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Max falls and the seconds fall with him. Air time is incalculable as he falls through the Waylon place. The breath is stolen from his lungs as petals fly around him in a flurry. He doesn't even remember coughing as he falls.
Reality crashes back into him as he crashes against something on the first floor. He's lying against a pile of debris and when he looks to his left he sees a beam of wood pointing straight up. Fuck, he's glad he didn't land there. He groans and the pain reaches him. His leg is bent at an odd angle and his arm is bleeding a lot. There's still flowers in his mouth but when he spits them out, they're more red than black. He can't help but think he was meant to fall on that plank. That if he'd been a foot to the left, he'd be dead right now. The timer on his life was just given a few more precious hours and he thanked his lucky stars he'd survived.
Nothing like a brush with death to renew your will to live.
The nerds come running down the stairs to look at him where he's sat. They don't start panicking, seeing him still mostly fine. But Richie and Ruth look sick, and Grace looks almost disappointed. Steph's the first to get closer to him.
"Okay. Just. Don't move, yeah?" She says. She has this soft, careful, voice that sounds too much like pity.
"Yeah, I know that." He snarks back, swallowing a mouthful of flowers. Steph just rolls her eyes and looks to Pete.
"Can you call an ambulance?" Max groans and leans back against the debris. He's gonna be in so much trouble when he gets back home. He's just thankful being a legal adult means that his dad can't look at his medical records. Because the hospital are absolutely gonna find out about these fucking flowers and the last thing he needs is his dad knowing.
While they wait for the ambulance to arrive, the room falls into quiet muttering between the nerds. He can hear occasional mentions of his disease and he wants to shove them for it. Even though he doesn't know if he should. Like. They set this whole thing up for him, even if it was a prank to make him look bad, it was just for him. And it probably wasn't their fault the floor caved in when he stood on that stool thing. He just tried not to move too much while he coughed.
Richie kept coughing too, and he tried to stop himself from registering it but he couldn't and it was making him feel worse. To distract himself, he held his breath and sat up straighter, biting his tongue as his broken leg dragged along the ground with his hips. He exhaled as quietly as he could.
"Fuck." he muttered under his breath.
Eventually, the nerds scatter and Ruth approaches him. She looks slightly nervous, but his inability to move and his praise of her earlier probably put her at ease to talk to him. She sits next to him against the rubble and plays with her hands. Before she can speak, he does. "If you say one word about them, you'll spend more time in the trash than out of it, flem-wad." It lacks bite, but it makes her close her mouth. She nods, slowly.
"You know. We won't tell anyone. Nobody would believe me, Pete or Richie anyway. And Steph wouldn't unless you punched Pete again. And I don’t think anyone at school would even listen to Grace if she approached them on account of them thinking that she's gonna spout some religious bullshit at them." Max frowned as Ruth spoke. Her words were oddly comforting. He didn't think she could say much more than innuendos or going into gross details about whatever. He hummed in response and she took it as a sign to continue. She looked at him and smiled. "You've probably given multiple people the flowers, y'know? You could have just about any girl in school. And I know you're probably not into them, but there's probably a few guys too." Ruth gives him an unreadable but positive look. "I won't ask why you're hiding it. But maybe you should tell them." She gives him a pat on his good arm as she stands up. "Chances are it's returned."
What the fuck was that?
---
Thanks to Max's flowers - the doctors had given it a name, hanahaki, but that sounded stupid - he couldn't be put under for the reduction. So the area was just numbed and he was awake while his leg was fixed. He was lucky enough that his arm was just a bad cut. The medics told him that he was lucky that he'd even survived the fall.
When he was awake, he was told he was able to be discharged. He just nodded and left once he could on crutches. It strained his arm, but that was fine. It hadn't even needed stitches.
He was shocked to see the nerds - minus Grace - waiting in the lobby. A doctor was speaking to Richie, but the others rushed up and greeted him. Steph, as usual was the first to speak up.
