Never Surrender

"What did the guys say when you told them you were leaving for the holidays?" Kennedy questioned as she shoved her bag into the trunk of a taxi.

The bassist winced but plastered a smile on his face when his best friend looked at him with waiting eyes. "I- uh," he stumbled, silently cursing himself as Kennedy's bright smile fell from her lips. "They told us to have fun," he said finally, "And said to wish you a happy holiday."

Kennedy smiled again and lazily wrapped her arms around Max's thin waist. "Lets get out of here, huh?" she suggested, moving to the backseat of the yellow car and pulling him in with her.

"The airport," Kennedy told the driver while Max focused on buckling his seat belt instead of talking. The driver nodded and pulled out onto the street.

"Are you excited to see your dad?" Max questioned, wrapping his arm over Kennedy's shoulder as she leaned into his side, her head on his shoulder.

Kennedy nodded against him. "Definitely," she agreed, "He was so excited this morning that he couldn't even form a coherent sentence." She laughed to herself and wrapped her arms around Max's waist, even though her right arm was squished between his body and the car seat. She looked up into Max's green orbs and asked, "Are you nervous to meet him?"

Max nodded honestly. "A little," he murmured, "I know I'm not what he's expecting me to be like."

Kennedy smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "No, but it's alright. You're even better than what he's expecting, Max."

Max chuckled and shrugged his shoulders too, lifting Kennedy's head and then dropping it as his shoulders dropped.

The ride to the airport in Los Angeles took longer than Kennedy's attention span could last. An hour and a half into the ride, her eyes closed and she felt asleep to the sounds of the cars on the interstate.

Max held onto her for the entire four and a half hours to the airport. He woke her up and she blinked a few times as she realized where they were.

"We're here already?" she asked groggily, lifting her head from Max's shoulder and stretching her arms out in front of her.

Max chuckled and nodded his head. "I bet it was quick for you," he muttered, "You slept the entire time."

Kennedy yawned as the cab driver pulled up to the drop off area. "What's the charge?" she questioned, reaching for her wallet.

Max tossed the amount into the front before she could, causing her to glare at the musician next to her. "You're taking me on a free trip," he stated, "It's the least I could do."

Kennedy didn't argue as the two of them climbed out of the cab and grabbed their luggage from the trunk. Max put the strap of his bag over his chest and reached for hers.

"No way," she rebutted, taking her own bag from him. "I'm plenty capable of fending for myself, Mr. Green."

Max rolled his eyes but let her carry it herself. The two of them headed into the airport and Max led the way, since he'd been here a lot more than she had.

They went to the check-in desk and got their boarding passes and checked their bags. Max stuffed everything he'd forgotten to keep with him into Kennedy's carry on and then led her over to security.

Kennedy had worn sweat pants and hoodie so that she didn't have to do much but take off her shoes. Max, on the other hand, took longer to get through security seeing as he had to remove his shoes and belt before being scanned with the handheld wand seeing as the buzzer kept going off anyways.

"It's the god-damn piercings, man," he muttered angrily at the man who was waving the wand over his body. "Can I go now?"

The man eyed Max and waved the wand over him one last time, starting at his sock-clad feet and moving up until the machine sounded at Max's mouth. The bassist couldn't help but glare at the man in front of him.

"Told you so," he growled, turning away from the guy to grab his things out of the bin. He stepped back into his shoes and re-zipped his jacket. "Lets get out of here," Max demanded, grabbing Kennedy's arm so that they could hurry towards the gate.

They boarded their plane twenty minutes later and Kennedy climbed over to the seat by the window. Max knew it wasn't a good idea, but he didn't have the heart to argue with her about her fear of heights, especially when her smile was growing by the second because of the thought of seeing her father in under six hours.

"Don't fall asleep on me again," Max demanded, buckling his seat belt as the light turned on above them.

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to fall asleep again, Max. And the only reason I slept in the taxi was because you kept me up all night with that fucking guitar."

"You weren't sleeping anyways, Kenny."

She grumbled unintelligibly causing Max to grin.

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered in reply.

The plane ascended and Kennedy grabbed onto the arm of chair, not daring to take one look at Max's cocky expression. "Don't even say it," she demanded, pulling the little blind thing closed over the window.

"I didn't say anything," he defended, licking his lips to knock the smirk off of them.

"You were thinking it, asshole," she retorted, her eyes narrowing at him as he tried to grab her hand and stop her from clutching the chair to pieces.

Max couldn't help but laugh at her bitter expression. She was terrified of only two things in her life. The fact that it could end and the fact that it hadn't yet. Both were completely irrational. Both pieces of Kennedy that made her who she was.

The flight to Rhode Island didn't take long. Kennedy was terrified the entire time but Max distracted her the whole flight. "Why'd you let me sit on the outside?" she whined as she closed her eyes. "I really, really hate you, Max."

The plane descended and she held her breath and Max's hand. "Oh shit, oh shit," she chanted, theories of how she would die flashing in her mind, all of them different ways the plane could crash.

Max laughed as he watched her. She was like a little girl facing her worst fear, but not by choice, by default. When the plane was safely on the ground, Max told her that it was safe to open her eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked timidly, peaking her eyes open.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Ken," he replied, "The plane isn't moving anymore."

She let out a deep breath and opened her eyes all at once. She looked to the long haired boy and grinned. "We're in Rhode Island!" she exclaimed, playfully smacking his arm.

"I know," he chuckled, "That's where the plane was heading, so it only makes sense."

"Shut up, smart-ass," she retorted, looking around the large plane, "I mean that we're home!" She clapped her hands together and unbuckled herself. "I can't believe I'm really back here."

Max followed suit. "Yeah," he said softly as she peaked out of the window. "Are you gonna be okay?"

She licked her lips. "I have to be," she murmured, "For my dad's sake."

Max shook his head. "I'll be strong for both of you, Ken. That's why I'm here."

She smiled and touched his baby face. "You're here to keep me company, Max, not to save my broken heart."

"I'm thinking about acquiring the title anyways," he replied as he stood up and reached for Kennedy's carry-on which was tucked safely over head.

"What title?" Kennedy questioned as she stood up and stretched, her bones cracking from being stuck in the same position for hours.

Max pulled his eyes away from the bit of stomach that was noticeable because of the way Kennedy's hoodie rode up. "Broken-heart healer," he clarified, smiling as she smiled.

As they followed people off the plane, Kennedy replied softly, lacing her fingers between his, "I don't know what I'd do with out you, Maxwell."

He didn't reply as they moved to get their bags. The words were reverberating inside of him, making him think about his own fear. The one that was the brightest in his mind and the most relevant and palpable. It was the fear of losing Kennedy. Losing her to the world, to some other guy, and to the mistake of falling in love with her, although there wasn't much he could do about that now.

Now, all he could do, was everything in his power to make sure she never found out. Never got the chance to push him away like she'd done with every other guy who ever claimed to love her.