Serendipity.

8

"Since when do you own a car?"

Max was surprised, to say the least. After trying to convince Matt that she was going to be fine, she figured she was just wasting the stupidly little amount of energy she had. But she never espected him to drive her wherever they were going.

"Why? You didn't see it coming?" Matt was grabbing the steering wheel with just one hand, the other resting on his thigh.

"Well, I do have seen you walking to the coffee shop," Max pointed, staring at him.

"Walking is nice sometimes. I get to see you when I do it," he said, looking at her for a second. His smirk was nothing less than charming.

"You can see me at..." campus. Why was he there? She'd never seen him before, and she's almost pretty sure that she would've noticed him.

"Something wrong?" Matt asked curiously.

"Matt, why were you at my university?" she questioned.

"You mean our university?" he replied, amusement evident on his face.

"And you never felt the need to say anything?" she was even more surprised, and beyond confused.

"I thought you knew."

"How the hell was I supposed to know?"

"Don't you know everything, smart-ass?" he had a full smile plastered on his face, making him look sweet. Max didn't know if the prior events could've fucked with her brain a bit, but Matt was looking better than ever. He was beautifully teasing. A charming fucker, she called him once.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'll put stalking you on my list of priorities, jackass," She said, rolling her eyes, but mirroring his smile. She turned to the passenger's window, resting her head on it. "Where are you taking me, creep?"

His chuckle resonated on her chest, putting her at ease. "I'm taking you home, Max. You have to eat something."

"But my apartment isn't this way."

"Hm? Oh, not yours," Matt replied with a peaceful smile.

When he finally parked, Maxine spotted a minimalistic set of apartments, with dark brick walls and tall windows. Matt got off the car and rounded it to open her door, offering his hand.

"Why thank you, prince charming," Max joked, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers as they usually did.

"Anything for you, princess."

The inside of his apartment was spotless. Everything was annoyingly organized on white cabinets, cloud-looking couches perfectly positioned and a coffee table with a couple of books decorated the place.

"Get comfy. I'll get you something, love," Matt said before giving her a cast kiss on her hair.

"Get me something? Well well, must be an special day, innit?" Someone said from the couch, turning to see both Max and Matt.

"Don't get too giddy, Marc. It's just a normal friday," Matt said, smiling at the misterious Marc guy.

"And special stuff don't apply on normal fridays, Matthew? Jeez," Marc said, extending his hand. "It's nice to meet you..."

"Max. It's nice to meet you," she said, shaking his hand.

"Marc here is the one person I'll never be able to get rid off," Matt said with a smug face.

"Oh shut up. You'd carry me in your wallet if you could," Marc retorted, stealing a laugh from Max.

"If I'm not wrong, you put a photo of your face in my wallet," Matt headed to his kitchen and started raiding his fridge.

"I guess you do carry me in your wallet, then," Marc grabbed Max's shoulders, guiding her to one of the stools on the kitchen counter.

"Matt, why don't you carry me in your wallet?" Max said, mocking him along.

"Oh my days, 2 minutes in and you corrupted her already?" Matt said, glaring at Marc.

Their laughs were contagious, resonating in all the space. The domesticity felt oddly enchanting, and the food on the counter looked very fucking attractive.

"Grab anything you want, love," Matt said, inviting Max to have something.

There was cake on one of the containers, which she reached for almost immediately.

"Was someone's birthday?" She asked, cutting a piece of the cake.

"Yes, my sister's. She's in London, but we bought a cake to celebrate it regardless," Matt replied, taking a piece of the cake too.

"We?" Marc said, annoyed.

"Okay, Marc bought the cake. But for the record, I asked him to buy a cupcake, not a full on wedding cake."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, next time I'll buy you a flipping pancake, you ungrateful shit," Marc blurted dramatically.

They finished almost all the damn cake, laughing and talking while it started to get dark outside. The three of them cleaned and accommodated before dropping their bodies on the couch.

"I have to go back to my place now, but it was lovely to meet you, Max," Marc hugged her gently, patting her back.

"It was nice to meet you too," she laughed, returning the hug. When they separated, Marc offered a kind and familiar smile to her.

"Good night, Marcus." Max said on a teasing tone.

"I'll beat your ass, Matthew," Marc retorded, glaring at him. And with that, he left the apartment.

Max stayed away from Matt, scared of the possibility of running the evening with some uncomfortable conversation.

"It's getting late," he pointed.

"Yeah, it is,"Max replied, looking outside one of the windows.

"Why don't you stay? If you want to, of course," he offered.

"Matt, you've done enough for me today. I don't want to be a burden."

"What on Earth makes you think you're a burden?" He looked at her with wide eyes.

"I... Don't know."

"Stay. Please?" Max pleaded, his eyes shinning with cuteness, rovolving something inside Max's chest.

"Fine, but don't make me eat more," She said, predicting his intentions.

"I won't. I promise, darling." He said, closing the space between them.

"I kinda like you sometimes," Max said, snuggling closer to him. She felt his chest shaking with a chuckle.

"I kinda like you, too," Matt said, holding her.

"And I'm sorry, for earlier."

"It's okay. Well figure it out, love."