Chapter Text
Max had prepared himself to deal with quite a lot of people the moment he had applied for college. He thought about it even more when he was accepted and enrolled. He was prepared for those who would not take notice of him, he was prepared for those who thought of him as a lower individual, and he even prepared for the snide remark every once in a while.
But out of all the things he had expected, he was not prepared for Bradley.
Bradley was an interesting kid, that was the nicest way Max could describe him. He had a sort of swagger with the way he carried himself. He believed that he deserved the status he had which was purely based on luck regarding his upbringing. He was passionate to a fault, and he viewed anyone around him as competition or a stepping stone.
Usually Max wouldn’t mind this. Sure he would never care for Bradley, but his personal flaws weren’t Max’s problem.
Until they were.
When Bradley failed to recruit Max, something sparked within Bradley’s brain, causing an almost obsessive aura to follow Max whenever Bradley was around. Max was not a fan of this whatsoever.
Not to say that he felt uncomfortable, or off put. It was more so simply a minor inconvenience in his day. If you dug down in the deepest depths of Max’s brain, you’d find out that honestly? Most interactions with Bradley were exhilarating in a way Max couldn’t explain. It was a physical reaction in his body where his heart would beat out of its chest, as if he were going on a joy ride with each quip. It was exciting in a way he’d never experienced before.
Which often led him to feeding into Bradley’s attempts at starting arguments. With every poke and prod on Bradley’s part, he’d receive equal ways of snarky remarks on Max’s part. Although, their arguing never seemed to reach a crescendo. It usually ended with Max walking away or, on particularly bad days, one of their respective friend groups had to pull someone away from the other.
Until,
Max was having a bad day. He’d gotten a bad grade on his exam and now he was in line to order from the local fast food joint, sulking about his flunked grade. Bradley was behind him, as he always seems to show up in the same place as him, but Bradley was remarkably quiet, no friends in sight. It was almost relieving to Max, as he was not mentally prepared to have a pissing match right now.
“Alright, that’ll be ten eighty-five!”
The cashier spoke with a chipper tone, dragging out the ‘a’ sound as she spoke. In Max’s opinion, way too excited for someone who worked at a fast food chain. Then again, he was having a bad day so there was no room to talk on his part. He dug around in his pockets for a bit until his face paled. He patted down his pants as if that would change the fact that he did not, infact, have his wallet on him. He cursed under his breath.
“Hey, what’s the hold up? Forgot how to complete the basic task of paying for your food?”
Max whipped around at a speed that almost startled Bradley.
“I forgot my wallet, stop being a jerk.”
Bradley only smiled, as if that confirmed his prior statement.
“Oh, so you did forget something? Y’know, it’s not very gentlemanly to leave a girl hanging when she gives you food.”
Max glanced at the cashier, who was looking perplexed between the two boys. He frowned and looked back at Bradley.
“What would you know about what’s gentleman-like? You can’t even get a girlfriend! And I can see why, with your attitude.”
Bradley’s smug smirk morphed into an offended look, Max felt successful knowing the jab bothered him.
“I haven’t seen you with anyone either, so I can’t see why you’re talking.”
Bradley strode up beside Max, pulling out paper money and putting it on the counter.
“That’s how a gentleman pays for his food.”
“You paid for MY food.” Max states bluntly.
“Like a gentleman would!” Bradley clarified.
Max sputtered, “You wouldn’t even know what a girl would like!”
“Of course I would! I would have the perfect, most romantic date of all time!”
“Yeah, and what would that be? Having a party with the Gammas and ignoring her the entire time?”
“Why don’t you come and see?”
Max narrowed his eyes at Bradley, not understanding what he was implying, “huh?”
“It’s easy, we both judge each other’s ‘perfect dates’ and decide which one is best.” Bradley shrugged as if that were no big deal.
Max hesitated for a quick moment, searching in Bradley’s expression in case this was a stupid joke of his, but he looked dead serious. Max relents,
“Yeah whatever, yours is gonna be lame anyways. Easy win for me.”
“It’s a deal.” Bradley grins. Max decides that he looks too pompous for his own good.
“He’s gonna take you to get murdered or something, dude.”
Bobby chews on a french fry stolen from Max’s meal. He’s looking at Max like he’s just signed up for the military.
“It’s not a big deal, I'm just gonna prove him wrong and that’ll be it.”
Bobby ponders for a couple moments, like he’s unsure whether he should say what he’s thinking.
“Do you really think this is a good idea?”
Max shrugs, “I don’t think it’d hurt.”
“I mean like, you gotta admit, this whole rivalry thing is getting weird.”
Max looks up at Bobby from his burger, “is it?”
