Charles
I was sitting on the couch, and Max was lying with his head in my lap and his eyes closed. I wanted us to go to the bedroom, but he insisted that we stay here so I could watch and eat popcorn. I managed to find a vase for so many flowers and now its in the bedroom. Every time I look at them, I want to jump, like a little child from happiness.
I watch the movies, combing his hair, he looks adorable, holding my index finger, and our hands lie next to his face. Suddenly someone knocks on the door, and this makes me realize that Max is more tired than I thought. He doesn't even open his eyes, just curves his face displeased and waits for me to shake him off.
"Open!" I shout, glancing at the boy, who smiles contentedly without changing his position. "Pierre?" I ask surprised as he enters the living room.
Right after him, Lando, Carlos and Daniel enter. Everyone is holding presents, and Lando is carrying a cake with lit candles. I look at them in shock, and Max opens his eyes reluctantly, also surprised by what he sees. They quietly sing a hundred years, remembering my words when I spoke to Pierre that Max needs silence now. I smile broadly as Norris stands in front of me so that I can blow out the candles without getting up. I do so, after thinking of a wish, which is the most pathetic wish in the world. I just want Max and Pierre to always be in my life.
"I don't want alcohol and..."
"Come on, Charles." I am interrupted by Daniel, sitting down in the chair. "We don't want to drink. We came to sit with you and spend your birthday with you. In peace and quiet, just like you said you would spend it." He smiles broadly and glances at Max, who is looking at him.
"It's Daniel's idea." Pierre adds, sitting down in the other chair.
"Thank you." my boyfriend says to his friend, who smiles widely at the word.
We spend the next few hours eating cake and watching movies. We comment quietly on everything the main characters do, and Max finally falls asleep after his second dose of medication. Since he laid down, his condition has improved considerably, which makes me damn happy. And I'm even more happy for our friends. I love them. What they did for me today only makes me more confident in these friendships.
***
Max
I open my eyes reluctantly when I smell pancakes. And I'm not wrong, because Charles is standing over me with breakfast. Pancakes poured with sauce, and there is already juice and pills on the cabinet. I feel better than I did yesterday, and although I continue to reproach myself for the fact that because of me Charles' birthday didn't end the way it should have, I don't show it so that the boy doesn't want to kill me. Instead, I take the plate from him with a smile.
"Thank you." I say in a voice hoarse from the morning and glance at my boyfriend, who sits down next to me and leans his head against my shoulder. "What's up?"
"Are you feeling better?" he asks with concern.
"Yes."
I didn't think he could be so caring. Ever since he found out what's wrong with me, he hasn't left my side. It's cute because he's worried and annoying because I feel like I'm handicapped, but I'd rather he be like that than like he doesn't give a damn.
"I tried to make them good, but I don't know if it worked out." he says sincerely.
"They're good." I smile and turn my head in his direction, kissing him on the forehead. "What are we doing today?" I ask, having had enough of lying in bed all the time.
"We're resting." He hugs me with a smile.
"No, let's get out of the house." I mumble displeased, at which he moves closer and places several kisses on my neck. "Charles, please let's at least go for a walk." I sigh resignedly.
"No."
And a few seconds after his words, there is a knock on the front door. I furrow my eyebrows, glancing at the boy, who shrugs his shoulders and gets out of bed, walking to the hallway. I, meanwhile, slowly get up and put on sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I run my fingers through my hair and curiously walk out of the bedroom. In the living room, Arthur and the boys' mother are sitting on the couch. Charles sits in an armchair, looking at them with a slight smile and they talk quietly.
"Hi Max!" says the woman as she notices me and gets up, walking first to me to greet me.
"Good morning." I smile as she hugs me. I reciprocate, seeing Charles squint his eyes, looking at me.
"Charles told us you had a concussion. How did it happen?" she asks, stepping back.
"He hit himself when he fell down the stairs yesterday." answers Charles for me, and I know why he does it. His mother wouldn't give me a break, talking about responsibility and other things I know.
"You need to take care of yourself." says the woman, looking at me worriedly.
"He's okay now." I reply with a smile and glance at Arthur, who walks up to me. We greet each other, and he smiles with some sort of plan.
"Shall we go to the party? I need to boast that we have a world champion." he says so that no one can hear it. Charles looks at me intently, ignoring his mother, who says something to him. He doesn't know what his brother is proposing to me, but he probably knows him well enough to know it's something stupid.
"I can't, Charles will kill me."
"But slipper!" he suddenly shouts, and everyone shifts their gaze to him. "I didn't say anything." He adds returning to the couch.
"What did he want?" asks my boyfriend as I sit down next to him and kiss him on the cheek. "Don't get cute like that, what did he say?" he moves away, but I catch him around the waist and pull him closer. "Max!"
"Nothing of the sort." I say quietly. "And don't scream, please." I add, trying not to squirm.
"Sorry, I forgot." He says with remorse, looking at my face. "Do you want some medicine?" he adds, to which I deny with a nod.
We spend more than two hours talking with Arthur and the boys' mother. In fact, Charles says more, I stay silent almost the whole time, resting my head against his shoulder and trying not to fall asleep, looking once at him and once at his family. As they were about to leave, I invited them to the next race, which Charles wasn't happy about, because it meant they would be in the Red Bull garage. His mom was overjoyed at the invitation, and Arthur accepted it because he likes to anger his brother, who, though he tried not to show it, was mildly upset.
