Chapter Text
Hot tears burned down the boy’s face as he ran down the street into the pouring rain. His legs felt like lead and his heart was pounding in his ears. He could hardly hear the shouting from behind him, and the slam of a door moments later. Why the hell did I do that! The boy cursed himself in his mind as he ran on. He knew with every footfall there would be no going back. Each one was a deadly mistake that he wouldn’t be able to fix… but he just kept running.
Minutes passed and he’d realised he finally reached the town square. His lungs burned and he felt like no matter how much air he took in, he’d never get enough. The boy pulled his arms close to his chest and walked off of the sidewalk to sink down next to a bush. He pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his head on his knees. His hands tangled in his spiky orange hair as he sobbed. What am I going to do?
---meanwhile---
Max had always regarded nature with a fair amount of respect. The destruction it could cause often left him in awe. Well, except for today. Right now it just had to be pouring rain. Which was doing nothing but make a mess of a perfectly good Saturday. What definitely didn't help was that it seemed like everyone was busy except him. Isabel and Ed were too busy competing in some sort of online-gaming-whatever, his family was at an amusement park a few towns over and Isaac... Well, he actually didn't know where Isaac was.
The boy sighed and flicked the window. This kind of weather didn't usually stop him, or the club for that matter. There was always someone around. Even if the paper and ink pair were off exploring alone, he'd still have Isaac to hang out with.
Which is what he would've been doing now if Isaac was anywhere to be found. There were days like this more often than Max would like. The orange haired boy would just... Drop off the face of the Earth. No texts, no purchases of vegan bars in the morning and no silly surprise ghost hunts.
It worried Max when Isaac disappeared like this. There was just something… Strange about it. It made the teen suspicious. Isaac didn’t normally ease these suspicions either. The day after, if he showed up, he'd act like it never happened. And to make it worse, Max knew next to nothing about Isaac's life. He always seemed nervous whenever Max asked something more personal than 'what's up?'
The brunet then reached for his phone. I wouldn't hurt to send another text to Isaac, right? He was halfway through the motions when a small voice interrupted him.
"Mr. Max! You aren't busy are you?" He easily matched the voice to the young ghost boy that haunted his home. He smiled a little to himself, well at least I'm not completely alone.
"No, no, PJ. I'm definitely busy. Please leave me to my silence." Max said as he turned around from where he'd been standing in front of his window. The 'younger' boy crossed his arms and smiled.
"I have a feeling that you aren't being serious." PJ said in his typical cheerful voice as he floated closer. All Max did in response to PJ's remark was chuckle and shake his head.
"That means I can talk to you, right?" PJ said as he pulled his arms up to his chest and shook them in anticipation.
Max shoved PJ's arm, "of course it does. I really don't have anything better to do." He said, gesturing to the pouring rain outside his window.
PJ seemed unable to control his excitement as he threw his arms into the air. "Yes! Okay so, you know there's this neat comic book I saw in the shop yesterday! It looked like the next copy of that one with the hero who can move between the afterlife and the living world!" PJ stopped to take a deep breath before he carried on about the ghostly hero. Max recalled the moment he'd introduced the series to PJ. It'd been right after he'd told the ghost that it was dangerous for him to have a tool. He'd felt terrible after. The look of utter disappointment on PJ's face was like a punch in the gut. What else was he to do than show the boy that you definitely didn’t have to be alive to be a superhero?
“...And the cover made it look like he was going to do something spectacular about that group of necromancers!” PJ finished, panting from how much he’d said without a breath of air.
Max snorted and adjusted his hat. “I didn’t know it was out yet.” He responded. He figured PJ already knew that. Whenever a new copy had come out the seventeen year old made it his duty to get for the young ghost. “I assume you want me to get it for you, huh?” Max said with a knowing smirk.
