it's just like poison in my veins

He's Just Misguided, I Think || Max and Everett

Everett stood on his bed, taping up at poster of New York City that he’d brought for his dorm this year. His hands a little shaky, and his mind all over the place rather than focused on making sure this thing didn’t fall down. But he couldn’t shake the image of Magnolia’s face imprinted in his mind, her complete look of devastation—and it was all his fault. Everett plopped down on his bed, running his hands over his forearms before he heard a knock on the door and a very familiar voice on the other side. “This room is really clean, don’t you know?” Everett called back before opening the door and smiling a bit. “Well hey.” He said.

"Too fucking clean," Max chuckled as he entered the room. He had a habit of making himself at home in places in which he had no business to. Principal's offices, Dean's offices, people's bedrooms, private properties, the works. He had an unlit cigarette pressed between his dry lips as he dropped himself onto the boy's bed, elbows on his knees. "Are you a germaphobe or one of the OCD people?" He questioned, words muddled behind the stick. "Were you busy?" He asked, though he didn't really care.

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

"Hmm-" Murphy said, rubbing her chin. "I’ll have to show you some of my doodles. We can go from there, I mean each has a meaning of it’s own, so." She laughed and jumped off the bench, smoothing out her shirt. "I told you, boy, we’ll have to see." Murphy wouldn’t admit it, but she loved being whooed into bed. It wasn’t easy for her to share herself with a complete stranger. "Come on, I’ve got a journal just waiting to expose itself to you." 

Max slid off of the bench, nodding his head. "Alright, yeah. I'll take a look, help you decide," He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out some money, leaving it behind on the counter. If he'd done the correct maths, it should've covered both of them just fine. "Well, I've been told I can be pretty convincing," Max winked. "If that's not the only thing exposing itself, it could turn into a very successful evening," Max said slyly, chuckling.

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

Murphy picked up the paper and looked at it, “I like it. I didn’t know tags could be symbols, I always thought they had to be words. You know? Something that meant something to you even if it didn’t make a lick of sense to anyone else. But this-” She said, putting it back down on her table, “I like.” She finished off her drink and shook her head, “Relentless. You gonna be like that until you’ve got my pants down around my ankles?” 

"Tags could be whatever you want. If you're doing a piece like this," Max said, referring back to his drawing. "It's gotta mean something to you. You don't have to tell what it represents, but you just know. You could make it like a private message, you know? And then when you see it, you just know like a secret," He chuckled, finishing off the rest of his alcohol. He sighed against the bitterness, wearing a sly smile. "Well," He half-turned toward Murphy. "It depends on if it'll work or not."

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

"That sounds great, I’ll think up for some ideas unless it just magically dawns upon me one day. But that hasn’t happened yet, so-" She laughed and took a sup of her drink, letting the smooth alcohol glide down her throat and into her stomach. "I’m not really the type to have a fairy godmother, ya know?" She chuckled again only to laugh harder when Max took a flirty tone with her. "Let’s not count your ducks before you get them in a line, scout-" she said, nudging him gently with her foot and winking. 

"Ideas just sort of sneak up on you," Max said, fishing his pockets for a pen. He shocked even himself when he pulled one out. He reached for a napkin and began to sketch out a rough design of his tag, a hard looking crown with thorns seeming to stick out of it--sort of a little fuck you to the parentals. Though, they didn't know it was his, they'd surely beat him harder for that. "I always count them before they hatch," He smirked, taking a drink. "I've got to be optimistic about something."

Hold Me Down, Sweet and Low || Melax

"Oh come on, Max! You know I can’t make decisions! What are you in the mood for, or better yet! You know me plenty well, what do you think I’d enjoy the most, hm? Because I don’t even know!" Melanie exclaimed, giggling as she took a seat next to him on the marble edge. "OOH! But before we go, you have to make a wish too. Since I’m here and all, so go on." Mel urged, nudging him gently to do as she had done only moments before. Maybe Max would wish for the same thing for himself and that would only improve the chances of it coming true. When it came to Max, Melanie would take every last drop of hope she could find.

"Alright, alright," Max said, chuckling. "I know where we'll go," He was just preparing to stand as Melanie took a seat and readjusted himself so as to face her. "You want me to do it?" He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a coin identical to the one he handed Melanie. "Alright," He watched the coin in his hand as it reflected in the sunlight, Max turning it around every so often. What could he possibly have to wish for? He couldn't wish for anything that wouldn't be feasible. So his closed his eyes, brought the coin to his lips and murmured his wish against the coin, his voice below the sound of the water. For Melanie to outlive me. And tossed it over his shoulder. "Happy?" He asked, smiling sarcastically at her. "Now can we go, please? We won't have much time otherwise!"

