"Aubrey, look at this flower I made"
Max held his origami flower in front of Aubrey's face, and she put her phone down to look at what Max had made.
"That looks nice Max did you make it all by yourself?"
"Yeah I did, it took a long while though," Max reached into his sweater jacket and pulled out a bunch of crumpled up pieces of paper.
"I tried like a gazillion times before I finally got it. You can have it,"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I made it for you. See look it's even your favorite color,"
"Thank you Max," Aubrey grabbed it and held it in her left hand while she went back to her phone.
Max had met Aubrey earlier this year he was a freshman and she was a junior. They had a brother sister relationship, she always hung out with him, and kept him company, and he did the same for her. However the main difference between them was that he was in love with her. At least after the first few months he called it love but to be safe he kept his feelings for her at a like.
Aubrey was a girl who was always on her phone, she was always texting someone, she always had her head in her phone. Whenever he saw her in the halls her head was always down texting someone. He always wondered who she was texting, but he was too afraid to ask. Sometimes he would try to take a peek but he would never get much out of the few short glances, by the end of today he promised himself he would gather up the courage to ask her who she was always texting.
"Hey Max I'm going to the library I have to print out a report, you want to come?"
Aubrey grabbed her book bag and swung it on her back, and grabbed her trays and headed towards the garbage.
"Uh no, I think I'll finish my lunch," Reluctantly Max stayed, he knew her head would be in her phone half the time anyways, besides he had not even eaten much of his lunch. Aubrey had just walked out the cafeteria door and Max heard his name,
"Maxy!"
Max felt hands around his eyes,
"Guess who it is!"
Max hated this games girls always saw fit to play with each other, and him. He didn't know what the point really was. He already knew it was Chloe from first period, she was the only one who called him Maxy, and she knew that.
"Chloe?"
"Oh my gosh how'd you know?"
"You called me Maxy, and only you do that,"
"Oh you did notice that,"
"Yeah I did,"
It wasn't that Max didn't like Chloe it was just that she was too crazy for him. She was wild, loud, and obnoxious, the complete opposite of him. He was more quiet, and preferred people who shared that quality with him, like Aubrey.
"Hey who's that junior you've been hanging with?"
"Aubrey,"
"You like her?"
Max didn't know why this was always the question that followed. Even though he did like Aubrey, Chloe said that about every girl he hung out with.
"What's it to you?"
"She's a junior, you're a freshman she's way out of your league. What how old are you 14, 15 she's got to be at least 17 or 18. Yeah it wouldn't work."
"So then why does it matter?"
"Well I had to make sure you didn't like anybody. There's a girl in 6th period that likes you. You know Carrie the brunette?"
"Yeah,"
"Well she told my friends, friend that she thought you were cute. Then I went up to her and asked if she liked you, and she said yes!"
"Well I don't even know her besides-"
"She wants to talk to you after lunch,"
Is this why he missed hanging out with Aubrey at the Library? So he could deal with another girl who had a crush on him.
"Look I can't,"
"Oh my gosh look there she is. Carrie! Carrie right here," Chloe bustled from the lunch table, and ran over to her friend. This was the third girl this year that Chloe brought to him. Didn't Chloe get that he didn't care for any of them.
"Hey Carrie this is Maxy, I mean Max, and Maxy this is Carrie. I'll leave you two alone," Chloe ran off with a squeal of delight.
"Uh hi," Carrie said with a blush.
"Hey Carrie look I'm sorry about Chloe, but I'm not interested,"
Max stood up, grabbed his tray and walked off. He looked back and saw that Carrie had her mouth open and was just standing there. He knew it probably wasn't the nicest way to let a girl know he was interested, but better to let her know now before she ends up like him. Helplessly in love with a girl who won't let him know what's in her head.
Max walked out of the cafeteria and headed towards the library hoping to see Aubrey passing by, and he did.
Her head was facing her phone as she walked the halls almost completely oblivious to her surroundings.
She looked up when she noticed she was about to bump into someone.
"Hey Max I didn't think I'd see you here,"
"Uh yeah I was running away from another girl that apparently liked me," Max said.
"Another one this year, what is that the fourth one this year?"
"No only the third," Max said with a laugh.
"Wow you are quite the ladies man" Aubrey put her phone in her back pocket and gave Max all her attention. She did this every so often and he felt a little more important whenever she would give him her undivided attention.
"Ha don't say that,"
"Well you are, there's always some girl that likes you,"
"Yeah well it's too bad I never like any of them, besides I don't know any of them."
"Well it’s because you keep running from them, you'll never get to know any of them that way,"
"I don't want to get to know them, there all the same anyways."
