Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Fucking hell,” Bradley cursed to himself. He  was sitting against a wall, a black eye on the right side of his face and somewhat-fresh scratches on his arms and legs from the X-Games incident. “Father’s going to be pissed.”

As if on cue, the man himself showed up, fuming. “Bradley.” He said sternly, his voice a sonic boom in the frat leader’s ears even though this was his ‘calmer’ tone. Bradley knew that when his old man sounded calm, whatever his punishment was going to be was about to be 20 times worse. “Stand. The fuck . Up.” When he didn’t stand immediately, a harsh kick to his side knocked him onto his side on the ground. Then another to his legs. “Bradley Uppercrust III, get the hell off of this pavement and look at me like a man,” he growled angrily.

Finally, Bradley stood, he wobbled and almost fell again but not before his shoulder was in a hard hold from his father’s calloused hand. “Look at me, boy.” He said, pushing him against the stone wall behind him. “I said look at me!” He bellowed, and Bradley looked at him blankly, like he was tired. “Now tell me,” his father started, “Tell me why the hell you lost? I gave you money to cheat, I gave you a chance to even be in this competition, and I gave you all of these chances - all for you to, what? Lose? ” The bigger man crossed his arms. “You are an Uppercrust . Uppercrusts do not lose , Bradley.” 

“I know, Father,” Bradley said quietly.

“Speak up. You know you’re a disappointment, yes?”

“I know, Father.” He looked down again, avoiding eye contact with his father because of how uncomfortable this whole situation was. Getting mocked by your father in public isn’t exactly very fun to do on a nice day like this, even if there wasn't anybody around to witness it.

“Good. Then you will do better.” His father said, frustrated. “You will do better, yes? Answer me, boy.”

When Bradley was about to answer, he saw a flash of a specifically red t-shirt zoom past his dad, followed by two more figures on wheels and laughter. Naturally, his eyes followed, only to see Max and his two "moron" friends, as his father called them, PJ and Bobby. He watched Max in particular, semi-focused in every one of his moves and he was perplexed at how he almost looked graceful doing the tricks he was doing, even if they were simple kickflips and ollies. Those smaller details left Bradley in a little bit of awe- wait , he thought, what? I can’t be amazed by my competition! What the hell am I thinking? As Bradley was caught up in his thoughts, he was brought right back to reality when he felt a hard punch in his abdomen, thanks to his dear old father. “Boy, I thought I told you to answer my question, no?” He grumbled, shoving the brunette against the stone wall behind him.

His father was starting to wind his fist up like he was going to hit him. Bradley shook - even if he was used to this behavior from his dear old dad, he still shook as if he was 11 years old. Here he fucking goes again , he thought as his father started to swing. But the sound of fast wheels on hot pavement got closer, and a couple of quick footsteps followed.

“Hey old man,” A familiar voice interrupted. “Get outta here,” a two-toned hand appeared on his father’s wrist, his grip visibly firm on the sleeve of his suit and keeping him from hitting his son. Bradley looked past his father’s head to see Max, of all people. He wanted to smile at the gesture, but kept it in for his own sake; he didn’t want his father to disown him for such a silly, small thing, but he never really took into account what power his father really held over him.

Another lazy sounding voice joined Max’s own. “C’mon duuude, it’s not cool to beat somebody’s ass like thaaat…” Bobby trailed, sounding on the border of high off his ass like he always did. “Give the guy a breeeak.”

PJ got in on it too. “Yeah! Come on, he didn’t do anything to you!-” He said, enthusiasm floating off of his tone as he realized who they were defending.

Bobby popped up behind PJ. “Yeeaaa- Oop .” The ginger quickly shut up and rolled backwards a couple feet on his blades. 

Bradley’s father turned around, confused and a bit more pissed off. He tried hiding it behind a smile although it was terribly obvious that he was angry. “ Well , if it’s not our little winners !” He exclaimed, holding out a hand to shake and straightening his suit to look more presentable. He turned, seeming to now ignore the quivering junior behind him. The three boys were taken aback, bewildered by the politician’s sudden switch up in demeanor. “Bradley Uppercrust II. But you, boys, can call me Junior.” He smiled brightly, like a person coming straight from a flashy commercial. 

Junior? Bradley thought to himself as his father decided to introduce himself to the boys. Nobody calls him Junior… What is he playing at? He tried to get up and off of the wall, and Max didn’t let the action go unnoticed. “Hey! He’s hurt,” He said, pushing past the stiff man and helping Bradley up. Mr. Uppercrust clenched his hand in a hard fist, and Bobby and PJ looked at each other and gulped. This probably wasn’t going to end well.

“You know ,” the old man started, “Ignoring someone’s welcoming hand is rather rude, Maximillian.” He turned, his smile now more menacing than it was ‘welcoming.’ 

“Oh shit,” Bobby whispered to PJ. “Bro pulled the government name. Homie's cooked.”

Mr. Uppercrust looked at Max helping his son, the latter holding his side. “God, I didn’t raise a fucking fa -”

BAM!  

Bobby looked at PJ in shock. He had whacked Bradley’s old man with his board! “Duuuude… we’re so beyond dead!” He said. 

