” I claim innocently, only to earn a smack upside on the back of my head.

Oow.

Rubbing my head tenderly to ease the residing soreness, I watch her expression. “And besides, like I don't know how ‘protective' you are over Liz. Like I would have thought that I could say such nonsense and NOT have expected you to bite my head off,” a slight quirk pulls at the corner of my mouth as I roll my eyes dramatically to underline my point.

“Well, I didn't…” she tries to hide the laughter in her voice, “… not really anyway.”

There is a moment of silence, but we then both start to laugh, the tension in the air broken. As much as I sometimes feel resentment towards my sister for the way our parents – okay, Dad at least – treat us differently, I really do love her and she can be a real pillar of support in my times of need.

“Max, you're still not listening to me,” Izzy almost whines as she resumes her comfortable position on my bed, her attempt to help me with my search forgotten.

“About?” I query in puzzlement. Oh yes, Liz and me. At the dinner. Together.

“It's just a bargain I struck with Dad to get him off my back after your little stunt. It's nothing more, my dear sis,” I try to reassure her.

“Look. I just don't think it's a good idea considering everything that's happened.” My breath catches momentarily at her last words as I wonder if she somehow learnt about the incident in the gym.

“ You're pissed off that Dad practically gave you no choice in the matter, she's probably seething over the rumors rampant all over school. The way I see it, you'll probably tick her off with some dumb remark…”

Hey, I resent that I'm not given the benefit of the doubt here.

“… And that'll only make things worse for all involved.”

At my questioning gaze, she elaborates, “You know Minister Parker's opinion of you is only going to get tested further. And can you imagine the fracas you'll cause for Dad if anything gets out of hand? I might as well prepare a gravestone for whatever's left of your reputation after that.”

As I ponder her words briefly, I wonder if it really WAS a bad idea to go through with this in the first place.

“I don't deny the possibility of what you're saying Iz. But…” I consider my next words carefully. I really don't want a further display of Izzy's wrath with a mention of the gym incident, “… I don't think Liz would be too thrilled either if I pulled out on her this late. In your own words, I've already upset her with the play situation. It would really be the ultimate coup if I were to do this to her.”

Sighing deeply as she moves off my bed, she moves to the pile of clothes near my chair, riffles around a bit and hands me the shirt I was looking for. My only reaction is a dropped jaw that she found it that easily, and almost miss her next words.

Heading towards the door, she says, “Max, just… behave, okay? I know you're a great guy when you're on your best behavior. But more often than not, you just… rub people the wrong way. Liz is a really great girl no matter what you guys think of her and DO try to make it an enjoyable evening… for BOTH of you?”

Just as I thought she was out the door, her head pops back in. “And despite her cool demeanor Max, I really don't think you want to ‘rub' Liz ‘the wrong way'. She might just surprise you,” she adds cryptically with a wink.

“Sure Iz. Whatever you say.” With a roll of my eyes, I look away and dismiss her with a wave of my hand.

Like anything Liz Parker can possibly do will change my impression of her.

~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC
~*~*~*~*~*~

Ok, just started reading this and I must say, it's really great! Please hurry with more!

Oh...I bet he just falls in love with her! I can't wait to see how they react to each other and what happens at the party!

Dark~ OMG! That was the best! I am dying to hear about the party! Please hurry! And I am so sorry I missed the f/b on the last part, I've been so busy lately, but am trying to catch back up on the fics.

Oh and I do hope it says what she is wearing (although I know it will ) I'm so darn curious!

Hmmm...and it just keeps getting better! Love that Liz got busted checking Max out! And it was really sweet that he remember her favorite flowers from fourth grade! Can't wait for more!

I finally saw the movie. I cried so hard I honestly thought my eyes would fall out! The movie was fabulous...so now I must read the book! Books are always better than the movies. Can't wait for a new part!

Yhoo-whoo! I'm so excited about the new part. What happened on the walk home? Two and a half hours, huh? Alot can happen in that much time!