Paradise||Max Mayfield

006

____________________
Chapter 6!
Accept The Risk
____________________

Corey pedalled with all his might, racing towards the arcade where he was about to meet Max once more. Over the past few weeks, they had been spending a lot of time together, meeting up at the arcade after school and on weekends. Surprisingly, they were starting to get along, discovering that they actually had quite a lot in common.

Just as Corey arrived at the arcade, he spotted Max as she stepped out of her step-brother, Billy's blue Camaro, turning to flip him off as he drove away. Corey chuckled to himself, watching the scene play out. After securely parking his bike at the cycle shelter, he entered the arcade, scanning the crowd in search of Max's vibrant red hair. Finding her just as she had started a game of Dragon's Lair.

"Maxine!" The boy exclaimed.

Max swiftly turned and gave Corey a quick slap on the arm, "Don't scare me like that, asshole! And I told you, stop calling me Maxine!"

"Right, sorry! My bad!" Corey said with a chuckle. "I thought you already held the high score on this game, why are you playing it?"

"I hold the high scores on every game in this arcade!" Max boasted. "I just really love this game."

"You don't hold the high score on Galaga anymore." Corey corrected.

"That doesn't count, I helped you get that high score!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Maxine." Corey said with a smirk.

Turning her attention away from the game once more, Max gave Corey another slap. This time with more force.

"Ouch! Alright, I'll stop, I promise!"

"You better," Max said, turning back to the game in time to watch herself die. "Damn it, you distracted me!"

Max shot Corey a death glare, causing him to step back, "I'm sorry! Please don't slap me again."

Trying to seem annoyed, Max rolled her eyes, Corey could tell she was trying to hide a smile though. Grabbing onto Corey's arm, she dragged him over to a different game. She stopped abruptly as her eyes focused on a large "Out of order!" sign.

"Sorry about that, road warrior," Keith said from behind the two kids.

Still holding onto Corey's arm, Max spun around and asked, "What happened?'

"Short circuits in the motherboard. A real bummer." Keith replied plainly, digging into the bag of Cheetos in his hand and shoving them into his mouth. "But fret not, I got another machine up and running in the back."

Once again, Max dragged Corey behind her, following Keith towards a door labelled "EMPLOYEE USE ONLY".

"Hold these," Keith shoved the bag of Cheetos into Max's spare hand. He dug his hand into his pocket, searching for his keys. Once he had found them, he fished them out and unlocked the door.

The door was pushed open, revealing Lucas Sinclair, who glanced at Max and gave her an awkward smile. His gaze then fixed on Corey and he let out a sigh.

"What's he doing here?" Lucas asked Keith.

Keith didn't reply, both Max and Corey walked inside and Keith pulled the door closed, leaving it slightly ajar and sticking his head inside.

"You better get me that date now, Sinclair."

Lucas groaned, "I told you I would!"

Keith tutted, "Keep things PG in here, all right?" He said suggestively, looking from Lucas to Corey and then giving Max a wink.