Great. How am I going to get this back to him? If I go back now he won’t even be in the cafeteria, and if he is, I’m admitting I stole the damn thing! Ugh you have a special talent for fucking up Leo.

How do I get it back to Max and apologize to him for causing a scene? And how do I do it without exploding from embarrassment the moment I see him? I’m melting just picturing the damn moment.

Or am I melting from desire, those arms might just slam me into another wall… not a bad thought. he sat on that for a second, Oh my god what am I thinking right now? He scowled at his dirty mind.

Leo sighed and dropped the key beside him on the bed.

“Stupid key!”

It is kinda pretty no wonder he wants it back…. Pretty like Max. He chuckled under his breath.

Wait, what why am I grinning, he shivered with annoyance.

“The guy is an asshole, why would I want to see him again!”

Just because he knows about Caspian. Just because he knows about everything, he acted like a jerk and accused me! He basically heard my last name and went oh yeah he did it. The bastard jumped to conclusions because of my name! His heart seemed to fail to give a damn about his ethical injustice. Or his anger, instead it beat harder at the thought of even a chance of seeing Max again. His thumb brushed the silver and gold key, the feeling of the engraving pressing into his skin, and he realized he was smiling like a freaking five-year-old at a lollipop.

He scrunched up his nose and tossed the key onto the blankets as if it were covered in something filthy. He lay down beside it, and turned his head to stare at the thing that mockingly refracted the sunlight back at him as he sighed and his thoughts steered towards Max again.

Max was in the year ahead of him. They didn’t share any classes; only their faculty and major were the same, and they even had opposite schedules.

How the heck am I supposed to give the key back? Freshman games finished today; I wish they had never happened, and even if they weren’t over now, he hadn’t been in Max’s group or had any chances to run into him through any games, there had been no crossing into each other’s paths naturally before, especially since Caspian was gone now, he didn’t even need to run into one of Max’s friends.

He would actually have to plan to meet up with him somehow.

The thought of it made Leo suddenly blush.

Why did it matter if he was going to see Max again? He had seen him around the campus many times in the past six months.

Sure, in just a quick passing.

But now he will see him again in person. He flushed.

Maybe, he could give it to him at the short track race tonight. He heard Max was supposed to compete in the long jump and short 500-meter run tonight.

I think… I will watch Max do his race, then casually mention the key and slide it into his hand as if nothing big happened.

Leo groaned. “Better add running away as fast as you can from the person with the best track record in the school as another one of your stupidest hair-brained ideas.”

Yeah, no, there was no scenario where he saw Max buying that lame excuse nicely and just saying thank you then walking away.

A part of him felt defeated.

What do you want from the guy? You expect him to be like, wanna be friends. I felt something strange I would like to explore further with you later.

Now that he had figured out what he was going to do. He realized he had a little time before he would need to go, and he had barely slept last night because of studying for exams and practice with his team for the games, not to mention Evan had been here all night whining about the lack of understanding from his ethics professor on why his exam mark was unjustifiably wrong.

“Shower and take a nap? Or nap, then shower? Or just nap?” He asked his stuffed bear.

The tattered bear stared at him, lips sealed.

Leo sighed with a smile. It really didn’t matter either way; he had an hour or two before it, and there was no rush.

He was going to see Max again.

Thanks to that little key.

And that thought left him feeling like he was being torn inside, then strung back together repeatedly. Whether it was fear, butterflies, or just plain nausea from overworking himself, he really couldn’t tell.

But the feeling was pleasant; he was okay with experiencing it.

He didn’t even remember falling asleep. One minute he had been staring at the ceiling, thinking about Max’s stupid arm on the wall beside his head and the way his voice had gone low, and the next—

Leo walked up to the bleachers, still stretching his limbs out a little as he moved. His three hour nap had made his joints crack like an old lady. He stared the five rows below and scanned the waiting runners standing in a line on the track looking for that undeniable figure that was Max.

“Ouch, damn it man.”

He looked down at the foot he had just tripped on because of his lack of attention to his surroundings in front of him.

“Sorry.” He said politely and bowed his head quickly as an apology, then went back to scanning for Max.

Finally, his eyes locked on his target, and his cheeks broke into a lazy little grin, and he sucked it back in before he looked like an obsessed fool. Even if it was already a little too late for that.

He knew the proper decorum would be to find a seat and watch the damn track feat from start to finish before bugging Max. But his jersey rippling in the wind plastering to that whipcord body he had already gotten a little taste of, set his brain to zero. Getting his first look at those strong arms that had pinned him down their bronzed bulging muscles out in all their glory. The way his jersey clung to his shoulders should be illegal. He froze in place.

Damn it he could pin me against another wall any day…ugh, you’re killing me Max. Fuck, I need to chill.

Max looked up at the bleachers, and his heart dropped.

“Max!” he yelled out and waved vigorously.

Yeah, it’s too late for me, fuck Vegas, I won’t make it down these bleachers.

His heart thumped at him eratically.

Bury me now.