#2018makkiweek

[clockypastaa]

It's been a while since I drew Makki! So I'll participate in the @2018makkiweek! Just like the last time!! I missed the first day but that's fine!!

[tallgirl14]

Makki week day 3: messing with Neil

[spero11]

makki week, day seven - partners (soul eater au)

they had to start somewhere.

@2018makkiweek

Nikki felt the excitement shooting up her spine. She couldn’t help but examine herself in the mirror and make sure that she had everything she needed. Her skin was tingling, and her hands were clenching and unclenching. Even her soul seemed to pulse with the desire to resonate with someone. She was ready to find herself a partner.

Starting Monday, she, along with many others, would be attending Death Weapon Meister Academy. Tonight was the annual ceremony where Meisters and Demon Weapons were gathered. They were to seek out each other and form a special bond that would only be shared between the weapon and their handler.

Tonight, she would have someone to hold that connection with.

"Nicolette, you have to leave!" Candy called out. Nikki hurried through the living room and toward the door, "I know, I know. I'm gonna be late!"

As her daughter was putting on her boots, Candy looked confused by her words. "What? No, I meant that I have a hot date coming over in five minutes, and you're still here."

Nikki gave her a look from her seat on the floor. "Really?"

"I mean, you wanna stay here and become a voyeur?" at Nikki's disgusted face, Candy waves her hand, "See? I'm kicking you out for your own good."

"I'm going to the Partnership Ceremony, anyway."

"Oh, right. Well, then I guess it's a win-win."

"Yeah, okay. Bye, Mom."

Nikki was soon making her way up the lengthy flight of stairs, where the grand and ornate building rested at the top. She was able to allow her gaze to wander, which led her to wonder if any of the nearby students were destined to be her partner. The laughing moon shined upon Death City, as if there was a joke unseen by mere earthlings. Nikki liked to laugh and joke with the moon, sometimes. It was a great audience.

The ceremony was held inside an expansive ballroom, filled with kids and a few supervising adults. In the distance, Nikki could see a red-haired man discussing with a dark-skinned woman, distress written all over his face. She would be more entertained if she wasn’t practically vibrating with enthusiasm. Her left arm had a red bandana tied around it, indicating her role as a Meister. It seemed as though all the kids possessing blue bandanas were already chatting with a Meister.

After a few futile attempts to find a partner, she was roaming around the prodigious building. Her feet led her through the empty, dark halls, before she ended up on a balcony. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air. The view was magnificent, with the entirety of Death City surrounding the hill the school was located on. She scarfed down the food she picked up from the tables before placing the plate down onto the railing.

It didn’t take her long to notice that there was a shadow looming over her figure. She turned around and darted her attention upward, seeing the silhouette of a boy sitting on the roof. Nikki blinked, her eyes quickly catching the blue bandana tied around his mouth.

“Hey!” she called. “You’re a Demon Weapon?”

She couldn’t see what face he was making, but his tone didn’t sound very friendly. “Why? You need me to cut shit?”

“No, I’m looking for a partner!” Nikki pointed at her red bandana, “See? I’m a Meister!”

“Tough luck, I refuse.” He hissed, “I’m not letting anyone touch me.”

“Oh...” she furrowed her eyebrows, “but I washed my hands.”

The boy sighed and jumped down to her level, pulling the bandana around his mouth further down to his neck. She was able to see the rest of him in color; blue jacket, tanned skin, dark curly hair, and entrancing, green eyes. But there was also...

He seemed to have noticed she was staring, “What? Scared?”

Sharp teeth. He had very sharp-looking teeth.

He went wide-eyed when she bounded up to him. “Oh, my gosh! Your teeth are like a shark’s!”

A shark? He’s heard of demon, monster, and the like, but just a regular shark? “...Wha—”

“And your eyes! They’re so bright!” she reached up to graze him, but he smacked her hand away. “I said no.”

“Sorry, sorry. I just thought that you were really cool!”

He seemed to take her in, just as she was analyzing him. “What’s your name?”

“My name is Nikki! I’m twelve and ready to be a Death Scythe Meister!” she cocked her head at him. “What about you?”

“I’m,” he pointed out toward the gorgeous view, “going to get outta here. I don’t wanna stick around when I let the school have it.”

“You... what?”

“Yeah, and since I feel like being nice, I advise you get out of here, too.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait!” she blocked his way, “What did you do?!”

He smirked at her. “Well, I thought this night was lame, and decided to let go one of the academy’s training robots. The biggest one they had.”

She frowned, “You know, other any other circumstances, that would be great! But tonight is the night for Weapons and Meisters to begin their journey together!”

He tried to get passed her, but she wouldn’t let him. “Why do you care so much?”

“Because I want to be a Death Scythe Meister!” Nikki argued, “Because it’ll be an amazing and long adventure!”

“Who the hell else cares about that?!” he glared at her. “Get out of my way.”

There was a resounding explosion behind them. Screams followed afterward, causing Nikki to gasp and the boy to grin darkly. “Looks like it got out.”

He passed her in her moment of shock. She quickly realized and was about to reach out to him, but stopped just short of his jacket.

“Please, wait.” Something about her voice made him freeze as he was climbing the railing. “I was really, really excited about tonight, but it sucked because no one wanted to partner up with me. Still, I didn’t want to give up the idea of going to school everyday to learn how to kick butt and go on missions with someone I can call a friend.”

She felt her lip quiver. “It’s all... I had. Even if it was just a possibility.”

A few long moments passed without a word exchanged. In the background, there were several more echoing clangs and chimes. He finally sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Fuck, you’re annoying.”

He grabbed her hand, to which her head snapped up. In a flash of light, his body morphed into his weapon form. Suddenly, there was a beautiful, elongated scythe in her hand. Dark as the night with tints of blue and collared with icy gray triangles. The blade was curved sharply, cut in half and jagged with the same icy gray.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s kill the bitch!”

“R-Right!” she ran toward the commotion as his voice continued to come from the weapon. “Don’t tell me you were spouting bullshit and seriously don’t even know how to fight.”

Nikki scowled and fastened her grip on the handle. “We’re gonna get that robot.”

The smirk was heard in his tone. “That’s the spirit.” 

She skidded at the entrance of the ballroom and was met with a ferocious robot and downed kids. The room was mostly empty, save for the ones still fighting. It seemed as though the rest of them were swiftly taken out of the building and were being watched over by the teachers, for there were none around. She asked, puzzled, “Where are the adults?!”

“Fuck them! We’ll take care of it ourselves.”

She beamed. “Heck yeah!”

Launching off of her step, she gathered her momentum by spinning in the air, then swinging the scythe against the robot before it could attack another kid. She evaded a few of the lightning-fast attacks of the robot, while defending herself a couple of times with the weapon. The clash of metal against metal rang in her ears, which made her wince. One of the jabs nearly nicked her cheek, yet she was able to move just in time. Without hesitation, she fluidly twirled the scythe in her hand before slamming the weapon in its side, sending the machine flying to another wall.

