Robyn, Max and Lofty were at the pub after a long, hard day at the hospital. There was no better way to end a stressful day than with a few drinks. They had been at the pub for a few hours, the other nurses and doctors slowly but surely began to say their goodbyes and leave to go home. "See you tomorrow guys, make sure you aren't too hung over," Jacob smirked, playfully slapping Max on the shoulder before he departed from the pub, his arm interlinked with Connie's.
It had passed midnight, and the loud music started, almost giving the pub a club-like atmosphere. Max had plans to get full out wasted the moment the boys stepped through the doors. He was drinking as much as he could in the small timeframe - he was quite literally drowning his sorrows. Zoe had shut him down once again after he made what seemed like the fiftieth attempt to win her over. She stated that Max was too young, too immature for her and that wound up the porter. After all, age was just a number.
Robyn took another sip of her cocktail and glanced towards Max, who was looking like he was about to down another pint of beer. "Woah, hold your horses," she exclaimed, placing her glass down on the table. She took the pint glass off Max and placed it on the table next to her own alcoholic beverage. Max glared at his step-sister, though his eyesight was blurred. He lifted his hand towards her face - well, two faces. Robyn gave him a confused look. "I think it's time to go home," she grabbed Max's hand and pulled the dazed man towards where Lofty was stood. "Lofty!"
Ben turned when he heard his name and his eyes widened when he saw how much of a state Max was in. He was a little tipsy himself, but nowhere near to the extent that Max was. He looked green, as if he was about to throw up any second.
"I'm gonna go outside and call a taxi, alright," Robyn shouted over the sound of the loud music. She let go of Max's arm, who instantly made his way back over to the bar. "Keep an eye on him, alright?" Lofty simply nodded in response. Satisfied, Robyn took one last glance at her step-brother, who looked as if he was trying to hopelessly flirt with a group of girls at the bar, and shook her head, before she made her way outside to call a taxi.
Lofty sighed and leaned against the bar, slowly sipping his vodka and coke and keeping an eye on his best friend. He was moving from girl to girl as he was continuously turned down, trying to charm them all in turn. After about 5 minutes, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and opened the text from Robyn which said that the taxi was outside. He glanced up again, and his heart stopped when he realised that he couldn't see Max anymore.
He made his way towards where he had seen Max last, almost stumbling over one of the table legs as he went. It wasn't because he was drunk, he probably would have tripped over it when he was completely nature. Clumsy was his middle name.
After searching the pub, for what seemed like forever, Lofty had finally found the dark haired boy lip-locked with some blonde bimbo. "Max. Max, come on, we're going." With a sigh, Lofty had resorted to quite literally dragging Max out of the door seeing as he was just ignoring his words.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Max shrieked, almost tripping over his own feet. "I was about to score, fuck off!"
Lofty shook his head and lead Max in the direction of the taxi. "Of course you were, dude."
The tension in the air was so thick that it could probably have been cut with a knife. Max was glaring at Lofty who ignored him and resorted to gazing out of the window. Robyn rolled her eyes and pulled Max towards her, ensuring that his seatbelt was fastened. By the time they had arrived back to the house, all hell broke loose.
"Fuck you Lofty; you're always out to ruin my fun," Max hissed after he was, with the help of a half-sober Robyn, hauled back into the house the three shared. "All I wanted was one night, one night where I could let loose and forget about everything. Can't I even do that? You're such a selfish prick, fuck you."
Lofty seethed at his words. He hadn't done anything wrong – he had been responsible and now he was being punished for it. He knew how much his best friend liked Zoe and he knew how much it hurt when she repeatedly turned him down. He couldn't take seeing his best friend so upset. It wasn't fair and Lofty couldn't take it anymore. "So you would have rather I left you there swapping saliva with a different girl every five minutes? What about if Zoe found out? You want me to tell her, huh?" Lofty challenged.