"Do you need a ride home? I brought my car and now Grace isn't here, you'll be able to fit." She offered. Max hesitated before nodding slightly.
"Yeah… Thanks." He cleared his throat slightly from any flowers, wincing at the soft texture and metallic taste on his tongue. He swallowed and followed the rest of them to the car.
Mercifully, Steph gave him shotgun privileges, telling the nerds to get in the back. Max felt weird. They'd hung around for him, waited through the hours of surgery in the middle of the night. Nobody had done that for him before. Kyle and Jason didn't even hang around after he was sent to the nurse's office after practice injuries. But the nerds he bullied did? God he was an asshole, he was realizing. Steph stopped outside an unfamiliar house and all three nerds got out of the car.
"Good luck!" Ruth called back to him.
"Drive safe." Peter said to Steph.
Richie just waved, looking three seconds away from coughing a lung out.
Steph waved back before driving off. They hadn't even made it out the end of the road before she spoke. "You need to tell him." She didn't even look away from the road as she said it. Like she hadn't just made his jaw go slack and made him freeze like he was a child being caught doing something he shouldn't.
"I don't-"
"Yes you do. Max, I've known you since first grade. If you think I'm stupid just say it to my face." She was not giving him any shit. "I'm not blind, either. But you're gonna kill yourself if you don't say anything." Max sighed and leaned against the car door.
"I'm not telling him." He clenched his jaw, staring at the houses going past them.
Stephanie sighed, shaking her head. "You need to. Look, I know that there's a lot of issues that need to be worked out, but I don't want you to die before you get the chance to change."
This wasn't the way to his house. Max looked at her. "Where are you taking us?"
"My house. If you think you can get out of this by me taking you home, you're sorely mistaken. Dad's not home, don't worry. He's off on some trip somewhere." Max didn't think it could get much worse. "Oh, and if you suddenly get a lot of notifications, it's because I gave those nerds your number." How did she manage to make nerd sound like an endearing thing. Wait. She did what?
Max sat up, slightly regretting it when it pulled on his leg. "You did what?" Flowers rose like bile to his mouth and he choked in surprise, cupping his hand over his mouth so he could catch the offensive pink petals as they came out. Just what he needed, pink. "Did you really think that would make this-" he held the hand out with the petals to demonstrate, "any better?"
She gave him a side eye. "No. But it'll give more chance to clear the air. I don't care if I need to resort to shitty cliches to make you talk, but I can and will." She frowned, giving him a look in the rearview mirror. "Don't forget I have the likes of Ruth who will probably help me." Max rolled his eyes but conceded.
A moment passed and then Max spoke again. "What's going on with you and Spankoffski anyway? Like. Pasquali's, Steph?"
Stephanie blinked. "We don't need to talk about that."
Oh, he was definitely talking about this. She'd forced him to speak about this shit, he could repay the favour. "No. We are. You made me talk, now it's your turn. You're taking me back to your place, you can't get out of it either, Steph."
"Shut it." She warned.
He never was good at listening to warnings. "No. Can't make me." He knew he sounded like a child but that sort of happened around Steph. "I mean. Spankoffski? Really? Of all the people."
The look she gave him in the mirror immediately made him regret it. "Like you can talk." She laughed, lightly. "Richie, dude? Don't get me wrong, he's nice and all. But has no social skills." It was light as she put the car in the empty driveway, turning to look at him with a raised brow. "He unironically says shit like 'waifu'." She smiled, snorting slightly before covering her mouth and nose in surprise. Max laughed loudly. Stephanie gently swatted at his good arm before laughing herself. "It's nice to see the real you again." She said before getting out of the car.
Max struggled a little to get out as well, but Steph knew better than to offer help where he didn't ask for it. The pair walked inside and something occurred to Max.
He looked at Steph ahead of him as they made their way into the front room, where they'd inevitably stay overnight. "Wait if you've got a thing for Spankoffski, then why aren't you throwing up flowers?"
Steph sighed as she sat on the couch. "Because I know he feels the same."
