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Max was basking in the Californian sun as she waited for Lucas to finish with his class, so that they could go home together. He’s supposed to finish now, so soon they will be home.
“Sorry.” She heard from next to her. Max raised her head from her phone and saw a guy standing a bit further away.
“Yes?” She asked in a slightly annoyed voice.
After a moment of silence, the guy talked again, “Um, do you actually skate?” He asked, pointing at the skateboard under Max’s feet. Max was really not in the mood for conversation with stupid guys. Maybe she was drawing conclusions too fast, maybe he just wanted to flirt with her, unbeknownst to the fact that she had a boyfriend, but that guy really gave Max major 'stupid asshole' vibes.
“No, I just carry it around to look cool.” She answered sarcastically. Even if he wasn’t an asshole, he should really work on his flirting skills.
The guy laughed at her reply, “You’re funny.” He told her. Max just awkwardly smiled and nodded, looking around searching for Lucas.
“Do you want something, or…?” She asked him, trying to end this awkward interaction as soon as possible.
“Yes, actually.” The guy said, coming closer to her. “I was wondering if I could get your number.”
Max exhaled. If this guy didn’t carry himself as if he were worth a million dollars, then maybe she wouldn't be mean to him, and she would reject him a bit kindlier. But just from this small interaction, he seemed to have all the confidence in the world, the kind of confidence big assholes have, so she didn’t spare him any kindness.
“Nope.” She simply said, turning towards her phone again.
Max wasn’t looking, but she could clearly see the guy still standing close to her from her peripheral vision, probably too shocked that Max had rejected him so straightforwardly (he didn’t seem like the type of guy to take 'no' for an answer). Still, Max didn’t give him any attention, patiently waiting for him to take his rejection and leave her alone.
Unfortunately he didn’t do any of that, and honestly, Max should have expected that.
“Ouch. Okay.” He said with a sarcastic laugh. “What, you don’t like guys or something?”
Max facepalmed at his question. The only logical explanation for her rejection was that she was a lesbian? Before she had the chance to reply, she heard a very familiar voice that made her raise her head from her phone instantly.
“Hey there.” Lucas intervened, coming to stand close to Max, protectively, one could say. Max stood up from the bench she was sitting at and stayed by Lucas' side, her boyfriend extending an arm to her shoulder. "Is everything okay?" He asked Max.
"Yeah, this... dumbass is being rejected for the first time and is having a hard time accepting it." Max explained simply.
The guy laughed nervously, "It's not... It's not like that... I didn't even know she was dating someone already, if I did I-I wouldn't have hit on her." he said to Lucas.
Max opened her mouth to reply, but Lucas beat her to it.
"I think it's time for you to leave." Lucas said, stepping slightly in front of Max. Lucas was a very sweet and soft person by nature, especially when it came to Max, but if needed, without raising his voice or doing anything threatening, he could be very intimidating. Max rarely saw this side of him because he was never like that to her, but she really enjoyed seeing how her boyfriend was able to intimidate or even scare off other people without even trying much. If she was being completely honest, she also found out it kind of hot, probably because this was peak protective Lucas, and Max secretly loved how protective Lucas was of her, but she would never admit it to him (he probably already knew because, was there really anything they didn't know about each other?)
"Look, man-" the asshole started talking to Lucas before Max interrupted him.
"Why are you still here and talking?" Max said, visibly very annoyed.
"Exactly," Lucas said, "I think both of us were clear that we don't want you here."
The other guy just gave them a dirty look and started walking away without saying anything else.
"Oh, and hey!" Lucas said loudly as the guy was getting further away, "Next time a girl tells you ‘No', maybe respect that!"
The blonde guy just threw another dirty look their way and continued walking.
Lucas turned to Max with his sweet smile, as if there was not an annoying prick here a minute ago. He hugged her and rested his head on top of hers, exhaling. "You okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah, just tired from today."
Lucas stepped back to be able to see her face. "I hope not too tired to party later! We promised Will we would go out tonight."