“...Damn. You know what you’re doing.”

“Thanks! I have a lot of energy!” she jumped up, avoiding the long appendages that shot out from the smoke. With a battlecry, she sliced the robot straight down the middle, effectively destroying it. She panted heavily as the boy reformed back to his human appearance. The students around them were is absolute awe, whispering comments and inching just a little closer to the mangled machine.

“Maaax!”

“Oh, shit.” The boy groaned and squeezed his eyes in exasperation. Nikki looked at him with wonder. “Your name is Max?”

The redhead from earlier stormed toward them and placed his hands on his hips. “You did this, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, maybe I did. Where the fuck were you?” he glowered up at him. “I didn’t see you stopping a robot from hurting other people, David.”

“You were the one who released it in the first place.” He wagged his finger, “I was trying to find a way to make the ceremony more enjoyable, so I left it to my fellow teachers.”

“You’re such a lousy Death Scythe.”

“Wait, what!?” Nikki clutched David’s shirt, much to his surprise. Astonishment was shining on her face. “You’re a Death Scythe?!”

“Yep, and he sucks at it.”

“Max—” David sighed in defeat, “I thought it would be nice for you to participate tonight and find a partner. But you haven’t even found one offer. Instead, you tried to ruin it for everyone else.”

Nikki tugged on his shirt again, yet with a different expression. “Max may have released the robot, but he did help me stop it. And also, I gave him an offer!”

David was taken aback. “What? Really?”

She was smiling now, but a little sadly, “Yeah, although, he already said—”

“Sure.”

“N—Really?!” Nikki whirled around to face Max. “You’ll be my partner!?”

“Are you sure you aren’t just pulling this girl’s leg?” David inquired suspiciously. Max pointed his thumb in her direction. “She said she wanted to be a Death Scythe Meister, which means I’ll be a Death Scythe. And I sure as hell am gonna be a better Death Scythe than you.”

Nikki felt herself smile at his words that exuded confidence about her, himself, and their future partnership. The two were also astounded to see David’s soft smile, as well.

“That’s great, Max.”

Said boy growled, but his hard countenance shifted slightly. “Shut up.”

Abruptly, the dark-skinned woman from before marched inside with an enraged expression. David smile turned sheepish, “I’ll... take care of this. You kids go outside.”

As he was forced to take up the wrath of his colleague, Max and Nikki were exiting the building. She was skipping the whole way, causing his gaze to follow her erratic movements.

“This is gonna be so much fun! We can move in to a dorm together, and every morning, I can cook breakfast!”

“I don’t really eat breakfast. I like coffee, though.”

“Oh, well, more for me! Say, how old are you?”

“Thirteen.”

“Thirteen? Whoa! Oh, oh, how are your teeth so sharp?”

“Genetics, maybe.”

“How are your eyes that shade of green?”

“How is your hair green at all?”

“Touché!”

As they traveled down the dim corridor, there seemed to be a certain light shared between them. This was the start of their adventure, and they would be partners every step of the way.

Sorry this is so late, but I had to get it in before the day ended!

Thank you everyone who has been following my fics for this week! It’s been really fun, and I had never done anything like this before.

some art to go with the fic

[sargentsnowy-blog]

Happy Birthday, Nikki

Makki Week Day 4: Celebrating Birthdays

It has occurred to me that I have not told my fanfiction followers that I was hosting a makkiweek lolz.

Here's day four! Celebrating Birthdays.

...

"You're going to give it to her, right?"

"For the 30th time, Neil, no!" Max turned around and glared at his nerdy friend angrily.

Today was June 9th, Nikki's birthday. So she was getting all the attention of the campers and random gifts from each of them. SpaceKid had given her a tiny space ship. Nerris had given her a pile of dice. And the gift Max hated the most...Harrison had given her a bouquet of lilacs that matched her eyes.

Max, however, was the only camper who didn't give her anything. Even Nurf gave her something. And it was just a nicely cooked meal!

It was so annoying...seeing Nikki swept off at random times for gifts campers were giving. It was most annoying when David and Gwen had given her a new pair of overalls.

Neil had given Nikki a tonic to use on her enemies and Max was fine with that. He even overheard Nikki saying she was going to use it on the flowerscouts.

But...Max had made her a gift. He was just too awkward to give it to her. Way too awkward. It was like Neil with social anxiety. No that was an overstatement.

Yet, he still couldn't give it to her. No matter how much he wanted to. So he decided to just avoid her all day and ignore the looks she would randomly give him when they were in the same room.

"Max?"

Max snapped out his thoughts and shook his head vigorously to see what Neil had said.

"She's been talking about how she loved her gifts all day you expect her not to love yours?"

"I never said that," he hissed. "I said I'm just not giving it to her." He turned around and walked off, catching a glimpse of Nikki getting skateboard lessons from Ered. So annoying, he thought angrily.

...

Avoiding Nikki was a lot harder now that she was done getting presents and things. Every now and then, she'd try to run up to him but he'd just get lucky as she was pulled away again.

And if she wasn't, he'd slip away just in time.

But with Neil pestering him 24/7, he couldn't help but wonder her reaction to his small gift...he wanted to see what she thought.

Max shook his head to erase the idea, sitting at a mess hall table across the room from the birthday girl. He glanced over to her every now and then.

Each time he looked up, he caught Nikki looking at him and saying things like "yeah" and "uh huh" to the campers telling her about their plans for her at the end of the day, not listening. Just watching him.

She looked annoyed and concerned.

Max sighed and looked away again, not wanting to see anyone talk to her at the moment.

"Hey guys? I gotta go for a second." His head snatched up at Nikki's voice. He turned to see Nikki walking toward him with a determined look.

Fuck. Max jumps up and walks out the mess hall, shoving his hands in his pockets. He didn't get far when he heard the mess hall door close again, knowing Nikki was following him.

He picked up the pace until he was running, looking back to see her doing the same as she was quickly covering ground. Goddamnit.

Before he could even run far enough, the girl tackled him to the ground and stood up.

"Hi Max!" Nikki sounded happy but he could tell there was hurt, concern, and anger behind her words. "You've been running from me all day and I'd like to know why?"

He groans and stood up, dusting off his hoodie.

They were standing in the middle of a few trees, the camp still seen but hidden. Max was tempted to make a run for it until Nikki stood in front of him, her arms folded. "Well?"

He sighs and looks her directly in the eyes, making her blink and take a step back. "...you see Nikki...I have something I want to give you...it's a birthday present I made about a month ago when you told me."

Her eyes had widened when he said "made", her interest at a peak.

Max turns his head away and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a softly knitted wolf plushie with dark black fur and yellow eyes. It was small but looked like it took forever.

Nikki gapped at it, looking at the plushie and then at Max. "Y-You made this?"

He nods and mumbles, "happy birthday."

When the plushie wasn't taken out his hand, he turned to look at Nikki only to find her smiling brightly at him. "Wh—"

"Thank you, Max!" She took the plushie and hugged him tightly, making his face burn. "I'll keep it forever!" And with that she let go of him and skipped away happily, humming loudly.

