The kitchen smelled faintly of grilled cheese when David came back from putting Max's sweatshirt in the dryer. The boy had mocked him mercilessly for washing it by hand -apparently it had not been necessary after all- and teased David for the fact that he had, essentially, 'Taken orders from a paper tag'. Flustered, David pouted while he cut up apples to accompany Max's sandwich, as well as a cup of ice pwater and a cookie.
/ was sitting in the living room at the moment, changed into a shirt from his bag with long sleeves and track shorts. He ate off the coffee table and watched TV, looking less tired but still relaxed. His hair was damp, still dripping water onto his shirt every now and again. After he'd gotten the towel off the couch and carefully squeezed a bit more water out of his hair, David took the time to sneak away to the bathroom upstairs and start sweeping up the mess.
It took a little while, but eventually David managed to pluck out the larger chunks and put them into the metal trash can, and sweep the tinier shards into a coffee can to be thrown away without making a mess. Max followed him up when he lugged the vacuum upstairs, wanting to sweep up any teeny tiny pieces left over.
"Everything ok, kiddo?" David puffed, winded slightly.
Max nodded, holding the door frame and peering around the corner into the room. The counsellor stepped beside him with the sweeper in tow, clicking it on before kneeling to use the hose along the grooves; the painful click told him tomorrow was a well deserved day of resting. Carefully, he dug through all the little corners in the room, pulling away any glass missed by the broom or David's tedious picking up.
When he was finally convinced he'd cleaned it all up, David stood upright and winced when he leaned back to pop his back after bending over so long. He turned off the vacuum and admired his work in the room. No more worrying about Max accidentally hurting himself, that made David appreciate the cleaning even more. The man smiled and glanced at the door, but Max was gone from the hallway. Stepping over the cord to the vacuum, David tugged the plug free and began rolling it up. He left the sweeper beside the bathroom, worry bubbling in the back of his mind. He was wary of leaving Max alone after the bathroom incident, so he trotted down the stairs. He was pleased to find him sitting on the floor with another cookie in his small hands.
David smiled and stepped up to the couch, picking up the scissors and comb he'd set down before he made dinner,"Let's get your hair handled, kiddo,"
Max huffed an exasperated breath, but he didn't move when David sat behind him on the couch. The boy was between his feet, giving David full reign on his mop of hair. He slowly pulled the comb through his hair just to rebrush it, making sure not to pull. On the TV, some sort of crime show was playing, running a shooting scene with dramatic music, leaving Max enthralled in the plot despite the counsellors distaste for something so violent.
He didn't want to cut too much of his hair, knowing too much change at once could be problematic for the boy. He snipped here and there, shortening the curls enough that it wouldn't take as long for the damaged roots to catch up. There were many spots that David was careful about trimming; it was hard to cut curly hair in the first place, but trying to even it out was even more difficult.
Despite his struggling, David made more or less quick work of the haircut. He set the scissors and comb on the table and ran his fingers through Max's hair gently, pulling it lightly through his fingers to check the length on either side. Satisfied that it was even, he gave the boy's hair a little rufflle, shaking the excess hair away from his scalp and his shoulders onto the carpet.
"Alright. You tired, bucko?" David hummed, leaning forward a bit.
Max's eyes were closed, cookie still half eaten in his hand,"Mm- Uh, yeah," He opened his eyes and blinked, glancing down at his hand, as if he had dozed off.
The boy sat up and put the cookie on the table before standing. Still stood in front of David, he lifted his hands to his head to mess with his hair. He didn't comment on it, or really do much but twirl a strand around his finger. He was evidently sleepy, and David couldn't help a small smile at the sight of him. He stepped away from his knee and slumped on the couch, eyes shut once more. He put his elbow up on the arm of the couch, his cheek resting into his palm.
"Thought you were tired?" David raised an eyebrow at him, curious.
Max's brow furrowed,"My hoodie,"
"Oh!" David remembered the dryer then and stood out of his seat, nudging past max to hurry to the laundry room.
As he made his way back to the laundry room, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. He lifted it out of his slacks and pulled his lip between his teeth, heart sinking- It was Gwen. The things they had said to one another rushed to his head again, and David was less eager to lift the phone to his ear.
"Hiya Gwen," He tried to sound as chipper as he could.
"Don't, David," Gwen's voice had lost the last touch of patience in her voice; she sighed,"Did you get to work ok?"
David frowned, a bit taken by surprise,"I- Well I… got to work just fine, I've been home for a while now,"
"Yeah, I know, the fuckin… uh the home appointment. How'd it go?"
David leaned against the wall, glancing back towards the door of the laundry room incase Max walked in,"It went very well, I think,"
"What- how do you mean?"
"Max is… he's home. They said the appointment was the last step… His bag is upstairs, I was trying to get his sweatshirt out of the dryer when you called," David explained softly.
Quiet from the other end of the line.
David crossed his free arm over his stomach as in a little self hug,"He's been great so far! We had a talk about important stuff, he got dinner and a bath…" Still quiet,"I even just finished giving him a haircut!"
Finally, Gwen spoke,"Fucking… David, good god a haircut?"