The ghost in front of him smiled wider. “Well...Yes that was the reason I asked if you were busy. I know the weather is rather… Unsavory right now but could you? Please?” PJ begged, pulling his arms up to his chest again and giving Max his best puppy dog eyes. The ‘younger’ boy knew he had won by the way Max had rolled his eyes at him.
“Yeah, sure. Why not. I love long walks to town in the rain.” Max said sarcastically as he moved to throw on his grey and white striped hoodie. So much for company. Max thought as he zipped up the front. He was disappointed that PJ hadn’t wanted to actually talk, but at least it gave him something to do. Maybe I’ll run into Isaac in town? He dumbly hoped, despite how unlikely it was that he’d see the orange haired pacifist.
“Awesome! Thanks, Max!” PJ shouted from behind the high-schooler before floating right in front of him. “One of these days I will find some super cool ghosty way of repaying you.” The boy said with a smile.
“No. There is no need for that, PJ. Just like, don’t fade into the light without telling me. Or whatever.” Max said as he tugged on the hood of his sweater and smiled at the ghost. He watched as PJ gave him a thumbs up and floated back into the floor with a quick ‘i can do that’.
Max huffed when the ghost was no longer in sight. PJ must've had some kind of death grip on his mind for making him want to walk in that rain for a comic book. Actually he didn’t want to, but he’d promised the boy that if there was an issue, he would get it. Max then grabbed his phone and wallet, pocketed them and headed out of his bedroom. He needed to get going now, before PJ got restless.
//////////
It took half an hour to get to where he wanted to be and Max hated himself so much for agreeing to get PJ the comic. The rain hadn’t been too bad when he first left, but five minutes ago it had really started raining. The droplets had practically doubled in size and fell harder than ever.
“This issue better be a good one.” Max grumbled as he trudged on into the comic shop. The look of shock he received from the owner didn’t really bother him. The seventeen year old kind of expected it. You don’t walk into a shop with water falling off you in buckets without getting stared at.
“Uh… Can I help you?” The lady at the counter asked, looking Max up and down.
“Yeah. I heard theres a new issue for ‘The Fantastic Phantom’? I’m getting it for a friend.” Max replied from where he’d been standing at the door. “I’ll just stay over here so I don’t flood your shop.” He grumbled as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
“…Yeah, sure thing.” The woman said before opening her store records to pull up the price for Max. “That’ll be four dollars and ninety nine cents. Uh… You get that out while I grab the comic for you.” She said, before rushing off to grab a copy off of the shelves.
Max reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Thank whatever god that told him to shove it into a plastic bag to keep it from getting soaked. He quickly pulled out six bucks and waited. The lady hadn’t taken very long. Actually Max had just begun to relax against the door of the shop when she came back.
“This is what you’re looking for, right?” The lady (Max now knew was named Debra because he could actually see her name tag) said, holding up a plastic covered comic. On the front there was the main character, Don, surrounded by a bunch of shadowy figures, one seeming to look like the head of the necromancer group. The slogan read ‘you can’t run from the dead’.
Max nodded at Debra before taking the comic into his hands and giving her the money. “The extra buck is for having to deal with…,” Max paused to gesture to the puddles forming around his soggy shoes, “All this.” He said. Debra nodded in understanding and sent the teen away with a quiet ‘thank you’ and a ‘have a nice day!’
Yeah sure, I’ll try that. Max thought as shoved the comic down his shirt and stepped outside the shop. He shivered as he began walking, he really wasn’t looking forward to the trip back. More rain, more cold, more wet.
“That’s it. I am never going to be dry ever again. I will be perpetually stuck covered in rain.” Max complained to himself as he blew water out of his mouth. The boy snorted a bit when he thought about how possible that could be if Isaac wanted it to. Wait, thinking about Isaac…
Max reached into his pocket to pull out the plastic bag, and from it, his phone. He leaned over the device and pulled it close to his chest to keep the water off it as much as possible as he powered it on. Despite everything telling him not to be, he was still worried about Isaac. Half of him told him that it was normal and nothing visibly bad had ever happened during these periods but… Seriously, how could anyone not worry? Having your friend occasionally disappear was something that should make anyone nervous, especially if it was never excused or explained.