Max frowned, joining her. "Are you dating, then? Cause he's not chuckin' them up either."
"No." Steph sighed and shook her head. "I'm waiting for him to ask."
Max was confused. "Why? If you know he likes you back, then just go for it?" Steph put on some movie he'd never seen before. It looked like a horror. Oh. He had seen that mask. It was Ghostface or something.
She keeps her eyes on the television as the girl on screen screams loudly. "If you think that I'm gonna ask him out, you're wrong, Max." She leans back against the couch. "He's gotta earn that shit. Returning feelings doesn't mean anything if he's not gonna walk up and ask if I wanna do something." She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at him. "Plus, I'm not taking relationship advice from you, Mr I'm-not-gonna-tell-the-nerd-I-like-him." Steph rose her eyebrows and set her lips in a thin line.
She had him there. Max slouched against the couch, letting his leg stretch out straight in front of him. "How'd you even know, Steph?"
Steph laughed. "Dude, you may not realize it, but you've had your eye on that nerd since he joined our class." She gently swat at his shoulder. "Like when you tripped him over for picking up the blue pen in third grade only to put it back like. Five seconds later because you didn't actually want it?"
Max frowned. "I don't think that was-"
"Or! Or when you spent the whole seventh grade play staring at him?" Stephanie laughed again.
Max regretted asking now. "Alright, alright."
"I'm honestly surprised - but thankful - this only happened recently." She smiled at him. "At least now, you've got the age to confront these fucking feelings." Max rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever." His phone buzzed. When he looked at it, he saw it was from a group chat titled 'Waylon Place Survivors Club'.
Im SO lonley: @max @max @ max is steph safe
Im SO lonley: pete keeps askin but doesnt wanna ask himself cos hes a PUSSY
Max blinks. He wordlessly hands the phone to Steph and watches as she responds to the chat.
max: im safe
max: its steph btw
Im SO lonley: permission to change maxs name maam
max: plz do its so boring
Im So lonley: on it
[Im SO lonley changed max's name to MAN DOWN]
MAN DOWN: wow
Im SO lonley: heheheheehehehehhe
Max was hit with that feeling again. Of being involved in something. Steph hummed and spoke.
"Quick run-down of the usernames. Since they're a lot, and they change semi-frequently. 'I'm so lonely' is Ruth, obviously. Then there's 'oh my jebus', which is Grace, Pete's 'jinkies' and Richie is 'the bird'." Max nods at her explanation. "Oh. And I'm 'who invited her anyway'."
"Got it." He said. Stephanie sent one more message before handing the phone back to Max. He looked at it.
MAN DOWN: im handin th phone back tohim behave evry1
Im SO lonley: o7 stephie
Jinkies: im sorry for what ur abt to experience max
Jinkies: ruth now has ur number
Im SO lonley: fuck off peter
Im SO lonley: im not gonna scare him off that quick
Im SO lonley: ur the onw whos all mimimimimi im so straight and mimimimimi ive had a gf beforer
Im SO lonley: its bullshit spankoffski and we know it
Jinkies: im literally bi ruth
Im SO lonley: shore shore
Oh my jebus: Peter! You're only 18, you shouldn't have had any sort of Girlfriend before!
Jinkies: mhm
Im SO lonley: grace grace guess what
Oh my jebus: What?
Im SO lonley: im planning on having premarital sex with a woman and when I get sent to hell im gonna suck off god
the bird: what have u done
Im SO lonley: >:]
Max looked at Steph who was reading over his shoulder. She smiled. A big block of text came up and then was almost immediately deleted.
[1 message from Oh my jebus was removed.]
Max blinked. Steph laughed. "Pete added something that blocks any messages that have the word heaven in them and Grace hasn't caught on yet.
Im SO lonley: HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
Jinkies: anyway back to the matter at hand
Jinkies: ruth u no im bi
Im SO lonley: I dont believe it peter! I dont
Im SO lonley: ritchie back me up
the bird: not gettin involved
the bird: some1 come here plz tho
the bird: emergency
Im SO lonley: omw 2 u
Jinkies: same
Im SO lonley: bt 1st
[Im SO lonley changed who invited her anyway's name to Jeepers]
Jinkies: ruth……….
