a werewolf n' a witch [platonic!maxneil]

《chapter ocho》

david stared at the two kids in front of him with an amused smile. "so neil attacked some guy who was chasing max, and both of you were kicked out of the mall and even banned?"

max and neil silently licked their popsicles. a dark blush spread across neil's pasty face. "yeah," max said simply.

"pfft, i wish i would have seen that," david chuckled, voice hushed. darla was not as amused. "david..."

"right, sorry! neil, that was very unacceptable behavior. you cannot bodyslam people for invalid reasons!"

neil lowered his ears, his face feeling hot. he gave his popsicle another lick before replying. "sorry, david."

"that's okay!" he chirped. "so, why exactly was i called here?" he asked, his hands on his hips, and one eyebrow raised for emphasis.

max looked back at the teen standing behind them with an unamused expression. "'cause that creepy ass guy is following us everywhere."

"hey, rude! and i just want my compensation!" max responded with a lick of his blue popsicle.

"compensation...?" david parroted, confusion written all over his face.

"that's the fucker who got flipped over," max clarified.

david studied the boy in front of him. he was an overweight human who looked to be about fourteen, with red hair and pine green eyes, much too yellowish to be a witch. "hm? hey, aren't you in the same school as max?"

"u-uh..yeah," he responded, suddenly a bit intimidated by the tall, wealthy, powerful witch in front of him.

david laughed. "i knew it! i remember seeing that red hair anywhere!"

suddenly, david's whole mood switched. his beaming grin simmered down to a small smile, and his eyes became dull and hard. "i hope you haven't bothered max at school, because if you have then..." he brought his thumb up to his throat, moving it from one side to the other threateningly.

"dude, are you threatening me?!" the redhead exclaimed.

"dude, i totally am," david said with a bubbly smile. he slinked his hand into his pocket, and left it there. he waved with his other hand, flashing an apologetic smile. "seems like these two caused you some trouble, sorrrryyy~!"

"'sorry'?! if you think a simple sorry will--be...enough..." he trailed off, staring at the giant stack of money being presented to him with wide eyes.

"your compensation. i hope this will be enough, it's all i have on me at the moment." the red-head continued to stare at the money, and then glanced up at david, who was leaning down in front of him with his arm outstretched. he shook his hand, a silent encouragement for the teenager to take the money.

darla watched from behind, the curls framing her face swaying as she shook her head. neil watched in amazement, never having seen that much money in person. max double face-palmed, dragging his hands down his face. his idiot dad was actually giving this guy money?!

the teenager took the money with wide eyes, clutching it in his hands like it was his lifeline. "you're forgiven," he squeaked, turning and leaving. "bye."

neil looked over to max. "so you knew that guy?" max didn't respond, opting to side-eye a nike advertisement on his right.

"how come you two couldn't get rid of him on your own?" david inquired.

max looked up at his dad lazily. "next bus leaves in one hour."

"so in the end you just wanted a ride home. i see."