Maximillian Hunter.

That was the topic of the day.

Luke: So.... what do you think?

Tiffany: Hmm?

The entire time, Tiffany had had her head out the window.

She hadn't said much, which, to be fair, was pretty characteristic of her.

But for her to look so bothered...

Luke: About Max...

Tiffany: Oh...

For a moment, she remained silent.

There was a lot she had to say about him.

Tiffany: He's....

And then, for a moment, she thought about it.

And then, ....

Tiffany: Quick thinking, ....

Luke: Hmm?

But Tiffany continued...

Tiffany: ... ingenuity, unpredictability, guts....

Luke: Hmm?

Where was Tiffany going with this?

Tiffany: ..., protonite powers, and... he doesn't seem to be a bad guy.

She took a deep breath and made a massive sigh.

Luke: Hmm?

Tiffany: Max Hunter is.... in more ways than one, more battle ready than any of us when we'd first joined the team, well, aside from me and Ken.

Luke: Huh?

Tiffany: He's just.... peculiar. That's all.

And peculiar, she was right.

Maximillian Hunter.

To the best of her knowledge, Max wasn't used to fighting. So... where?

Where on earth did he learn all this?

Luke: I see....

What she said was a new concept to Luke, albeit not entirely.

He had noticed it, too.

For one who they'd just met, he was surprisingly good at fighting.

Even more, surprisingly good at getting out of tough situations.

And, more terrifyingly, surprisingly good at thinking even when trapped.

Now, to fully understand the full sentiment behind this, one would have to understand the way of life these teens held.

Luke and Tiffany were, for lack of a better description, warriors.

They fought.

And hard.

And, as a result, they'd risked their lives many a time.

And to anyone who's anyone who has walked the line between life and death, one thing is truly apparent.

Anyone, male or female, young or old, who can face death and stand, is truly brave.

That is the boy by the name of Maximillian Hunter.

And that wasn't just death.

It was also... his spars with them.

In every fight, except Rose's, when he seemed cornered, rather than back down, he got back up.

The pair of teens talking had learned this in their lives.

It takes guts to get up when all seems lost.

So... the simple question was... where did Maximillian Hunter get his guts from?

To Tiffany, the answer was... his father?

But... was that it?

His father?

The concept would make sense to Luke as well.

It would make sense to most... seeing as his father died protecting others.

That would explain where he'd got his guts from.

But... did it really?

To the girl by the name of Tiffany Chang, that was a reason.

A very good one, in fact.

Impeccable, even.

One could even go so far as to say that she was taken by the entire story.

And, even then, she herself would never say she doubted even a word of it.

No.

She believed every word.

Not an ounce of her believed Max was lying about his father.

However....

... as her eyes narrowed in the van, ...

... this girl with an impeccable intuition...

.. could not help but feel...

... as though she was missing something.

How big of a something?

Something that would finally help her understand Max.

Something big.

Something big enough that it would make Max make sense.

After all, your average teenage boy doesn't just... know how to stand up and fight like that... does he?

Luke: Well, ....

As for Luke....

Luke: ... at least we can trust him.

... leave it to him to put her fears to rest.

Tiffany: Yeah....

He was right.

At the very least, she could trust him.

Maximillian Hunter.

She could count on him to put his life in the line for others... and for them.

She could also count on him to be ready and willing to do so.

And, she could also stop worrying about his mother.

Perhpas, in a sense, one could call this "party" a testament of sorts.

A statement saying.... "I'm sorry about what had happened, but he's my son. And so... take care of him."

Perhaps... perhaps that was why Julianne invited them over.

This sudden understanding finally hit Tiffany.

That was why she invited them over.

To set the record straight.

And... given Luke's response, ... perhaps there was nothing to worry about.

Perhaps... there was never a thing to worry about.

And... if there was... perhaps even it wasn't worth minding.

And so... given the quiet car ride, she decided she would drop it.

Tiffany: Sure.... yeah. Maybe you're right.

Luke: Hmph.

And as for Luke, he was simply glad he'd gotten his friend to calm down.

And as for making it to Tiffany's....

Luke: We're almost there...

Tiffany: Thanks...

She simply turned to the front of the car and looked, her eyes never changing direction.

There was something to be said of how robotically she looked at that spot.

Like a machine... fixated upon something.

As for Luke...

Luke: Hey, remember to take your share of the food.

Tiffany: Right.

Luke: She does have some pretty good food.

Tiffany: Yeah...

And then, a small smirk grew on the older teen's face.

Luke: Good enough that you could barely eat it.

Now, what he was referring to was Tiffany's own reaction to Julianne's expensive food.

And that statement...

Tiffany: Mmmmmm....

... made the teenage girl angrily blush at him.

She knew it was a joke.

But still....

Tiffany: (sighs) Whatever....

And Luke simply laughed..

As for when they did finally make it, ...

Luke: Alright. We're here.

Tiffany: Yeah....

Without skipping a beat, she opened the front door and walked to the back of the van, opening it, rummaging about the food, and then... getting up and leaving.

Luke: Hey, don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

Tiffany: Yeah, I know....

And with a few bags in tow, she left.

Tiffany: See you later, Luke.

Luke: See ya, Tiff.

As for Luke, he left off to his apartment.

The boy by the name of Luke Parks...

... he lived alone.

And not just alone, but also, in a particularly run down apartment.

In his van, he drove all the way to his place, all the while just listening to music.

Quiet drives.

To these, he had grown accustomed.

This van of his... was not just a van.

Perhaps... one could call it his one and only companion in these quiet drives.

As for Tiffany, he was glad she'd taken a few packs.

Had she not, he himself would be upset.

He was glad Ken and Rose did as well.

While this teenage boy was living alone, in what one would call.... "no place for a growing young man," he was not without something approximating a sense of honor.

Or, perhaps one would call it a sense of pride.

He would, under no circumstances, ask people for help.

That was just the boy by the name of Luke Parks.

He didn't like asking for help.

He really didn't.

So, one would be quite shocked to see his reaction to opening the van door once he'd first got home.

He opened it as usual... however, the pungent scent of food hit him like a truck.

An aroma was to be expected, but this strong?

He looked at the seats where Rose and Ken sat previously.

And lo and behold, there they were...

...packs of food.

And not just one of them.

There were some on what had soon become Rose's seat, on what had become Ken's seat and, some in the center.

For a whole moment, the teen boy paused, as he did not expect this.

But then... his heart softened.

It wasn't just the fact that they did it that touched him... it was also... the fact that they didn't speak of it.

They never told him.

Nope. Not one word.

Did they discuss this with a psychic link?

Also, did that matter?

All he knew was... that now, he had several packs of home cooked food from his friends.

Friends who understood him enough not to crush his pride.

Friends who cared enough to leave him food.

Friends who understood him.

And so, with a single tear in his eyes, he grabbed the packs, one by one.

First from Rose, then from Ken and lastly from Tiffany.

And, with a smile, ...

.. he walked back to his apartment, where this teen was going to feast!

And oh... what a feast it would be!