How Long Will This Last? (Maxley)

First Day

Bobby's chunky van bumped down the road, seeming to hit every pothole possible. Max was surprised they hadn't blown a tire yet.

"You think you could take it a little easier?" Max asked, his head smacking against the window on a sharp turn.

"For real. You're seriously messing up the calm energy I hoped to bring with me today," Mocha Chino said from the back seat. P.J sat next to her, holding her hand.

"No can do. You're in it for the long haul," Bobby said cheekily, swinging the vehicle ninety degrees to the right.

"With your driving we won't even survive getting there," Max argued.

"Relax Max-Man, Bobby's got this."

He hit a duck not five minutes later. After a much needed pit stop they all voted for Max to take the wheel. Bobby protested, it was his van after all, but there wasn't much he could do in the grand scheme of things.

Max pulled up to the tall, brick school, recalling what it was like on his first day of freshman year. The Gamma House was just across the street, and people crowded around the entrance to get a short glimpse at greatness.

Getting out, he tossed the van's keys back to Bobby, which he failed to catch. "It's nice being back," Max said.

"You think so? I hate school," Bobby said.

"I'm gonna go find my room, boys. I'll leave you to whatever you're doing," Mocha said.

"I'll help you with your bags," P.J offered and picked up her luggage before she could properly accept.

"What a gentlemen," Mocha smiled and kissed his cheek. They walked away together, leaving Max and Bobby to not only carry their own bags, but to haul P.J's up as well.

Bobby grabbed one of his own bags. "We're lucky the girl's and boy's dorms gotta be separated, or P.J would leave us. Duos are not cool in college, man."

Max had accidentally blocked Bobby out. His eyes had caught sight of a lean figure with chestnut hair and crazy blue eyes. Bradley Uppercrust the third. He was kicked out of the Gamma Mu Mu fraternity the year before after the whole X Games debacle. He would have been expelled for all the havoc he caused, but luckily for him, his parents are loaded and managed to keep him enrolled with a fat check. But now he was practically on his own. Max almost felt bad for him. The reason why he didn't is because Bradley was a major snob and didn't even apologize for his past actions. Max almost regretted calling off the bet, but he decided to be the bigger person, and now it was all water under the bridge. Max had actually barely thought about Bradley since the school year ended. But now he was back and so was Bradley, and all the memories were coming back to him. Maybe now they'd be on better terms.

"Hey, Max. Maximus. Maximillian. Hey," Bobby tried endlessly to break through Max's thoughts, all the while scarfing down a bag of chips. Eventually he got there.

Max whipped his head back around. "Sorry what were you saying?"

Bobby stared at him slack-jawed for only a second. "Who were you staring at?"

Max released a breath of a laugh and hauled a suitcase out of the trunk. "Nobody. What are you talking about?"

"Was it a giiirrrll?" He teased.

"What? Of course not. We just got here."

"Right, okay. If you say so, Maxxy."

It took them an hour to heave everything from the van to their dorm, but Bobby and Max managed to do it on their own. When they were done Bobby flopped onto his bed and Max started tucking away his clothes into his bureau. Being back in a dorm felt good. Once again, Max remembered how excited he was to be on his own as a freshman. Although he loved his dad, and he was sure he would miss him, Max couldn't have been more grateful for the spontaneous road trip Goofy and Sylvia decided to take. Before they left he kept reminding Max that he was only "one call away".

A text notification from Bobby's phone went off. He picked it up and it fell on his face. "P.J and Mocha are at The Bean Scene. You wanna go?"

"I'll meet you guys down there. I just wanna finish up here," Max said.

"You got it," he lifted himself from his bed and went to the door, "see ya later, alligator." Max only shook his head in response.

Once he was done, Max grabbed his coat and skateboard and started down the hall. Just as he was rounding a corner he collided with another kid. The force wasn't great enough to knock either of them over, but they both stumbled back.

"Oh, sorry," Max was saying before he focused on who it was he bumped into.

"Well doesn't this seem all too familiar?" Bradley brushed the wrinkles out of his sweater.

"What are you doing in here?" Max asked. He hadn't expected Bradley to be in the dorm building. Even though he was kicked from the Gammas, Max assumed he had some sort of back up mansion in town.

Bradley straightened his sleeves and collar. "Despite what you might think, I do not have a luxurious back up mansion just sitting around for me to use. And because I'm no longer a part of the Gammas I was moved to this building. Room five oh two."

Max flipped his head around back to his dorm; five oh one. Bradley Uppercrust the third was going to be his next-door neighbor.

"You're serious?" Max questioned.

"Oh, does my being your neighbor upset you? Well. I'm afraid you're gonna have to suck it up."

"No, that's not-" Max tried to explain himself.

"I don't like this any more than you do. Actually, I probably like it less than you do," Bradley said. "And if you don't mind, I have some unpacking to do." He rammed his arm into Max's shoulder as he walked by.

Max, Bobby, and P.J didn't get back to their dorm until late. Both Bobby and P.J sank right into their beds the moment they walked through the door. Max had the decency to change out of his sweaty hoodie and jeans and into a tank top and shorts. Just before he was able to peel back his blankets and hop into bed, he heard a door open from the hallway. His curiosity drove him to crack open his own door and take a peak.

Bradley sauntered down the hall, phone in hand. Max took this as the perfect opportunity to apologize for earlier. Not that he really needed to apologize because Bradley was obviously being dramatic, but he wanted to be on good terms with the guy.

He did a little jog to catch up. "Hey, Bradley. I didn't think anyone would be up at this time," Max said.

"You think you're the only kid who stays up late? Get real," Bradley said, holding back an eye roll.

"I wanted to apologize for being weird about you moving in next door. I just," he struggled to find an excuse, "what are the odds, you know?"

"Weird? Who said anything about you being weird?" Bradley's tone dripped with obvious sarcasm.

"I'm just sorry, okay?"

"Right. I don't care. I'm gonna go to the bathroom now, so run back to your little room and leave me alone."

Max fell behind and watched as Bradley continued down the corridor. It seemed Bradley couldn't care less about making peace, which would make being neighbors all the more unbearable. In all honesty Max wasn't even sure if he himself wanted to go out of his way to make peace. Sure he wasn't mad at Bradley anymore, but he didn't want to be friends with him either. But he knew that if they didn't get on better terms Bradley would make his life a living hell.