Max liked going to parties. They didn't do it much back in Hawkins since no one invited them, their whole friend group being nerds and stuff, but here in university, you were automatically invited to parties by the time you heard of them happening. So Max had really enjoyed going out and having fun with either her boyfriend or her friends from uni (she decided to give those girls a chance; no one could replace the Party, but that didn't mean she couldn't have more friends). The thing is, she has always loved teasing Lucas as well, and now it was a great opportunity to see him slightly panic at the prospect of their plans changing, and try to convince her to go out tonight.
"I don't know, we will see, we have time until then." she replied dryly, picking up her skateboard from the ground.
Lucas caught the bait. "What? Max! Will is coming to visit, and we promised him that we would go out tonight! You can't back off now!" he said, panicked. "Your friends are going to be there as well!"
"I'll see how I'm feeling Lucas, worst case scenario, you just go with Will by yourselves, it's not the end of the world."
"But Max!" Lucas called her name desperately, "It's not the same! We promised Will we would go together and that he would spend time with both of us while he's visiting!"
"I think Will will survive if I don't go out with him for one night," the redhead replied in her nonchalant way.
Lucas sighed deeply, "Come on, Max, I too was hoping to spend some extra time with you. I know that we live together, and we see each other every day, but it's been two weeks since we last did something together," the dark-haired boy told her in a pleading tone.
Max stopped walking, and Lucas stopped as well next to her. She took in his sad expression before she chuckled. "Dork. I'm messing with you, of course I'll come."
Lucas's face immediately grew serious at the realisation that he was being mocked. "You love this, don't you? Messing with me?"
Max started laughing now, not being able to contain it after witnessing her boyfriend catching her bait for the millionth time. "Oh yes, very much so." She replied before she continued walking.
"Alright, Max, keep laughing. Keep laughing. One day, I will take my revenge!" He announced, catching up with her.
He would never take his revenge because he just would never be able to pull off something like this to Max; he was too soft for her.
Max and Lucas waited impatiently at the 'Arrivals' part of the airport. Will's flight had landed, so any minute now he would appear from the sliding doors. Lucas took a moment to look around him. People of all ages were waiting impatiently for their loved ones, holding flowers, presents, their pets or big cards with names on them. It reminded him of his parents and how impatiently they were waiting for him at the airport when he went home for Christmas. He remembered how his mum tightly hugged him with tears in her eyes due to how much she had missed him. He remembered his dad, obviously emotional for the same reasons but trying to hide it, and Erica, trying to act all nonchalant about it, but the lack of mocking towards Lucas from her side said otherwise. He loved California, and he loved living here with Max, but he also missed his family and home back in Hawkins.
Lucas had never told Max that, but sometimes he would get very homesick. It happened especially at night, when he lay awake because sleep wouldn't come for him. He knew Max wouldn't really understand, Hawkins was a place with a lot of mixed memories for her, but for Lucas it was different. Hawkins was his home; it was where his family was and where he had lived his entire life. It was home. For Max, home was California, not Hawkins.
It would be a lie if Lucas said that California wasn't growing on him. He loved the sun, the freedom, the people... In the beginning, it was a cultural shock for Lucas to live here, everything being so different in comparison to the small town in Indiana he was from. For Max it was the total opposite; it seemed as if she was where she was supposed to be. Obviously, it looked like that because Max was home. Slowly, Lucas had adjusted to this new lifestyle, and he really liked it. He liked it to the point where he wouldn't be opposed to spending the rest of his life here if Max wanted that too. This thought and all the positive feelings he was harbouring for this place were creating a war in his head. His family was in Indiana, his life was in Indiana, and all of their closest friends were on the opposite coast of the country, very far away. How could he spend the rest of his life in a place that is so far away from the most important people in his life? Max would be here, obviously, and she was a very, very important person to Lucas, but so was his family, and the rest of their Party.
