Chapter 11: Missing You

"Hi, how have you been? I haven't seen you around in like forever..."

"No, Leo, that sounds stupid."

"Hey, wow Max, I didn't think I'd run into you here."

"That's even worse,"

"We share a cafeteria."

"Jeez, these are so dumb I might as well just say,"

"Hey, you haven't smacked into my body lately, do wanna do that again... because I kinda want to..." Leo smacked his head lightly and groaned. Then fell back on his bed in defeat.

'That's the one, perfect... Go with that one idiot!'

'Yeah, you're an idiot Leo.' He lay surrounded by the creased thick duvet. His soft gray sweats pulled low enough from the force of his fall backward that the slight V shape of his pelvis was starting to peak out. While his striped blue and white shirt was halfway up his stomach, exposing his midriff from the force of him throwing himself on the bed.

He sighed unhappily. Then adjusted his head to stare out his bedroom window forlornly at the pretty trees, and fresh greenery that was abundant everywhere.

It was spring so everywhere you looked outside that didn't have a road filled with moving cars, was bright and beautiful green.

Luscious, picturesque, lavish. The very imagery people liked to shove onto the bright front pages of travel brochures.

But those didn't show how the sun would make your clothes stick to your back in the boiling heat, as you walked the almost twenty to forty-minute walk anywhere on campus.

Or the brutal freezing you would take doing the same thing in winter. As the wind and snow whipped around you tearing at your skin. Freezing your every bit of exposed extremities.

Yeah, there were buses, everywhere on campus.

But the reality was sometimes you missed them. Or if you were like most broke college students, as most of them were.

Then you walked.

Because you would rather use the money you did have on something else.

In Leo's case, it was snacks, he couldn't study without them. He had pocket money from home, but he hated spending it on anything else but snacks.

Because frankly without a pile of snacks around him Leo was pretty sure any form of classwork was detrimental to his survival.

But he groaned as he stared miserably at the beauty outside this window.

'Why is nature being all perfect when I'm unhappy?' He thought sourly, his pretty little lips taking on a slight dip at the corners.

'And why was he unhappy?'

'Because of bad grades? Failing his test that weekend by a stupid two percent and the teacher not even letting him fix the grade with an extra credit assignment!...?'

'No, nope, none of that was the problem.'

The problem was that it had been over a week since he had been to Max's race.

'Since the kiss...'

And he was starting to feel like he was being haunted. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see Max's face at night, then he would jolt awake from some seriously strong "lustful, naughty" dreams.

But Max hadn't made a single attempt to talk to him again since Leo had brought his key back.

In fact, the whole school was talking about this party Max was throwing in a little while and he hadn't even bothered to invite Leo at all.

He felt completely confused.

He had thought they had clicked

'Clicked my butt...'

'If you guys had clicked, you wouldn't have been asking your reflection, how it is doing after a week. You would be asking him.' He thought.

Leo groaned. "I have enough game to talk to my reflection, but not to someone I am physically attracted to."

This was a pathetic moment in his life.

A very pathetic moment.

Leo sighed, then sat and stood up unwillingly and put his shoes on then left his room and the dorm.

'You just have to try to see him today. It's that simple.'

'Maybe ask him out. Then maybe if you guys can become friends, maybe then the dreams will stop.'

'Maybe then he could see that it was just infatuation, that he didn't actually have a thing for guys... Or more specifically Max at all.'

'Yeah, that seemed more likely. He was fascinated by something out of reach, unattainable, because when you shouldn't have something that's when you always desired it.'

'Right??'

✥✥✥

Max, scanned the crowd in the Cafeteria. He had found that he had been sitting in here more often than he used to. Normally he would sit with all his buddies in the main canteen. But this place was slightly less busy and was honestly growing on him.

'Or rather the idea of being able to run into someone here was.' So he scanned the general area and what he could see of the main area for his face.

'A face he wanted to see, but at the same time didn't want to see.'

He was anxious, nervous... heck if he was honest, he was practically vibrating waiting for him.