The lock screen took a few more moments to load up, but once it did Max felt confused and shocked. He had a message. A message that was actually from Isaac! That was... Very unusual, seeing as he had never contacted Max during one of his ‘periods of disappearance’ before. The teen quickly punched in his password and opened up the message he’d received.
At 4:32 PM: Max where are you? I’m at your house.
At 4:32 PM: Or store… whatever.
At 4:33 PM: Seriously though, open up
“Shit!” He hissed as he looked up at the clock on his phone. 4:45 PM. You’ve gotta be kidding me. Max mentally cursed himself for not paying attention as he typed in his excuse and a quick apology. Isaac was outside his house, in the rain and he was a good half an hour away. Well actually… maybe more like ten minutes if he did what he did best.
Max reached into his hoodie and pulled out the comic book, quickly shoving it into the plastic bag along with his phone and wallet. He really didn’t want to drop the comic after his over-half-an-hour-long journey of misery.
And with that, Max took off running down the street completely disregarding any and all of the mud and water that splashed onto his clothes. His dad had bleach right?
---meanwhile---
Isaac sat quietly outside of the convenience store Max’s family owned with his head leaning back against the wall. He’d been there for a good ten minutes and was starting to seriously question where Max was. The teen huffed and tapped his feet on the wet pavement of the sidewalk nervously.
It hadn’t been very long since he’d left, his eyes and lungs still burned and he still felt sick from all that had happened. He wrapped his arms around his middle and fought off the tears that threatened to fall as he let out a shaky breath. The boy still didn’t know what he was going to do. The best idea he’d had on the subject ‘was go see Max, he’ll help somehow even if you don’t tell him what the hell is going on.’ Isaac was about to bang his head against the wall at his stupidity when a buzz from his pocket interrupted him.
The teen pulled out his phone at lightning speed and looked at the notification.
Max (just now)
Shit im sorry i was in town
Max (just now)
I’ll be there ASAP
Well, isn’t that a relief, he thought as sank back down against the wall. Isaac sighed and rubbed at his eyes, he knew when Max said ASAP he meant it. He could practically see the brown haired teen launching himself off ledges and over railings in an attempt to reach his house as fast as possible. Isaac let out a weak chuckle despite how hollow he felt at the moment. He wordlessly opened his timer app. Let’s see how long he takes.
//////////
Max inhaled quickly as he vaulted himself over one of the railings that separated the road from a steep… like maybe fifteen foot decline and another road. Yeah okay that was probably a pretty bad decision. He thought, faintly upset about his lack of judgment as he prepared himself for the incoming impact. It’d probably hurt when he landed but he figured as long as he didn’t get hit by a vehicle he’d be fine.
He exhaled sharply as his feet came in contact briefly with the soft ground before he tucked in on himself and shoulder rolled. That was about the best he could do to cushion the fall but damn did it still hurt. He grunted as he shot back onto his feet and carried on sprinting in the direction of his home. Parkour really wasn’t as enjoyable in the rain as it was on a nice day, but he’d be damned if he strolled leisurely back to his house when he knew Isaac was there waiting. And in the rain. Of course it had to be raining today of all days.
Max mentally pinched himself as he jumped down a set of stairs. He needed to focus on not making more stupid mistakes like he did a few moments ago instead of how improbably unlucky today had been. Besides it’d be pretty shitty if he broke his leg or something when he was like, two minutes away from where Isaac was.
Max pushed on at that thought, despite how heavily he’d begun panting. His stamina had definitely been stretched past its limits and he couldn’t recall any other situation he’d felt as relieved to be almost home as he did now. Only a few more turns. He told himself as he ran through an alleyway. Isaac better thank him when he got there, or else he’d seriously hurt that orange haired nuisance.
