surprise
To cause to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something unanticipated: He was surprised it was her.

Outfit of the chapter
Maxine backstage

Matt was doing something on his computer, working on something he said when Max asked, and Max looked around because she was getting bored. She was starting to freeze a little as well since she couldn’t button the shirt anymore, but she only had herself to blame. No she could blame Alex. He was the one that ripped her shirt. Not with intention but still… he had ripped the buttons open with force.

"Where’s the bathroom?" she asked and Matt looked at her.
"Just outside, why?" he asked, and he narrowed his eyes.
"Well I wanted to know so I can inform the next one that comes into this rooms and asks, would be impolite of me not to answer you see" she answered with a big fake smile. He rolled his eyes and continued to work on whatever he was doing. She got up an took off the shirt, threw it on the couch and headed for the door.
"And where are you going?" Matt asked and got up.
"I’m going to take a pee, since that was the reason I asked where the fucking bathroom was" Max said and glared at him. He looked at her.
"Please don’t runaway" he begged, and she looked at him.
"I will not, because it could actually be fun to talk to Alex again after all these years" Max said and sighed a little.
"You know him since before?" Matt asked, a bit surprised.
"Yeah, and I’m not surprised he doesn’t recognize me. I used to have short boyish brown hair when we were kids" Max said and looked at him.
"Short brown hair? I can’t see that on you" he said and shook his head.
"Well I’m off to take a piss, and you don’t have to worry. I won’t go anywhere" she said. Matt walked up to her and handed her a backstage pass. She looked at it, a bit confused. Why would she need one? She was already backstage for Christ sake.
"You need this is the security finds you" he said and gave her a small smile.
"Well look at you, all nice and shit" Max said with a small grin.
"Just go and take your fucking piss" he muttered and returned to his computer.

After going to the bathroom Max looked around a little and found herself looking at the stage from the balcony she had seen earlier. She stared for a while and got surprised how amazing it looked, with the crowd and all, when Alex noticed her. He looked a bit surprised to see her up there and she gave him a peace sign and shot him a huge grin. There was no way she would stay in the dressing room.
"Didn’t I fucking tell you to stay in the dressing room?" Alex called out when they had finished the song. Max shrugged and waved a little with the backstage pass.
"Is that..? Fuck Matt" he said and shook his head. People turned around but they had no idea who Alex was talking to, and Max was glad it stayed that way.
"Yeah, by the way. Bella Tyler? Is there a Bella Tyler here?" Alex asked and looked out over the crowd. Max got really surprised when she heard Bella’s loud shriek and saw how she pressed herself towards the stage.
"Hi there beautiful, I have a message from your friend you got here with… She said she turned back home, since she was bored and that you shouldn’t worry about her" Alex said and smiled. Bella shrieked and didn’t care what he was saying. He was talking to her and that was all she cared for. Bella and her fangirl crush on Alex.
After their show Max walked back to the dressing room and she could hear loud voices inside. Alex was yelling at Matt for giving her a backstage pass and the freedom to walk around however she wanted too.
"Oh for fuck sake, he was just nice enough to let me go to the bathroom" Max said when she walked inside.
"You didn’t run away" Alex said and got a bit surprised, and stared at her.
"No, as I told Matt here earlier… It could be fun to talk to you again after all these years" she said.
"How did you know about my nickname?" he asked. Jack, Rian and Zack all looked at her and Alex, and wondered what was going on. Matt filled them in that this was a girl that had offended Alex outside the venue and that he know wanted to know why.
"You don’t like All Time Low?" Jack asked. Max turned her attention to Jack.
"In a matter of fact… No I do not like All Time Low, not at all" she said.
"Who cares about that… Just answer my question" Alex said and looked at her. Someone opened the door and said they had done an amazing show, and when the breeze hit Max body she shivered.
"Goodness, you’re freezing" Alex said and handed her one of his own big black jumpers. She took it and put it over her head. It was big but it was much warmer than having just a pink bandeau.
"What do you want to know? Why I don’t like you, or because I know your old nickname?" she asked.
"Both I guess, but first the nickname" he said. She looked at him and then she held out her hand with a fake smile.
"Let me introduce myself" she said when he took her hand. He looked a bit confused and curious, wondering what she was going to say.
"My name is Maxine Clayton" she said and Alex face dropped. If he had been drinking something he would have choked on it.
"Max?!" he loudly called out and stared at her.
"Who’s Max?" Rian asked. Alex just stared at her when she once again shot her a fake smile.
"Suddenly everything become so clear… except one thing. What did I ever do to you?" he asked, and crossed his arms. Max looked at him.
"Well why don’t we begin with all the empty promises of not letting the two of us lose touch?" she asked and crossed her own arms.
"You never picked up when I tried to call you" Alex snapped.
"You never called" Max snapped back and glared at him. A fight began between them and when they finally finished, about ten minutes later, they just stared at each other. Alex then walked over to her and he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug.
"God, do you know how much I’ve missed you?" he said and she laughed a little.
"I bet not as much as I’ve missed you" she answered.
"Wait… you went from all fighty fighty to lovey lovey?" Jack asked and looked confused. the others looked a bit surprised as well.
"Guys, this is Maxine Clayton. An old friend" he said.
"Wait… the Max?" Rian asked.
"The Max" Alex said with a laugh.
"The Max?" Max asked and looked at him.
"I’ve told them about you, my old friend from the UK that I lost touch with" he said and lightly punched her arm.

