Bruises in Miniature Form

Biting my tongue wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, in fact it made the knots in my stomach unwind and my body un-tense.
Max kept quiet mostly, chatting with his friends and refusing to meet my stare.
The times we talked were only for some small purpose and never led into a full conversation.
It made the days go by faster and soon we had only three days left.
It had also become my sole purpose to find a proper showering spot where I didn’t have to scoop the suds onto the shore for fear of feeling bad at the pollution my shampoo would cause for the river.
Bryan was bouncing around me as we walked around the trails, cracking jokes while the others waded behind us.
A few times Ronnie had made wise cracks about Bryan pretending to ‘date’ me to make Max jealous though his voice was stomped out as Robert threatened to drown him as well.
He was a good peace keeper, as Rick had mentioned.

“Why can’t you just shower in the river?” Max finally spoke to me, his voice sounding much more different than days before.
Bryan gave me a wary look before I responded lightly, “I feel bad about polluting the water”
“It’s not pollution,” Max countered me, as if he was looking for a fight, “Just skip a shower then if you’re so worried about it”
Turning to face Max I watched his calm demeanour stiffen slightly beside Robert, his shadow becoming over taken.
“It just bothers me... if you want you can-“
Max cut me off quickly, “Just yell at me already!”
“Here we go!” Robert groaned loudly, “Can’t you just let it go?”
“No I can’t!” Max yelled at his friend, “I was nice like you wanted but it’s getting ridiculous!”
Slapping a hand to his face Omar passed us all, Bryan trailing behind him.
“What, you want to fight with me?” I mused, smiling as my nerves were too calm to react drastically.
“It’d be better than this smile-at-everything bullshit”
“Come on Ronnie,” Robert sighed and waved the last friend ahead of us.

Shifting nervously on my feet I stared at Max for a few good seconds, pondering why it was so hard for this boy to face any sort of change.
“Can you honestly tell me why you like fighting with me? I mean... what do you get out of it?”
“If you fight back it means...” Max choked on his words and looked away.
“Please just tell me” I urged, fighting back my own impulses by laying a hand on his shoulder.
“If you fight back I don’t have to feel guilty, okay? There. Happy. I’m the bad guy like always”
Stepping forward I wrapped my arms around the suddenly stiff boy, ignoring whatever ‘don’t-touch-me’ waves he sent off and squeezing him comfortingly.
“W-what are you doing?” He stuttered, voice becoming angry as I held on.
“You’re not a bad guy. You’re just a jerk. I’m trying to get along with you, so just let me”
“I don’t want to,” Max admitted into my hair before pushing my body away from his, “I want you to hate me. I want you to be like everyone else”
“Why?”
“Cause you’re going to leave anyway!” he cried, blue eyes glittering.
“I’m not like Vanessa or your parents”

I had never seen Max so vulnerable, nor had he ever opened up to me like this before.
He finally looked like the shy, trembling teenage boy his friends all teased him of being.
His hair was a mess from a bad night’s sleep, his watery eyes rimmed with black circles of sleep deprivation.
Even his body was worn out as his shoulders sagged and his knees buckled under the pressure of his skinny jeans.
If I could get Max to let me in like he had his friends then I could manage to move past all the bad things I thought of him.

“Your being a pushover,” Max spoke suddenly with a cracking voice, “I’ll just walk over you and you’ll forgive me right after. Just agree to hate me and this will be fine”
“I’m not going to hate you Max. I will get angry with you, I’ll be disappointed and I’ll sure as hell get upset. But right now, I’m not going to hate you”
“Fuck!” He whined as he threw his hands into the air before capturing my cheeks and hurdling himself forward for a hard kiss.
“THEY’RE KISSING AGAIN!!!” Ronnie’s voice screamed from behind us.

Jerking backwards I watched as Max tugged me forward for another kiss, his lips plump against my own like a cushion.
The way he held onto my jaw was hard and demanding, even as Ronnie continued screaming and his friends footsteps hurried over.
I expected him to shove me to the ground, yell at me some more or ignore me like usual.
Instead I was met by a quick flicker of something wet across my bottom lip, causing my stomach to twist and toes to curl.
When I pulled back a second time he allowed me my freedom, shaking his hair into his face as he waited for my response.
Omar suddenly swung an arm over my shoulder and grinned down at me from his height difference, poking my cheek like one would a little sister.

“So... What have you decided, Maxie boy?” Omar puckered his lips.
Max moved his gaze upwards to catch mine, a smile playing at those beautiful lips, “Friends?”
“Hold on, I’ve gotta even the odds first,” I instructed him before laying a quick smack to his cheek, “Friends” I confirmed quickly after.
Laughter surrounded us, making me feel welcomed into a group I only referred to as ‘Max’s friends’.
“See, all you had to do was stand up for yourself” Bryan whispered into my ear, pecking my cheek lightly before throwing his hands into the air, “I’m still not switching tents!!”

“How is this going to work?” I mumbled to Max awhile later when we all sat back at our campsite, having long forgotten my hunt for a shower.
“I’m going to be a dick every now and again. You’ll probably hit me. I’m gonna steal kisses when you’re not looking. You’ll probably hit me. You’re going to be forced to hang out with everyone a lot more. You... well you won’t be able to do much around everyone”
My mind was stuck for a moment, repeating the words ‘I’m gonna steal kisses when you’re not looking’.
“What?” I blankly stared at him, wishing my cheeks didn’t feel so hot as Max pressed his lips to mine.
Ronnie hooted once more, a reoccurring event I realised.
Punching his shoulder quickly after I glared at Max, “Friends don’t kiss”
“Yeah, but you’ve never been my friend” he winked.
“That’s true. We all get kisses on weekends, holidays and sometimes one right after school!” Ronnie kidded, or at least I hoped he kidded.
“You’re getting some right after school!?” Bryan screeched before turning on Max, “How dare you!? I demand kisses every Thursday!”
Max laughed at his friend’s antics, glancing at me over his shoulder, “So since we’re friends.... Who’s Trent?”