Max had decided he wanted to just sit and binge some TV or movies when they got back. Mindless shit. Shit that he didn't have to think about, because even though he'd only let the few tears that had caught him off guard escape, he felt like he'd cried the whole drive home. It was awful. Like taking a nap at the wrong part of the day and being dehydrated on top of it. His head was pounding, and he just wanted to chill.

Thankfully, everyone else seemed cool with that too, and Angela even joined them, but when Max had gotten up to grab a few drinks, he got the distinct impression that he wasn't alone in the kitchen. Sure enough, when he closed one of the refrigerator doors, there was Elise, with her arms crossed and a pout on her face.

"Did you want something?"

"To talk," she replied, hopping up to take a seat on the countertop of the large island across from the fridge.

"Okay..."

"How long are we gonna do this?" she asked in a whisper.

Max leaned against the counter next to her.

"We're not having this discussion right now, El."

"Then when are we going to have it, Marc?"

He let out an irritated sigh, sat down the seltzers in his hands, then easily lifted her off of the counter and set her back on her feet. Dipping his head to speak. "When we aren't in the fucking kitchen, for one."

"Then let's go to my room. Or your room, or outside, I don't care where."

"No, Ellie-"

"Marc, this isn't fair. No time is going to be a good time for you, and don't act like you can bullshit me into believing you'll let me know when it is," she hissed, pointing her finger in his face.

She was so adorable...thinking she was being intimidating... Unfortunately though, she was also right about him trying to blow her off. That kind of thing worked when she was still a kid, but she was a grown woman now...and a sharp one at that.

"My office then, tomorrow."

"Oscar's sawing logs on the couch and Angela's on her phone. Why can't we just do it now?"

When Max failed to give a decent enough reason, she insisted, and Max found himself trudging up the stairs, trying to get his brain firing, and instead just getting a whole lot of white noise in return.

Elise took his office chair, and he took one of the armchairs in the corner. But when the sound of him popping open the bottle he'd brought up with him was the only thing occupying the air between them for what felt like several minutes, though it was actually more like seconds, he spoke up. "...Well?"

"You need to tell mom and dad."

Max blinked at her. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Marc, Oz and I can't keep hiding this for you. Where is it gonna end? I already can't date anyone right now, people think I'm with Oscar."

"You'd said you weren't interested in dating right now, anyway. You wanted to focus on your career."

"Marc..."

"What?"

"What about Oz?"

"Oz gets it. He's fine."

"He's not."

"He is."

She slouched in the cushioned chair, and this time she was the one to sigh dramatically. "Well, I don't get it. I'm not fine."

Max held out his hand to her, motioning for her to come over when she didn't move. Reluctantly, she got up and approached him. Once he'd pulled her into his chair, she immediately gave him a hug, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You know I've worked my ass off to get to work alongside da," he said gently.

"...I know."

"I can't just throw my life, and career, and everything I've worked for out the window just because I found someone I like."

"Love." Elise corrected.

Max rolled his lips. "...Yeah," he relented, despite how vulnerable the admission felt, even though it was only to his little sister.

"And I get that. I know mom and da aren't chill with it, but how long do you honestly expect us to be able to fake this?"

It was a fair question. One that he'd pushed as far out of his mind as possible.

"They're gonna figure it out eventually..." Elise added. "Angela already suspects something's up..."

"Until I come up with a solution," Max offered, but Elise clearly wasn't convinced.

She sat up just so she could stare him down... "That's not an answer."

"It's the best I've got for now."

"You know we kissed, right?"

Every muscle in Max felt like it tensed. "You what?" his tone was low and calm, despite him being anything but on the inside. No, on the inside he was flaring.

"At the party? For Davenport? One of the photographers for the gossip mags wanted pictures."

He knew what she was doing... She was changing tactics. Appealing to his empathy hadn't worked, so now she was poking where it would...and it was working, alright...

As irritating and stupid as it was, Max was fucking jealous as shit. But he could, and would, control it.

He had to.

There was no alternative.

"Well, I hope they got your good side," he teased, though it came out just a tinge bitter.

"I'm all good side," Elise retorted as she got back up, pulling out her scrunchie to smooth the loose strands back into a sleek ponytail.

Max snorted and cracked a small smile as he gazed up at her. He was absolutely going to talk to Oz about that 'kiss for the camera', though... Clearly, he needed to lay some ground rules.

