Sweaters & Cigarettes (46 page)

"Are you kidding?" Theo
says a bit hurriedly, making Max look back at him. "No, that's not it. I'd
like to go, I just―"

He clears his throat, picking at
the fabric of Max's black, long-sleeved t-shirt.

"I just thought you weren't
into that."

"Well, I'm not," Max
admits. "But when it comes to you, I've realized I'm into a lot of things
I wouldn't normally care about."

And
damn
, that shouldn't
make Theo smile like an idiot, but it does, and for a moment, he just stares at
Max, pretty sure that his joy is written all over his face. He nods.

"Then, yes," he says.
"I would like to go to the dance with you. You know, if you're asking
me."

Max quirks a small smile, clearly
relieved.

"I am," he says. And Theo
nods again, stupidly.

"Cool," he says, and
after another second or so of staring, he leans down and kisses Max on the
mouth.

"But I'm not wearing a
tux," Max says. "And I'm not getting you anything. And also, I will
be bringing booze."

Theo can't help but laugh, leaning
his forehead against Max's, moving one hand up to smooth over his cheekbone
with his thumb.

"I can live with that."

♦

By the time the night of the Winter Dance actually
comes around, a few days later, Theo is both anxious and a little excited.
Anxious, because he has never been to one of these things, before, and excited,
because he's going with Max. Max, who would never in a million years do
anything like that. Max, who usually detests pretty much everything involving
other people.

Max, who does all of that anyway,
just for Theo.

As Theo gets ready to leave, he
can't help but think about the reason for Max actually taking him to the dance.
Despite Theo kind of wanting to go, he's also fully aware that Max is taking
him mostly because he'll be leaving soon. He's leaving soon, and he wants to
make Theo happy, and while that thought makes Theo smile, it also makes his
stomach twist in uncomfortable knots.

He doesn't want Max to go. He
really
doesn't want him to go, and ever since he told him about the impending
move, it's like every single day, every single moment, has been counting down
to it. They've been ignoring it, though, pretending that it's never going to
happen. They've just gone on like normal, like Max won't be leaving only two
weeks from now, like they won't be separated and not see each other again.

Because that's probably what'll
happen. It's not that Theo doubts Max's feelings for him, or his own feelings
for Max, and he knows that they would do their best to make it work... But he also
knows what it's like, when someone moves away. Before you know it, they've got
a new life, with new people, and Theo can't exactly expect Max to cling to him,
if he ends up somewhere else. Even if Theo knows that he, personally, will
cling to Max with everything he's got, he would never ask Max to do the same.

But tonight isn't about that.
Tonight is about having fun, and
not
dwelling on the fact that Max is
leaving. In other words; more denial.

So Theo gets ready, grateful for the
casual theme of the dance, which means he doesn't have to actually wear a suit.
He settles for something halfway between casual and formal, though, with dark
jeans and a button-up shirt, along with a black blazer and a grey tartan tie.
It's an outfit Hannah picked out for him what feels like ages ago, when they
first started hanging out and she basically gave him a makeover, and he must
admit, it looks pretty good. He remembers her referring to the color of the
shirt as
light eggshell
, whatever the hell that means―it's just
white
,
who cares what kind?

When Theo makes his way downstairs,
his mother immediately spots him; he's half-sure that she was waiting for him,
ready to pounce.

"Look at you," she
practically trills, a huge smile on her face. "All spruced up."

"Spruced?" Theo says
doubtfully, and his mother cocks her head.

"Yeah," she says.
"Or whatever you want to call it."

She eyes him up and down, looking
positively gleeful, as she leans against the railing of the staircase. Theo
huffs a breath, throwing up his hands.

"What?" he asks, but his
mother just shrugs innocently, shaking her head.

"Nothing," she says.
"Just, you all dressed up, going to a dance. And with a boyfriend, no
less."

She adds that last part with a
teasing, motherly smile, and Theo actually feels like he might blush a little.