"There he is!" Max exclaimed from next to him, full of enthusiasm, breaking him from his reverie.
Will finally spotted them, the couple waving, and jumping up and down for him, and started coming towards them.
"You okay?" Max asked the dark-haired boy next to her as they waited for their friend.
"What? Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine." Lucas replied, giving her a reassuring smile. Max didn't look like she believed him, but she didn't have time to say anything more, because Will ran to their arms, hugging both of his friends as tightly as he could.
"I've missed you guys so much!" he told them with a huge smile plastered on his face.
"We missed you, too!" Max and Lucas said in unison.
After they broke their hug, Lucas took Will's bag, and the happy trio started walking towards the bus stop to wait for their bus.
"So how was the trip?" Max asked Will, sitting on the bench while they waited for the bus.
"It was okay. Very long, but it was worth it." Will replied sweetly.
"Jane went to Mike's, right?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah, and Dustin went back to Hawkins to see Steve and his mum," the other boy replied.
"How's Michigan?" Max inquired.
Will sighed, "Cold... Very different in comparison to here. It feels like you guys are living in an endless summer," the boy said in wonder, looking around him and taking in the beautiful colours of the sunset.
Max and Lucas looked at each other and laughed.
Lucas couldn't believe that some months ago, this was him. Now he felt pretty much like a local here, like this was his place, and he invited his friend to show him around his new home.
The bus came, and the trio of friends spent the quick ride in silence. Max was leaning her head on her boyfriend's shoulder, feeling tired from the busy day she had in university, but also excited for the long and fun weekend that awaited her with Will.
Once they arrived at Max and Lucas's home, the couple helped their friend settle down, and then they all sat together on the couch for a proper catch-up before they started getting ready for their pre-drinking.
"So, Will," Max started saying as she settled next to Lucas on the couch, "Spill, anything interesting going on in Ann Arbor?" she inquired.
"Or anyone?" Lucas added with a curious expression on his face.
Will laughed at his friends' nosiness. "Well... There isn't anything really interesting. I mean, it's nice, it's a nice city, and I really like it there. Classes are hard, but nothing I can't manage I think," he replied.
"Okay, so nothing interesting," the redhead confirmed, looking at her boyfriend, passing an unspoken message he seemed to understand. "Is there anyone interesting there?" she added, looking at her friend now.
The shy boy laughed again. He loved these two very much, and sometimes it was very funny how they always matched each other's energy.
"Mm... Maybe?"
Max and Lucas immediately sat up straighter, their curiosities piqued at the statement.
"So?" The dark-haired boy asked.
Will looked at them for a moment before he spoke again. "So, there's this guy with whom we have to work together for a group project..." he said, a bit shyly, "He's very nice and sweet. His name is Maddox. He's our age and he is from Detroit..." after a small pause he added in a shyer voice, "And I think I like him."
Max and Lucas immediately erupted in cheers after hearing their friend's last sentence.
"Do you have a picture of him? Can we see him?" Max asked impatiently.
Will took out his phone and went on Instagram to find Maddox's profile. They had recently followed each other, after they discovered they were sometimes hanging out in the same spots in the city, so they exchanged social media in order to go out together at some time. Will wasn't sure whether Maddox had proposed that in a platonic or romantic way. Time would tell.
He gave Max his phone, his screen showing Maddox's Instagram profile so that she and Lucas could see him. For a couple of minutes, the pair scrolled through his phone in silence, before they finally gave it back to him.
"He seems cool," Lucas commented.
"Yeah, and good looking!" Max added more enthusiastically, which made Will laugh once again.
"Have you seen each other outside of class?" Lucas asked his friend.
Will shook his head. "No, but before I left, we said that we would go out sometime because we sort of like going to the same places in the city."
"That's great!" the redhead exclaimed, "That means he could be interested in you!"
"Yeah, but... Let's not go there yet." Will quickly said. "He might have completely platonic intentions behind this."
Max and Lucas looked at each other and did the unspoken communication thing again.
