By And By It Will Strike PV Max Avery

The way that Max made it all seem so simple was admirable. She couldn't imagine what it must be like in his head, having all of those thoughts flowing so smoothly. It was as if they were right there, on the tip of his tongue, ready to be spat at anyone who asked. Max was a loaded weapon, filled with ideas that were simply brilliant. She couldn't help but slightly look up to the boy, wondering if one day she could be that ready to take on the world. Would anything stop Max?

When he paused, offering her a chance to prove herself, he breath caught in the back of her throat. There were two paths that she could take. Path one was finding an equally compelling plot, one to rival Max's own. Then, there was the route of cowering down to him, admitting that he was simply all-knowing, and she would conform to his plan.

The first route might make him see her as resourceful. Reliable. Independent. Someone who can fight for themselves. Everything one should want in a friend. And it was true, Alexx was headstrong, but was that what Max wanted? Did he want a rival? She was sure that he already had many, especially considering that he was akin to a genius. The second route would make her seem loyal, like she trusted Max and knew his worth. That would boost his ego for sure. After all, there was nothing wrong with flattery.

But Alexx was simply conflicted. Who did she want to be today? Who did Max need her to be in order for him to accept her as his equal? She didn't want to be better than him. She didn't really want to be better than most people that caught her attention. Any random person in the halls, yes. She would willingly tear them down any day. Max Avery? Unlikely.

She tapped her chin. "I wonder who I could get on board with this... Unless, of course, I trick them into thinking it was their idea all along." She stated, not really thinking about what she had said. She shrugged then. "I should have no problem producing such articles. Should I pay you for your work, though? I certainly have the galleons." Payment. The hearts of men were tempted by many things, and gold would always be one. This was a test for Max. Was it money that he desired more, or power? What would Max want in return? After all, it seemed unlikely that he would devise this master plan for her and expect no compensation.

"I can likely sprinkle in some flavoring. Use this plan as a foundation, grow from there. Soon enough, we'll be responsible for a small empire, consisting solely of rumors in a boiling pot." It was the best that she could do, and she stalled his question long enough. Alexx, ever after the heart of the people. Was it better to be loved, or to be feared? She might never know.

All that Max had said made perfect sense, but it scared Alexx. However, she knew that there was one thing that she could do that would hopefully please him, and that would be to blindly trust him. How could she, though? She barely knew him. And Alexx wasn't submissive; she didn't just give in. Not like that. Max had slowly earned her trust, but in order to earn a great deal more, he would have to stick around for just a little bit longer. He needed to be there for her too. That wasn't how these sort of arrangements worked per se, but she also wasn't willing to place her fate into the hands of someone who she had only formally met today.

Alexx cleared her throat. "We have a deal, but under one condition, She started. If this was going to be fair, she needed her terms out on the table too. Max had to know where she stood. "While you've earned some trust with me, you obviously must respect the fact that I don't know you. I mean, words are just words, right? I know what you want me to know. So, there's one solution to this: we quite obviously will need to be friends. I will do most anything for a friend, but for an ally, especially since you are only keeping this favor to call upon me when it is convenient for you, who is to say that it will be fitting for our... arrangement? You never know when you might need me, sort of how I coincidentally needed you right now. It would be better for both of us if we knew exactly who we are dealing with, non?" She concluded, eyebrows raised.

Did Alexx actually have an interest in Max? Yes. Pureblood, perhaps a little cocky and prestigious, but he knew how to play the game, and he played it well. This is the type of person who you are supposed to get close to early on. This is the type of person you will need. Alexx had her fair share of resources, but what was she worth if she didn't have someone like Max on her side? She knew that, and Max probably realized it too by now. Reporting the news is only good if there is news.

"Unless, of course, there is any reason for me to not get to know the famous Max Avery?" It wasn't flattery. It was the truth. And more to the truth, Max did not need her complements. She had a strong feeling that he already knew. He was living with himself, after all. It would be too much to think him arrogant of his own social standing in the school.

What does a boy like Max Avery do to become the Head Prefect? What does anyone do to be trusted with that much power and authority? It was clear that he knew how to handle it, but at what point was that decision made? Alexx hardly understood why she ever got a Prefect position to begin with, so she couldn't understand how Max would get Head Prefect. Maybe he was qualified, she would give him that, but what determined his qualifications?

The truth, at the end of the day, is that not just anyone would do the job. Alexx's problem was that she had too many friends and not enough allies. Ironically, she was trying to re-sort Max. But Max was brave. Maybe even a little bit selfish. She had a feeling that he would do this regardless. And getting people to follow her lead... Well, she couldn't count on it. She sighed after a long moment of pondering. "I suppose that this is it, Avery."

Avery. She had never called a person (with the exception of Reid) by their surname. It felt far too formal and awkward. But this was... Max. She didn't know him. She didn't know what the rules were. Whatever they were, she had an inkling that she wasn't the one making them, only enforcing them. That put her in a very uncomfortable situation.

Alexx's next words brought a measure of surprise and even mirth to Max's face, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards as he listened. The majority of people would claim friendship wasn't something that could be forced - it just happened, the way the sun rose or the stars disappeared when the sky was cloudy - and nothing could be done to change that. But as a pureblood, Max knew better. Those who claimed every friendship had to be based on emotional longevity were the same sentimental type who never got ahead in life because they were afraid to step on others to do so. Friendship could absolutely come about with spoken words and deals, and to accentuate this point Max dipped his head in acquiescence.

