Oscar (bxb)

6.

Maxie still felt awkward. It was becoming a habit and the more he interacted with Oscar the worse things got but this wasn't about him now. It was about supporting someone's art.

He sat at a table in the crowd of Oscar's gig with Chloe, Daisy, Olivia and Emmett who were each talking to each other while he was tuning in and out, pretending to be looking at something important on his phone.

He literally had no one else to text.

He used to always have someone on the end of the phone to keep him company at the worst times and to turn them into the best. Unfortunately the loneliness only made him notice Dean's absence more.

"You always look so moody. Lighten up," Emmett said, snapping in Maxie's face and laughing.

Maxie turned his phone off. "Sorry," he apologized with a guilty smile. "I'm happy, promise."

"What have you been up to today then?" Emmett asked.

Maxie shrugged. "Working."

"Fun," Emmett replied dryly. "Isn't it a little early to be stressing with work?"

"Not when you've missed two months of a course. I just need to get caught up before the essay deadline and then I can relax."

"I really don't want to hear the words essay and deadline right now," Chloe said with a groan.

A waitress interrupted the conversation all of a sudden and placed two pints in front of Maxie.

"I don't think we ordered these," Chloe said.

"Oh one of the band members told me to bring them as a present for someone," the waitress said.

Olivia leaned back and crossed her legs. "Really? He thinks he's going to win me over with pints?"

"Oh, uh, I think he said they were for a boy," the waitress announced, her eyes switching between Maxie and Emmett.

Everyone else's attention turned to Maxie. "He said he's buy me one if I came tonight," he reasoned poorly, although it dimmed everyone's interest. "Here," he said, passing the pint to Olivia. "You have the other one."

Olivia smiled weakly. "Thanks."

Maxie's eyes made their way towards the stage. He caught sight of Oscar chatting with someone by the short raised platform where a drum kit and microphones were set up. The two locked eyes across the room. Oscar's face didn't change much but it did appear friendlier this time. Almost apologetic.

"You know the guy on guitar tried slid into my DMs when we first arrived," Emmett began ranting. "This is so awkward."

"I thought he was straight. I'm sure a girl on my course is dating him," Chloe mused.

"Trust me, that doesn't stop guys," Emmett said with a smirk.

The mere thought made Maxie uncomfortable. Guys with girlfriends... cheaters. Not ideal boyfriend material.

"Well you'd know," Daisy commented.

"So does your brother," Emmett retorted with a sarcastic smile.

Maxie cringed to himself and brought his drink to his lips to make it less obvious.

Luckily the band started to play, or at least tested out the guitars and practiced their intro. Once they gathered a decent amount of attention they began to play.

This was usually the kind of music that would give him an intense headache, especially since there was a lot of slamming, crashing and shouting but he had to admit, he was kind of impressed and recognized the talent of the members. They had a gritty, lively sound and their stage presence was pretty good that even the few mistakes they made didn't detract from the performance.