"I mean, yeah..." Lucas started saying, "But I have a feeling there are not really platonic intentions from his part, man."
Will thought about it, but before he replied, Lucas's phone started ringing.
"Oh, it's one of my friends, he's probably calling about the party. I'll be right back." And with that, Lucas left Max and Will in the living room as he went a bit further away to talk on the phone.
"So... How have you been?" Will asked his friend a bit more quietly.
"Good... Had a bit of a rough time after coming here... You know, trying to balance everything... But good." Max replied.
"We didn't manage to really talk together during the Christmas break, but... Jane had told me about you and how you were during the last exam season," he said hesitantly.
Max didn't reply immediately, which made Will feel worried that he had overstepped.
"Yeah... I wasn't really doing well coping with everything. Thankfully I passed most of the exams and all my assignments." she stopped talking, trying to gather her thoughts, what to say next, "I wasn't doing well and I isolated myself. I know it's a habit I should really give up on but it's easier said than done." she then turned her head to look at Lucas who was at the kitchen area, laughing at something his friend probably said on the phone. "I'm just really grateful for Lucas. He's always... Always so good to me, with the patience of a saint. I just hope I'm as good to him, even though sometimes I doubt it."
"Don't say that." Will scolded her, "You guys love each other so much and so deeply. It's obvious that you're his person and he's yours. I know how it is to feel like you're not enough for someone, but I guarantee you that your head is playing tricks on you. You are enough for Lucas, and I'm one hundred per cent sure that if we asked him, he would confirm this."
Max offered him a sweet smile, a very rare sight. "I don't know, I think I feel that way especially lately because... Maybe I'm just seeing ghosts or something, but I feel like something is going on with him, but whenever I'm asking him, he just brushes it off and says he's okay," the redhead shared for the first time. Truth was, she was certain there was something in Lucas's mind that was troubling him, but whenever she would ask him, he would pretend that everything was fine and there was nothing going on. She wasn't good at approaching people and making them open up, not as good as Lucas was, so she didn't know how to deal with this. Maybe she should really start investing in developing this skill, thinking about how she studied psychology, so she should really have ways of making people open up to her.
Will looked at Lucas for a moment and then turned back to Max. "If you think something is going on, just tell him that. Tell him that you're concerned for him. You need to start sharing your thoughts and feelings more openly, Max."
Max looked at her friend and took in his advice. After whatever that was that she went through before exams, they hadn't really talked about it again. They were more observant of each other now, not letting their everyday lives fully consume them from other important things like their relationship and each other. They started spending more time together, and that really helped Max. She was actively trying to be more open and vulnerable with Lucas, which surprisingly felt great, because Lucas continued choosing to be with her and staying here, so sharing with him whatever was going on in her head was becoming less scary. Obviously, there was a part of her that was still holding back, and she didn't know if it would ever change, so she decided to start therapy again, to work on herself.
She sneaked a peek at her boyfriend. The way he always picked up if there was something wrong with her, the same way Max could always pick up if there was something wrong with him as well. Ironically, Lucas was doing the exact thing he begged her not to do, and that is to keep his thoughts and worries for himself, not opening up and sharing them with Max. So be it. If Lucas were acting like Max, then Max would act like Lucas. It intimidated her because she wasn't sure how Lucas did it, but for him, she would try her best and continue trying until she could support him the way he needed to be supported.
"Everything okay here?" Lucas asked the pair on the couch, picking up on their not-so-cheery mood.
Will, being the good friend he always was to Max, immediately covered for her. "Yeah. We were just talking about... Random things." He reassured Lucas with a casual smile.
The dark-haired boy momentarily looked at Max, not fully believing Will, but not pushing the subject.
"Okay, so my friends will be there in a couple of hours, and they invited us for pre's at their dorm, but I told them I'd ask you guys first if you're up for it or if you want to do it here, just the three of us," Lucas informed them.
Max and Will looked at each other.
