~Neil's POV~
"Oh! Hey Y/n! I-, um, didn't see you there!" I said, placing my hand on her shoulder.
She arched her left brow. 'Smooth, Neil.' I cleared my throat and removed my hand. We made brief eye contact before walking in awkward silence.
'I have to tell her...but I can't rush it.'
~Max's POV~
I couldn't help but glance at them. So close together. 'I have to do something..'
I sped up my pace and wedged myself between them. Y/n looked over at me and her eyes widened. I eyed her in confusion. She tugged her hoodie up over her neck a little before walking away.
"Max, if there's anybody she doesn't want to be bothered by, it would, unquestionably, be you." Neil chuckled lightly.
"How the fuck would you know? What if she didn't want to be bothered by you're constant small talk? I retorted as I shoved a finger into his chest.
"She enjoys it!"
"Highly doubt that, Buddy."
"I mean, at least I can say shit to her and not choke the living soul out of her."
"Well I just-" I sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Whatever.."
Neil brushed passed me and walked a bit faster to catch up with Y/n. I felt kind of bad about choking her. I never did until now. Maybe it was the way she looked at me. Like I was..some kind of monster.
My heart sank as I stared at the back of her head.
Maybe I should apologize.
~THIRD POV-
"Why do you always target me, Nurf??" Space Kid whined while Nurf jabbed the branch into his side.
"Because I lack the empathy and skills to socialize because my mother was never around to teach me the importance of friends." Nurf whispered, looking off into the distance.
Space Kid tilted his head. " That's soo sad! I'm so sor-" He was cut off by the branch being shoved into his side. Nurf laughs as Space Kid ran and hid behind Gwen.
Y/n snatched the branch from Nurf and threw it into a nearby bush.
"Bitch..." He muttered before stalking off.
"GWEN? WHEN IS THIS HIKE OVER?I DON'T HAVE MUCH HP LEFT!" Nerris shouted as she swatted at a mosquito.
"Nerris, its just a mosquito-" Harrison tried to reassure her.
"IT'S A CREATURE OF THE WIZARD HERMIS!" She says as she breaks into a sprint.
Y/n continues walking along the trail scanning her surroundings. She's yanked out of her thoughts by Max grabbing her arm and leading her away from the group.
Y/n POV
"Max, what the actual fu-"
"Please, don't start with your bitching." He covers my mouth with his cold fingers but I remove them roughly. I look at him fuming in anger.
"Don't look at me like that, Y/n! I'm not a mon-" He stops at the end of the sentence. I give my best 'lets be serious here' face
"Just come on!" He grabs my wrist, dragging me deeper into the thick woods.
"Hey! Where are we going?"
"Hey, Y/n! Shut the hell up." He retorts.
I snatch my wrist away from him, clenching my teeth.
"God if you fucking hate me so much, just leave me alone!"
His facial expression changes. I've never seen him like this. He looked hurt. "No! It's not like tha-"
"THEN WHAT IS IT LIKE MAX?!" I raised my voice, throwing my arms up.
"I-"
"Is it because I'm annoying?! I-I can't be chill like everyone else?!" I step towards him.
He blinks quickly.
"No that's not it just shut u-" He says but is cut off by my finger jabbing into his chest.
"No you shut up! I'm sorry I didn't fucking ask to be here! I didn't ask for you to choke me over some petty reason!"
He clenches his hands "Shut up, Y/n!"
"WHAT IS IT, MAX? WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKING SHALLOW!"I continue screaming at him, squeezing my eyes shut."WHY CANT YOU JUST BE NI-"
....
I'm stopped.
My lips won't move...
They're warm against something else..
I open my eyes.
Max...is kissing..me.
At first, I didn't kiss back. I was still pissed at him. He lightly wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest and I began to move my lips in sync with his.
He pulls back for air. "I don't fucking hate you... I-I'm in lo-"
He stops like the word is poison.
"In luh-"
He takes a deep breathe in. "I'm in love with you.. "He's as red as me.
I don't know... I like him too but-
"I don't want that fucking nerd taking you from me, Y/n. He doesn't deserve you."
I furrow my eyebrows at him "And you do?"
He looks down "I know I act like an asshole and I'm a dick sometimes but I don't want people to see how pathetic I really am."
He turns around
"I'm sorry for everything.. we can pretend this never happened and you can run to your 'prince' in... pimply armor." He walks away.
I don't want him to leave though. Something inside of me is saying "Stop him! Say you love him too."
So I did. I grab his hood and turn him to face me, smashing my lips into his.
