Tuesday & Max

23

AND I KNOW WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK

BUT I'M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF

"You know you wanted someone to come and photograph us all before Christmas, so we could have something to put on social media?" Tuesday asks Candice a few days later, at the first drama meeting of the new year.

"Yeah." Candice is distracted, watching Jon at the top of the scaffolding where the lights are. They've managed to claim the real theatre for rehearsals sooner than expected, and excitement buzzes through the troupe.

"Well, Jack's doing it."

She has Candice's full attention now. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"How are things between you?"

"Better," Tuesday says. It's a lie, but only because she hasn't put it into practice yet. Perhaps it's been her own attitude holding their relationship back this entire time. She just needs to try a bit harder. Try harder, and forget about Max.

Or about the idea of kissing him, at least.

"Good," Candice says, pale eyes quizzical. "What date is he coming?"

"Today."

"Today?"

"Yes. Now."

Candice follows Tuesday's eye line. Jack, body loping with its usual lanky awkwardness, jogs down one of the sets of stairs toward where they stand in front of the stage.

"What's going on?" Harry slides into the conversation, arm around Candice.

"Boyfriend mystery," Candice tells him knowingly, nodding at Jack.

"Bloody hell." Harry looks up, appraises Jack. "Hmm."

"What?" Tuesday asks.

"Doesn't look your type."

"What do you know about my type?!" Tuesday hisses, but Jack is upon them before anyone can say more. He greets Candice and Harry, introducing himself and taking their names politely. Harry asks a couple of questions about the camera he has slung about his neck, which Jack is of course happy to answer. Once the conversation lulls, he pulls Tuesday aside.

His lips are quick, gentle upon hers, but his hug lasts longer. She forces herself to relax into it, disconcerted by how much of a stranger he feels after only a winter break apart.

"I've missed you," he murmurs. "How are you doing?" He pulls back, smiling down at her as she mumbles positively back. "I dropped your presents off at the flat this morning on my way back to campus. Julia said she got you a sewing machine! You didn't tell me! That's amazing."

"I know," Tuesday says sheepishly. "I've got so much done with it."

"I bet. Easier than sewing everything by hand like you used to."

"Yeah."

"I thought we could go out after this-I could treat you to some nice food so we can catch up? But for now, where do you want me? Who's my focus?" He lifts his camera and peers through it from his angle below the stage, focusing and refocusing in on Anna, who has been backstage fixing a tear in one of the costumes. She shakes her head, flustered, and darts away insteadof explaining that she isn't an actor.

"Oh-sounds good, yeah-most people will be here in the next ten minutes," Tuesday says, thinking absently that she isn't hungry. "I think Candice just wants some shots of us all practicing. Actors acting, singers singing, her directing, us doing costume stuff... just for her Instagram and Twitter."

"Okie dokie."

He's happy to leave her alone, professional in how he weaves in once everyone arrives and Candice explains who he is. He's an expert at darting into moments subtly, catching them before people even really register that he's there. The mark of a good photographer, Tuesday supposes.

She hopes, as the meeting weaves on, that he hasn't got any bad shots of her.

Harry is making her laugh with an impression of someone messing up their lines and Jack is packing away his camera when one of the upper doors opens then slams shut and she notices Max hurrying down the steps. He beelines for her, expression frantic, and she pulls out of her conversation just in time to catch-

"I passed!"

"You passed?" It takes her a moment. "Your test! Your driving test!"

His hug is barrelling. The edge of the stage presses into her back but then he's bouncing a little and she's bouncing too. Harry joins in, followed by Candice, until there's five or six of them leaping around and screeching in joy. Jon lets out a faint "whoop" from atop his scaffolding.

"I passed," he repeats breathlessly. "We can do anything, Tuesday. We can go anywhere."

His brown eyes are alight. She feels anguish rush in to snuff out her own happiness, for this isn't over; this thing between them, the thing she denies and acknowledges in equal measure, the thing she sometimes thinks she's imagining but at other times is sure she isn't, the thing that keeps getting in the way of everything. It's not over. Will it ever be?

"Congratulations," she whispers, the words lost in the hurricane of her friends surrounding them.

"Thanks," he says.

Almost as if sound rushes back into a silent scene, he blushes, realising the attention he's drawn to himself. "Sorry," he says, bumping backward into Harry.

"No problem, mate," Harry says. "You'll have to start coming to some of our nights out. Designated driver."

"Of course," Max laughs.

When Tuesday manages to surface from the celebration ring, Jack is sat on the far edge of the stage, looking down at his camera screen. It looks like he's going through the photos and perhaps he is, but the set of his shoulders looks defeated.

It's her first day at it, at this relationship-repairing, and she's already failed him.

Guilt clutches at her heart, taking her breath for a second, and suddenly she's desperate to be out of there. Jack is gasoline and Max is a match-or perhaps it's the other way around-and if they aren't separated, she isn't sure that the entire college won't burn to the ground.

"So what restaurant were you thinking?" she asks brightly, separating herself from the others and hovering by his dangling legs. Jack looks up as though he hasn't seen her. His eyes don't have any light left and Tuesday feels even more guilty for what she's doing.

"I don't know." He lists a few places half-heartedly and Tuesday immediately agrees to the first one. "Okay."

He hops off the stage. In a show of goodwill, Tuesday takes his hand before he has the opportunity to reach for hers. Something tells her that tonight, he wouldn't have.

"Bye, guys!" Candice calls.

"I'll send you over the best photos," Jack says, smiling earnestly at her.

"Thank you-thank you so much for taking them, and it was really nice to meet you!"

"You too!"

Tuesday sneaks a glance at Max but he isn't looking at her, too busy instead trying to weakly argue against the case Harry is making for him to accompany the rest of them for food so that they can get to know him better.

She leaves with Jack, forcing herself not to look back again.