David wilted, shutting his eyes as he felt the disdain in her voice sink in,"Gwen,"
"No! David, what the fuck are you doing? I called to fucking say sorry, and talk you out of this like a fucking adult and he's already home? You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
David heard the hitch in his own voice when he spoke,"I meant what I said earlier, Gwendolyn-"
"I- What, no! You don't get to fucking call me that! You're a fucking lunatic, David, you're 24! You're wasting your life trying to do this!"
"I'm a- what? Wasting my life?"
"You can't tell me I'm wrong,"
"Right," David whispered,"Just like I'm wasting my life at camp, right?"
"David that isn't-"
"No! Everything I do! It's always a waste of my time. It's as if putting effort forward in the slightest amount is- is baffling to you!"
"Excuse me? I worked my ass off in college and still ended up at that waste of space you call a fucking summer camp!"
"And you know what? I've never done anything but support you! I've always believed in you, Gwen!" David felt hot tears rolled down his face, but his eyes were glazed over, focused solely on his words- how dare she call Max a waste,"And I- you know what? I'm done with that."
"Done what? Done keeping your fucking head in your ass?"
David's nose crinkled, emotions rolling high while he tried to speak,"I'm done with you," He whispered, voice low,"Don't call me again, obviously I'm just a waste of your breath and phone bill. Goodbye,"
He hung up and promptly burst into tears, even though he was silent. He didn't want to worry Max after all, he just needed a few minutes. His back hit the wall and he slid back against it, putting his arms against his knees and burying his face into his shirt sleeves.
He had always supported Gwen. He was there when she wanted a new job, when she dated new people, when she considered quitting one, two, three different times. He was always there for her, why couldn't she give him the same commitment? It was unquestionably frustrating to handle. He wanted his best friend back, but he had no idea how to convince her to embrace this sort of change. Maybe she just needed time…
"Dude, what are you fucking doing?"
Max's voice startled him, along with the soft patter of feet approaching. He got up as quickly as he could and wiped his eyes. He moved towards the dyer before Max finally appeared in the doorway.
"Sorry buddy," David said, hoping his voice sounded normal,"Got distracted on my phone,"He opened the dryer and pulled the little blue sweater out of the machine.
Max took it when David offered the item toward him, and gazed down at it for a little while before speaking,"Who was it?"
David swallowed,"Hm? Wh-what do you mean,"
"Who called?"
David busied himself with switching out the rest of Max's clothes, avoiding his piercing and inquisitive gaze,"Nobody, just something on facebook kiddo. Nothing to worry about, of course!"
There was quiet, then finally David spared a glance down to the boy. Max looked back, paused, then scowled.
"So much for open and honest, right? We're just throwing that shit out the fucking window?" He snarled, visibly irritated.
David dropped the clothes on top of the dryer in a rush as Max's feet turned to leave, reaching forward to pull at his arm and hold him in the room,"No! No, no Max, I… Oh, darn it," He let go of Max's arm and covered his face, feeling tears fill again,"It… i-it was Gwen, alright?" He dropped his hands and hugged himself,"She's still mad at me,"
"Because I'm here, right?" Max's face still held a scowl.
"No! No, of course… of… ah," David shook his head and tapped his hand to his forehead,"She was… is upset that I adopted you, yes, Max."
Max rolled his eyes,"Yeah well whatever. She's being a bitch,"
David frowned and sniffled,"Oh, come on now, let's not do that tonight,"
Max pulled the sweater over his head and walked back to the door,"Well, she is,"He mumbled grumpily.
David huffed a sigh and wiped at his eyes, with a few more sniffles. When he felt he'd collected himself, he stood and went back out to the living room, intending to get Max up to bed and hopefully follow suit. However, the living room was empty when he went out there. Upstairs, there was a faint click of a door. Max was already in his room. David bit his lip to keep himself together, crossing his arms.
"Max?" He called.
A pause, then the door clicked, and,"What?"
David frowned,"Are we ok buddy?"
David waited patiently for the quiet to pass by, listening for anything Max might say.
"Yeah," He finally called,"Fine,"
David took as much solace as he could from the clipped reply, whilst listening to the door upstairs shut again. He sighed solemnly and ambled further into the room towards the coffee table. He put the remaining half eaten cookie on the plate from grilled cheese and lifted the glass of water into the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves so he could get them washed before he went to bed.
Standing over the sink full of suds, David used a sponge to scrub away the cheese melted on the plate. He had time to think at least. About Gwen mostly, considering she had been fighting this from day one and even through the whole ordeal, she had not once budged to see his side. No discussion, no support. She had hated the idea of this from start to finish. Why?
David put the time in, he put more than enough of his energy into it. Every late night and stressed out little cry. He had put everything into this, and Gwen had just… just… spit on it. What gave her the right to act so nastily towards the two of them? What caused the sudden hatred for Max? David continued through his list of questions, all the while scrubbing away at the plate in his hands. She was being ridiculous, no doubt! To have such hateful things to say was just… just hateful! David rinsed the plate and dried his hands, pulling his phone from his pocket, frustration having built up. He wanted to talk about it, right this second.