Max just stood there, looking after her with wide eyes. There was a russle in the bushes and out stepped Neil who just said, "you look like a beet."

"SH-SHUT UP."

...

Short, but cute.

[metametalmugs]

Makki Week: Day 5

Despite everything, I still post, so have one so I can put a finish on Makki week. That's right... I’m done with the week... but I had fun. Thanks to everyone that supported me while I was writing this, I enjoyed it at a cost to my health. Thanks for the support!

Uh notice me senpai: @2018makkiweek

Heat beat down on Camp Campbell, the campers were working on an activity assigned to them. David had them painting on the boats. Max, Neil, and Nikki were working on theirs, rather Nikki and Neil were, Max just watched. "Max, C'mon, help us with the boat, it’s a group project," Nikki whined to Max, Max looked down at the two, groaned and went to the boat. "Yeah, Max! Our design would be with sharks, bears and... um... oh! And flames!" Neil got up and wiped off his sweat, "I personally wouldn't adorn our boat with such animals, I would put a simplistic yet slick design."Max scoffed "I personally don't care. Where's David, I gotta ask him why we're doing this." Nikki stood up, annoyed, "Max! Don't be such a killjoy, this was gonna be fun, C'mon, we can make this boat kickass!"  

Before they could start, David came up to them, "Hey campers! Do you want to help me with a super-secret mission on Spooky Island?" The campers looked up and David, "No" Not really" "Heck yeah!" The three looked at each other, and Nikki was happily smiling, "what, why shouldn't we hop on the chance for adventure!" Max sighed, "Nik, I'll be honest, Spooky Island is nothing but trouble, our first trip we saw Quartermaster's... private party" Max shuddered, "Then we met that 'kid' who is just a whole other case, do you really think going to Spooky Island is a good idea?" Nikki thought about it, but the sprouted, "It's still an adventure! So what do we do?" Max facepalmed, as David spoke. "You three are gonna go with me to find my buddy, Jasper's collection of Pogs." Max interrupted, "Why would you want to get Pogs? Those things died out and I'm hardly sure that any of them are valuable" David simply responded, "I just want something to remember him by, if those silly old things are even still there. So, let's sail!" Max, Neil, and Nikki all walked to an unused boat, whilst Max stared at Nikki for getting them into this mess.

The 4 docked at the shore of the island, everything was dark, despite it being the daytime. "Somehow, it's always raining or cloudy on this island specifically," Neil commented while getting off the boat. "Well, let's go to the old abandoned house of Mr. Campbell to see where the Pogs are," David said while heading forward. The island was dark as always, which didn’t bother Max, but still sort of unnerved him. Nikki looked back at Max, "So, is this place still spooky or what?" Max remained unshaken, "No, it's just a really dark forest." The wind rustled the bushes, which spooked Neil and Nikki, as Nikki subconsciously held the closest thing. "Uh, Nik?" Max said, Nikki looked at him, and Max gestured to what she grabbed, Max's hand. "Oh, sorry Max." Nikki let go, but Max rolled his eyes, "Listen, if you're so spooked about this island, just keep holding my hand." Nikki nodded and held Max's hand. They managed to get to the house still holding hands.

As they entered the house, the atmosphere had dropped, from unsettling to creepy. Nikki gripped Max's hand harder, out of fear. Max, of course, didn’t really care. "So, as I remember Jasper had his Pogs downstairs, so we should check there. Neil turned to the them "this place hasn't changed one bit, huh guys?" Neil noticed how unsettled Nikki was and that she and Max were holding hands. "Oh... so, you guys dating now?" Max looked up in surprise, "No! We just- Nikki just got scared, and I'm helping her" Neil continued on but stilled chuckled, and Max profusely blushed.

Downstairs of the mansion was full of the creepy bottles of unknown objects. "Hm, did Jasper play here? Ok, gang, we should split up and search." David then started looking around. Max used his foot to move things aside, as his hands were semi-occupied. "Max, something isn't right, there is something in here with us..." Max glared at Nikki, "Maybe it's Jasper, getting his Pogs back." Nikki held Max's shoulders "Max! I'm serious! There is something aside us or Jasper, something... dangerous, I can feel it." Max took off her hands and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Nikki! Calm down, there isn’t a monster, like the first time, there is no monst-" Suddenly, a jar fell down and crashed on the floor. Everyone, even Max got spooked. "See Max! Monster!" Nikki gloated, Max recomposed himself, "Yeah, sure, let's check it out, but if it's not a monster, you owe me." "Owe you what?" Nikki asked, "Anything I want, you'll do" Max replied back. "Deal!" Nikki shook Max's hand, the same one she was already holding, suddenly, something was making noise in the corner of the room. Nikki gestured to it and Max inched closer to it. 'not a problem, just... uncover a box' Max thought, reassuring himself. Max gulped and lifted his foot. Nikki held on to Max's hand harder, bracing. Max kicked the box off and there... sat the platypus. "Wak" The platypus quacked and ran out of the room. "How the fuck does it get in here?"

"Campers! I found it!" David held up the small pack of Pogs, Max, Nikki and Neil looked at it, "Ok, can we go now?" Max, annoyed, asked. David nodded and they all went out. When they left the house, rain started to pour. "Uh oh, I should probably prep the boat so we could leave." David went ahead to the shore, when he left, Neil smirked at Nikki and Max. "What?" Max asked, then he realized he was still holding Nikki's hand. Max immediately let go, as he did, a bush rustled. Jasper appeared in the bush, "Jasper? What are you doing here?" Neil asked as Jasper rose from the bush. Jasper acted a little embarrassed, "I... helped you two, a little bit." The three were confused, but Neil realized and when he did, he burst out laughing. "What?" Nikki asked, "He... hahaha! He shook the bushes to make you guys hold hands!" Jasper looked down "I... also got the platypus and broke a breaker... sorry Max" Max looked surprised but got angry. "You sly little ghost cunt!" Max tried grabbing Jasper, but he is a ghost, so Max couldn't. The trio left the island, Max in his hoodie out of embarrassment., Nikki was also embarrassed but not showing it, just joking around with Neil. As they rode away, the 4 recounted the experience on the island... except Max.

[blasters270]

Makki week 2018 day 4: celebrating birthdays

I bet this looks similar to a birthday gift drawing for a friend but eh

@2018makkiweek

[sargentsnowy-blog]

Makki Week Day 7: Random AU

You guys: Aye i like the last chapter! I need the part two!

Me: lol makki proposal.

They are 22 and college graduates. Max and Nikki have been dating for three years now.

...

"HEY NIKKI!"

A ten-year old Nikki turned around to look in the direction she heard Max's voice, her hand clutching the handle of her suitcase.

It was the end of the summer, the time she dreaded but knew would come sooner or later. She didn't want to go...she wanted to stay there forever and not worry about school or her mom being a nuisance and whore.