Bobby glances to the side in thought, before answering, “I dunno, just don’t get too in over your head about Bradley.”
It felt strange and almost backwards that Bradley gave Max his number the very next day. It was at the beginning of class, of all times. It was really humiliating, actually. Bradley, followed by Tank, had approached Max. This time, Bradley walked a bit more stiffly, seemingly in a faux attempt at making himself seem more high class.
“Give me your phone.”
Max looked at him like he was crazy. “Excuse me?”
Bradley sighed, as if he were explaining something to a child who didn’t quite understand. “If you want details for the date, then you need to have my phone number.”
The people surrounding the two of them were definitely giving them both looks of confusion. Max covered his face in embarrassment, before begrudgingly giving Bradley his phone for him to put his contact in.
When he got his phone back, He sat down near Bobby and PJ before looking at the contact name that Bradley had put in. He scoffed in almost amusement when seeing that he had input his full name, ‘Bradley Uppercrust III’ glaring back at him. He deleted the title and changed the contact name to ‘weird guy’ for a quick moment before also deleting that. He settled on changing the name to ‘Brad’ before closing his phone, and focusing on the lecture. He ignored the way his friends looked at him when he smiled to himself afterwards.
It wasn’t until the next day that Bradley texted Max. He was skateboarding with his friends when his phone chimed, he picked it up, expecting the usual text from his dad. His eyebrows raised when he recognized the name in his notifications. Before even reading the message that he’d received, he crouched down on the concrete ground. He held the phone close to his face, not wanting anyone to have the chance to see who he was texting.
Brad
I hope you actually gave me your number.
Max
I’m not that much of a jerk brad
Brad
Could’ve fooled me.
Max chuckled absentmindedly at the punctuation that Bradley used during text.
Max
What do u need?
Brad
More like what you need. I’m sending you the address.
Max
Oh thx
Brad
Of course you’d text like that.
Max
wdym
Actually nvm don’t answer
What’s the address
Brad
1234 Furnace Branch Rd
Wear something nice.
Formal nice by the way, not what you consider nice.
Meet me there Saturday at 7 PM.
Max
Aye aye captain
“Oooooh, Max’s got a girlfriend!” Bobby chanted, a teasing lit to his tone.
“Yeah, who’s got you smiling at your phone like that?” PJ asked with a grin that matched Bobby’s.
Max sputtered, “What- no? I mean— why would I.. huh?”
The two boys burst out laughing. Max on the other hand, flushed and pressed his phone against his chest.
It was strange, getting ready for a date with someone he disliked. Not to mention that it was mutual disliking. Bradley said formal, right. He could do formal! He had a suit stuffed somewhere in his closet, he was sure that he could wear that. After some digging, he found the outfit in question. Trying it on was a different struggle, however. The pant legs felt too baggy and the sleeves were too long. It did not feel tailored to his size whatsoever.
Max sighed, this was his punishment for waiting until the evening of the date to get an outfit ready. Of course the rich kid would make him wear a suit to a date.
He looked in the mirror self consciously, he didn’t think he looked very good. He tried puffing out his chest, and even tried the simple gesture of hugging himself to make himself seem smaller. He relented, if he kept hyper-analyzing himself in the mirror, he’d be late.
On his way out of his room, he spotted the fancy cologne on his nightstand that he reserved for special occasions. This wasn’t a special occasion, he reminded himself. This was a bet. He had an internal conflict for a couple moments, swaying between his nightstand and the door. He groaned dramatically before spraying himself with it a few times, Then he was out.
Max opted to take an Uber to the date destination. As much as he preferred skating, it would be a bit strange to skate in formal attire. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and he quickly pulled it out.
Brad
Are you on your way?
Max
Scared you’ll get ghosted?
Brad
Of course not.
Max
To answer ur question yes I’m
on my way
Brad
Let me know when you get here.
It wasn’t long before Max arrived at a building that looked like one of those old Victorian theaters. He sent a quick text, letting Bradley know that he’d arrived, before thanking his driver and climbing out the car.
It was easy to spot Bradley, he was glancing around in an almost frantic manner. When they met each other's eyes, an evil grin plastered on Bradley’s face, and that’s when Max noticed that Bradley had his hands behind his back.
Max approached Bradley with some hesitation, and when he got close enough, Bradley whipped a bouquet out from behind his back.
Max’s jaw dropped, “You’re joking.”
“Afraid not! Flowers from yours truly, Hyacinths since purple is your favorite color!”
Max covered his face, hoping the ground would swallow him whole. “Jesus Christ, you really went all out.”
Max absentmindedly wondered how Bradley knew what his favorite color was.
“Wouldn’t be very gentlemanly not to, would it?” Bradley taunted. Somehow he was able to make even a date insufferable.
