Dedicated to Radiant67 because we have a very long conversation about the stuff that be both have the same views on. :)

The White party in Connectincut! :D

ENJOOOOOOY!

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The day of the White party finally arrived. The guests were supposed to dress formally in white. That was why Natalie shopped at Fifth Avenue with Maxine and Alex to buy some new clothes for them for the occasion.

The Samuels already went to the party in Connecticut before the Fergusons. The planned to go together, but Natalie insisted on using her own car. And so, Natalie, Maxine, and Alex used the Mercedes Benz for transportation.

Maxine didn't know how her mother knew which way to go and how she knew which house, but nevertheless they parked in front of a big green house with a humongous lawn. The parking space was good enough for twenty cars.

If truth be told, Maxine was used to going to parties. But the thing she wasn't used to was going to parties where she didn't know anyone. Plus, she was used to living an above average life. This, now . . . she was experiencing a way above average one.

She, her mother, and Alex went straight to the backyard where there was the main party. There was catering about twenty feet from the swimming pool. Looking around, all the people really did dressed in white. She half-expected that there was someone who would break the rule.

“Sweetie, your brother and I will be back shortly,” Natalie told Maxine. “I think I see Todd. Stay with him for the moment.”

Without another word, Natalie took Alex with her and left Maxine by the pool. Maxine didn't even have the chance to protest. It took all her will power not to stomp her feet in frustration. She would rather talk to a complete stranger than force a conversation with the guy who made her blood boil with just the sight of him.

When she looked around, she unintentionally saw Todd standing at a distance. He looked handsomely bored while wearing white pants and a polo shirt, with almost half of the buttons closed, showing a slight fraction of his chest. He looked like a younger version of Brad Pitt – the teen version, in fact.

Maxine wildly shook her head, pushing away the thought. Sometimes, Todd's looks made her forget how much she hated him. But she hated herself more for even thinking that.

Before she could hide, Todd already saw her. Without any expression on his face, he walked calmly towards her. She froze, until they were a feet apart. She composed herself then.

“Okay, you don't have to tell me,” started Maxine glumly, frowning. “I know I look awful,” she said it before he could.

She honestly didn’t like what Natalie bought for her. The skirt was just below the knee, the simple white blouse was also buttoned. What she didn't like about it was that it was colorlessly dull – except for the beautiful necklace her grandmother gave her.

“You're the one who said that,” he shrugged. “Besides,” he hesitated. He looked away and blushed the light shade of pink, then he scoffed, “You actually look human.”

Translation: Maxine looked nice.

She widened her eyes in utter shock. She understood what he meant and didn’t quite believe that she actually heard a compliment from him. She couldn’t say for sure if he was kidding because he looked and sounded serious, but the scoff made it complicated.

Janice and Natalie spotted them a moment later, and invited them to eat. They ate and laughed. Not long after, Todd and Maxine began to be bored. Eventually, she stood up and excused herself. She went to the food table and got herself sugar-free cookies, biting it bit by bit. A few minutes past, Todd saw her and chuckled.

He walked over to her and teased, “I didn't know you eat like a pig.”

“Gosh! That was really lame,” retorted Maxine in a mocking voice.

“If it was lame, you shouldn't have reacted like that.”

“Of course I’ll react! I’m the one being teased.”

“At least I –” Todd wasn’t able to continue what he was saying, because an irate Maxine shoved cookies in his mouth.

“You look better with that face,” she laughed.

He swallowed hard. “You're going to pay for that.”

Todd looked around and saw a cake. He put some icing on his hands and he spread it to both of Maxine's cheek. He was just too quick for her, so she wasn't able to dodge it.

“Oho, you just declared a food fight,” she said.

“Yeah, I did,” he nodded.

When she picked up a cup of chocolate dip, Todd knew it was his cue to run. So both of them ran around the pool, Maxine chasing Todd. She managed to catch him by his wrist, but she lost her balance and fell straight in to the pool – dragging Todd with her.

Of course, they caught everyone's attention.

“Mom, look!” beamed Alex, pointing at Todd and Maxine. “Can I swim with them?”

Natalie shook her head to Alex. Her eyes wandered to Janice, and they quickly exchanged meaningful looks.