“We gotta get out of here,” Max said, turning to Bradley who looked embarrassed and confused. “Brad, can you, like, walk?” He asked, seeing how Bradley was trying to stand on his own and struggling to do so. 

“God fucking forbid... Move, freshie.” He grumbled, face red of embarrassment. “I can move on my own,” The junior grabbed his board and helmet, moving to the one-lane street and dropping his board on the pavement. He looked back at the three of them, their expressions a little puzzled. His gaze flicked to his unconscious father, then back up at Max. “And it’s Brad ley to you, freshman.” He said, rolling his eyes and skating away.

PJ, Max and Bobby looked at each other in confusion. “Well, that was… something.” Max picked up his board and looked at the man on the ground, KO’d since PJ had hit him so hard with the board. 

PJ looked around. “Should we do something about him?” Bobby squinted at him, but it was unnoticeable due to his glasses. “I don’t know, bring him to the admin office or something?”

Bobby shrugged. “Dunno, bro. Max? What do you think?” He asked, moving his glasses up to rest on his forehead. “I can’t carry this big guy...”

“I don’t know. Um…” Max looked around in case anybody was coming by and could help them out. “Do we just, like, head back?” He asked the two, who were useless to the question and just shrugged. 

The street was silent and still as the warm sun heated the pavement. “I feel like we gotta, like, call somebody,” Bobby said, wrist on his forehead. “Just gotta figure out who.”

PJ got an idea. “We can call Velvet, maybe? I feel like she’d know what to do.” He beamed, happy at the thought of seeing his crush.

Max looked at his lovesick friend. “You just want to see her, you loser,” he laughed, pulling out his phone anyways and ringing the beret girl’s number. She didn’t take long to pick up the phone.

“This is Velvet,” a calm, almost sarcastic voice came through the phone’s speakers. “Who am I currently offering my time to?” she asked.

Max grinned. “Hey, Velvet!” He looked down at Bradley’s dad still on the ground. How is he still out? He thought to himself, glancing at PJ. “It’s, uh, it’s Max. Bobby, PJ and I kind of need your help.” 

“Ah, Max. How can I be of assistance, my friend?” she asked coolly, and since she was on speaker, PJ could hear her. He smiled, giddy at the sound of her voice. 

“I’ll explain the rest later,” Max chuckled, “But PJ whacked a guy with his board and none of us know what to do with him. He’s still breathing but he’s, like, unconscious.” He said sheepishly, double checking that the guy really was still breathing; and thankfully he was, because Max didn’t wanna be arrested because his friend accidentally killed a guy, even if he was a shithead.

There was a short silence on the phone line, then a sigh. “Are you kidding me?” The sound of a chair scraping was heard. “Give me ten minutes, and your location. You boys are going to be the death of me.”

PJ chuckled a little, and Bobby looked at him with a smirk as Max hung up the phone and sent the location to Velvet. “You’re down bad, bro.” 

He turned red with embarrassment. “Am not! I just… admire her a lot! She’s cool! ” the guy exclaimed, face a blazing red as he got defensive.

Max and Bobby continued to tease PJ until Velvet got there, and it didn't take her very long on her electric scooter. It was sleek and black, the handles a darker, maroon-purple color. The usually-childish vehicle surprisingly suited her. "Hello, boys."

The three of them properly greeted her, and they let her have a look at the situation at hand, Max filling her in with the details of what went down. They figured they'd just put him on a bench or something and leave him since they didn't want to have to deal with him when he would eventually come back to consciousness.

Chapter Text

Bradley put his earbuds in on his way back to the Gamma house. He didn’t really look forward to going back, to be entirely honest… After the X-Games and almost getting Tank killed from accidentally pressing the button on his controller, nobody’s spoken to him. They’d left him there when he was practically shot into space.

He wallowed in his own self pity on his board, skipping through various songs on his daylist. He got to one in particular - it wasn’t a song he listened to in its entirety before, but he had heard it all over social media. The singer’s voice rang through his ear buds, and he felt a little more at peace as he skated in silence. 

Could you tell where my head was at when you found me? Me & you went to hell and back just to find peace
Man, I thought I had everything, I was lonely

The lines made Bradley think of Max, made him think of when he saw him skating down the street on one of the first days of the school year with his friends. He shook his head a little, trying to get the images of Max out of his head.

Now you're my everything, I was lonely

A few moments passed, Bradley enjoying the chill, slow vibe that the song brought. 

I could tell where your head was at when I found you
You know I fixed things that are broken 'til I was bound to
Fake your smile, before me, you didn't know how to
Oh, but I'm here now, baby
Know life been lifin' lately, so I save you if you save me
I was over love, thought I had enough, then I found you

Random thoughts of and about Max Goof appeared in his head -- from the light spots and patches on his face and hands, to his snake bites and septum, to the way he covered his mouth when he laughed like his dad. Everything about Max that Bradley had ever noticed, from the moment he saw him up to this point, was popping up in his head like notifications on a website. Damn, I need to get it together, he thought to himself as he reached the Gamma house, the lawn silent and the shadow of the large frat house felt heavy and looming, the feeling of being back here brought an unpleasant feeling to the pit of Bradley’s stomach, but he walked to the front door and unlocked it anyways, bee-lining straight to his bedroom on the second floor.