"You watch your mouth, Ben," Michael warned, shaking a finger at him.
He didn't understand – Lofty's mind was reeling at how unfair the whole situation was. "Well I'm sorry for caring, Max! Would you have preferred that we'd left you there by yourself to stumble home in the early hours of the morning? You could have been mugged," his voice dropped to a whisper. "You could have been killed."
"Fuck, Ben. Why are you always doing this?!" Max exclaimed with glossy eyes and the smell of alcohol still on his breath. "Just let me have a bit of fun. Just because you're a nurse doesn't mean you can boss me around."
Lofty scoffed in disbelief. "You call that fun? You called getting wasted out of your mind fun? If you're going to do this every time you fancy a little bit of fun, you'll end up getting seriously ill – and I don't just mean the odd hangover. Haven't you ever heard of the dangers of alcohol? What about alcohol poisoning? Hasn't that ever crossed your mind?"
"What the hell is your problem?" Max growled, his face contorted in anger. "Why are you acting like this?"
They still stood across the living room from each other. "Are you even listening to yourself? You're pathetic! All I'm doing is looking out for you, looking out for my friend," Lofty shrieked. "What's my problem? My problem is you! You're a fucking mess, Max. You need to sort yourself out; you disgust me."
Lofty regretted the words as soon as they passed his lips. He had never gotten so angry with his best friend before. All he was doing was looking out for him, right? Max took a step forward, his fists clenched in frustration. Before Lofty could speak another word, the sound of a sickening slap followed by a heavy thud echoed around the room. Robyn gasped and her mouth dropped open, suddenly reminding the two boys of her presence in the room. Her eyes were wide and she was glancing frantically at cowering Lofty.
Lofty lay in a heap on the floor, clutching his face, tears stinging at his eyes. Max's heart was pounding in his chest. He looked absolutely terrified as he stood, staring at his hands, as if he couldn't believe he'd just hit his best friend. "Ben…" Max trailed off.
His eyes were filled with sadness but Lofty just slid away along the floor as Max stepped closer. "Lofty…I…" he tried again.
Before Max could say another word, Lofty was getting up off the floor. A single sob escaped from his parted lips as he sprinted towards his room. Max saw tears on his face as he ran by, and the guilt churned inside him. The effects of the alcohol he'd previously consumed were no longer existent. His gut wrenched when he replayed the scene in his head – the sickening slap and the heavy thud of Lofty on the tiled floor broke his heart. He'd never felt so terrible in his life.
And Lofty's face – he looked so betrayed. It shook Max to his core. He thought back to how Lofty had fearfully rushed away from him and how upset he looked. His best friend. He soon felt a stinging of tears in his eyes again and Max dragged a hand through his hair in frustration which was matted with sweat. He couldn't believe what he had just done. Lofty's pained expression was etched in his mind; the fact that he backed away when Max had tried to approach him. He'd just thrown away his friendship with his best friend in a matter of seconds – a single drunken moment.
"What the fuck was that?" Robyn exclaimed when the sound of Lofty slamming his bedroom door broke the silence. Robyn was angry, Max could tell. She barely ever cursed, unless she was either hurt, worried or pissed off. Max knew it was the latter.
Max leant against the wall and slid down until he was sat on the floor. "I don't know, I…I'm sorry, I don't know what c-came over me," Max's voice was wavering and he held his head in his hands.
"Why the hell are you apologising to me?" Robyn replied. "I'm not the one who you just smacked."
Max sighed. "I've fucked up this time; he'll never want to speak to me again."
Glancing down at the helpless boy on the floor, Robyn sighed. It was impossible to stay mad at her step-brother for too long. He was stupid, yes, but she still loved him with all of her heart and she wanted to make this right. She hated conflict. "This is Lofty we're talking about, the most carefree guy alive. He sees the good in everyone - heck, he's still trying to persuade Dylan to be his friend," she smirked. "Of course he will; you were both angry. People don't think right when they're mad. All he was doing was looking out for you, bro."