"I mean... I wouldn't mind meeting your new friends." Will replied.
"So I tell them we'll join them for pre's?"
Will and Max nodded.
"Perfect," the dark-haired boy said as he started texting his friend. "We should probably start getting ready then."
The trio stood up from the couch and started preparing. Lucas, as always when getting ready to go out, connected his phone to the speaker they had on the coffee table in the living room and put on his favourite Kendrick Lamar album.
Once Max and Will were ready, they settled on the couch again, waiting for Lucas to finish getting ready so they could leave. Their conversation now was lighter, talking about the other members of the party, Max talking to Will about California, Will telling Max embarrassing stories about Mike (after Max's request), and eventually the pair joking about how long it took Lucas to get ready.
"Lucas! Come on, your friends are waiting for us." Max yelled.
"Be there in a minute!" Lucas's voice came through from the closed door of the bedroom.
Max exhaled, annoyed, and turned to Will again.
"Hey," she said after a minute, "By the way, what we were talking about before... Don't say something to anyone, please."
"Of course, you don't have to worry about it," her friend reassured her.
"I've mentioned something to Jane, but nothing else."
"Max, you don't have to worry about it. Really." Will reassured her again, reaching out to hold her hand.
Max smiled at the gesture. "Also... Before I didn't mention how thankful I am for all of you guys as well. Your sister... she always sees me so clearly and understands me, even on the rare occasions when Lucas cannot, and I'm so grateful for her and her friendship. But I'm also thankful for you guys, all of you. You became my people and my home, even in times when I felt like I didn't have any of those. I will never forget this. I will never forget how you all embraced me from the moment you met me and welcomed me to your party." Tears were starting to gather in her eyes, and apparently in Will's as well. "Okay maybe not everyone, Wheeler is still working on it." she said after a moment, more light-heartedly, and elicited laughs from both of them, "But, yeah, I love you guys and I miss you all every day." the redhead rolled her eyes at the thought of one specific party member, "Even Wheeler, but I just miss ragebaiting him in person," she added and the pair laughed again.
"We love you too, Max," her friend said, holding her hand a bit tighter now to emphasise his words. "And we are all by your side. Always."
"Wow, okay," Max said, trying to hold her tears in. "We are going to a party, and instead of doing literally anything else, we sit here and cry."
Will laughed at her words. "Well, if your boyfriend didn't take so long to get ready, we wouldn't be crying."
The redhead exhaled in annoyance again and yelled Lucas's name. Lucas didn't reply, and as Max was getting ready to stand up and go to their room, Lucas came out.
"Ready! I'm ready, we can go."
"Hallelujah!" Max said, looking at the ceiling.
Once Lucas was ready as well, the trio left the one-bedroom studio that Max and Lucas were renting and started going to the dorms where Lucas's friends were hosting the pre-drinks.
The night passed by, full of laughter, drunk students, loud music, and party games. Will officially met all the people his friends were hanging out with in California, and frankly, he liked all of them. Max and Lucas were ever the good hosts, not leaving their friend's side for the entirety of the night, and introducing him to everyone they knew. The hours passed by fast, and after some won rounds of beer pong, it was time for them to go home.
The next day, the three friends took it easy, choosing to spend a chill Saturday, showing Will around campus and then renting a car to drive in Santa Barbara so that they could show him the city as well. Saturday passed by very fast, being replaced by Sunday, the day they would go to Los Angeles. They all woke up relatively early, and once they got ready, they drove to the famous LA. Monday passed by in the blink of an eye, and without the trio even realising how quickly everything happened, it was very early in the morning on Tuesday, and they were at the airport saying their goodbyes.
"Thank you guys so much for these days." Will thanked them, hugging both of them tightly. "I had an amazing time, and I loved California. I'm really happy we did this."
"We're very glad you managed to come," Lucas told him. "Next time we are reunited altogether at home for spring break, okay?"
Will nodded, and with one last hug to his friends, he started walking towards the control.