He let his door close, leaving his skateboard on the hooks on the backside of his door. He had his own bathroom--everyone in the house did, with the exception of those who took residence on the first floor of the building--and he took a long shower, happy to finally clean his cuts and bruises from earlier in the day. 27 minutes later he emerged from the shower, clean and not as overwhelmed as earlier as he checked out his black eye in the mirror. He would need to ice that later; maybe he'd do it when either everyone leaves or nobody's awake. He quickly got dressed - he had no plans of going out today anyways, so it was simple gray sweatpants and no shirt because it was getting pretty warm and although there was a lot of funding going towards the Gamma Mu Mu fraternity, the A/C was absolute shit. He opened his window to let some or really any form of wind into his bedroom, but to no avail, so he gave up on that and closed the window again, deciding to just turn on the small fan on his desk.

Bradley still had an essay due in the next week, and he didn't want to do it but he knew that if he was getting dogged on like this just for his athletics, then he'd be totally and utterly screwed if his grades dropped even by a 0.5%. One little slip up and he was done for, so he figured he would just get the assignment over with, pulling his laptop from his bag which was put on the wall with a hook (he hated things on his floor - it made him look and feel dirty... and kind of poor. he was rich, so he needed to 'act the part,' as his ever-controlling father had once said to him as a child) and putting his notes on his desk neatly. He sat down, ready to get to work as he heard sudden laughs and more chatter from downstairs. He didn't mind it until he heard a knock at his door.

Bradley looked up from his laptop in confusion. Who wanted to talk to him right now, in this house, after everything he's done? He was a little taken aback, opening the door to see Max Goof himself, smiling with his snakebites shining a little more. "Hey-" He held the door open for about five seconds, and shut it just as Max began to speak. A good, solid minute passed by, and Bradley opened the door again. Thankfully, Max was still there and looked like he was about to knock again. "Hi," Max smiled. "Can I come in?"

"What are you doing here, Max?" Bradley let him in, stepping to the side as Max walked in. "Come to ridicule me more?" He asked with sarcasm, rolling his eyes.

Max shook his head. "Ah... no. I actually came here 'cause, uh," He looked at the still-open door, stepping to close it. "I-I wanted to see how you were doing. You know... after you left I didn't really know what to do with the other guy." He said with a little bit of bashfulness to his tone. "Is he your dad or something? Y'all have the same last name."

Bradley was silent and stood away from the door, walking back to his desk and just sitting on the chair, turning to face Max. "Oh. Him. Right." He muttered, remembering that the main reason he was able to book it back to the house in the first place was because of Max and his little freshman buddies. "He is my father. I don't... I don't talk to him often. He was just, er..." Bradley struggled to come up with an excuse. "helping me out. He gave me some of his advice. That was all," He said.

Max didn't seem to care all that much about the excuses though. "Giving you advice doesn't usually involve beating you while you're still on the ground, you know that, right?" He asked, concern and worry in his tone. Why are you even talking to me, Goof? What's in this for you?

"What would you know about giving advice?" Bradley snapped. He didn't need the Goof's consolation right now, but he still let him stay - he didn't know why, but the mere presence of the other gave him a slight sense of peace in his chest. "The only thing your father does is embarrass you."

Max looked to the side, then back at Bradley. "Sure, my dad's pretty weird. But that doesn't mean he's not good at giving advice." The boy walked to where Bradley was and settled on the edge of the bed. "You wanna know what he told me one time, Brad?" The brunette grimaced at the unwanted nickname, but nodded. "He told me that people like you," Max pointed, "Bullies, like you, usually have a reason for being so prickly and stingy towards other people, even if they're tryna help them out." 

Bradley sighed, staring at the wall across from him. "Right, right," he grumbled, "and let's say that he was right -- maybe I'm just too prickly and stingy that others stay somewhat far away from me." He continued his moody speech, and turned to meet Max's eyes. God, he could probably stare for a long time, but this wasn't the situation to do so. "Let's also say that you're the one trying to help. What would you," he gestured to Max's whole self with a simple wave of his hand, "a nobody, do to help me? How would you go about my situation?" Bradley's voice cracked a little bit. "Would you give up entirely, Goof? Like everyone else has?" Bradley quickly looked down, not wanting to embarrass himself further by crying. Uppercrusts don't cry, boy. Crying is for little f- No. He couldn't be thinking like that anymore; his dad was probably on his way back home. He didn't need to let his unhappy memories fog up his mind any further.

Somethin' tells me that this isn't just hypothetical, Max thought to himself as he listened to Bradley's monologue. "Well..." He tried to think of something - what would he do, actually? He supposed he could leave Brad alone -- that would be the easiest on himself and his friends as they weren't in the best of places with the junior, but wouldn't he just become more self destructive? What if his father came back and did something worse and nobody was there to get him out of the ditch that his father would inevitably leave him in? He didn't know Bradley well, Max could at least conclude that. But he wanted to help nonetheless. "First off, I'd try to find the root of the problem..." Hesitation in his tone, he spoke carefully. "which to me, seems like it's your old man. But he's probably your sole provider right now, isn't he?" Bradley stayed silent, confirming the noirette's suspicions. "So... is there any way we could, like, I don't know - find a way to talk to him without making him angry?" He asked. 