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

"I think I am like you," she said, "Because all that sounds great. I mean, I paint, but I’ve never tried to graffiti. You think you’d try and teach me? I’m a fast learner." She smiled and took a sip of her drink. Max sounded so thrilling, like a drug of her own she didn’t have to ingest. She wanted more of him. How ever that came. She burst out giggling and raised her brows, "Really now? Well, I suppose that’s what happens when you put teens in a school. It’s like a zoo specifically made for getting laid."  

"I'll teach you, yeah," Max nodded, taking another drink. "I'll help you come up with your own tag and everything. Then you can look up at some wall and just think, yeah, I did that," Max said, wearing a proud grin. "Take away all parental interactions and a miniscule inattentive staff and it's a breeding ground. Nice piece like you shouldn't have much hard a time getting someone to try to jump your bones. Might be me if you're feeling it," He smirked against his glass, quirking a flirtatious brow before gulping down some more liquid.

Hold Me Down, Sweet and Low || Melax

"Still, this country is incredible! Maybe you’ll get the chance later to show me where you’re from though, I’m sure it’s just as wonderful." She said, imagining what kind of place Max would be from. Part of her was worried by the image, but she doubted anywhere in Italy could be scary in anyway. She had no clue what he had told the max they were passing, but it didn’t sound terribly kind. Melanie took the coin he gave, her examining it for a moment in her hand before gripping it tightly, scared to drop it. "Did your wish ever come true?" She asked. "No!" She quickly retracted, "Don’t tell me. I want to be surprised." Melanie then did as she was instructed and turned to the crowd, practically panicking at the sight of all these people. But she simply closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of everything she could wish for. To love again, to feel whole once more, to have clarity in who she was; but she opened her eyes for a moment and glanced back at Max. And she realized, here with him, she didn’t need a wish and she didn’t deserve one. She gave him a smile without a word, shutting her eyes once more. Melanie held the coin between her fingers and readied herself to throw it thinking, “Let Max be happy, let Max be safe, let Max be better," repeating the words in her mind before tossing the small coin over her shoulder and into the small pit of water.

Max leaned back on his hands, observing the scene. Years of roaming these city streets made him rather observant. He watched as friends fell into lovers, and as lovers learned to let go. He watched the old married couples strolling hand in hand and the young ones, so eager and unable to keep their hands off of each other. And rarely was there a time in which he was noticed as he sat, idling puffing away clouds of smoke and just watching, leaning, observing. He'd gotten rather good at it. "Okay," Max said, sighing happily. "We've got a few options now. If you're hungry, I know a place. If you feel like learning something, I know a different place. And if you feel like walking, I know a third one."

Hold Me Down, Sweet and Low || Melax

Melanie looked at everything as they walked, mesmerized by the entire city. It was beautiful. She had never seen a place more lovely. “Max, I can’t believe you lived here!” She exclaimed. Mel took his warning into consideration, trying to prepare herself for the crowds of people. But nothing could have prepared her for what she witness. She couldn’t even see the fountain when he first pointed it - a terrible disadvantage to being on the shorter side. But soon it came into true view, the massive work of stone and water. “Wow.” Melanie breathed, taken aback by the whole scene. And it was so big. “Have you ever made a wish?” Mel asked, gripping his hand tighter than before - just in case.

"I didn't live here, exaclty, but I might as well have," Max laughed. He wondered if he'd ever really be ready to take Melanie to Andalasia. If he'd be selfish enough to risk bringing her into his mother's reign, with the looming possibility of her sudden arrival. Would he ever be ready to really open up? Of that, he wasn't sure he'd ever have an answer. "Lo non sono interessato a quello che stai vendendo," Max muttered harshly to a street vendor that kept pushing a picture of an Asian family at them. "I have, of course. Any Italian has, loads of times. The real fun is seeing someone else do it for the first time," Max chuckled, taking out a copper coin with a picture of the Colosseum on it. "Hold this, mull over what you want to wish for," He instructed her as he pushed them to the fountain's edge. "Make it something worthwhile, okay?" He smiled, sitting down on the marble edge. You've got to toss it over your shoulder, so face the crowd," He instructed with a grin.

Hold Me Down, Sweet and Low || Melax

"Hey! It was exciting! I mean, I had never been on a train. What do you expect?" Melanie said, pushing their hands back to hit him. She loved Max to death, and she loved their mini little arguments even more. Everything was just so light and easy with him. "I am most definitely up for it. Lead the way!" Mel exclaimed, feeling so happy she could practically skip through the streets - if they weren’t so tight.

Hold Me Down, Sweet and Low || Melax

Melanie smiled as he kissed her temple, knowing him well enough to understood what he meant. She nodded as he declared their stop, sitting up and lifting herself from her seat. She took Max’s hand and ushered him up to, not letting go of him as they moved out towards the doors that Max had motioned to earlier. “I just rod a train!” She exclaimed as they stepped off the train and onto the platform, feeling overly proud of herself. “Now where are we headed, Mr. Tour Guide?”