"Are we going to watch movies?" asks Charles as he closes the door behind his family. Just as I want to answer him, my phone suddenly rings. I take it out of my pocket and, seeing Lando's name on it, quickly answer it.
"What's up?" I ask, even though I have a bad feeling, because he never calls unnecessarily.
"Can you come?" he asks quietly, but I can still hear him crying a moment ago.
"I'll be there in a minute." I say quickly, and he hangs up. "I have to go, Charles." I add, walking toward the hallway.
"I'll drive you, you can't drive."
I glance in his direction with a smile. He didn't ask, he didn't complain, just seeing my face he immediately decided to help me. I don't know what I would do without him beside me. And I do not comprehend how I could live without him. Now I can't imagine going back to an empty house where he won't be there. I have to sell mine. And so we sit at Charles' place.
After a while we get into the car and when I give Norris' address. He doesn't comment on it, just going there. We listen to music, not talking. I worry about Lando, and Charles knows he shouldn't ask anything until I tell him myself. When he stops, I kiss him quickly on the lips and leave before he can say anything. As he drives away, I go inside, obviously forgetting to knock. Someday I'll learn that, maybe.
"Lando?" I ask, entering the living room. The bedroom door is open and I notice the boy sitting on the bed under the blanket. "What happened?" I ask, entering the room. He looks at me with eyes red from crying and clenches a handkerchief in his hand.
"He doesn't want me." He whispers, clenching his jaws so as not to start crying again. "I thought it was a good time to confess my feelings, and he said he didn't want that." He explains, and tears run down his cheeks anew.
"Carlos?" I ask, to which he nods. "Lando..." I sit down on the bed, and he immediately snuggles up to me as I extend my arms toward him. "He said he didn't want it?" I ask calmly, stroking his back with my hands. My heart breaks into small pieces when I see my friend in such a state.
"Well... Not really." He mumbles into my shirt. "He said it's not a good time because he's not sure about us and doesn't know if he can put me in front of everyone." He says, trying to normalize his breathing.
"That means something else entirely, Lando..."
"Not at all." He interrupts me.
"Yes. Charles didn't know if he loved me either. I've waited far too long, knowing how he feels about me, but I respect that he needs to collect his thoughts. For Carlos, this is something new. Believe me, it's better to wait than to enter a relationship and end up with a broken heart because he finds that it's not it after all." The boy moves away, so I smile gently. He wipes his face from tears and sighs loudly.
"So what to do?" he asks tiredly.
"Now rest, and tomorrow meet with him and talk frankly. Say what you feel, say you'll wait, but ask him to try to work it out and tell you when he's ready for a relationship." I hand him a handkerchief.
"Thank you, Max." He lifts the corners of his mouth up. "Now I feel like an idiot.... I cried so much, and you changed my attitude in a matter of minutes, because it turned out that I misunderstood what he meant." He hides his face in his hands, at which I am amusedly parry with laughter.
"Come on, that's what friends are for." I take my hands away from his face. "Go to sleep." I add, standing up.
"Oh God! He wrote! What should I do!" he shouts suddenly panicked as he glances at the phone.
I raise a surprised eyebrow, looking at him as he looks at me asking for help. Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought. And I thought me and Charles were difficult beginnings," he says.
"Write back." I sit down on the bed again.
"But what? I know, you write back!" he gives me his phone.
From: Carlos
Can we talk tomorrow? I didn't mean to hurt you, Lando. I keep thinking about how you ran out of my apartment crying, and I feel terrible about how I treated you.
"Write him back, Lando." I say calmly, handing him the phone again. "What you feel."
Lando sighs resignedly and starts tapping out a reply on the keyboard. After a moment, he glances at me, and when I nod, he sends it off and throws the phone on the floor. He lies down and covers himself with the quilt.
"I don't want to see what he'll write back." he says as I look at him like he's an idiot. "Can you stay until I fall asleep?" he adds.
"I can." I smile.
We spend the next half hour talking quietly, until finally the boy falls asleep. I get up, taking his phone from the floor, and turn on his conversation with Carlos.
To: Carlos
I'm the one who misunderstood what you meant. Or at least that's what I think. We can meet at my place tomorrow and talk, because I want to clear it all up so I don't feel the way I do now.
From: Carlos
I certainly will. I'm sorry Lando. Good night, babe.
With a smile I put his phone on the bedside table. After this message, I'm almost sure it will end well. I leave the boy's house and glance at Charles' car. I texted him ten minutes ago if he could pick me up. I get into the car, and he slides over and sniffs my shirt.
"Are you cheating on me?" he crosses his arms over his chest.
"Yes, and you make me a cab to my lover." I reply seriously, to which he pouts his lips in surprise. "Lando is having a hard time." I add, and he immediately understands that I was joking.
"I've been to Carlos, so I know." he sighs. "He cried for an hour that he was going to lose it. I thought I was going to tear him apart." He adds, driving home.
"Good thing we weren't like that." I say suddenly, to which he laughs briefly.
"We were worse, baby. Maybe we didn't implicate anyone, but we were definitely worse." He says, stopping at a red light.
"Especially on the podium. Or how you screamed in the dining room that I kissed you drunk." I remind him, at which he embarrassedly wipes his face with his hands.
"Keep quiet or you'll go this time you cry to Lando that you don't have a boyfriend." He threatens me, smiling broadly.
"And who would you sleep with?"
"I'll find myself a candidate," he says.
"I'll kill him." I say seriously, and he glances at me and smiles gently.
"I know, Maxie, that's why I'll stay with you until the end."