Fishing Trip//Max Joseph//Catfish: The TV Show//Catfish

*Chapter Twelve*

"Breakfast or Skype first?" Nev asked, looking to Max and Ellie as they neared closer to him. When he first noticed the matching t-shirts, he struggled to smile. It pissed him off. "Sure... wear matching shirts and don't tell me. It's fine." Nev scratched his forehead and looked away from them. "I'm pathetic. Why do I even care?"

Ellie pulled him into a side hug and answered. "I don't care. Whatever's cool with you guys. I gotta make a video, whatever we do." Max widened his eyes and smiled. "I forgot about that! You haven't made a video since..." he trailed off. "The airport," Nev finished for him.

Nev looked at Max, who tore his gaze from his phone screen to answer. So... breakfast or Skype?" Max turned his head to the side and smiled. "C'mon. When do I not want food, Nev." In return, he shrugged and rolled his eyes. Ellie raised her eyebrows. "Well, someone's pissy today," she thought.

Max yawned. "My head hurts. Let's get food." Ellie laughed. "Nev? What do you wanna do?" He shrugged again. "Let's eat breakfast then." Max caught Ellie's gaze and raised his arms in confusion. He furrowed his brow and made a face once Nev turned his back.  Ellie simply shrugged and mouthed, "I don't know."
A/N: Max in the beginning is me tho😂

     "IHOP. What the hell is an IHOP?" Max answered Ellie's question before she could say it out loud. "It's a restaurant. Just a breakfast place." Ellie widened her eyes and looked to the front seat of the rental car. "It sounds like a disease!" Max began laughing, making her smile. She noticed Nev out of the corner if her eye. "He smiled! Now we're getting somewhere!"

     "Pancakes or waffles? Pancakes or waffles! Come on Elle. Pick one!" Max took a sip of orange juice. "So Elle... pancakes or waffles?" She groaned audibly from the booth across the table. "I just don't know."  Nev chuckled and flipped a page in his menu. Max's thoughts were suddenly directed towards him.

     "What the hell is wrong with him?" Max put a hand to his chin and snuck a sly side glance at his friend. He ran a hand through his hair and frowned. "He was fine when he came to the room! What the hell changed while we were getting ready!?" Puzzled. Puzzled is the only word capable of... puzzled? Beyond puzzled. Hella confused. Hella fucking confused.

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     Breakfast consisted of a long, awkward silence that would make even the most confident person cringe. It was dead silent. Max scrolled through Instagram, Nev scrolled through Facebook, and Ellie scrolled through Twitter. Family bonding at it's finest.

     As the trio made their way back to the car, Ellie's bag let out a ring. And then another, and another. She fumbled with her bag until her hand came in contact with the buzzing phone inside. Ellie sighed, annoyed by the phone number that appeared on the screen. She answered with, "Hello?" Nev and Max could hear the voice on the other line.

     "Hi! Is this Ellie Stokes of Los Angeles, California?" a chipper voice asked. Ellie replied, but with less enthusiasm. "Yes, this is she. May I ask who this is?"

"Of course! My name is Dr. Amanda Whitten. You called for an appointment at Beverly Hills Cardiology?" By now, the three were in the car, and Max and Nev were pretending they couldn't hear the conversation that was materializing before them.

     Ellie continued. "Oh, yeah. I'm sorry... When is the appointment?" She put a hand to her forehead in concentration. "Right here..." She paused. "Right here, it says you made the appointment for... Next Wednesday at 8:00 AM."