The group chat went silent and Max turned to Steph. She was flushing at the tops of her ears. A scream on the television interrupted the silence that had built and Max coughed into his hand, petals filling it. Fuck he wanted this gone soon. But he was not about to tell Richie about it. That wasn't happening. No matter how much Stephanie wanted him to.
---
Max had managed to avoid his dad for a good few days between extended time at school and going around to Steph's after. His luck was bound to run out eventually. He thought he could make a quick trip in and leave again. But his dad was waiting for him.
"So it's true, then?" The sound of his dad sucking on his teeth was loud enough to make Max's hands clench around the handles of his crutches. "You went and got yourself injured before the big game." Stumbling, the patriarch of the Jägerman household got closer to Max. And with it, the bitter stench of alcohol got stronger. He laughed. "I bet you're not even really injured. Just wanted to fucking pussy out of actually playing the game. Don't you understand, boy? If you don't have this, you're nothing." It sounded so loud for something that had been all but whispered into Max's ear. His eyes burned a hole in the carpet. His dad snarled. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, boy."
Max directed his eyes up at his dad. But he clearly hadn't schooled his expression enough because he felt the impact before he saw it coming. It startled a cough out of him, which exposed the secret he'd been keeping for much longer than a broken leg. A red petal sat inoffensively on the floor, like it hadn't just screwed everything up.
A horrible silence settled over the two.
"Get out."
"Wait-" Max tried.
"I said get out! You fucking failure!" His dad shouted and Max turned and left the house as quickly as he could. "And don't you dare fucking come back here!"
Fuck. Fuck. He'd just been kicked out. Shit. What was he going to do?
Without thinking, he pulled up the group chat with the nerds in it.
MAN DOWN: any1 with steph
Jinkies: yh everything good?
MAN DOWN: mhm need to talk to her
Jinkies: dms
Max inhaled and exhaled, coughing as he did so. He was thankful he needed to stop walking to text otherwise the petals he exhaled would have fallen to the ground. He received a text from Peter.
Spankoffski: max?
Spankoffski: its steph everything good?
You: no just got kicked out ur like the only person I can text abt this
Spankoffski: ok uh
Spankoffski: right
Spankoffski: 1st things 1st are u ok
You: yh just a lil shaken
Spankoffski: ok gud
Spankoffski: well not gud but u no wat I mean
Spankoffski: where are u
You: just near that abndnd playground
Spankoffski: ok
Spankoffski: ill be there soon
Spankoffski: pete will be with me but only cos hes worried 2 and im not explaining anything 2 him
Spankoffski: thats up 2 u
You: ok
You: thx steph
Spankoffski: ofc
Max sat down on the bench table by the entrance with a swift exhale. He stared at the empty playground with a scratchy throat. He cleared his throat and sighed, irritation running through his veins at the petals in his hand. Just one of those stupid fuckers and he was out of a house. He rubbed his eyes and held back the need to yell. He was in public, despite the emptiness around him. He didn't want to cause a scene, there were still people around.
Footsteps approached and he expected to see Steph and Pete. But when he looked up, Richie was stood there. His own confusion was mirrored on Richie's face. He felt the flowers raise in his throat at proximity. Richie hesitated but entered the playground, sitting opposite him on the bench.
Max didn't know if it was just him but the silence felt tense. A million unsaid questions hung in the air between them. He decided he needed to break it. "Sorry for…" the message in the group chat? The bullying? Everything? Yeah. "Everything." He didn't look at Richie, watching the grass beneath them instead.
"Are you okay?" Richie asked. Max chuckled bitterly.
"My dad found out. About the broken leg. And then also these fucking flowers." He gave a look of disgust at the petals as he threw them unceremoniously at the table's top. "'s why I needed Steph." He rubbed his face. He was tired. "She's been letting me come and visit her and she said I was 'always welcome' so. I'm about to test that." It was said with a false jokey tone. Richie sighed, looking at the petals with an odd look.