He dialed Gwens number and lifted the phone to his ear, his hand impatiently settled on his hip to accompany his frown. The phone rang once, then twice, but the second time David heard something else accompanying it. Some sort of little jingle? A third time, and David lowered his phone away from his ear. He distinctly heard the familiar ringtone of Gwen's cell.
"...Bacon pancakes, that's what it's gonna make…"
David glanced in the direction it was coming from, towards the front door. In his hands, the call was declined. The ringing stopped, and the vibration in his hand ceased with it. He started for the door, and yanked it open. The rain was still coming down hard, but David saw her regardless; Gwen was halfway down the porch steps, walking away.
"Gwendolyn."
Apparently the sternness in his voice cut through to Gwen just as it did Max; the girl stopped mid step, but stayed looking away. Her shoulders rose, and David saw the glow of her phone in her hand.
David's eyes softened, knowing the way she insisted on hiding when she was distressed, and reminding himself that anger or frustration isn't going to fix anything. He needed to be calm, and breathe through it or they would never patch it up.
"Come inside," he said, his voice a touch softer even while underneath the firm no-nonsense voice remained,"Please, just talk to me,"
Gwen stayed where she was for a few seconds, then her head drooped,"God… David…" Her voice was tight.
"What did you expect me to say?" David asked, almost immediately frustrated with her, crossing his arms,"You- You show up here in the middle of the night and you think I'm just going to send you off?"
Gwen finally turned around, even if partially, her hand was lifted to her face and wiping under her eyes,"That's not what I wanted…"
"Then what did you want?" David huffed,"What, were you going to come over and take Max back to the home? Were you going to take him yourself? Do you think you could do a better job than me, is that what this is?"
"Jesus," Gwen cursed, and finally looked at him,"No, David, fuckin hell,"
"Then what," David's voice jumped a few octaves, feeling his previous frustration burn again while tears pooled in the corners of his eyes.,"What is making you hate him so much?"
"I don't hate him!" She snapped right back, scowling at him.
"You could have fooled me!"
"Jesus can you just let me-?"
"No! I'm done letting you talk! Every time you talk you yell about me or Max or something else," David interjected, reaching behind him to close the door, lest his voice carry up to Max,"I just want to understand. Why can't you just be happy for me? How many times have I been there, and cheered you on, and- and just been excited for you even when you were trying to leave the camp or find someone else on that silly dating app!"
"That's different, you could get hurt doing this," Gwen insisted.
"It's exactly the same, Gwen! You got hurt too, and I was there even after I told you it wasn't the best idea. I told you who I didn't trust on that app, and you completely ignored me every time and went on the date, only to have me drive out to pick you up at 2 am because he started getting rough," David explained, desperate for a straight answer from her even as he felt the icy bite of the watery tears start to freeze in the cold air,"I was your 'Emergency from the hospital' call, your designated driver, your therapist for years, and you can't give me one chance to make this work?"
"That's the problem!" Gwen shouted right back,"You did all of that for me and I… fucking damnit,"
David stepped closer, watching her eyes,"What? Just tell me!"
"I- I'm just gonna miss you ok?" Gwen hissed,"Is that what you wanted to fucking hear?"
David's expression shifted quickly to confusion,"Miss me… what are you talking about?"
"Max!" Gwen huffed,"You did all that for me and he's gonna need that too," She covered her face and gave a groan of frustration,"I didn't want you to take Max at first because it was gonna be complicated and I just didn't know if you would be able to stick it out with him, but then he ran downstairs and told you all of that when we were in the lobby and I realized he wasn't the problem anymore,"
David watched her walk past, sitting on the chair next to the front door, slumped over with her head in her hands. The arms crossed over his chest turned into something more like a self-hug, and he waited for her to continue. She was quiet for a few moments, then her shoulders shook and a soft, muffled sob reached David's ears. Just as he stepped forward to comfort her, she moved her hands and threw them out in a surrendering gesture.
"I didn't want to lose my best friend," She whispered, her voice choked,"You're a dad now a-and I always feel like I'm over here trying to play catch up to you, we're supposed to be on the same step," Gwen wiped at her eyes,"You just took like thirty steps ahead of me by getting Max,"
David frowned softly,"Gwen… that's not what's going to happen,"
"You don't know that!" She wailed, looking up at him with a desperately sad face,"You can't promise me it won't either, if it ever comes down to it, me or him, it's going to be him," She shook her head,"And I-I get that! He's a kid, he needs you, I just… fuck Davey I need you too,"
David bit his lip. She was right, and he knew it. He couldn't promise anything, because Max was a handful even without the teenage hormones and the dating and anything else the older years would bring. Things might go wrong down the line and David would have to put in more than he already was. But, at the end of it, he did want gwen to be there to talk to and to hang out with when he got the chance. He wanted her to be there just as much as she did.
"I… can't promise that. That's fair," he admitted,"But… Even if I get busy with Max or my parents or life, I want to talk to you at the end of it," And he truthfully did, he loved to talk on the phone with Gwen at the end of a long day,"I know it might change, but I'm still gonna be here. And who cares what step I'm on? All that means is I can give you better advice down the road,"
Gwen wiped at her eyes with a huff,"Yeah…" She laughed, but it was a little humorless,"Sorry, I know it's late and I'm just a mess,"
Sitting in front of Gwen, David shook his head,"No, it's fine Gwen. Max just went to bed, I was just cleaning. I'm glad you came over," he offered a small smile,"I might be a morning person but sometimes I can swing on the night owl side," He joked, and was happy to hear a little laugh behind the tears.