Thinking of which, it was pretty strange that he’d just shown up at Max’s house out of nowhere. The brunet made a mental note to pester Isaac about that, if he didn’t seem too nervous about it. Max turned sharply onto his home street from the alley and grunted as he narrowly dodged an incoming stranger. A quick ‘sorry’ shot out as he straightened up and ran on.
From where he was standing he could clearly see the bright patch of orange that was his so-called best friend. A groan flew left his throat as he slowed to a stop to give his lungs, and limbs a break. He bent forward and panted loudly for a moment. There was no way in hell he could run the last block, his head felt light and his throat was burning. Isaac would have to deal with the fact that Max would be half a minute later than he usually was.
Isaac didn’t look up from the phone in his hand until the brunet was standing right in front of him. “Hmm… You took eleven minutes and twenty seconds to get here. Are you out of shape? Normally it only takes you like, nine or ten.” Isaac said quietly as he threw his phone into his pocket and jumped to his feet. The orange haired boy, at first, had a very plain expression but it was wiped away quickly, replaced by a teasing smile. Or at least it was until Isaac got a good look at the other teen’s state of being.
“Good god what happened to you?” He asked, humor underlining the slight worry in his tone. Max inhaled deeply as he pushed passed Isaac, trying not to let the ginger see the blush of embarrassment that rushed to his cheeks.
“I may or may not have had to roll through like, five mud puddles on my way here.” Max said as he fumbled in his pocket for his keys. He pulled them out as soon as he found them, unlocked and pushed the door of the convenience store open.
“Wow. I’m flattered. The great Maxwell Puckett rolled through five mud puddles to get to me. I’m swooning.” Isaac replied comically as he stepped into the store and removed his shoes. Max couldn’t help but roll his eyes and fight the redness growing in his cheeks that most definitely had nothing to do with his recent exertion.
“Yeah well, you should be. I don’t normally run halfway across town to let people into the store.” Max mumbled as he quickly took off his sweater and threw it onto the check out counter. “Speaking of which, why’d you show up out of nowhere demanding to be let in?” Max inquired with a raised eyebrow.
And that was it. All the humor Isaac had thrown on to try to cover up his actual emotions fell away. It left him looking nervous and... Scared?
“I… Well.” Isaac looked stuck. Like he wanted to say why but didn’t know quite how to word it. “I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” The orange haired boy mumbled finally, rubbing his arm.
Max nodded and was hit with the overwhelming desire to comfort his friend, even though he had absolutely zero talent in that profession. “Well as long as you didn’t like… Kill someone, then I guess I can wait until you tell me.” The brown haired boy said simply before changing the subject in an attempt to get Isaac’s mind off of whatever was bothering him. “How long were you planning on staying anyway?” Max asked, looking at Isaac curiously as he walked forward and up the stairs, glancing behind him to make sure his friend was following.
“Uh… The rest of the weekend? Maybe?” Isaac said, still nervous and closely watching for Max’s response.
“Pfff-ff. Freeloader.” Max said, turning around to give Isaac a smile as he reached the top of the stairs. The ginger behind him hadn’t stayed over since the first year he’d arrived in Mayview for… unknown reasons. Yet another thing that Isaac didn’t like talking about.
“Whatever, Max.” The shorter teen shot back as he crossed his arms, visibly looking less uncomfortable and more angry. That was more like Isaac. However, the look of mild rage in the ginger’s eyes was instantly replaced by a look of disgust.
“...Do you have any clothes that I could borrow? Preferably the ones that fit?” Isaac asked as he raced up the last few steps to catch up to the taller brunet. It was illogical how much taller Max had grown compared to Isaac, who seemed to stop growing once he’d hit fourteen. Isaac was standing at five foot eight at age seventeen and left to stare up at his friend who seemed to tower above him at six foot two.
Max turned around and shot a finger gun at the orange haired boy. “Very good question. Let’s find out.” The batter said as he turned open his door handle and walked into his room to see PJ floating with his hands in the air.