Still no sound from Bradley. Max's eyebrows furrowed. "You know, if you want help, you need to talk to me. There's a little thing called communication, and it's kind of important here."

Bradley scowled like an emo teenager. Max chuckled, "Hey. I'm kidding; you don't need to spill all your secrets to me if you're uncomfortable. I'm just trying to help get you out of your slump." He was met by Bradley wiping his eyes and muttering something incoherent. "What was that? I couldn't really hear you, man."

A pair of eyes were rolled and Bradley turned to Max but didn't look him in the eyes. "My father is mad at me most of the time, so why try to help me?" He asked, slightly louder. "It's not like you talking to him is going to change anything that that man thinks of me, nor will it repair the relationship between him and I. I'll always be a disappointment in his view." Bradley sniffed, and wiped his eyes again with the back of his wrist.

Max frowned at Bradley downgrading himself like this. "Well, I mean," Max grabbed the arm of the chair and rolled it towards where he was sitting, to Bradley's dismay. "Maybe we can't change his opinion on you. But when will his opinion really matter?" He asked, tossing an arm over the brunette's shoulders. "All he's provided you with was money, Brad. All of this," Max gestured to the room, "all of your accomplishments were because you worked just as hard to get to this point; you just had a little bit of a financial boost." 

Bradley groaned at the Goof's use of his shortened name again. "Yeah, maybe. But I can't help but think," He pulled his knees up to his chest. "What if I didn't have the luxury of having a wealthy family? Would I have ever gotten to this point?" He asked Max earnestly, now comfortable with being a little vulnerable with the freshman. "I'm just... I'm so sick of my old man getting on my back." He sighed.

Max chuckled warmly. "I can kind of relate to that," He smiled softly, and Bradley was lucky enough to catch it. "My dad gets on me all the time. It's not for the same reasons, but he can get kind of overbearing."

"I'm pretty sure the entire campus knows that your dad's a bit overbearing," Bradley said, finally making eye contact again. God, he's so- No. Bradley, you can't think like that... Father would be infuriated. Don't. Think. About him. He frowned. "But at least your dad is proud of you -- he knows you do your best and he cares." Bradley looked to the side again. Max noticed how the junior couldn't hold eye contact for very long, but didn't press; perhaps he was just being moody. He was absolutely allowed to, especially after what had happened today.

Max nodded. "Yeah, he does. There was this one time-" Max was about to ramble on about something that had happened during middle school, but stopped himself. "Actually, nevermind. I'm here for you, not to rub different experiences in your issues." He apologized and brought back his arm from Bradley's back. "Sorry, er, I didn't mean to start yapping."

A small chuckle emitted from the brunette, shaking his head. "No, no. It's totally fine. It gives me a distraction." Speaking of... Bradley thought to himself, what time is it? He realized then that the sun was almost set, the lighting in the room was a nice, orangey-yellow color. He checked his watch -- 7:43 pm. He and the noirette had been having a deep talk for two and a half hours. It was crazy how quickly time passed by with the freshie.

Max decided to take a peek at Bradley's watch from over his shoulder, not realizing how close their faces were when Bradley looked up at him. They made eye contact and both had turned bright red, Bradley scooting back and rolling his chair back to his desk, Max leaning back on his left hand and covering the majority of his lower face with his right arm. "I.. I think you should probably go," Bradley said after a couple of moments of awkward, tensed silence. "It's going to get late soon."

Max brought his arm down and cleared his throat, standing up. "Er- yeah. Probably. I'll see you in calculus?" He smiled sheepishly. The brunette looked up at him, returning a small turn of his lips and nodded. 

"Yeah, I'll see you there." With that, he watched Max leave his room and shut the door behind him as he exited. As soon as he left, Bradley turned back to his bed, face a burning crimson and his mind a giddy mess. "I'm so screwed," He whispered, covering his smiling face with his hands.

Little did he know, Max was doing just the same as he skated home on his own.

Chapter Text

Max reached the dorm he shared with Bobby and PJ rather quickly, despite the Gamma house being on the other side of the university's campus. He opened the door and saw his friends playing video games on their TV -- Velvet was sitting at PJ's desk, writing things down in a small notebook, probably lines for her next performance at the Bean Scene. She looked up when Max walked in and waved. "Hey," she smiled. "How was it?"

"Fine, I guess," He said. "He's actually... kind of cool." If PJ and Bobby weren't paying attention then, they were definitely paying attention now. Bobby's jaw looked like it dropped to the floor, and PJ was just confused. Max held up his hands. "Hear me out! He's nice if, like, you get him alone and sad, I guess. Like," he ran his hand through his hair and struggled to describe how his view of Bradley had changed quite a bit when he went over to the frat house. "I don't know. He was being nice to me; genuinely nice to me." 

PJ chuckled at this. "Nice? Bradley?" He raised a brow. "If Bradley's nice, then my room's gonna look the same when I get home for Christmas." His comment was met with an eye-roll from Max and Bobby laughed. "Look, Max, Bradley Uppercrust doesn't do nice, we already established that the moment he walked up to you at the Bean Scene," he shrugged.

