Ice coated Max's throat. His face burned from the chilly wind, tears stinging behind his eyes. Celine was calling his name behind him, the shine from the open door highlighting the back of his hair and coating the boy in front of him in a tinged yellow light. Even through the bright haze, Max saw him. The green eyes, a fleck of brown touching the bottom left of his iris. His smile that accompanied his earlier laugh was no longer there, replaced by stunned silence, shock. He had very clearly never expected to see Max again. Max stared at him, emotions swimming across his face, unsure what to settle on.

After the last week and a half of searching, lying, and sneaking around to find him, there he was. So close after so many days of distanced fear and confusion. If the eyes somehow was a mistake, or the laugh that had drawn him to the door in the first place was some strange coincidence, Max could not mistake that flicker of fear on his face. He knew exactly who Max was. He knew what had been done.

~O~O~O~O~

Eleven Days Prior

~O~O~O~O~

Saturday.

Max was stirred from sleep by the dimly lit figure of David standing above him, his hands gently shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, buddy," he smiled a bit, but worry kept the expression from reaching his eyes,"I just got called in for work, I need you to get up and get dressed for me,"

Max blinked, eyes bleary from sleep as he scowled and turned over in his bed, slow to stretch out his legs. He groaned.

"Why do I need to get dressed?" He complained

"I need you to go in with me," Was the offered explanation,"I can't leave you here by yourself."

"Yeah you can," Max grumbled,"You just don't want to,"

David sighed,"You're right. Please get up?"

Even when he wanted to argue, Max bit his tongue. He didn't need an argument right now, when he was meant to get up to the foster home to find files. He scowled at David but turned his face into the pillow and grumbled.

"Fine," he huffed passed the fabric,"Get out,"

David patted his back,"Thank you, buddy," He sounded tired, but a little less worried than before.

As he was making his way out, Max shot up and called after,"Turn the light on!"

David startled slightly and glanced back, silhouetted against the hallway light,"Oh, sure!"

He flipped the light on and Max winced at the brightness, but was happy to not be left in the dark as his door closed. He huffed another breath, unhappy he was cut short from sleep. Time to get up.

When he'd gotten dressed, normal jeans and his pair of red sneakers, he went ahead downstairs. He wasn't as tired as he had expected to be after staying up late. He'd grabbed his phone, charger, and backpack, not wanting to get bored while stuck at the place. Hell, where was he going? He knew David mentioned it… he couldn't remember much about where he worked aside from the fact that he wore an apron. The smell of eggs floated up to his nose to distract him, and his stomach growled hungrily. At least the guy could cook, the apron was put to good use.

Max got to the kitchen and climbed into a chair, where David brought over scrambled eggs with a bit of pepper, two pieces of toast, and some sliced bananas. He ruffled Max's hair and went about washing dishes, a piece of toast between his teeth that he was munching on in the meantime. Max ate, curiously watching him multitask.

He was in a thin white t-shirt at the moment, which was tucked into black slacks and a slim leather belt. He didn't look to be in a rush, but he was definitely not slow about cleaning up the kitchen. Max was still eating his toast when David stepped away from the sink and dried his hands. He continued to chew his piece of toast as he left the kitchen, heading up to his room. Max pulled his phone from his pocket and decided to download a few games to play. Best Fiends, Jetpack Joyride, Puzzle Mania. His storage was degraded quickly, but he would be entertained at least.

When David came back down, Max was just finishing the last couple bites of the sliced fruit. He was buttoning the top few notches in a dark grey dress shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Over his shoulder was the maroon shade of the apron he was meant to wear. He glanced at Max, and smiled cheerily.

"Everything okay?" He assured, and Max nodded with a mouthful of banana,"You want some water? Milk?" Max mumbled past the food something that sounded like milk, and David patted his shoulder as he went to the fridge to get both of them a glass.

Max took the offered cup and drank. David returned to his side after his own couple sips, taking his now empty plate to the sink for a wash. Max left his cup on the table and stood from the chair to go find his shoes and hoodie to wear out. David shook his head at the left mess, but was more than happy to wipe away crumbs from the table top and take the cup away to wash as well. When he'd finished and dried his hands, he walked out to the living room. Max came down from the stairs with a scowl on his face.

"What's wrong?" David frowned, pocketing his keys.

"My sweatshirt is gross," He complained.

It smelled after a week of being worn and running around in it. It was past due for a wash. Shoes on, David stepped forward and held out his hand for the item. Taking a whiff of the fabric, he grimaced.

"Yes, you're right," He sighed, folding it loosely and dropping it against the lounge chair,"You can't go out without a jacket… Here,"

He crossed over to the door again and picked up his jacket from the hook on the wall, offering it to Max. It was the same jacket that Max had very nearly lost at the foster home.

