Chapter 23

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You started your journey with an sinking feeling. Not a word was spoken while the two of you wandered aimlessly in the direction your car came from. Sneaking a few glances at Max, you noticed his slightly uneasy expression. It's like he was trying to hold something back...like a strong surge of emotions all being concealed by a simple yet complex frown. It seemed like Max's expression was a permanent disappointed stare that was only broken by the sound of your voice.

"Umm..Max.."

His expression breaks  just a little bit before he looks down towards the floor and his complex frown returns.

"Listen, I—I understand you're mad at me and all, but..would it kill you to tell me why?"

His frown twitches. He was trying to hold something back, you were sure of it.

"I honestly don't know what I did wrong. If you would tell me, maybe.."

His eyes widen.

"..Maybe I could try to fix the problem."

Silence ensues. What am I doing wrong? You give Max one more hurtful look before noticing something odd.

Was he tearing up?

"Oh—M-Max, are you—are you okay..?" You raise your hand and try to get a better look, but he looks away and wipes his eyes with his sleeve.

"I—I'm fine. Shut up." He backs away slightly, preventing you from being able to get near him.

Once again, the loud sound of silence makes you shiver. You had no idea why Max was being so dismissive, and it hurt you emotionally to see him so angry. You didn't know why he was mad at you. Did you do something wrong? Your mind wanders back to the moments before you got into the car.

You wouldn't tell Max about the kiss scene, the play started, they came a little bit late, and..

..you kissed Harrison.

Well, more like Harrison kissed you - but you get the idea.

What could he be mad at you for?

Suddenly, you stop in your tracks. Just in front of you was a steep ditch - one that could even be considered a cliff if you wanted to call it that. The distance from there to the ground below wasn't too big, so you could slide down if necessary, but if you weren't careful, you'd definitely get hurt. 

As you watch Max silently walk to the edge and plop down onto the grass, you get an uneasy feeling.

You stared blankly at his distraught expression as he looked up at the stars without a hint of infatuation.

Then you notice the glistening tears.

You said nothing as the tears rolled down his cheek and eventually onto his hoodie, but you wanted to say so much.

I'm sorry for making you mad.

I want you to know that I like you. A lot.

I just want you to be happy.

All of the options were coursing through your mind when Max's soft voice broke the silence.

"You didn't tell me you were gonna be Juliet."

..Huh?

..Is that what he's mad about? No. That's..silly.

"O-oh, I was just..a little..embarrassed.." 

Max wipes his tears yet again and continues to stare up at the stars.

"..and Harrison was Romeo, right? I didn't know that."

Where's he going with this?

"I thought Neil or David would've told you.." You say, giving him a weak, shaky reply.

"They didn't tell me jack shit, Y/n." Max places his hands on the grass and grips the weeds.

"..Do you like Harrison? If you do, I..totally get it. He's..pretty nice."

"What kind of question is that, Max? He's..weird. A bit too clingy, to be honest. That's why I was embarrassed to tell anyone about the kiss scene. Because I'm not fond of kissing..well, him." Gaining more confidence, you walk towards the edge of the cliff and sit down next to Max.

Max lets out a shaky breath before softly chuckling to himself.

"..Good to know. Umm..just so you know, I'm..not mad at you. I'm just..really confused right now and I needed time to think."

Your heart begins to thump.

There's butterflies in your stomach.

Your face is heating up.

Jesus Christ, I'm freaking out.

"That's a relief. All this time, I thought I had done something wrong..and I got really worried. I didn't want you to be mad at me. I like it when you're happy."

Max's eyes widen.

You see the tears welling up again, but he quickly blinks and wipes his eyes.

He lets out another shaky breath.

He's nervous.

"U-Umm..Y/n?"

You turn towards him with a nervous smile

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You turn towards him with a nervous smile.

"Yeah?"

Max's head turns towards you before he sucks in another breath. Before you knew it, he had grabbed your face and pulled it towards his.


And then his lips were against yours.



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