Why did this have to happen?

Why?

Why now?

Why here?

Why.... why with them?

Why did it have to be them?

Why couldn't it be with someone else?

Someone I didn't care about.

Someone who didn't care about me.

Rose, having heard Max's words, in utter shock and disbelief, closed her mouth shut and winced audibly.

It hurt.

To be so ruthlessly rejected it hurt.

But it hurt as well, to know that Max wasn't helped by a word she'd said.

She slowly begun to sob once more.

Rose: I'm... I'm sorry too.

It wasn't easy for her to go on talking, and shortly after broke into a whole sob.

Tiffany, who was right next to her, grabbed her gently and begun to softly pet her and hold her.

In the mind of the team's leader, Max had just hurt one of her own.

But that didn't bother her as much as one would think, or, at least, not in the way one would think.

On the one hand, Max hurt Rose, but on the other hand, as this understanding leader could tell, Max didn't mean to, seeing as, he himself was hurting.

And, her being team leader, it would naturally fall to her to alleviate such a situation.

But... how could she?

The answer lay in her intuition as a team leader, as well as in her being the girl by the name of Tiffany Chang.

Tiffany: Max.

Her words louded audibly across the room.

They were sharp, but not judgemental, assertive but not domineering or cruel.

Simply telling Max that she was calling for his attention.

Max himself heard, but didn't want to turn around.

After all, how could he?

The guilt was more than he could bear, even then.

Max: (weakly) Yeah....

At that point, Ken had finished his game on Warring Dimensia 2.

However, neither teen tried to start a new game.

Now a new problem arose, what then?

What could Tiffany say then?

What could possibly fix this?

Could she blame Max for refusing help?

In a case like this?

Could she?

She pursed her lips before continuing.

Tiffany: What you said to Rose was rude.

Max softly sighed.

Tiffany: I understand that you're hurting, but that doesn't mean you have to hurt those around you.

At that point, Max had begun to grit his teeth.

Tiffany: And so, while I won't ask you to apologise for hurting, I want you to understand that Rose was only trying to help you. She didn't mean anything by it.

The intensity of Max's gritting increased, so much so that even Ken noticed it.

Tiffany: Max, I know it's hard. But she's only trying to help. After all, we all understand what you're going through.

Believe me. We all do.

At that point, although slight, a light seethe escaped Max's mouth.

Tiffany: And...

Before she could say even another word, Max suddenly stood up and turned to her, saying..

Max: You don't understand a thing!

His words were loud and clear. But even more than that, they were shattering.

Not just to Tiffany, but to the rest of them as well.

And he didn't stop there.

Max: I'm the only one in the world like me!

Those words hit like a truck. To all of them.

But, most of all, to the girl by the name of Tiffany Chnag.

Tiffany Chang.

To this day, she had only known the boy by the name Maximillian Hunter for a few days.

Of him, she had several opinions.

He was reckless, bullheaded, and perhaps a little too strong-minded and also, very unpredictable.

He was also, besides all that, brave, a quick thinker and also, to a T, loyal.

That was all well and good.

But what shocked her here at this very moment was what Max said.

She had known him for a week and, for as long as she'd known him, she'd never once heard him say something that felt so... true.

It wasn't so much that he lied all the time before.

On the contrary, she doubted that.

No, this statement, right there.

Just as he'd said it.

That right there was the truest statement Maximillian Hunter had ever said anywhere near her.

Ken, Rose and Luke could all feel it to some degree as well.

Max meant every word he said.

That was how he felt.

But only Tiffany fully understood just how true it was of him.

Max meant that to his core.

He felt alone.

Tiffany: (thinking: Is that why...... is that why Max is the way he is?)

As for Max, he quickly begun to calm down, realising how far he'd gone.

Max: (thinking: I... shouldn't have said that.)

His eyes widened in shock at what he'd just said, almost panicking for a brief second, before deciding to calm down, turning around to the controller once more.

Max: (softly) None of you know what it's like....

He gritted his teeth as he said that.

Not a single vessel in him wanted to continue.

Not a one.

However....

Rose: Max....

All their faces were turned to the troubled looking teen.

Max: It's... it's... fine.

He sighed with melancholy.

For one thing, he freaked out.

For another, they saw his freak out.

And for another, he said exactly what he'd never wanted to talk about.

His brain immediately got to work.

He expected every sort of consolation.

"I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through."

"We can help."

"Don't worry, we understand you."

He knew what to expect.

Rose: Max,... I....

But before she could continue, a massive gust of wind blew Max all of a sudden.

Max: What the...!?

He turned around, only to see Luke blowing air at him.

Max: Luke?

Using his super strength, Luke could blow incredible gusts of wind at people.

Why he neglected to use this power more often?

Because it was only strong enough to lightly push the average human being.

In essence, it was more than weak enough to do nothing in a real fight.

But in this case, it was enough to lightly push a human being who was down in the dumps.

As for the blond young man.

Luke: (sighs) Eyes up, Max.

Max: Mmmmmm what?

Luke: (sighs) Look. I get it. It's hard. But you're not the only one who's special around here.

Max: Mmm...

Rose: Yeah.

She said that reassuringly, still hoping to quell his fury.

Luke: I...

He continued with some difficulty.

Luke: ...didn't always have my powers.

Rose: Yeah, and being on Earth's been really hard for me.

Luke: And Ken here....

Max, slightly begrudgingly, turned to Ken once more.

He was silent.

Luke: ... he doesn't even know where his bionics come from.

Max remained silent as well.

Luke: So, I guess what I am trying to say is...

Being soft and sensitive was not one of Luke's strong suits.

The conversation was tough, but the follow through was even tougher.

Max remained indignant.

Luke noticed this but tried to continue irregardless.

Luke:... that.... we're all in the same boat. So... don't worry about it.

That was hard enough for Luke as was.

As for Max, he simply sighed.

Luke: Look, I....

He started to nervously rub his hair.

Touchy-feely topics really stressed him out. Especially in situations such as these.

He wanted Max to calm down, and also, for him to apologise. But... how could he?

So many things were running in his mind at the time.

The biggest question being... how to get Max to calm down.... and how to alleviate the situation.

It was clear he was hurting. But, .... how help him?

Max: Yeah, .... sorry...

He said that, but his eyes showed disinterest in talking about it.

Luke: Hey, look, you could....

Max: It's fine. Don't worry about it.

Luke: Tch...

To the boy by the name of Maximillian Hunter, enough had been said.

He had regrets, and, of course, wished he hadn't spoken.

But that was that.

To him, he only thought one thing.

If only this night could end.

He didn't hate them. No. In fact, he still felt guilt in his heart.

But right there...

... right there and then....

... what could he say?

Max turned his head away as Luke, still trying to alleviate the situation.

Luke: Hey.

Max: Just, ... forget about it.

And as the tense situation continued, the girl by the name of Tiffany Chang watched... silently and unmovingly. However, her mind was doing anything but remaining silent.