"It's huge," Max argued, holding up the leather bomber jacket in front of him.

David chuckled and knelt after he shifted the apron on his arm, taking the item from him and wrapping it over his shoulders.

Urging him to put his arms into the sleeves, he encouraged him,"It's cozy. You'll be warm while I'm working, and here," When Max slipped his hands as far as he could through the sleeves, fingertips just barely brushing the soft fabric cuff, David rolled the clothing up his wrist a bit so it could settle well on his arms,"There we go. Better?"

Max shrugged, feeling much smaller under the weight of the jacket. David zipped it for him, and it easily fell midway to his thighs. It was pretty warm, actually. Once again, the smell of campfire and rain rose to Max's face. He tucked his hands into the pockets of the jacket. David stood away with a smile.

"It's probably going to be boring today," David admitted, speaking over his shoulder as he went to the kitchen to turn off the light,"Sorry to have to bring you, but I don't have a choice," He did sound apologetic, and a touch tired beneath it all.

Wrapped in the warm jacket and his stomach full, Max had momentarily forgotten he was meant to be withdrawn,"It's fine," He answered, the headphones he'd gotten from his room wrapped around his phone and tucked into the pocket.

David smiled a bit at that, turning the living room light down as he opened the front door,"I'm off at four, though. We can go out somewhere for dinner, maybe?"

Max glanced at him, his glare only slightly pulling his brow together while his bag was slung over his shoulder,"With what money?"

A chuckle from the man,"With paycheck money," He opened the door and gestured for Max to step out ahead of him so he could lock it behind them,"Thank you for considering that, buddy, but I swear I'm doing better now. Let me worry about the money."

Max brushed the words off his shoulder, shoes squishing the slushy snow at the base of the porch steps as he made his way out to the car. Unlocking it from his few feet of distance behind, David approached the car while Max was climbing in, his bag sat on the floor between his feet.

"Are you in the mood for anything specific?" David wondered, pulling his seatbelt across his chest.

Max saw his movement and remembered to do just the same,"Whatever is fine with me,"

David took the hinting chill in Max's voice as a cue to hush up. It was early after all, about eight, and he was sure Max needed a bit more time to be conversational. He started the car and turned the radio up a bit, pulling away from the drive to get to the road and make his way to the cafe.

The cafe they arrived at was a decently sized place. The early morning crowd was already there, cars rounding the drive through in an uncaffeinated craze. The parking lot was more or less full, less busy than the alternative at least, and probably filled most of workers vehicles. David parked near a far corner, and stood from the car, apron in hand.

The front of the building was lined with evergreen bushes and a dusting of snow from the night before. Large windows framed with black edging were encased among blue-grey stone. Two tall trees settled on either side of the jut of the entrance, partially hiding the small, unused dining areas in the outside chill. David kept a hovering hand near Max's back as they crossed the busy row of cars to get up to the front door. They stepped beneath the sign- an elegant maroon color font to match his apron, outlined by a shade of black that read 'Willow Cafe'.

Inside was a mildly long line, as well as a scattered handful of people sat at tables and booths. The tables were a light brown shade of glossed wood, supported by black legs and in two styles, a square for two chairs, and rectangles pressed near the booths and outlined on the opposite side by another two chairs. The booths were well kept, the same maroon shade on them and the bottom beam support was black. There were about ten tables total, and looking past them Max saw an area with deep grey armchairs and low centered coffee table, as well as a padded window ledge beside another ceiling to floor sized pane of glass.

"Sit wherever you want," David encouraged him, tying into his apron as he spoke,"I'll be just up front, if you need me, and I'll come over to say hi whenever I can, okay?"

Max nodded, shifting his bag on his shoulder,"Yeah I got it,"

"Thank you buddy," David praised, kneeling down to his level when he'd gotten the apron looped over his neck,"I promise we'll go out for whatever you like after my shift. I'll come sit and eat with you at lunch, too, how's that sound?"

Max glanced his way and shrugged,"Okay."

David didn't want to push his luck with a hug, regardless of his much he wanted one. He smiled at the boy and stood, ruffling his curls and sending him off to find somewhere to sit. He hesitated as he turned away, eyes glancing back to watch his curls move across the floor over to the little lounge area. He hovered by the front counter, seeing Max climb up onto the padded window ledge and settle against the corner. He glanced up and met David's eyes, then fixed him with an unamused, exasperated scowl. David smiled at him and headed round the counter to get clocked in.

The management position he'd been offered had actually turned out to be a supervisor's position. He was meant to do most things the cafe employees did, helping out wherever he was able, and keeping everyone on task. He was scheduled to be trained on recruiting and online workers schedules soon, but until then his boss was handling it and creating a work plan for each week. So far, it had been pretty good and there were no issues, and today would be just like any other.