"It's not a big deal," he
says, but Amy just keeps smiling.

"It is," she says,
growing a little bit more somber. "With all the stuff going on, it's nice
that you two can go out, have some fun."

She gives her son a sympathetic
smile, and he knows she's referring to Max moving. Like he needs to be reminded
of that. Amy shrugs.

"It's just nice."

Theo gives her a small,
affectionate smile, and he nods.

"Yeah," he agrees.

Thankfully, Amy spares him the
humiliation of posing for a picture, or anything along those lines, although he
can hear Riley snicker from the living room, at the way their mother bothers
her oldest son, fussing with his clothes and adjusting his hair. It's only when
Theo sees a car pull up outside, that he manages to escape, and his mother
gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, before he leaves.

Cassie is the one to pick him up;
Max doesn't have access to a car (and Theo has a feeling that he wouldn't want
to borrow one from his parents, anyway), and annoyingly, Theo's father's car is
out of commission. Apparently, it's in need of some repairs, so Theo couldn't
borrow it, which kind of sucks.

So, he, Max and Cassie ended up
deciding that they might as well go together.

"Well, look at you,"
Cassie says, as Theo slides into the front seat. "All dapper."

"You literally can't see
anything but my pants," Theo points out, as he snaps his seatbelt into
place. Cassie makes a face.

"True," she says, Theo
wearing a jacket and a scarf over his outfit, and his hair looking the exact
same as always. "But I'm assuming you're rocking all kinds of hot, under
there."

She gestures at Theo, and he
laughs.

"Ditto," he says, because
he frankly can't deduce anything besides Cassie's coat and the fact that she
seems to be wearing black tights. Her hair is slightly curled, though,
half-pulled back, and it's clear that she spent just a little bit more effort
than usual on her makeup.

They arrive at Max's house within
minutes, and Cassie has to honk pointedly, before he comes outside.

"Took you long enough,"
Cassie says, as Max gets into the backseat. He sighs.

"Yeah, well, I'm here, aren't
I?" he says dryly. "Don't get your panties in a bunch."

Cassie just shakes her head at
that, and as she pulls back out onto the street, Theo turns back to look at
Max.

"Hey," he says, and Max
leans forward slightly.

"Hey," he says back,
before kissing Theo, although they only have a second or so, before Cassie
glances at them and actually smacks Theo lightly in the head.

"Alright," she says.
"Everyone says
hey
, and everyone is happy to see each other. Moving
on."

Theo glares at her as he settles
back in his seat, before he retaliates by smacking her very lightly in the
shoulder. Cassie gapes at him.

"Whoa," she says,
flicking her eyes back to the road. "Driver! Not cool!"

Theo just smiles, though, because
he knows she's not really mad, and the mood is very light and happy, by the
time they arrive at the high school. The dance is to be held in the gym, which
is the only room big enough to accommodate it, and Cassie parks behind the
school building. As they make their way to the dance, Max reaches for Theo's
hand, and he automatically takes it, glancing at him. It's weird, but he swears
Max looks
happy
. Happier than usual, that is, in a kind of light, almost
excited way.

Emma is waiting for Cassie when
they arrive, and she, Theo, and Max get properly introduced. They all hand in
their coats and jackets, and Max lets out a low whistle, as Cassie reveals the
peach-colored, sleeveless dress underneath her coat. It has a slightly flared
skirt, goes halfway down her thighs, and she smiles shyly and actually does a
small curtsy, at Max's implied compliment.

"Why, thank you, good
sir," she says, and Max bows his head.

"M'lady," he says, taking
her hand and kissing it. Cassie beams at him, while Theo notices how Emma is
looking at Cassie like she's the most stunning thing she has ever seen, and he
smiles a little.

"We'll see you inside,"
Cassie says to Theo, and he nods, as she lightly takes Emma's hand and enters
the decorated hall, where Theo can already hear music and raised voices,
talking. Max leans in, while he shrugs off his coat, Theo already having handed
his in.

