"Max are you coming?" Isabel burst into Max's room.

"Coming where?" Max asked, startled.

"To the Crashdown, with Michael, Tess and me."

"Umm..."

*Liz is gonna be at The Crashdown. She works on Sundays.* Max thought. It would be awkward, but only as awkward as it had been lately.

"Well? Are you coming or not?" Isabel questioned again, impatiently.

"Yeah, I guess." Max replied. He still wanted to see Liz. He wouldn't let on that he knew just yet though. He'd wait till tomorrow. Liz looked up to see Max walking through the doors of the Crashdown.

*Oh no! * She thought. *I can't believe Max is here!* Liz walked quickly into the kitchen and told Maria to take whatever table they were sitting at.

Maria did as she was told. She desperately needed to be on Liz's good side when she heard the news. Liz went into the bathroom and tucked the necklace under her uniform. She made sure it couldn't be seen, and went out again.

Max was a little disappointed when he saw Liz disappear into the kitchen. He knew that meant she wouldn't be serving them. He was also disappointed to see that Liz wasn't wearing the necklace he had given her. Two days ago, he wouldn't have been very surprised, but now that he knew, it hurt.

The more Max thought about it, the more he realized how much Liz really did love him. Liz had gone through all this pain and agony, just for him. *Liz is so brave, so strong. That just makes me love her more. I can't wait until I can be with her again.* Max was confident that they would get back together. He knew that once Liz found out, she wouldn't be able to take it anymore.

And with that he started looking forward to Monday.

Liz walked into biology, dreading the sight of Max. She had been careful to wear something that would hide the necklace effectively that day. She couldn't bear to take it off, but she couldn't let Max see it. She took her seat and waited for class to begin. Max quickly walked into biology, anxious to talk to Liz. He sat down and told her they needed to talk.

"Umm Liz, I think we need to talk."

"Oh. Okay. What's on your mind?" Liz asked as sweetly as possible. It was killing her.

"It's about us. Our...umm...relationship."

"O-Kay..." Liz began to get worried. She knew she couldn't take it if Max started asking her questions about 'them'.her and Kyle, her and Max.she didn't know what she'd do.

"Liz...I don't know how to tell you this...I...I know."

"Know what Max?" Liz asked, impatiently.

"I know about you and Kyle."

"Wha, why, what, what do you mean?"

"I mean, I know you didn't really sleep with him."

Liz was going crazy. How could this have happened? What did she ever do to deserve all this pain? Why was he doing this? She had to get out. The tears were coming. She had to leave. She couldn't take it. Liz started to cry. Tears poured down her face. She was miserable. Before Max could do anything to comfort her, she got up and ran out of the room.

Everyone was shocked. The whispering began. Max knew he had to go after her. He had to explain. So he left too. The teacher was starting to get very annoyed.

"Settle down class, settle down. Rest assured, those two will be getting detentions. Along with anyone who continues to talk in my classroom! You can gossip about Miss Parker and Mr. Evans at another time."

Liz ran as fast as she could. She ignored all the whispering, all the stares, and all the "Are you okay Liz?"'s. She had to get away. She had to escape. She went to the eraser room. It was the closest, and the only place she could think of where no one would find her. She walked in and sat on the floor under the desks. She wrapped her arms around her knees and began to rock back and forth. The tears kept coming. The sobs racked her body. She took out the necklace and held it in her hand. It was so beautiful. It reminded Liz of him. Of how much she missed him. How much she loved him. As she looked more closely at the necklace she saw that there was an inscription. It said:

Destined to be together. Love, Max.

Liz smiled. All of a sudden, the door opened. Someone was in the room with her.

*Why can't they leave me alone? I just want to be alone!* Liz thought angrily. *Maybe if I'm quiet they'll leave.* It seemed like the person was looking for something. Liz let out a little sigh. The person, as if they heard this, turned around and walked towards her. Liz squeezed her fists tight, as if to ward the person off, and they turned and walked out of the room. A few seconds later, another person walked in. This time, Liz recognized the person. It was Max. He walked towards her, and peeked under the desks.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi." Liz replied. "I'm sorry Max. You weren't...it's all so complicated and... I..."

"It's okay Liz. I understand everything."

"Everyone has this image of me. Even you. You all think I'm so strong. But really I'm not. Max, I've missed you so much. You made me strong. Without you I'm weak, I'm nothing without you Max. I can only be brave for so long. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. How did, how did you know?"

This was it. *I'm sorry Maria,* he thought. "Well...umm...Maria told me. Please don't be upset with her Liz."

Liz started to cry again. Max pulled her into his arms.

"I'm so sorry Max. I never meant to hurt you. I did it for you Max. I love you. I always have. I always will, no matter what."

"I love you too Liz."

"I know, but we can't be together Max. You have to be with Tess. You belong together. You can't let her leave." Liz was sobbing again. She wrenched herself out of Max's tender embrace.

"Liz, I won't let her leave. You and me, Liz, we belong together. We make our own destinies, remember? We can stop the end of the world. But I can't do it without you Liz. I need you."

"Please Max, don't make it harder than it already is." Liz sobbed.

"I'm not Liz. I need you, just like you need me. We know what we have to do now. I, for one, know we have to do it together. Liz..."

"Do you, is that really what you think, Max?"

"I believe it with all my heart."

"Then, then, I'm not the reason for the end of the world?"

"No Liz. Because there isn't going to be an end of the world."

"I believe you." Liz said as she crawled back into his arms. "Stay with me, Max."