"That doesn't answer me, you know?" Richie coughed slightly into his palm, curling his fist around the petals once they landed there. "I asked if you were okay."
Max looked at Richie. Confusion ran through his head. He took a moment to think. What was the point in lying at this point? Steph said he needed to talk to Richie. Well fuck her, he was gonna do it, just not about what she wanted him to. "I don't think so."
Richie met his eyes. Max felt flowers fill his throat and he swallowed them down. The last thing he needed was that. Richie looked concerned for him. Guilt swirled in Max's gut. He couldn't do this. He looked away, clearing his throat as lightly as he could.
Steph made her way into vision from where Max was sat. And at her grin, Max realized that Steph had probably mentioned something to Richie. While she was out of hearing distance, Max turned to Richie.
"Did Steph say something to you?" He asked. Richie frowned and tilted his head slightly to the side.
"All she said was that there was someone in the park by my house." Max should have expected it. He wanted to swear, kick something until his other leg broke too. Instead, he let it silently stew inside. He turned back to Steph, who was holding her keys in her hand, dangling them in the light.
He stood up, grabbing his crutches and turning to Richie. "I meant it when I was sorry for everything, by the way." He said.
Richie nods, slightly. "I know. You're a shit liar." Max smiles slightly and turns around. He doesn't catch Richie coughing as he walks off.
Max grabs Steph's keys from her hand once offered. "I'm gonna kill you in your sleep." He said to her. She just grinned.
"No you won't. You make too much noise." She said, cheerily. Pete seemed to connect some dots from behind her. Max looked at them and furrowed his brows.
"Please tell me you two got the balls to go on a date." He said. Both went pink but Stephanie hit his arm.
"Fuck off, Max." He rolled his eyes. Before walking off, he looked at Steph.
"You better delete those messages from Spankoffski's phone, by the way." She smiled at him reassuringly.
"Already done."
Max nodded and turned to head in the direction of the mayor's house.
---
Max had been given official clearance to stay at the Lauter house by Steph's dad. Well. It was less official clearance, and more of a throw away "do what you want, I don't care". He was there until the big game with little chance of leaving until he got a job. Which he couldn't do until he was able to at least walk without crutches, or get the cast off.
The entirety of Hatchetfield high was pumped for the big game. And even though the flowers in his lungs were - slowly - getting worse, Max was feeling it too. Funnily enough, the lack of his Dad's presence over his shoulder made him feel a lot better about not playing this game. It almost made him feel lighter. Like he didn't need to worry for at least a day.
The stadiums were buzzing with life and Max was going to be sat amongst the nerds. It had been an odd development but Hatchetfield High managed to just sort of accept it, albeit with a few odd looks. Somehow, it hadn't yet been found out that Max was coughing up flowers. He had a feeling that if it had, some rumours would start about who they were for. And really, the way they would find out would be thanks to people saying names until he consistently coughed at one of them. Or at least that's what he thought would happen, anyway.
Max was scrolling on his phone as he sat there, waiting to be joined by at least one other person. The group chat pinged to life, title now changed to an enthusiastic 'FUCK CLIVESDALE'.
fuck me: WILL BE THERE SOON
fuck me: JUST PIICKED UP SNACKS
fuck me: GOT HOTDOG FORR THE COCKSUCKERS
Grace had left the group chat, and mostly the nerds as a whole, alone since the Waylon Place.
Zeek: ruth please dont address the menlikers as cocksuckers
Zeek: rlly noot an image I need before the game
Zeek: wait no-
fuck me: noot
Jinkies: noot
Jeepers: noot
MAN DOWN: noot
Zeek: alright pingus calm tf down
Max coughed into his palm and pushed the flowers into the pocket of his hoodie. Right. That was another thing. He'd all but officially quit the team. He only stopped wearing the letterman a few days ago after realizing he didn't entirely care about the sport. Then again, maybe it was a little part of him that wanted to prove his dad wrong that made him want to quit. He wasn't nothing without football. The letterman still hung up inside the guest closet in the room he stayed in at the Lauter house.
