More Than Just Friends ~ Shelax (Shelby x Max)

Chapter 13 - The Answer

Shelby's POV

I try to forget the kiss. It was only a party game, after all.

...So I keep telling myself. Why am I making such a big deal out of it?

I walk into my room, shut the door, then take my hideous clothes off and jump into the shower. When I'm done, I put on an oversized Minecon T-shirt and sweatpants, then head to Max's room to return his pants.

As I reach his closed door, I hear what sounds like crying. Oh no, what happened? I mildly panic. I gently knock on his door. No answer. I push open the door and let myself in anyway.

I walk in to find Max crouched against the wall, his head buried in his arms. I drop his pants on his bed then rush over, squatting in front of him.

"Max, what's wrong?" I ask, my voice full of concern.

He simply holds his phone out to me. Startled, I take it and read all of Kara's harsh messages. 

"Oh no...I'm so sorry Max," I wrap my arms around him, and he continues to sob into my shoulder. "What did you do to make her think you were lying?" I ask. 

"I don't know," Max wails in despair. 

Max's POV

I'm a little embarrassed by the fact that I'm crying into Shelby's shoulder. Isn't it usually the other way around in stories? I focus on attempting to stop crying. But something Shelby said catches my attention. The way she worded her question... it sounds like she believed I didn't do anything wrong after all. 

That's when I knew I had to open up to her, sooner or later.

After about a minute, I manage to calm down. I sit up, and smile sheepishly. "Sorry for getting your shirt wet," I blush.

"No problem. I've got plenty more," she smiles back, worry still in her eyes. 

"So what did happen?" She asks.

"The problem is... I don't know."

"Well we got a third person in this house; I'll go ask Ross and see if he knows anything," Shelby stands up. "Be back in a sec."

While she's gone, I wash my face and change into my pyjamas. Soon after I hear Shelby knocking on my door again.

"Come in," I turn around to face Shelby, who wears a grim expression on her face. My heart starts pounding. This can't be good...

"W-what did Ross say?" I cautiously question.

Shelby chooses her next words carefully, "He knows exactly why Kara broke up with you." She takes a deep breath. "You remember when he dared us to kiss?"

"How could I forget," I grumble.

"Well, Ross took a photo of us, and it ended up on his twitter. And to top it off, he conveniently forgot to add a caption explaining it was a dare," Shelby says really quickly, looking down and twisting her fingers nervously. 

"I'm going to kill Ross, I can't believe he'd do this to me" I say through gritted teeth, turning to storm out the door.

"Max, wait," Shelby grabs my arm. "Think about it. Yes, Ross' actions were messed up, but doesn't it say a lot about how Kara acted?"

I pause. True, it was very rash of her to assume things and to just break up with me without knowing the full story, but she DID give me a warning that day...

Shelby looks me straight in the eyes, after my moment of silence, and softly says, "I just think someone like you deserves better."

I feel her arm brush against mine as she quietly walks out my door.