“Why don't you go inside and play with your friends?” Natalie told Alex.

He frowned, but obeyed.

Both mothers went to their children, who were just climbing out of the pool.

“Can someone explain why both of you are dripping wet?” asked Janice, her voice with a tiny hint of amusement.

Just then, a waiter handed them towels. Natalie and Janice took them and gave them to Todd and Maxine.

“We decided to take a swim,” answered Todd nonchalantly.

Janice raised an eyebrow. “Fully clothed?”

“We couldn't wait.”

Maxine stared at Todd in disbelief. He was being Mr. Smartypants even to his own mother? But it looked like Janice was used to it. Maxine couldn't help but wonder where he got that personality from.

“It was an accident,” Maxine piped in. When the three of them looked at her, she explained, “We were being childish. Without meaning to, we slipped and fell to to the pool. I'm sorry.”

Todd rolled his eyes, while Janice and Natalie smiled.

“Thank you for answering properly, Maxine.”

“Why don't you kids go home?” suggested Natalie. “I couldn't help but notice that both of you were getting bored.”

“That's a brilliant idea,” agreed Janice.

After that, Todd and Maxine were sent home. Frankly, they were happy to go home instead of staying at that boring party full of old people.

A few hours later, Todd got dressed after having a quick shower. He was suddenly reminded of what his mother had said to him before he went home with Maxine.

“Maxine will be all alone in their home,” she had said, “so accompany her while you wait for us to arrive. Is that clear, Todd Zachary Samuels?”

He shuddered, remembering her mother call him by his full name.

After getting dressed, he went to the Ferguson's. Even if Janice hadn't ordered him, he would probably still check up on Maxine from time to time to see if she was doing all right. She was a girl, after all. For all he knew, she must be scared of being alone. And he didn't want that in his conscience. Yes, he had a conscience – no matter how hard that might be to believe.

Todd had to knock a couple of times before the door opened. Maxine was already wearing her pajamas. He didn't have to explain why he came because he knew that she was aware of Janice ordering Todd to stay with her.

“Thanks for coming here,” said Maxine quietly.

Todd merely nodded.

“So, what are we gonna do?” he asked, sitting on the couch.

“We could watch movies,” shrugged Maxine as she walked to the shelf of DVDs at the corner of the room. “Pearl Harbor?” she asked Todd.

“Go ahead.”

She got to her feet and set the player on. She reluctantly sat beside him, grabbing a pillow. They didn't speak as the movie started. They would occasionally laugh, for when Ben Affleck's character accidentally made the cork hit his injured nose. But when the Japanese air forces were attacking the ships at Pearl Harbor, tears fell down from Maxine’s eyes. Todd saw it, so he took out his handkerchief and gave it out to her.

“What's this?” she asked, taking the handkerchief from him.

“A hankie.”

“I know it's a hankie. What I meant was, why did you give me this?”

“You're crying, right?” He looked at the TV again, and added quietly, “I'll tease you tomorrow.”

When the movie finished, they fell asleep on the couch.

Later that night, Natalie arrived, carrying the sleeping Alex. She jumped at the sight of Todd and Maxine sleeping together. But then, she quietly laughed as she carried Alex to his room. She returned to the living room a few minutes later to wake up Maxine.

“Maxine, wake up,” whispered Natalie to Maxine's ear.

“Huh?” moaned Maxine. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Todd sleeping beside her. “Whoa.” She quickly backed away, resulting for her to fall off the couch. There was a loud bump, and she exclaimed, “I'm okay!”

Todd woke up from the noise. He rubbed his eyes and saw Natalie grinning at him. His eyes wandered to Maxine who was just standing up from the floor. He instantly understood what happened. He swiftly stood up and slightly bowed to Natalie.

“Good night, Aunt Natalie.”

With the last word, he hurried to the door and left.

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Won't be able to write a longer Author's Note because I'm dead bit from the hospital. I visited my best friend whom delivered twin baby girls! Woohoo! Yeah.. Holding an 8-hour old baby is really something. :)

So instead of me speaking, I wanna hear what YOU think about this chapter. Too cheesy? Or just right? :)

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