FLAMES

I'll See You

(AN: thank you for 1k reads!! it means so much. i love each and every one of you and try to reply to all of your comments. mwah mwah mwah. also, the song i've included- i HIGHLY recommend listening to it whole you read. repeat as many times as you need (; )

The next day, you stretch in your bed, rolling over and feeling the warm sun spread across your sheets. Your phone had to be somewhere, and you found it, half dead and alive with your best friend asking where you were and what had happened- you never returned their text the night previous, after all- and an unsaved number, a missed call an hour ago.

You excitedly call it back, ecstatic that he had called you, a buzz at your fingertips as the line picked up.

"Max?" You ask, voice inquisitive and soft. You hear nosies, indistinguishable and loud on the other end.

"No, sorry, this is a payphone." Noises of the city, and then silence as you're hung up on. Frustrated, you fling your phone- it smacks your soft pillows, unsatisfying. You wanted to hear a shatter, a break. Anything to go with your anger. Couldn't he just call you like a normal person? It was nearing one in the afternoon, and you curled up, covering your face and groaning loudly, letting out every ounce of disgust for yourself and anger at him out. Why did he even upset you this much? Was he trying to be like this?

You ignored it all, pushing it aside in your mind. You hated that Max had taken up this much real estate, hated that you wanted him to stay.

Around an hour later, you got up, running yourself a bath and cleaning your wound. The attention to detail of what Max had done was insane, every bit of antibiotic had been applied correctly and wrapped with gentle care. You sighed, hoping his leg was doing okay. You were sure it had healed- it wasn't bad.

The day passed, boring and rainy. The protesters were still out, and you considered going down- but the rain and your arm said otherwise. Sighing, you stared at the rainy weather, lightning striking every so often. You worked on mixing batter for some brownies, hoping they'd cheer you up. The thunder rumbled, and you passed off the rumble on the countertop as thunder until you realized it was your vibrating phone.

Random number you don't have saved. You pick up.

"Hello?"

Crackling. Silence. Your name, Max's voice. "I'm assuming you were asleep when I called earlier." You clench your jaw.

"Well, yeah, yesterday had me exhausted." You pause. "I tried to call back. Why can't you just trust me?" You ask, stopping stirring the batter you had been working with. You hear a horn honk on his end, more sounds of downtown. You stare at your kitchen, thunder rumbling. "You're probably getting soaked. Go home."

You hear him sigh. "I do trust you." You're quiet, and then smile slightly.

"You're not calling me from a payphone again, are you?"

"I'm not. I am staring at the payphone though." God, you were getting good at hearing his smile when he spoke, since you never could see. Something about him knowing he could've called you on the payphone, but it would've upset you, so he didn't, used his own phone, made your heart skip a beat. "I want to see you."

Your breath hitched. "I'm making brownies. And I'm not going outside." He laughed a little, and you flushed, closing your eyes and replaying the sound in your head.

"I'll come over." He says your name again, and you smile, eyes still closed.

"Okay, Max." He says the same thing, and when you hear your name off his lips again, you almost cry.

"I'll see you."
"I hope I'll see you," you emphasize, and he hangs up.

The second he hangs up, you know your time is limited, so you finish your brownies, rushing to your bedroom, the only light in there being your red lights, and making yourself look presentable, fixing your hair and changing out of your plain underwear into something you'd rather have Max see- you had no idea, after the last few days. You pulled some comfortable sweatpants on, and one of your favorite tank tops. He'd seen you worse. You smiled and looked at your phone. Do you text your best friend? No. It's still a secret.