“Yeah, but-“ Max continued, determined to convince his friends to change their minds about the junior. “-He’s not really an asshole anymore, if that makes any sense,” he said, moving up to his bunk and taking off his big tee, tossing it into his section of the hamper that Velvet forced the boys to buy because along with Goofy, she too was sick of their constant mess and chaos. “I don’t know how to describe it. He’s changed; and I don’t mean in a bad way, like, he seems like he actually improved as a person after the X-Games.”

Bobby snorted. “He probably wants to save face after everybody caught him cheating throughout the entire competition.” PJ nodded, but Velvet shook her head, looking at the two with very slight disappointment. She flicked the back of their heads.

”Shut up and let Max talk, boys. We’re supposed to be what?” she asked them. Max knew what she was doing since at some point she had flicked the back of his head as well when they were hanging out.

”Supportive friends…” the two mumbled. The noirette chuckled from his bunk. Bobby flipped him off with a grin, and PJ rolled his eyes — so much for hearing him out, but Max was going to start yapping about Bradley anyways, so it didn’t really matter in the end.

“Anyways,” Max continued, “I went over to the frat house, no fucking duh, and there were hella guys that I’ve never met, so I figured they were just new Gamma members since most people left after the X-Games disaster. I went up to his room and like, his hair was wet, which I didn’t really know what to think because it was lowkey distracting me.” A very faint blush appeared across Max's cheeks -- the small detail flew right under PJ's and Bobby's noses but Velvet had caught it. Velvet looked at him knowingly and he shook his head with a chuckle, making a mental note to ask him about that later, but for now let him continue speaking. “Also, he let me into his room which I didn’t even know that he actually let people in there. It was very, eh, awkward, to say the least about it." 

Max informed the others of what happened that afternoon in the junior's bedroom, but left out the part where they were kissing-distance away from each other. "I want to help him, but I don't know why or how." He muttered into his palm, looking out the window to the street below, various students walking past their dorm building. "I know he and I have calculus together, but we sit in different spots and I never really get a chance to interact with him before and after the class," the noirette groaned.

He was going to continue, then Bobby's phone rang. "Hol' up, Max. Somebody's callin' me." He took his phone out of his pocket and checked the caller ID - Tank. He picked up the call, slightly confused as to why he'd call. "Taaaaank, my man! What's up?" Bobby put the call on speaker, so that everyone could hear.

"Hey baby! The boys and I are throwin' a sweet party tonight. Was wondering whether you guys wanted to come along with us. It's tonight at 10." Tank said coolly. "We were hoping to see you guys tonight!"

Bobby looked around. "Do y'all wanna go? I know it was s'posed to be a night in-"

"I'm in." Max interrupted. "Maybe he'll be there," he whispered. Bobby nodded and looked at the other two. Velvet nodded and PJ put his thumbs up with a smile.

"We'll go, Tank!" Bobby said happily, and Tank chuckled from the other side of the line.

"Sweet! Sorry it's kinda last minute, but everybody's getting invited, so we'll see you all there, sweetheart!" The group bid their goodbyes to the big guy and hung up the phone. 

PJ chuckled. "I guess we're going to that party tonight." He got up off the floor and went to his part of the dresser cabinets, grabbing a cleaner shirt (his had some grease stains from the pizza) and wiping off his face with the dirty one. Velvet snuck a peek but looked away pretty quick. PJ looked at the group. "Well? Are you guys just gonna go in those clothes?" He asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Immediately everybody started getting ready, Velvet staying in her clothes because she drove here and didn't feel like going all the way back to her dorm currently, since it was two buildings away and on a higher floor. "I can drive us, I just need to head back to my place," she said before turning her attention back to her notebook while everybody changed.

+x+

PJ walked Velvet up to her dorm while Max and Bobby stayed in the backseat of her car. 

The redhead turned to Max. “What’s up with you?” he asked, his tone calm and question genuine. “You were so adamant on hating the guy, and now you’re obsessed with him. Did somethin’ happen?” 

Max itched the back of his forearm. “Er.. no? I’m just checking in on him like a good classmate…” he trailed, moving to scratch a little at his elbow.

”Bullshit!” Bobby smirked. “Something did happen! Spill it now, daddy-o.”

The Goof turned red and sighed. “Fine. But this doesn’t get out to anyone. Not even PJ and Velvet,” he warned, and Bobby rolled his eyes but agreed as he sat facing Max. “Bradley and I might’ve almost kissed.” Bobby’s jaw dropped and Max got flustered all over again. “The keyword here is almost! I-we- augh- he was checking the time earlier on his watch and I looked over his shoulder and then he looked up and suddenly his face was, like, right next to mine and I kind of panicked, so I left.”

Bobby stared at him like he was stupid. “No wonder you’ve been so weird and awkward! You like him, don’t you?” He asked with a smirk. “You like Bradley Uppercrust the Third!”

Max’s cheeks brightened in color. “Shut up! Anybody could hear you!” He whisper yelled at Bobby, who was already chuckling. 

“Uh, actually, anyone could hear you too.” A voice came up behind Max.

Max whipped his head around to see — surprise, surprise! — Bradley himself. He jumped so hard he almost fell out of the seat, but he was still buckled so it just looked like he had a mini heart attack. “HOLY SHIT! Bradley- Uh…” Max tried to compose himself. “Hi. What- What are you doing here?” He chuckled awkwardly. Fuck! Did he hear what we were talking about?

