Textbook Romance

"You don't have to come with," I told Max as I sat on the lid of the toilet and watched him apply thick black liner around his eyes.

Max shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me through the mirror. "Its not a big deal, Nev," he replied simply, "I need to get my ass out of bed anyways."

I bit my lip and tucked my hair behind my ear. "You still don't feel well," I claimed.

"I'm not going to feel any better by laying in my bunk," he shrugged, "Especially alone." He finished rimming his eyes and then looked himself over in the mirror once. His makeup wasn't as "out-there" as it was for his shows but it was still darker than most men, and women, wear theirs.

"I have to get my jacket," I told him when he motioned that he was ready.

"Get the black hoodie from my bunk, will you?" he asked, turning around to look at me as I walked away.

I grabbed my nicest jacket. It was a simple black blazer that had been "splatter" painted with green paint, although it was professionally done. I pulled it on over my tank and reached up to grab the hoodie that Max was talking about.

I met Max in the living area of the bunk and handed him the thin jacket. He pulled it on over his head. The item made him look thin and lanky. It wasn't a bad look for him. Dressed in all black with black hair and eyeliner made Max look entirely dangerous. As he reached for my hand the claw tattoo on his own stuck out from the sleeves of his hoodie.

"You ready to go?" he questioned, looking to me with honesty.

I nodded my head and said goodbye to the rest of the guys. Max and I had to walk to the front of the venue where a cab would be waiting to take us to my parents'.

Max and I climbed into the vehicle and I rested my head against the seat as I fed the cabbie the address from my childhood. Max pulled his iPod out of his pocket and unwound the earphones.

"Take this," he said as he handed me an ear bud.

I looked at him. "Why?"

He smiled. "Because you need to relax."

I sighed but stuck the little machine in my ear. Max put the other one in his and scrolled through his iPod, obviously searching for a specific song.

A minute later a familiar song started playing. I listened to the lyrics and closed my eyes, knowing we had over a half an hour ride to the chipping blue house on the other side of town.

Max nudged me with his shoulder a few minute later causing me to open my eyes. I looked up to Max. "What?" I asked quietly.

Max shook his head and reached out with his right hand. He slipped his fingers in between mine and scooted slightly closer so that I could lay my head on his shoulder instead of sitting up right.

"I'm sorry I kept you up last night," Max murmured, referring to the fact that his body temperature kept rising then plummeting, causing him to shift constantly to uncover and cover back up.

"It's okay," I whispered in reply, not bothering to open my eyes. It didn't bother me that Max was being so affectionate because I was the same way the night before. I crawled into his bunk and slept next to him all night long. Sure, he wanted the support, but for some reason so did I.

We didn't put a label on anything between us, and I hoped it wouldn't escalade to that. It was easier when it was simple. The two of us watching out for the other. I knew it was selfish not to want this to go any farther. Friends was a perfectly good label for me, but the random kisses now and again tugged Max in a different direction, confusing everyone in the process.

I laid on Max's shoulder and shoved all the thoughts out of my head while I fiddled with the metal ring on his finger. The ride went by more quickly then I'd have liked. Soon enough we were pulling up to the curb across from the familiar house.

"Max, wake up," I muttered, nudging him with my elbow since he had started to doze off, having not gotten much sleep either.

"I'm awake," he murmured, opening his eyes.

"We're here," I told him as he reached up and swiped his thumb under each of his eyes.

He nodded and waited for me to open the door. I pushed the door open quickly before I could decide that I'd made a huge mistake by coming here. I stepped out of the car and then pulled Max out, since our hands were still connected by the fingers. He yanked his jeans up higher on his hips and looked across the street at the seemingly charming house.

"This is where you grew up?" he asked, tucking his iPod into his front pocket.

I nodded my head. "Born and raised." It was a simple two story house with windows peaking up from the grass, signaling that there was a basement. The blue paint was chipping around the windows and the white shutters had long ago turned to a grungy shade of gray. I couldn't remember a time when the "Welcome Home" mat hadn't laid outside the front door or when there hadn't been a porch swing dangling on the left.