About an hour into his new obsession with Best Fiends, Max was distracted abruptly by a woman approaching him. She was blonde, with wavy ringlets framing her face. An off-white name tag labelled her 'Mallory'. She knelt by his side, a hand on the cushion beside his leg so she could balance.

"Hey hun," She smiled,"I'm Mallory. David told me you'd be over here."

Max scanned over her, scrutinizing her soft smile,"Yeah. Here I am,"

The smile merely brightened,"Well I thought I'd come say hello, and ask if you wanted a chocolate chip muffin?"

"I don't have any cash," Max answered, his phone turned off and settled against his chest.

Mallory shook her head with a laugh,"No, on the house. Your dad's done great work for me so far, the least I can do is give you a snack while you wait here. How does that sound?"

Max hesitated still, watching her apprehensively. He was a bit hungry, he probably should have brought something to snack on. She didn't seem all that bad either, what could go wrong?

He shrugged lightly and shifted on the cushion,"Sure. Okay."

Mallory smiled and patted his knee before standing up. She returned a few minutes later with a muffin as promised, and a little bottle of apple juice. Max set his phone away into David's jacket pocket, taking the items into his lap.

"I'm gonna head back to the office," Mallory hummed,"It was nice to meet you, Max,"

Max nodded, not yet eating, simply watching her with searching eyes. She retreated back to her office, wherever it was. He picked off the cakey bits of the muffin as he went back to his game, and remained unbothered for another three hours.

By then, he had finished all but a few crumbs of the muffin, and his phone was plugged in while he scrolled through online stories. David was by his side then, his apron left tied around his waist and hung in half over his hips. In his hand was two bottles of water, plastic containers with little sandwiches inside, and a small bag of Sunchips. Max reached for one of the containers without thinking, hungry at the sight of the well made food.

David smiled at him and handed it over, taking the edge of the window seat when Max shifted upwards to really dig into food,"How's it been so far?"

Max shrugged,"Your boss came over," He unsnapped the lid of the container, lifting up the sandwich in both hands,"Gave me a muffin,"

David smiled, glancing back towards the counter,"Did she? Well that was nice. Did you say thank you?"

Mouth stuffed with a large bite, Max cast wary eyes towards David's shoes and mumbled,"No,"

A bit of a lesser smile then, but David was still happy nonetheless,"Well we can talk to her later. I'm glad it's been okay so far,"

Max nodded, tucking into his food as though he'd been starved for the day, his ankles crossed as they hung off the edge of the window ledge. David was hesitant to eat, taking a bit to drink his water instead. After Max was halfway done with food, he shifted to face him more.

"So, Max…" He started, pulling a preemptive glare from the boy because of his tone,"I didn't want to press into this but… Ms Rotes from the home really needs an answer."

Max's jaw stiffened, the process of chewing halted as he was reminded momentarily.

"You remember her, don't you?" David tilted his head, worry in his eyes.

Max continued his scowl as he finished the food he currently had mid-bite,"Yeah, I remember."

David gave him some time to think, noting his lessened enthusiasm for food. He felt quite the same right about then. He took another drink of water and considered his words, wanting to keep distanced enough that Max wasn't too swarmed with thoughts.

"You know," David pondered a moment, speaking quietly,"I don't really like my last name either."

Max said nothing, did nothing. David went on.

"My parents weren't very nice when I was growing up. They were greedy and mean and unkind to everyone. Mostly my dad, but still," He pursed his lips, thumb rubbing off the condensation of the water bottle,"I always wanted to change it as soon as I moved out, just to get rid of it, but it does get pretty expensive. If you want…" He turned to look down at the boy, who was picking crumbling pieces off of the bread in his hands,"We could have a whole new last name?"

Max considered the option silently. In all honesty, he had intended to just take David's name and get it over with. He'd completely forgotten about the deadline.

"What name?" Max asked, picking off pieces of his sandwich.

David tilted his head, a tentative smile gracing his expression,"Well.. We could come up with one together?"

Max thought it over for a minute, then his shoulders slightly shifted in a small shrug,"Yeah," He picked up his sandwich again,"Sure."

David smiled brightly,"Okay. We can talk when we get home,"

Max nodded, tucking into his food again as he mulled over the idea of a new name.

The drive home was met with strange conversation. They both just called out last name ideas, at David's suggestion. It was pretty fun, if Max had to be honest, especially when David came up with something wildly extravagant like 'Alifray' or 'Gittens'.

"Newbury?"

"Oh, I like Newbury!"

"Fine with me."

Sunday.

Max had certainly done trickier things in his life than creating a fake email. It helped that there were open addresses similar to Chikae's real one. He had sent emails between 'Chikae' and David for most of the morning, telling him there was paperwork to be signed up in town, his phone was broken so don't text, etc. Max had a background for every question, and it wasn't long before David came up to his room and asked if he would like to go visit. Max agreed, as reluctantly as he could, sending David back downstairs. He relaxed back against the bed then, kicking the little sour flutter in his stomach and relishing in another plan well carried out.