Bradley looked at the two, confused. “Was I… interrupting something here?” He asked, crossing his arms and raising a brow. 

“Nothing, prep boy. Just two dudes talkin’.” Bobby grinned uneasily wide. 

Max side-eyed Bobby, giving him a “you are DEAD later” sort of look. Then he turned to Bradley with an awkward smile. "We're good here... nothing interrupted," he muttered.

"...Okay..." Bradley said with a slight confused curve to his tone. He brushed it off quickly. "Anyways... What are you two doing in front of a random dorm building? In the back of a car? It doesn't look like yours." He asked, suspicion in his voice. It looked... weird to him. Unnatural, almost. But he shook his head quickly. It's 2024 -- homophobia wasn't cool and everyone was well aware of it by now.

Bobby and Max looked at each other, and then at Bradley. "It's Velvet's car. We were just talking. Waiting for her and PJ to come back," Max said. "They should be back soon."

And as soon as he said that, like magic PJ and Velvet had just walked out of the building together - PJ holding the door for her like a gentleman. Bobby pointed in their direction with his thumb. "They're back," he smiled.

The duo walking towards the car waved and as soon as they spotted Bradley, the two had different reactions. PJ looked confused and slightly agitated, but Velvet cracked a smile at Max, flicking her gaze from one to the other and nodded. They got into the car after their respective greetings to the uptight brunette. 

They all fell awkwardly silent -- the atmosphere around the small group felt a little heavy. "So," Velvet started to break the tension in the air and Max felt like he could breathe a little easier. "We should get going to that party." Max glanced up at Bradley for a moment to see his reaction.

"You're all going tonight?" Bradley asked. Velvet nodded. He didn't seem bummed out at all -- he actually looked slightly relieved. Relaxed, even. "There's lots of people attending tonight -- I heard there were even some students from other schools." Was he not invited? thought Max. It made enough sense, though; he had made the X-Games a living hell and almost got his friend killed. Missing one party surely wouldn't do a lot to him or his ego.

It did.

+x+

Music playing faintly from inside of the house. Small puffs of smoke in the air. Loud, slurred words and lots of footsteps. Even from outside, anyone could tell that it was packed with people there. The group pulled up to the Gamma house -- people already fuckface drunk and someone was vomiting in a bush. Max glanced around at everyone in the car. "You guys ready?" He asked.

Bobby grinned, holding up a small tin of what Max could only assume was weed; he'd been growing it in the dorm, and now made bits of money off of stressed college students. "Ready as I'll ever be, M-dog." 

They got out of the car and walked over to the actual house itself rather quickly - Velvet decided it would be a bit safer to park down the street rather than in front of the house like most people did, since the boys were now pretty well known around campus. They walked in and were immediately met with loud, blaring music, conversations from every direction, and lots of people were saying hello to Max and his friends. They all agreed to attempt to stay together in this sweaty, overheated environment full of hormonal college students. 

That plan went to shit pretty quick though.

Suddenly, Max was alone. Well- not alone, but he couldn't find his friends. He hoped Velvet and PJ had stuck together though; they all knew how some people like to get really handsy when young women like Velvet were around. Bobby could handle himself -- being comfortably and openly selling weed , he'd probably be acquainted with, or at least introduced to, around a third of the people here tonight. But nevertheless, Max was on his own out here. He was more on the average-side when it came to his height and he was pretty easy to just pick up, so he was on high alert for most of the night. At least, he was until he found the alcohol table.

Empty red cup in hand, he poured himself something from a red bottle -- it looked expensive. Way too nice for a shitty house party like this. But the Gamma Mu Mu fraternity was the most sponsored frat on campus; how could they not have nice alcohol at a not-so-nice event? Either way, he drank the alcohol, feeling the burn in the back of his throat. It felt a little freeing. So he drank a little more. And a little more. Until he was stumbling against a wall.

He was so drunk he hadn't realized the figure beside him. He was now in a more secluded part of the house; there weren't many people, maybe a good handful, but they were all dispersed pretty far from each other. So he was still alone. Except for the person next to him. He looked to his side -- it was some older guy, maybe a year or two above him. They were quiet together for a good while.

Then the guy spoke. "So..." He started as he took a sip from his own cup, "You're Max Goof, right? The X-Games guy from this year?"

Max nodded. "That's me," He also took a sip.

"Pretty cool how you beat Bradley on live TV," He said. He turned to face Max on the wall. "I'm Jackson."

"I'd introduce myself, but you know who I am," Max replied. "Not to sound cocky or something. Sorry." 

Jackson shook his head. "All good, man," He turned again and his back was flat on the wall. "Say," He started, glancing at Max and staring him up and down. Almost as if he was sizing him up. "You wanna go somewhere with me? We could have some fun away from the main party," Jackson bit his lip a little.

Max looked up at Jackson, a little dazed. Why shouldn't he go? He didn't have anything important to do- oh, shit! He was supposed to find Bradley! He completely forgot. "Sorry, but I need to go." He needed to shut this guy down now and quick. "Gotta, you know, go and find my friends-"

Jackson grabbed his wrist. "Nah... Your friends will be fine without you," he muttered, swiping his tongue along his bottom lip. "You can stay with me, shortstack..." Suddenly, Max was against the wall and trapped by Jackson's big body, his lips on Max's neck. "You look so nice," he mumbled.