But, Nikki had just said her good-byes to everyone. Why was Max calling her when she was about to leave...?

"Yes Max?" She looks over her shoulder at the hooded boy she had learned to have a crush on the moment the two of them were able to hatch the platypus baby. "Is something wrong?"

Max was standing there defensively, his mouth trembling and a dark red blush on his face. "..."

Nikki blinks in complete confusion. Why did he stop her? Did he want her to stay like she did...?

She stops thinking when he raises his arm and points at her, noticing how he had dropped his head down.

"One day..." Max took a deep breath before looking up quickly with newfound confidence, pointing at her less anxiously but with a darker face. "...ONE DAY I'M GOING TO FUCKING MARRY YOU!"

Nikki's jaw dropped and her eyes widen, her face burning in a crimson color.

The crowd behind Max gasped loudly in surprise but also interest.

The boy who blurted out the sentence looked nervous as hell and worried, like maybe he shouldn't have said that?

A giggle slipped out of Nikki's mouth and she turns to him happily, a bright smile on her face. Her hand pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and she ecstatically responded, "We'll see if you can keep your promise, Max!"

And with that, she turned on the ball of her foot and marched toward her car, getting in and being driven off. The girl was giggling, something she'd never really do, the whole way.

After that, no one talked about it next summer. It was always on their minds though, the thought, "is he going to actually marry her?" swarming all their heads.

With Max never saying anything about it ever again, Nikki thought he forgot. But she never did. How could she? It was impossible...

...

Max had never been so nervous in his life. He was standing outside of Nikki's apartment door, checking his phone every now and then.

8:00. That's the time they both agreed on and it was 8:07. Seven minutes and that sent him into an anxious wreck. He must not have realized that when he got there the time was 8:05 and Nikki had told him she was coming when he knocked.

The door swung open and he jumps, Nikki standing there in his requested attire.

She was wearing a midnight blue dress that faded into a lighter blue but not too light at the bottom. It flowed with her movements. Long, black thigh high socks extended from her combat boots and the sleeves of the dress were black, long and tight and ending at her wrists. It made the dress look sleeveless and a long sleeved shirt was under it.

A simple outfit, really. But still Max felt under dressed. He was wearing a pitch black suit that ended in black loafers and a dark blue shirt under it. His face reddens just looking at her, glancing away.

"You're lookin' fine, Max," Nikki giggles softly, looking him up and down. "Extra extra."

Max squeezed the bridge of his nose and laughed slightly. "And you look se—"

She laughs loudly to cut him off and steps out her apartment, closing the door behind her. "And what's this...surprise place you're talking about? You said you'd tell me when we went on the date."

"Be patient. I'll tell you when we get there."

Nikki huffs and folds her arms, walking down the stairs and getting to ground level before running to his car. "But then what's the point of telling me when I'd just read the sign?"

"That's the point." He gets to the car and swung open the drivers door.

"Can I drive?"

"You have no idea where we are going. And I'd like to get to the place alive thank you."

With a slight whine, she slipped into the passenger seat and Max sat in the driver's.

"The place is across town," he adds, cranking the car. "About a 45 minute drive."

"Oh great that means I can annoy you to my heart's content."

And just like Nikki said she would, she annoyed him the whole ride. She asked him the usual questions like, "are we there yet?" or "what is this place?". But sometimes there was a random phrase thrown in like, "Max what if I drink a bottle of liquor and get all whoozy, what would you do?"

Max secretly loved it though. But he would never admit to that.

After the 45 minute drive of Nikki annoying Max they finally arrived and he dropped his head onto the steering wheel so the car honked. And he kept banging his head on it until he sat up straight. "We're here."

"Le Bilboquet," Nikki reads from her window, her eyes squinted in confusion. "French. And sounds..." she turns to him. "...expensive.."

He shrugs it off. "It is French and expensive."

"You never take me to these types of places. What are you hiding?"

"How dare." He gasps playfully and grinned. "Nothing really. We've never been to a place this expensive. Or fancy."

"You got me there." Nikki opens the door and gets out the car, running up to the entrance of the place and waited for Max to get there.

When he did, he opened the door for the both of them and got the reserved table and the couple sat down at it.

"Whoa..." Nikki looks around the resturant, her eyes amazed.

The place was just as it sounded. Fancy and expensive.

Each table was square and had a white table cloth on it, lace trimming it. A handkerchief sat on the tables with cutlery wrapped in them and there was a salt and pepper shaker square in the middle. A menu sat in front of each chair, sleek and a beautiful pattern on the front.

It seemed simple, yes, but the lighting and the wallpaper and the smell said otherwise.

"...Max how much did you go through to get this place...?"

Max, who was just leaning on the table and looking out the window at the star-speckled sky absentmindedly said, "the reservation was about $200 for two adults and I had a hard time booking it."

"WHAT?!"

He jumps at her loud outburst, snatching his head to look at her with bright eyes. "AH NOT SO LOUD!" He gestured to the couples and families looking at them in confusion.

"I don't give a shit," Nikki snapped angrily but quieter. "Why would you spend that much on one singular night?! There's an entire McDonald's down the street from my apartment!"

I didn't think she'd be mad at me for spending this much money... Max gulped. "Yeah but—"

She picked the menu up at lightening speed and gaped. "THE APPETIZERS COST TWENTY TO THIRTY DOLLARS."

"N-Nikki—"

"Max." She takes a deep breath. "Why would you take me here when you know how I feel about you wasting money?!"

"Technically it's not wasting money if it's for you," he retorts, noticing how her cheeks tinted a little. "Hell, if it was over 500 dollars I'd still buy it."

Nikki huffed and hide her face behind the menu. "Fine..but I'm not getting things too expensive."

"Just get anything you want?"

"No." She glares up at him and scanned the menu. "By the way, Neil told me that you were going to give me something tonight?"

"You'll get it after you eat." Max picked up his own menu and gave it a once over, glancing up at Nikki every now and then.

A pretty waitress with blonde hair and purple eyes walked up to the table and smiled at the couple. "Hi!" She had a French accent. "What can I get for you two?"

Nikki looks up and politely responds, "May I have a Soupe à l'oignon?"

"Great choice!" The waitress wrote it down on a small notepad and then looks to Max. "You?"

Max was looking down at the menu nervously again, his appetite vanishing. "Can I have a crossiant and that's all?"

The waitress shrugs and writes it down. "Drinks?"

"Orange juice!" Nikki smiles brightly at her boyfriend only for her smile to drop into a suspicious frown when he says, "a cup of water would be fine..."

"Okay!" The waitress then slyly grabbed Max's phone as he slipped it to her and walked away.

"You're really nervous, Max," Nikki points out, leaning on her arm slightly.

"I'm not nervous," Max lies, watching as the waitress came back and put a glass of orange juice in front of Nikki and a glass of water in front of himself. Then he watched her skip off.

"You're lying. Right through your teeth," Nikki growls, watching him take a sip of his water. She sighs and leans on her arm, wondering what would get his attention quickly and give off a reason he was so nervous.

