Max is Thankful

MAX

For the past few days (since Max and Justin had made love for the first and only time so far), Max was floating on the clouds. Good thing he didn't have magic or he might actually be floating on the clouds. He walked the halls of the school not even noticing anyone else was around him. That's when he ran right into a wall. No, not a real wall, though he had been known to do that on occasion, but a Zeke wall. Oops, Max thought. He had blatently disreguarded Zeke's feelings for Justin and went for him himself.

Zeke straightened up his shirt and picked up the loose papers Max had made him drop. He cleared his throat. "Hope everything is going well for you then, Mr. Russo."

"Don't be like that, Zeke." Max commented on the fact that Zeke used his last name.

Zeke narrowed his eyes.

"You're, uh, going to be my math teacher today, huh?" Max awkwardly scratched the back of his head. His armpit hair stuck out from his shirt sleeve. His weight shifted from one foot to another.

"Take a seat, please." Zeke was cold. His eyes shot daggers.

Max started to picture daggers actually coming from Zeke's eyes. It was such a creepy picture that Max actually ducked and covered his head.

"Enough shenanigans Mr. Russo."

A bit flushed with embarrassment, Max stood straight and rushed into the classroom as a group of giggling girls passed by. All of them waved girlishly at Max. Max waved back with a stupid grin on his face. He still had it. Girls wanted him. Guys wanted him. He only wanted Justin. He felt ashamed instantly for even thinking that in front of Zeke, so he rushed into the room and grabbed a desk close to the front.

Max rubbed his chin as he thought about what he could do for Zeke. As he felt his face, he remarked to himself how smooth his face was. It was such soft skin. Sort of like Justin's back. Max forgot he was thinking about anything and pulled out his phone to check out his facebook account. He was glad he had kept it up instead of just having that wizard network thing that Justin was always on when he wan't being a doating boyfriend.

There was a post from Cody Martin saying how excited he was to be back in New York. Things started to click in Max's head. He quickly sent a message to Cody.

-Want to hang out soon?-

Right as the bell was ringing, Max got a responce back from Cody.

-YEAH! When?-

Zeke strolled into the room and swiped Max's cell phone away from him. He turned and put it on the desk behind him. Next to the phone, he picked up a stack of papers and started reading off names for attendance.

Max was forming a plan. He got out a note book and started writing chicken sctrach on the pages as Zeke wrote some notes on the board for how to do the math problems. Luckily, Max was now weeks ahead on whatever Zeke was teaching. He needed to remember everything if it was all going to work out.

Right after school, Max stopped by the sub shop and asked his mom if she had any of the old greeting cards she used to pick up at all the sales she went to. With her three children, she had needed many "Get Well Soon," "Thank You," and "Sorry For..." cards.

"Oh, Maxie! It is so nice to see you." Teresa hugged her son very tightly. Max thought his lungs were going to explode from how tightly his mother was squeezing him.

"You too, Mom," Max managed to say, his voice sounding very compressed.

When Teresa pulled away, she smoothed out Max's hair. "To what do I owe this pleasure."

Instead of getting to the point, Max asked his mother to sit down and chat over a snack. He told her everything that had been going on, of course leaving out the parts about him and Jusitn being boyfriends, lovers, and sex buddies.

Teresa smile and nodded a lot, explaining how happy she was that he was doing so well. She skirted around the topic of him coming home. But Max dodged it every time, purposefully saying dumb things to fill that space. Finally, he ran out of ways to dodge it and asked his mother for the greeting cards he was looking to get the whole time. She gladly went and got them for him.

As Max sorted through the cards to find the perfect two, his mother made up some doggie bags for him to take back to Justin. Max found a "Thank You" card instantly. The other card was a bit harder to find. He settled on a blank one.

Before Teresa came over, Max quickly scribbled on the card that was intended for Cody.

Max was writing in Zeke's when his mother came over with a couple very full bags. All that food would take a week or two to eat. Max groaned inside. His mother was always going overboard. She looked over his shoulder, which he figured she would, so he had been deliberately vegue.

Zeke,

Thank you for all the wonderful help you have given me lately. If not for you and Justin I don't know where I would be. Sorry you have been feeling lonely lately as I am taking up so much of your best friend's time. However, I have a gift for you. Please meet at _ _ restaurant for what I think will be a paid-for delightful treat.

Yours,

Max

"Awe! Max. That is so sweet and lovely," Teresa said.

"Thanks, Mom. I better go before Justin starts to worry. We don't want him having a crease in his forehead forever."

Teresa nodded.

Before heading him, Max stopped off at the restaurant to put in a reservation for a dinner for two and left a hundred and the card for Cody at the restaurant. He stopped by the school where Zeke was just getting in his car and handed him the card before heading off for home. He prayed everything would work out. That's when he realized he needed to text Cody and get him to go to that same restaurant. Cody instantly agreed.