Max took her backpack and followed them to the hotel. To catch up with Alex and to get to know the others a little. Their hotel room was a modern one with hundreds of channels on the big flatscreen, and there was a big lounge and three big bedrooms with two bed in each room. They were all eating pizza, chinese and sushi when Alex muttered something, after his phone had been vibrating for quite some time.
"What?" Jack asked and looked at him.
"It’s Bri again, she’s so fucking annoying" Alex said and looked at his phone.
"Bri?" Max asked and looked at him.
"My ex who just can’t keep her distance, even if I asked her to" he said.
"At least she’s hot" Jack shrugged and Alex shot him a death glare.
"What? She is. She’s like a Megan Fox" Jack said.
"She actually is" Zack agreed. Alex shook his head.
"Yeah maybe, but she’s a total psycho and I don’t want anything to do with her again… But she will never let me be" he said.
"Get another girlfriend" Rian said.
"Easier said than done, that fucking psycho scared Jenna away" Alex said and shivered.
"Your old ex scared away your exgirlfriend Jenna?" Max said, and giggled a little. So that was the reason for the sudden breakup.
"Don’t laugh, Bri’s horror itself" Alex said.
"I bet she’s not a Megan Fox, and I bet she’s not a psycho" Max said. Alex picked up his phone and showed a picture of a girl. Max just stared. She looked a lot like Megan Fox. Like… a lot. She had a perfect white smile, the perfect glowing skin and black long hair.
"Wow" Max said and the others agreed.
"But you need to find someone that won’t take her shit" Jack said.
"The only thing to get Brianna away is for me to get engaged or something, and I don’t even know if that will do" Alex said and sighed. He leaned back and looked up the ceiling, and that was when you could se how a thought formed in his head. He turned his head and looked at Max.
"Max, I’m gonna ask you a favor" Alex said.
"What?" Max said and looked at him, a bit surprised.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, and everyone in the room spit out their food and drinks. Everyone coughed and stared at Alex.
"WHAT?" Max called out with chinese food all over Alex’s jumper.
"Only as a pretend, so that Brianna finally see how I don’t want her" Alex continued and looked a bit hopeful, but frowned when he saw the food she had spit out on his clothes.
"WHAT? Why? Why me? What do I get out of it?" Max asked, and stared at him. Shocked by his sudden proposal, even if it was fake one.
"If you marry me, stay with me for a few months I will… I will… give you 50000 dollars, and then we can get divorced, and continue our lives however we want to" he said and nodded. She stared at him and didn’t know what to say. 50000 dollars? That was about 31000 pounds. How many cameras couldn’t she buy for that? Or how many vacations couldn’t she go on for that? She stared at him and saw that he was serious.
"Done, but only if I get a really pretty engagement ring" she said and looked at him. Alex laughed and held out his hand, she took it in her own.
"Deal, let’s go get some rings tomorrow and I will propose for real" he said, and shot her a grin as she did back to him.