𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 | ᴍᴀx ᴍᴀʏꜰɪᴇʟᴅ x ᴏᴄ

ǝuo-ʎʇɹıɥʇ

꧁꧂

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ᴏɴᴇ: ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜꜱ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ

Okay, so turns out I had broken three (that's right, three!) ribs that night alone. So, you can imagine what it was like for the next six weeks of my life. I was basically banished from my skateboard by my mother, and Max was the one who turned up every single day with snacks that were definitely not healthy and yet at the same time insisted that no skating was good for me. Because that made perfect sense.

The one bit I didn't like, though? Mom was still going ahead with the move to California, even after my long, long argument against the idea. I couldn't leave Max; I just couldn't bring myself to do it. She understood when I told her, which was weird considering what had happened at Starcourt.

Her sleeping schedule had got worse, though (which is rich coming from me, I know) and I couldn't help but worry and worry about her more and more as the hours and days went by. El had moved in and slept on the couch for the last few months and was now in Mom's full custody both legally and in a motherly manner.

Both Hop and Billy's funerals were in complete contrast to the other. A lot more that went to Hopper's were in tears, while at Billy's Neil said a few words to the family and 'friends' before wanting all back to the Mayfield-Hargrove's for a drink and bite to eat as if it were a good time for a party. You can imagine how that went down with Max, too. The girl didn't go back to her house for a week straight, and her mother had called more and more often as the days passed, asking for her daughter to return home as soon as she got the call (which you can guess, she didn't).

"What're you doing?" Opening an eye, I look over at Will at my bedroom door.

I let out a heavy sigh before closing my eye again, staying still. "Being sentimental and shit."

"You're on the floor. Your room is empty." He pointed out, being very, very helpful.

"Thank you, William..." I muttered from the floor.

"Is it like a technique? To try and stay?" The boy broke the never-ending silence between us, and I smiled at his questions.

"No matter how hard I try, it's no use..." I say quietly, letting out another tired sigh before giving up. When I sat up from the floor, I got a good look at my brother's puzzled face. "What? Do I smell so bad that you can smell my body odder from there?" I joked, making him smile weakly, rather momentarily. "Will?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at him as he stepped further into the room, sitting in front of me and mirroring the way I was sat, legs crossed with arms draped across the knees. "I uh... I just need to ask you something..." In a different situation, my heart probably wouldn't have gone through the roof at seventy miles an hour. "Are you in love with her?" 

Oh. Oh shit.

Breathing in and out heavily, I broke eye contact to grab the water bottle beside me. When I took a large sip of the drink, I capped it and looked right back at him. "Yeah..." I nodded quietly as I accepted the fact that I was in love with her. My best friend. Max Mayfield. The red head. The school's skatergirl. Oh, how I could go on.

"Are you..." I'd been wondering for so long. "Are you uh..." Did my gaydar work? "Are you in love with uh..." Hearing Lucas and Max shout the lyrics to never-ending story from the living area, I smile a little while not breaking eye contact with my twin. "Are you in love with him?" I said it. I definitely got those balls of steel, now, huh...