𝙿𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎 *𝙻𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚡

*Car ride*

*Requests : I also came up with this one by myself. It's kinda sad but has a happy ending. I hope you like it as I've rlly been into angst lately- it was definitely made for them.

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They were just some harmless pranks, Max could handle them. That was what she told Lucas over and over when he found out she was getting hazed by some other college kids at her school. It wasn't uncommon for stuff like this to happen to newer students, but Lucas especially hated seeing it happen to her.

It was what he had to keep reminding himself when she called him at four in the morning one night and asked him to come pick her up from one of the shadiest districts in San Fransisco. His mind was reeling the whole car ride to her, because she'd sounded so quiet on the phone.

Whether it was because Max was embarrassed, upset, or even scared, he didn't know. "Are you okay?" was his first question as soon as he'd put his car into park and rushed over to her, eyes squinting in the dingy, flickering streetlight to scan her whole body for any sign of injury.

Max just nodded, and when he seemed certain that there was nothing wrong, he frowned. "What the hell is going on? How did you even get all the way out here?" "It was nothing, just another one of their stupid pranks," Max muttered, drawing her sweater tighter around herself.

Lucas's eyebrows furrowed. "What? Pranks are funny. This? Ditching you alone here, of all places, that's not a prank. Something could've happened!" "You say it like something did." Lucas's jaw clenched. "This isn't a joke, Max, okay?"

I know you wanna fit in and prove that you belong here, which you do, I know you do, but this hazing shit going on at your school, isn't okay!" "It's nothing I can't handle." Max set off to his car after that, effectively cutting the conversation short.

Lucas was worried and she did understand that, but every new student went through this kind of thing. Right? Making it through the pranks meant that you'd finally be accepted there, so she was fine with it. Lucas slid into the driver's seat a few seconds later, turning to Max and opening his mouth like he was going to say something, but closing it, instead just starting to drive.

Lucas finally sighed, defeated. "You told me not to worry about them, Max." "And you still don't have to, Lucas. I have it under control." "If you had it under control, you wouldn't have called me. I can talk to those assholes, tell them to stop messing with you." "Oh, and then what? I get let off the hook because my big scary boyfriend said so?"

Max scoffed, crossing her arms tightly over your chest. "They're never gonna take me seriously after that. So thank you for picking me up, but just leave it alone, okay?" "I'm just trying to help you." "Help me?" Max let out a humorless chuckle. "You don't get it, do you? However hard it was for you to earn the respect of people at school, it's fifty times harder for me."

"I need to prove that I'm just as smart and strong as they are, and if they think I'm pulling favors from you, I'm right back where I started." Lucas hesitated again, taking a second to digest your words. He'd never actually thought of it that way. He was so focused on what he could do to get them to stop that he never considered how that would backfire for Max.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said softly, settling his free hand over your knee. Max continued to stare out the window, jaw clenched tight so he wouldn't see her falter. He tried again, a different approach this time. "I get it. Finding a good groove with new people is hard. You just wanna take it, whatever they throw at you."

"But babe, this is getting out of hand. Stupid pranks are fine, me and Dustin pulled a shit ton back in my day. But when it comes to compromising you, that's not okay with me." Max's breath trembled as she exhaled, and Lucas noticed.

He flicked on his blinker, maneuvering off to the side of the street and killing the engine in one smooth motion before swiveling to face Max in his seat. "I was really scared, Lucas," Max finally admitted, her words nearly a whisper.

Her fingers curled around his wrist, "I didn't know if I should call you, or just find my way back on my own. I didn't know what to do." "Oh, Max," He cooed, stripping off his seatbelt. She thought he would try to hug her from here, but instead, he hopped out of the car, and rounded the hood, pulling her door open to gather her in a much better hug than she expected.

"Thank you for calling me. Always call me, no matter what time it is. If I can be there, I'll be there. And if I can't- Somehow, I will." "Thank you," Max mumbled, voice muffled against the softness of his hoodie. "Of course. You're a good student, Max. I've seen your work." "Yeah well, you're biased," Max said lightly, nudging his ribs with her elbow gently.

"I'm not! Academically speaking, as someone who's done thousands of tests. I bet you've aced more than me. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone because you're just that good." "Are you trying to woo me and get me into your bed right now?" Lucas's cheeks flushed pink. "No! Well... yes, eventually, but—stop distracting me! Okay?"

"You're going places. So tell those dickbags to knock it off, because chances are if you're as scary as I know you can be, they'll take the hint. Show them you're sick of their shit, or I will." "I will." Max's fingers loosened their grip around his torso, lips quirking into a soft smile.

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