"Well suit yourself, you have gym next right?"
"Uh yeah, how about you,"
"Oh I don't have any more classes today, so I was thinking of leaving early,"
"Oh,"
"Do you think your gym teacher will mind if I stay in your class?"
"Huh?"
"I said, Do you-"
"Oh sorry, uh yeah. He doesn't care, he doesn't even take attendance."
"Cool, then I think I'll chill with you Max,"
Max thought back to what Chloe said about it being impossible for Aubrey and him to amount to anything. Maybe it wasn't impossible, maybe there was a possibility.
***
Max was like a little brother to Aubrey, no he was more than that to her. He was a chance for her to do things right. Her little brother was the same age as Max both their names started with an M. Mihael and Max. They both were rather quiet, and the both loved to make things in Origami. Her little brother had gone missing last year. She had done so many things wrong with Mihael, she wasn't the sister she should've been, and she regretted that more than anything, and now he was gone. Then she met Max, he even looked like Mihael at times. Sometimes his voice even sounded the same. He even looked at her in the same adoring way. She felt like she could do it over with Max, it was almost like her second chance.
Aubrey reached for her phone, and sent herself a text.
"I feel like I've found him, for once I feel like I've found him. I didn't mean to lose him, Oh I swear I didn't. But now he's here, so near. Please don't leave, please don't leave."
Ever since Aubrey met Max she started sending herself texts it was a way she could express herself. It was like ever since Mihael went missing a piece of her ability to express herself went missing with him. All she could do was send herself texts of her feelings.
"Hmm doesn't look like anyone is here yet, I suppose we could just sit by the bleachers," Max walked forward, and she followed slowly behind him.
"I feel like I need to be with you, it's as if I am making up for all the times I wasn't there for you. Who did you sit with during P.E were you alone, or did you have a friend to be near you. Did you ever wish your big sister was with you? I wish you were with me."
She tucked her phone back into her back pocket and started walking along side Max.
"Hey Max thanks for the flower."
"Huh? Oh yeah, it’s no problem."
Aubrey had put the flower on the side pockets where you were supposed to put your water bottle. She reached her hand to get it, and she held it in her hands.
"How did you know blue was my favorite color?"
"Well I noticed that you always wear blue, and I think I heard you tell someone else. What's your second favorite color?"
"Red, what's your favorite color,"
Max paused to think, and then he smiled and said,
"Purple, I know most boys won't say purple, but I do like purple. I suppose it would be my favorite color."
"No it's not that strange, I know other boys that like that color,"
"Why does he remind me so much of you, even his favorite color makes me think of you? Your favorite color was purple, you said it was the mix of my two favorite colors. No two people can be that much alike...can they?"
Aubrey put her phone away, and noticed that Max was staring at her. There was curiosity in his eyes. She noticed he had that look whenever she texted herself. He probably wondered who she was talking to. A normal person was probably texting there friend, or boyfriend. But she was just texting herself.
"Hey Max do you have a phone?”
"Um yeah, I don't use it much though. I normally tell people I don't have one or else all these girls will start texting me. You know it happened before, and I had to disconnect my phone."
"Haha you are one popular freshman haha, I was never that popular.
"
"Nah I bet you were,"
"No I really wasn't. I didn't talk to people much, and I still don't. I'm not the prettiest thing out there either. I'm just too normal for that popular life, and I like it that way."
"You are pretty though, I'd say the far prettier than half the girls in this school,"
"Haha thanks, few people would say that. Thanks Max,"
"Well it's true. Hey how come you don't hang out with many juniors?"
"Oh they are boring, not as fun as you," Aubrey smiled at him.
"Haha I'm a real bore I wonder why you hang out with me sometimes. You know most of the time we don't really talk. You are mostly texting..."
Max paused and looked at her and said,
"Who do you text?"
"No one..."
"No one? I don't believe you? You have a boyfriend or something?"
"No I don't, I really don't text anyone. I just write down little notes every now and then. Things that pop across my mind."
"Oh...I thought you were texting someone."
"No, like I said earlier I'm not that popular, and I'm not always texting."
"Well almost always, I see you walking the halls texting. Surely you are texting someone."
"Nope."
"Hmm well that's good,"
"What?"
"Oh nothing." Max smiled and went up to a higher bleacher, and sat down. She knew she would follow him, she wanted to be with him. He was so much like her little brother sometimes she thought she was going to cry.
"That same youthful smile dances across his lips, the same one as yours. You didn't know evil, or hate, you knew only love, and joy. You didn't deserve it! You didn't deserve it! It should have been me. I miss you, I'd do anything to have you back...anything."
