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Anon that requested the person trying to hide their sickness here. Max is always the person I have in mind lol……
Combining this ask with the one that asked for gassy Max 👀
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Wine and Dine
He was sweating.
Max felt ridiculous, wiping his palms on his jeans and shifting on his foot. He was standing in front of the classroom, watching the kids perform a dissection on their frogs — a bit archaic, but oh well, he had gotten permits from the parents and the school board, the kids were excited — and trying to ignore the growing pain in his middle.
It wasn't his usual nausea after lunch, organ working hard at churning a meal and deciding if it was going to reject it. He hadn't even eaten lunch yet, because he had woken up late as hell and all but bolted out of the door. On his way out he had picked the first clothes he managed to get his hands on and now Max could feel it. His jeans were cutting into him, did he grab too small a pair?
Had he gained weight during the cabin trip?
His day dragged. Twice he had run across Vince, once in the teacher's lounge, once in the hallways and during both times Vin had frowned at him, a little wrinkle of concern forming between his eyes. Max didn't want Vince to fret about him, at the very least not in front of their other coworkers, so he did his best to avoid the other man going forward.
By the time the day ended, he was feeling downright claustrophobic. Max wanted to crawl out of his skin and he opened his jeans as soon as he got inside his car, letting out a relieved sigh and tugging on his shirt to cover up the fact his belly was poking out from his boxers.
His phone buzzed.
Leo: Can you pick up a bottle of wine on your way over? Red, doesn't matter the brand it's for cooking.
Uh-oh, he had forgotten. Max let out a groan, leaning his forehead on the steering wheel and wincing. Leo's dinner party had totally slipped his mind.
The blonde had mentioned it about a day after they came back from the cabin and he was really excited, apparently it was the first dinner party he was ever throwing for his coworkers. Max had no idea why he had been invited, but Leo had glared daggers at him when he mentioned passing on the invitation, making it clear it was not optional.
There was a tap on his window, startling Max. He jumped on his seat, a bubble of gas went up and he had to press a fist to his mouth to muffle a burp, in case it was a student or worse, a student's parent.
He shouldn't have bothered, it was just Vince, clutching his helmet with one hand, the other one tapping Max's glass window.
"What?" Max rolled it down, but didn't make any move to open the car door.
"Are you okay?" Vince frowned at him, "you've been looking kinda pasty since morning."
"Peachy," Max shrugged and Vin let out a scoff, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, right..." He looked around, leaning an elbow on Max's rolled down window, "do you want to grab something to eat?"
God, fuck this guy. Max knew, objectively, that Vince was being friendly, not flirty — At least not this time, he had apparently gotten the hint during the weekend trip that Max was not feeling very "rebound fuck after the worst heartbreak of my life"-y — but that didn't stop him from feeling exposed, like a raw wire.
"I can't, I got Leo's thing tonight."
"Oh yeah, the party I have not been invited to," Vince pouted and Max chuckled.
"Yep, that one. I can't do anything if Leo likes me more."
Vince let out a huff, a smile tugging at his lips, "tell Leo he's on my shit list."
"Will do," Max nodded, turning his key and starting his car, to hint at Vince to step back. He didnt.
"Are you sure it's smart to go, you're really looking rather ill..."
"I'm not sick," Max planted his hand on Vin's arm, starting to shove it away from his window, since Vince was adamant on ignoring his subtlety, "lunch didn't agree." A little white lie.
"You had lunch? I didn't see you at the cafeteria-"
"I ate in the classroom, had papers to grade," a second little lie, Max was feeling increasingly frustrated. He wanted to be gone already, he still needed to shower and change, buy the dumb wine Leo wanted. His belly was feeling really unsettled, maybe he could try using the bathroom too, if Vince just got the hint and let him go.
"Are you avoiding me?"
"God, no," Max successfully shoved his arm off his window, "I gotta go."
"Okay," Vince blinked those sad cow eyes of his at him and Max pressed his lips in an unimpressed line. He hated how much of an effect it had.
"I'm not avoiding you, idiot," he shooed Vince, "I am late and gotta go. Scram."
Vince's face got all wrinkly as it opened a lopsided smile and Max shooed him with renewed intensity.
"Have fun at the party," Vin finally waved at him, putting his helmet on as he walked back to his motorcycle.
All the while Max drove back home, his stomach was grumbling and churning, sending up a string of bitter belches that kept fizzing out in the back of his throat.
He bee-lined to the bathroom, once inside his apartment, and collapsed on the toilet, trying to make his stomach feel better. Cold sweat broke over him and Max groaned, rocking back and forth as a bunch of little cramps erupted on his lower belly, but nothing came out. Not even a fart.
He fanned himself, stripping his shirt and throwing it to the side, as he stepped out of his jeans. When he got up, the nausea spiked for a split second, enough he whirled around to gag over the water, but nothing came up.
He took a decently long shower, hoping the warm water might help, then wrapped the towel around his hip and walked into his bedroom.
Jonah had texted him a dress code, just in case Max didn't have enough common sense to know he should be more or less put together to meet Leo's coworkers. It was both offensive and incredibly funny. Max had texted back a thumbs up and a middle finger.
He picked his most plain pair of jeans, not because he wanted to acquiesce to Jonah's wishes, but because those were the only ones that actually closed around his waist. To pair with it, Max dug out a white henley that he was sure belonged to Vince and had no idea how it had ended up in his apartment. It hung very loosely on his frame, which was a relief as any of his shirts for sure would've hugged his bloated belly.
Max combed through his hair, then grabbed his wallet and keys and was out of the door once again, to buy Leo's wine.
"Ooh, thanks," Leo beamed, as soon as he opened the door of his and Jonah's apartment, "you're a life sa- Is that Vin's?"
Dammit.
Max's cheeks burned and he shrugged, "is it?"
Leo squinted at him, seeming puzzled by the shirt, "you tell me..." he walked back into the kitchen and Max followed up until the counter that split his kitchen from the dining room. It had three stools next to it and he perched on one of them, planting his elbows on the counter and staring down at his feet. There was a horrible blubbering happening right under his ribs.
"Are you two hooking up again?"
"What?" Max raised his head quickly, squeezing the counter when it caused him to feel dizzy.
"You and Vince?" Leo had a black apron protecting his baby blue shirt and his sleeves were rolled up. His cheeks were red from the heat coming from the pan and Max's mouth watered at the smell of garlic and onions that raised when the other man started to pour wine inside one of them.
"God, no," he shook his head, "no, it was just lying around my place. McDreamy told me to come dressd up, this was the only shirt I have without skulls on it."
Leo pursed his lips, seeming annoyed, and Max frowned, confused.
"You don't believe me?"
"No, I believe you," Leo shrugged, then beamed as JD came to slither between his legs, "look who crawled out of her hiding space..."
Max tried to ignore the growing unsettledness in his middle, watching as Leo baby talked JD, all the while trying to shoo her away from the kitchen.
He got up, crouching down to let the cat sniff his fingers and then petting her. Max truly did like JD, even if cats weren't his favorite. She was such a beauty queen, blue eyes staring up at him as she plated her front paws on his knee.
"You're so pretty..."
"Oh, hi Max," Jonah said, walking down the hallway, perfume trailing with him. His hair was perfectly styled, the curls popping, and he was wearing a deep maroon button up with dark dress pants, "this smells great, baby-"
"Did you text Max what he should wear?" Leo's voice was clipped and Jonah seemed taken aback. Max moved away from the kitchen floor, bringing JD with him, eyes glued to the couple, "what the fuck, Jon?"
"I was just making sure he didn't turn up looking like he's part of a garage band!" Jonah cried out and Max let out a snort, flipping him off.
"I do not look like I'm part of a garage band."
"So what if he did?" Leo scoffed, "I don't want my friends pretending to be who they aren't."
"You're making a big deal out of nothing, baby," Jonah pressed a kiss to Leo's temple, chuckling when the blonde promptly shoved him off by the stomach, "Max isn't offended."
"Yes, I am," Max smiled from ear to ear and Jonah glared him to pieces.
"That's not the point," Leo pouted, then popped something in the oven and set up the timer, "don't do this again."
