Max had not been having a good day. He had not been having a good week, actually, and it rubbed him the wrong way that the rough week had carried into his Monday work night. As he stepped out onto the street, he contemplated what had happened over Halloween. He had been unable to control himself. He had said things out loud that he might think but never say and he had said them with such vitriol there was no mistaking that he meant them and no way he couldn’t remember him.
He couldn’t blame Harrison for not wanting to be around him. He wished he could leave himself sometime too.
He struggled not to think of it as he made his way up the street. He needed comfort food, which in this case would be chocolate milk and cinnamon toast crunch, and with the way his tips had gone… that would be all he could afford anyway.
He reached for the door but before he could pull it open, someone shoved from the opposite side; snapping him square in the face with enough force to knock him on his ass. He hit the ground hard, whimpering both from the pain in his face and the pain racing up his spine from landing on his ass. His hand shot up to his face, his eyes watering as he sat there on the concrete.
Today could not possibly get any worse!
notsoaveragegoof:
Max found himself grinning a bit ruefully. “Because it’s way more badass than saying I got hit in the face by a door because I was too up my own butt to be paying attention.” The small touch of amusement helped him relax slightly and he leaned back in the chair and pressed the cold bag against his throbbing face. “It’s all good, Barley. It could have been a lot worse than bruising.”
He felt himself tearing up when Barley had the cereal and milk. It was such a small thing but that was all he had wanted and it had felt so far out of reach until that moment. The momentary moisture behind his eyes vanished as the other boy tripped and caught himself before completely face planting on the tile floor. “I still do that. It was way worse when I was in school though. I was voted most likely to hurt myself because I tripped over my own two feet.” He gladly accepted the bowl and poured himself some cereal with chocolate milk.
“This is going to sound stupid but thank you so much. I did not have the best day and this was honestly all I wanted to make the day better.” He paused at that question and sighed deeply. “My boyfriend and I broke up. We’d been together for almost three years so… it hurts.” He ruffled his hair and worked up a small smile. “Hurts now but it will pass eventually right? And I’ll go back to feeling normal again.”
Barley scrunched up his face, “Is it more badass?” He asked, still smiling. “Sometimes there’s nowhere better to be than in your own head. Trust me, I know all about that.” After Max took the bowl, Barley slid into the seat in front of the other and propped his chin up on his hand, elbow on the table. “I still feel bad just lookin’ at ya.”
At the anecdote from Max’s youth, Barley laughed again. “I was voted most humorous, but if there was a clumsiest category, I’d’ve had it in the bag.” Apparently, they had similar backgrounds and traits, and Barley was surprised by how well Max was taking being hit in the face, and how gracious he was being for Barley simply trying to make it better.
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all. I’m glad I could help, even if it was after making it just a little bit worse.” He laughed then, shifting in his seat as his smile faded into a slight frown – that wouldn’t stay for long. “That sucks big time, man, I’m so sorry.” Barely didn’t exactly have the right words for these sorts of situations, but he reached out and pat Max on the shoulder, giving it a little squeeze at the end before his hand fell back into his own lap. “I can’t say with any certainty, but, I think, like all things, time will be the most healing. So, there’s probably not much I can do now, huh?” Barley was smiling again, looking at Max as the other happily ate his cereal. “Do you happen to like playing games, Max?”
“Nice to know I’m not alone,” he laughed, ruffling his hair. It stuck up between his fingers as he began to enjoy the cereal that Barley had graciously given him, stirring the food before taking a big slurpy bite if it. He sighed, tension easing out of his shoulders as he held the ice pack against his eye with his free hand. “God this hits the spot,” he laughed. “Thank you so much.” He exhaled, forcing himself to slow down before looking up at him.
“Ya know. It is what it is. I loved him but it would have been selfish of me to ask him to give up on his career. He worked so hard to get where he is and I wouldn’t want to be the reason he failed….” That was true but he wondered if he’d even missed him since leaving and it hurt him to think maybe he hadn’t. He shrugged. “Some things aren’t built to last. Maybe my next relationship will be.” He rocked back and thought about the question, momentarily wondering if he had stepped into some kind of Jigsaw saw trap before laughing it off. “I used to kill at mouse trap. What did you have in mind?”