Monday.

Celine: 8:34 am; Hey! Sorry I was gone so long, there's been a lot happening!

Celine: 8:36 am; I'm at home finally! I'm going to a new school, Wakes. Everything has been great so far. How's David?

Max stared at the messages. Wakes? His school? There's no fucking way. He spared a wary glance up to Veytroups at the front of the room and replied.

Max: 8:39 am; Wakes? I'm in fifth at Wakes. Are you sure? The school with Blue and White colors?

Celine: 8:40 am; Yes I'm sure! I'm in sixth!

Celine: 8:40 am; Omfg I'm gonna fucking lose it are you serious right now?

Max spends the next five minutes hiding his phone from Veytroups's eyes, sending messages back and forth with Celine. She really was at the school. Somehow, by some fantastic stroke of luck, she'd moved into the edge of town, between two other schools, and chosen the same school district as Max because her new older brother had gone there. Max wondered how he hadn't seen her thus far. As it turns out, when he was having lunch, she was outside playing at recess, and otherwise their classrooms were in entirely different wings of the building.

Max pocketed his phone away when Veytroups began making the rounds, feeling a touch giddy at the prospect of no longer being the odd one out at school. He would break free of the uniform line to lunch and go out to the mulchy playground to see her. Sneaking around was a skill of his and it would seem it was going to come in handy soon.

The paper he was handed by the wiry old bastard fell conveniently to the floor, and Max lifted his head to scowl at the man before leaning to pick up the half sheet. It was listing directions for some online grades portal. Max tucked it into his pocket and returned to his phone, anxiously counting away minutes until the bell would dismiss him for lunch. At eleven thirty, Max's feet hit the ground and raced him out the door towards the lunchroom and coinciding doors to the playground outside.

He slipped silently out to the chilly air, wind brushing over his face and sending a momentary shiver down his spine. He scanned the slowly filling area, hidden beside a wall in between a few bushes. He didn't need to be seen before he'd gotten to her, or he may be called out. Finally, she stepped out of the door, her phone in her hand and her eyes glancing around the yard. Max grinned, stepping forward as she neared his hiding place, waving her closer.

When she swallowed him in a tight, giggling hug, Max seized up. His eyes blacked away from the present moments She was happy, laughing, excited. Max was excited too, but found himself stuck in a brief state of shock. A few inches taller, Max had to crane his neck a bit upwards to settle his chin on her shoulder comfortably. Uneasy, slightly shaken, his hands were slow to wrap around her. When they finally did, Celine squeezed him a bit tighter, and Max sucked in a quiet breath. Her arms were over his shoulders, and he felt the constriction on the back of his neck. Thankfully, only a second later she released him and stepped back.

Max reeled for a few seconds, dumbly listening to her gush about her disbelief that they ended up in the same district. After regaining most of his composure, he spent the entirety of the half hour break talking with her and running around on the equipment, then joined her inside when they would swap grades and go to lunch.

Tuesday.

Max stared at the screen of his phone with a confused frustration. Missing?

After getting logged into the grades portal from the day previous, Max was met with a small red 'M' beside the assignment he'd brought in from homework, which apparently meant it was missing. He knew he had done it, David had watched him do it. He turned it in straight to the tray. Something was wrong.

Max stood from his seat, phone in hand. The class was working on a different worksheet after the morning's lecture and activity, so no one paid him much mind as he neared Veytroup's desk. He turned away from the laptop in front of him, peering at Max over the top of his glasses.

"You gave me a missing," Max declared before he could speak a word.

The man raised an eyebrow,"I usually do when things are not turned in."

"I turned it in though," Max had a feeling this conversation was not going to turn out civil,"I know I did."

Veytroups leaned back in his chair,"If you had turned it in, then you wouldn't have gotten a missing."

Max scowled at him, tried to clamp down on anger,"Fine. Can I redo it then?"

"I don't take late homework,"

It was then, just before Max was really going to start letting his temper fly, that he caught a glimpse of something familiar. He looked down and there, in the trash, was a crumpled up paper with his name at the top. Fury boiled his blood.

He shoved his phone into his pocket and dropped down to grab it. Several kids saw this, as he'd been causing a bit of a scene, and started snickering. Max didn't care. He unfolded the paper and, low and behold it was his paper. He looked back to Veytroups with an angry glower.

Max slapped the paper down on his desk,"Change my fucking grade,"

The man gawked at him, angry to be caught and even more upset Max was swearing at him,"Go to the-"

Max jerked then, swinging his right foot back and knocking the trashcan over, littering the front row with papers and broken pencils and wrappers. He held eye contact with the man as he did it, still furious with the obvious attempt to cheat him out of the grade he deserved.

