Dating Isaac was probably the best decision Max had made since moving to Mayview. Whenever Isaac was off work and Max didn't have classes, they were together. They would go get something to eat at the food court nearby the college campus, or they would go tramp around in the woods behind Max's house. Sometimes they just sat around and talked. Whatever it was they did together, they would poke fun at each other until the creative energy was gone and they were stuck using insults like "pretty boy" and "nerd".

It was nice.

Two weeks after the official start of their relationship, they were laying on the floor of Max's room, staring up at the ceiling that was now covered with glow in the dark stars. Isaac had had a bunch of them he hadn't gotten around to using, so he begged Max to let him put them up. He had originally said no, but Isaac's puppy-dog eyes convinced him otherwise, and he had brooded about it for a few hours. Anyways, Zoey had decided that the house was cold and their father had cranked the heat up so it was eighty degrees, so Max was missing a shirt and Isaac had his undershirt.

They were quiet, and Max was beginning to wonder if Isaac had fallen asleep. He titled his head so he was looking at his boyfriend, and he found the redhead had his blue eyes trained on him. He gave a reassuring smile, hoping to put Isaac's occupied mind at ease.

"You do know that you're gonna have to meet my parents eventually," Isaac said softly, taking Max's hand as to reassure himself.

"Yeah, I know that. I don't see why, since you don't keep contact with them as it is."

"I see them on holidays, sometimes. Y'know, just to go see how they're doing." Max lifted their hands, bring them close so he could kiss Isaac's knuckles. The ginger watched, blushing faintly and smiling.

"Everything'll be alright, okay?" It was weird, how easy it was to console Isaac. It made him feel creepy to compare the two, but his sister and his boyfriend had very similar patterns of anxiety, and their thought patterns were nearly identical when they were upset. It was helpful for Max, though, because he knew how to make Isaac calm and happy again.

The brunet sat up, shifting so he was leaning against his bed, and soon Isaac joined him and crawled into his lap. The ginger curled against him, so Max just smiled and pressed his lips to Isaac's temple.

He understood the concerns that radiated off of the hairdresser; his parents weren't likely to receive a boyfriend well. Isaac had confessed that his mother was bipolar, and both his parents extremely homophobic. Because he was raised with the mindset that being gay was the equivalent to sin, Isaac told Max he had been terrified to find out that girls weren't really in his interest. He had thought something was wrong with him.

Now, with his arms around his boyfriend and the peaceful silence in the room, Max wondered why anyone thought it was bad. It was just love, wasn't it?

Max dipped his head so his lips brushed against Isaac's neck, feeling his heartbeat and smiling slightly at it. A small sigh came from him, and he leaned against Max with his eyes fluttering closed. The brunet pretended like he didn't notice the jump of Isaac's pulse or the fluttering in his own chest.

Bzzt! Bzzzt!

Both of them jumped as Max's phone started going off, and Isaac immediately scooted off of his lap so he could check. A small whine was pulled from him, but Max checked his phone regardless and felt his mouth go dry.

[Thursday; Sam] 4:29 PM: hey bro! doghouse and i r gonna b passin through mayview tomorrow

[Thirsday; Sam] 4:29 PM: wanna meet up w/ us?

He hadn't actually talked much with his high school friends after graduating, so now that one of them was contacting him, he was slightly concerned. Isaac scooted next to Max, peeking over his shoulder curiously.

"Who was that?" The ginger cocked his head cutely and Max just sighed, flopping down across his boyfriend's lap.

"My ex and my friend Sam." He said calmly. "She and Doghouse are passing through tomorrow and she wants to meet up. I love 'em and all, but I don't really want to see them."

Isaac started absentmindedly playing Max's hair, twirling the brown strands around in his fingers much to the brunet's secret delight. "You should go see them," he encouraged, smiling and kissing the top of his head. "They're your friends, aren't they? You don't know when you'll see them again."

Max tilted his head up to look at Isaac and made a face. "Yeah, but..."

"No buts. You can be social with people other than me, Isabel, and Ed." Isaac smiled and pecked him on the lips, now that his face was revealed. "If you really want me to, though, I'll go with."

Max thought about it. It would be a relief to have a fourth party, because Doghouse and Max were in completely different sides because of the stupid fight with Sam, but at the same time he didn't exactly want his friend's from the big city to know that he had a boyfriend... He also didn't want to run the risk of Isaac pulling out his taser, as he'd gained a habit of doing whenever he was around someone that he didn't trust.

"Yeah, you're coming. I'll see when they're dropping by, and you can just take your lunch break then, yeah?"

Isaac laughed. "Yeah, sure." He got to his feet, shoving Max off of his lap, and made a mock now. "I'm gonna go back and get food and junk, since you guys ran out of vegan bars. I'll see you tomorrow, nerd."

Max hopped up and kissed him playfully—Isaac liked to complain about him getting the last kiss as opposed to the last word, but he did it even more so because of the complaint. "I'll see ya." The ginger gave him one last hug and a peck on the cheek before turning and heading out of the room, leaving Max sitting on his bed and grinning like an absolute idiot.

That grin slid away as his phone went off, and then again. Two messages from different people.

[Thursday; Sam] 4:34 PM: you spacin? we'll b there around noon tomorrow, so c u then!

[Thursday; You] 4:35 PM: Yeah, okay. See you..

Max slid to the next conversation and felt a small smile flit onto his face. Isaac had sent him a stupid picture earlier that hadn't sent and now that it had, he had a distraction from the undeniable stress ball that were his city friends. Max had taken Isaac to an amusement park out of town for their first date, and Isaac had gotten someone to take a picture of them after the brunet had won a grey stuffed bear for the ginger. Isaac was grinning so wide it looked like it hurt, and Max had his gaze fixed off camera, trying to hide his face with his hat.

[Thursday; Isaac] 4:34 PM: -Attachment-

[Thursday; Isaac] 4:34 PM: oh my god it finally sent it's been like three hours

[Thursday; You] 4:36 PM: Be careful, your inner nerd is showing.

[Thursday; Isaac] 4:36 PM: oh shush.

[Thursday; You] 4:37 PM: Nope.

[Thursday; You] 4:38 PM: By the way, Sam and Doghouse will be in town around noon tomorrow. Think you can make it?

[Thursday; Isaac] 4:39: Oh yeah, that's easy.

Max found himself grinning again at the overall dork level from Isaac and. he flopped onto his back, sinking into his soft blankets.

Tomorrow was going to be quite the adventure

This too way too long to write, I swear. Anyways! Chapter eight is up!

Sam is totally gonna fuck shit up, and then the O'Connors will fuck things up even further.

-evil laughter-

starryeyedartist