Finally, he saw the bright red hair on top of the tall, lanky body, as it bobbed up and down through the crowd.

"Sam over here." He waved his best friend over with an anxious, nervously excited face.

Sam pushed through the last bit of people and made his way to Max.

Max watched with amusement as the people he pushed past went from aggravated and angry to blushing and shy when they noticed who had shoved them.

Sam had that effect on most people, even men. Which was why he sent Sam. Because Sam could go anywhere and get anything out of people. Especially information.

He had a special touch that no one could ever resist.

Sam broke out in a huge smile at him and he just knew Sam was thinking of some devious thing to do. Because he was pretty sure he was sending out an obvious aura of anxiety. Which he was pretty certain was why his best friend's face had lit up too.

'Had he somehow found where Leo had been hiding and brought him back with him?'

Sam turned back and smiled deviously. Max turned to look back at him.

"Are you looking for something?" Max asked Sam, confused.

Sam smiled at him, one of his charmingly goofy grins plastered across his face. Stretching his pretty little mouth wider.

"Nah, I was checking to see if Leo was behind me. Cause there is no way you were looking at little ole me like that." Sam said, chuckling amused at his own joke.

Max glared, and reached out, then punched Sam in the arm. Sam winced, but smiled again, good-humoredly.

"Hey, should you really treat your best friend who just did a huge favor for you that way?" He asked Max mischievously.

Max wrapped his arm around Sam's back so that his hand was resting on Sam's shoulder and looked at him with mock sweetness.

"Please, can you tell me what you found? My best smartest, and kindest friend in the whole wide world." He pat him lightly on the chest, shoulder area.

Sam nodded like a pleased cat the entire time soaking up the obvious schmoozing Max was doing.

"Ahhh,... Your kind words have touched my heart," He said sarcastically, playing along.

"No, really, more like, um, crushed it. I can practically see angels around me, it's so sweet."

"So... I suppose, I can divulge my juicy information." He pretended begrudgingly to give up but motioned for Max to come closer.

Max leaned in. Even though they were already practically head to head.

"His, best friend's name is Evan. They both went to a private high school together. His birthday is in March. He is on the school cheer team and was voted as the prettiest boy in our campus."

"He hangs out at the Koi pond in the science building when he doesn't eat lunch here. And he didn't eat lunch here every day until very recently." Sam said the last part with a twinkle in his eye. And max tried not to think that maybe the reason Leo had increased the amount of time he spent in here for the same reason he had.

Max nodded along as Sam spoke. Then when Sam seemed like he was done Max's frowned and sat back in disappointment.

"Hey, what about the most important thing!? Did you find out?" Max asked, annoyed Sam had seemingly forgotten the most important part.

Sam gave him a look of incredulity and rolled his eyes with a smile as if he were enjoying teasing him to insanity.

'Which he, obviously, was... Little devil'

Max let it go and just shook his head. He let Sam have this because he had noticed over the years, it was something Sam seemed to do, not just for fun but out of affection.

So despite how annoying it got to be his regular entertainment on a daily basis, he put up with it. Because college was boring without someone in life you could walk through and enjoy it happily with.

"Hey, I practically stalked your boy for ah like six plus days for you. Of course, I have the goods..." Sam said with mock offense.

"..." Max stared at him waiting for him to spill it.

"He is single. In fact, there are rumors he is a... "Sam motioned for Max to come closer.

Max leaned back in.

Sam mimed with his fingers together the word virgin, and He jumped up in response, quickly covering Sam's hands to make him stop.

A few of the tables around him snickered at the two idiots whispering in the corner. Max sat back down with a sheepish smile.

Max growled lightly in disgust, but sighed in relief and played with his bag that was sitting atop the table. Rolling the strap absentmindedly fidgeting.

"Thanks, you know... For, ah, getting that information for me. I couldn't ask for a better best friend." He said sincerely.

"So, do I get anything for helping?" Sam asked hopefully, a twinkle of humor in his eye.

Max smiled and motioned for Sam to come closer.

Sam leaned back in again. Max smiled big then whacked him on the back of the head.

Satisfied.