"Go to hell," He snarled, stepping past the mess to snatch up his bag from the back row and storm out to the hallway towards the office.

He went through quite the same process as before. The woman had to sign out a note for him to 'give to David', called his number while Max went to the bathroom. This time, he told her that Max could stay in class rather than have David come pick him up. He was working anyways. So Max stayed in the office, brooding, until he was finally let out to go to lunch. Once again, he met Celine outside.

After recounting the story, Celine was a little shocked,"How can a teacher even do that?"

Max shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning back against one of the supporting playground poles,"I don't know. I think he's a fucking prick."

Celine sighed, leaning against the other side as him and thinking for a few quiet moments,"Maybe you could tell someone?"

"Who are they going to believe?" Max snorted,"The teacher old as dirt who's been here for years, or the snivelling asswipe that's been sent to the office twice in two weeks?"

"Fair point," Another few moments of silence,"Oh, what if you took pictures of the assignments you did?"

Max frowned, twisting to look back at her sideways,"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Celine shifted off the pole to look at him while she explained,"If you do the work and have it finished, take a picture of it with a timestamp. If he tries to mark it missing or incomplete, you can just email it to him,"

Max considered it,"He did say email was fine to turn stuff in."

Celine grinned, slinging an arm over his shoulders,"See? No trouble. Then, if David gets on your case about it and he still tries to fail you, you have pictures!"

Max pushed the bit of worry back down his throat upon being pulled close, and nodded,"Yeah. Good point."

Wednesday.

Max walked into class that day with paper- and picture of his paper- in hand. Walking straight to his desk, Max made sure he was staring him in the eye as he very pointedly lay the paper into the turn in tray near the front corner of his desk. Veytroup's mouth quirked at the corner, and Max offered a brief, sneering smile before he went back to his seat. Once settled down, he went ahead to check his grades again. Low and behold, his grade was no longer marked with that awful red M, but a well-done 9/10. Max didn't care about the extra point, he got a decent enough grade and had showed Veytroups up. He sat back in his chair, rather proud of himself as he texted Celine.

Thursday.

With no incidents to report with Veytroups, Max struck up the day as decently good. He was feeling pretty good anyways, what with the appointment at the foster home coming up. He had planned it out pretty well, in any case. David hadn't mentioned anything strange, Chikae had only messaged to confirm times they were coming up. It was all going pretty well.

When it got to lunch, however, Max was quick to head outside as always to switch around his time to meet Celine. On his way out to the playground, one of the bigger kids smacked into his shoulder. He hit the ground and his palms stung like mad in the cold air, and his vision cut away to blackness.

"Hey, shh, it's okay Max,"

Max's eyes were blurry as he offered his hands to the boy in front of him. He sniffled. In the boy's hands was a wrap bandage, and on the floor was litter from other bandaids stuck to his knees. He had fallen down while doing yard work, and he was helping him clean up.

"It's okay, it's just a little scraped up. That's all. I gotcha."

Max flickered back to the day time, tears rolling down his face. There were snickers around him, and a shout of his name. Celine? Yeah. She came racing forward, pushing past people to help him up off the ground. She shouted some things at the people, Max didn't catch it. She guided him away.

He didn't much feel like talking. He'd gone quite a while without a flashback in the daytime. Needless to say, it left him a little shaken up. Celine cleaned off the cuts, which were very minor, with a bottle of water. They sat against the wall, hidden behind the bushes, and Max leaned his head against her shoulder. She put one side of her headphones in his ear and played them some music, singing along while he collected himself.

He was more determined, now, to find those files. The Velez had to be put in somewhere at the place, they knew enough about it to ask Max. He could go through whatever paper trail there was. He focused on his plan, letting Celine's singing carry his thoughts somewhere less panicked and worry-stricken. By lunch, he was settled and ready to eat, and got bandages from the nurse on his way to Mrs Rochette's.

Friday.

"Hey, Max? How would you feel about going to Nikki's on Tuesday for a little while?"

Max lifted his head to look at the door where David had poked inside, a worried little smile on his face. Max narrowed his eyes.

"Why?"

David's smile fell a bit,"I have to work, I won't be able to pick you up. I thought you could have them come pick you up?"

Max considered it for a moment,"Can I go to Celine's?"

David frowned at that, stepping a little further into the room while his head tilted,"Celine? From the home?"

A nod,"Yeah. Turns out she goes to my school."

"Oh!" David smiled,"Well, that would be fine with me! I need to talk to her parents, first. Can you send me their numbers? I'll set it up,"

Another nod from Max, and he turned his eyes back to his phone,"I'll send them."

"Fantastic!" David was in a much cheerier mood,"Dinner is in about twenty minutes, okay?"