"Right, I kinda forgot he was staying here tonight," She mumbled, wiping away the last of her tears, leaving behind red puffy eyes and a sniffly nose,"How was he…?"
David smiled,"Y'know, I've been waiting for you to ask that since this morning," He hummed,"Let's go inside,"
Gwen nodded and smiled tightly, taking his hand when he offered it to stand. He led her into the house, quietly shutting the door. Max hadn't come downstairs, and so far it seemed he wouldn't be coming down anytime soon. David went to the kitchen to make some coffee for Gwen, and in the meantime washed the cup Max used from dinner. Once the coffee was done, he sat next to her on the couch to offer a warm mug. And then, they talked.
"The whole thing?" Gwen gasped,"Just- boom?"
David laughed outright,"The whole thing! I can't believe it broke today of all days," He lifted the mug of cocoa to his lips to drink.
"Jeez, you had that thing for forever," Gwen tsked,"Wasn't it your Grandma's?"
David nodded,"Yeah, it was in storage and I thought it looked like an antique. I took it before I realized it was wobbly," A shrug,"I told Max that I hated it, for the record. He was really shaken up, I wanted to calm him down,"
A hum from his friend,"Ah. Well you got him to bed, at least," She sipped her coffee, then snickered softly,"I can't believe you threatened to wash his mouth out, Davey,"
A gasp from the counsellor, eyes wide,"I know! I thought it but I didn't mean to say it!" he laughed, flustered,"Oh god, the look on his face," David moaned in embarrassment, covering his face.
Gwen giggled at him again and picked up her phone from the coffee table, checking the time,"Fuck, it's like 2 already. I should get going," Her cup clinked as it touched down on the table.
David hummed; he had been feeling his eyes start to droop for a while now,"Are you sure? You're okay?"
Gwen smiled a bit,"Yeah. I am," She pushed his bangs back, her face heated,"I probably should have just fuckin told you earlier huh?"
David chuckled,"I'll bet it would have saved both of us some trouble,"
David recalled the conversation from the night before, slowly waking up. He had apparently slept on the couch, and the crick in his neck was sore enough that he knew even before he had moved. He eased up on the couch slowly, rubbing the sore patch on his shoulder. He groaned softly, a grimace on his face. Once he'd gotten his phone, he unlocked it and saw the time; 4:36. It was way too early to do anything but check his phone and quietly turn on the tv.
Max's skin burned like fire.
He had woken up in a cold sweat, gripping the pillow while he laid on his side. That dream was more vivid than any of the ones before it. They were getting worse, it seemed. He stared ahead at the dark wall, too scared to move for a solid two or three minutes. Finally, the heat got to him, and he slowly tried to shift the blanket off of his chest. The sound of fabric moving after silence was like boulders crashing down the side of a mountain. A pause, he took a deep breath, and pushed the covers off quickly. Breath, and he bolted out of bed to the wall to turn on the lights, scanning the room while his heart raced in panic. Nothing out of place. No grabbing hands, no blackened eyes. Just him, alone in his new room. Alone in his room.
Alone.
Max started picking at the pocket of his sweater. Back against the wall, he really started to feel the size of the room. It wasn't massive, no, but it absolutely felt like it. With David running around, it didn't seem so eerie, but David was sleeping, the house was quiet, and the… the Tv is on? Max's brow creased, confused as to why he heard the soft, muffled singing of the theme song from How I Met Your Mother coming from the first floor if David was supposedly asleep. The handle of the door sent a chill up his arm when he touched it, but he pushed the door open anyways.
The sound got a little clearer after opening the door, but it was still distant, so Max quietly crept towards the stairs after shutting his door. He put gentle pressure on each step, silent as he walked down them. It was still dark out, if he needed to he could run back upstairs without getting caught out of bed. Always a handy trick in a pinch.
The turned down with the stairs, and saw the flickering light of the TV against the wall. A few more steps, and he saw David sitting on the couch, a peaceful look on his face. How long had he been up?
Max gripped the fabric on his stomach hard when a soft growl emanated from his belly. Breakfast sounded pretty damn good right now. That would mean passing by David though. Maybe this was some weird private time David had, and interrupting it was just gonna cause problems? David was a pretty happy go lucky dude, he had to have some sort of relaxed time to just veg out. It was either mess up his time or go back into the bedroom and sit there.
While Max debated, David shifted on the couch. In his moving, his eyes jumped up to the stairs and saw a little figure peeking around the corner. He gasped and stared, startled because he hadn't heard anything from the stairs and suddenly the kid was just there. Her put a hand to his chest and laughed, seeing the curly mop of hair and blue sweater he knew so well.
"You scared me," He chuckled, smiling,"What are doin' up kiddo? Not tired?"