Max wouldn't stop moving until he got out of the big guy's hold. "L-Let go of me, you creep!" He tried and tried to shove Jackson off of him; and to no avail. "Stop! Hey! Someone help!" He cried out for someone to rescue him. Wheren't there other people around here? He asked himself, continuing to struggle against his assailant. "Someone help me!" Where was everybody??

A low, descending laugh escaped Jackson's throat. "Oh, nobody's coming for you in here. The music's too loud, hear it?" He held a hand up to cup Max's face, then to cup his ear so he could 'hear better,' despite the music being easily heard. It wasn't like they were too far from the main crowd. "It's just you and I! Isn't that great?" He asked.

Max glared. "No! I didn't ask for this! Get off of me!" He yelled at Jackson, which only seemed to turn him on further. "Stop touching me like that! I don't want this!" He pushed and pushed against the other's large build but Jackson didn't budge. Like... at all. "Stop!"

He was starting to get tired. Max was doing his best to fight back against the unwanted touches of Jackson's hands and lips but it wasn't doing much, until he got an idea. Which was hard to come by since he was so focused on trying to escape this terrible situation and go find Bradley like he had originally intended to do. With Jackson still kissing his neck and the sides of his face, Max took a deep, shaking breath and kicked as hard as he could into Jackson's abdomen. The taller had stumbled back by a couple of feet, leaving just enough room for Max to take a run for it, to make as much space as he possibly could between himself and Jackson. He heard angry yelling behind him and loud slurs but continued to sprint across the house and up the stairs just to make sure he was on his own. He sat on the top of the stairs and leaned his head against the wooden railing on the frat house's staircase, his breath heavy, mind and heart racing. "God fucking damn," he muttered on his own, "What the hell- Shit. Fuck, fuck fuck." He held his head in his hands; he had no idea how to process this. He'd never been touched like that -- nor did he have any interest in it. He thought he'd made that crystal clear with Jackson but obviously he didn't care about Max's boundaries. "Can't trust anyone for shit," He muttered.

Max felt the quiet presence of someone next to him even though the music was still blaring from downstairs. "Are you okay, Max?" a familiar voice asked. He turned -- Bradley? He knew he was gonna be here since his room was just down the hall. But why was he sitting next to Max? "You seem like you've had an unpleasant night so far."

He nodded. "Pretty shit night, yeah," Max turned back to mess with a few of the keychains he had on one of his belt loops; a hello kitty keychain from his step-mom, Mrs. Marpole, and a few clicky keyboard ones for his ADHD. He started to click one of them. "Some dude got real handsy with me earlier when I was trying to find you, actually." 

"What the hell?" He asked. Max nodded. "I'm sorry that happened to you," Clicks, clicks, more clicks. Then Bradley looked at him funny. "Wait. You were looking for me? I thought you came here just because you got invited and wanted to show off a bit," He muttered. More clicks from Max's keychain. "I would've told you I was in my room, probably."

"You would've?" Max asked. More clicks. "I was kind of wandering around and hoping you'd pop up somewhere," he muttered. "You didn't, so I figured I'd give up. Then I ran into that Jackson asshole."

All of the color in Bradley's face disappeared. "I- Jackson? What did he look like?" he asked. Max gave him a fairly detailed description of him and Bradley let out a breath. "I am so sorry. I- I don't even know how he got in. I'm sure they had bouncers out front."

"They didn't." Max said. "Just a lot of drunk people outside. And apparently, inside too."

Bradley shook his head. "That explains it then," he mumbled. "They never listened to me anyways."

Max brought a hand to Bradley's shoulder. "Are you shitting me right now?" he asked. "You were always their little ring leader. They followed you, listened to your directions, did a lot of stuff for you, dude."

"Yeah. But they were pretty great until I fucked everything up," he chuckled, but it didn't feel right to Max. "I always fuck things up. I-I can't get anything right." Bradley looked at him with a sad smile -- and Max patted his shoulder. 

Max hummed. "Hey, you have so many accomplishments. Your X-Games streak, for example. That's pretty freaking sick, don't you think?" Bradley nodded with that smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and left that conversation at that, keeping quiet for a couple of moments before switching the subject to something Max couldn't really remember.

They talked throughout the night as they people-watched from the top of the stair case. 

Chapter Text

It had been around two months or so after that party that Thanksgiving break rolled around. Bradley looked through his planner (because he is an organized person by nature) and groaned when he read the words "Stay Home" on the first part of the break. Damn you and your politics, you geezer, Bradley thought to himself as he shut the small book and stuffed it into his bag with irritated mutters. "Old fuckin'...shit-ass man..." he mumbled as he laid on his bed, face in the pillow.

BRRRRRRING~! BRRRRRING~! 

His phone started to ring and he looked at the caller ID -- "Goof" with a gray background and a white G in the middle of the photo. Max, his newly unspoken companion. It wasn't like they had any photos together to put as his contact photo or poster in his phone. Click!"This is Bradley." 

A groan was heard from the other side of the line. "God, Brad, you sound so professional. Are you just not a sarcasm sort of dude, or....??" Max asked teasingly. 