"Famous?" he snorted after his silent agreement, cold blue tilting up to meet the dark ceiling as a huff of incredulity left his mouth. "You forgot the in. While it appears many people know who I am, I'm not well-liked. Everyone's dying for a good villain and they like to believe I'm the one for the job. No, Séverin, out of the two of us, you're the famous one. Head of the newspaper, Quidditch player, friends with a ton of the 'nice' population... You can wear it much better than I could. Just be careful - the higher you go, the more people will want to see you fall."

So it was for everywhere you went in life, because people would always resent those above them no matter how hard the higher worked to get there. The inherent lack of understanding in the lower class would always boggle Max's mind, and as his eyes rolled back down to meet Alexx's he decided his own lack of understanding about them would never allow for a bridge between them. He simply couldn't respect anyone who was too nearsighted to see the bigger picture. Did Alexx understand it? She certainly played along well enough, but it would take more than a game or two to judge how well-versed she was in the politics of the world. It was a blessing in disguise that she wanted further contact.

"If that's the case, I believe it's time I bid you adieu," he replied with a flourishing half-bow, since he'd never sketch a full one for anybody. "I'm sure we both need time to think over our next moves and I'll begin with the rumours. It was nice meeting you, Madam Editor-in-Chief, I'm sure we'll meet again." They most certainly would, especially since he had plans to apply for the paper and they were now 'friends' in the technical rather than emotional sense of the word. Overall, Max considered the day a success whenever he got someone on his side that was worth getting to know. This whole thing was wrapping up satisfactorily.

Adjusting Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst is Coming in his arm to check out for a little light reading, he gave a two fingered salute and headed for the door. Soon it would be time to put the plan into play and ruin a professor's entire career. But first, as Gorgo expressed by cracking her jaws in the most massive yawn, it was time for a nap.

EXEUNT MAX

Her heart stung as a reaction to some of the words that Max spoke. She'd like to see herself as well guarded, though that could sometimes prove difficult simply because Max's statement held true. Alexx was "famous", or at least popular. But she wasn't upset about that, it was more the fact that he was comparing himself to her. She'd heard nothing but great things about Max Avery, and she could only assume there was more coming. So, yes, there was an initial shock when he began speaking again, but she brushed it off and decided it was a problem for later.

Some of it must have been true, though. Who was the true villain of Hogwarts? The Masked Man? Alexx had only encountered Ben once, and by now he wasn't around for people to peg for a villain. There were rude people, sure, and maybe Max was one. Not everyone deserved the time of day, especially not from someone who was as high class as Max.

There was one thing that Alexx hated quite a bit. She didn't like it when people would say "no one is better than anyone". This was a lie in the eyes of Alexx. There were people that were better than others. Alexx felt as if she was one (i.e., the party that Ami threw for the Headliner and her fateful encounter with a one Elena Jones, who Alexx very quickly deemed herself as better than). Most definitely at the top of that spectrum was Max Avery, who was better than most people here. She didn't say that in terms of his personality or anything, for which she knew very little about. No, this opinion came from his social status. All it took to be better than people were hard-won allies and people with strong opinions about you, on top of strategy. The Gryffindor had all of the necessary components to be where he was.

"Friends...?" She whispered under her breath at his mention of friends. The "nice" population. But who were her friends, anyway? The times were changing, and Alexx with it. She didn't know who her friends were anymore. Sure, Ami, Scott, and Reid were perhaps the three nicest people in the entire school, but something told Alexx that this group was going to drift apart. In fact, it had already. Friends...

Who was Max friends with? What was the difference between Alexx and Max other than the obvious? They weren't necessarily apples to oranges or anything, but there had to be a few differences. However, she didn't think one major difference was their friends. Alexx knew they didn't run with the same exact crowd, or else they would have been tighter friends by now. But she did realize that there was a slim chance that they had completely opposite friends.

She sighed. Someone already did want to see her fall. Elena did, at least. She made that pretty clear, in Alexx's opinion, at the Headliner party. Who else could possibly decide to hate her? On top of that, Alexx didn't need to heed Max's warning to already know this to be true. The Slytherin girl had distanced herself from many people, perhaps a bit on purpose, but also due to being overwhelmed with everything that she had indulged herself in. It wasn't news to her that people wouldn't like someone in power. That never made sense to her, because people like Alexx are the ones that ran the world and kept everything orderly. Those who sought to uproot anyone in a position of authority simply for the fact that they held the position baffled her to no extent. To each their own, but she would argue that that statement only was applied to the logical. It simply wasn't logical to reject a system of government, corrupt or not. Besides, a poor man never gave Alexx a job.

Unlike Max, Alexx would not leave with a book in one arm. She came here to lightly harass a fellow student, not to do any actual learning. Who had time for that stuff, anyway? Well, apparently people the likes of Max Avery. She raised her eyebrows in brief shock as she noticed the book. He must be good at time management. "Au revoir, Avery. I expect we will be meeting again soon."

With that, her job was done. She did the dirty deed, and now she would live with it. And to think this was just the beginning.

exit.