when max opens his eyes, it was still rather dark in the hotel room. the only source of light being the small amount of sun cracking through the gaps between the blinds. he looks over at nick who had rolled over sometime in the night. maxs arm was laid underneath nicks body and his hand lay softly in nicks hand. max smiles at the sight but then realises his arm was stuck. he tried to move it as softly as possible so he didnt wake nick up. nick squirms slightly but that makes it easier for max to move his arm. after a couple seconds, his arm was out. he sighed before leaning over to the bedside table and grabbing his phone.
he scrolls through instagram before he comes across a post.
notnick
tagged solomaxn
liked by notnick and 2471 others
notnick took him out for a walk🥸
user posted 4 hours ago? that was 2am
user tf they doing up at 2am?
user non of their friends have liked it. THEY WENT OUT ON THEIR OWN AND DIDNT TELL ANYONE
user i love how the writer is giving us information that's important to the book through insta comments
max stares at the post, a small smile present on his face, he likes the photo and he hears nicks phone go off on the other side of the room. nick must of posted it late last night.
last night.
max can't help but squeal internally at the thought of last night. he had so much fun. the two of them running around LA. getting ice cream and exploring random parts of the city. it felt like 20 minutes to max but they were out for an hour and a half. max was smiling the whole time.
he looked over at the boy next to him. sleeping peacefully. nicks hand lay next to his face, empty. maxs hand was laying there minutes prior. he thinks back to last night again and remembers his hand being laced with nicks. as they walked throughout the empty yet busy city. he internally squealed again.
as he thought over the night that had passed, he had a thought he didn't think he'd be having so soon. a small frown quickly forms on his face. he knew it'd happen eventually, but he didn't think this soon. he sits up properly as if to brace himself. looks back down at nick, the small distressed frown still on his face. he sighs before he gets out of bed and gets his shoes on. he doesn't know where he's going but he just needs to think.
"max."
the whisper catches his off guard. he turns around slowly and looks at where the sound had come from. it was chris.
"hey chris."
"where are you going?" chris whispers, his voice hoarse.
"umm, im actually not sure," max scratches the back of his neck. "just need to think about some stuff."
"are you alright?" chris sits up suddenly concerned.
"yeah, i'm fine. i just have some stuff on my mind." max didn't want chris to worry about him.
"im coming with you." chris sits up with a big stretch before hopping out of bed.
"no chris, really. im fine."
"too bad. im coming." chris grabs a hoodie to put on and his birkenstocks. max simply sighs but he can't help but smile at the kindness of his friend
the two walk out of the hotel and head downstairs. they stay silent the whole way.
"so... how'd last night go?" chris asks breaking the silence as they walk outside.
max looks over at chris and chuckles.
"it was awesome."
"yeah, how so?" chris smirks.
"well... we went to go get ice cream, and we talked about- life and shit. and then we held hands." max says casually, bracing himself for chris' reaction.
"yo- YOU HELD HANDS?!" chris says a bit too loud for maxs liking.
"yes, yes we did. now can you please keep it down?" max whispers.
"oh right sorry." chris whispers back.
the two fall back into a comfortable silence. chris wants to ask about it more but he doesn't know how to. until he thinks of something.
"you're happy about that right?"
"well, yeah." max shrugs.
"ok, what kind of response is that?"chris questions.
"well that's just the thing." he pauses before continuing. "i think i've fallen for him again."
chris looks at max with a smile. but when he sees the distress on maxs face, it drops.
"what's wrong with that?"
max stays quiet. chris literally has nothing to go off. he doesn't know why max is upset.
"there's nothing wrong with it. i guess i'm just a bit scared." max says.
"oh yeah? how so?"chris asks comfortingly.
"well ya know. i fell for him so long ago and then i lost him. and i know it sounds childish. that was when we were kids and everything was out of our control. but i cant loose his again. it'll hurt too much." max sighs.
chris simply looks at max. he spots a bench in the distance and goes to sit. max follows him and sits next to him.
"i know you didn't want me to come, but do you want my opinion?" chris asks. max simply nods. "i think that you have nothing to worry about. well i mean, i think you're worrying about the wrong thing. you aren't gonna lose him again. trust me on that. he cares about you far too much to simply let you go."
"well then what should i be worried about?" max asks.
"well- even this there's probably nothing to worry about. you just don't know if he feels the same way." chris shrugs simply. but chris knows he does, but he keeps it to himself. he wanted to reassure max that his feelings were reciprocated but- triplet code.
"well i'm not telling him so that doesn't even matter." max looks down at his nails and starts to pick at the already chipped nail polish.
"what! why not?!" chris exclaims.
"because chris, if i told him i love him, i'd have to tell him about us all those years ago. and i feel like i've left it too late and he'll get pissed at me for not telling him sooner. and then i also don't know if he feels the same about me as i do for him. it's just way too risky." max rambles on. chris looks at him with a blank face as he takes in what max has just said. he sighs before he speaks.
"max. nick isn't the type of guy to get pissed over something like that. he may be confused or a bit annoyed that you didn't tell him sooner, but he would never stop talking to you over it. and if he did love you as well then he wouldn't stop loving you over it either. nick would never do something like that, and i think deep down you know that's true." max was astonished at how wise chris sounded. he sat there quiet for a moment as he mulled over chris' words.
he looks up from his fidgeting hands and looked over at chris. chris smiled at him reassuringly before putting a hand on maxs shoulder.
"trust me on this." chris says. max looks back down and sighs.
"you're right. nick wouldn't pull some shit like that." max sits up straight. "doesn't mean i'm gonna tell him how i feel though, but it'll make me less anxious knowing that."
"i think you should tell him. you don't have to do it now, but maybe before we leave back to boston." chris says.
"oh shit yeah, i forgot you guys don't live here." max chuckles. "when do you guys go back?"
"a week and a half." chris says.
"shit ok. yeah maybe i'll tell him before then."
"no, you will."
"we'll see." max says standing up. "wanna head back?"
"sure, let's go."
hey y'all
hope you all enjoyed this chapter, max has realised he's in love with nick. SLAY. and yes we're doing love instead of 'like' cause they once liked/loved each other so i think it makes the most sense.
please vote and comment if you can, it's really appreciated! and the support it crazy. this fic is still #1 in the nicksturniolo and the nicalossturniolo tag which is CRAZY. so thank you so much <333