Sweaters & Cigarettes (28 page)

Theo glances at the floor, trying not
to think about how that sounds like a spot-on description of Max.

"I thought I was
special," Amy continues, and Theo looks up at her. "Because he picked
me. But I wasn't. He was a mean guy, underneath all that charm, and no matter
how much I tried or how much I cared about him, that didn't change. Eventually,
it started breaking me down. That's when I realized that it didn't matter that
I was in love. It wasn't enough, and he would still always be a bad
guy
,
and not just a bad boy."

Theo doesn't answer, right away. He
doesn't, because he doesn't really know how to respond. All he can think about
is how it all suddenly just makes sense.

Of course his parents would be wary
about someone like Max, even his mother, who would never be like that,
otherwise. And Eric is bound to know about his wife's experiences with guys
like Max―the type of guy they
think
Max is―and therefore
positively militant in his efforts to keep that type away from his son. It
makes sense, and suddenly, Theo feels any ounce of anger at his parents, or at
least his mother, disappear.

"Max isn't like that,"
Theo finally says, carefully, and Amy sighs. She looks concerned.

"Are you sure?" she asks,
and Theo nods, without hesitation.

"Yes," he says. Then he
shakes his head. "I can't explain it. He's just... He's not like that. At
all."

He doesn't mention how the earlier
description fits so perfectly, figures it's implied that he's referring to the
bad
guy
-description, rather than the bad boy-one, and Amy seems to get it. She
looks at him, folds her arms and then brings one hand up to absently fiddle
with her necklace, like she always does when she's anxious or worried.

"You care about me," Theo
says. "And you worry about me. I get that."

He sighs, trying to find the right words.
He can't afford to phrase this wrong.

"But this isn't working."
He's not entirely sure he got it right, but there's a certain pleading edge to
his voice that he's not doing on purpose, one which he's pretty sure his mother
picks up on. It makes her look sad.

"You've done your best to keep
me from him," Theo continues, unable to keep the softness out of his
voice. "But your best obviously isn't good enough. And it doesn't make
sense, either, keeping us apart. You know that, or else you wouldn't be here,
talking to me about it."

Amy doesn't answer him right away.
She keeps fiddling with her necklace absently, thinking. Then, she sighs.

"Why is this so important to
you?" she says softly, as though unable to find any other way of
expressing it, and Theo doesn't even hesitate.

"Because he makes me happy,
mom," he says. "He makes me feel...
good
about myself. Like
I'm worth something, like..."

He sighs, glancing around. Then he
shrugs.

"I love him." He looks
back at his mother, surprised at the lack of waver in his voice. He has never
said that out loud before, not to anyone but Max, and it visibly takes Amy
off-guard. "I love him, and I―"

He cuts himself off, taking a deep
breath. Then he shakes his head.

"I can't be without him."

His mother doesn't reply for
several seconds. She swallows, blinking, clearly taken by surprise at her son's
confession, and she doesn't seem to know what to do. Theo is pretty convinced
that neither of his parents have really managed to grasp just how important Max
is to him, how important they are to
each other
, and he can see his
mother feeling pretty much lost, right now.

"You love him?" she
finally says, her voice a bit tense. Theo nods, practically holding his breath.

"Yes," he says, without
blinking, and his mother exhales slowly, deliberating. Theo swallows, somewhat
nervously.

"Well," his mother says,
softly. "Riley seems to like him, anyway."

Theo frowns.

"You talked to Riley?" he
asks, and his mother smiles affectionately.

"He talked to me," she
says. "He doesn't think this is fair. And from what he told me about
Max... Well, he seems like a good guy."

"He is," Theo confirms,
feeling a surge of gratitude toward his little brother, for backing him up.
"He's the best."

Amy smiles.

"And you have been smiling
more, lately," she admits. "Especially for someone who's grounded and
phone-less."

She adds that last part pointedly,
and Theo gets a sheepish look.

"And I suppose that a
boyfriend who
improves
your grades, rather than the other way around, is
a keeper."

Theo doesn't reply, doesn't even
breathe. Then, finally, his mother sighs, as though making a decision.

"Alright," she says.
"I'll give him a chance."

Theo tries not to sound like he's
gasping for air, when he exhales in relief.

"Thank you," he says.

"I'll talk to your father
about it," Amy continues. "But it seems to me like this has gone on
long enough. And if this boy means so much to you, I think it's about time I
met him, myself."

Theo just nods, trying to compose
himself.

"Yeah," he says.
"Okay."

Amy presses her lips together,
narrowing her eyes a bit.

"You're still grounded,
though," she says pointedly. "For the rest of the weekend. And no
phone, no internet. Despite everything, you
did
run off without warning,
and were gone for almost twenty-four hours."

Theo looks down sheepishly. He had
almost forgotten about that.

"Okay," he says, not
about to risk making his mother change her mind.

"And the only reason your
punishment isn't worse," Amy continues, "is because you had the
decency to let us know you were okay."

Theo nods, thankful that he had
made sure to text Riley last night.

"Okay," he repeats,
before looking up at his mother. She regards him for a moment, before nodding.

"Alright," she says.
"I'll talk to your dad. You, run along, and we'll discuss it later."

Theo nods.

"Yeah," he says. Then he
steps forward and gives his mother a hug, hoping it will convey his gratitude
and relief. "Thank you."

His mother hugs him back, holding
him tightly, and it makes Theo feel very safe for a moment, despite the fact
that he's almost a head taller than his mother, by now.

