YOU 1 [Charli D'Amelio]

Chapter 71.

When we enter the house Karen and Ken are sitting on the couch in the living room, they both look up when we walk in.

"Maxxy ! What happened?" Ken asks, his voice panicked.

"I'm fine." Max grumbles.

"What happened to her ?" Ken turns to me.

"Max got in a fight, she hasn't told me with who or why." I explain.

"I am standing right here and I just said I am fucking fine." She spits.

"Don't talk to him like that!" I scold her and her eyes widen. Instead of screaming at me, she takes my wrist in her busted hand and pulls me out of the room. I hear Ken and Karen talking about Max's bloody appearance as she drags me upstairs. Once we reach her room she turns me around, pinning both of my wrists to the wall and steps towards me leaving only a few inches between us.

"Don't ever do that again." She says through her teeth.

"Do what? Let go of me." I tell her and she rolls her eyes before letting go and opening her bedroom door. She walks towards the bed and I stay close to the door. Ken and Karen are probably wondering why Max keeps coming here, she never used to come here.

"Don't tell me how to talk to my father. Worry about your own relationship with your father before trying to meddle in mine." As soon as the words come out of her mouth, they register with her and she looks up at me as I take a step backwards. 'I'm sorry.. I didn't mean it like that.. It just came out." She tries to apologize.

"It always just 'comes out' doesn't it?" I can't help the tears pricking my eyes. The comment about my father was just too much, even for Max.

"Charli, I.." She begins but stops herself. What am I doing here? Why do I keep thinking she will stop the endless string of insults long enough to have an actual conversation with me? Because I am an idiot, that's why.

"It's fine, really. That's who you are, that's what you do. You find people's weakness and you exploit it. You use it to your advantage. How long have you been waiting to say something about my father? You have probably been waiting for an opening since you met me!" I shout.

"Damn it! No I haven't! I wasn't thinking when I said that! You are not innocent here, you provoke me on purpose!' She yells, even louder than I did.

"Provoke you? I provoke you! Please, do enlighten me!" I almost scream. I know everyone in the house can hear be but for once, I don't care.

"You always push my buttons! You constantly fight with me! You go on dates with Zayn, I mean fuck! You think I like being this way? Do you think I like you having this control over me? I hate the way you get under my skin, I loathe the way I can't seem to stop thinking about you! I hate you.. I really do! You're such a pretentious little.." She stops and looks at me. I force myself to look back at her, putting on the charade that she didn't just tear me apart with every syllable.

"This is what I am talking about!" She runs her hands over her hair as she paces back and forth across the room. "You.. you make me crazy, literally insane! And then you have the nerve to ask if I love you? Why would you even ask that? Because I said that one time, on accident? I told you already that I didn't mean it so why would you ask again? You like rejection don't you? That's why you keep coming around me, isn't it?" She is screaming at me and all I want to do is run, run out of this room and never, ever look back.

"No, I keep coming around because I love you." I finally admit. I cover my mouth, wishing I could push the words back in. She couldn't possibly hurt me worse than she has and I don't want to be left wondering what she would have said if I told her. I am okay with her not loving me, I got myself into this knowing how she was all along.

"You what?" She looks astonished. She blinks rapidly as if trying to process the words.

"Go on, tell me how much you hate me again. Go ahead and tell me how stupid I am for loving someone who can't stand me." I say, my voice comes out foreign and almost as a whine. I wipe my eyes and look at her again. "I'll be going now." I say, I feel as if I am walking away from a battle in which I have been gravely been defeated. I need to leave the scene to bandage my internal wounds.

As I open the door she takes one long stride to close the gap between us. I refuse to look at her as she puts her hand on my shoulder. "Damn it, don't go." She says, her voice is full of emotion, which emotion is the question.

"You love me?" She whispers and puts her busted hand under my chin to tilt my head to her. I dart my eyes away from her and nod slowly, waiting for her to laugh in my face.

"Why?" Her breath comes in a hot burst against my face. I finally bring my eyes to her and she looks.. afraid?

"What?" I ask softly.

"Why do you love.. how could you possibly love me?" Her voice cracks and she stares at me and I feel like the words I say next will carry much more weight than I ever expected.

I have no explanation except that I just do. She drives me crazy, makes me angrier than I have ever been, but somehow I fell for her, hard. "How could you not know that I love you?" I ask instead of answering her. She doesn't think I could love her?

"You told me you didn't, and you went out with Zayn. You always leave me, you left me on the porch earlier when I begged you for another chance. I told you I loved you and you rejected me. Do you know how hard that was for me?" She says. I must be imagining the wetness in the corners of her eyes.

I am too aware of her callused fingers under my chin. "You took it back before I could even process what you said, you have done a lot of things to hurt me, Maxxy." I tell her and she nods.

"I know.. I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you? I know I don't deserve you, I don't have the right to even be asking this.. but please, just one chance. I am not promising not to fight with you, or get mad at you but I am promising to give myself to you, completely. Please, just let me try to be what you need." She sounds so unsure of herself, it turns my insides to liquid.

"I want to think this can work but I just don't know how it could, so much damage has already been done." My eyes betray me as the tears fall. Max brings her fingers up from my chin and captures the tears.

"Do you remember when you asked me who I love the most in the world?" She asks, her lips inches from mine.

I nod, how does she remember that? It seems so long ago and I didn't think she was even paying attention.

"Its you. You're the person that I love most in the world." Her words surprise me and dissolve the ache in my chest.

"This isn't part of your sick game is it?" I ask before I let myself believe her and turn to my usually state of putty in his arms.

"No, Charli. I am done with the games, I just want you. I want to be with you, in a real relationship. You'll have to take the lead of course because I don't know what in the hell that even means." She laughs and I join her.

"I have missed your laugh, I haven't heard it enough. I want to be the one to make you laugh, not cry. I know I am a lot to handle.." she says but I cut her off by pressing my lips against her. Her lips are rushed and I can taste the blood from her lip being busted. My knees want to buckle from the electricity shooting through me, it seems so long ago that I last felt her mouth on mine. I love this damaged, self loathing, asshole so much that I am afraid it will crush me. She lifts me up and I wrap my thighs around her, tangling my fingers into her hair. She moans into my mouth and gasp, pulling harder. My tongue runs over her bottom lip and she winces, I pull away.

"Who did you get in a fight with?" I ask and she laughs.

"You're asking that now?"

"Yea, I want to know." I smile.

"You always have so many questions, can't I answer them later?" She pouts.

"No, tell me."

"Only if you'll stay." She holds me against her tighter. "Please?" She begs.

"Okay." I breath and kiss her again, forgetting about my question.