"Wow, hold on a second, Quinn. Calm down. Did you kiss him or did he kiss you?"

"I don't know." I buried my face in my hands, not wanting to face Kacey. I could still feel her knowing eyes burning into me, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.

"What do you mean you don't know? Did he make the move to kiss you first or did you?" She repeated, her hand grabbing mine and squeezing it.

"I. . . I think he kissed me first. But I. . . I didn't push him away. I don't know, I think I liked it and-"

"And you need to calm down, sweetie. It's okay. It's not like you got any further than kissing, right?" Kacey rubbed my arm, her eyes softening. I shook my head, rubbing my temples.

"No. I. . . what's wrong with me? Why am I acting like this? I'm not usually all flustered around guys."

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, Q. Do you think you're acting the way you are because it's Max? You know, because you hated him for like ten years." I was about to snap at her, but stopped the second I opened my mouth.

Was I acting this was because it was Max Duncan? I had kissed the same guy I had wanted to punch in the face most of my life, the guy that had treated me like crap the last ten years. But for some reason, despite my fear of what's going to happen next, I didn't actually regret kissing him.

"I don't know, maybe?" I sighed, shaking my head again. Kacey squeezed my hand again, smiling reassuringly.

"You know I hate the ass, Quinn. But if you think you might have feelings for him, I'm here to support you in whatever decision you make."

**

I avoided Max most of the day. Any time he'd come near me and try to turn around and walk away, or just tell him I didn't want to talk about it.

He finally caught me when I walked out of the school after the last bell, fast walking to find Kacey and her pink Corvette.

"Are you just going to act like it didn't happen?" Max snapped, spinning his chair around and blocking my path.

"I need to think about it." I whispered, my eyes darting to the parking lot that was slowly emptying.

"Think about what?" He stared up at me, his jaw clenched, "How much of a mistake us kissing was? Because I agree."

"It wasn't a mistake." I growled, "Just because I'm not giving you the answer you want right away doesn't mean you have to get defensive and treat me like crap again." He rolled his eyes at my response.

"If you didn't regret the kiss, then why did you run off? Is because I'm a fucking freak now? Because I'll never be able to play soccer or walk-"

"I ran away because I was afraid, Max! Not everything has to be about you." I exploded, throwing my hands in the air. He only stared at me in confusion.

"Scared of what?" He asked, watching as I stalked passed him. I stopped a few feet off the sidewalk.

"I'm scared of getting hurt again." I breathed out, clenching my shaky hand into a fist. "Mentally and physically."

*

I sat in my bedroom in silence as I listened to my parents shout back and forth in the living room.

I scrolled through the pictures on my phone that Austin had sent with Uncle Colt. Or at least I had thought was Uncle Colt. Now I knew that he was Austin's father, I couldn't exactly call him my uncle.

It was odd to see a genuine smile on my brothers face again, he actually looked happy, despite the fact that his roommate was photo bombing the picture.

I was about to respond to the pictures when my door was thrown open and my dad stalked into the room, digging through my drawers.

"What are you doing? Dad!" I cried, dropping the phone on the bed and rushing toward him. He didn't answer, he acted as if I wasn't even there. I tried to pull at his arm, but he shrugged me off, mumbling quietly to himself.

"Dad! Stop! What are you-" I broke off when he pulled out the envelope, my cheeks immediately growing warm.

"Dad, please don't-"

"What is this?" He didn't even give me a chance to say anything as he dug through the envelope and pulled out the photos.

I watched his expression change from anger to horror as he realized what the pictures were.

"You. . . Quinn, why would you take something like this?" I ripped the pictures from his shaking hand, hiding them behind my back.

"I didn't take them. Jayden thought it would be hot and-"

"And I think you should listen to the voicemail he left you. You're grounded for two months." I gaped at him.

"What? Dad, that's not fair. I didn't do anything!"

"So taking picture of yourself almost naked is nothing? What if they fell into the wrong persons hands, Quinn? Give me your phone as well." I shook my head dropping the pictures to the ground and grabbing my phone.

"Why were you even going through my things?" I screamed, trying my best to keep my composure, "Dad, that's invading my privacy!" I saw his already red face grow darker.

"You're mother thought you might be having sex again." He finally choked out.

"Excuse me? So that gives you the right to come in my room?" I snapped. He ran a hand through his thinning blonde hair.

"Quinn, honey, there was a voicemail from that little bastard. He said that he knew where these photos were in your room and he was going to find them and post them on the internet. I didn't know what he meant, so I-"

"So you came into my room without even questioning me?" I whispered, staring at him in horror, "What if I hadn't had the pictures at all? Why would you believe him over me?"

"Sweetie, it's not like that. I just can't trust-" I cut him off, pointing toward my door.

"You're one to talk about trust, Dad. Get out of my room, please." He huffed out a long sigh before holding out his hand.

"Give me your phone." He ordered. I shook my head repeatedly, tears stinging my eyes.

"Dad, please. This isn't fair. I was going to burn them and-"

"And I will take that phone if you don't give it to me. I'll let your friends know what happened as well as your brother. Now clean these up and dispose of them please." I hesitantly dropped my phone into my dad's palm, watching as he walked out of the room, reaching for the door with his free hand and slamming it shut behind him.

I felt to my knees on the ground, taking each of the pictures and tearing it to shreds inside my waste basket. I didn't pay attention to any of the pictures until I came up upon one that I didn't even remember being taken.

Jayden and I were obviously at a party, both drunk by the looks of it. Jay had his face buried in the crook of my neck, one of his hands resting on my back and the other on my cheek. I had been looking directly at the camera, smiling at whoever was taking it. But it was Max in the background that caught my attention.

He was leaning against the wall, a beer bottle hanging out of one of his hands. He was wearing a gray v-neck that clung to his body so it showed his muscles underneath. His expression was what caught me by surprise.

His lips had curled back in a snarl, his eyes shooting daggers at the back of Jayden's head. He looked about ready to kill him, and somehow I could hear Mrs. Duncan's voice in the back of my mind.

"Of course my sons feelings obviously disappeared, but I know that he never liked that boy you were with. The one that you were always forgiving."

Had Max really hated Jayden? Had he really known how Jayden treated me behind closed doors, if so, how?

The question that seemed to stick out to me the most was still part of what Mrs. Duncan had said.

"Of course my sons feelings obviously disappeared."

Had the old egotistical, sexist, Maxwell Duncan actually had a crush on me?

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24