Mr. More Than Average (On Hold)

1: Max the Pessimistic

1: Max the Pessimistic

Max remained oblivious to Jess's attempts at a friendship with him. As far as he was concerned, Juliana had gotten to Jess before anyone else, so he wrote her off. But one day after school, Sam and him were walking home because Luther wanted to maximize his time with Annie in the band room, and Jess took this opportunity to catch up with them. "Hey, Max! Mind if I join you and your friend?" She faced Sam. "What's your name?"

He told her, and Max had no real authority to say no. Sam said, "You just moved into the for-sale house, right?"

"The what?" she said.

"She doesn't understand you," Max said. "She wasn't here for that."

"On Ellesmere, right? Yellow house with the big tree in front?"

"That's it," she said. "I guess this town is small."

Sam laughed and shook his head. "I live right across from you."

"Wait, really? That's so cool. I haven't really gotten a chance to get to know the neighbors."

"Me neither," Sam said. "Hey, Max is coming over now if you want to join us."

"Yeah? What're you guys doing?"

Sam scratched the back of his head. "Probably nothing you would want to do."

Jess grinned. "Try me."

It started out with everyone wanting an afterschool snack, so Sam popped a frozen pizza into the oven, and by now, Luther had joined them. "All I've been eating is breakfast food," Luther said. "Pizza sounds great."

"Make it a breakfast pizza," Jess said.

Sam perked up. "We should make pancake pepperonis!"

Max and Luther exchanged looks with each other before Max grimaced and echoed him to make sure he heard correctly.

"I thought he could just combine them..."

Luther said, "I'm good," and Max said, "That literally sounds so stupid," and Jess said she liked the idea.

Sam, disheartened, quirked his mouth and said that he'd get them to try it one day, and when he did, they would regret not having it sooner.

"What exactly are pancake pepperonis?" Luther asked.

"Pancakes the size of pepperonis."

"Aren't those just mini pancakes?" Max said.

Sam was silent for a few seconds. "But pancake pepperonis sounds cooler."

"Tell you what, Sam," Jess said, "when these goons leave, we can make pancake pepperonis at my place. My parents are totally into fun food."

Sam and Jess never made pancake pepperonis, but Jess and Max did, and they hand-delivered them to Sam. Max wasn't quite sure how it happened since he never planned on talking to her, let alone cook the first time he went to her house.

A sweaty Max was leaving Sam's house when he saw Jess reading on her porch. She looked up, saw him, and called him over. They sat on the porch for a while, and she finally asked him why he avoided her when he met her. "It's nothing personal," he said. "It's just..." He didn't know how to describe it. He couldn't say they were in different worlds because 1) that was cheesy and 2) it wasn't necessarily true because she hadn't joined a world yet. Juliana had claimed her, and anyone Juliana claimed, he tried to avoid like the plague.

"Just what?" she said.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"It's okay, Max."