"Have a safe trip back! And text us when you arrive at home!" Max shouted, and Will gave her a thumbs-up before he disappeared in the crowd.
The couple went on their way, the bus almost empty this early in the morning. Lucas leaned his head on Max's shoulder, deep in thought. Having Will here with them in California triggered his homesickness, but also something else that Lucas couldn't understand. He was homesick not only because he missed Hawkins and his family, but also because he missed his friends; he missed having all of them together and seeing them every day. A very small part of him was jealous that they lived in States relatively close to each other and therefore had the opportunity to see each other relatively often. He and Max were literally on the opposite side of the country, making it very difficult for them to travel to their friends or Hawkins and for their friends to come and visit them here.
On the other hand, part of why he loved having Will here was because he was happy to show his friend his new life and... home? It felt natural referring to this place as a home now, but at the same time, it felt odd because he had been here for only a few months, how could he refer to it as home? Max, he thought. He was here with Max, that's why it felt like home.
"Stalker, we're here." Max softly whispered, bringing him back to reality.
The two of them walked back home in silence, holding hands. They still had a couple of hours to kill before their classes started, and they decided to get an extra hour of sleep.
Sleep wouldn't come to Max. She had noticed (practically saw the wheels turning inside his head) Lucas being deep in thought about something back in the bus, but she didn't want to start this conversation in there. Now they were in the comfort of their home, and Max wouldn't be able to stop thinking about what was troubling Lucas. She then remembered what Will advised her the other day, and gathered the courage to start the conversation now.
"Lucas?" she whispered as she turned to face him.
"Hm?" came Lucas's reply, without opening his eyes.
"Are you falling asleep?"
Lucas sighed as he opened his eyes. "No, not really."
"Can... Can I talk to you about something?" she asked a bit hesitantly.
The dark-haired boy immediately got more serious and gave her his unwavering attention. "Of course, what is it?"
Max had to be sitting for this. Following her example, her boyfriend also sat up, now curious as to what was going on.
"I know something is troubling you, or bothering you, or whatever. I know you keep refusing, but I know you, and I can see something is going on, so please don't deny it." Max said, anxiety building up inside of her. Lucas could snap at her, get angry and defensive, tell her nothing is going on, and to go to sleep... But that was her, not Lucas. Lucas would never behave like that to her, and she knew it.
Lucas observed her for a moment before looking away and sighing. "I just... I don't know how to explain it."
"With your own words?"
The young man turned and looked at her again, a small smile on his face as he found his girlfriend's answer entertaining.
"I just... I miss Hawkins. I miss home. I miss my family, our friends, I miss seeing the party every day and hanging out with you guys all the time. I've really, really missed that."
The redhead, without controlling herself, immediately felt guilty. She was the one from California, not him. It was her idea to come together here to study. She lived most of her life here, her best years, and her father was here... She was home, but it wasn't the same for him. Lucas had lived his entire life in Hawkins; everything was in Hawkins for him, and all their friends were studying in a much closer proximity to Indiana than they were. She had been delusional thinking that Lucas would love it here, that he would even consider spending the rest of their lives here, given that they stayed together (Max hoped they did; she couldn't believe she could love and understand another person more than she did Lucas).
Lucas immediately noticed the change in Max's expression and tried to reassure her, "I don't mean that I don't like it here!" he hurried to say. "The opposite, actually, that's the issue."
"What? I don't understand." Max said, confused.
"The issue is that I miss everyone from home and yet... I like it here. I like it to the point where I love it, to the point where even after being here for just a few months, it feels like a new home and part of me wants to stay here and create a life with you even after university," he explained.
Max felt very happy at his confession, but it also left her confused. "I-I don't understand, what is the problem then? That you're scared?" she asked.