She looked in the direction of a family of four and noticed two little kids. "Hey Max," she starts casually.

"Yeah?" He starts drinking his drink.

"If you had kids, what would you name them?"

That made Max choke, water shooting out his nose and onto the table cloth. He coughed a lot, water still running out his mouth and nose.

"AH!" Nikki grabbed her handkerchief and got out of her chair and reached across the table to dry his face. "Are you okay?!"

Max, still coughing, nodded and shook his head a little. "Just...that question was a little unexpected haha."

She sits back down and laughs slightly. "Well?"

"Uh...depends." He leans on the table and looks off, lost in his thoughts. "If it was a girl...I'd name her Victoria. If it was a boy, I'd name him Kiran...but if I had twins that were a boy and a girl, I'd name them Victor and Victoria."

Nikki blinked at him, surprised. "That's...so cool Max..."

He snapped out his state and looked to her. "What do you mean?"

"You can just spit out names like that...and they are cute, pretty names...they just came to your head!"

"Actually no." He laughs slightly and smiles at her softly. "I honestly thought about those names for a while now."

Before Nikki could respond, the waitress came back and placed the requested food in front of each of them. "Here you go."

Nikki squealed and sniffed at the soup. "Ahhh its smells so good..."

Max looked at her food and nods. "Looks good too."

"You ordered a plain crossaint," she teases, taking a bite. "..." Her eyes lit up happily. "THI—"

She stopped talking as Max reached over and took a bite of her meal. "..."

"Holy shit that's good." He smirks at her and ate his plain crossaint.

Through out the meal, they had small talk and it usually lead to Max questioning everything and he was honestly fine with that...? But it was all in out fun...until Nikki finished her food.

It was time... (AN: DAMN I'M NERVOUS TOO THE FUCK?!)

Max takes a deep breath, catching Nikki's attention who was licking her bowl.

She puts the bowl down. "Are you okay?"

He ignored the question. "Nikki can I ask you something?"

She nods slightly, getting a little anxious.

"You know I love you right?"

Nikki's jaw dropped. Even though she knew Max loved her, he never said it. He told her the phrase always got him into trouble. So he never said it. She leans forward in curiousity, nodding vigorously.

"You're honestly the best girl in the world...wild and fun...smart and pretty... you know how to light up anything, even if it's the worse possible situation." He smiles genuinely at her.

"You light up my life like if you hadn't come off that bus I'm pretty sure I couldn't be as happy as I am right now. You stick with me through the toughest times...actually care about me and my well-being...you're just so great and I don't know how you deal with me."

Nikki tilts her head and smiles at him, about to say something but he had more to say.

"I'm literally just some guy you met at camp that hated everything but you still saw something in me that I clearly couldn't see. I'm happy you saw it and...to be honest I'm happy I started liking you after we hatched that egg."

Her jaw drops and she blushed a bright pink. Where was he going with this...?

Max takes a deep breath and looks at her with bright, determined eyes. "Nikki you remember that promise I made to you when we were kids...?"

Nikki's eyes widens and she giggles softly. "Haha yeah...I thought you forgot..."

"Well guess what?" Max stands and walks over to her.

Her face gets more and more surprised, pretty sure she might start crying at any second.

She watches as Max dropped down onto one knee and grabbed a small box out his pocket. He opened it and right there, smack dab in front of her face, was a diamond engagement ring. And right at that second tears started pouring out her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"I didn't," Max says with a wide smile. "Nikki, would you do me the honor and being my wife?"

A sob escaped her mouth as she nodded up and down. "Y-Yes!"

She dropped down and hugged him tightly, happily crying into his shoulder. "I-I guess I'm Nikki Gr-Greenwood now haha," she said in between her tears, her voice muffled in his shoulder.

Max hugged her back just as tightly and ignored the cheering in the background. "Fuck yeah."

Nikki pulled away from him and watched as the waitress ran in and put Max's phone back on the table. "W-Why did she have your ph-phone?" She wiped her eyes.

"She had to record my proposal." He hands the waitress a 20 dollar bill. "Gwen would kill me if I didn't show her."

"I guess Gwen missed out on this then."

"Missed out on wh—"

Before he could finish, Nikki had her hands in his hair and was kissing him passionately.

Max's eyes widen, still not used to having his girlf— fiancé kiss him at random times. But he melted into it after a few seconds.

Damn, they have a wedding to plan.

...

*LOUD SOBBING* HI I FINISHED WRITING THIS JULY 3RD AT 5:44 IN THE MORNING AND I'M PROOF READING TOMORROW!

THIS IS ALSO MY SUBMISSION TO MAKKIWEEK. THE LAST DAY.

[spero11]

makki week, day six - happy (!) birthday

it's different. they don't know how, but they're sure of it.

@2018makkiweek

Obviously, it's impossible to remember anything at the age of one. Unless you were some supernatural being, the only thing imprinted onto you are the feelings given and the physical experience.

Max knew at three-years-old that he wasn't the center of attention for his parents. He remembers walking around the house by his lonesome, being yelled at frequently, and a lot of crying and tantrums. He thinks that it's rather cold, most times. Maybe physically, or maybe somewhere far in his youth, he never gained that warmth of love.

He enjoys wearing comfy clothing and hiding in his blue hoodie. He would act out in a vain attempt to gather their attention, yet it seemed to always backfire. They only gained frustration from him, which continued their disregard of him. Eventually, that lead to his placement in the camp he supposedly abhorred.

He had no one to teach him back home, so he taught himself with whatever was available. The television, some stray books, pamphlets, newspapers, maybe the computer, if he was lucky. School taught you in textbooks, but he was learning the world. He always thought that it was nice to be smarter than other people. Make them see that the world was full of shit and every person only ever cared about themself.

He realized, later in his life, that it was just lonely.

Nikki once overheard that she was a "happy little accident." It happened when she was four, and she wandered outside, only to be found by her parents. Sure, she loved to be happy, and she loved to spread that joy. It makes it an even bigger adventure when everyone tags along. And sure, she's not super careful or organized or aware of what's happening, but it's fun, anyway.

The outdoors is better than staying inside while her dad smokes up the house and his weird friends hang around. It's better than listening to her mom giving herself to someone who wasn't her dad. It's better than being contained in a house with tension and arguments and alcohol and all that bad grown up stuff that happens sometimes when life likes to drag you through the mud and into a pit of spikes.

She thought the outdoors was also sort of lonely.

With these kinds of childhoods, it wasn't uncommon for them to have some sort of fear. Fear of abandonment, fear of isolation, fear of rejection. All sounded the same but just not quite.

There was also the fear of being their childhood's nightmare. Reliving that reality, except they're the antagonists. Playing the role of awful parents, scarring their children, failing each other. It was nauseating to think about. It was anxiety-inducing.

It was just... awful.

"Is the camera set up?"

"Almost got it..." a few more faint clicks, before he nodded, "there."