"I won't," Jonah vowed, while Max tried his best not to laugh.
He moved to the balcony of the apartment in order to smoke, watching as Jonah and Leo bickered and set up the big dining table. He'd never quit smoking if this was the only thing that allowed him some privacy.
Alone in the balcony, he took advantage of the fact the wind was blowing hard and forced out a deep burp. It got muffled by a soft song that was playing inside the apartment and brought a sliver of relief to his stomach. His hand twitched, wanting to clutch his sore abdomen. He had no idea how he was supposed to have dinner on such an upset stomach.
"Put that out," Leo poked his head outside, glaring at Max's cigarette, "they're here."
The first one to arrive was Dean, a coworker of Leo's whom Max vaguely recalled seeing at the wedding. He was tall and skinny, with brown hair and pale skin, really brown round eyes and covered in moles.
Definitely the clown of the outfit, as he had brought over not only a bottle of wine as a bottle of José Cuervo tequila, which made Jonah's nose wrinkle with distaste and Leo snort.
"How are you doing, man?" Dean squeezed Max's hand, all smiles.
After Dean arrived, it was Sandy. She was gorgeous and Max thought it was very funny it hadn't occurred to Leo to mention one of his coworkers was a smokeshow and single. Leo probably had completely forgot that Max was into women as well.
Either way, not only he was feeling too crappy to flirt, but Sandy and Dean immediately were giggling together, teasing Leo about the table setting and the fact he had gone all out, and Max got it.
He was lurking near the couch, as glasses were passed around, trying his best to be participative on a small conversation that had started about travelling when the door opened again and in came Wendy.
Max's heart skipped three whole beats, so badly that he choked on air and when he tried to catch his breath he ended up burping in his glass. Dean, standing next to him, chuckled and patted his back.
"You good?"
"Yeah, sorry-" Max tuned him out completely, taking Wendy in.
Things hadn't been awkward between them since the breakup, because things had been nonexistent. Ever since he had moved out, Max hadn't seen Wendy even once.
After he had signed his lease, a couple days before the breakup, he had very little to pack at Wendy's place and he had left on the day after the final blow. Ever since, they hadn't crossed paths.
She looked... Different. Skinnier, much skinnier, but still just as beautiful. Wendy was clad in a mossy green mini dress that made her eyes pop and her hair was ruffled and messy, waves falling over her face.
They locked eyes and her face turned into that strawberry shade he loved, eyes widening. She turned to the side, a little frantic and then Jonah blocked his view by stepping in front of Wendy.
"I'm so sorry," Leo whispered, spawning from the ground next to him and causing Max to jump. Dean threw them a funny look, smiling, "I had no idea Jon had invited her, otherwise I'd have told you."
"It's fine," Max forced out, past the lump in his throat. There was something burning in his stomach, bile or anger or longing.
"I'm sorry," Leo whispered again, then perked up as two other people walked inside the apartment.
"Oh Chuck's here!" Dean announced, causing Sandy to slap his arm in a fond way.
"Do you always gotta be so loud?"
Chuck was stripping his jacket and taking his wife's as well. He was a shorter guy, shorter than Max, with a stocky build and longish brown hair, warm brown skin and almond eyes. In front of him there was a woman, dark hair down to her shoulders and two pins holding it back, clad in black skinny pants, over the knee boots and a bright yellow top...
"You!" Emerald exclaimed, circling Chuck and stepping closer. Max' eyebrows jumped, not expecting to be recognized, "it's uhm- Max, right?"
"Have you two met?" Leo asked, walking closer to plant a kiss on Emerald's cheek, both coats now thrown over his arm so he could put it back in the guest room that had been converted into a cloakroom.
"Just in passing," Max smiled, taking her in. She wasn't wearing any makeup and there was a little cut on her cheek, "she saved my life."
"I'm known for doing that, yeah," Emerald grinned at his overt exaggeration, "I take it she liked the flowers?"
From the corner of his eye, Max could see Wendy had moved from her frozen position by the door and was now being introduced to Chuck by Jonah.
"She loved them," Max nodded, "although I think she liked the gift card more."
"Who did you get flowers for?" Leo sounded confused and Max opened his mouth to answer, but got interrupted by Emerald exclaiming:
"Oh my God! Wendy, right?"
"Damn, I think this is Em's dinner party now," Chuck laughed, while Wendy blushed, leaning in to greet the other woman.
"How did you two meet?" Jonah voiced Max's thoughts.
Wendy shrugged, eyes downcast and none of that social butterfly Max knew she could be, while Emerald was blissfully unaware as she said, "she helped my friend out the other day. Did he ever say thank you? Because really, thank you. Chris can be such a pain, but he was in no shape to be alone, I'm so glad you stepped up."
Who the fuck was Chris?
Max frowned, wanting to grill Wendy, but Jonah thankfully beat him to it by saying, "Lavin? Chris Lavin? What- When-"
"It wasn't a big deal," Wendy finally spoke up, seeming uncomfortable, "Chris was sick as hell while in the same restaurant as me and I just helped him to his apartment, that's all."
"You're underselling yourself," Em scoffed, "other people would've ignored it."
Wendy's cheeks were crimson at the compliment, while Jonah still had his eyebrows raised in disbelief. Max just didn't like being out of the loop.
"Wait, Chris we met at your place the other day? The one with the eyebrows?" Dean asked and Emerald nodded eagerly.
"Yep!"
So they were all friends, uh?
Max's eyes moved from Wendy, to Leo, who seemed to be struggling to understand something, eyes shining as he pieced things together. It was quite a sight, Max had to admit, observe Leo use that analytical brain of his.
Nevertheless, he didn't seem to reach any conclusion and soon they moved away from the topic as the timer went off in the kitchen and Leo urged everyone to sit down.
Max didn't want to sit down. Not only because he had been more or less able to ignore the bloating while standing and certainly wouldn't be when sitting down, but also because through sheer luck Wendy ended up next to the only empty seat, which obviously was his.
Trying not to show his hesitance, Max sat down next to her and pointedly avoided looking at her, as Wendy did the same.
"So," Emerald was sat in front of him, averting her eyes from where Leo, Chuck and Dean bickered, "what do you do, Max?"
"I'm a teacher," he answered, then squirmed on his seat as the pants started cutting him in half. He slid a finger between it and his bloated belly, curling the fabric of the shirt around his thumb and shoving it in the little gap. It didn't make it any looser, but at least there weren't the sharp jeans edge against him.
Emerald was still watching him, probably waiting for him to elaborate. Shit. He was no good at small talk, "uhm- At Welton Hall? I teach Chemistry and Biology."
"Ooohohoh," Em perked up with a chuckle, which caused Max to look at her puzzled and Chuck, who had been overhearing their conversation, to lean in and explain.
"Em is a scientist herself," he said, looking lovingly at his wife, "she collects nerds like she collects rocks, be careful."
"I'm not a nerd," Max mumbled, but he was smiling. Next to him, Wendy let out a little huff. So much for not paying attention, uh?
"He went aaaall out," Dean's voice cut through their conversation, overjoyed, "I didn't know you knew how to cook like that!"
"It's not that hard to make ossobuco," Leo scoffed, "I know how to read a recipe, that's all."
"Dean can't relate, he doesn't know how to read," Sandy teased him, causing the other man to let out a dramatic shriek and clutch at his chest.
"Sandra! You wound me!"
Max snorted, caught Em's eyes and she wasn't looking at the end of the table, instead she was studying Wendy as if the other woman was a bug under a microscope. It made something protective and ugly stir in Max's stomach, but he gulped it back down. He was all over the place.
"What even is ossobuco?" Max asked, which he immediately regretted, as Leo decided right then and there that Max needed to be the first one to taste.
Ossobuco apparently was a piece of steak that still had the shin bone in the center of it. It was slow cooked with a bunch of vegetables, red sauce and wine and served with some sort of gooey yellow thing that Max poked at, suspicious.
His stomach stirred and the last thing he wanted was to take a bite, but there were seven pairs of eyes on him and well...