Max hummed again, and David headed back down the stairs.

Saturday.

A rippling panic surged across Max's stomach as his fingers swept through the papers. Scattered across the floor were dozens of sheets of incident reports, history, priors, everything except what he'd come to find. There were no specifics for children, like they had been moved or missing or somewhere entirely different that Max couldn't find. He clutched the sheets, rereading word for word, desperate to find a name, description, something.

He hadn't felt this crazed in a long time, so desperate for something that it felt like his heart would break through his ribs, that his throat wouldn't contain the lump settled there. His eyes burned to contrast the frost on his fingers. If he could just find it, the memories would stop. The nightmares would be easier to handle, he could understand what the hell was happening in his own head. It had to be here, it had to be. It was his closest shot to finding it. It had to…

The words began to blur as water pooled on his lower lid. Max blinked to clear them, frantic. The muted sound of the door opening behind him was ignored. His name was called, he continued to read.

Hands were on him next, and Max jerked violently out of grasp, still scanning over the pages, picking up pieces on the floor and skimming.

"No," he panted,"No, no, no-" His hands began to shake.

He jumped back from another reach at him, dropping the pages as he staggered back. He put all his faith into this visit. He had been so excited to get to the foster home, as soon as he managed to sneak out of view he was in the office to dig through and find the Velez files, assuming they would have to have a copy of them if they had interviewed him for it. Low and behold, they did, but it turned out to be entirely useless. The whole trip, his entire plan, useless.

Max didn't hear the angry scream tear off his throat until David's arms were wrapped around him. He toppled forward, onto his knees in David's lap. He was moved, but he didn't notice, he didn't care. His adversity to David was forgotten in that moment of anguish, fingers clung tightly to his jacket and muffling his broken cries against his chest. There were words spoken above him that Max couldn't make out. He was lost in his own manufactured grief.

Even if there was some logical solution, something he could have done, after putting all his chips onto this visit, Max couldn't rein it back in. He was so tired of looking and scheming and sneaking around. He was sick of the hiding, sick of the memories. He wanted peace, he just wanted to be left alone and stop having to deal with all of it. Even David, he realized, was something he missed in the day to day. It had been over a week since he started retreating from the open air David tried to create, trying to control the house and succeeding. He'd controlled everything, so well. From David's view of him, to the grades at school. From the disciplinary notes to the meeting with Chikae, even the fake emails and manipulating to get his way. The hateful twist in his gut made every one of these reminders hurt more. He hated it.

The words he wailed into David's coat were formed under the weight of all that hatred, wavering on teary, choked breath,"I'm sorry!"

David was bewildered above him, unable to figure out exactly what was going on with Max right at that moment. He just held his boy close, nestling his cheek against his curls and rocking them both a bit while he sat in his lap. Chikae shut the door to give them a bit of privacy, and David mouthed a silent thank you his way as he went about cleaning up the papers.

"Max, there's nothing to be sorry for," He murmured softly, hands rubbing against his back,"I'm not angry with you, everything is alright,"

Max shook his head, shaking all over as he tried to argue but couldn't manage more than staggered, mumbling apologies. David just held him closer.

"Stop it, Max, hush," he instructed gently,"You just cry and get it out, it's all okay. I'm right here, no need to be sorry," He pressed a kiss to the top of his head,"You're okay, buddy, I'll stay right here. You're okay."

He repeated these encouragements for some time, and Chikae came over to sit across from David, an equally confused and concerned gaze on his face. He patted David's knee, offering a little solace in the face of Max's break down. David glanced up with a teary smile, and turned his attention back to the distraught little boy in his lap.

After about five minutes, Max was finally out of air to keep sobbing. He was sniffling, quieted down and absolutely wrecked as he trembled. He wanted to go home and sleep. David didn't bother trying to ask about what happened to upset him so bad, not when he was still so shaken up. He just scoot back a bit and stood up as best he could when Max was still holding his sleeves in a vice grip. A little thrown at his clingy behaviour, David tried to find a happy medium for both of them and stooped low, sliding his arm under Max's thighs and picking him up to lean against his chest with a little huff. He bounced him slightly to get him sitting somewhere his knees wouldn't dig against his chest, and Max was quick to tuck his face into the crook of his neck, arms wrapped over his shoulders. He may have been desperate for affection right then, but his pride was still taking a massive hit being held like a toddler. David wasn't teasing him, and Max was too strung out to be entirely bothered by anything as long as he could hide his face.

The ride home was silent over the radio, and Max went up to his room and locked the door.

Sunday.

Max didn't want to eat. He didn't want to speak to David. He didn't particularly feel like existing right about then. He stayed in his room, a fear boiling in his chest at the thought of another memory ripping over his eyes. If he was alone, if he didn't do anything, there were no triggers. He just wanted to go numb.

