Bookends | Jody & Tyler | The Dumping Ground

Fire | Three

She watched him curiously as he dug into his bowl of steaming ramen. Jody had been trying to work on her patience, but Max was seriously taking the piss.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

He glanced up, a mouthful of noodles dangling out his mouth. She watched amused as he slurped what he could and swallowed before meeting Jody's steely gaze again.

"No, I don't think you're stupid."

"Good. So what possessed you to wear that jumper?"

He frowned utterly bewildered; as if Jody could talk about fashion sense! The girl in question was currently dressed head to toe in a black gym shirt, black leggings and an oversized burgundy hoodie that hadn't been washed in forever.

"Have you looked outside? It's cold."

"But you hate turtlenecks."

Max blinked, that much was true. He didn't like the way they tugged on his neck and came to rest just under his chin. They just felt strange, abnormal almost suffocating. It wasn't like a scarf that you could loosen... but he supposed he didn't really want to risk a scarf today.

"Well, I changed my mind," he declared eventually, turning back to his food. Jody had a mouthful of sushi considering her next move. She had to admit, this was fun. Knowing that she knew more than she had let on.

"You're blushing."

"Again, it's just cold. My cheeks go red when it's cold, what's your point, Jody?" he retorted annoyed.

She laced her fingers together and rested her chin against them, a smile playing on her lips.

"My point is you seem different. I mean, you seem more spaced out than usual, you're smiling almost all the time, you're actually happy in the mornings now, you're blushing right now and it's so obvious, that the only reason you're wearing a turtleneck, is to hide some hickeys."

Max's jaw quite literally dropped open. 

"Forget Sherlock. I grew up in care. Says it all," Jody replied smartly. 

Max gave her a look. 

"We need to work on you not using the 'I grew up in care' line whenever it suits you..."

"Stop changing the subject. Tell me," she insisted, her eyes glowing.

"Tell you what? You seem to know everything already."

Jody rolled her eyes, god this boy was difficult. Getting him to speak openly was like trying to squeeze water out of a stone.

"Who is it?"

Max bit the insides of his cheeks nervously. The truth was that he hadn't told anyone about him and Kyle. It was so difficult to put into words what they were now, it was like how they'd always been but with everything out in the open. The feelings once unspoken were acted on, the deep conversations which used to end abruptly with one of them feeling ashamed for being too in touch with their feelings, now lasted for hours on end.

They were still them, but more. 

And there was also the question that Max had never had a relationship with another boy before and neither had Kyle. These were new grounds for them. 

But although they hadn't agreed on anything yet regarding their relationship, there was one thing they had agreed on.

And he was staring straight at her.

He knew that she was the one person who wasn't going to judge or see either of them differently. But even knowing that fact, didn't make coming out any easier.