"It's really good," Max mumbled, although he was barely chewing. He gulped it down, took a sip of water to rid his mouth of the taste. It was watering for all the wrong reasons.
"If it's Max approved, then I've won the night," Leo beamed, then started plating the rest of his guests. He seemed to be over the moon, Jonah apparently more than happy just starring at Leo and making sure no glass was ever empty.
"That's polenta," Wendy leaned in to whisper to him, as Max poked the yellow mass once more. He couldn't stop eating so early in, but the meat was completely out of question. Just the smell of it was making him want to gag, "its basically just corn meal porrigdge."
He turned to look at her, not realizing Wendy would be that close and his nose nearly brushed with hers, causing her to jump back. There were golden flecks all over her lids and he could tell part of her pink cheeks was actually makeup. She looked terribly pale underneath all that.
"Hi," Max said and Wendy opened a tentative little smile.
"Hi," she gestured to his plate, "polenta should be safe."
Yeah, not tonight. Not even rice would be safe, he felt like an over inflated balloon. His belly let out a growl, he squirmed once again to try and find a comfortable position.
"Thanks," Max nodded, let his eyes linger. He had forgotten how pretty Wendy was, "uhm- How are you...?"
"Fine," she said a little too quickly, pushing her fork around, "you think we could talk?" her voice was hardly a whisper and Max nodded, gestured to the balcony with his head.
"Smoke break in a bit."
Wendy's lip upturned as she nodded, "you really have got to quit that."
"Yeah yeah yeah," Max waved her off, attention returning to his dish.
He could tell Emerald was incredibly interested in the two of them. If it was out of genuine desire to meet new people or just curiosity, Max didn't know, but the woman kept asking them questions all throughout dinner.
She also was an open book, volunteering any information. Apparently she worked in the city hall, was a geologist and a transplant in Welton.
"So are both of us," Wendy said, gesturing to Max and her and it made something flutter in his stomach. A passing reference to why he had moved to Welton in the first place.
Nowadays it seemed like forever ago, but it wasn't, not really.
"I moved here in 23, Max just got here at the start of the semester."
"Oh, where are you from originally?"
Emerald herself was from Michigan. Her family- Max completely tuned her off, because his stomach chose this moment to flip. He pulled back hastily from the table, mumbling an "excuse me."
Hopefully the rest of them were too enthralled with something else to notice him.
Max abhorred the fact that the guest bathroom was so close to the dining room. A belch escaped as he undid his jeans and sat down on the toilet, so gross and frothy that he quickly leaned to the side to grab a trashcan.
Some reddish saliva fell on top of the papers and he squeezed his eyes shut-
The music turned a little louder.
God bless Leo Wagner-Banks.
His intestines gave out.
Max's eyes prickled with tears as the cramps wrecked his body, knuckles curling around the edge of the bin as the nausea increased and then receded, increased and the receded....
He felt so so sick. More saliva flooded his mouth and he spat in the bin, working up a frothy burp in an weak attempt to get some relief. His stomach muscles were exhausted from the cramping and he felt weak and humiliated.
Max rubbed a hand over his face, putting the bin down and closing his eyes, tipping his head back against the flush. He crossed his arms and under them, he could just feel his stomach gurgling and churning.
He muffled another burp, staring at the ceiling.
"I'm not puking," he whispered to no one, trying to make it a reality. His stomach whined, loud enough Max managed to hear over the music. More cramping and more diarrhea. His throat bobbed up and down as another wave of nausea washed over him. His mouth tasted like rotten wine.
"Not puki'-" He couldn't even finish his chanting, his mouth struggling to shut. A chill went up his spine, on Max was too familiar with, "ah fuck," he grabbed the trashcan from the floor, hugging it to his chest just as his dinner came up.
Ossobuco sucked, Max decided, as more red sludge fell inside the bin and his whole body shuddered. His belly was taut and painful. He wanted to lie down, get out of these clothes...
There was a knock on the door, soft and barely there, "Max?" Leo's voice travelled, "dude?"
"I'll be right out..." He gulped down, his voice hoarse.
It wasn't right out, because it took him forever to clean up and by the time Max did stumble out of the bathroom, his face was dampen after having just washed it on the sink and he knew there was no way he'd be able to feign normalcy for the rest of the dinner.
Leo wasn't right in front of the door, thank God, but he caught Max's eyes as soon as he stepped out.
Dean was keeping most of the conversation, which Max very thankful for. He kept his eyes on the ground and pretended he couldn't feel everyone looking at him-
Wendy's hand found his thigh, as soon as he sat down. Leaning into his space, "are you ok?"
He nodded, but Max knew he had to get going. His reprieve wouldn't be long lived.
Wendy frowned, thinking his answer over.
Emerald, sitting in front of them, was carefully pretending she wasn't overhearing every word. Max planted an elbow on the table and cradled his face. He needed to go home now, if he infected Leo's guests with a flu, Leo would never forgive him.
"I think I gotta go."
"Okay," Wendy nodded, "I'll drive you."
It wasn't exactly an offer, more of an order, but fuck if Max wasn't thankful. Awkwardness and conflict aside, this still felt like Wendy. Wendy who had seen him sick before, who had seen him naked before. He felt comfortable with her and, perhaps some sort of betrayal to the others, he still trusted her.
"Okay."
They both got up and Max didn't really have it in him to say goodbye to all of Leo's coworkers, so he just walked to the front door, watching as Wendy moved through the whole lot of them and did it for the both of them.
Probably for the best, he had no idea if he was contagious or not.
"I can drive Max, you stay and enjoy the party," Jonah offered, walking alongside Wendy, her coat thrown over his arm. Only then did Max realize he had never stripped his brown jacket.
Maybe he was feeling worse than he had realized.
"No, it's all fine, Jon," Wendy tiptoed to press a kiss on his cheek, wiping away the bright red mark, "thank you for having us."
"Of course," Jonah smiled at her and when he did look at Max, his smile was oddly genuine, "feel better, Max."
"Thanks," he smiled back, ignoring the horrible nausea already starting to mount once more, "tell Leo I'm really sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for, he'll be more pissed you jeopardized your health than anything else," Jonah waved him off, "I gotta head back, safe drive."
They waved and walked out of the apartment.
"Keys," Wendy stretched out her hand and Max promptly dropped his car keys on it, quietly walking alongside her as they left the building through the garage.
His white pick-up was parked near the park that was right in front of the building and Max shivered violently. Was the night really cold or was he running a fever?
He sat collapsed on the passenger seat, watching wordlessly as she fiddled with his driver seat in order to fit her.
Max' stomach rolled and he muffled a burp in his hand, leaning his head back with a groan. He could feel a pressure at the base of his throat, a heaviness to his jaw that he knew well.
"Can we just go?"
"Sorry," Wendy mumbled, moving hastily and strapping her seatbelt, starting to drive, "are you sick or is this something else?"
"Cursed," Max groaned, eyes still squeezed shut. Wendy didn't laugh, not understanding it had been a joke, "I have no idea, my stomach's a mess, but I'm also really cold-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before Wen's knuckles were brushing against his cheek, the back of her hand pressing to his forehead, "I don't think you have a fever, you seem overheated, but not overtly so."
"Hmmm," he curled an arm protectively against his belly as the car swayed a little bit with Wendy's movement. A burp gurgled up and Max blew it off under his breath, shuddering as he could taste dinner.
He tugged on the front of his shirt as the warmness started to spread, burning his stomach. Max fished a plastic bag out of his glovebox, glad that he kept his car stockpiled for all belly related issues. The perks of having the most little bitch stomach of all time.
"Should I pull over?" Wendy asked, noticing as he opened a plastic bag on his lab.
Max shook his head, digging into his side, "n'uh- Not yet..."
The nausea was present, of course, but not tipping him over the edge just yet. He pressed his forehead to the dashboard, taking slow breaths, "so..." Max let out a little burp at the end of his sentence, "you wanted to talk alone..? We're alone."
Wendy let out a humorless huff, "not how I envisioned this happening."
Max snorted, opened the glovebox again in search of his bottle of pepto, "start talking, Wen."