Around ten, David came knocking at the door. Max didn't offer a reply, and he slowly pushed the door open. Max didn't turn or move to watch him, but the door closed behind him. He didn't move close, just sat down beside Max's dresser against the wall. Tired and curious, Max lolled his head to the side. David had two bowls in his hands, and it looked like mac n cheese with little hot dog pieces. The smell hit his nose soon after he saw it, and Max's stomach growled mutely.

David lifted the bowl, still silent as he offered it to him. Max considered for a minute, and sighed. He lay back to stare at the ceiling for a few seconds before heaving himself upright and walking to David. He sat down next to him, accepting the offered bowl and fork. They ate in a comfortable silence.

When Max had cleaned his bowl, he set it on the carpet beside him. David reached over him and picked it up, putting both dishes up on the dresser top so he would remember to take them when he left. There was quiet for a little bit, and David shifted on the floor before patting his lap, looking down at Max. Max glanced at him, then his hands. He moved up, shifting over into David's lap. David moved so he could sit on the carpet between his legs, and wrapped his arms around the small boy, dropping his head to kiss his curls.

"I'm here if you want to talk," He said quietly,"And I'm here if you don't."

Max hummed, and leaned just the slightest bit back against David's chest. His thoughts stopped shouting for a little while. It was nice.

Monday.

Max went back to school and tried not to do much thinking at all. He was still upset, somewhat, it stung to put in that much effort and not have something to show for it. David had yet to figure out what he had done, or at least he hadn't mentioned it. Max was sure Chikae must have told him, they had figured it out amongst themselves. He found himself happy to worry about being in trouble with David. It felt much more manageable than the rest of his rather existential crisis as of late.

Nothing to be bothered with in Veytroups, he'd actually gotten pretty good scores so far in his classes and it definitely helped his mood out. He talked to Celine at their break time, and by the time he went home, he was feeling all around better. It may be rough, but it was manageable. He could keep going, he always kept going.

Tuesday

When the bell rang to dismiss, Max found himself a little excited. He had been looking forward to the day, even if he wouldn't admit it. The recent failure at the foster home had been quite the downer, but being able to see Celine again might cheer him up a bit. Hopefully there wasn't another freak out like at Nikki's, he really didn't need to deal with another debacle like that.

His steps had a bit of bounce as he headed out to the front lobby, wanting to hurry ahead and hopefully find his way out to the front of the crowds rather than be stuck within it and unable to see her. He caught a glimpse of her hand waving above the crowd, and he grinned, edging off to the side so she could meet him. Another hug, her arm slung over his shoulder in a one-armed gesture of excitement. Max was shorter than her by a few inches, and leaned his cheek against her shoulder, an arm around her waist to return the little was less emotional than their first meeting, and he didn't feel as constricted leaning into it. It broke after a second or two, and Max stepped back from her to look over the line of cars along the curb.

"How late is David out?" She asked, searching for her parents car in the lineup.

"He said he gets off at eight," Max replied,"So he'll probably be over to get me at like eight thirty?"

Celine said nothing more, grabbing his hand and dragging him down the line towards her parents car. Max went along with it, trying to keep from knocking into to many people as Celine carted him off down the way. Finally, they stopped beside a dark grey SUV and Celine tugged the back door open. Max followed her into the car and pulled the door shut.

In the front seat was a man with skin shaded a deep, warm tan, dark brown hair in ringlets dispersed evenly over his head. He turned his head slightly to peer into the back seat via the rearview mirror, chin and upper lip shaded with a trimmed goatee as he smiled.

"You must be Max?" He asked, moving hands over the wheel to pull away from the pickup line.

"Yessir," Max answered, unsure about the all around feeling in the family just yet.

"Oh, just call me Desmond, no need for any of that," He assured,"Good day at school?"

Celine sat up, seatbelt clicking into place at her hip;Max followed suit,"Oh yeah! Mrs. Rowans gave us a project already, and it's a drawing thing!"

Max settled into the car, toe tapping on the floor mats as he tried to settle himself down. At least, as far as he could tell, there wasn't any serious type of strictness in the household, which was nice to know. He wasn't in any danger yet of being yelled at. He listened to Celine talk about her day at school, chiming in when the conversation shifted towards him and was otherwise satisfied just remaining quiet. It was a decent drive back to the house, near twenty minutes, but Max was much calmer by the time they got there.

Once inside, he was ushered past a well-kept garden dusted by the day's snow into the house and up the stairs. Desmond called up to leave the door open to her room, and Celine obeyed, focused on showing Max around. She had books galore, a computer, clothes, everything she could ask for, it would seem. Max could say the same for his own place, but it was not nearly as extravagant. He briefly wondered how they managed to overcompensate, but was quickly answered when Celine said her new mother, Roriann, was a doctor. Celine said she would be home later with her brother Toby, he had the day off for an appointment at the office she worked for scheduled later on in the day.

