Terrible Ideas

Chapter Thirteen

"How are we supposed to eat without a table," Sean complained to the group, glaring at the grass and contemplating the sandwich in his hands.

"You put it in your mouth," Meg deadpanned, and Sean huffed at her.

"Careful, Meg," Chris warned blandly. "Don't want to make it too difficult for him."

"You're an asshole," Sean told Chris and Chris snickered.

"You get used to it," Brook to the time to assure Sean, her lunch open over her crossed legs. "It's really not that hard."

"I know it's not hard," Sean sighed, giving Brook a look that said he wasn't entirely sure if she was making fun of him or not. "I'm just bitching because I thought we could have eaten at the picnic table."

"Picnic table's too small," Max commented absently, eyes still on his phone. "Wouldn't fit everyone."

"Not with that attitude," Eva responded. It was surprisingly easy for them all to hang out together, spread over the grass in front of the bleachers.

"We could have stacked," Meg added, and Eva snorted a laugh. She was sprawled on the ground with her head on Meg's leg. They were sharing a bag of pretzels that Max had brought. Sean was sitting as close as he could to Eva without being hit, Chris and Brook were seated to Max's other side so the group of them formed a half circle.

"I wouldn't mind one of you sitting on my lap," Sean said, perking up a little, and Meg rolled her eyes at him.

"Keep it in your pants, buster," Eva said. "This is a safe place and we don't need those negative hormones here."

"I don't condone the use of the word hormones," Max said.

"I don't condone your face," Eva retorted and there was a scattering of laughter. Max lifted his unimpressed look to his sister and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Its these sorts of things that really make me question how we're twins," Max told her.

"Really?" Chris asked. "It's that stuff that makes me believe you're related."

"How rude," Max sniffed, giving his friend a betrayed look and before looking back to his phone.

"Who are you even texting?" Eva asked. "All your friends are here."

"Unless it's Kevin," Brook said, wiggling her eyebrows a little and Sean laughed.

"I'm not texting anyone," Max said, face flushing a little. "I'm trying to plan a date."

"Well this sounds fun," Meg said. "Why?"

"Kevin planned all our dates before," Max said, feeling flustered under their combined attention. "I'm trying to be a better boyfriend than I was a girlfriend."

"I like that you're able to make comments like that and it's not even that weird," Sean commented, and Chris threw a handful of grass at him to shut him up but it only started a fight when the grass landed on his sandwich.

"I thought things were already going good with him," Brook said to him, ignoring the growing grass battle, and Max shrugged at her.

"I mean, it is," Max said. "We text all the time like we used to and stuff. But we haven't really met up or anything. It's kinda awkward. Or I'm awkward anyway. And I'm not really sure what to do about it."

"So, you're planning a date?" Brook asked.

"Yeah. I thought we could go out and it would help get rid of the tension, you know?" Max explained, and Brook nodded sagely and scooted closer.