There was a split second of silence, interrupted by his stomach letting out a nasty growl. They stopped at a red light, his hand closed around the plastic bottle but when Max raised it he realized it was empty. Great.
"I just- I wanted to apologize..."
"Oh, I heard you're doing the shame rounds," Max teased her, rolling down his window even though it was a pretty chilly night, "you don't have to apologize, Wendy."
"No, I do," she glared at him, "I do. I made you uproot your life, I caused this big disaster and then I left you in the middle of it, with no support whatsoever, not a care about your feelings. If there's one person I need to apologize to, it's you."
"I'm not a child, Wendy," Max rolled his eyes, rubbing his face, "you didn't make me move here, I wanted to. I'm happy I did, I love my job here, I'm making friends... Well friends that I don't wanna fuck," he pointed out with a sly smirk and it caused a tiny smile to tug at her lips, he counted it as a win, "I've got a place that's not super cramped and dark, I have a pet... I'm happy. If anyone got left in the nuclear waste, that was you."
"Well, I caused it, so..." Wendy shrugged and Max's stomach curdled with despair when he realized he could see her collarbones now. She wasn't skin and bones, far from it, but the plumpness he loved was gone, her cheeks sucked in, her eyes surrounded by dark circles that no amount of makeup could conceal.
"You did," Max agreed, "but I-" he got interrupted by his stomach spasming, a sudden wet burp causing him to fold and gag over the bag. All thoughts vanished, his stomach squeezed again and a mouthful of red sludge fell in the plastic bag. It hurt, was too chunky.
He gagged again and again, blindly reaching to get rid of his seatbelt as it squeezed his middle and when Max thought he might pass out from all the heaving, it eased up, the glitters in his sight vanishing.
The blonde bunched up the top of the bag, leaning his head back and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. All his limbs were heavy, he was dizzy and spent.
"Are you done?" Wendy's voice was gentle and he felt her thumb stroke his cheek. Max let out a deep sigh.
"For now..."
"Give me the bag, I'll dispose of it and get you some water."
He opened his eyes, confused, and realized they were parked in front of a gas station, with a convenience store attached.
"Do you need anything else? More pepto?" Wendy asked, gesturing to his empty bottle. Max nodded, regaining some of his dignity and will, and patted his pockets.
Shit, he had left his cigarettes at Leo's.
"Can you buy me a pack of camels? I left mine at Leo's."
Wendy scrunched up her nose in distaste, but she nodded, "yeah, be right back."
As soon as she was done, taking the now tied sick bag with her, Max got out of the car. He leaned heavily against it, spitting the awful taste in his mouth on the tarmac and enjoying the cool air, instead of the car's stuffy one.
His head was pounding, he could feel a vein pulsating on his forehead, and his stomach was still testy with nausea and sore as if he had done a thousand abdominals. Still, Max felt better than he had five minutes before.
"Here," Wendy handed him the whole plastic bag and he fished through it. Pepto, a bottle of water, chewing gum, a pink lighter and camels. She had gotten the type right too, camel blues. It brought the conversation they were having back to his mind.
"Thanks," he gulped down the water, thumping his chest to work up a burp, then opened the pack and lit up a cigarette, expecting Wendy to wave her hand dramatically in front of her face.
Instead, she jumped up to sit on the hood of his car and patted his arm, "gimme one?"
Max's eyebrows raised all the way to his hairline, "a cig?"
"Yes," Wendy seemed confused by his confusion, looking at him expectantly. He scrambled, fished out a cigarette and passed it to her, then lit it up as Wendy put it between her lips and leaned in to touch the tip of it to the flame. She did that too well.
"Were you a smoker?"
"When I was a teen," Wendy took a drag slowly, holding it in, but coughing lightly as she let the white smoke out, "then later it became just when stressed... Then I quit completely a little after I moved here."
Max hummed, planting his elbows on the hood, "I smoke since I was fifteen."
"That's nothing to gloat about," Wendy huffed, her knee touching his elbow as she pushed him in a playful manner, "are you actually happy? Or are you just saying that?"
"No, I am," that came out so easy, he was shocked by it, "I'd do it again, even if I knew- I'd do it all again, Wendy. Yeah, you were a bitch, but I forgive you."
She smiled, "you're too nice, Max."
"That's a first," he chuckled, "normally it's people calling me a dick..." He turned to look at her, draped an arm over her lap since she was taller than him sitting on top of the hood, "are you okay, Wendy?"
She opened her mouth to answer, then hesitated, and just shrugged, "I'm... You know, figuring it out. I've talked with you, Bella and Vince, so that's a relief, some closure... But now-" she picked on the skin of her thumb and Max frowned, planted his hand over hers to stop her from doing it.
"I missed you, Wendy."
Her eyes darted up, meeting his, the really? so clear in them that it was painful. Max nodded, "yes. Really."
Wendy didn't bother hiding her smile, she touched the tip of her cig against his in a little cigarette kiss and took a drag, "I missed you too, Max... I messed up, I became such a bully... "
"You're not the only one who's messed up in the past," he shrugged, wanting to tell her to not think that everyone else was such a saint and beat herself up.
Wendy nodded, eyes downcast and rolling the cigarette between her fingers, "I know."
Max let out a frustrated groan, feeling like his words weren't getting through her, "can I see you again? I know things won't go back to the way they were but we can be friends, can't we?"
Wendy's eyes searched his face, seeming a little hesitant, "what about Vince-"
"He wouldn't care and even if he did, I don't care," Max said, then let out a groan as his stomach cramped and squeezed his eyes. When he opened then again, Wendy had regained some of herself, she stood a little taller.
"Yes, we can hang out," she patted his cheek, "now let me drive you home."
Sorry for disappearing for months once again. This year has been... a year. But things are better. I am better. The rest of 2026 is fully devoted to my ✨️ mentally stable and thriving era ✨️
But I present you with a Hope/Jay fic. This fic comes with a TRIGGER WARNING. Mentions of Jay's past with bulimia and binge eating (something that hasn't been touched upon since the first few Hope/Jay fics years ago when they were my only OCs). It's not detailed at all, but it is mentioned a few times. If you don't want to/don't think you can read that, then please skip this fic!
As always, no promises on the timeline for the next fic, but it will be another Jay/Hope (a mini fic), and then it will be a Jessie/Kai fic!
Coming home to a quiet house wasn't rare. Hope was use to finding Jay curled up with a book or his laptop, or listening to music with his headphones whilst doing chores even when he was home alone. But coming home to a silent house? That wasn't normal. His car was on the driveway, so he should be home.
"Jay?" She called out, as she stepped out of her shoes in exchange for her slippers. No reply came. Again, not unusual if he was listening to music, but the eerie silence of the house was weird. She even checked her watch, incase she'd magically lost a few hours between leaving work and pulling up at home and Jay could be in bed. But nope, definitely only 6pm.
She moved through the empty living room, Jay's work bag was on the coffee table, so he was definitely home. Or at least he had definitely been home since leaving work. Maybe he'd gone out with Jessie and forgotten to text her. She immediately dismissed that as unlikely because Jay texted her updates about his day consistently.
She continued through into the kitchen, and the second she flicked on the light and took in the room, her heart sank. On the counter was the dish that had contained yesterday's leftover chicken alfredo, enough leftover that they were both having it for dinner tonight. It was empty, practically licked clean. Beside it was not one but two empty ice cream cartons and an empty family size back of M&M's.
It had been a long time since Hope had come home to the aftermath of Jay binge eating. It was common early in their relationship, but with the help of therapy he'd found new coping skills. But uncommon didn't mean never, and sometimes he still slipped up. Apparently, today was one of those days.
She didn’t bother cleaning up, that could wait, instead she moved quickly upstairs to their room. The bed was empty, black satin covers still made up from earlier except for a rumpled spot on Jay's side where he'd clearly sat on the edge. The en-suite light was on. She knocked gently, but didn’t bother to wait for a response before opening the door, they were way past that point in their relationship.
Her heart broke all over again at the sight before her. Jay was curled up on the tiled bathroom floor, head on a towel near the toilet, arms tightly cradling his belly which was bloated enough that she could see a sliver of pale skin between his shirt and pants. Pants that were unbuttoned and unzipped. His eyes met hers, and God, she didn't know her heart could break more. He looked exhausted, sad and pained, eyes wet with unshed tears.