Max, still reeling at the fact that David managed to catch him, was too busy feeling out the situation to think about a lie,"Dream woke me up,"
A concerned gaze from David made the comforting smile slip slowly away,"Oh? A nightmare?"
A pause while Max thought, remaining stock still on the stairs. He nodded his head in reply.
Anxiety drove David's heel to lift and fall on the carpet in a nervous tapping,"Do you want to talk about it?" A no, in the form if a shaken head,"That's fine. But could you come out here? It's a little odd talking across the room into a dark stairway," David smiled cheekily.
After a moment of hesitation, Max stepped down the stairs the rest of the way and came to sit on the couch. His sleeves flopped into his lap, still fingering the torn up edges while David went on talking.
"Alright. Well what about breakfast? Oh! How about we both get into some pjs and go out to waffle house?"
Max glanced down at his own version of pjs- a pair of track shorts and his baggy sweatshirt- before answering back,"I'll wear jeans,"
"Aw come on!" David sulked,"It's not even six in the morning, buddy! Everyone's gonna be out and about in jammies!"
Max wrinkled his nose,"Well I don't have 'jammies'," he huffed,"It's too fuckin cold for shorts,"
"We can just go shopping for clothes then!" He offered,"There's a Kohls downtown! We could go on and-"
"David," A flat, unamused tone,"You're broke.
A pursed-lipped sulk crossed David's face,"Hey now… I got paid today actually,"
"So what, you don't have bills to pay?" Max wasn't impressed, crossing his arms.
David, once again wondering how Max had gone from such a stubborn kid to the voice of reason, sighed softly,"I do. I just thought, since it's your first night here and all…"
Max still glared, unwavering on the surface. David had no money to spare, point blank, and that was a serious problem when it came to buying extra stuff. But, on the flip side, shopping for something other than summer clothes sounded pretty damn good. He rolled his eyes, getting up off the couch with a decision in mind, off to go change.
"Get your keys, dumbass," He grumbled, climbing the stairs.
David, despite the solemn reminder that cash was tight, jumped up to grab keys like Max said, sure he could find deals at Kohls and save as much money as he could. After all, bills weren't due until the end of the month and he'd have another paycheck before then. Everything would be fine! Pocketing his keys, his jacket slipped over his shoulders with ease and he worked his tennis shoes onto his feet. He shut the tv off just as he heard Max's steps down the hall. He appeared in jeans and tennis shoes like usual, as well as the familiar blue sweatshirt. His hands remained in his pockets.
"Let's go," he muttered, and David opened the door to allow him through before following close behind.
The cold wind bit at his cheeks, but Max just nuzzled his face further down into his sweatshirt to keep from frosting over. David locked the door and caught up to his side, only the muffled crunch of soggy leafs under their feet to break the otherwise silent air. The car was parked right where David left it, near the curved path he considered his driveway, hidden from the road ahead. He pressed the button on his keys twice to unlock it, and a third other button to start the car. Maxs steps faltered upon hearing the engine rev without them even being near the vehicle, and looked straight to David with a scowl.
"What the fuck happened?" He asked, walking towards the man rather than the passenger side.
David paused, giving him a curious gaze,"Hm? Oh! The auto start," he smiled,"The button let's me start it even without getting in. I'll show you,"
David pressed the button again, and killed the engine. He offered the little keychain to Max, pointing at the start button. Max took the little box into his hands and, after studying the small button, pointed it at the car and pushed down. Like last time, the car hummed to life once more. Max looked down at the button, nose wrinkled in a confused wonder. David smiled and nudged him towards the passenger side of the car, gently taking the keys back.
"Let's get going before we turn into popsicles," he joked,"Off to Kohls!"
Max shrugged and got into the car, unhappy to discover that it was still just as chilly as the outside air. The fabric seat cooled the backs of his thighs, and his internal temp plummeted. He shivered and reached to crank up the heat. David, also burdened with goosebumps, raised no objection to it and shut his door. With this temperature, he was lucky the car started so quickly.
Max focused on gathering warmth for the first few minutes of the drive, stubborn goosebumps still standing on his arms. When the brisk chill had finally left, he turned to watch the window. The glass fogged, his breath warmer than even the air, apparently. He lifted his thumb and swiped a little dot, then a second, and a straight line to make a sort of 'meh' face. Life was pretty meh, but it wasn't too bad. He huffed another breath, and the face disappeared. He wiped it with his hand, and revealed the shops around downtown. One of which, a party store, and Max was reminded of Nikki's invitation.
"Hey," he spoke, his feet nudging forward and back in a small swing,"Nikki is having a party today… can I go?"
David would have to admit he was giddy upon realizing Max was asking a kid question rather than something serious and distressing,"Sure! When is it? Do you need to bring a dish?" He chirped, cheery.
Max shrugged,"I dunno. I told her I might be at the home still, so…"
David hummed,"Alright. Well, how about you get ahold of her and we can pick up some stuff to make oreo balls in the meantime! If she doesn't answer, we can just eat the snack we made!"
Max tugged his phone out of his pocket,"Nikki texts back pretty fast," he said,"And what the fuck are oreo balls?"
David chuckled,"Basically, you take a whole big pack of oreos and crush them up real small, then mix them with cream cheese. Roll them into little balls and dip them in white chocolate!"
