I'd been dead for a little over a week now and had joined with the SSS on their new mission, though tonight seemed to be a night off.
"Maxi?! Where are yooooou!?" I heard Yui call out as I tried not to giggle. We were in the middle of hide and seek and I didn't want to lose just yet. "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaxi!" Yui called out again, this time sounding more annoyed.
"Maxi?" I heard someone whisper from behind me, causing me to jump and hit my head on the desk above me. I turned to glare at the person and saw it was Hinata.
I gulped. There was no way I could let Yui find Hinata with me, especially since they had a very violent love/hate relationship. I frowned at him, mentally yelling at him to go away, however he climbed under the desk fully next to me. I glared at him however he didn't seem to notice.
"Maxi this isn't funny anymore!" Yui called out, I could hear her stomping towards where I was hidden. Once she reached the desk I felt her hit her fist against it right where my head was rested, causing me to cry out in pain. She must have heard me as the next thing I knew she was looking directly at me…or so I'd thought. "Hinata that's cheating!" She shouted while Hinata laughed. I smacked him over the head and pushed him into the wrath of Yui. She dragged him out of my sight but I knew she was going to make him pay for cheating. I took this as my opportunity to find a new hiding spot.
As I walked through the house, I started wondering why Naoi had decided he wanted everyone to come over for a mini party sort of thing. I knew one thing for sure, though, he must have used his hypnosis to get a dorm room the size of a house. Not even Tachibana had a dorm like this!
I slowly stumbled my way through the house sized dorm, not wanting to switch on any lights, – I couldn't give my location away that easily – when I bumped into someone. I heard them jump back land on the on-the-floor lamp switch. It took me a second to realise the person I had run into was Naoi and not Yui. He wasn't wearing the normal student's uniform for once; instead he was in pyjamas and slippers. Call me crazy, but I'd never been able to picture him in anything but the uniform. I would have laughed if not for him putting his hand over my mouth rather quickly.
"I don't need to be found again!" He whispered, frowning. I frowned back and licked his hand, causing him to pull it back in disgust.
"What do you mean 'again'?" I asked in a whisper while he was wiping his hand.
"Well, I've already been found once. It was lucky that I made her forget before she called out my name!"
"That's cheating!" I accused, a little too loudly.
"It's not cheating if you're God." He replied matter-of-factly. I sighed and dragged him into the room where you were supposed to go after you'd been found.
"There you guys are!" Yurippe said, walking over to us. "Noda wouldn't shut up about how you two were making out in a closet!" She said with a laugh, looking between us. I could feel my face go a bright red and Naoi stiffen next to me. It was then I realised I'd accidentally grabbed his hand instead of his arm. "Um…you weren't…were you?" She asked, seemingly unsure now. I quickly dropped Naoi's hand before denying her claim and walking over to one of the bean bags someone had brought.
I quickly looked over at Naoi to make sure he was back in the real world. To my relief, he was now sitting beside Otonashi, talking to him and Tachibana about something. Looking around at everyone else now, I couldn't believe how lucky I was. Sure, I'd died young but to have found such a great group of friends in this life…
My stomach started rumbling, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since lunch today. I hopped off my butt and headed for the kitchen as someone declared we were going to play spin the bottle. I decided on trying to stay in the kitchen, I hadn't kissed anyone while I was alive so there was no way I was giving my first kiss out through a game.
Unfortunately, Yui decided that I wasn't getting out of it and came into the kitchen for the sole purpose of forcing me to sit in the circle.
"Maxi's turn!" She announced, sounding just a little too cheery. I glared at her as she handed me the bottle to spin.
It wasn't long after that, we were all sitting around the television in Naoi's lounge room. I was sat back on the bean bag with a bowl of popcorn while everyone else was spread around the room, of course Naoi was sitting as close to Otonashi as possible.
I yawned as the movie dragged on, we were watching Bruce Almighty and I was sick to death of it – no pun intended – as when I was alive my younger brother seemed to have an obsession with it. I'd seen it well over one hundred times, if not more.
Once again, I found myself looking around the room. It was then I realised that only Naoi and myself were the only ones still awake.
Yawning once again, I got up to put the now empty popcorn bowl back in the kitchen. I had been in my own world for a little while when the scuffing of shoes caused me to jump slightly. I turned around to see it was Naoi, however he was looking shyly at the ground.
"What's up?" I asked, leaning against the bench. He looked up, seeming to check back quickly to make sure everyone was still asleep before looking back at me.
"I'm gay and in love with Otonashi." He blurted out, almost too quickly for me to make out the words.
I smiled, of course I had known. It was painfully obvious after the first time I saw him together with Otonashi, however Otonashi seemed to think of him as a younger brother. "I know." I said once I realised he was waiting for my reply.
"You know!? How?!" he asked, his voice going high pitched and squeaky. He was obviously shocked.
"It's not hard to guess." I replied, shrugging, however he still looked confused. I sighed. "The way you insult everyone then immediately excuse Otonashi and go on to praise him. Then there's also the way you look at him…You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"Yeah…" He mumbled, before turning back around and started heading for the lounge room again.
"Wait." I said suddenly, reaching out to grab his shoulder. "They're all asleep…why don't we sneak out for a while." I suggested. I could tell that he wasn't as into the movie as he'd claimed to be earlier.