"I thought you said they had
decided to be 'just friends'," Max says, air-quotes implied, and Theo
nods.

"Yeah," he says.
"Why?"

Max makes a disbelieving sound.

"Yeah, that's not gonna
work." He sounds highly doubtful. "At least not tonight. But hey,
good on her. She's probably gonna get laid."

Theo huffs a small laugh, and he turns
to Max, who's handing in his black trenchcoat. And he blinks, before his eyes
actually widen a little.

"Holy shit," he murmurs,
honestly surprised, and Max turns to him.

"What?" he says, and for
a moment or so, Theo just stands there, opening and closing his mouth, like a
goldfish.

"Nothing," he eventually
sputters. "It's just..."

He gestures vaguely at Max, who's
made the same choice as Theo, of staying halfway between casual and formal, in
black skinny jeans, a black button-up shirt, and a black, pin-striped
waistcoat. He's even wearing a tie, although a red one, rather than the blue
one he mentioned, once (and frankly, Theo has a hard time imagining blue going
with Max's color scheme, regardless of how beautifully it would most likely
bring out his eyes). Along with the ensemble are those black Dr. Martens, and
that black eyeliner, and for a while, Theo just stares, mouth half-open.

He stares for quite a while,
apparently, because Max looks at him pointedly, seemingly halfway between
impatient and slightly self-conscious, and Theo snaps out of it, blinking.

"Uh, I just―" he
swallows, looking up to meet Max's eyes. "It's just that, this might be
the hottest thing I've ever seen."

He's slightly surprised that he
says it out loud, but he can't stress enough how true it is, and Max actually
looks a little surprised, for a moment. He glances down at himself, before
looking up at Theo, narrowing his eyes a little.

"You sure about that?" he
says, and Theo licks his lips, thinking about a reply. Then he decides to not
say anything, though, and instead moves in and takes Max's face in his hands,
planting a kiss on his lips.

The kiss is slow and hot, that
metal piercing in Max's bottom lip hard and familiar against Theo's mouth, and
Theo closes his eyes, baffled at the sheer intensity of it all. He can feel Max
actually hold his breath, and when they pull apart, those blue eyes look dazed
and slightly out of it. Then Max blinks, and he nods jerkily.

"Okay, yeah, I believe
you," he says, and Theo smiles, before they make their way inside the gym.

The entire hall is filled with
blinking, colorful lights, occasional snowflake decorations, and there are so
many people, dancing and talking and drinking what Theo is pretty sure is
non-alcoholic drinks, and
hell
, there's even a disco ball. He takes it
in for a moment, and looks at Max, who is standing right next to him. And Max
has pretty much frozen, eyebrows raised, apprehensively looking around the huge
room, and Theo squeezes his hand.

"You okay, there?" he
asks, with a small smile, and Max doesn't immediately reply. Instead, he puffs
up his cheeks, filling them with air, before exhaling in a huff. He cocks his
head, making a face.

"Yeah, sure," he says
dryly, eyes still scanning the crowded room. "Just... Not really my
thing."

Theo smiles a bit wider, and leans
in to kiss Max on the cheek.

"Come on," he says, and
tugs Max along with him into the room.

They find Cassie and Emma again,
and they talk a little, before they make their way over to the drinks' table, where
they find that
yes
, the drinks are most definitely non-alcoholic.

"Well, that sucks,"
Cassie laments, and both Theo and Emma agree.

"Wait, hang on," Max
says, slipping his hand into his pocket and taking out what Theo immediately
recognizes as a hip flask, pewter colored and plain. He raises his eyebrows
slightly, as Cassie excitedly holds out her drink for Max to pour some liquor
into, and Emma gets some, too. When Max turns to Theo, Theo holds out his
drink, as well, albeit with the same facial expression. Max notices it, of
course.