Max hummed,"Okay," he sent a message to the chat.
Max: 4:56 am; Hey, when's the party?
He realized then how early it was and shut his phone off, knowing even though Nikki messaged pretty quick that she probably hadn't even rolled out of bed yet,"It's the asscrack of dawn, David, is Kohls even open right now?"
David bit his lip,"Oh, you may be right,"
"So where the fuck are we going?"
Tapping his thumb on the steering wheel, David wondere what was open so early,"Uh… is target open at the moment?"
"Why don't you look it up?"
David huffed,"Im driving, kiddo! You look it up,"
Max rolled his eyes and turned on his phone again, searching up 'Target Hours' on google. Up popped the results; 8am-11pm.
"No, they open at eight,"
"Meijers?"
"Ugh."
'Meijer Hours' on google yielded a pleasing result, a 24 hour store.
"Meijer is good for 24 hours," Max said,"There's one 3 miles back the other way,"
"Whoops," David chuckled, switching his turn signal to change lanes on,"We'll get there eventually!"
Max shut off his phone again and pushed it into his jeans pocket. Usually it would reside with his hands, warmly kept in his hoodie pocket, but right now there was 130 dollars cash sitting under his fingers. He had a little bit more priority to keep contact with the money than his phone.
The only reason he had it is because he really did need some new clothes, considering school was starting next week and he had one pair of shorts and maybe four decent pairs of jeans. He needed some new threads before class, and apparently that included pjs for David. The dude went through shit to make sure he got adopted, the least Max could do was snag a cheap pair of sweats and call it a day.
Just like David said, eventually they did get to Meijer. Once again they stepped out into cold wintery air, and Max buried his face in the collar of his sweatshirt to keep from freezing. Not very many people were there, so they at least got a spot to park that was close, and they got inside relatively quick.
The bright, luminous and starched white lighting made Max avert his eyes for the first little while, wondering why they would ever light it so brightly this early in the morning. David trucked along happy as ever, apparently not phased.
"Ooh! How about you go look for clothes and in the meantime I'll get the stuff for oreo balls?" David suggested, still smiling cheek to cheek.
Max nodded,"Ok,"
"Alright! Text me if you need me, ok?" He hummed, and patted Max's head gently before walking off towards the grocery section.
Max stuck his hands back in his pocket and wandered down an aisle, looking up at signs to find the 'Boys' section. Some plain tshirts and jeans, and some socks. The jeans met him first, and he dug around to find the right size. Two pairs for 20 bucks sounded good enough for him. He put them over his shoulder and continued forward to find some shirts to accompany them.
He liked the softer fabrics of some, and tried to find plain shirts with the same fabric but ultimately failed. He settled instead for a pack of rolled shirts, two white, two black, and two grey. He poked a finger through the plastic packaging and felt them- stiff and a bit rougher than the shirts he wanted, but still wearable. He grabbed it and counted his total- 53.99. So, basically, 54. On to socks next.
He neared the little section for shoes and socks for everyone and his phone buzzed in his pocket.
David: 5:02 am; I found all the stuff! I'll be up at the self check, come find me when you get done!
Max tucked away his phone and grabbed the first pack of long socks that he saw. He still had to grab sweatpants before he went to the checkout. He hoped he could get there first and check out before David saw him. At least if he did he could lie about how much he spent, make it seem like he only had a small chunk of change with him and just wanted it spent. Make up something about not needing the emergency cash anymore. On the flip side, he knew truthfully he would never give it up so easy for anyone else, so he supposed it wasn't a total lie, after all. He had spent it on something he didn't absolutely need. He shook his head and carried on to the pjs.
He grabbed a pair of thick, dark grey sweats and was more than pleased they were soft on the inside. He would have to change before he left. The pair of pants drove his total up to 63. He had kind of hoped to buy more of his clothes from a thrift shop, since it would have been a helluva lot cheaper. But, it was done now and Max headed to the check out.
He had a breath of relief when he realized David hadn't gotten there yet. He strolled up to a self check and scanned his clothes item by item as quick as the machine would let him. He had to stretch on his toes to see the total on screen- about 67. Max has totally forgotten to account for taxes. He shrugged it off and pulled the wad of change from his pocket and counted through to pull away the right amount. He had taken more of the bigger bills out of Honeynuts, to make everything more convenient, but there was still a considerably large chunk of just one dollar bills. After all, most of it had been scrounged up finding it at the old homes.
He had counted out 40 or so before someone spoke to his right,"Hey, kiddo,"
It was immediately too gruff to be David's cheerful voice, despite the similar nickname, and Max yanked his money close to his chest and turned to see who it was. It looked to be a guard of some sort, and the self checkout monitor was standing behind him, looking concerned.
"Would you mind if I ask where you got all that money, son?" The guard asked.
This bastard, Max thought.
"I do chores," he answered plainly, begging his heart to stop hammering against his ribcage,"What's it to you?"
"Now don't go lying to me," the guy said, as if scolding him,"The only time I see a kid with such a big stack of cash is if they made off with it from somewhere," his voice was no longer polite, but instead disapproving and testing,"I think we ought to call your parents and sort this out, don't you think?"