"Oh baby boy." She whispered, crouching down in front on him and running her fingers through his sweaty hair.
"Hope... I... fuck." His voice was gravelly and raw, and she considered maybe his eyes weren't glistening from trying not to cry, but we're wet because he'd already cried. Alone on the bathroom floor. Her own stomach clenched at the thought.
"Shh. No. I know you're about to apologise and I don't want to hear it. You did nothing wrong." She moved from a crouch to fully sitting on the cold ground, shifting Jay gently so his head was tucked in her lap and she continued running her fingers through his hair.
"My stomach hurts so much." His quiet whine tugged at her emotions, and she slipped her other hand under his shirt and over his belly. He was insanely bloated, his usually flat belly domed outwards, especially under his ribs. All of the food must be sitting in his stomach still, meaning she can't have come home long after the binge had happened.
"I know baby. Have you thrown up yet?" She was sure she knew the answer was no judging by just how packed tight his stomach felt under her fingers as she traced gentle circles over it. But she also knew that Jay could have already puked and he was just that full that it hadn't made a difference. And of course, there was that anxiety inducing thought that always tickled the back of her brain when she'd found him after a binge that he'd thrown up by his own hand and that they would be not only facing a binge eating relapse, but one that involved purging too.
"No. But I feel so sick." Jay sighed, burying his face in her thigh.
"I know you do baby. Do you think we can salvage this with some pepto and belly rubs?" She asked despite already knowing the answer.
He shook his head against her, and his belly let out a loud miserable gurgle as if to drive the point home.
"No..." He gulped audibly, "i definitely am going to throw up. But it hasn't happened yet. I just want it over with."
She heard the underlying statement. The fact that he absolutely could have got it over and done with, and was actively choosing to suffer through his nausea and stomach ache. Cementing, whether to her or himself, that he would not allow himself back down that road. She leant forward, pressing a firm kiss against his sweaty temple.
"I am right here. Tell me what you need. Water? More pressure? Me to shut up?" She asked, the last question had Jay turn so she could see his face, and she spotted the ghost of a smirk before it was quickly replaced with a wince.
"Just... talk to me? Tell me about your day. And more pressure, to get things moving, please."
Mission understood. Distraction and belly rubs were something Hope was insanely good at if she did say so herself.
She filled him in on her day, going into every inane interaction and task just to keep the monologue going and stop him from having a free second to dip back into his thoughts. Her hand pressed slightly deeper into his stomach, fingers applying pressure just below his ribs where the majority of the bloating sat.
When she got to telling him what she had for lunch, she made a choice. It was maybe unfair, but she knew that Jay was going to throw up eventually, and if she could help it along faster then she would.
"So, the canteen was serving fancy seafood stuff today. It was gifted by a client as a thank you for our collaboration on their new accounting software. Jay it was amazing, like literally the best seafood I've ever had. I'll take you to their restaurant one day. There was buttered lobster. Lobster Jay. It was so creamy and fresh, honestly the lobster meat just fell apart in my mouth, and god it came with this garlic sauce..." She watched as his face went several shades paler and continued, "and the prawns. Holy shit, they were like the size of my thumb! But they weren't peeled and still had the eyes on, you know how I feel about their beady little black eyes looking at me when im about to eat them."
"Fuc..ughhurpp" Jay jolted up as the gag hit, throwing himself over the toilet just in time to violently heave a large gush of puke into the water.
Hope sighed, gently rubbing his back as the muscles contracted harshly.
"Alright baby, get it up." With her free hand she slowly carded her fingers through his sweaty soaked hair as the next heave had him bringing up a larger, chunky round of sick. Her nose wrinkled at the smell, a mix of stomach acid and now rancid alfredo sauce, and she closed her eyes.
The next few heaves each reduced in quantity of puke before Jay was just dry heaving.
"You're empty Jay. Youre done. Breathe." Hope rested her head against his back, softly peppering his shoulder blade with light kisses. It had the intended affect and Jay relaxed slightly, the heaving moving into panting.
"Fuck." He groaned, spitting into the toilet one last time before flushing, "Fuck. Hope. I am so -"
"-I swear to God Jay, if the next word out of your mouth is sorry I am shoving your head in the toilet and drowning you. Don't. Just don't." She pressed a harder kiss to his shoulder this time before guiding him to sit and wiping his mouth with toilet paper. "You do not need to be sorry. Not for this. Never for this."
His face reddened, pale skin now pink over his cheeks.
"It's embarrassing. I'm embarrassing. Pathetic. How are you not disgusted?" His expression was tight, angry at himself. Hope simultaneously wanted to kiss him and punch him.
"Don't talk about my boyfriend like that." She scolded gently as she ran her thumbs slowly across his cheek bones, "there are many things my boyfriend is. Kind, loving, generous, funny, romantic, sexy as fuck, the list goes on. You know what's not on that list? Embarrassing. Pathetic. Disgusting."
Jay blushed deeper, but lent forward and pressed his forehead into the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, like she could physically hold him together.
"I fucking love you." He murmured, his lips vibrating against her skin.
"I love you too." She kissed the top of his head and held him just a little tighter, breathing in the scent of his hair. They didn't move or speak again for several minutes.
"I need to brush my teeth." Jay finally broke the silence, and Hope released her vice-like grip as he pulled away, standing as he rubbed a hand over his jaw.
"Okay. I'll go get you some water. And maybe some pepto now?" She asked as she also stood, knowing that he needed a few minutes alone to gather himself.
"Please." He replied. His voice was still too quiet. Too sad. She pressed one last kiss to his temple and left the bathroom.
The first thing she did upon entering the kitchen was throw away any evidence of his binge and place the dishes in the dishwasher. He didn't need any extra reminders of what happened. As she filled up a glass from the tap for each of them, she released a sigh, forcing her shoulders to untense. She hated times like these. She felt useless, like all she could do was pick up the fragile pieces.
After grabbing the pepto, she went into the bedroom where Jay was already laying on his back on the bed in just his boxers. His stomach was still bloated, not as tight as before but still definitely rounded.
"Sit up." She instructed as she poured out a dose of pepto.
He took it like a shot, nose crinkling as always at the taste, then lay back down.
Hope quickly changed into one of his tops and crawled into bed beside him, resting her head on his chest and sliding one arm under his back.
"Want me to rub your tummy?" She asked, hand hovering questioningly in the air above his stomach. Usually he would say yes, but sometimes after a binge he would hate having his stomach touched, so she always asked.
"Mmm, please." He exhaled, and she placed her hand flat on his stomach, fingers tenderly stroking the tight skin.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Not knowing what had triggered this was hard for Hope, her type A personality needing all of the information so she could create solutions. So she could fix whatever made the man she would move heaven and earth for so distressed.
He pressed his face against the top of her head, and she could feel his shaky breathing in her hair as he shook his head.
"Not tonight. I just... I just need you." His voice wavered, and she held him tighter.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Seeing 2026 next to Richards name in Marilyn’s introduction was
Also reading the instructions reminded me that when you revealed that John and Luke are actually related, you didn’t have any ideas about how they would find out and I think I wrote an idea for it but you never responded to that ask so I’m wondering if it’s just something you aren’t planning on doing or did it just fall through the cracks or something?
Richard COUNT YOUR DAYS
I don't remember that idea, I think it fell through the cracks 🥺 if you remember can you send it again pls pls pls?
Noo Daniels and Max are two sides of the same coin my head ykwim
He’s Daniels to me when the fic is from someone else’s pov and Max when it’s his, Vin’s or Wendy’s, and recently also Leo’s
Am I making sense 😭
Also I’m not able to send photos still sorry :(🍄
OKay, I opened the submit option, so maybe NOW?? Crossing my fingers
I do see what you mean, I'm mostly joking, don't worry. I think its a lot of fun to track intimacy through how the OCs call each other... Watch this space 🙈
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✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
"Last one in the water is a sack of shit!" Leo squealed, sprinting down the deck and slipping at the last second, falling into the lake none too gracefully, limbs spread out in a funny way.