Desmond had started dinner and was nearly finished when he called the two of them down to set up the table. Max did what he could to help, glancing out the window in the front to see snow falling against a dark sky. A little while after five, Max was feeling rather at ease.

Celine was happy in her new home, there was no question to that. She was settled in nicely, Desmond seemed to be a real nice guy even with his overwhelming love of cheesy jokes, and he was not a bad cook either. From what Max heard, Toby was a pretty cool guy, and her mom was loving even if the stricter one in the house. The week had been awful in some ways, fantastic in others, and just an all around roller coaster. Even with the disappointment of not finding the boy in his memory, Max was beginning to lose care for the whole thing in that moment. He had a close friend, a safe place, and good food. It was really nice just to settle there.

And then, quite suddenly, the world around him began to crash.

First, the car door outside. Max paid no mind, assuming it was just the rest of the family getting home. He went about helping in the kitchen. But then, the laugh, as Max was setting down plates, sent spikes through his veins and a chill up his spine. He knew that sound. He fought off the blackness of a memory, paralyzed for a moment. Celine glanced his way as he stood stock still, asking against fuzzy ears if he was alright. The plate clattered down onto the table, and Max whipped round to the door, straining his ears for the sound again.

Once more, it crept across the suddenly frozen air into his head. Max took off, veering haphazardly around the corner and to the front door. He frantically scrambled to open it, throwing it aside and stepping out in his thin jacket amidst the chilly air. His movements caught the attention of the two who had just arrived home. Max barely sent the taller woman a glance, eyes glued intensely to the boy beside her.

Vivid flashbacks ripped across his eyes, pinning the boy's smeared and uncertain facial features together and forming the older version that stood before him right then. He had not changed more than a slight slimming of his features, and his hair was cut differently. The boy from his memories finally had a face, a home, a name.

Ice coated Max's throat. His face burned from the chilly wind, tears stinging behind his eyes. Celine was calling his name behind him, the shine from the open door highlighting the back of his hair and coating the boy in front of him in a tinged yellow light. Even through the bright haze, Max saw him. The green eyes, a fleck of brown touching the bottom left of his iris. His smile that accompanied his earlier laugh was no longer there, replaced by stunned silence, shock. He had very clearly never expected to see Max again. Max stared at him, emotions swimming across his face, unsure what to settle on.

After the last week and a half of searching, lying, and sneaking around to find him, there he was. So close after so many days of distanced fear and confusion. If the eyes somehow was a mistake, or the laugh that had drawn him to the door in the first place was some strange coincidence, Max could not mistake that flicker of fear on his face. He knew exactly who Max was. He knew what had been done. Max's vision blacked.

"Max, please-"

"No!" Max's face was contorted, tears rolling down an angry expression of betrayal,"You said we were in this together, you said you would stay!"

Toby only ignored him, stuffing the duffel bag on the bed full. He rushed around the room, gathering things up quickly. He hadn't meant for Max to wake up while he was packing. He wanted to slip away, unnoticed. That wasn't the case.

"Take me with you," Max demanded, pushing the covers off of himself to clamour out of bed and start gathering things up.

Toby turned to him then, panic in his eyes,"Max, no- there's no time," He yanked the zipper shut on his bag and stepped over to the window,"They're gonna be home any second, you're too little-"

"Take me with you!" Max's words reflected the panic on his face as he ran to try and grab the bag back from his hands,"You can't leave, don't leave me here-!"

He felt the solid floor beneath him next, and a blossoming pain on his cheek. Toby swung at him, knocked him to the ground. He was horrified, hand still clenched in a fist as he backed away, emerald eyes shimmering with tears.

"I have to go, it's my only chance." He whispered,"I'll send people back here, I swear,"

Max just stared, watching him climb out the window out to the tree branches leaned against it. Cold air from outside swept over his skin, turning the streaks of wet on his face into frost. He stayed there for a minute or so, shaking and afraid. The people might come, but they would just ignore everything like last time. But now, Max was alone.

He climbed into bed when he could manage to move his legs, hiding under the blanket and rocking slowly, trying to calm himself down. Toby was gone. His only friend in the whole world has just left him behind, left him to those… animals.

Max stared at him, flickering back to life only a few seconds later. His name was said by the strangers around, but he only saw Toby. Saw the boy who had abandoned him, who had left him to face the world alone and broken his promise. He spent another year in that hellhole, barely surviving some days. For so long, it looked like the whole world wanted him dead. But he'd managed to get where he was today. Toby looked like he hadn't expected to see him again in his life, let alone living, breathing, and right in front of him. Max had managed to beat every attempt at his life thus far and, even despite the odds;

He was Still Here.