His hand reached for Max's arm, and Max shoved the cash in his pocket, turned, and bolted the opposite direction. There was yelling behind him, but his could only just hear it over the thrum of his racing heartbeat. He ran straight away down the checkout lanes, looking back every second or so. The guard was speaking on some sort of mic, and Max could only watch while he ran after the boy. And suddenly-
"Max!"
The little camper's head whipped to face front again, just seconds before he slammed into David. The counsellor was stunned, to say the least, but managed to keep from falling or dropping his items. Worry creased his features, eyes searching Max for an explanation. Meanwhile, Max picked himself up off the floor and ran behind his guardian, pointedly putting the man between himself and the guard still racing towards them.
"Are you his father?" He asked, clearly winded as he neared the pair.
David frowned,"I am," he shifted his stuff into one arm, reaching behind to settle a hand on Max's head in a protective gesture; for once, Max had no objection.
"Then you can tell me where he got so much money?" He confirmed, waving a hand towards the boy "Looked like two hundred some dollars the kid had,"
David felt his heart sink a little, knowing exactly where the money came from,"He does chores at home for me, in the yard and such,"
The guard glanced back down at Max, who had a deep set scowl on his face,"Alrighty then. You can understand my doubts though. Kid's barely twelve and has a mountain like that? Hard to believe,"
David had a tight smile on his face, his thumb gently rubbing against Max's hairline,"Of course! He's been saving up for some time now, he sure does love to buy things for himself,"
The dolt chuckled, a smile easing on his face,"Well, a good morning to the both of you,"
David nodded,"Good morning, sir. Max, tell the man Good morning,"
Max scowled,"What? No! That bastard-" Max had a string of words to spout off in response to the outrageous request, but he looked up and saw the look on David's face, and suddenly his demand seemed a lot more reasonable.
He swallowed his pride for the moment and grit his teeth,"Good morning… sir,"
The guy gave a grin and nodded his head before walking off to bug someone else. Max stepped back, away from his grip on David's pants, sure David was going to give him a lecture of some sort. Just as predicted, David frowned down at him while he spoke.
"Max, tell me the truth," he said,"Why did you bring that money?"
Max, even despite wanting to roll his eyes, found himself looking away from David's stern gaze,"You're broke, I needed clothes."
"Is that the truth?"
The boy huffed, frustrated,"Yes! God, David," he crossed his arms,"Clothes are expensive, okay? It's my shit, I can get it,"
David knelt, and his eyes were serious and unwavering,"I'm here for a reason. I'm supposed to buy the clothes, and the food, and all of the things you need. Clothes are expensive? So are kids," he said, and Max shifted his weight from foot to foot,"I'm pulled a bit tight right now, but don't forget that you can ask me for these things, okay? Guardian is more than just a title for me,"
Max nodded, finding himself at a loss for words.
"Now, how much was your total?" David asked, tilting his head to the side a bit.
"67," Max answered, still a little taken aback by the whole thing.
"Do you still want to buy it? I can get it if you want, kiddo," David knew it would hurt his pocket a bit, but it wasn't that much of a problem, he was happy to get it.
"I can get it myself," Max returned to his glaring huff of a tone; if David didn't know better, he would have said he was pouting.
David smiled and stood to walk them back to the self check. It was kind of sweet how Max regressed so easy when David reminded him if his guardianship. Anytime he mentioned it, suddenly the curses slid away and Max was shuffling his feet and mumbling. It at least helped David gauge how upset he really was, and let him know if he was getting through to him. That's all he needed really, is to make sure Max was really hearing him.
They got back to the check out where Max had started his scans, and the boy looked at the attendant there. He was sitting with his face in his phone, almost hiding from the boy's look. Max sneered his way anyways, still bitter about being suspected of theft. David took the machine beside Max's, scanning his own items and letting the camper do whatever he needed to. Max was hesitant at first, but once again tugged the pile out of his jacket and counted out 67, plus a dollar for the change.
Both shopping trips handled, David told Max to go change and he would bring the car around for him. Max took his sweatpants and walked off to the bathroom. A quick change of clothes and they were both back in the car.
"I still don't get why I had to wear sweatpants," Max grumbled, although the bite wasn't there to back it up.
"It's just for fun, kiddo!" David hummed,"It's early, you can stay in pjs and relax!"
"Sure," Max dismissed it,"Is waffle house even any good?"
David shrugged,"I… wouldn't give it 5 stars for healthy food, but it's good comfort food for breakfast,"
"Whatever you say,"
Max was really just hungry at this point, and food was food. Is was another ten minute drive to the place, but Max was mostly asleep through a generous chunk of it. They toughed through the wind for the fourth time that night and entered the warmth of the grease smelling restaurant. It was well lit compared to outside, but not as obnoxiously bright as the Meijers they entered. It was basically empty except for two other people, in tables on opposite sides of the shop. David led them both to a booth near the window.
David offered the laminated menu to Max after sitting down, and began looking through it.
"I think chocolate chip waffles sounds very good,"David hummed, scanning over things.