“Mr. Max! And… Isaac. Did you get it?” The small boy asked excitedly. Isaac stood on his toes to look at the ghost child over Max’s shoulder.
The taller teen nodded. “Yeah, but don’t expect me to do that ever again.” He said begrudgingly before pushing past the ghost and opening his dresser. “Oh, and you’ll have to get lefty to read it with you right now. The queen has arrived and I need to make sure he doesn’t sit in his soggy robes too long.” Max said with a shit eating grin as he glanced back at Isaac, who angrily glared at him from the doorway.
PJ turned to look at Isaac glowering at Max and stifled a giggle. “Oh well… Alright. Good luck and I’ll try not to spoil anything before you read it yourself!” The ghost shouted before floating up over Isaac and down the stairs. Silence quickly fell over the two boys in the room, save for the opening and closing of Max’s drawers.
Max continued to root through various shirts and pants in his dresser. He’d yet to find anything that would fit Isaac save for a few jeans he’d grown out of that hadn’t been disposed of yet.
“I cannot believe you just…” Isaac said disbelievingly as he walked into the room and stopped behind Max. “You know what, I’m not even going to bother chewing you out for that.” He said with an exasperated sigh. “Find anything that might fit?” He asked, suddenly eager.
The brown haired teen huffed before stepping away from his dresser with two articles of clothing. He swiftly threw them at Isaac, who seemed troubled by the fact that he was only holding pants. The boy looked up and cocked an eyebrow at Max and it was all he could do to not imagine his friend walking around the house shirtless.
“Ah… Don’t worry your highness, I’m pretty sure I have a sweater that’ll fit.” Max said with another smile as he quickly stepped towards his closet. Over the past year, the behatted teen had gotten exceptionally good at hiding the redness that often graced his features. He silently thanked this ability as he pushed the sliding doors open and gestured for his friend to take a look.
Isaac sighed at Max’s comment as he walked over and stared into the closet. Dear god, he didn’t think he’d ever seen that many sweaters in one place in his entire life. “Uh… Max. I think you being ‘pretty sure’ is an understatement. It’s like… statistically impossible for something to not fit me in here.” The pacifist said in bewilderment as he took in the sheer number of various hoodies.
Max sighed loudly and stared at his ceiling. “Yes. I am aware that I have a lot of sweaters. But thank you for making this fact clear to me once again.” Max said sarcastically before reaching over and pulling a dark grey hoodie off of the hanger. “Just pick one you like that fits and get changed. I’ll put your shirt in the dryer later or something.” Max stated simply as he backed away with the sweater he’d picked slung over his arm.
Isaac waited quietly as he heard Max rustle around in the dresser again. Probably for something other than a sweater. Isaac thought simply as he continued to stare at the plethora of hoodies in front of him, even after he heard the obvious click of the bedroom door closing. How the heck was he supposed to choose between the hundreds that Max owned?
The teenager rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking closely at the collection. Most were dull colours and shades. Grays and blacks, dark blues and a few maroons (most of which he’d never seen the brunet wear in the six years he’d known him). He was about to reach in blindly and put on whatever he happened to grab when he noticed a bright colour amidst the dull.
Light blue, at the back barely peeking out from behind a black sweater. Isaac curiously tugged it out, hanger and all to get a closer look. It wasn’t anything special, just a regular run of the mill baggy hoodie with a white crown printed on the front. He almost put it back as soon as he saw that little detail, knowing how much it would fuel Max with the ‘your majesty’ thing. But it was the only one that was even close to resembling something he’d wear. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made. The orange haired boy told himself, before taking the hanger out of the sweater.
Isaac quickly threw off his wet light orange long sleeve and replaced it by the blue hoodie. He repeated the process for his pants as well, picking the light grey pair over the dark blue. After he’d finished dressing he made sure both his jeans and shirt were folded nicely in his arms. A content sigh left his lips as rubbed his hands together. He’d changed into dry clothing, now all he needed was heat. Didn’t Max’s dad ever turn on the furnace?