Max had meant to catch Oscar the next morning, but apparently the punk and Elise had plans and Max had a meeting. It was fine, he told himself, he'd catch Oscar on his lunch break and have a serious talk, the talk they should've had weeks ago.

As the mafia prince headed to the office, Oscar and Elise had arrived at a quaint waffle house in the lower downtown area.

"I want coffee, black. OH! And one of these," Oscar said pointing to the picture on the menu of a giant chocolate pancake with a perfect whipped cream smile and two cherries for eyes that was very clearly in the children's section of the menu.

However, Oscar's order hardly phased the middle-aged woman who had served them a few times before and by now just rolled her eyes and scribbled something down before looking at Elise with a strained attempt at not passing judgment on the maturity level of her companion.

"And the usual for you, Hun?"

"Yes, please. Thank you."

After the waitress had gone, Elise's attention shifted back to Oscar. "So, I tried to talk to Marc..."

"About..?"

"The 'us' thing."

"Ah... I'm assuming that went as well for you as it did for me," Oscar reasoned.

Elise sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't, it's fine," Oscar assured.

"Talking to Marc can be like talking at a brick wall sometimes...and it's like he doesn't even care that I can't even date anyone now."

"Sure, you can." Oscar spoke up, but his reassuring tone seemed to go unnoticed by Elise who just shook her head.

"No, I can't," Elise's tone sounded a little sterner now.

"You can," Oscar insisted. "Look, it won't bother me. It's not like we're really a thing."

"No, Oz, you don't get it. It's not about you, it's about—," Elise was cut short by the waitress's return and the loud clunk of heavy cheap plates hitting the table and sliding in front of them. Oscar's smiley face pancakes looked nothing like the bright happy pictures depicted on the menus, instead there were runny, melted frowns.

Oscar was wearing a similar expression just as he noticed a few familiar faces enter the waffle house, speak to one of the staff, and then look in the direction of he and Elise's table.

"Heeeyyy, there's my little biker buddy!" Rufino said. He slapped both hands down on Oscar's shoulders from behind as a few of his buddies circled their table. "I've been worried about you, pal. You've not been answering my texts. Didn't know if you'd died or something, you know?" he laughed, patting Oscar's shoulders before giving them a squeeze. "Heard things got a little wild at the Gallaghers' party."

"Ya don't say..." Oscar replied, but he'd only half been listening. He was far more concerned about the fact that there was another familiar face out of this pack besides Pasta Boy's, and that was Luke's.

"I do appreciate you conveniently having Miss Gallagher here with you. Makes what I'm about to do a helluva lot easier. Quindi, grazie, amico, molto gentili." With that, Rufino punched Oscar hard, right in the slide of his head.

Pain and stars exploded behind Oscar's eyes, and he felt a little like he was going to throw up.

"Oz!?" Elise shrieked, her hand flying for her bag, but at the same time, Rufino pointed at her, snapping, since he couldn't get the words out fast enough.

Before she could get the pistol out of her purse, one of his goons wrapped a massive arm around Elise's neck, cutting off her airway, and jerking her up out of her seat.

She let out a squeal that was cut off before she could even get anything intelligible out, clawing at the guy's arm, and kicking. Then Oscar was hauled to his feet and walked out as well.

Rufino tossed a few bills on the table and then at the waitress. "If you like not having problems, you'll forget they were ever here," he said before following them out and into a waiting unmarked van.

Oscar recognized this sinking feeling, it was the same feeling he'd had that night when Petie and Duncan picked him and Max up, before they were lovers—before he knew he was a mafia prince. But he didn't carry the same blind confidence that he had had back then. As he glanced across the back of the van at Elise, he noticed the tears glistening in her eyes and how pale her complexion had gotten. It was almost worse than the punch to his head. It was fucking dirty of them to involve her.

Dirty and bad. This whole fucking thing was bad. And still, he allowed a small smirk to twitch into his features...

He'd always made it out of situations like this before.  

But then, he noticed Rufino loading a magazine into an oddly plain looking pistol.

"Look, Ozzy, I've appreciated you, and this partnership of ours, but I think it's time to move on. Go our separate ways, you know?"

Suddenly the van stopped. Rufino handed the gun to Luke, and before Oscar had fully registered who he was aiming it at, he heard the bang...

...and everything went black.

👀...Predictions~? ^^;

Shout out to Immans234 ! Thanks so much for your support!!