Max and I climbed the three white steps to the front door. Our feet left dirt prints on the bottom step. With one last look to my mom's car in the driveway, Max rapped his knuckles against the wooden door, knowing that I wouldn't do it myself.

"Maybe they're not here," I said when a couple minutes had past and no one had answered yet. "Or maybe they know it's me and they refuse to see me."

Max frowned and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, his chin on my shoulder as he whispered in my ear. "That's not the case, Nev. They're either not here or just very slow movers."

"That's no-" I stopped talking as the front door was pulled open abruptly. Max stood up straight behind me and pulled his hands back so that they were resting on my sides instead of my stomach. "Hi, Mom," I greeted quietly, reaching my hand up to grab Max's.

I shifted so that Max was standing next to me. My mom stared at the two of us, taking in the sight in front of her.

"Ginevra," she stated in greeting, "I didn't expect to see you around here any time soon."

"Yeah," I said, remembering how I left, "But I figured it was time to grow up."

My mother fiddled with her strawberry blonde hair and folded her arms over her chest. "So now you think you're coming back here for good?" she asked, "I thought it was time for you to 'leave the nest'?"

I shook my head as Max played with my fingers awkwardly. "I'm not staying," I told her, watching the slight surprise on her features, "I just wanted to put what happened behind us so that we can all move on."

"Ginevra," my mom sighed, "Why would you think that your father and I would be able to forget the things that you said to us?"

"Because I'm your daughter, Mom," I told her, "And I've realized, with a little help from a friend, that daughters are important to parents and that my family should be important to me, whether you accept my choices or not." I bit my lip and shifted so that Max was slightly shielded behind me.

The slightly movement caused my mom to move her gaze from me to Max. Her eyes widened when she saw the black kohl that framed his eyes. She'd seen Neil before once, but Max was more theatric than Neil. Neil didn't wear eyeliner, nor entirely black clothing, or have long black hair. Max was, by far, more threatening than Neil could ever attempt to me, at least appearance wise.

On the inside I knew that Max was honestly a kind hearted person. He was a sweetheart, even though he would never admit it. In his eyes, he was a total badass in every way. If we were any where else, I would've laughed at the situation but standing in front of my mother, with Max's hand clasped tightly in mine, I coughed awkwardly and introduced the two.

"Mom, this is Max," I murmured, "Max, this is Melinda Hawthorne."

Max nodded his hello while my mom looked at me warily. I saw in her eyes that she'd much preferred the look of Neil to the look of Max, and when she found out the age, she'd definitely wish I'd had stayed with Neil, even though Max and I weren't dating like Neil and I had been.

"Do you want to come in?" my mom asked awkwardly, motioning to the hardwood floor under her feet.

I looked up to Max's bright eyes. He nodded slightly and moved his hand to the small of my back so that he could lead me towards the house; his silent way of encouraging me and telling me that he was right behind me.

Max and I followed my mom down the hallway towards the living room. Max was captivated by the pictures of me that lined the walls. He pointed to a picture of small girl with braids down her back. She stood at the top of a playground castle, two front teeth missing as she grinned at her brother below.

"That's Leo," I murmured to him, staring at the picture of the brunette eleven year old. I'd seen this picture a hundred times, including the ones of my brother that were scattered around the house after he died, but I'd stopped actually seeing them once he'd left. When it came to siblings, I'd had none after he got involved with everything and ultimately died.

"Your brother," Max concluded, remembering the short conversation we'd had about him when Max promised to be my friend. "He looks just like you."

I nodded my head. Leo and I had almost identical features. Even though he was five years older than me, the resemblance was still noticeable. We'd gotten the same hair color. The black hair of my father had mixed with the lightness of my mother's and caused both Leo and I to have a chestnut colored brown hair that was the exact average of our parents'.

"Why don't you two have a seat in the living room," my mom said, snapping me out of my thoughts, "I'll get some drinks."

I nodded absently and led Max over to the leather couch that I'd done homework on through out my adolescent and teenage years.