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Max always excelled at whatever game he played. Football, basketball, baseball, hockey, board games, drinking games, you name it. He's never lost.
He's a champion. It's in his blood.
So when he heard the nerds were playing a new game he didn't know he decided to go and show those losers who's boss.
He heard Brenda and Kyle talking about the Hockey-Poker fusion. Which sounded fun to him. How did it even work? He needed to know.
For some reason, they insisted they couldn't teach him how to play.
So, he stalked through the halls of Hatchetfield High, searching for a loser, geek, dweeb, or general nerd to teach him. Once he found one he'd take them to a quieter place and make them play with him.
He made a sharp right and found just what he was looking for. Richie was alone in the hallway just using his locker. And it looked like he already had a deck of cards in his hands.
"Yo Shitlips!" He slid his arm around Richie's shoulders, keeping him close. "You think you can show me how to play that game you got?"
"W-what?" Richie stuttered.
"W-w-w-w-what?" Max mocked him. "Don't play dumb. It's right there in your hands."
Richie tilted his head in confusion. He looked at the box and back to Max. He was bright red.
"You want to play The Pocky Game? With me?" Richie sounded breathless.
"Uh duh!" Max rolled his eyes and pulled Richie along. "Now let's go!"
"Go where?" Richie squeaked.
"Somewhere private. Can't have anyone walking in on us together." Max didn't want anyone to think he didn't already know how to play.
Richie stayed silent the whole way to the football field.
Max shoved Richie under the bleachers with him. The two of them sat on the grass for a second, Max let Richie catch his breath.
"Show me, Richie." Max whispered.
The other boy seemed dazed. He made a few choked-off sounds before scrambling to open the rectangular box.
"I hope strawberry is okay." Richie laughed nervously.
"What are you talking abou-" Max was silenced by Richie shoving one end of some sort of chocolate-covered stick in his mouth.
"Alright, just hold still." Richie cupped Max's face in his hands like he was fragile, something to be loved and cherished.
Max looked into Richie's eyes and quickly realized how bad of an idea that was. Richie looked at him with such adoration it made him weak. Richie was straddling Max now and he could feel his breath on his cheek.
Richie bit onto the other end of the treat with half-lidded eyes.
"Ready?" He said through his teeth.
Max didn't know. Richie seemed to understand what his silence meant and grabbed the back of Max's head, fingers threading themselves in his hair.
He pushed Max's face closer to his own. Max bit on the sweet and Richie did too.
That seemed right.
Max took another bite, again and again, focused on eating the rest of it. Was that the objective? Eat the most?
Richie let go of Max and he instantly missed the warm touch. He looked back up at Richie and he was even closer now. Almost touching noses. Any closer and they might-
Richie's lips met his. They were kissing.
Richie ran his hands up Max's chest before cradling his cheeks again. The feeling made Max shiver. However, the kiss itself wasn't very good. Richie was clearly inexperienced with anything physical so Max decided to take charge.
Max leaned forward to deepen the kiss but hadn't anticipated Richie to be so pliant, accidentally pushing the other boy down to the ground.
Max broke away with a gasp, staring at the scene before him. Richie was panting underneath him, flushed in a shade of red Max was slowly becoming obsessed with. Richie's arms were lying by his head and his legs were wrapped around Max's waist.
"Wow," Richie said. "You look gorgeous like this."
Max's brain short-circuited.
"What?"
"The sunlight is shining through the bleachers just right and your whole body is kind of outlined in it. You look super cool." Richie turned his head, averting his gaze. "The kiss was also super cool."
Max shook his head, snapping back to reality.
"Well of course." He smiled a wolfish grin. "I'm the Jägermiester."
Richie grabbed another stick from the box and ate it.
"Too bad neither of us won huh?" Richie smiled at him with that damned look in his eyes.
Max froze. He didn't win? That just won't do. He is Jägerman. He is god. He always wins.
"We just have to keep going until I win." Max leaned down. "Good thing you've got a whole box of this stuff."
Richie laughed before grabbing Max and pulling him the rest of the way down for another kiss.
--
The football team and cheerleaders flooded the booths in Ms. Retros, waiting for someone to come take their orders. It was a tradition for them. After Friday afternoon practice, they'd all go and get milkshakes.
"I can't believe Max wasn't at practice today," Kyle said.
"I wouldn't worry babe." Brenda squeezed her boyfriend's hand.
The bell on the front door chimed. Speak of the devil.
The two quickly separated themselves, making sure there was at least a foot of room between them.
"Hey Max, what took you so... long?" Jason trailed off at the end.
The tables around them fell near silent. Max was a mess. His hair was sticking in every direction, his jacket was inside out and he generally looked like he got attacked by a bear or something.
"You good bro?" Jason asked.
"Oh yeah." Max smiled, sitting down.
"Yeah?" Kyle asked, seriously doubting he was.
"Yeah."
Max placed his elbow on the table and rested his hand in his palm.
He stared out the window dreamily.
His friends all looked at each other searching for some hidden answer to his behavior in the silent conversation they had and found none.
"Hiya kids." The waitress pulled out a pen and notepad. "Y'all want your usual chocolate shakes?"
"Actually," Max blushed. "I'm really in the mood for strawberry."