||Pretenders||☄️

(51).

"The Cool Side"

       Jake's pretty face and hazel eyes were staring at Alicia in the morning. With everything going on, he really had to fall for her? "Has Max been seeing you like this every morning?" he asked. She sat up in the couch and wiped her face with her palm. She thought she had droll on her. "I get why he's getting obsessive over you. You're prettier in the morning." He smiled. 

    "Stop flattering. What time is it?" She yawned.

    "Eleven."

    "What? Why didn't you wake me up?" she stood up and gathered her books in her bag. "Thanks for last night. I should get going now."

    "Let's head to the Inn for breakfast. Dawn will be excited to see us."

     "Okay." She grinned. Jake made fun of how she sleeps when they left the house in his car. He was such a good tease. He drove to her hostel first for her to freshen up and get some clothes on. Jake stopped the car in front of her hostel and fear gripped her. Max was sitting in front of her room with his head bowed down. "Oh no." She blurted out and squeezed her bag. Jake saw her face pale at the sight of Maxwell and he wasn't surprised. The guy was weird.

     "Can I be him?" Jake asked. "I'm jealous of him." He sighed.

    "Don't come out." She stepped down from the car and Max stood on his toes. She ran her fingers in her hair and she was taking in deep breaths as she walked closer to him. "Hey," Maxwell looked back at Jake then to Alicia. She really spent the night with him when he needed her. He did his best to calm down and speak without yelling.

     "I checked out this morning. My mom got the apartment. Thought we could check it out together." she stayed silent and his heart squeezed. She was done with him.

     "I... I'm not..." she just couldn't speak out to him.

     "Cool. I'll send you the address. Come over when you want to." She nodded slowly and he spent another second looking at her and waiting for her to say something to him. When none came out, he walked away and got in his car. He drove away and she stood there unable to fathom what just happened. He was angry, she could tell, and the cool side was much scarier than when he frowns. It was a good thing he left on his own and didn't make a scene. They'll stay this way till he gets over her and she gets over him.

•_•_•

      The chaos in Maxwell's apartment was not bothering him much. The moving company was busy getting things out of his apartment and he sat on the kitchen stool, staring at walls again. That tiny voice in his head laughed at him for thinking there was something called love and for thinking, half his problems were going to get solved if he confides in people. It brought disappointment and heartaches to him.

      Maxwell went to see Ryan at his apartment after the movers sorted everything out in his new apartment. His mom went overboard and got him a two bedroom suite. He couldn't even handle one. Ryan watched Maxwell sit in his couch and stare at the empty couch in front of him.

     "Max, you're freaking me out. What's wrong?"

     "I don't get something and ignore the stares. It's becoming a habit." Ryan nodded at him. "Why do people claim they actually like you and still like other people? Why do we cheat on someone we claim we can't live without? What's the point in it?"

    "Are you making fun of me?"

     "No. I'm just curious. I really liked her. Like, really loved her and I was just stupid to think she felt the same way about me. Wasn't this love thing supposed to make me feel better? Why does it hurt every single second?"