She grinned. "Alright, now come here. Your spot's empty."

"Coming." He situated himself on the other side. They were both sitting on the floor, a small table in front of them. Atop the table rested a small, white cake with a single candle in the middle. And securely held between the two was a chubby, wide-eyed baby.

"Okay, baby," Nikki cooed, "we're gonna sing first. Then, you blow out the candles."

Max didn't bother telling her that their baby wouldn't understand what she was saying. The little one only babbled and bubbled, a little confused but happy and warm.

Nikki counted, "One, two, three..."

"Happy birthday to you."

"Happy birthday to you."

"Happy birthday, happy birthday."

"Happy birthday to you."

The baby tried, but the flame just wouldn't disappear from the tiny puffs of air being thrown at it. Max scoffed, albeit fondly, and blew it out himself. The baby giggled, so Nikki giggled, too.

"Look at you. Growing up so fast." She hugged their child close. "One-year-old..."

Nikki felt a pressure circle her waist and on top of her hand. She looked up and saw Max looking at their baby with damp eyes and a soft smile. She interlinked their fingers carefully, gaining his attention.

"I love you." She was vaguely aware that she was crying, "It—It's in the form of these tears. Trust me."

He chuckled and shook his head, before leaning over to kiss them away. Seemed somewhat hypocritical, for there was a wetness sliding down his own cheek. He didn't care.

"I love you, too." He fastened the hold he had on his wife and his child.

Their own family.

Although it was small, it was much more than either of them thought they would ever have.

And feeling alone was only a memory.

[spero11]

makki week, day one - first date

because new stuff is always a little iffy, but they make it work.

@2018makkiweek

"What do you mean there's no room?!"

"I mean that the restaurant is full, and you cannot eat on the floor." The young man replied on the phone. Max pursed his lips in frustration, having half the mind to lash out, before gritting his teeth, "Listen, dude, you're, like, a little older than me, right? You know how difficult it is to land a spot for a nice date with a girl you've been wanting to ask out for years?"

"...Should've called in a few years earlier."

"You motherfu—" the line went dead. Max growled while punching in some hateful words and half a star on Yelp. Nikki peeked over his shoulder, "That's some review. You're really going for blood."

"Whoa—hey—" Max cleared his throat and pocketed his phone. "Nik, change of plans. We're gonna go walk down to the other restaurant and see what they have."

"Okay, lead the way, Captain!"

He rolled his eyes and smirked at her. She smiled back, "Even though I'd never expect it in a million years, you still clean up nicely in a suit."

Indeed, the sleek black blazer fitting along his white button up was really bringing out his flawless skin and shiny eyes. She nearly drooled at the sight of him on her front door. Maybe she did, she couldn't really remember anything else. He obviously had his own fair share of staring, since he rarely saw her don a dress. Granted, it was a simple red dress with a white trim, but he still savored the view. Her legs have never looked nicer. Speaking of which...

"My eyes are up here, Max."

"I know."

"You're supposed to be leading the way."

"I know."

"You're gonna—" she tugged on his arm, hard, causing him to narrowly miss the looming lightpost, "You're gonna bump into something, dummy."

"You drooled after me earlier, it's only fair I get to do the same."

"Touché." She paced herself beside him and nudged his shoulder, "So, what's up with this other restaurant? Does it serve exotic foods? Are there live shows?"

"There better be. I heard the prices are over-the-top." Max grumbled, before he looked over in the distance. "But I also heard that the view is pretty great if you get a good spot."

Nikki observed him for a moment, making his cheeks bloom, "What?"

She jerked him to a stop. "Come on."

"...What?" he repeated, albeit slower.

"I said come on! I have an idea!"

"The restaurant is right over there—"

"Screw the restaurant!" like a maturing young lady, she stuck her tongue out and winked, "I have a better use for our money."

Max soon found himself, in his finest clothes matched with his squeakiest shoes, standing in a line for a McDonalds. Nikki showed no concern whatsoever about the stares they were receiving. Her pretty pink eyes were busy scanning the menu above the counter, before they made it in front of the register. As she was ordering both of their meals, Max couldn't help but glare at the teenage boy eyeing his date. It seemed the guy noticed the angry aura behind her, as he shifted his attention to Max. After giving him a onceover, he turned back to the green-haired beauty.

Wringing his hands under the table, the employee mustered up his courage, "Y-You know, I think a l-lovely lady like you deserves more t-than a lame burger."

Nikki blinked, taken aback, before grinning with amusement. "It was my idea."

He was thrown into a shocked silence. Max smirked at him as he took up their bagged food. "Nice try, man, but fuck off."

He flipped him the bird while they took their leave. Nikki smacked his chest with light disapproval, "Did you have to be like that? He's probably paid, like, four dollars an hour."

"Can't help it. I'm not gonna let some bastard check you out and act chivalrous. It's my job."

"You think it's easy for me not to chew out all the wandering eyes of the single mothers and teen girls?"

"So you do get jealous?" Max smirked at her. Nikki narrowed her eyes at him. "You are mine."

They took a turn into the nearby woods. Despite the lack of light and no path, they felt at ease being surrounded by nature. "Since when?"

"Since I bit you when we were twelve."

"You've liked me for that long?"

She flushed. "Uh, yeah. You were super cute."

"Were?"

"Still are, and also very hot."

"You're shameless."

"I was expecting you to say something back." She wiggled her eyebrows, "I wanna hear you compliment me, or tell me when you first liked me!"

Max pondered for a moment, before shrugging. "Not sure, maybe since Camp Campbell?"

She gasped. "Max! You hopeless romantic!"

His nonchalance quickly wore off, "Nikki, it was just a little crush."

"A little crush that turned into a big crush that had you stuttering and looking away!" she giggled at his indignation, "I nearly forgot what the color of your eyes were!"

"Nik!"

She sang, "You like me! You like me!"

"Nikki, we're literally on a date right now."

She laughed again, before gazing at her feet. "I'm super, duper glad, though. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't like me."

"You sure?"

"...Well, maybe I would have asked Neil to make some sort of love potion, or mail myself to a different country, but it all worked out, so no need to hold onto those plans."

Somehow, someway, the two ended up on a hill, its imagery rivaling the rumored view of the restaurant they were supposed to go to. Max chuckled softly and shook his head in disbelief. Despite how everything went to shit, they still found themselves in high spirits. That was always a thing whenever he was with her. They made it work.

"You idiot, I don't like you." Max scoffed, "I fucking love you."

Nikki choked on the burger she had taken a bite of. "Max, geez, don't go dropping the L-bomb on me like that!"

"What? It's true." He intertwined his fingers with hers, as they had always done before. "I love you, you know? Like, a whole fucking lot."

"Max, please. You're being selfish again." Nikki beamed and threw her burger in the bag. She grabbed his collar and yanked him closer. "I loooove you, too."

They kissed underneath the moonlight, lost in the unknown, yet knowing where they're meant to be. He paused to whisper against her lips, "You know we're totally lost, right?"