Lucas felt as if Max had thrown a brick at him. Now everything made sense in his head. Whenever he thought about this, he always tried to dismiss these thoughts from his head because they made him feel uncomfortable... They made him feel scared. His whole life, he had tried to be the personification of bravery, and he had taken that role without realising. He wanted to be brave to face the bullies at school, be brave against the racism he received growing up in a predominantly white town, be brave to support his sister, his friends, his girlfriend... He had never been scared, only brave, and now, for the first time in his life... He felt scared.
"Yeah, actually," Lucas replied after a few moments, hesitantly. He was still shocked at the realisation and was processing everything.
Max visibly relaxed. Fear was familiar to her, too familiar. She could deal with fear. Lucas apparently not that much, but she could help him. If there was one person who could help him with facing what he was scared of, that person would certainly be Max.
"Look," she started, "This is all new to you, so it's normal that you're scared. Every normal person would feel scared if they were you. You feel... separated, right? Separated between the place you grew up in, the place where your family is and where all of our friends are close by, and between the place where you live now, which you like, and where... I am. Do I get it right?" she asked him, the last part tentatively.
Lucas simply nodded and let Max continue, basically turning his thoughts into coherent sentences.
"Okay, I honestly think it's too early to have that dilemma. I mean, we haven't even graduated from university in order to start thinking about the after, about what we want to do with our lives and where we want to settle down."
"But what do you want?" he asked her sharply.
"It shouldn't matter what I want, Lucas. You have to discover what you want, so when the time comes you make the right decision," she replied.
"That's the thing. University is proof I can live away from the party and my family, missing them, but knowing we can all visit, with some difficulty, but we still can, but... But high school was proof that I can't live away from you," he confessed, saying the last sentence softly and looking deep into her beautiful blue eyes.
Home. Lucas felt at home here not only because he loved this place, but because Max was with him. If he were here alone, he would probably not think about any of this; he would just finish his studies and then try to find a job somewhere close to his friends and family. Honestly, if it weren't for Max, Lucas would probably not come to California at all to study to begin with; he most likely would have gone somewhere closer to Indiana like his friends.
But Max was home. And Lucas, after he realised that what he had been feeling all this time was fear of the unknown, fear of being away from his comfort zone, he realised that wherever Max was, it was where he wanted to be. Because Max was his home, as much as Hawkins was with his family and their friends.
Max's eyebrows slightly furrowed and then relaxed, understanding what the young man in front of her was telling her.
"But Lucas, I can't make such an important decision for both of us," the redhead confessed, scared.
He clicked his tongue, "Well, it's not really like that. California is your home, your happy place, and I'm guessing you want to stay here, right?" he asked her.
Max hesitantly nodded. She meant what she said earlier; she believed it was too early for them to be making decisions like that, however, at the moment, the truth was she would want to stay here.
"You wouldn't really force me to stay here. I like it here, I really do, and I can totally imagine myself living here in the long-term with you."
Max looked at him for a moment, very confused about the turn their conversation had taken. "Okay, so...?"
Lucas smiled and pulled her towards him, holding her.
"So, you understood what was happening in my head and helped me understand it as well. And you helped me realise what I was so scared of, and now I'm not anymore."
Truthfully, Max was still a bit confused, but now that Lucas was fine again and in high spirits, she stopped worrying, and sleep started catching up with her. Being nestled in her boyfriend's warm embrace and basically feeling the good mood radiating from him also contributed to her sleepiness becoming more and more irresistible.
"My personal psychologist. Understanding what is happening in my head faster and clearer than I." Lucas whispered with a proud voice.
The redhead had already closed her eyes, but she was not asleep yet.
"Shut up, dork." Max scolded him.
Lucas laughed, a warm, genuine laugh that made his chest vibrate. "Don't pretend you don't absolutely love it."
"I don't."
She actually did love it, but she would never admit it verbally. Unfortunately, the small smile on her face, which Lucas totally saw, betrayed her. Whatever.
"I love you," Lucas whispered above her head.
"I love you," Max replied, as she was falling asleep.
Quickly after her, Lucas drifted to sleep too, and the couple slept in each other's embrace until their alarm went off.