Bradley sighed when Max didn’t react, continuing to hide his face from the crowd entering the theater.
“Quit moping because this was obviously better planned than whatever you had in mind. We’re gonna be late if you continue to hide out here, freshman.”
Max obliged, albeit with some consideration towards running away while he still had the chance. The inside of the building looked more so like an opera house rather than a movie theater. He admired the intricate carvings on the wall until Bradley broke him from his thoughts,
“I’m surprised you wore a suit, I didn’t think my attire request would be followed.”
Max rubbed his arm, “Yeah, it’s not the fanciest or whatever, but it was all I had.” He spoke with some self consciousness edging his tone.
Bradley ignored the comment and led Max to a large room with a stage. They were seated somewhere in the middle of the house. Max noted in the back of his head that Bradley must have had a lot of dedication if he were buying decent seats for a show.
“Didn't really take you for a musicals guy.” Max murmured.
Bradley looked at Max, an offended expression on his face. “I would not take a girl to see a musical! We’re watching an orchestra play.”
“An orchestra?”
“You’ve heard of one, haven’t you?”
“Of course I have, idiot!”
Bradley laughed a mocking laugh, Max surprisingly found himself not minding the laughter laced with malice. He glanced down at the flowers in his hands. He never really cared for flowers. sure he appreciated them and their existence, but he wasn’t an avid fan to the point where he’d get excited upon receiving a bouquet. Although…
The more he stared at the flowers, the more he liked them. Their shape reminded him of hotdogs, which made him laugh. They were also in bright, assorted colors of indigo, lavender, and a color he couldn’t decide looked more pink or purple. When he looked up, he noticed Bradley staring between him and the flowers with a curious expression. When he was caught staring, he looked forwards in a failed nonchalant attempt to cover up the fact that he was thinking. Max never knew what Bradley was thinking.
Max didn’t get the chance to think about it any further, because the lights were turning off and the orchestra was on stage. There was a couple seconds of the instruments fine tuning before they went silent. A conductor walked on stage and everyone began clapping, so Max followed in suit. He’d never seen a live orchestral performance, so he didn’t exactly know what to expect.
He didn’t expect to like it as much as he did. The house had an echo to it which made the music feel like it was bouncing around in his head. There were so many people playing so many different parts too, which gave Max the opportunity to focus on certain people. He decided the bass player was his favorite. He liked the way her hands glided across her fingerboard. Subconsciously, he clutched the flowers he was holding closer to his chest.
When the show was finished and the ceiling lights turned back on, he almost forgot where he was at. He closed his mouth, which was previously agape in awe. It was replaced by a giddy grin. He’d never seen anything like that before, he couldn’t even blame himself for being amazed. He turned to Bradley to compliment his choice in orchestras over musicals, but froze when he saw Bradley, once again, already looking at him. The look on his face caught him off guard for a moment, but Max recovered quickly.
“What, did you not expect them to be as good as they were?”
Bradley nodded dumbly, “Yeah, they looked pretty good.”
Bradley straightened his tie before abruptly standing.
“So that’s it?” Max asks, he hates the way he sounds disappointed.
“Oh no, that’s just a treat before the main event!” Bradley boasts, “Let me walk you to the diner.”
Max cringes, “You sound like a weirdo saying that.”
Bradley huffs an amused laugh at his comment before he hardens his expression to its usual pompous look. “You’ll like it.” He tells Max confidently.
Max felt awkward on the walk there. It was dark and difficult to see. He also still had to carry the bouquet with him, as Bradley insisted that it was a ‘crucial example of how courteous he was.’ It was also just awkward because it was Bradley. The thought that Bradley, the usually selfish and self absorbed Gamma boy had gone out of his way for a single person, let alone Max of all people, made his stomach flip. He told himself it was a result of nausea.
Max sighed when they reached an equally fancy restaurant compared to the concert hall. Not because he wasn’t excited to try something new, but because it was just so Bradley-esque.
“I bet there’s gonna be six different forks.” Max challenged playfully as the pair walked into the restaurant.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Bradley scolded, looking unsure of whether Max would actually be right or not.
Bradley frowned when he counted five forks on the table they were led to by a waiter. Max grinned smugly at him due to the near accuracy.
Max looked at the menu with a furrowed brow. Unfortunately they were given French menus, because of course that’s what this kind of restaurant would give. He traced the words with his finger, trying to find something to decipher from them. He looked up at Bradley, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Bradley interrupted him.
“Poulette means chicken.” Bradley informed him.
Max glanced back down at the menu, where his finger was placed, sure enough, on the ‘filet de poulette’ option.
“I didn’t know you knew French.”