"We'll call Neil to find us."

"He's gonna be pissed when he finds out we didn't buy him anything."

"We'll buy it later. Shut up, now."

She drew him in again, and he didn't resist.

[metametalmugs]

Makki Week, Day 3

My submission to Makki week, Day 3, pulling a prank (or pranks) on Neil

@2018makkiweek

This one was fun to write, but it's like 4:38 pm right now, so it's ungodly late but it was still fun despite the fatigue I'm currently going through

(i also love how Word and Grammarly state Nerris’s name wrong, silly editing software, she is VALID)

One morning at Neil/Nikki's house, Neil woke up groggily to the light shining through his blinders. He got up and started his day, brushed his teeth and used the bathroom. But when he dropped the toilet seat, a loud pop erupted, and the toilet seat broke. "Jesus!" Neil was confused until he realized what it might mean. He ran to his calendar, he looked at the date. "May... 25!" Neil heard knocking at the door, "No..." The door slowly crept open. "No... no no no" The door bursts open and Max and Nikki stood there, Nikki with a water gun and Max with a bucket of water balloons. The two pelted Neil with water, "Max! Nikki!" Neil yelled as the two ran away into the yard.

Neil couldn't even enjoy the rest of the day. The pranking continued at school when Neil opened his locker, he got flashed by AV light, then while he was dazed, Nikki came and splat a pie on his face. During class, Neil walked to his desk, but there was clear tape in between 2 desks, making Neil trip and fall into a puddle of whipped cream. During lunch, a group of the most popular girls started talking to Neil, to only be another prank and the girls taking turns in smashing chicken pot pie in Neil's face. Even in the hallways, one of his friends had a toy buzzer on his hand and while Neil was shocked, Max and Nikki came out and sprayed whipped cream on Nei's face.

Max and Nikki walked away, while Neil was wiping away the cream. Nerris came up with a rag and asked: "What was that all about?" Neil groaned and replied "Max and Nikki had set up that every May 25 was a day full of pranks. It started 2 years ago when they started dating, but Jesus, they are punctual." Nerris bent down and looked Neil in the eye, "This seems borderline harassment, are you sure you're ok with this?" Neil got up and gave the cloth back to Nerris, "All I have to do is to survive for 2 more periods, they told me they were gonna stop by then." Nerris watched as Neil walked down the hallway, just to slip and fall. "Goddammit! How the hell did they oil up the floor?" Neil had to slip and slide into his class.

The final bell rung for the day, signaling the end of Neil's hellish day, or that’s what he thought. As soon as he walked out, he slipped immediately due to both an oiled up floor and a banana peel. Then Max came up and threw a pie at Neil, Neil luckily dodged it and ran for the door. He got halfway through and Nikki waited at a corner and pelted him with another pie. 'I just need to get to the door, then it'll be over!' Neil dashed the door, but Max and Nikki had one more thing to pull off.

"Ready Nik?" "As ready as I'll ever be!" The two took a balloon from the bucket and threw a barrage of water balloons at Neil. Neil was so close, he inched closer to the doorway as one final pair of water balloons hit him and knocked him towards the outside. When Neil reached the outside, Max whistled, "And he's safe! Ok, Nikki, we should probably clean this all up" Nikki nodded and they started to clean. Neil was outside, never in his life has the schoolyard ever felt so relieving to him.  

Later on, the three were walking home, Neil was a good sport about the pranks, laughing with Max and Nikki. "Can you guys explain how you managed to oil up the floor like that?" Neil asked, Max and Nikki looked at each other and laughed, "well, we actually stole the buffer from the janitor and oiled the floor like that, turns out it doesn't work like that" As the trio walked, Nerris was in an alley waiting with a pie in her hand. "time to prank the pranksters" Nerris whispered.

The three walked on "the janitor was extremely mad about it, but I managed to-". Suddenly Nerris came out and splat a pie on Max's face, causing his phone to slide out into the street. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Max!" Nerris profusely apologized. "it's alright, I just gotta get my phone." Max walked out to the street to pick up his phone. Nerris then noticed a light came from the end of the street and pretty fast too. "Oh my god, Max!" Nerris screamed and Max looked up to see the speeding car driving towards him. Nikki looked up and saw the situation and screamed. "Max!!" Nikki pounced at Max, tackled him to the side just before the car hit him.  

After the car sped away, Nerris and Neil rushed to the two. Max got up and Nikki clung on his shirt while sitting on his lap. "Oh god, are you ok?" Neil asked. "I'm so sorry, I could've gotten you killed... Oh god, I'm sorry." Nerris was on the brink of tears, Max assured Nerris "Nerris, it's not your fault, you know who's at fault, that asshole driving the car. He was the one going way past the speed limit and saw me and still didn’t stop. What a jackass" Max nervously chuckled, but he noticed Nikki was making noise.

Max looked at Nikki and noticed she was crying softly into his shirt. Nikki said through her tears and hyperventilating, "Max... Max... You... died... Almost..." Max didn't say anything, just simply implanted a kiss on Nikki's forehead. Nikki looked up and Max saw the tears glistening in her eyes, her face red by her tears. "Shh... It's ok Nikki... I'm ok, don't worry about it." Nikki wasn't hyperventilating but tears kept flowing down her face. Max didn't see any other option of calming her down, so Max took her chin and made her face him. Without thinking much about it, Max planted his lips on Nikki's, her face was red hot but Max felt a warm embrace surge inside. of him.  

SNAP, a camera shuttered, Max broke off the kiss and looked up to see Neil with his phone. "Ha! This was so worth the day of suffering! Now I got good blackmail material" Nikki looked at Neil in surprise and so did Nerris. Max put Nikki down on the floor and he got up and chased after Neil. "Give me that phone, you motherfucker!" Neil laughed as he ran away. Nikki wiped her mouth. Her face felt hot not because of her crying, but of bashfulness. She looked at Nerris and smiled. "Soo... you wanna chase after Neil?" Nerris asked. "His ass is mine," Nikki asked as they followed Max and Neil

[blasters270]

Makki week 2018 day 5: first time holding hands

Max is just like “how does this work?” and it’s on purpose because yes

@2018makkiweek

[blasters270]

Shoot, uh I forgot about day 3 so here’s a late thing (I want to draw this but I can’t ;-;)

Max and Nikki: *Laughing while setting up the plastic wrap*

Neil: *Rushes in and hits the plastic wrap*

Max and Nikki: *Wheezing*

Neil: YOU GUYS ARE DEAD-

This is based off of a svtfoe post where Janna does that plastic wrap prank and Neil’s reaction is based off of Star’s reaction

@2018makkiweek

[blasters270]

Makki week 2018 day 1: first date

I drew this on my laptop, don’t judge me

@2018makkiweek

[sargentsnowy-blog]

ITs livi I spammed my friends tumblr so u should be getting another follower soon lol... oh also another one of my fav blogs @dawnbuneary wanted the Makki week prompts so idk if u could send them to her she might have already got them but idk

Okay! @dawnbuneary the makki week prompts are on @2018makkiweek . and tHANK YOU LIVVVVVI

[spero11]

makki week, day five - holding hands (for the first time)

in the face of danger, they only laugh.

