They had talked about the future countless times—meeting in person, traveling together, spending lazy days side by side. For months, those dreams had been enough to hold them together, each one tethered to the other by their shared hope. But as the weeks went by, Maxwell couldn't ignore the shift he felt whenever they talked, a shift he had no idea how to fix.
Saturday, 9:03 p.m.
Nathan's face filled the screen, but there was something guarded in his expression. Maxwell could feel it before Nathan even spoke, an invisible wall that hadn't been there before.
"So..." Nathan started, his tone carefully neutral, "do you ever feel like... like the distance is kind of... getting in the way?"
Maxwell's heart gave a small, painful squeeze. He knew Nathan struggled with the distance, but this was the first time he'd heard him actually voice it like this. He took a breath, forcing himself to keep his voice steady.
"I mean, yeah, it's hard sometimes," Maxwell admitted, trying to keep the mood light. "But we'll make it work, right? We've already talked about meeting up when we can."
Nathan looked down, fiddling with the edge of his shirt, his silence stretching on just a little too long. "It's just... I don't know, Max. Sometimes it feels like everything's harder because we're not actually... together, you know?"
Maxwell's voice wavered, though he tried to mask it with a smile. "I get it, really. I wish I could be there too. But we're in this together. We'll figure it out, right?"
Nathan nodded, but his expression didn't change. He looked tired, his gaze fixed somewhere beyond the screen. "I know you say that, but it's just... it's different when we're not together. I don't want to make this harder for you, either."
Maxwell's stomach twisted. He wanted to reach through the screen, to somehow close the gap that seemed to stretch wider with every word Nathan said. "You're not making anything harder," he replied softly. "This is where I want to be. With you."
But Nathan's eyes didn't meet his. Instead, he sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Sometimes I just wonder if it would be easier... if we were just... friends, you know?"
Maxwell froze, his heart sinking. "Do you... is that what you want?"
"No," Nathan said quickly, shaking his head. "No, I don't know. I mean... I don't want to lose you. I just... I don't know what to do about this."
Maxwell's chest felt tight, but he kept his voice calm. "We don't have to figure everything out right now. Let's just... keep talking, okay? We'll figure it out."
Nathan nodded again, but his smile looked strained. "Yeah... yeah, you're right."
They fell into silence, each trying to find words that neither seemed able to say. Maxwell's heart ached as he tried to think of something, anything, that would make Nathan stay. But all he could do was sit there, watching as the Nathan he knew drift further and further