Isaac sighed lightly as he sat down on Max’s bed, quickly finding himself thinking of the first and also last time he’d stayed here. Everything had been alright at first, just two twelve year old boys having a sleepover. Him and Max ended up having too much fun, and when morning came Isaac hadn’t gotten home on time. Long story short, his dad didn’t appreciate it and refused to let him visit anymore.
Thankfully, Max burst back into the room before Isaac’s father occupied his mind any further. The look of shock on his friends face was damn near priceless.
“Oh dear god. Where did you find that?” Max said in horror, as he stepped closer and blinked a few hard times to make sure what he was seeing was real. It was clear to Isaac that this particular piece of clothing held some pretty embarrassing memories. That, or Max really hated it.
“Your closet is actually a portal that leads to a different universe. I explored your past and lived my life very differently, I think I was there for about twenty years before I made it back out. This hoodie is the only evidence of my journey.” Isaac said dramatically, holding his hand up to his chest and looking towards the closet with a forlorn expression.
Max groaned loudly and threw his wet shirt at Isaac’s face. “Good god, shut up already.” The brunet said as he walked up to Isaac and took the soaking clothes out of the ginger’s hands while he struggled with the blue piece of fabric sticking to his face. Max chuckled as he dropped Isaac’s clothes onto the floor, he’d deal with them later.
Isaac eventually pulled the shirt off his face and shot Max a dark, stormy glare. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend. Otherwise, you would be so roasted right now.” Isaac said, his tone slowly fading from angry to playful as his sentence progressed. He finished by swinging the shirt and hitting Max on the arm. The wet noise it made when it came in contact with the taller teen’s hoodie was enough to make Isaac burst into laughter.
Max rolled his eyes as he walked past the orange haired boy and fell onto the bed beside where he was sitting. “You’re a child.” He mumbled as he pulled out his phone and checked the time. It read 5:08 PM. How is it only five? Max thought as he glanced towards his window.
“That statement is anything but correct. I’m very sure I’m the most mature one in this room.” Isaac replied swiftly, swinging his legs onto the bed before crossing them and smiling down at Max. “I mean… I wasn’t the one who threw a shirt at my friend’s face.” He said with silly smile.
Max tore his eyes from the window, and instead pinned them on the blur of orange and blue that was Isaac. He avoided from letting himself think about how close together they were as he replied. “Yeah, but you were the one who whipped me with it. What are you? A middle schooler?” Max said, humour lighting his features as he pushed at Isaac’s arm. Said boy gave the teen below him a look of disbelief.
“I think you mean, what are we. You’re in this boat with me, Max.” The ginger said, his ridiculous know-it-all grin never leaving his face. This was probably the thing he treasured most about his friend, Max. It seemed like no matter how bad he felt, and how bad things were for him, he could forget it all when in the presence of the brunet.
The look of fake horror that passed over Max’s expression made Isaac feel even better.
“Oh god. On a boat? With you? Take my lifejacket right now because I am jumping off.” He said as he propped himself up on his elbows. The look Isaac got from Max after betrayed him, it was clear that the taller teen had no plans of ‘abandoning ship’ anytime soon. The ginger didn’t think he planned to either.
Max found himself looking at Isaac a few seconds longer than he should have. The smile Isaac was wearing, contrasted to the way he’d been outside of Max’s house just barely twenty minutes ago, was just so great to see. The seventeen year old inhaled sharply as he let his eyes fall from his friends bright blues, fixing them on his phone instead.
There was a silence after that. Isaac never replied and Max didn’t dare to look up from his phone as he absently played around on the homescreen of his phone. The behatted teen wasn’t sure what he’d see if he did anyway. Would Isaac look disappointed? Bored? Or maybe the less likely, but highly favoured, staring back down at Max? He didn’t get much longer to ponder the question, since Isaac broke the silence before he built up the nerve to look away from his device.