Ruth ran up to him, hands somehow holding four hotdogs. He hadn't told her about the flower's recipient yet, hadn't even said he liked men slightly, so he wasn't entitled to hotdogs labelled as 'for the cocksuckers'. He was fine with that though. Ruth grinned.
"Hold that for me really quick." She said as she offloaded them onto him and took out her phone. She took a selfie of them both and sat down beside him. His phone pinged.
fuck me: [Image description: Ruth and Max in a selfie photo, hotdogs haphazardly placed in Max's hands as he looks confused and surprised at the phone. He also looks almost like a deer in headlights. His crutches lay on the seat beside him.]
fuck me: WERE HERE HURRY UP YOU GUYS
Jeepers: ruth u do no what that image implies right
Jeepers: given ur last msg
fuck me: o
Max looked at his phone. He looked to Ruth who looked really guilty. Irrational fear shot through him before he could pussy out and send the message. The ping interrupted Ruth from saying anything.
MAN DOWN: o no my secret is revealed
Ruth's gasp drew his attention. She grinned and grabbed the arm closest to her, jostling him slightly, but more pulling herself around. "I'm so proud of you!" She hugged him. Max blinked but pat her back awkwardly. He hadn't expected that.
His phone pinged in succession.
Jeepers: congrats man
Jinkies: yh congrats
Zeek: welcome to the club
fuck me: I knew we were all queers
Max felt oddly calm by the reaction. Ruth leant back in her seat. A dramatic gasp drew his attention again. He furrowed his brows. "Do you always gasp like that?"
"Yes." She grinned before hushing her voice and waiting for the eyes she'd drawn the attention of to stop looking before continuing to speak. "Are they because of who I think it's because of?" It took a moment to register what she was talking about, but once it did, he gave her a confused look all the same.
"That depends." She pointed to his pocket where the flowers were. As if on cue, he coughed. "I still don't know who." She gave him a fed up look.
"C'mon. It's not gonna be Pete, is it?" Ruth smiled knowingly and seemed like she really tried to contain herself at his hesitant nod. After a moment, she paused. "Wait please tell me I'm not the last to know."
Max held back a smile. "You're not the last to know. You're like. The third. Fourth if you include me."
Ruth groaned. "That's basically last!"
"What're you talking about?" Steph and Pete joined them, holding hands.
Ruth huffed and looked at Steph. "I was the last to find out about Max!" She whined. Steph laughed and pat her shoulder.
"It's okay. It took Pete a while, too."
Pete frowned. "Hey! You only figured it out because you've been friends since like. Forever."
Steph grinned at him. Max rolled his eyes. "And she kept me hostage in her car until I admitted it to her and myself."
"That didn't take long though, did it?" She smiled and Max huffed, rolling his eyes. He handed everyone that was there their hotdog, leaving the last on his knee.
The crowd around them grew almost restless as they waited for the pre-show. Eventually, the cheer team and mascot ran out. The crowd goes wild. Max feels his lungs fill with petals. Amidst the cheering, nobody hears him coughing a whole flower into his palm before shoving it into his pocket. He'd been close to death, this wasn't it. This was just a lot of feelings all at once and he needed to expel the flower to be rid of them.
---
They lost.
Now Max wouldn't say that they lost because of him being out of commission. But he wouldn't say that if he'd been there they wouldn't have put up so little of a fight. He bit his tongue from saying this though. The whole of Hatchetfield was low as a result of this, they'd lost to Clivesdale of all towns. Fucking Clivesdale.
He eventually managed to walk down to the main field where, off to the side, the nerds had congregated in a group while waiting for Richie to finish in the locker room. Something itched at Max's throat, and before he could realize that it wasn't any flower, he'd already spoken.