"I guess so," Max muttered in response. Robyn outstretched his arm and Max took it gratefully and clambered to his feet. "Thanks Robyn."
"That's alright," Robyn nodded in response. "Now go and sort this, you moron."
Lofty had taken the stairs two at a time, only stopping when he was safe inside his room. He leaned against the door, sobbing. Max had never hit him before – he never thought his best friend was even capable of causing so much hurt to anyone. He wasn't stupid; he knew he had pushed Max too far. The boy felt guilty, but he still hated Max for what he had done. He had been out of line, but he shouldn't have been hit. Not just hit, but hit so hard he fell to the floor. It took a lot of force to do something like that, and it had hurt like hell. His face still stung.
Shaking fingers touched his left cheek gingerly, the beginnings of a bruise forming. He'd worry about the bruise later, though – for now he just needed to cry. Why couldn't Max understand? All he was trying to do was look out for him.
The fear Lofty felt before his interview to become a senior nurse was nothing compared to this; he never thought he'd have to feel scared in his own home. It was the worst feeling in the world – he didn't want to leave his room. The thought of facing his housemates again made his stomach churn. He slid slowly along the door, only stopping when he was in a heap on the floor, his arms wrapped around his legs, clinging to them like they were his life.
When he felt a soft knock at his door, Lofty jumped and slid away, all the way across the room. He curled up next to his bed and saw a timid Max poking his head around the door. A new wave of tears hit and he leaned against his bed, hoping for some sort of comfort in this mess. "Hey…" Max trailed off awkwardly.
Slowly he crept inside, closing the door behind him. Lofty didn't move, he just stayed curled up in a ball. Slowly, hesitantly, Max sat down next to the curly-haired boy. When Max reached out for Lofty, he voluntarily flinched as soon as their skin made contact. "Ben…" Max whispered softly. "Lofty, I'm sorry. I-I'm not gonna hurt you."
Lofty sniffled. Max spotted a box of tissues on the bedside table and grabbed for them. He offered them to the sobbing boy who took the box greedily. Max watched as Lofty desperately tried to hide the fact that he had been crying so much – he tried to keep it together but his tears kept coming. "You can cry," Max said quietly. "It's okay."
After tossing another used tissue in the direction of the bin, his aim probably completely off target, Lofty looked over at Max, still avoiding his eyes. He could feel Max's eyes boring into his face and he felt the most vulnerable and self-conscious he'd ever felt.
Max gulped and looked at his friend sadly. Lofty was so upset and scared because of him. It almost made him sick to his stomach. "I'm so sorry," he choked out. Tears were spilling from his eyes and he took one of the tissues from the box that Lofty was holding, making him flinch once more.
Lofty glanced in Max'a direction, more tears filling his own eyes. "I shouldn't have said those things," Lofty told him softly.
"I-I don't know where it came from…" Max trailed off. He wanted to pull Lofty into a hug, yet he knew that he couldn't. "Ben…I feel awful," he shook his head. "I love you and I never want to see you hurt. Especially by me. I'm sorry."
"I know you are," Lofty whispered weakly in response. He sat up, his fear replaced by sadness. It was obvious that Max felt absolutely terrible, and he hated seeing him so down.
A strangled sob passed through Max's lips, and before Lofty knew what he was doing, he was flinging himself at Max and wrapping his arms around him.
"I forgive you, Max," Lofty said softly, wrapping his arms around his torso.
Max wrapped his arms around Lofty gently, hugging him close. "I love you, Ben," he told him. "I promise I'll never, ever hurt you again."
"I know you won't," Lofty mumbled, his voice muffled by Max's hoodie.
Neither Max nor Lofty spotted Robyn stood outside the door, watching them. She rolled her eyes at how soppy the two of them were acting, but couldn't hide the smile that tugged at her lips as they quickly rekindled their friendship.