"You're welcome," she
says, and Theo feels his shoulders relax with relief, as he then leaves the
kitchen and makes his way up to his room.

♦

By the end of the day, Theo has another conversation with
both his parents.

While he strategically kept his
distance after coming home, his mother kept her word and talked to his father,
and despite Eric's obvious reluctance, they agree to giving Max a chance. Theo
tries hard not to seem too relieved or too excited at the prospect of
not
having
to sneak around and go behind their backs, and instead just stands there,
nodding, showing that he understands their logic and why they didn't do this,
in the first place.

Although, Theo has the distinct
feeling that if it were up to his father, Theo would have been sent away, or
something, anything to keep Max away from him. Eric tends to get like that,
kind of obsessive, especially when it comes to something that's important to
him, and Theo is glad that his wife is there to balance him out. God knows what
he would be like if he didn't have her.

Either way, Theo's parents
eventually reach a decision. They agree to invite Max over, to meet him, talk
to him, and therefore give him, and his and Theo's relationship, a shot. It's
honestly more than Theo hoped for―so much more, considering how prepared
he was for a verbal beatdown, when he got home―and he accepts it gladly.
He's not about to push his luck, not with this.

The rest of the weekend is somehow
easier to deal with, after that. Despite the fact that he's still grounded, and
phone-less and such, Theo feels lighter, more optimistic, and he really looks
forward to seeing Max on Monday. He would look forward to it, anyway, of
course, but it's different, this time. Somehow, with his parents coming around,
he feels like everything is suddenly a bit easier again.

Theo gets his phone back on Monday
morning, and almost as soon as he gets to school, he runs into Cassie.

"Hey, you little rebel,"
she says, as he sits down next to her in History class. "I ran into Max.
He mentioned your little adventure, this weekend. Care to elaborate?"

Theo glances at her, getting his
notebook from his bag.

"Well, good morning to you,
too," he says, and Cassie gives him an exasperated look, fiddling with her
pen. Theo half-shrugs.

"Yeah, we took off for a
bit," he says. "Just for the night."

Cassie starts, making her chair
fall forward with a thud. She was balancing it on its back legs, but now she's
staring at Theo, hazel eyes wide and intrigued.

"For the night?" she
asks. "And what does that mean?"

Theo smiles in awkward amusement.

"It means we spent the night
together," he clarifies. "Just hung out."

Cassie nods, deliberating, clearly
sensing that he's not telling the whole story. She then glances around the
rowdy classroom, which is still filling up with students, before she slides
closer to Theo and looks at him pointedly. Theo almost pulls back a bit, at the
unexpected proximity.

"Hung out?" she says,
before continuing in a conspiring whisper. "As in, getting it on?"

Theo frowns at her, and she cocks
her eyebrows suggestively.

"Doing the nasty?" she
whispers.

"What?" Theo whispers,
amused, and Cassie cocks her eyebrows again.

"Sexytimes?" she
suggests, and Theo makes a face.

"Who even says that?" he
says, shrugging, still whispering, for some reason.

"Well, did you?" Cassie
asks, and they way she stares at Theo, along with the question, makes him just
open and close his mouth like a goldfish, unable to answer. And Cassie's eyes
widen, her mouth shaping into a sly, satisfied smile.

"Oh, my god, you did,"
she says, sounding scandalized. She then tilts her chair back again, fiddling
with her pen, and Theo isn't lost on the big grin on her face.

"Slut," she adds, and Theo
looks at her, meeting her gaze. Her teasing and genuinely affectionate,
impressed expression makes him smile, though, and he turns his attention back
to the surface of his desk, as the teacher enters the classroom, asking all the
students to settle down.

Theo tries to focus, he really
does. But for some reason, he can't wipe this sudden, stupid smile off his
face.

It's after that first class that Theo finally sees
Max. He's actually waiting outside the classroom, sitting cross-legged on the
floor with a pair of headphones on, and as soon as he spots Theo, he gets up
and takes them off.

He's hard to miss, and he's
therefore the first thing Theo sees, when he walks out. He's also the first and
only thing on Theo's mind, and it makes Theo immediately stride over to him and
pull him into a kiss.

Max doesn't waste a second in
reciprocating, pulling Theo close and kissing him slowly, affectionately,
making Theo close his eyes and actually hold his breath for a few moments. It's
only when they pull apart, that Theo notices Cassie, standing right next to
them. She clears her throat.

"Keep it PG, you guys,"
she says, looking at them pointedly, before turning around and walking away.

"Hi, Cassie," Max calls
in mock sweetness, and Cassie just waves as him over her shoulder, as she walks
away, leaving Max and Theo alone in a sea of students.

"I missed you," Max says,
giving Theo a quick kiss, and Theo grins.

"I missed you, too," he
says, and for a few moments, they just stare at each other. That is, before
someone bumps into Theo, and snaps him out of it. It's just as well, because he
feels like he could just stand there and stare at Max forever, otherwise.

"So, how did it go?" Max
asks, as they start walking. He seems a bit on edge, hands in his pockets, and
he sort of walks half-backwards, as to keep his eyes on Theo. He sounds the
tiniest bit anxious, and Theo is pretty sure he feels kind of guilty for
getting Theo into more trouble than he was already in. Even though it really
isn't his fault.

"Actually," Theo says,
"it wasn't that bad."

Max frowns.

"What does that mean?" he
asks, sounding suspicious. "Is that good?"

Theo takes a breath, steadying
himself.

"I talked to my mom," he
explains, hitching his bag up on his shoulder. "I sorta got through to her,
about this whole thing, about you. And, well..."