Jonah let out a dramatic, "LEO!" While Vince chuckled loudly, whole body arching back as he grabbed his left pec, cheeks flushed. Max snorted at their antics, even more so when Leo emerged from the water spluttering, a piece of algae stuck to his hair.
"What are you waiting for?!"
As if he was just waiting for his cue, Vince patted Max's back and then ran down the deck, jumping and hugging his knees, cannonballing nearly on top of Leo's head.
"Is it cold?!" Max asked, eyeing the lake. It looked pacific and today was a really, really warm day, but he was the skittish kind, he couldn't help it.
"Nope," Leo swam closer, splashing water Jonah's way and causing the other man to let out a yell.
"Leo, my phone!"
"Let go of that and get in the water!"
Vince emerged, shaking his head like a dog and sending water droplets everywhere. He swam to the edge of the deck, throwing his arms on the wood and smiling at Max, "c'mon in, it's great."
God, Max bit down a dreamy sigh at the vision.
Lately he felt like he was slowly, key word here, falling out of love with Vince. He seemed more annoying than usual, which Max knew he wasn't really, but the flaws he had originally noticed before crushing hard on the guy were visible once more. Which wasn't to say he had turned blind overnight and his whole body didn't react to Vin still, but there was a hint of annoyance now that wasn't there at first.
Annoyed at Vince and Wendy for the shit show they had made of his life in the past months, but in a surface level. Something he hadn't felt at first, but now he did. Leo said it was a good thing, Max didn't care either way. It wasn't like his feelings had been a decisive factor lately.
Cold water hit him straight on the face, snapping the blonde out of his thoughts and he glared at Vince, whose cheeks were flushed as he pointed at Leo briskly, "wasn't me!"
"Wasn't me!" Leo cried out, although he was giggling too much. Max wasn't sure who to believe, so he opted for raising both middle fingers.
"You guys suck," he scoffed, walking back to the shore to ditch his flip flops and his T-shirt.
Atwood was hanging back like some sort of ghoul, arms crossed and sunglasses, which made him look even more douchey than usual. Max rolled his eyes at the guy, turning his back at him and running down the deck, yelling, "INCOMING!"
He did a pirouette mid air and then dunked in the water. They hadn't been lying, the water wasn't really cold, the perfect temperature. Leo wolf whistled when he emerged, cheekily saying, "that was a ten out of ten, baby!"
"Baby?" Vince whispered in his ear, causing Max to get covered in goosebumps and splash water his way. Fuck this guy, really.
Jonah sat on the edge of the deck, putting his feet in the water, but not getting in, not even as Leo swam between his legs and puppy eyed him, "c'mooon, Jon!"
"No, it's gonna fuck up my hair," Jonah said, while Leo did his best imitation of those wet eyed seals. Max tried not to laugh, just as Vince poked his ribs and raised a finger to his lips, in a stay quiet gesture.
He disappeared underwater, a shadow swimming to where Leo was still trying to convince Jonah to join them. Max watched, pressing his lips not to laugh as Vince swam under the deck and then just his hands poked out, wrapping around Jonah's calves in an iron grip.
"what- VIN-AHHH!" Jonah yelled as he was pulled from the edge of the deck and thrown straight on the water, on top of Leo who didn't move out of the way fast enough.
Max laughed, even harder as Leo emerged clutching his nose, while Jonah spluttered and cried out, "you are such a jerk, Vince Monacelli! Such a fucking je-" he got interrupted by Leo tugging the front of his soaked tanktop and kissing him.
Vince splashed water on them, "leave some room for Jesus, you two."
"Someone is envioussss," Leo sing song, hiding his face in Jonah's neck, seeming more content than Max had seen him be in ages. They were adorable, even if Max thought Jonah was a bit of a stuck up prick, it was heart warming how much he clearly fawned over Leo.
Vince rolled his eyes, gesturing to the shore, "C'mon, Luke, you're missing out! Get in the water!"
Luke shook his head, he had sat down on the shore, back resting against a tree trunk, in the only shadowy patch there was. He had a book in his hand, but Max would've bet money that he hadn't read a single page. Nevertheless, Lucas raised it as a justification for staying out of the water.
Jonah snorted, voice low as he said, "he's so jealous."
"Should we get him?" Vince swam a circle around them, face partially in the water, voice causing bubbles to appear, "I grab his legs, you get his arms?"
Leo perked up at the idea, "maybe in a bit, he's too aware right now."
"Okay," Vince's foot found Max's leg, causing the blonde to jerk, at first thinking it was a fish, but nope. He hated how weak his body was, because that alone caused heat to curl in his belly, his cheeks to burn. Max lowered himself in the water, leaving only his nose out, pointedly avoiding Vin's eyes.
Was he all healed up from the break up and now wanted Max back? He probably just wanted a booty call, but how stupid was it to fish for it within his friend group. Idiot.
He sent Vince a glare and the man smiled, pulled his foot back, hands raised in a disarming way.
"Chicken Fight?" Leo suggested and Max let out a disbelieving scoff.
"Who's gonna get André The Giant over here?" He pointed at Vince, who seemed offended at the comparison, "We can't play it in a fair way!"
"We put Jon with Vin," Leo shrugged, "Jonah sucks at it."
"Wow, real nice, baby," Jonah scoffed, making Max chuckle at their antics.
He guessed Leo had a point, Jonah was all prim and proper, no way he was a good player.
"You know what? Sure, get on top," He swam to Leo, patting his shoulders.
"Leo doesn't hear that often," Vince teased, receiving a splash of water straight to his face, by Jonah.
Max and Leo were a good team and since they had similar builds, they could switch between turns. Max was a little flabbergasted by how shredded Leo was, he had known the guy was lean, like himself, but those abs? Not a thing regular people should have, only movie actors.
Nevertheless, they didn't stand a chance against Jonah and Vin. Jon might be a diva, but he was just as strong, if not stronger, as Leo, and Vince well... The guy was clearly playing with them like he did with his baby sisters.
Probably feeling dejected and sensing that he was the only one who could level the playing field, Luke had moved closer to them and had his feet in the water. He reminded Max of how JD skittered around Leo's place when he was over.
"He's ticklish," he told Max and Leo, clearly invested in the game, as Leo spluttered and sunk his fingers on Max's calves with so much force that there would be purple bruises there in the morning, "like really ticklish."
As if Max didn't know that.
Leo apparently didn't, because he used the infirmation to try and touch Vin's armpit, for the first time in the whole game managing to have Jon wobbling on top of his shoulders as Vince jerked away to try and avoid the tickles.
"Luke! Not fair!"
"He's got a weak spot!" Leo cried out like a warrior, immediately moving forward to do it again, but forgetting to hold Max, nearly causing him to fall backwards.
Lucas watched them play another round, then apparently they weren't being sufficiently vicious for his taste, because he said, "fuck it," and got in the water.
"Jon, get on my shoulders."
"I'm not a dog, you can't just say jump and I juUMP!" Jonah squealed as Vince shrugged him off, causing him to fall back into the water, "Vin, what the fuck?!"
Max snorted, lowering himself so Leo could dismount his shoulders and they played rock paper scissors to figure out who'd get to be Vin's partner for the round.
Max won, much to his chagrin, because being on top of Vince like that, his hands curling around his thighs to properly position him... Yeah, that wasn't helping his "Fuck Vince" agenda.
"Squeeze your legs," Vince told him, "and brace yourself, Luke is the worst."
"You just say that because I win every time," Luke shrugged, causing Jonah to wobble and tug on his hair as if he was a disobedient horse.
"With Wendy against Bell? Of course you do, my gi-" Vince's mouth slammed shut mid sentence, realizing what he was saying. They all flinched, Max feeling vaguely nauseous as it dawned on him just how not over it Vince was. Max couldn't even hold it against him, this would all be so much easier if he could just hate Vin, but no... He liked the guy, he was attracted to him and to top it off, he sympathized with his plight.
"Okaaay," Leo said, awkwardly, "Uhm- players get in position! Three, two, one- FIGHT!"
