Cause for Concern ✓

ten

MONDAY. 04. OCTOBER. (unedited)

"UBER for Max?"

He shut the passenger seat door behind him and strapped his seat-belt into the buckle with a click. "Shut up, Carter," he said, kicking his bag in down in between his feet and settling comfortably into the heated seat.

"You're welcome," he coughed, pulling back into the road.

His head resting against the seat and his eyes closed, he grinned. "Thanks for the ride," he said. "You're a lifesaver."

"How come you needed a ride in the first place? Don't you usually drive to school?" Carter asked.

"For some reason, I thought it was a good idea to park it in the driveway instead of in the garage," he sighed. "Lesson learned, I guess."

Carter frowned. "What lesson?" He asked, his knee spinning the wheel from side to side.

Max rolled his head towards Carter who had stopped the car at a red light. "Tyler came by last night," he said. "He slashed my tyres."

✩✩✩

"HE what?" Cole frowned, looking between Max and Danny.

They were sat on the steps leading down from the school's back entrance. Even in early fall, the grey steps were starting to freeze over. When they'd first come outside, Carter being Carter had excitedly bound down the stairs and Tommy had had to promptly grab tight hold of his arm to stop him from slipping after he momentarily lost his balance.

Max was sat in between Cole and Tommy, pleasantly enveloped in the warmth of their proximity and the scents of amber wood and cigarette smoke. The side of his left leg pushed up against Cole's, the side of his right against Tommy's. Danny was leaning back against a pillar, facing the stairs with his hands shoved in the pockets of his coat and Carter was— as always— pacing up and down in front of them, only stopping to frown when someone said something of particular intrigue.

"He slashed my tyres," Max said.

"Dick," Tommy uttered softly, thinking for a moment before raising the cigarette to his lips and taking a pull.

"Why did he do that?" Danny asked, tilting his chin upwards. His brows were slightly furrowed, the corners of his plump lips stretching downwards.

"Probably because I punched him in the face," Max said, leaning back so that Tommy could pass his cigarette for Cole to take a pull. Max watched him lift it to his slightly parted, rosebud lips.

"But he punched you in the face first," Cole said, exhaling a small grey cloud of smoke and passing the cigarette back to Tommy.

"Yeah," Max sighed, his hands deep in his pockets and his shoulders hunched over as he bent his body towards his knees. He supposed it wasn't the most attractive posture but fucking God damn he wasn't made for the cold. "Guess I technically punched him first though."

"Yeah, like a month ago," Cole scoffed.

"Who even holds grudges for that long?" Carter asked, his shoes scuffling against the floor as he halted. "I haven't held a grudge longer than a week."

Danny quipped a brow, unimpressed. "You haven't held a grudge longer than a day."

"Give him a break," Tommy mumbled, a wry smile toying on his lips. "It's not his fault he can't remember that far back."

"Shut up, Tommy," Carter said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Just because I don't hold grudges doesn't mean I'm stupid. It just means that I'm not bitter and filled with hatred, like, uh," he fixed his sharp blue sternly on Tommy and coughed, "like some other people I know."