eyes [maxpres highschool au]

ten. noon

   Max anxiously cracked his knuckles. It was a habit of his when he was anxious. That anxiety increased greatly when he heard the doorbell ring, implying that Preston had arrived. David had left a half an hour earlier, so Max had been left alone to his thoughts. That was all about to change.

   He took a deep breath, stomach churning, and walked up to the door. His hand ghosted over the door knob for a second as he thought about what was about to come. He pushed down his fear of failure and embarrassment and turned the knob, opening the door. His eyes met Preston's amber ones.

   Those goddamn eyes.

   "...May I come in?"

   Holy shit.

   Preston sounded... so tired. Upset. Maybe a bit angry.

   Though Max could already tell. His eyes were a dead giveaway.

   "Uh- yeah, you can."

   Max stepped aside, and Preston walked in. He sat down on the couch, gaze darting from object to object, looking at anything that isn't Max. The latter sat in silence for a moment before speaking.

   "I'm... sorry, Preston."

   "You better be."

   "I just-" Max sighed, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch from Preston. "I got scared."

   Preston scoffed. "Likely story."

   "You know, I always saw you as just some... annoying theater kid. But you're more than that."

   "I know."

   Max groaned, shoving his face into his hands. "You're making this really hard on me, y'know?"

   "Oh, you think I'm being hard on you?" Preston defended, rising to his feet. "Do you know how hard it was for me when I FINALLY built up the courage to confess to you and you LEFT?! You KNOW the shit I went through. You helped me RECOVER from the shit I went through. And you turn around and WALK OUT?!"

   "ITS NOT MY FAULT I DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DO! I'VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE, HOW THE HELL WAS I SU...pposed... to....." Max's voice trailed off as he realized what he just said. Preston's hand, which originally rested dramatically on his chest, shrunk into a fist held in front of it.

   "Y...you... love... me?"

    Max opened his mouth to respond, but instead of speaking, he closed it again, dropping his head and stuffing his hands into his pockets. He didn't notice Preston had been walking towards him until he felt the older boy's finger under his chin, slowly lifting his face up. As he locked eyes with Preston for the second time that day, he saw that he was smiling. Genuinely smiling.

   "I think I love you too."

   They both knew what was going to happen next. They couldn't tell who initiated it. All they could think about was the sensation of their lips colliding yet again, this time double-sided. Max's hands found themselves resting on Preston's chest, and the older male had one arm wrapping around his waist, the other cupping his chin. They stayed like that for what felt like eternity, but in reality was only a couple seconds. They parted after a little while, awkwardly looking each other in the eyes. Max cleared his throat to ease the silence.

   "Well, um..."

   "Yeah."

   "So... uh..." Max rubbed the back of his neck as Preston fiddled with his thumbs. "I get if it's still a bit soon for you, but... do you wanna... maybe go out sometime...?"

   Preston chuckled, grabbing Max's hands. He ran his thumbs over Max's knuckles, staring at him with adoration in his eyes. "I just confessed my love to you, Max. I think we can skip the first step."

   Max tauntingly narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to ask me to be your boyfriend?"

   Preston returned the stare, a smirk on his face. "And what would you say if I was?"

   Max grinned, wrapping his arms around Preston's neck and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "I would say yes."

   "Well, then, say hi to your new boyfriend," the theater kid responded with a smile.