Max Hatter was an enigma.

He seemed to dedicate his school day to terrorizing you and your friends. He swiped things from Robbie's pockets, made fun of Luis' super strength, and held a certain disdain for you and your sisters Red and Pink in particular. To Max, you three were nothing more than perfect princess nepo babies.

But in the same breath he'd look you up and down. Scribble notes on the whiteboard hanging inside your locker. The trip to Wonderland had changed something between you. Max seeing his alternate life his father's oraculum had changed him.

All you could weasel out of Hazel was that Max was still angry about something you "did" to him in the past. To her, you were just a mean HK who finally came around and was trying to make it up to her best friend. To Max, he'd realized that this version of you was not the same Hearts princess who'd hurt him.

But he also wouldn't tell you what happened.

"It wasn't really you that did it, so what does it matter?" he'd whispered so the others wouldn't hear. The time travel mishap was a closely guarded secret between you, Red, and Chloe. And now Max.

It was several days later that you and Max finally gave up resisting the tension and kissed behind the bleachers. The notes in your locker became more flirtatious and affectionate. Instead of swiping from your pockets while messing with your friends, he'd leave little trinkets in them.

The clocktower was dark as you two sat on a quilt and watched the gears turned. Max brought tea, you brought cookies. You felt like your heart would burst if you had to keep this relationship a secret any longer. But Max still flinched away when you tried being open in public.