Kings On The Horizon (Vol. 4-6) ✓

200 | Just Kids

     Before reading his friend's message, Max sent a reply to his brother first, telling him that he'll be sleeping over with Gavriil for the time being, which was obviously something that Marcus wasn't too thrilled about. But thanks to Étienne, he didn't really have much of a choice.

     "Just send me a message if anything happens," Marcus replies, making Max smile.

     Right after, he opens their group chat and sees a dozen of messages that mostly came from Keigo, reminding them of the hangout that they talked about that is scheduled for tomorrow.

     Max wanted to tell them that he might not be able to go, especially after what he learned about his mother, but then Max realized that a normal get-together like this might actually cool his mind for a bit. Asahi and the others would be there too, and besides, they chose to do this on a Sunday because Max said he was not available today. It would be rude of him to ditch them after all that.

     "Where are we going? Just send me the address," Max finally replies, and not even a second passes, and Keigo already sends a picture of where they'll be going. Max thought it would be some kind of bar or maybe a club, but it seemed like Keigo initiated to plan of the entire event, so the place he chose was...

     "A ramen shop?" Max asks while staring at the picture.

     The shop looked old, but it wasn't really much of a problem. Max has been in the business his entire life, so he knows that places like these serve the best ramen he's ever gonna taste.

     "This is the shop I always go to as a kid. I decided to take you guys there as my official thank you for having me in the group," Keigo then messages, instantly putting a smile on Max's face.

     "Are you sure you're thanking us, or do you just want to impress Kingston and the other pageant guys?" Ervin then asks. Keigo sends a gif of an angry cartoon character, making Max chuckle this time. And just like that, the growing anxiety that Max was feeling instantly vanished.

     "Let's just meet up at..." Before Max can finish reading the text, Gavriil steps out of the bathroom and walks towards him, holding extra clothes for Max to change into.

     "Who are you messaging? You have such a sweet smile on you that I might end up getting jealous," Gavriil teases while Max grabs the pajamas from his hand.

     "Just my friends. We're planning to hang out tomorrow with the other guys from the pageant. Would you like to come?" Max asks as he places his phone on the table before standing from the sofa.

     "I'd honestly love to, but I don't want to get in the way. I want you to have fun, but I'd lie if I said I'm not worried. Leigh, are you sure you're okay? Earlier, you were—"

     "I'm fine now," Max quickly says, walking closer to Gavriil to hold his hand. "And I think it's best if I don't worry about that for now. You were right, I should think about this first before believing that my mother could do such a thing. Being with my friends might cheer me up."

     "Am I not cheering you up enough?" Gavriil then asks.

     Max chuckles and pulls him closer to him before giving him a soft kiss on his lips. "You do more for me than just cheering me up," he says, instantly putting a proud smile on the vice president's face.

     "Alright, I'll go take a quick shower so we can eat. I haven't touched the food yet because I wanted us to eat together," Max says, and Gavriil walks to the dining table and finds the dishes he made still untouched. He removes the cover, and then he smiles and looks back at his boyfriend.