Lucas lost the first one and Max, Leo and Vince watched amusedly as Jonah and him yelled at each other for a solid minute before resuming to their initial positions. They won the next one, Max falling into the water with a splash that caused his back to hurt and by the time he emerged, Leo was already climbing Vince like a tree, causing the other man to whine about having his curls tugged at.
The next round Luke and Jon lost again, causing Luke to rage quit entirely.
"Don't be such a baby, Luke!" Leo cried out, as Lucas used the deck to lift himself out of the water, "c'mon, dude, we're just playing!"
"No, I have a headache, I'm gonna lie down," Lucas lied through his teeth. Max eye rolled so much he feared it was gonna get stuck.
"Sore loser, much?"
"Fuck off, Daniels."
Max didn't pay him any mind, if anything he was glad the guy was gone, but apparently the others didn't share his satisfaction, because they only stayed in the lake for another hour before heading inside.
As soon as they were out, Max overheard Vin tell Jonah in a quiet voice, "I'll check on him."
Atwood truly was spoiled rotten, huh?
Max followed Leo into the kitchen. They should probably shower, since the sun was setting and the temperatures were dropping quickly, but his stomach was hurting from hunger.
"Okay, we got, uh-" Leo's voice came muffled from inside the fridge, "chicken and uhm... What is this... Chicken, but in cubes now... And this is... Chicken but in burger form!" He pulled back, smiling, "so what is it gonna be?"
"Chicken?" Max grinned, pushing Leo aside so he could look at their options.
He wasn't a stellar cook. When someone had a fussy stomach as bad as he did, all they needed to know was how to cook potatoes, rice and chicken. From the ingredients they had brought, he figured they could do full on burgers or maybe just rice, chicken and fries.
"So?" Leo asked, but not directed at him. Max looked up, Jonah was by the doorway, having already showered, "is he pissy or he's got an actual headache?"
Jon grimaced, "I think it's an actual headache, I'm hoping it's because we didn't eat all day."
"That wasn't very smart of us, no," Max relented, when he actually wanted to ask why they were acting as if a headache was the equivalent of bleeding out.
"He's gonna be fine," Vince entered the kitchen, circling Jonah and grabbing Max by the hips to push him away from the fridge. Apparently he had already decided he was gonna cook, "did we bring any garlic? Or onions?"
Max shrugged, he hadn't been in charge of anything. He hadn't even been sure if he was gonna come or not, torn between his desire to join and his fear of falling back under Vin's spell and his annoyance at dealing with Atwood for a whole weekend. So far so good, though.
"Do we really need that?" Leo asked, "I prioritized space, bought beer."
Vince stared at him as if Leo had just said all puppies should die, "you prioritized buying beer versus spices?"
"He's from bumfuck Oklahoma, give him a break," Jonah teased, receiving an elbow in his stomach.
"We had limited space in the car and you told me to keep the budget tight!" Leo cried out.
"So tight you didn't bring garlic?!"
"Not everything needs garlic!"
"Did you at least bring salt?!" Vince's cheeks were red now and Max was beyond enthralled. He didn't particularly care what they ate, even if it ended up sucking, he thought it would be fine. Clearly, his ex didn't share his opinions.
Leo's face turned pink, "uh... I brought juice packets for cocktails and vodka..?"
"MA QUI CAZZO!" Vince exploded, causing Max to break and start cackling.
"Why are you guys yelling?" Atwood walked in the kitchen, that was getting too cramped for all of them, glaring at them. Party pooper that he was, he instantly killed the mood.
"Leo didn't bring SALT!" Vince exclaimed, pointing angrily at Leo, who had his lips pressed not to laugh, "you had one job!"
"I brought the essentials!"
"We can head to town and get salt," Jonah intervened before the vein in Vin's forehead exploded, "and Excedrin?" He asked in a lower tone, to Atwood, who nodded.
The drama queen was leaning against the doorway, forehead touching the wooden frame and face pinched.
"I'll go with," Vince decided, "I don't trust any of you to buy food."
"I know how to buy groceries, I was making a strategic decision," Leo argued, while they all moved to the living room, Jonah already grabbing the car keys.
Although he hadn't said it out loud, Max could tell he was worried about Lucas. Over a headache, the drama.
Jonah and Vince left, leaving Max and Leo behind, as well as Atwood, who had sat down on the couch and was cradling his head as if he was dying.
"Awn, Luke," Leo lowered his voice, "is it very bad?"
"Not that bad yet," Lucas answered, his voice barely above a whisper, "Jonah is right, I probably just need to eat."
"Uhm, we can make fries..?" Leo offered. Max noticed he had started to shake, since now it was getting pretty chilly.
"No, kid," Luke pushed Leo's wet shorts, "go shower, your teeth are chattering."
"Yes, dad," Leo teased him, ruffling his hair, "I'll be right back."
Leo sprinted upstairs and Max was left alone with Atwood. Great, just great.
He looked around the room in search of his cigarettes, fishing one out and walking to the front door, opening it so he could smoke half inside, half in the porch — Jonah had threatened him with bodily harm if he smoked inside the house, even the bathroom was off limits... But he was too cold to go completely outside, fuck that.
"Can you not smoke?" Atwood bitched.
Max rolled his eyes, taking a long drag and blowing it out in a thick ring of white smoke, "nope," he poked the ring with his cig, "no wonder you act like this, they coddle you like crazy."
"They're not coddling me," Luke scoffed, moving on the couch in a weak attempt to get away from Max. If he really wanted to avoid the cigarettes, Max figured he could stop with the performance and simply go back to bed.
"What do you call them babying you then?" Max snorted, continuing to smoke. His favorite part of the lake house was, by far, how silent it was. He could hear the crickets chirping and an owl hooting far away. It relaxed every muscle in his body.
Lucas let out a long suffering sigh, shuffling on the couch. Max glanced at him, the guy was pretty pale, maybe he wasn't faking the headache to get attention. Maybe.
There were footsteps upstairs, followed by a shriek. Both their heads snapped, "Leo?!" Luke called out, before Max beat him to it. He got up, walked to the staircase and Max followed, concerned.
"Leo?!"
"I'M FINE!" Leo's voice travelled, "There was a spider in the shower!"
"How big of a spider?" Max chuckled, imaging the other man shrieking because of an itty bitty spider.
"Uh- About the size of my hand...?"
Oh, wow, that was pretty big.
"You killed it?" The nerd in him wanted to go up to check it out, but Luke was absolutely gonna snitch if Max went up to the second floor while smoking.
"Yeah, it's fine," Leo shut the bathroom door once more, ending their shouting conversation.
Max turned around to walk back outside, to pat out his cigarettes that had burned down considerably, only for his eyes to fall on Atwood... Who was shaking...?
"Atwood?"
"Urg-uck," the man clamped a hand over his mouth, then rushed to the kitchen, leaning over the sink with a loud retch. Max jumped, surprised.
"Oh, wow," he walked closer, unsure of what to do, standing awkwardly on the doorway, "are you good...?"
Was this because of the headache or something else?
Luke retched again, this time managing to bring up a mouthful of thick saliva and something cloudy in it. Max wrinkled his nose, stepped closer to reassess his original diagnose of drama queen. Atwood was trembling, maybe he did have a pretty bad headache or maybe it was a bug-
"Go. Away," Luke's voice was clipped with annoyance, one shaky hand attempt to shoo Max away. The blonde snorted.
"You seem a little woozy, I'd rather you didn't split your head on my watch," he peered at Luke's face, the way his throat was bobbing as he fought the nausea, "are you gonna be sick?"
There was a vindictive hint to his voice, a mean part of him that wanted to make this worse a little bit, after Luke had acted like such a fucking asshole back in the car, crying out he wouldn't pull over. Such an asshole.
"GO'WAY!"
Max put down his cigarette on the windowsill, frustrated, "I'm trying to help!"
"Yo'huurk-" Luke gagged mid sentence, spine curling as he heaved again, this time managing to actually bring something up. Cereal? They had brought cereal?
Max wouldn't know, he had skipped breakfast entirely because he had slept until 11.