"Now, we're off to La Fontana," Max said with a crooked grin. "Although, I mean, the train ride was pretty exciting," He teased, gently pushing their interlocked hands into Melanie's side. "Are you sure you're up for it?" He joked, wagging his eyebrows as he led her through the crowded Roman streets. This part of home wasn't so bad, Max decided. In fact, he kind of loved it here.

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

Murphy smiled and nodded he drink towards him, “That makes two of us.” She took a sip of her delicious brew. She bubbled her lips and rubbed her bare arms, “What else is there to do around this joint? Hmm?” She said, her tired eyes wafting over to him. 

"Depends on what you're into," Max said with a shrug. "There's lots more of this on campus if you find the right company," He chuckled. "If you're like me, there's lots of walls for graffiti, lots of places with Do Not Enter signs to hang around in," He explained, laughing. "There's tons of drugs around. I'm waiting for the day they tell us this is really a fucking cartel," Max chortled, taking a drink of the harsh liquor. "Lots of fucking, too. Hard to come by a night where you don't hear someone getting it."

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

"Sixteen isn’t short away from fifteen, you know? If only we knew each other then. Maybe we could have conquered the world." She chuckled to lighten the conversation, taking another sip of her drink. It saddened her to know Max was distant from the people who raised him, but then again Murphy came to Walt to escape her Mother’s grasp, so who was she to judge? "Well," she said, her eyes gliding up to his, "Maybe it’ll last longer than you think. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet decent people here." 

"That'd have been nice," Max chuckled. He liked to play a little game with himself and every person he met. It was a silent game, one he kept to himself. He liked to guess if he'd have been friends with the person outside of Walt. Melanie? No. Everett? Never. Murphy? Shockingly, yes. "Ah, you're still new. Most people suck here, real sticks," He shrugged taking another gulp and nodding to the barkeep for another. "You, however, do not suck. I'm not dreading this conversation at all," Truth be told, he was rather enjoying her. A nice bit of skirt that could actually articulate a decent conversation was a rare comeby and Max would've been a fool not to enjoy it.

Hold Me Down, Sweet and Low || Melax

Melanie listened to his advice, wondering why on earth it didn’t feel that easy. Why every time she tried to change who she’d become she ended up giving up and pulling out another bottle of alcohol or going to find something to distract her from everything that hurt. She wasn’t even sure what hurt anymore. “I guess you’re right.” Mel ended up shrugging, not knowing what else to tell him. “I’m trying, I am. It’s just… it’s harder than it seems, to get back on the tracks, you know?” She tried, resting gratefully against his chest. “Well however you take it, I don’t care. I love you, and that means something to me, Mr. Anderson.” She told him, glancing up at him from her spot in his arms. “It means I’ll never let you go, understood?”

"It's not going to be easy, but you'll have to learn to figure it out if you really want it," He said, shrugging his shoulders. Max didn't value anything enough to discipline himself. That's how he ended up smoking about two packs a day, how he ended up needing substance to get him by, how he looked for trouble. He pressed his lips to her temple, Max's only way of saying that he understood, and that he would be the same with her. But, though Max could write novels on paper, he couldn't formulate sentences on his tongue. "This is our stop," He said, nodding to the train doors.

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

Murphy laughed and shrugged her shoulders, “What can I say?” She looked over at him and smiled with those tired eyes that were never really tired. “I guess I beat you out in that department.” She finished her drink and flagged for another. “What about you?” Her gaze flickered back up, “Do you get along with your parents well? What’s your story?” 

"I'm hard to surprise, so consider it a victory," Max laughed. He didn't exactly know how to explain his relationship with his parents. In short, he hated them. And they hated him. Hated him for who he was and what he did and who he did it with. "Fuck my parents," He said, his tone lacking the normal teenage angst and instead forming like venom. He sighed after taking another drink. "My story?" He shrugged. "I shuffled between three different private schools before I got sent to reform school. And once I got kicked out of that, in, what, my Sophomore year?" He recalled. "Well, then I dropped out. And moved out of my home at sixteen," He nixed mentioning that this home was far from a home, but in fact a cold, menacing castle that only reminded him of the welds on his back and legs. "Been on my own since I was forced here. Honestly, I'm just biding my time until I'm kicked out of here, too."

Drinks, Drinks, Drinks || Max and Murphy

Murphy lifted her feet up onto the bar stool and hugged her knees with one arm, keeping the other free for drinks. She took another sip and pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. My Mum kept me from him my entire life and wouldn’t tell me why, so when I was fifteen I ran away to find out..” She looked over at him, “But I got there a little too late. He died a few months before.” 

"Shit," Max shook his head, rubbing at his jaw again. "I'm sorry to hear that," Murphy seemed to be a pretty tough girl, he'd have wagered that she'd get on just fine with a pirate. She seemed to get on just fine with him, and he was a lot to handle. He took another gulp of alcohol. "But sneaking off at fifteen, that's pretty badass. I gotta tell you, I'd never have guessed."