@2018makkiweek

In retrospect, this was a bad idea. They were only sixteen-year-olds, which meant they had their whole lives still ahead of them. They shouldn't be trying for anything that might land them a spot in jail. Yet, who could blame their rebellious ways and their hearts' desire for adrenaline? Although, it wasn't the greatest idea to trespass into a country club's pool late in the evening. But Max was very, very persuasive when it came to his schemes; it was one of the traits Nikki adored and Neil detested.

"It's America's birthday." Max relayed to them, "Cops are gonna be too busy making sure that drunkards aren't driving on the road than watching the local country club."

"What if someone else discovers us?" Neil asked, worried. Max rolled his eyes. "It's in a rich people's neighborhood. They're probably gonna be celebrating at home or elsewhere."

Max hissed, "C'mon, c'mon!"

"I'm hurrying, shush!" Nikki shout-whispered at him as he boosted her over the fence. Landing gracefully on the other side, she quickly unlocked the gate and swung it open. "Come in, everyone! Pool's open to all!"

Max high-fived her on his way through, "Nice work."

"Yeah, that was great, Nikki!" Nerris cheered as she quickly flung off her swimsuit cover and headed for the pool. "Time for some water spells practice!"

Harrison followed, one eyebrow raised. "I doubt it'll do much."

"Shut up, Harrison!" she wiggled her fingers. "You're just afraid of my magical power level!"

Preston, Nurf, and Dolph were quickly making their way over to the pool. Even if he was five years older than when everyone met him, he was still quite adorable. Especially now with the floaties on his arms. Preston was attempting to perfect a dive form, but Nurf was quick to shove him in. In the meantime, Ered had decided to relax on a chair first, while Space Kid was getting ready with his swimsuit. He was the only one who hadn't worn it on his way to the country club. Neil passed through the open gate last. "You sure this is safe, Max?"

"Stop worrying about it. We'll be fine." He waved his hand dismissively. "It's like I said, there shouldn't be anyone around."

"Yeah, so let's jump in!" Nikki said excitedly. She hurried over to the pool and formed a cannonball, spraying water at everyone nearby. Neil, feeling more reassured, joined his friends where they were swimming and splashing. Max grinned and took a seat next to Ered, where they both enjoyed relaxing in the moonlight. She lifted her shades to eye him dubiously, "Why did you suggest this if you aren't going to swim?"

"Hm, I don't know." He shot her a counter question, "Why are you wearing shades at night?"

"Whatever."

Max smirked in triumph as he resumed his amused observance of his friends fooling around in the pool. A silent agreement spawned between them to just keep quiet and accept the way things were.

Had Max planned this out because of a certain greenhaired girl wearing a bathing suit that he rarely got the chance to see? Did Ered think shades were cool and liked wearing them at the poolside regardless of the time of day?

No.

Definitely not... to either question.

It only took about an hour until things went to hell.

First, there were fireworks. Beautiful, roaring streams of light that would shoot across the sky. Vibrant colors would explode into millions of small embers, until they eventually faded into the dark night. Everyone in the pool area would gaze up at the decorated sky in awe. Regardless of how often it may occur, it was always a sight to behold.

Then, over the booming in the sky, they heard a siren. Red and blue flashed through the fence. Everybody froze as the bushes rustled and voices began to draw closer.

"Oh... shit, shit, shit!" Neil panicked, "I knew this was a bad idea!"

"What do we do?!" Preston yelped. Nurf equipped his knife, "Stab 'em!"

"We can't stab cops!" Preston shouted, "I'm too young and full of potential for prison!"

"I don't have any jailbreak spells!" Nerris cried out. Space Kid looked freaked out, too, "I can't go to space in prison!"

Everyone seemed to become more agitated as the police searched the perimeter. They exchanged looks with each other frequently, trying to decide what they should do before they were inevitably found. However, everyone seemed more occupied with thinking about life in prison.

Max felt his heart lurch, but he was able to hold on to his senses. "Guys! The fence! Now!"

Nikki was the first to react. She clambered out of the pool with her friends rushing behind her. She crouched down and linked her fingers together, boosting them over as fast as she could. Soon, it was only her and Max left, as everyone else made a quick escape to the cars they had drove in. However, to be cautious, they parked quite a few blocks away from the country club, as a means of avoiding suspicion. Seems like it turned out to be for nothing, and more of an inconvenience now.

As soon as Max stepped onto her hands, the gate to the pool burst open. A cop with a flashlight was beaming them, causing their gazes to dart away. Still, they heard his angry voice over the rumble of the fireworks. "HEY! DON'T TRY TO RUN!"

She ignored the man in uniform and lifted up her best friend with all her might. Max swiftly balanced himself on the top to grab a hold onto Nikki's arm. He yanked her over the fence, and they both collapsed on the other side. There was the sound of someone rushing through leaves and running on the grass, causing their hearts to pump harder with fear. They both scrambled onto their feet. She asked him urgently, "What do we do?!"

"What else?!" Max reached for her hand and held her tightly. "We make a break for it!"

Then, they ran.

Through the forest and past the trees, there was no stutter in their pace as their bare feet hit cold cement. The cops were still giving chase; by car or on foot, they weren't entirely sure. She could only hear the reverberating claps of the fireworks and could only see the hues painting her view and his back. She was still dripping with pool water, still smelling of chlorine, a little cold and quite anxious, but she couldn't help but laugh.

Hearing her titter behind him, he laughed, too.

Hand in hand, they were both sprinting across a cemented path on a hill, fireworks lighting the way and the threat of imprisonment chasing their wind. Yet, all it would catch is the sound of their laughter.

Up ahead, Max noticed a familiar car waiting for them at the end of the walkway. After closing the long distance, the two hastily retreated into the backseat, and the car jerked into motion. Neil was still soaked and terrified, but irritated enough to growl at them while he drove, "That was too risky! I don't know why I listened to you!"

Max only smirked, too tired at the moment to argue. "Thanks, Neil. You saved us back there. I didn't know how long we could have run."

"Even then, that was awesome!" Nikki exclaimed as she turned to Max. Immediately, she noticed her hand was still latched onto his. Her mind racked for her next course of action, but Max took over, instead. He squeezed her hand and locked his eyes with hers. "Yeah, that was definitely worth it."

A beat passed where they stared at each other, faces red from exhaustion and maybe something else. Neil gagged from the driver's seat, "I swear, if you two start eating each other's faces in the back of my car—"

"Neil, what the hell!" he kicked the back of his seat with an annoyed expression. "Shut the fuck up!"

As the two boys delved into a less than amicable yet non-serious conversation, Nikki couldn't help but smile as she glanced down. Their hands were still joined together. It was something she could initiate herself from now on.

[tallgirl14]

Day 1 first date @2018makkiweek