"Do you have the flu?" Max wondered out loud. Surely a headache shouldn't cause puking, not unless- His mind flashed Wendy, a year ago, throwing up on his shirt while she cradled her head, on the side of the road in Doveport. Not a headache, a migraine.
That explained why the lot of them were making such a fuss about it, "Ah, you have a migraine?" Max whispered, looking around for the light switch. Darkness helped, right?
Luke heaved again, then his knees buckled, but he didn't fall because Max wrapped his arms around his waist before he managed, "Whoa! Hey, don't faint!"
"Mmn'ell," Luke slurred and there was something in his voice that made Max look away from his search for the light switch.
Luke's face had collapsed, right side turned down, left up.
He was having a stroke.
"Lucas," Max's heart was so loud in his ears, he couldn't hear his own voice, "Shit, Lucas. Lucas, open your eyes!"
"Mmgh'ell!" Luke cried out, a hand coming up to grab at his hair, tugging on it with so much force that a couple hairs came out.
"What?! What are you saying -" what do I do?!
Luke gestured, uncoordinated, to the windowsill and it took Max an embarrassing amount of time to realize he meant the stupid cigarette. Shit, the smell.
"Oh my god- My bad, my bad, my bad," he said frantically, putting the thing off inside the sink and turning the register on for good measure.
"What's going on-" Leo froze by the doorway, taken back by the scene. Max's heart nearly leaped out of his mouth.
"Help?! I think he's having a stroke- I- I-"
"Shit, Luke," Leo whispered, concern clear on his face, "lets get you lying down..."
"Leo, call 911," Max instructed, trying to keep his cool and failing miserably. He had never seen a stroke before, but a collapsed face... He'd have to be daft to ignore that glaring red flag, "Leo!"
"It's not a stroke!" Leo snapped at him, sliding under Luke's opposite arm, "c'mon, Luke, we're gonna get you lying down..."
Slowly they made it back to the living room, depositing Luke down on the couch. The man let out a groan, pitching to the side as he heaved again and Leo rushed out to grab him a bowl, while Max planted both his hands on Luke's shoulders to keep him from falling completely.
His face was terrifying, one eye leaking tears like a faulty faucet, lips down turned and limp, the other bright, alert and pinched in pain.
"Fuckfuckfuckfuck," Max chanted under his breath, making a silent prayer to the universe that Atwood didn't die on him. He was terrified, he couldn't understand why Leo wasn't completely losing it too, "Leo, he's going to die, we really need to call 911-"
"He's not having a stroke," Leo fell to his knees next to Luke, holding a plastic bowl under his mouth and curling his opposite arm around Luke's head, trying to keep it steady as the empty heaves rocked him, "migraine. He's got-"
"Migraine doesn't cause his face to fall!" Max hissed, "call Jonah at least-" he was begging and he knew it, but fuck, this guy couldn't die on him.
Leo hesitated, then nodded, "hold him, keep his head steady."
He then ran to grab his cellphone, ditched upstairs. Max moved around, taking Leo's spot and wrapping himself around Luke's head kinda like an octopus, cooing out of instinct when he heaved and whimpered.
He should ignore Leo's bullshit and call 911 himself. Even if Luke didn't die, if he had had an aneurysm, time was crucial...
"His face collapsed," Leo's voice arrived before he did, talking on the phone, "it's bad, Jon, it's really bad..."
The other man appeared in front of Max, gesturing for him to move, "okay... Just squeeze his hand? That's all?" Leo's hand wrapped around Luke's and he whispered to the fallen man, "Luke, Jon is asking you to squeeze my hand, can you do that? Please?"
Max waited, biting his lip with so much force he was drawing blood. Luke's hand tightened around Leo's, who let out a relieved sigh, "Okay, Luke, now the other one..." Again, a tight hand squeeze.
Leo sat down on the ground, boneless, "yeah, he squeezed it, it's strong," he said on the phone and judging by the clear relief on his voice, Max counted it as good news. He just wasn't sure if he trusted it.
"Ice pack?" Leo asked, on the phone, "no, we don't, but Uh- I have a bottle of vodka in the freezer... Works?"
Max was up and moving before he got an ok from Leo. He took the bottle of alcohol, wrapped it up in a dish cloth and brought it back to the mini chaos in the living room.
"Hold it to his forehead," Leo instructed.
Max obeyed and upon the cool touch, Luke whimpered and curled up even more.
"Ssstop'urtssss-"
"Sorry, man, I can't," Max said, truly apologetic. He watched Luke's face like a hawk, hoping the horrible two-face condition was gonna ease.
It took forever.
Jonah and Vince arrived and promptly took over the caretaking, a bag of groceries being shoved in Max's hands as he was sidelined.
He dumped it in the kitchen, unable to stay away from the living room, where the other two were fussing over Luke in a rhythm that informed Max this wasn't their first time doing it.
Leo got up to wash the vomit basin and his whole face was pink as if he was crying, so Max followed him.
"Leo..."
"I'm okay," his voice came out strangled and Max let out a huff. Leo dropped the bowl inside the sink, whole body shaking and a terrible whine falling from his lips.
"Hey," Max wasn't sure what he was doing, but Leo was his friend and he wanted to comfort him. He stepped closer, pulled Leo's arm and guided him into a hug, which was reciprocated immediately. Leo melted against him, crying, "I know, it was scary..."
It sounded childish said like this, but Max too was shaking, adrenaline starting to come down. Leo sniffled, hugged him tighter, "I thought he- he-"
"I know, I thought so too," Max patted his friend's back, "but Jonah said he's ok, right?"
"Right," Leo pulled back, wiping his eyes, "sorry-"
"Don't," Max squeezed his nape, looking back to the living room. Jonah and Vin seemed to have managed to knock Luke out. Jon was sitting on the coffee table, watching him, while Vince paced behind the couch like a caged tiger, biting his thumb.
Luke's face was normal now and he seemed peaceful. Max walked up to Vin, while Leo curled up on the floor, resting his head on Jonah's thigh.
"Should we move him to a bed..?" Max asked, after a long quiet minute. He noticed Vin's face was white as chalk and his eyes were bloodshot, and he reached in without thinking, taking Vin's hand in his and giving it a friendly squeeze. Vince latched onto him with an iron grip.
"Not yet," Jonah answered, sounding defeated, "I should've seen it coming, he was squinting all day and wearing the stupid sunglasses."
"Not your fault," Leo pressed a kiss to Jonah's thigh, while Max asked again "is it over now?"
"Not necessarily," Vince's voice was raspy, he cleared his throat, "last cluster I thought he'd be better after sleeping, but he was worse. Had to take him to the ER."
"Ah..." What else was he supposed to say?
They eventually disbanded. Vince took a lot of pushing and prodding to move away from Luke, but he did go cook dinner once Jonah promised he wouldn't leave the other man alone. Leo shooed Max to shower and they had a quiet dinner in the kitchen, while Vince watched Luke.
Jonah curled up on the armchair in front of the couch, eyelids heavy, but refusing to move to the bedroom no matter how many times Leo asked... And Leo didn't ask that many times. Instead he came back downstairs with a huge pile of pillows and Max quickly got what he wanted, so he ran upstairs to grab all the blankets.
They curled up on the living room floor, pushed the coffee table out of the way. Max sandwiched between Vince and Leo.
It was only when Vin snuggled up against him, much, much later that night, that Max's heart finally stopped racing. He let out a sigh, used Vin's bicep as a pillow and curled his hand around Leo's wrist, thrown over his middle. Max fell asleep watching Luke's slack face.
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hi i think someone already asked you this (? not sure) but im planning to start writing emeto fics with my ocs and I have their backstories and relationships and personalities written out but im not like. sure when to start. do u have any tips? I love your writing btw!!
Hi anon! Congratulations on your OCs and deciding to take the leap! We're desperately needing new authors tbh
Someone did ask me just yesterday, so I'm going to leave here my advice tag where all of these writing related questions are, and also this post, where I talk in depth on how to organize your new blog!
Now, if you've never posted here before, I'd recommend posting 1-3 fics with your new OCs, then making an intro post for them and, I cannot stress this enough, interact with your favorite authors so they know you're a new blog!