"Shut up, Goof. And it's Bradley. Get it right." 

"Erm, ackshually, it's bradLEY," Max mocked. "Whatever, CEO."

"Shut the fuck up, ha-ha," Bradley teased. "Hello, hey, buenos dìas. I greeted you like a regular person, are you happy?" He rolled his eyes, but obviously the noirette couldn't see him through the screen. He turned to lay on his side, staring at the blank wall.

A smooth laugh came from the phone speaker, the sound ending with a small "hyuck!" and the immediate clap over the mouth. "I'm very happy with that," Max said.

"Good." Bradley hummed. "Anyways, what's with the call? I have to go soon."

Max sighed. "Can't a guy call up his buddy? Was wondering if you'd wanna come over. Nobody's home tonight, and I'm all alone ..." he muttered, his tone changing.

"You're not going home for the break?"

"I would, but my parents are gonna be going somewhere else. Dad said he'd bring me along but at this point I don't have the energy to go nowhere," Max said. "Why? Are you leaving too?"

Bradley thought back to the big "STAY HOME" written in his planner where the break schedule was. Fuck it. My dad can go one week without me. "...Nope."

"Awesome! So, come over at 8? Bring snacks."

Bradley smiled just the tiniest bit. "7:30."

"See you, CEO."

"Bye, Goof."

+ X +

6:00 pm rolled around, and Bradley had set an alarm for when he needed to get ready to go over to Max's. That alarm had a follow-up that Bradley wasn't prepared for; a text from his father. So, coming home like I told you? it read. Bradley felt a shiver go up his spine as he got ready to take a shower. He figured not answering would send a message to the old fuck he was supposed to call his father. Bradley stepped into the shower and thought of him, and then of Max. Someone needs to get that idiot out of my head, really, he thought to himself. Why am I so infatuated with him? We've talked twice. It's not like he's even that important anyways... 

He stepped out of the shower about 20 minutes later, wrapping a towel around his waist and starting to do his nighttime routine, thoughts intact. He checked his phone -- no further texts. "Looks like dear old Dad's gotten my message," he muttered, the phone dinging with a new notification. He looked again -- a message from his father. "Spoke too soon." Sighing, he picked up the phone and looked at the text. He looked into his reflection in the mirror -- he had time before his skincare set... might as well get this over with.

FATHER
No answer? OK. Cutting off money now.

BRADLEY
What answer do you expect from me?

FATHER
There it is.
Money is always the easiest way to get your attention, always has been.

BRADLEY
That's what happens when money is all I have.

FATHER
You have the business.

BRADLEY
No I do not. You had the business.
I had the money you would give me in place of your presence.
Why should I do anything you say? I have no motive to listen to you anymore.

FATHER
I am your father. You should always listen to me.

BRADLEY
That's exactly my point though? I had a father.
What I needed was a dad.

FATHER
There is no such difference, you stupid boy. 
What would you know about having a father versus a dad? What do you even know about what you need? 
I am here in your best interest, I decide everything for you in your best interest, for your successful career after your education.
What more is there to ask for? Because frankly, a "dad" is the last thing you need if you want to work on top, Bradley. It makes you weak.
This is why you fail. This is why you will get absolutely fucking nowhere.
You're too hung up on emotional connections.
Get over it. 

BRADLEY
This is why I'm not coming home. I don't care if you cut me off, Father.
I don't want to be associated with you if you can't even care about another person.
My best interest? Do you ever think?
That is YOUR best interest; having a son you can boast about at your goddamn yacht parties.
Having someone to show off like prized livestock.
Having someone to control at all times.
And who better to completely control than your son, who doesn't know better than to be manipulated by his own father?
You never had my best interest at any point. All you ever do is think about yourself.
That's why Mom fucking left -- you're a selfish, controlling asshole that can't even put his son at a top priority.
Don't you get it? Everyone will fucking leave you. It took me this long to realize it, so I doubt you'll ever see how wrong you are.
Goodbye. Don't message me again.

---

Bradley turned off his phone, wiping his eyes of any tears. When did those even get there? He looked at himself in the mirror, and sighed. "Maybe I'll finally get to take a break now," he mumbled, plugging in the blow-dryer and turning it on, feeling the warm air flow through his hair and brush against his scalp. He felt himself calm down at the feeling, the sensation of the warm air on his skin help him regulate his emotions after those few texts, which his father only left on read. Maybe I shouldn't have brought up Mama, he thought to himself as he styled his hair and left the bathroom to change into a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a crew neck sweater.

Chapter Text

Hello (I say to my small audience) !! Chapter 4 (the one I just posted) may be the last chapter I write for this story. It's been.. rather long since I last updated here, and I was hoping I'd get over my writing slump sooner but I don't think I'll come back to it any time soon. Obviously -- I'll keep writing and posting on here, but it's less likely to be an update on GLU.

For those in my previous chapters who wanted to see more of these goofballs, IM SORRYYYYY I SWEAR ILY !!!!!!

I started this story sometime during my freshman year of high school... barely updated during my sophomore year... and I'm now a junior... so I just wanted to be honest and straightforward and say that I've been having a really bad burnout period. Thank you everyone, for enjoying this short almost-love story, and maybe I'll see you around AO3 <3