"Alright." He replied. "I need to get dressed first though." He said, walking towards his room. I waited in the kitchen for him to come back out.
Ten minutes later, Naoi and I had made our way out of the dorms and were heading towards the cafeteria where I was sure there would be at least one student there.
As we entered the cafeteria we seemed to be in luck, GirlDeMo had just finished a performance a little before Naoi's sleep over so there were still a fair few students here.
It wasn't long before Naoi and I had managed to create havoc with his hypnotism. Half of the NPCs thought they were superheros while the other half thought they were villains. It was all very funny to watch, however the fun was spoilt when teachers came and the hypnotism wore of.
"How about we get out of here?" I asked once the teachers were almost finished clearing the students out.
"Sure." Naoi replied. We ducked out quickly before any of the teachers could call us back to help clean up the mess the NPCs made.
It wasn't long before we found ourselves walking towards a park. I had an odd sense of déjà vu as we got closer and closer. Naoi was running ahead of me – acting unusually childlike – and I was walking slowly after him, watching as he enjoyed himself. It was only when Naoi ran to the swing and started swinging while I was still on path I realised why I had felt déjà vu earlier…
"Maxi, promise you won't hate me!" My younger brother says to me, he looks really scared.
"I promise." I reply and smile, waiting for what he has to say. Sam opens his mouth to say something a few times, however no words come out. "So long as you haven't murdered anyone I won't hate you… Hell you could be a druggy and I'd still be fine with that!" I say, trying to lighten the mood a little. He nods and takes a shaky breath.
"W-well…I uh…I'm…" He stops to take a deep breath and looks at me straight in the eyes. "I'm gay and I've known for a while now?" He finally says, however it sounds more like a question.
"Okay." I say and Sam looks at me, shocked now.
"What do you mean 'okay'?" He asks, sounding confused.
"I mean it's okay. So you're gay?" I say and laugh. "How about we go to the park and have some fun? You look about ready to rip your hair out!"
"Really?!" He asks and I laugh. For a sixteen year old he really does act like a small child.
"I promise that you'll have the best time!" I say and get up. "Mum, I'm taking Sam to the park!" I shout and grab the house keys.
"Okay, have fun! Love you guys!" Mum replies, sounding like she's in the kitchen.
"Love you too!" Sam and I shout back, laughing a little. Mum always seems to make sure to tell us that she loves us before we leave the house. Sam and I suspect that she says it because she's worried we might not come home and doesn't want her last words to us to be something like 'we're having chicken for dinner so be back before six!'
As Sam and I leave the house we decide to leave the car at home and walk to the park since it's close. There was no point taking it if it was only a five to ten minute walk anyway, besides, I know that Sam loves to run to the park whenever possible so why not let him? I find it hard to believe that there is only a year between us most of the time.
Sam is running ahead of me by now and is already looking calmer and more like his usual self. We pass an ice-cream shop and Sam gets down on his knees to beg for an ice-cream. I laugh and buy one for him and a drink for myself since I'm not a real ice-cream fan.
By the time Sam is finished with his ice-cream we can see the park. He throws his cup in the bin and starts running to the swings. I stand back on the road watching him, being sure to look out for cars at the same time.
"MAXI LOOK OUT!" Sam shouts as he jumps off the swing and starts running towards me. I turn to see a drunk driver heading my way and start running to the sidewalk but it's too late. The car hits me and I go flying. The car speeds off and I can't feel my legs.
"S-Sam?" My voice sounds weak as I call out for my brother. I can feel blood entering my lungs. Sam reaches me and sits beside me, hastily grabbing me around my torso and holding me close to him. I feel my heart pounding as it fights blood loss as I feel something sticky running down my face.
"Maxi! Don't die! Please!?" Sam shouts frantically, his voice going high pitched the more he goes into shock. "I'll call an ambulance!" He announces suddenly but soon realises his mobile phone was left at home and mine was broken after I was hit. I stare up at him and try to smile through the pain. "Maxi! Please don't leave me!" He shouts, hugging me closely. I can feel the tears running down his face fall on my own.
"I-I won-" I start saying but am cut off by the amount of blood flowing into my lungs. I feel like I'm drowning. I can't breathe. I start taking in quick, shallow breaths and I can feel Sam shaking from under me as grief overwhelms him.
"Maxi I love you!" Sam says as my vision leaves me. I shut my eyes and slowly start fading away. "Maxiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Is the last thing I hear…
"Maxi? Are you okay?" Naoi asked me, snapping me back to the present. I smile and wipe away a tear I hadn't realised was there until just then.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, my voice a little shaky. "Have you had a fun night?"
"One of the best… Why?" He asked, confused by the sudden change of subject.
"Thank goodness." I said and started feeling as if I were floating. 'So this is what it's like to feel at peace…' I thought to myself. "Thank you." I said to Naoi, smiling.
"For what?"
"For letting me pass on." I said simply, smiling at him now. I was finally content with how I'd left the world. There was nothing holding me back now.
I closed my eyes and felt myself fade away without a care in the world…
Maxi and Sam are both my own creations.
Sorry for most of the characters being OOC!