Oscar (bxb)

21.

They acted normal until they got into Chloe's car. She'd offered to take him home yesterday but this morning he claimed he didn't mind taking the train. She wouldn't have any of it and so either she hadn't seen him or she needed to talk about what happened. Either way, he hadn't been looking forward to spending time alone with her in the car.

"Did you have a good time?" She asked after a few silent minutes.

"Yeah," he replied. "You?"

"Mhm," she said.

Maxie thought about putting his earphones in. Maybe that was a little too passive aggressive. How did he play this? He didn't want to be awkward or cold but he didn't feel comfortable with this knowledge.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked, another attempt at talking.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

He sighed and sat up. "I know that its not any of my business what you do and who you do it with. But... look, is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

Chloe frowned but there wasn't a hint of surprise upon her expression.

"What's going on?"

"It's hard to understand," Chloe said, for once her voice small rather than confident.

"I'll understand better than you think," Maxie told her firmly.

Chloe sighed before she spoke again, exhaling her nerves. "I've liked Bradley since I met him but when I met him I didn't know he was Daisy's brother. I never went for it because of obvious reasons but we've always flirted and he's asked me out a few times but I don't know. At the party he saw me outside and we talked and he kissed me. Which I stopped, by the way."

"What about last night?"

Chloe's eyes flicked over to Maxie. "How much did you see?"

"Enough. Too much."

A faint smile formed on her mouth but her expression remained sombre. "We've been talking since the party about things, how to go about it. I know, best friend's brother is off limits but... he's perfect for me. And I'm not the kind of girl who catches feelings easily. I've had one boyfriend and I've felt more for Bradley in three months then I had in a year for him."

Maxie sighed. He was kind of happy for her. He wanted her to have those feelings. With the right guy. Who's to say Bradley wasn't?

"Do you think Daisy would care much?"

Chloe nodded. "We've talked so much about how in high school, girls would sometimes be fake with her in order to get with her brother and she's lost a lot of friends because of it. She was so glad she made genuine friends when she came here."

Maxie frowned. Fuck, that must be tough. It was about trust. This was far more severe.

"Well maybe if you were honest about your intentions instead of going behind her back?"

Chloe shook her head. "She'd never talk to me again."

"Then what about this guy is worth it?"

Chloe huffed.

"I think if you're going to do it, you have to be honest about it or else it will do more damage. What happens when you get further down the line and you're keeping this huge secret from her?"

Chloe's forehead creased. She appeared almost timid.

"I promised Bradley that I wouldn't tell her. I can't just go back on that."