Max made a face,"You couldn't pay me,"
With a raised eyebrow, David dropped the menu and questioned him,"What do you mean?"
"I can't eat sugary bullshit in the morning," Max stuck out his tongue
"I don't usually, but I don't mind it when I do," David hummed, then set down his menu, foot tapping,"So...Max…"
Max narrowed his eyes at the menu, suspicious of that tone, and dropped his menu to glare at him,"What."
He waved a hand,"Nothing too big, just curious… how are you feeling about going back to school?"
The kid rolled his eyes,"Oh fuck that," his menu rose in front of his face again.
David frowned,"Aw, come on! It can be fun! New school, lots of fun to be had!"
"New school means I'm the freak that just decided to walk into the neighbourhood," he griped, his mood quickly beginning to sour.
"Max, you do need to go," David frowned.
"I don't have to do anything," Max snapped,"Except pay taxes and die,"
Again, another frown from David, accompanied by a disapproving huff,"Why don't you want to go to school, Max?"
"It's fucking-!"
"Whoa there hunny," a buttery smooth voice chuckled beside the both of them, it was a generously curvy black woman, a pad of paper in one hand and a pen behind her ear,"There's no need to be shoutin' like that to your daddy," she shook her head with a smile,"What can I get you boys?"
Max scowled darker than satan himself, mumbling nasty phrases angrily while his face burned hotly at the term.
"Oh!" David folded his menu,"Can I get two chocolate chip waffles and some hash browns, please?"
The woman tugged the pen free from her ear,"Sure you can! And what about this little fiesty bundle 'a joy?"
Max, once again, scowled,"I'll show you a bundle of something," he hissed quietly, catching a look from David,"Eggs, bacon, hash browns. With oj,"
The woman made a sound at the lack of his manners, and strolled back to the kitchen. David turned his gaze back to Max.
"So, why didn't you want to go to class?"
Max groaned,"Can I just have two fuckin minutes without the third degree?" He snapped, angry,"Everytime we sit down you have shit to say,"
David raised his hands in surrender,"Alright! Point taken," he laced his hands in his lap, pursing his lips.
And quiet layered over them like a blanket. Max was determined not the be bothered by it, and pulled his phone out to mess around on whatever app he decided to fuck with that day. David kept quiet like he said, and looked out the window without a word. Over the trees, the sun just barely began to make its debut over the sky, leaving a slightly lighter blue near the area. David studied the colors forming, trying his best not to irritate his new ward on his first day. It was obviously a tense subject, but they would figure it out.
Max toyed on his phone for a little while before he got bored of it again, and shut it off. Then turned it on, scrolled, and shut it off. Finally, he groaned.
"It's just boring as fuck,"Max mumbled.
"Classes?" David replied, keeping his words short to let Max talk.
"Yeah. Like for fucks sake I get the shit their doing in two days and then they spend an extra week on it for the slow fuckers," he snipped, already annoyed at the thought- beside his hand, his phone vibrated.
"So you're understimulated?" David asked, tilting his head; he felt bad about it, but he had to admit he was a touch surprised that it wasn't the opposite problem.
Max lifted his phone to check the message,"Yeah something like that,"
Unknown: 5:34 am; hey, it's celine. Is this max?
Max blinked twice; he didn't remember giving her his number? He had meant to, but he was just gonna text Chikae and get it to her that way. Everything happened fast, he got caught up in the mess. Then, another message.
Unknown: 5:35 am; it's the asscrack of dawn so I hope I didnt wake you up. Im just bored. If youre up text me back!
Max grinned slightly, recalling himself saying the exact same phrase to David no more than an hour ago.
"Who is it?" David inquired, a soft smile on his face.
"Celine," Max answered plainly, saving her number to his phone.
Max: 5:36 am; Yeah it's Max. I've been up for an hour. Where the fuck did you find my number? I thought I'd have to ask Chikae for yours.
David hummed,"I don't think I've met her. She's not from camp, is she?"
Max shook his head,"No. From the home,"
David nodded, watching the boy's face curiously. His phone buzzed in his hands, and Max was typing a reply only seconds after. David smiled softly, and decided it best it leave him be.
Without too much wait their food arrived, hot and smelling very good. David coated his fluffy waffles in a light layer of butter and began pouring syrup over each little divot. Max took a piece of bacon and sent another message to Celine before digging in to his meal.
"I know you mentioned her," David cut the silence,"Didn't she have a home that she was going to?"
Max nodded, and spoke over a mouthful of food,"Yeah, she didn't know when though,"
David grimaced slightly at the muffled speech,"Maybe she knows now. It might be somewhere close,"
Max studied David's face for a minute, still chewing, before picking up his phone again.
So far the day was going good. He had the party to go to, David got his little outing. He bought himself new clothes. Everything seemed like it was going right again. Max glanced out the window, the sky splashed with pinks, blues, and a beautiful shade of orange. It was pretty cool to look at between the sparse clouds. He took another bite of bacon and slide his phone into his pocket. He wouldn't get a reply from Celine until later that week, but for now he had other things to worry about. First of which, was the rest of his breakfast, which was just as David described it would be.
Max: 5:47 am; Hey, did you figure out where you're gonna be squatting?
