New Names

37

It's a lounge kind of day. We're staying in this weekend, instead of going out. The excitement of last weeks wedding tired us out, so Adam, Camren, Max and I are staying home and watching movies while our parents are out. We're on the floor, packing Adam's stuff. We only have half his room cleaned and packed or thrown out, and we only have three weeks until Adam leaves, which is an odd thing to think about. With that said, it's also three weeks until school is over, meaning more time to hang out with everyone. Still, not having Adam right here with me anymore is going to take some getting used to. 

"So, what are you going to do when you get to college?" Camren asks.

"Not sure. Might go to a party or two, but I have to make friends first. And I'm staying stealth."

Don't tell people you're trans. Good call.

I stand and Max and I move some of the boxes to the door with the rest of them, then go upstairs to get more things to pack. I pull some shirts out of his closet. I hear Max sit on the bed. I look back and see him, looking fatigued. I get worried, so I put the shirts down and sit down next to him.

"Are you okay?" I ask. He looks down, and I get a good look at the bags under his eyes. He hasn't been sleeping. 

He doesn't answer, so I try again.

"Max, is something wrong?" 

Max doesn't look up, sniffles, and looks away from me, but I can tell he's crying from the way his voice sounds.

"Wallace- there are a lot of things that you don't know about me."

I stay silent, so he continues.

"I'm broken."

Gently, I take his hand, use my other to lift his chin to make him face me. Tears are streaking down his face, he's looking up at me hopelessly.

"Max, you're a lot of things. But you aren't broken. I can promise you. Whatever's going on, you don't have to tell me about it until you're ready. But I'm right here, you don't have to hide."

I wipe his tears away and kiss him softly. His lips are salty, and he kisses back with diminishing sadness, but it's still there. I've felt it before, just not like this. Lightly, I cup his cheek with one hand and rest my other on his waist. He wraps his arms around me, his grip so tight it feels that if he let's go, he'll lose me. But he's wrong.

I'm not going anywhere.

He breaks the kiss, but we sit there for a few minutes, our foreheads pressed together in comfortable silence. The only thing that I can hear is the movie from downstairs. I pull back, wipe another tear away, and help him to his feet. I give him another quick peck, pick the shirts up, then walk downstairs, Max' hand in mine. Adam gives me a sly look when we walk downstairs.

"You two sure took your time."

I dump the shirts on his lap and glare at him.

"Sorry," Adam admits.

"It's okay," I reply.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Camren looks at us, amused.

"Jeez guys, keep it in your pants. When's the wedding?"

Adam and I laugh. 

I lean over and plant a kiss on Max' cheek, making him turn a little red in surprise. I chuckle.

"Soda's anyone?" Adam asks, putting another folded shirt in a bag. We all nod, and he goes into the kitchen to get a few cans of soda. I move to put another movie in, then get another shirt to fold.