“So… Is there anything to do around here?” The orange haired pacifist asked simply. Max forced out a snort as he put down his phone and looked up at Isaac.
“Well, seeing as you did show up out of nowhere, I have absolutely nothing planned for us to do.” Max replied with a smug looking grin, looking up at his friend but not into his eyes. His grin only grew when the ginger beside him let out a deep sigh and leaned back.
“What sucks, is that you’re right. Sorry about that.” Isaac mumbled his last sentence and bit the inside of his cheek. He was very aware that he didn’t normally show up out of nowhere and stay over. Sure, he came by every now and then to invite Max to track down ghosts with him sometimes but… That was the farthest Isaac had ever gone with surprises. It looked like Max was about to reply with something majorly goofy, he could tell by the way the brunet’s lips curled up as he opened his mouth to speak. However, Isaac held up a hand and frowned a little.
“About me showing up randomly.” Isaac said in a soft voice as he struggled to figure out what to say. He knew he wasn’t going to tell Max the whole truth, he’d never look at the ginger the same way again if he did. So what was something that was technically true, but didn’t say the things he’d rather the brunet didn’t know?
The boy chewed on nothing for a few seconds before carrying on. “I… Actually don’t know when I can go back. To my house.” Isaac stuttered. The look of concern that immediately dominated Max’s features felt like a punch in the gut. Shit, hurry up and say the rest you idiot. Isaac thought as he clenched his hands and dug his nails into his palm.
“Ah, shit. No, it’s not like that. I just…,” Isaac paused and inhaled deeply and set his mind on the best statement to replace the truth. “My dad… He’s away right now. He does this a lot and I guess he accidentally locked me out of the house this time. I’m just not sure when he’ll be home.” That… Sounded satisfactory. Max seemed to buy it, if the way he relaxed back into his bed was anything to judge by.
“So you wanna know if you can stay here until your dad gets back?” Max asked as he tried not to let Isaac see how shocked he was. Isaac had mentioned his family, which was something he’d never done before. Max hadn’t had a single clue whom his best friend lived with in all the years he’d known him, until now. The brunet watched as Isaac nodded slowly.
“Essentially.” The ginger said with a shrug. “I know that’s probably a pretty big thing to ask, but you know I have a job. I can--” Isaac was cut off by Max sitting up and shaking his head. The boy prepared for the worst, but quickly loosened up when he heard soft laughter from the other boy.
Max rubbed his forehead after he’d stopped laughing. “Have you even met my dad? I’m very sure he wouldn’t even care. You don’t have to pay for anything, I’ll just talk to him when he gets back from Castleland.” The brunet said, smiling at the expression Isaac wore.
The orange haired boy grasped at the air before finally piecing together the sentence, “Are you serious?” He asked, shocked but relieved. The worry that he’d have nowhere to stay after Monday morning was eating at him, and it was an indescribable feeling to know that he wouldn’t have to.
“Are you? Yes, I’m going to kick my friend out, fully knowing he has nowhere else to go for an unknown amount of time.” Max said sarcastically. The brunet had gotten used to all of the insecurities he’d realised his friend had weighing him down. Truthfully, he could probably write each one down off the top of his head. “You’ve known me for like… Almost seven years now, dude. You know I wouldn’t do that.” Max carried on quickly as he prodded Isaac in the side with his elbow.
“Anyway. I’m like, ninety nine percent sure that theres a marathon of paranatural investigator 2.0 on right now.” Max said as he got up off his bed and stretched. He paid close attention to the way Isaac’s features lit up. Oh yes, this was a tradition of theirs. “You know what that means, right?” The behatted teen said with a mischievous smirk.
Isaac shot up off the bed and mirrored his friend’s expression. The ginger teen’s bright blue eyes shining even brighter with the excitement of upcoming events. “Time to pick out every detail that proves they’re fakes?”
“Hell yes.”