"Max, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Hadley asked.
Max almost didn't hear them, too busy stuck in his head—much like he had been since he had left the Venturi house.
"Sorry, just spaced out for a minute," Max told them. He tried to just push past it and get back to work but it was a bit difficult when all he could feel was their stare on his back. It would have been fine if he was fine, but he was faking it more than the time he had to see his grandparents after being on T for six months.
It hadn't just been a few minutes zoned out, no, it had been the whole day. He was debating doing something either incredibly stupid or asking for a death wish—at this point, he was convinced that they were going to be the same thing.
Ever since the wedding anniversary party for Bexon's parents, it had been even more awkward than the time after they hooked up. Max wasn't even sure why Bexon was acting so weird or why he had ignored him as soon as they got back home.
Even Hadley had to know something happened at this point.
Max didn't know if he did something wrong—or if it was the kiss that shouldn't have felt the way it did. It wasn't like the ones beforehand, something both agreed meant nothing more than making the other feel good or the one meant to lie to Daffodil or her mother about their relationship.
The second kiss that night was different and Max didn't understand why, logically it only lasted a few seconds before Bexon was pulling away and then running away. However, Max knew something shifted, at least for him. He wanted to kiss Bexon again and he wanted it to mean something no matter how much his brain told him how much it was a bad idea.
Max didn't know what to do. How he could fix their friendship or if he even wanted to, the more he thought about the more his anxiety-riddled brain gave him to worry about, then the other side of the brain was telling him to be reckless and to be bold and whatever happens, happens.
It was a nightmare focusing on anything and it didn't help all that much that Max was also pretty sure he didn't take his ADHD meds this morning because the night before he fell asleep watching dub complications of one of his favorite animes.
"Yeah, no." Hadley crossed their arms in a stance that told Max that they had time. "You're not leaving until you tell me why the fuck you zoned out like fifteen thousand times today?"
Max thought about telling Hadley he needed someone to talk to other than himself, however, he didn't feel comfortable talking about Bexon to them. Hadley would definitely put the missing pieces together and what if they said something to him?
Max turned back to washing the dishes, nearly done with his shift and he really did not want to go back home to an awkward house. Max let out a sigh. He was really about to say this out loud, wasn't he? He supposed it might not be a shit show telling Hadley, they would keep their word if he asked them not to say anything.
He could trust Hadley, right?
"If I tell you," Max began already hating himself. "You have to promise me it stays between us and that you do not interfere unless asked to, got it?"
Hadley nodded, spit into their hand, and offered to shake on it. Max clearly did not go through with it, he just needed a verbal promise, not the promise that the kid who ate too much sand at the park would offer.
"I am not shaking your hand," Max commented.
"Wow, wimp. That is how friends make promises," Hadley informed him. "Now shake my damn hand or I am not promising shit."
Max groaned but pretended to spit in his own hand before shaking Hadley's as quickly as he could before turning and washing it. Hadley just dried their hand on their pants and moved on as if nothing happened.
YOU ARE READING
And They Were Housemates ✓
RomanceBexon Venturi was the embodiment of death. He worked hard to stay at the top of all his classes, which left him no room to dwell on his unpleasant past. Years spent convinced it was his fault took their toll; he was distant and only allowed a few...
