Chapter Text
“Max, wait!”
You steel yourself at the slurred call of your name, turning around quickly to ask the young man if you can talk later. Chloe’s already stomping into the Vortex Club ahead of you.
“Warren, I really can’t-“
“Max, please,” he cuts you off, a pleading air to that intoxicated gaze he has on you. You fully turn your body towards his, a worried expression replacing your agitated one. Having gotten your attention, he grabs your hand to pull you over to a small garden outside the Vortex Club and you let him. You may be mad at Nathan Prescott but that doesn’t mean you’ll just ignore Warren after everything he’s done for you. And everything he is to you.
When the sound of leaves crunching beneath your feet stops and he finds his place in front of your form leant against a tree, he lets out a sigh. A breathless noise, like he’s preparing to tell you something groundbreaking. Your eyes scale him, trying to guess what unfortunate news he might have in store for you. Finally, his arm drops from behind his head where he’d been rubbing his neck, a nervous tick of his. Brown eyes meet your searching ones.
“Look,” his eyes drop to the ground, “I know you and Chloe have been getting it on lately.”
Your mind 180’s at this statement, having expected this to go a completely different direction.
“But I need to say this now…it feels- I feel like you’re about to leave. Leave Arcadia Bay…Leave me.”
Your heart breaks a little at how dejected he sounds, drunk as he is. You open your mouth to reassure him you’re going nowhere, you’re going to save Arcadia Bay! But he barrels on.
“I know you may be tired of me and my sci-fi movies, you don’t even accept my invitations anymore.”
You wince. Had you been neglecting him this entire time while hanging with Chloe? You’d barely noticed, your past Best Friend’s appearances having practically flipped your world on its axis.
“But I…all this time I’ve been so…invisible to people. No matter how close I felt to them. Except for you. You saw me. You’ve seen me for me, and I…”
His eyes flash to yours, imploring, so vulnerable. The brown of them clash with the purple lighting emanating from the club behind you.
“Max, I love you. For that,” he stumbles over his words but his eyes stay on your face. “I love your style, I-I love your hair, your pictures, your company, I love your weird jokes, especially those…” he trails off with a chuckle.
“And I understand if you don’t wanna be with me, or even if you somehow like Chloe now,” his head is lowered as he says this. And with him now looking away, you blink rapidly to ward off the watering of your eyes, a hand already covering your trembling lips.
“But I just needed you to know. I lo- woah!”
You chose that moment to rush forward and wrap your arms around him in a tight hug. Warren almost loses his balance but grounds himself, and you, before hesitantly wrapping his arms around your back.
“Warren…” you start, feeling his arms tighten around your back, head falling onto your shoulder already seeming resigned. You brace yourself too, knowing that this confession was long overdue.
“I love you too.”
He sucks in his breath, the quick sound louder near your ear. You notice the tremble of his arms that hold you close to him. You feel wetness that is seeping into your shirt. You hear his quiet sniffling.
You see him.
You always have.
And he sees you too.
You two stay there for a while, you holding him, and him holding onto you. His larger frame surrounds you in a comfortable position…that is, until he begins to get heavier.
“Warren? Are you really falling asleep right now?”
He mumbles a drawn out no, voice hushed after crying, which he’ll probably be embarrassed about in the morning. You know he needs to get into bed soon but are fully aware you’re incapable of carrying him to his dorm, so you settle for the next best thing.
Sometimes you really wished your parents lived out here. Not that you’d take him there like this-