Collect of Short Stories

Zeke and Max

"You deserve so much better."
        Zeke stared up at Max, his incredible, golden flaked eyes widening. "Ah...thanks, man." His heart wasn't in it. Neither was his mind or body. An aching feeling lingered in the back of his skull. A blinding pain raced through his system whenever he so much as bend his left wrist.
      He didn't have room to think of anything else put, Petra. That damn girl...what has she done to him? She occupied every corner of his head. Her well-being, if she had been eating, if she slept well, if her diet was balanced. Two years of looking after her was a screw in his head that was difficult to extract. The sound of her voice, whether it be sad or happy shaped his own. During the past two years, Zeke poured everything into her. But whether she did the same was still up for debate.
      It didn't matter. Old habits die hard.
      Max shook his head, almost impatient-like. A familiar, stony look was drawn on his face, devoid of any amusement or glee. He was serious. And as much as Zeke wanted to deny it, he knew what the reason was.
     "I missed you, you know that?" A plain smile appeared over Zeke's sunken face. It was one of the only forms of expression he could successfully execute without his muscles tearing apart. His megawatt grin hasn't been put in effect for months. He missed it. A lot.
      Max's stoic face remained the same, if not tightened a tad more. Of course, Zeke didn't notice. His eyes strayed away, unusually focused on the stars up above. They were sparkling down at them, showing off their grand magnificence to which humans could never accomplish.
       "Petra is doing fine, if that's makes you feel any better." The tall, lean male ran a hand through his blonde hair. "And I...I missed you too."
         A soft smile played at Zeke's lips despite the fact that it that statement did not lessen his worry. He won't believe anything that comes out of someone's mouth unless he can see what is being said. Too many lies had been fed to him. Sometimes, he feeds them to himself. "How was Suri? Maven? Lyra? I haven't got to see them much. Someone insisted I needed rest." He playfully jabbed Max with his good arm.
     "I didn't know you cared for me that much! It was a nice surprise! You know after two years I figured...'Ah, Max probably forgot about you. He's probably out hanging with his buddies, drinking some delicious soda and while I'm stuck in the forest trying to find drinkable water'."
     "But look at you, eh? I knew you couldn't resist my charm."
      His joke fell flat. His radiant persona has dulled into a monochrome aura. What was once overflowing with glee and excitement, vanity and smugness has been replaced with humbleness and tiredness. Concern and discontent. It was a shift Max couldn't believe. A shift Max couldn't accept.
        "I didn't forget about you, Zeke." His voice was low and husky. It send a shiver down the male's spine despite the abnormally warm air.
     As much as Max didn't want to admit it, almost to the point where his heart itself refused to accept it, he had missed, Zeke.
     During the time they spent together, Zeke had always been a charming sort of person. Maybe even more so than Felix or Maven. Truth be told, his jokes were absolute ass. Unfunny, always fell short and just generally sucked. No, it wasn't his jokes that had caused Max to fall so deeply in love with this man. No, it was his absolute joy of wanting to make others happy. To always trying to find a way to the other end. The end with the light. His slightly tanned skin, his dark brown hair, his golden eyes, everything about him was perfect. Even now.
     "I want to hug you." Max said simply, trying his hardest not to maintain eye contact. He was much more powerful than him. He could steal Zeke's telekinesis and kill him right there. But Zeke held weight over him. He made him squirm whenever he stared, made his heart beat faster whenever he smiled. 
      "Yeah, well my body is about to fall about."
      "Don't I know it."
      "Did you find anyone else?"
      Max's voice caught in his throat. Just before he had left, Zeke had instructed him to not wait. To not wait for him to come back. To go find someone else that will suit both his wants and needs. Not somebody like him who cries over horror movies, have to reminded to take care of himself, complains about cats and can drink two bottles of water in less than fifteen seconds.
      "It's weird," Zeke once said, averting his gaze, "sort of embarrassing, y'know?"
       Max didn't think so. Max thought it was special. Sure, millions of other people hate cats, could douse two waterbottles in possibly less than fifteen minutes and surely cry over horror movies but it was, Zeke. He was the only one in his eyes that made his heart beat faster than normal.
     "No...no I didn't."
     "Did you try?" The broken male made an effort to twist his whole body around to study Max. Sadness with an odd touch of hope flared his insides that been so devoid of anything besides worry, it nearly gave him a panic attack. The feeling had become unnatural. The hopeful part—not the gloominess.
     He wished he could say he tried. That he made an attempt to swerve his attention elsewhere. To a girl, perhaps. A pretty girl with big eyes, an hourglass figure or just something. But he didn't. And it's not like he wanted to.
     "No. No I didn't."
     "You should've, dimwit." It was a sad effort to make Max smile. And unsurprisingly, it had no effect. His little comment bounced off Max's exterior like some sort of ricocheting bullet.
      "Mavis? Aurora? Maybe even, Petra?" A grim smile lined his face. He rocked his head from side to side, almost bobbing it to an invisible music. Max simply frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "They're not you...and they never will be."