Textbook Romance

Max flirted with the waitress when she brought our drinks and every time after that. Max was a sweet talker who used his charm to get his own way. I glared at him as he continued to manipulate the waitress, after we ate, to bring us more drinks. After the second set I stopped him.

"No," I told the waitress, "We don't need more drinks," I said then I turned to Max, "You have a show to play tonight and the guys would kill me if I showed up with you drunk."

Max laughed. "I can hold my liquor better than that, Nev."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter, Max." I sent him a look, warning him silently without having to speak out loud and possibly embarrass him in front of the lady.

Max rolled his eyes at me but shrugged anyways. "Okay, just the check then," he said as he turned his gaze back to her and smiled.

She nodded and tucked her hair behind her ears. "What kind of show are you talking about?" she asked almost timidly.

"My band has a gig tonight," Max said as he shrugged like being a famous rock band was no big deal.

Matilda leaned against the table and licked her lips. "What's your band called?" she asked.

"Escape the Fate," Max told her with a smirk as a look of recognition and shock came over her face.

"I've heard of you," she said as her eyes lit up, "You're pretty famous."

Max chuckled. "I know."

"Do you need two separate checks?" Matilda asked as she spared a glance in my direction.

"Nope," Max murmured, popping the 'p'.

The woman went to get the check as Max bathed in the glow of having his band recognized. When Matilda returned she was about to hand the check to me when Max stood up and grabbed it from her hand. "I've got it covered," he said with a smile in my direction as he reached for his wallet.

"No, Max," I said as I went to reach for my own wallet. I groaned as I realized that it was still in Max's pocket. He laughed musically and handed the waitress back the little black book.

"You're an ass," I told him as we sat back down and waited for his change.

He laughed and tossed his head back. "That's not what you say to someone who just bought you lunch."

I glared at him. "I didn't ask you too."

Max smirked at me and shook his head. "Oh well," he said, "It's too late. I already did. So now you have to be nice to me."

"No I don't," I said stubbornly.

Max's jaw dropped for a moment. "Are you serious?" he asked as he stood up from his chair.

I nodded once and watched as he moved to standing in front of me. I realized then that Max was just like a big kid. He wanted to have fun and be fun. His grin was contagious, even if it wasn't directed at you. And any girl would fall into his lap if he shined it in their direction, even some guys too. His slightly crooked teeth made him unique and the fact that he didn't take life too seriously was probably a good thing since everyone ends up dead in the end.

Here, with Max, I could see the good person he was before he started using. I could see his smile and his happiness shining out from under all of his unruly hair. This was how Max was supposed to be. Not dragged down by drugs and begging to get his next fix.

Max wasn't dependent on anyone and it seemed odd to me that he'd be dependent on drugs. But then again, I didn't know him. I didn't know the hard parts of his life or what caused him to start in the first place. Right now I only saw the carefree side of Max. And I wondered if his sinister side was as powerful as this side. And I knew if they were, that he'd been strong for a long time before he succumbed to the thing he thought could fix it all.

As Max climbed into my lap and begged me to be nice to him, I caught a look in his eyes that told me he'd been here before. Wishing, in a serious way, for someone to care for him. I wondered then if that was why he'd become so prone to having random girls sleeping around.

"Here's your change," the waitress, Matilda, said as she reappeared and handed Max the rest of his money.

Max, who was sitting in my lap, took it and thanked her before standing up and grabbing my wrist. "Lets go, Nev," he said loudly, not catching the rude look that the waitress sent my way when led me out of the restaurant with a full stomach.

When we were out on the side walk I reached up and pushed his hair out of his face. "You need a hair cut," I told him, fingering the shoulder length and faded black hair that was slowly morphing into a brown that would eventually go back to blonde.

Max shrugged. "This hair makes me look badass," he said with a smirk. Then after a minute he asked, "Why? Do you not like it or something?"

I shrugged as we started walking side by side. "I don't know," I said as I pictured a younger Max in my mind. The one from the Escape the Fate I first fell in love with. "I just remember how cute your hair used to be when you were younger."

Max stopped walking then and looked at me. "When I was younger? I just met you."

I shrugged again and kept walking. Causing Max to jump to catch up with me.

"Don't just fucking shrug me off," he said, causing a few people around us to look at him with disapproving stares.

"Or what?" I asked with a smirk, finding it funny that he was getting so worked up over it.

He reached out and grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away from him again. I raised my eyebrows at him and slid his fingers off of me, only to have him grab my wrist once again. "Tell me," he pleaded, biting his lip as he look down to my face.

I looked up to him and smiled. "I'm a fan of your band, Max. Not just some random girl who followed her boyfriend on tour and landed a random job with a random fucking band," I told him before pushing him off of me and continuing down the street in search of an open hair salon.

"I bet you used to be in love with me!" Max yelled after me.

I only raised my middle finger in the air above my head. Listening as he bursted out laughing and then ran to catch up with me.