"I'm gonna tell him." He looked to the ground in immediate regret. Ruth gasped again, Steph crossed her arms, and Pete looked like he'd rather stay out of it.
"You better, now you've said it. Or I'm locking your room and you can sit on the couch." Steph said, smiling despite the very realistic threat.
Max was about to speak before Ruth grabbed his arm and shook it about. He stumbled on his crutches. "Oh shit, sorry." Max shook his head, slightly, and she continued. "But yeah. What Steph said. You gotta. Or I'll. I dunno what I will do. But I'll do something." She gave him as mean of a look from where she could. Which didn't work with how she still held both of her backpack straps and looked like he could pick her up while he was injured. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Fine. I'll actually do it, then."
"Good! I expect all of the details. Spare nothing. I mean everything." Max winced away from her slightly after the tone she took on that one.
---
Max was a brilliant procrastinator. And that's why Steph was his number one enemy right now. She'd left him and Richie alone in the car under the guise of needing something from the store really quick with the single message of 'tell me when it's done, ill mention it when I get back in if you haven't' being left in her wake on Max's phone.
Max sucked his teeth slightly before sighing. "Sorry. This is my fault."
Richie frowned. "What? Steph needing to go to the store?" Max laughed.
"Yeah, actually. And it's not because I need something." He coughed, tucking petals into his pocket again. Richie hummed. Looking at him in the rearview mirror, Max felt flowers rise to his mouth. He swallowed.
Richie coughed up his own load of petals into his hand. Max sighed. This was bound to end badly, wasn't it? "What is it, then?" Richie prompted.
Max looked away from where Richie was staring back at him in the reflection. Fuck. He needed to say this. "I can't say this. Fuck." He muttered.
Richie frowned. "Take your time, man. I'm sure Steph can walk around the store long enough for it." He then smiled reassuringly. Max inhaled and then choked, a flower falling into his palm.
Anger at himself flowed through him and he crushed the flower. "Fuck!" He almost yelled. Somehow, Richie didn't flinch. Two weeks ago, he would have. It made Max feel guilty. He should feel guilty. His hands clenched and unclenched as he filed that away to fix later. This first. Otherwise, Steph would probably bury him alive.
He considered how to reword it. He swallowed. "Do you know who you're having a coughing fit for?" Richie hummed the affirmative, coughing slightly after. Max avoided looking him in the mirror. "Well. Same. And Steph keeps trying to make me tell him because I'm gonna die if I don't. And I'm stuck between two breaking points where I risk everything, or I die because I'm not able to tell him." Max swallows another round of petals. He needs to get this out. "And even if I do tell him, I could still die because like. Who the fuck would return shit like this for me?" He laughs, bitterly. "And-" Petals rise as he gestures to the store. "And that's why Steph's even out there, right now. So I can fucking do this bullshit. And I can't even say it to your face."
Silence falls.
Nobody so much as coughs.
"You're such an idiot." Richie breaks the silence. His voice sounds clearer, not on the verge of coughing.
No.
No, not this whole-
Max looks to the side and Richie is between the front two seats, hands on the middle console. He smiles. "I'm gonna kiss you now." Richie says.
Taken aback, it's all Max can do to nod.
---
FUCK CLIVESDALE
[Jeepers changed Zeek's name to they finally]
[Jeepers changed MAN DOWN's name to kissed]
Jeepers: lets all have a round of applause for the worlds biggesrt dumbassess
fuck me: WOOOOOOOO
Jinkies: thank god
Jeepers: yes hello hi im god your welcome for locking them in my car
they finally: wtf
they finally: rlly
fuck me: DETAILS, I NEED DETAILS
kissed: what if I said no
fuck me: Maxwell I swear to everything, you better give me those details or I will personally come over to Stephanie's house and rip a small hole in every piece of clothing you own in the most inconspicuous spots so they grow and grow until your clothes are ruined and you didn't realize until it's too late.
kissed: jesus
they finally: wtf
fuck me: dont test me
kissed: ok jeez dms