Terrible Ideas

Chapter Two

Chapter two:

If Max ever pictured himself texting a cute guy he thought it would be more romantic and difficult. He had imagined himself debating on the quality of each text, maybe recruiting Eva's help like she had sometimes recruited him to text her crushes; each message sent with care. He thought he would be giddier and probably more of a loser. As it was, texting Kevin was not really any of those things. It was easy. It was fun and witty, and the banter didn't feel forced. There were long pauses in conversation as they both went to school or work, but it didn't feel tense or awkward. And Max hated it and loved it.

Hated that it was something he couldn't actually have. Hated that he had to keep it a secret because there was no dignified explanation for what he was texting a guy who thought he was Eva. Loved it because this was the closest he'd ever been to intimacy with another guy. Not including that time he and Chris had kissed. That had been for science and they may or may not have been a bit drunk.

Max and Kevin texted for a little over a week and Max spent the majority of the time between texts convincing himself tat it was harmless. Just texting and flirting. Until Max ruined it.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Chris whispered, and Max just blinked down at the phone he was clutching under his desk with frozen fingers.

"I'm an idiot."

"I mean, you are," Chris said, smiling a little. "But what did you do now?"

He was quite a bit taller than Max, heavily freckled, and his hair was a very light blond. Chris was one of the best people that Max knew. Kind and unjudging. Funny and smart. They'd met in fourth grade and had bonded over Pokémon cards. They'd been friends ever since.

"Forgot to do my Chem homework," Max lied, and Chris hummed sympathetically.

"You still have some time at lunch," Chris suggested. "You could probably hunt Jonah down and get him to share some answers."

"I'll do that," Max agreed without any intention of finding Jonah and also sure that Jonah wouldn't help him. Chris often miscalculated Max's popularity with the other guys on the soccer team.

"It'll be fine man, so quit looking like someone killed your dog."

"Sorry," Max apologized blandly, and Chris laughed, turning back to the front where the English teacher was lecturing about Hamlet.

Max's phone buzzed with a new text and Max opened it with dread.

Kevin <3: Looking forward to it ;)

Because Max was an idiot. And Max did not deserve to be out around regular people. Because Max was a fucking moron who agreed to a coffee date with the same guy who had been calling him Eva all week and who very much thought that Max was a girl.

Max wondered if someone could simply drop dead from being too fucking stupid to survive.

"You look a bit like you're gonna puke," Chris spoke, voice coloured with concern and Max waved him off.

"I'm just hungry."

"Right. Because that's what a hungry face looks like," Chris muttered, side-eyeing Max. Max studiously didn't look at his phone.

The lunch bell went, and Max absently followed Chris out of the room, mind reeling. He barely noticed them step outside until they were almost to the picnic table they ate at when it was warm enough. Sean and Jake were already there, slumped on the ridiculous yellow benches and laughing at their phones.

Sean was the tallest of them, skinny with cropped hair and studs in his ears. Jake was a tiny bit shorter than Chris and broader than the rest of them, with thick arms and a long undercut. Max had known Jake the longest, since primary, but he hadn't become friends with him until Sean and Chris had become friends in seventh grade. And even then, Max wondered if 'friends' was too strong a word to describe Jake.