Just Fine (RE-EDITING)

Chapter Sixteen

Alvin remained quiet as the days went by. He kept on mulling on the thought about being with Max. He didn't want to make the wrong decision and ruin their already confused and twisted friendship, so he tried his best not to say anything that would warrant any hope in Max.

But the youngest Ackerman certainly was slightly taken aback at how cool Max was taking this. It was as if he never asked Alvin to think about them. It was as if he never confessed. However, it also meant that Max didn't speak to him.

Alvin fidgeted in his seat as he stared at the notebook in front of him. The teacher was speaking in front of the class but he couldn't focus on him. He was more focused on the fact that Max didn't ask about his answer. Could it mean that Max was probably just kidding when he said he liked Alvin that way?

That thought didn't make Alvin feel good inside.

If that was the case, he felt stupid.

The youngest Ackerman rubbed the thought off immediately. It didn't sound like Max to act that way. When he was serious about something, Alvin knew that he was serious. That day? He was serious. The young scientist honestly didn't know what to do. He didn't dare to go up to Max and ask him about the reason he was acting like this.

It could be that the reason Max was acting so reserved could be well nothing to do with him. But something in Alvin's mind disagreed with that reasoning. His gut told him that Max was deliberately ignoring him. He fidgeted in his seat once more as the time ticked on slowly.

Did Max really like me, then?

Abby's words had been running in his head for the past few days and Alvin was getting slowly convinced that maybe this wouldn't be a bad idea. But Max's abrupt change in his way of treating Alvin had him thinking twice about his decision. Should he even go for it now that Max was ignoring him?

Alvin took in a deep breath and decided that he would wait a bit longer to see what Max would do.

The youngest Ackerman walked down the hallways with his mind preoccupied with Max. He didn't know what to do with this problem. He turned to the corner and continued walking to his locker. Once he reached the metallic door, he turned the knob around and opened the door.

He sighed as he placed the books inside. His heart throbbed gently in his chest when he remembered how hopeful and scared Max looked when he confessed to him. It somehow ignited hope in his own heart at the thought that he wasn't alone in feeling this way. After so much mulling, after so much silence, he realized that he didn't like Max being away from him.

He closed the locker door once he took the books he needed and adjusted his glasses. Just then, he heard a group of people laughing, passing by Alvin's locker. The youngest Ackerman looked at the crowd and froze when he saw who was at the center of attention. Max simply carried on talking with his group as they walked past Alvin.

The young scientist took a step back at the sudden stab feeling in his heart. Max once again ignored him and walked away. That rarely happened and now that Alvin was seeing it eye-to-eye with the problem, he felt like Max really was avoiding him.

What did I do wrong?

Alvin simply shook his head as he gathered his things and walked away.

Dinner was exceptionally awkward to say the least. The family was eating their meal like they usually would at this time of the day, but the heavy atmosphere stopped any natural conversation from occurring. Max was sitting next to Alvin, as per usual, and the snowboarder was talking about his day with that grin like he always did, but this time it seemed forced. There was something amiss and Alvin knew what it was.