Seven

Awkward silence

The boys had gotten into somewhat of a routine of ignoring each other. Max would leave their dorm early, Preston would return late. There was no meet in the middle, no talking through their issues. Just ignorance.

Preston opened their dorm room one night to find another lump in Max's bed. He tiptoed over, shedding his cardigan.

It was a fucking boy. Preston wasn't sure why he was so pissed. It was Max's life, he could sleep with whomever he wanted, so long as Preston wasn't in the room. He wasn't even dating Max. Hell, he literally took every chance he could to ignore him, why was he getting so worked up?

He took a breath, crawling onto the window sill, where they had placed a mattress topper and a few blankets. He placed a blanket behind his head, covering himself with the others. He fell asleep with his hands curled into fists.

--

Max knew he was fucked when he saw that Preston was asleep on the window sill. He knew damn well that Preston preferred to sleep in his bed, some shit about how he needed his 'beauty sleep'. Not like he needed it. He was already beautiful.

He crawled over his one-night lover, sliding on his boxers and jeans before shaking him awake. He woke up with a snort. "What?"

"Get your ass outta here. My roommate will wake up in an hour and you need to be long gone by then." Max pulled his hoodie over his head as what's-his-name got out of his bed, dressing himself.

They were gone within the next fifteen minutes.

Max pretended that he'd call the guy again (What was his name? Jack? Brad?), before separating himself. His mind started racing almost immediately after. What if Preston hated him? What if he thought Max was a slut? What if he wanted to change roommates? What if's started to blur in his mind. He barely remembered rushing out of the school, running on sheer panic and adrenaline, block after block away from the school, away from his room, away from Preston.

By the time he stopped, not only did he feel like he could pass out, he was completely lost. He unlocked his phone, scrolling through the contacts until he found a name.

Gwen.

--

Max and his boy toy was gone by the time Preston woke up. All evidence that they had even been there was a messy bed and a condom wrapper on the floor. Preston scoffed. At least he had the audacity to be safe.

He threw on a loose white shirt, rolling up the sleeves to his elbows. A pair of black leggings followed, along with his usual black ankle books. He topped it off with a flannel over shirt. He grabbed his bag, locking the door on his way out.

His phone buzzed. He opened it to find a message from Harrison. 'Cafeteria food sucks this morning. Starbucks instead?'

Preston answered with a 'hell yes'. Lord knows he needed it.

He met up with his best friend near the front of the school. Harrison broke into a smile. Preston half-assed his.

"Aw, what's with the long face? Y'know you can't hide anything from me." Harrison said while walking down the steps towards the Starbucks down the street.

Preston sighed, defeated. He ran a hand through his hair. "Max had slept with someone last night. It had long since been over when I came back, but it had still happened."

Harrison looked somewhat confused. "What is the problem?"

"That's the problem! There shouldn't be a problem! Max is a grown-ass man, he should be able to do whatever he wants. But why do I feel so... Angry? Guilty? I don't know, but this feeling is the absolute worst." He ran a hand through his hair once more as they entered the coffee shop.