Bradley looked almost shy as he averted Max’s gaze. “Not fluent, I just took some classes when I was in highschool.”
“What, is French an embarrassing language to know for rich people or something?” Max teased.
Bradley scoffed, “Well, it’s not. It’s just not something I tell people.”
Max thought for a moment, before gasping, “do you know swear words in French?”
Bradley gave him a look that could kill.
“Oh my god, you totally do!”
Bradley sighed, “It wouldn’t be appropriate language to use in a French restaurant, I’ll have you know.”
When the waiter came back to their table, Max ordered the chicken filet, considering the fact that the meal was the only thing Bradley got to translate. Max didn’t pay any attention to what Bradley ordered, once again feeling a bit out of place in the restaurant. Was the waiter looking at him funny?
When the waiter left, Max looked around before leaning towards Bradley and whispering, “Do you think I’m underdressed?”
Bradley narrowed his eyes before laughing at Max. Max frowned at the taunting laughter.
“You’re fine, freshman. I spotted a dad in a polo shirt on our way here. I only told you to dress up so it was more special.” Bradley admitted.
“Oh.” Max looked around, he supposed he wasn’t too out of place. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt as if he’d never be able to feel comfortable stepping foot in a restaurant like this without someone like Bradley accompanying him. Not that he appreciated his company though, he was still not a Bradley fan.
“So, are you ready to admit that this is the best date ever?” Bradley teased, he seemed proud of everything planned out too. Max was tempted to not dignify that with a response, but any bickering was better than dreadful thoughts about being out of place.
“You wish! My date is gonna be so much better than this, Just wait.” Max boasted, in full honesty, he hadn’t even begun to think of what he wanted to do. Man, he needed to get on that.
“Oh yeah? And what is it?” Bradley asked, disbelief plastered on his face.
“That, my friend, is a surprise.” Max spoke with a smile. Bradley huffed and crossed his arms with a disappointed frown. The gesture, for some reason, caused Max to grin wider.
The food was better than Max expected. He sort of thought that maybe gourmet food would be too unfamiliar to his tastes, but it felt like a hearty meal out of all things. The meat was tender and melted in his mouth, it made him feel at home. Bradley watched him with scrutiny, supposedly analyzing if Max would react in a certain way.
When the bill came, Max pulled out his wallet and told the server that they’d be paying separately.
“Quit that.” Bradley snapped.
“Huh?” Max looked up in confusion.
Bradley handed the waiter a credit card. “We’re paying together, don’t split the bill.”
Max narrowed his eyes at Bradley, “you didn’t have to do that.” But when he looked at the price of the food on the receipt, he was suddenly grateful that Bradley had paid.
Of course Bradley walked him home, because ‘that’s what a gentleman would do,’ in Bradley’s words.
“So what did you think?” Bradley asked with a proud smile.
“Better than I expected. I thought you would like, be a jerk on your dates, Not my fault for assuming though.” Max admitted.
“I’ve never gone out with anyone.” Bradley confessed. “Not that like– I’ve never had a girlfriend before, we’ve just never hung out that much.”
“Huh.” That was news to Max. Bradley Uppercrust didn’t go on dates.
“Dates are pretty cool. I mean, this was different. I’ve never gone on anything this extreme, usually it’s like, coffee or movie dates. I like those, this was cool too though. It was new, kinda refreshing.”
Bradley started to respond, but Max cut him off, “We made it.”
Bradley coughed, “Right.”
There was an awkward silence between the two, before Bradley spoke up, rubbing his neck, “Well, I look forward to beating you. No way you could one up me on this!”
Max chuckled, “Yeah, right. Good night, Brad.”
Bradley let out a mocking ‘aww’ sound as Max walked away. “No good night kiss? Not even for the flowers?” He teased.
“You wish!”
And with that, Max was back in his dorm. As soon as the door shut, the room was filled with hysteric giggles.
“What the-?” Max questioned when PJ and Bobby popped out from the living room.
“No goodnight kiss, Max?” PJ asked, puckering his lips.
“Oh my god, look, he got you flowers!” Bobby exclaimed as if the flowers in question were the cure for cancer.
“Dude, shut up! It’s not a big deal, the date sucked anyways.”
The yelling only got louder after that, the two boys asking Max for details. He shut the door on them, muffling their noises.
He sighed, glancing down at the flowers.
After mindlessly muttering curses to himself, he put the flowers in a glass of water on his desk. In his defense, he never bought a vase because he never expected flowers.
He laid down in his bed, arms sprawled out beside him. He didn’t think about those hyacinths as he closed his eyes, He also didn’t think about the way Bradley looked at him after the concert, and of course he didn’t think about the way Bradley asked him for a kiss, even if it was a joke.